A handling robot, a box-taking method, a box-loading method for a cargo box, and a warehousing and logistics system

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of warehousing logistics, and specifically discloses a handling robot, a box picking method, a box loading method for a cargo box, and a warehousing logistics system. Among them, the handling robot includes: a mobile chassis; a vertical frame vertically arranged on the mobile chassis; a box picking mechanism, at least two sets of which are arranged along the height direction of the vertical frame, and each set of the box picking mechanism can horizontally extend and retract and vertically lift relative to the mobile chassis to pick up the cargo box on the storage container or place the cargo box on the storage container. The box picking method uses the above-mentioned handling robot to perform box picking operations, the box loading method for the cargo box is based on the above-mentioned handling robot to perform box loading operations, and the warehousing logistics system includes the above-mentioned warehousing logistics system. The handling robot, box picking method, box loading method for the cargo box, and warehousing logistics system disclosed by the present invention can improve the picking and logistics efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of warehousing logistics, and particularly to a handling robot, a box-taking method, a box-loading method and a warehousing logistics system. Background Art

[0002] The rapid development of e-commerce has brought unprecedented development opportunities to the warehousing logistics industry, but also posed severe challenges to warehousing logistics services. How to pick packages efficiently, at low cost, flexibly and accurately has always been a difficult problem faced by the warehousing logistics industry. With the continuous development of robot technology, robots are used to transport target inventory containers storing goods to be picked and placed to manual workstations, and then products on the inventory containers are taken out by the manual workstations and placed into order boxes. However, in the traditional sorting method of "inventory container to people", the robot needs to transport the entire inventory container to the picking area, increasing the load of the robot transportation and causing great waste of resources.

[0003] Figure 1 The prior art provides a robot for handling a cargo box, as Figure 1 shown, which includes a driving unit 100, a cargo box storage unit 200 and a cargo box transmission unit 300. The driving unit 100 carries the cargo box storage unit 200 and the cargo box transportation unit 300 to move together. The cargo box storage unit 200 includes one or more cargo box storage spaces. The cargo box transmission unit 300 is configured to transmit the cargo box 400 between the cargo box storage space and the inventory container. Among them, the cargo box transmission unit 300 includes a frame 310 for placing the cargo box, a lifting device 320 for driving the cargo box 400 to lift, a telescopic fork 330 for driving the cargo box 400 to stretch, and a rotating device 340 for driving the cargo box 400 to rotate.

[0004] However, in the prior art, in the cargo box transmission unit, the lifting device 320 and the telescopic fork 330 need to cooperate with the rotating device 340 to smoothly transport the cargo box 400 from the inventory container to the cargo box storage unit 200, and the structure of the cargo box transmission unit 300 is complex; and in the process of taking and placing the cargo box, only one cargo box 400 can be taken and placed at a time, and the taking and placing efficiency of the cargo box 400 is low, resulting in the difficulty of effectively improving the picking and logistics efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a handling robot to improve the taking and placing efficiency of the cargo box by the handling robot and improve the picking and logistics efficiency.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a box-taking method to improve the box-taking efficiency of the handling robot for the cargo box, thereby improving the picking and logistics efficiency.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for loading a cargo box, which can improve the loading efficiency of the cargo box by the handling robot, thereby improving the picking, loading and logistics efficiency.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a warehousing and logistics system, which can improve the efficiency of the warehousing and logistics system.

[0009] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0010] A handling robot, comprising:

[0011] A mobile chassis;

[0012] An upright frame, which is vertically arranged on the mobile chassis;

[0013] A box picking mechanism, at least two sets of which are arranged along the height direction of the upright frame, and each set of the box picking mechanism can horizontally extend and retract and vertically lift relative to the mobile chassis to pick up the cargo box on the storage container or place the cargo box on the storage container.

[0014] As an optional technical solution of the handling robot, a temporary storage position for temporarily storing the cargo box is arranged on the box picking mechanism.

[0015] As an optional technical solution of the handling robot, the box picking mechanism includes:

[0016] A temporary storage board, on which the temporary storage position is formed;

[0017] A lever assembly, configured to dial the cargo box so that the cargo box moves between the temporary storage board and the storage container;

[0018] A telescopic assembly, which is connected to the temporary storage board and the lever assembly, and is configured to drive the lever assembly to horizontally extend and retract relative to the temporary storage board.

[0019] As an optional technical solution of the handling robot, the telescopic assembly is a two-stage synchronous telescopic structure or the telescopic assembly is a three-stage synchronous telescopic structure.

[0020] As an optional technical solution of the handling robot, telescopic assemblies are arranged on both opposite sides of the temporary storage board, and baffles are arranged on both sides of the temporary storage board corresponding to the telescopic assemblies. The baffles are located inside the telescopic assemblies, and the temporary storage position is formed between the two baffles.

[0021] As an alternative technical solution for a handling robot, the baffle includes a baffle main body extending along the telescopic direction of the telescopic assembly and a guide plate portion provided at an end of the baffle main body. One end of the guide plate portion is connected to the baffle main body, and the other end of the guide plate portion extends obliquely toward the corresponding side of the telescopic assembly in a direction away from the baffle main body; and / or

[0022] The temporary storage plate includes a horizontally arranged temporary storage plate body and a guide portion provided at the inlet end of the temporary storage plate. One end of the guide portion is connected to the temporary storage plate body, and the other end of the guide portion extends obliquely downward in a direction away from the temporary storage plate body.

[0023] As an alternative technical solution for a handling robot, the box picking mechanism can telescopically move in both directions to pick up the boxes in the inventory containers on opposite sides of the handling robot respectively.

[0024] A box picking method uses a handling robot to pick up the boxes on an inventory container. The handling robot includes a mobile chassis, a vertical frame provided on the mobile chassis, and a box picking mechanism provided on the frame. At least two sets of the box picking mechanism are arranged along the height direction of the frame, and each set of the box picking mechanism can horizontally telescopically move and vertically lift relative to the mobile chassis. The box picking method includes the steps:

[0025] The control system assigns box picking tasks to the handling robot;

[0026] The control system plans a box picking travel path according to the positions of all target boxes in the box picking tasks;

[0027] The control system assigns the box picking mechanism for each target box according to the sorting of the floor levels where all the target boxes are located;

[0028] The handling robot sequentially runs in front of each target box according to the box picking travel path and picks up the target box with the assigned box picking mechanism. When several target boxes are located in the same vertical column of the inventory container, the box picking mechanisms corresponding to the several target boxes perform box picking operations simultaneously.

[0029] As an alternative technical solution for a box picking method, when the total number of target boxes is N and the number of box picking mechanisms on the handling robot is M, the control system assigns box picking tasks to the handling robot based on the following goods location allocation principle:

[0030] N≤M;

[0031] The N target cargo boxes are located on different layers of the inventory container, or there are n1 target cargo boxes located on the Fn1 layer of the inventory container, and n1 ≤ Fn1 - sum(F < Fn1), and n1 ≤ Fmax - Fn1 - sum(F > Fn1) + 1;

[0032] Among them, Fmax is the highest floor label of the inventory container, sum(F < Fn1) refers to the total number of the target cargo boxes with floor labels less than Fn1, and sum(F > Fn1) refers to the total number of all target cargo boxes with floor labels greater than the Fn1 layer.

[0033] As an alternative technical solution of the box picking method, the inventory container has internal cargo boxes and outer cargo boxes arranged side by side in the depth direction. After the box picking task is assigned and before the travel path is planned, the following operations are further included:

[0034] Judge whether there is a target cargo box that is the internal cargo box. If there is a target cargo box that is the internal cargo box, judge whether the total number n2 of the target cargo boxes on the same layer as the internal cargo box satisfies n2 ≤ Fn2 - sum(F < Fn2) - 1 and n2 ≤ Fmax - Fn2 - sum(F > Fn2) + 1. If it is satisfied, add the outer cargo box outside the internal cargo box as an additional target cargo box to the box picking task. If it is not satisfied, the control system allocates other handling robots to handle the outer cargo box;

[0035] Among them, Fn2 refers to the floor label where the internal cargo box is located, Fmax is the highest floor label of the inventory container, sum(F < Fn2) refers to the total number of the target cargo boxes with floor labels less than Fn2, and sum(F > Fn2) refers to the total number of all target cargo boxes with floor labels greater than the Fn2 layer.

[0036] As an alternative technical solution of the box picking method, after picking the internal cargo box, the outer cargo box corresponding to the internal cargo box is placed back to the original inner cargo position where the internal cargo box is located.

[0037] As an alternative technical solution of the box picking method, after the handling robot completes picking all the target cargo boxes, the handling robot runs to the picking point, and the box picking mechanism is successively lifted to a height suitable for the picking staff to perform picking operations.

[0038] As an alternative technical solution of the box picking method, the box picking mechanism can telescopically extend in both directions, and when the handling robot picks up the target cargo box, if there are several target cargo boxes in the inventory containers on opposite sides of the handling robot that are located in the same vertical column and are staggeredly arranged in the height direction, the box picking mechanisms corresponding to the several target cargo boxes perform box picking operations simultaneously.

[0039] A method for loading a cargo box, which uses a handling robot to load the cargo box into a target cargo position on an inventory container. It is characterized in that the handling robot includes a mobile chassis, a vertical frame arranged on the mobile chassis, and a box-taking mechanism arranged on the frame. At least two sets of the box-taking mechanisms are arranged along the height direction of the frame. Each set of the box-taking mechanisms can horizontally extend and retract and vertically lift relative to the mobile chassis. The method for loading the cargo box includes the steps:

[0040] The control system assigns the task of loading the cargo box to the handling robot;

[0041] The control system plans the loading travel path according to the positions of the target cargo positions corresponding to all the cargo boxes in the cargo box loading task;

[0042] The handling robot runs to the front of each target cargo position of each cargo box in turn according to the loading travel path and places the cargo box into the target cargo position. And when there are several target cargo positions in the same vertical column of the same inventory container, the loading operations of several target cargo positions are carried out simultaneously.

[0043] As an optional technical solution of a method for loading a cargo box, the box-taking mechanism can extend and retract bidirectionally. And when the handling robot is loading the cargo box, if there are several target cargo positions in the inventory containers on the relative two sides of the handling robot and are located in the same vertical column and are staggeredly arranged in the height direction, the box-taking mechanisms corresponding to several target cargo positions carry out the cargo box loading operations simultaneously.

[0044] A warehousing logistics system includes the handling robot as described above.

[0045] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0046] The handling robot provided by the present invention, by arranging at least two box-taking mechanisms in the height direction of the frame, can enable the box-taking mechanisms at different heights to simultaneously pick up the cargo boxes on different layers of the inventory container, or can enable the cargo boxes carried by the box-taking mechanisms at different heights to be placed on different layers of the inventory container, improving the picking and placing efficiency of the handling robot for the cargo box, thereby improving the picking and handling efficiency of the handling robot for the cargo box, and further improving the cargo picking and warehousing logistics efficiency.

[0047] The box-taking method provided by the present invention, due to using the above-mentioned handling robot for box-taking operations, when multiple cargo boxes are in the same vertical column of the same inventory container, multiple box-taking mechanisms on the handling robot can carry out box-taking operations simultaneously, making the box-taking operation convenient and fast, improving the box-taking efficiency, and thus improving the goods picking and logistics efficiency.

[0048] The method for loading a cargo box provided by the present invention, since the above-mentioned handling robot is used for the operation of loading the cargo box, when the target cargo positions corresponding to multiple cargo boxes are in the same vertical column of the same storage container, multiple box-taking mechanisms on the handling robot can perform the operation of loading the cargo box simultaneously, making the operation of loading the cargo box convenient and fast, improving the efficiency of loading the cargo box, and thus improving the efficiency of loading, picking goods, and logistics.

[0049] The warehousing and logistics system provided by the present invention improves the warehousing and logistics system by using the above-mentioned handling robot to pick up and place the cargo box. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot for handling a cargo box provided by the prior art;

[0051] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the handling robot provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0052] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the box-taking mechanism provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0053] Figure 4 is Figure 3 a schematic structural diagram after removing the protective housing from the structure in;

[0054] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the box-taking mechanism provided in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0055] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram after removing the temporary storage board from the box-taking mechanism provided in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0056] Figure 7 is a flowchart of the box-taking method provided in Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0057] Figure 8 is a flowchart of the box-taking method provided in Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 9 is a flowchart of the method for loading a cargo box provided in Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

[0059] Among them, the reference numerals corresponding to the prior art in the attached Figure 1 are:

[0060] 100 - driving unit; 200 - cargo box storage unit; 220 - pallet; 300 - cargo box transfer unit; 310 - frame; 320 - lifting device; 330 - telescopic fork teeth; 340 - rotating device; 400 - cargo box;

[0061] The reference numerals corresponding to the specific embodiments Figure 2 - reference numerals Figure 6The accompanying drawings are labeled as follows:

[0062] 10 - Case - taking mechanism; 20 - Upright frame; 201 - Support column; 202 - Reinforcing cross - beam; 30 - Moving chassis; 40 - Cargo box;

[0063] 1 - Temporary storage plate; 11 - Temporary storage plate body; 12 - Guide part;

[0064] 2 - Telescopic assembly; 21 - Fixed plate; 22 - Connecting plate; 23 - Telescopic plate; 24 - Extension plate; 25 - Telescopic drive assembly; 251 - First pulley; 252 - First synchronous belt; 253 - Second pulley; 254 - Second synchronous belt; 255 - Third pulley; 256 - Third synchronous belt; 257 - Transmission rack; 26 - Telescopic drive component; 27 - Synchronous drive assembly; 271 - Transmission shaft; 272 - Fourth pulley; 273 - Fifth pulley; 274 - Fourth synchronous belt; 28 - Telescopic guide assembly; 281 - First guide groove; 282 - Second guide groove; 283 - First guide rail; 284 - Second guide rail;

[0065] 3 - Poking rod assembly; 31 - Poking rod; 32 - Poking rod drive part;

[0066] 4 - Baffle; 41 - Baffle body; 42 - Guide plate part;

[0067] 5 - First protective shell; 6 - Second protective shell; 7 - First connecting piece. Detailed implementation manners

[0068] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It can be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, rather than limiting the present invention. Additionally, it should be noted that for the sake of description, only parts related to the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, rather than all structures.

[0069] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined and limited, the terms "connected", "connected to", and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or integrated; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal communication of two components or the interaction relationship between two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above - mentioned terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0070] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the first feature being "above" or "below" the second feature may include the direct contact between the first and second features, or may include the situation where the first and second features are not in direct contact but in contact through other features therebetween. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "over" and "on top of" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than that of the second feature. The first feature being "below", "beneath" and "underneath" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or merely indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is lower than that of the second feature.

[0071] In the description of this embodiment, the orientation or positional relationships such as "above", "below", "right", etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of description and simplifying the operation, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for distinction in description and have no special meaning.

[0072] Embodiment 1

[0073] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the handling robot provided by the embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 2 shown, this embodiment provides a handling robot for realizing the handling and picking and placing of the cargo box 40. It is mainly applied to the warehousing and logistics industry to pick and place and transport the cargo box 40 storing order goods or express deliveries, so as to realize the order-based picking or loading operation. It can also be applied to other places where the cargo box 40 or goods need to be handled. The application of the handling robot in this embodiment is only exemplary, and this embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0074] As Figure 2 shown, the handling robot provided by this embodiment includes a mobile chassis 30, a vertical frame 20, a box picking mechanism 10, a detection component and a controller. Among them, the mobile chassis 30 is used to realize the movement of the handling robot on the ground to realize the transportation of the cargo box 40 by the handling robot; the vertical frame 20 is arranged on the mobile chassis 30 and is used to fix and support the box picking mechanism 10; at least two sets of box picking mechanisms 10 are arranged along the height direction of the vertical frame 20, and each set of box picking mechanisms 10 can horizontally extend and retract and vertically lift relative to the mobile chassis 30 to pick up the cargo box 40 on the storage container or place the cargo box 40 onto the storage container; the detection component is used to detect the working state of the handling robot and the external environment state; the controller is used to obtain the order information of the warehousing and logistics, and based on the order information and the detection results of the detection component, perform intelligent regulation on the operation of the handling robot.

[0075] The handling robot provided in this embodiment can pick up the cargo boxes 40 on different layers of the inventory container simultaneously by arranging at least two box-taking mechanisms 10 in the height direction of the vertical frame 20, or can place the cargo boxes 40 carried by the box-taking mechanisms 10 at different heights on different layers of the inventory container, improving the picking and placing efficiency of the handling robot for the cargo boxes 40, thereby improving the picking and handling efficiency of the handling robot for the cargo boxes 40, and further improving the cargo picking and warehousing logistics efficiency.

[0076] Specifically, the mobile chassis 30 includes a chassis body and a drive wheel mechanism arranged at the bottom of the chassis body. The drive wheel mechanism is used to realize the movement of the mobile chassis 30. The drive wheel mechanism can adopt the form of differential drive, specifically including a drive wheel motor, two drive wheels arranged at the bottom of the chassis body, and a connection component connecting the drive wheel motor and the two drive wheels, etc. The two drive wheels are respectively arranged on both sides of the chassis body, the drive wheel motor is arranged inside the chassis body, and its rotating output shaft is connected to the drive wheel and drives the drive wheel to move, realizing the linear or turning movement of the mobile chassis 30.

[0077] In this embodiment, the drive wheel mechanism is arranged on both sides of the middle of the mobile chassis 30, which is beneficial to improving the movement stability of the mobile chassis 30. A plurality of universal driven wheels can also be arranged on the chassis body. For example, a pair of universal driven wheels can be respectively arranged at the front and rear parts of the chassis body, and the two pairs of universal driven wheels are symmetrically arranged relative to a pair of drive wheels, which is beneficial to further improving the smooth movement of the mobile chassis 30, especially the turning movement stability of the mobile chassis 30, and preventing the mobile chassis 30 from tipping to one side during the movement process.

[0078] The drive wheel mechanism can also adopt other mechanisms that can drive the chassis body to move. This embodiment does not limit the specific form of the drive wheel mechanism, nor does it limit the specific structure of the mobile chassis 30. As long as the structure that can drive the vertical frame 20 to move can be used, such as the existing robot structure, etc.

[0079] The vertical frame 20 includes two support columns 201 that are vertically and relatively spaced apart. The box-taking mechanism 10 is arranged between the support columns 201 and is connected to the two support columns 201 through a lifting mechanism, so that the box-taking mechanism 10 can vertically lift relative to the vertical frame 201. An activity space for the vertical lifting of the supply box 40 and the box-taking mechanism 10 is formed between the two support columns 201.

[0080] In this embodiment, no temporary storage partition is provided on the vertical frame 20, and a temporary storage position for temporarily storing the cargo box 40 is provided on the box picking mechanism 10. After the cargo box 40 is picked up by the box picking mechanism 10, it is held on the box picking mechanism 10, enabling the box picking mechanism 10 to drive the cargo box 40 to move vertically up and down, so that the cargo box 40 can be lowered to a height suitable for pickers to perform picking during the picking process, improving work efficiency, enabling the handling robot to better apply to the picking and placing of the cargo box 40 on inventory containers with a higher number of layers, improving the picking efficiency of the cargo box 40 and the applicability of the handling robot, and providing great convenience for the picking operation of pickers; at the same time, since each box picking mechanism 10 can move vertically up and down, the distance between two adjacent cargo boxes 40 during cargo picking can be increased, enlarging the picking space and facilitating operation; furthermore, since no temporary storage partition is provided on the vertical frame 20, structural interference between the box picking mechanism 10 and the temporary storage partition during the operation of the box picking mechanism 10 can be avoided, improving the convenience of setting the box picking mechanism 10, simplifying the overall structure of the handling robot, and simplifying the control complexity of the box picking mechanism 10.

[0081] In one embodiment, each support column 201 includes a vertically arranged support vertical plate and vertically arranged support columns located on opposite sides of the support vertical plate. The support vertical plates of the two support columns 201 are parallel and spaced apart, and the two support columns are located inside the support vertical plate, and the two support columns and the support vertical plate form a U-shaped structure with an opening facing the other support column 201. This kind of setting can protect the structure arranged in the U-shaped groove of the U-shaped structure.

[0082] Furthermore, the support vertical plate is in a plate state, and the support column is formed by processing square steel, improving the overall structural strength of the vertical frame 20 and facilitating the connection between the box picking mechanism 10 and the support column. In one embodiment, in order to improve the structural strength of the vertical frame 20, a reinforcing rib is connected between two adjacent support columns. Optionally, a reinforcing cross beam 202 is provided at the top of the two support columns 201 to avoid problems such as end shaking caused by the relatively high height of the support column 201.

[0083] The overall structure of the vertical frame 20 provided in this embodiment is simple and convenient to process. In other embodiments, two or more support columns 201 can be arranged at intervals along the telescopic direction of the box picking mechanism 10 on each side of the box picking mechanism 10, and the structure of the vertical frame 20 in this embodiment is not overly limited.

[0084] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the box picking mechanism 10 provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, Figure 4 is Figure 3 the structural schematic diagram after removing the protective housing from the structure in Figure 3 and 4As shown in the figure, each box picking mechanism 10 includes a temporary storage plate 1, a telescopic component 2, and a lever component 3. The temporary storage plate 1 is used to temporarily store the cargo box 40 picked up by the box picking mechanism 10; the lever component 3 is used to toggle the cargo box 40 so that the cargo box 40 moves between the temporary storage plate 1 and the storage container; the telescopic component 2 is connected to the temporary storage plate 1 and the lever component 3 and is used to drive the lever component 3 to horizontally extend and retract relative to the temporary storage plate 1.

[0085] By providing the temporary storage plate 1, the cargo box 40 can be buffered on the temporary storage plate 1, avoiding the lever component 3 or the telescopic component 2 from always supporting or carrying the cargo box 40 during the process of the handling robot handling the cargo box 40, improving the service life of the box picking mechanism 10, and improving the setting stability of the cargo box 40 on the box picking mechanism 10.

[0086] In other embodiments, the temporary storage plate 1 and the lever component 3 may not be provided, but instead, a pair of clamping arms are provided on the telescopic component 2 to clamp and pick up the cargo box 40, and during the process of the handling robot handling the cargo box 40, the clamping arms always maintain the clamping and supporting of the cargo box 40. For the clamping process of the clamping arms on the cargo box 40 and the specific structure of the clamping arms, reference can be made to Patent CN209536130U, and details will not be elaborated here.

[0087] A set of telescopic components 2 are provided on both opposite sides of the temporary storage plate 1. In this embodiment, the telescopic component 2 is a two-stage synchronous telescopic structure, which is beneficial to increasing the maximum extended length of the telescopic component 2 while reducing the size when the telescopic component 2 retracts, thereby reducing the overall size of the handling robot and improving the extending or retracting efficiency of the lever component 3. Specifically, the telescopic component 2 includes a fixed plate 21, a connecting plate 22, and a telescopic plate 23 arranged in parallel, and a telescopic transmission component 25 and a telescopic driving component 26 for driving the connecting plate 22 and the telescopic plate 23 to synchronously extend and retract. Among them, the fixed plate 21 is vertically connected to the temporary storage plate 1.

[0088] The telescopic transmission component 25 includes a first telescopic transmission component for realizing the horizontal telescopic movement of the connecting plate 22 relative to the fixed plate 21 and a second telescopic transmission component for realizing the horizontal telescopic movement of the telescopic plate 23 relative to the connecting plate 22.

[0089] As Figure 4 shown, the first telescopic transmission component includes two first belt pulleys 251 arranged at both ends of the fixed plate 21 and a first synchronous belt 252 wound around the two first belt pulleys 251. The central axes of the two first belt pulleys 251 are at the same height, and one of the first belt pulleys 251 is connected to the output shaft of the driving motor in the telescopic driving component 26. The rotation of the output shaft of the driving motor drives the first belt pulley 251 to rotate, thereby driving the first synchronous belt 252 to rotate.

[0090] The connecting plate 22 is located below the first synchronous belt 252, and a transmission rack 257 is arranged along the length direction of the upper side edge of the connecting plate 22. The first synchronous belt 252 is a double-sided tooth synchronous belt, and the outer teeth of the double-sided tooth synchronous belt are meshed with the transmission rack 257, so that the first synchronous belt 252 drives the connecting plate 22 to horizontally expand and contract.

[0091] The second telescopic transmission assembly includes a second synchronous belt 254 and a second pulley 253. The second pulley 253 is pivotally connected to the second end of the connecting plate 22 and penetrates through the opposite sides of the connecting plate 22. The rotating shaft of the second pulley 253 is vertically arranged. One end of the second synchronous belt 254 is fixed to the first end of the telescopic plate 23, and the other end of the second synchronous belt 254 bypasses the second pulley 253 and passes through the connecting plate 22 and is fixed near the first end of the fixed plate 21. When the telescopic assembly 2 is in the contracted state, the first ends of the connecting plate 22, the telescopic plate 23 and the fixed plate 21 are arranged opposite to each other. Taking the Figure 5 direction shown as an example, the first ends of the connecting plate 22, the telescopic plate 23 and the fixed plate 21 are the ends located on the lower side.

[0092] When the connecting plate 22 retracts relative to the fixed plate 21, since the second synchronous belt 254 bypasses the second pulley 253 arranged on the connecting plate 22 and the length of the second synchronous belt 254 is fixed, while the second pulley 253 moves translationally with the connecting plate 22, the second pulley 253 rotates relative to the second synchronous belt 254, driving the length of the second synchronous belt 254 on the side of the connecting plate 22 facing the fixed plate 21 to increase and the length on the side of the connecting plate 22 facing the telescopic plate 23 to decrease, thereby pulling the telescopic plate 23 to retract relative to the connecting plate 22. Similarly, when the connecting plate 22 extends relative to the fixed plate 21, the second synchronous belt 254 and the second pulley 253 drive the telescopic plate 23 to extend relative to the connecting plate 22. Thus, when the telescopic drive assembly 26 drives the first telescopic transmission assembly to perform telescopic movement, it synchronously drives the telescopic plate 23 to expand and contract relative to the connecting plate 22, that is, realizes the two-stage synchronous telescopic adjustment of the telescopic adjustment assembly.

[0093] Further, the telescopic transmission assembly further includes a third telescopic transmission assembly. The third telescopic transmission assembly includes a third synchronous belt 256 and a third pulley 255. The third pulley 255 is pivotally connected to the first end of the connecting plate 22 and penetrates through the opposite sides of the connecting plate 22. The rotating shaft of the third pulley 255 is vertically arranged. One end of the third synchronous belt 256 is fixed to the second end of the fixed plate 21, and the other end of the third synchronous belt 256 bypasses the third pulley 255 and passes through the connecting plate 22 and is fixedly connected to the second end of the telescopic plate 23. The working principle of the third telescopic transmission assembly can refer to the action principle of the second telescopic transmission assembly, and will not be elaborated here.

[0094] In this embodiment, in order to improve the smoothness of the telescopic movement of the telescopic assembly 2, the telescopic assembly 2 further includes a telescopic guiding assembly 28. The telescopic guiding assembly 28 includes a first guiding groove 281 respectively arranged on the inner side of the fixed plate 21, a second guiding groove 282 arranged on the inner side of the connecting plate 22, a first guiding rail 283 arranged on the outer side of the connecting plate 22, and a second guiding rail 284 arranged on the outer side of the telescopic plate 23. The first guiding rail 283 is slidably connected with the first guiding groove 281, and the second guiding rail 284 is slidably connected with the second guiding groove 282. However, the structure of the telescopic guiding assembly 28 in this embodiment is not limited to this. As long as it can realize the telescopic guiding of the connecting plate 22 relative to the fixed plate 21 and the telescopic guiding of the telescopic plate 23 relative to the connecting plate 22, this embodiment will not elaborate on it in detail.

[0095] In this embodiment, in order to improve the telescopic synchronization of the two sets of telescopic assemblies 2 on the opposite sides of the temporary storage plate 1, the two sets of telescopic assemblies 2 share a telescopic driving assembly 26, and the two corresponding first belt pulleys 251 in the two sets of telescopic assemblies 2 are connected by a synchronous transmission assembly 27. Specifically, the synchronous transmission assembly 27 includes a fourth belt pulley 272 coaxially connected with the first belt pulley 251, a transmission shaft 271 spanning between the two telescopic assemblies 2, fifth belt pulleys 273 sleeved on both ends of the transmission shaft 271, and a fourth synchronous belt 274 wound around the corresponding fourth belt pulley 272 and fifth belt pulley 273. In other embodiments, the synchronous rotation between the two first belt pulleys 251 can be realized by other transmission structures, such as a sprocket and chain structure, etc., and will not be elaborated here.

[0096] The telescopic assembly 2 provided in this embodiment can realize the two-way telescoping of the telescopic plate 23 by controlling the forward and reverse rotation of the driving motor, so as to be able to pick up and place the boxes 40 on the storage containers on the opposite sides of the handling robot. Moreover, it adopts the transmission form of a synchronous belt, with a simple structure, convenient setting, and low cost. However, it can be understood that the structure of the telescopic assembly 2 provided in this embodiment is only an exemplary structure. The telescopic assembly 2 is not limited to the above structure. The telescopic assembly 2 can also adopt existing structures that can realize secondary synchronous telescoping, such as the first telescopic transmission assembly can be a gear and rack transmission, a chain and sprocket transmission, etc., or the telescopic assembly can also adopt existing structures that can realize secondary step-by-step telescoping. The present invention will not elaborate on them one by one.

[0097] To protect the box-taking mechanism 10, a first protective shell 5 is provided on the upper side of the fixed plate 21. A first accommodating space is formed between the first protective shell 5 and the fixed plate 21, and the first telescopic transmission assembly is located in the first accommodating space for protecting the first telescopic transmission assembly. Further, second protective shells 6 are provided on the outer sides of both ends of the fixed plate 21. A second accommodating space is formed between the second protective shells 6 and the outer side surface of the fixed plate 21. The telescopic transmission assembly 25 is located in one of the second accommodating spaces at one end, and the fourth synchronous belt 274, the fourth pulley 272 and the fifth pulley 273 are located in the second accommodating space at the other end.

[0098] The temporary storage plate 1 and the fixed plates 21 on its opposite sides enclose a temporary storage position for accommodating the cargo box 40. To avoid interference between the cargo box 40 and the telescopic assembly 2 during the process of the cargo box 40 entering the temporary storage position, optionally, baffles 4 are provided on the opposite sides of the temporary storage plate 1 corresponding to the telescopic assembly 2. The baffles 4 are located inside the telescopic assembly 2 and extend along the telescopic direction of the telescopic assembly 2. The distance between the two baffles 4 is slightly larger than the width of the cargo box 40, so that the cargo box 40 can be accommodated between the two baffles 4, and at the same time, the baffles 4 can prevent the cargo box 40 from colliding with the telescopic assembly 2.

[0099] Further, the baffle 4 includes a baffle main body 41 and guide plate portions 42 provided at both ends of the baffle main body 41. One end of the guide plate portion 42 is connected to the baffle 4, and the other end extends obliquely from the direction away from the baffle main body 41 towards the direction close to the fixed plate 21, so that the two baffle main bodies 41 at the same end of the temporary storage plate 1 form a structure with an outward flared opening to guide the cargo box 40 into the temporary storage position.

[0100] Further, guide portions 12 are provided at the inlet ends of both ends of the temporary storage plate 1. One end of the guide portion 12 is connected to the temporary storage plate main body 11, and the other end of the guide portion 12 extends obliquely downward from the direction away from the temporary storage plate main body 11 to further guide the cargo box 40 to be transferred onto the temporary storage plate 1.

[0101] The lever assembly 3 is provided at the end of the telescopic plate 23 and includes a lever 31 and a lever driving member 32. The fixed end of the lever driving member 32 is fixed to the telescopic plate 23, and the driving end of the lever driving member 32 is connected to the lever 31 to drive the lever 31 to switch between a working position where the cargo box 40 can be toggled and an idle position where the cargo box 40 cannot be toggled. Optionally, the lever driving member 32 is a driving motor. The output shaft of the driving motor is in the same direction as the length direction of the telescopic plate 23, and the output shaft of the driving motor is connected to one end of the lever 31 to drive the lever 31 to rotate in the vertical plane.

[0102] Further, when the lever 31 is in the working position, one end of the lever 31 extends between the two telescopic plates 23, and the lever 31 is perpendicular to the telescopic plates 23. When the lever 31 is in the idle position, the lever 31 is vertically arranged to prevent the lever 31 from colliding with other structures when it is not working. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the working position and the limiting position of the lever 31 can be set according to requirements. Moreover, the lever 31 can not only rotate in the vertical plane, but also rotate in the horizontal plane to realize the switching between the working position and the idle position.

[0103] In this embodiment, the lever driving member 32 is a servo motor, which can precisely control the rotation angle of the lever 31 through the feedback mechanism and angle setting of the servo motor, and has a small volume, which is beneficial to the installation and setting of the lever driving assembly 34. In other embodiments, the driving motor can also be other driving forms such as a servo motor that can control the rotation angle.

[0104] The telescopic plates 23 are provided with lever assemblies 3 at both ends along their length directions. When the cargo box 40 is located on the temporary storage plate 1, the two sets of lever assemblies 3 on the same telescopic plate 23 are respectively located on the opposite sides of the cargo box 40, so as to better realize the movement of the cargo box 40 between the temporary storage position and the storage container, and at the same time, be able to carry the cargo box 40 on the storage containers on the opposite sides of the handling robot.

[0105] For example Figure 3 taking the orientation shown in as an example, the lever assembly 3 located on the left is called the first lever assembly, and the lever assembly 3 located on the right is called the second lever assembly. There are the following several situations for the picking and placing of the cargo box 40:

[0106] When it is necessary to pick up the cargo box 40 on the left side of the handling robot, the telescopic assembly 2 controls the telescopic plate 23 to extend leftward until the two telescopic plates 23 are located on the opposite sides of the cargo box 40. The lever driving member 32 of the first lever assembly controls the lever 31 to rotate from the idle position to the working position. The telescopic assembly 2 drives the lever 31 to retract rightward. At the same time, the lever 31 contacts one side of the cargo box 40 and drives the cargo box 40 to move onto the temporary storage plate 1. When the telescopic plate 23 retracts to the initial position, the lever driving member 32 of the first lever assembly controls the lever 31 to return from the working position to the idle position.

[0107] When it is necessary to transfer the cargo box 40 from the temporary storage plate 1 to the storage container on the left side of the handling robot, the lever driving member 32 of the second lever assembly controls the lever 31 to rotate from the idle position to the working position. The telescopic assembly 2 controls the telescopic plate 23 to extend, so that the lever 31 of the second lever assembly drives the cargo box 40 to move onto the storage container; when the telescopic plate 23 has the maximum extended length, the lever driving member 32 of the second lever assembly controls the lever 31 to rotate from the working position to the idle position, and the telescopic assembly 2 controls the telescopic plate 23 to retract to the initial position.

[0108] When it is necessary to pick up the target cargo box 40 on the right side of the handling robot, the second lever assembly is used to move the cargo box 40 on the storage container to the temporary storage board 1; when it is necessary to transfer the cargo box 40 on the temporary storage board 1 to the storage container on the right side of the handling robot, the first lever assembly is used to move the cargo box 40 on the temporary storage board 1 to the storage container, which will not be elaborated here one by one.

[0109] In this embodiment, each lever 31 is correspondingly provided with a lever driving member 32 to realize the individual control of each lever driving member 32 over the lever 31. In other embodiments, it is also possible that the levers 31 located at both ends of the same telescopic plate 23 are driven by the same lever driving member 32. And in this embodiment, one lever 31 is provided at one end of each telescopic plate 23. In other embodiments, two or more levers 31 may also be arranged at intervals along the height direction of the end of the telescopic plate 23.

[0110] To realize the vertical lifting of the box picking mechanism 10 on the vertical frame 20, a lifting mechanism is correspondingly provided for each set of box picking mechanisms 10. In the present invention, the lifting assembly can be, but is not limited to, gear-rack transmission, sprocket-chain transmission, synchronous belt transmission, lead screw-nut transmission, link drive, and friction roller drive, etc. The above transmission forms are all relatively conventional lifting transmission forms in the prior art. The present invention does not specifically limit the specific transmission form and structure of the lifting assembly. It is only necessary to refer to the structure of any lifting assembly in the prior art that can realize the lifting movement of the lever assembly 3 and the temporary storage board 1.

[0111] In this embodiment, a lifting mechanism is respectively arranged on the opposite sides of the temporary storage board 1 to improve the lifting stability of the temporary storage board 1. The two lifting mechanisms of the same box picking mechanism 10 can be synchronously driven by the same lifting drive unit or can be separately driven by two lifting drive units. This embodiment does not make specific limitations on this.

[0112] In this embodiment, the handling robot is also provided with a control system for controlling the operation of each action of the handling robot. The control system includes a controller, an order management module, a navigation module, an information transmission module, an information processing module, an identification module, a display module, an alarm module, a power supply module, etc. The drive wheel mechanism, the lifting drive unit, the telescopic drive assembly 26, the lever driving member 32, the detection component, and various modules in the control system are all connected to the controller.

[0113] The navigation module is used to realize the autonomous navigation function of the mobile chassis 30, so that the handling robot can perform the optimal path planning according to the position of the cargo box 40 and automatically navigate to the front of the storage container where the cargo box 40 is located according to the optimal planned path. The navigation method of the mobile chassis 30 can be two-dimensional code, bar code, and radar SLAM navigation, or the mobile chassis 30 can also be guided to run to the target position through traditional electric or magnetic guiding methods.

[0114] The information transmission module includes a wireless communication module for realizing the communication between the handling robot and the outside, and a wired communication module for realizing the internal communication of the handling robot. The wireless communication module is mainly used for wireless communication with the order management center in the warehousing and logistics system to receive order information, so as to realize the scheduling of the handling robot by the order management center. The wired communication module is mainly used for the internal communication between the controller and the mobile chassis 30, the lifting drive unit, the telescopic component 2 and the lever component 3, so as to control the mobile chassis 30 to move to a specific position, the lever component 3 to rise or fall to a specific position, the lever component 3 to extend or retract, or the lever to rotate to a specific angle, so as to realize the accurate acquisition and placement of the box picking mechanism 10 on the cargo box 40.

[0115] The order management module is used to receive the information sent by the order processing center to the handling robot, and timely update the completed orders and uncompleted orders according to the handling operations of the handling robot, so as to facilitate the system to monitor the order completion situation in real time. The recognition module is used to recognize external information and convert it into a form that the controller can process, such as recognizing the bar code information pasted on the bottom surface for realizing the path navigation of the mobile chassis 30, recognizing the label code information pasted on the inventory container to obtain the placement situation of the cargo box 40 on the inventory container, or recognizing the label code information on the cargo box 40 to obtain the information of the goods in the cargo box 40, where the label code information can be two-dimensional code, bar code or RFID radio frequency code, etc. The power supply module is used to control the power of the mobile chassis 30, and it includes a charging battery, a charging port and a power on / off circuit arranged on the mobile chassis 30. The power supply module can be a wired charging module or a wireless charging module. The display module is used to display the running state of the handling robot, such as displaying the power status of the handling robot by setting status indicator lights, and displaying the order processing status by setting a display screen, etc. The alarm module is used to alarm the abnormal running state of the handling robot to facilitate the staff to discover the fault in time. The alarm module can be a combination of one or more of a buzzer, a voice announcer and an LED display, etc.

[0116] The detection component includes an environment monitoring module for photographing external environment information and an obstacle avoidance sensor for detecting obstacles. Both the environment detection module and the obstacle avoidance sensor are connected to the controller and are used to assist the mobile chassis 30 in navigation and obstacle avoidance to realize the smooth walking of the handling robot.

[0117] The detection assembly further includes a first detection sensor disposed at the middle of the inlet end of the staging board 1 for detecting and identifying the label information on the inventory container; a second detection sensor disposed on both sides of the staging board 1 for identifying the label information on the cargo box 40; and a third detection sensor disposed on the telescopic board 23 for detecting whether there is a cargo box 40 at the position where the cargo box 40 is located. Among them, the first detection sensor and the second detection sensor can be RFID tag readers or two-dimensional code readers, and the third detection sensor can be a transmissive photoelectric sensor. The first detection sensor, the second detection sensor, and the third detection sensor are conventional settings in the art, and will not be elaborated in this embodiment.

[0118] Embodiment 2

[0119] This embodiment provides a handling robot. Compared with Embodiment 1, the handling robot provided in this embodiment also includes a mobile chassis 30, a vertical frame 20 disposed on the mobile chassis 30, at least two box-taking mechanisms 10 disposed along the height direction of the vertical frame 20, and a lifting mechanism for driving the box-taking mechanism 10 to vertically lift relative to the vertical frame 20. Each box-taking mechanism 10 includes a telescopic assembly 2, a staging board 1, and a lever assembly 3. The difference is that the structure of the telescopic assembly 2 provided in this embodiment is different from that in Embodiment 1. Only the structure of the telescopic assembly 2 will be elaborated in this embodiment, and the same structures as those in Embodiment 1 will not be elaborated.

[0120] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the box-taking mechanism 10 provided by an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of the box-taking mechanism 10 provided by an embodiment of the present invention after removing the staging board 1, as Figure 5 and 6 shown. In this embodiment, the telescopic assembly 2 is a three-stage synchronous telescopic structure, which can increase the extended length of the telescopic board 23 and realize the picking of the cargo box 40 located inside the double-deep inventory container.

[0121] In this embodiment, the double-deep inventory refers to that two storage positions are arranged side by side along the depth direction (the telescopic direction of the telescopic assembly) of the inventory container. In the warehouse management of the warehousing and logistics system, in order to improve the space utilization rate of the warehouse, usually for each inventory container, there is an inventory container adjacent to one side, and another inventory container is arranged at an interval on the other side, and a passage for the handling robot to pass through is formed between the two inventory containers arranged at an interval.

[0122] Under this setting, in the double-deep storage position, the cargo box 40 in the inner storage position needs to be toggled by the lever assembly 3 after the extended board of the telescopic assembly 2 crosses the outer storage position. Therefore, in order to pick up the cargo box 40 in the inner storage position of the double-deep storage position, it is necessary to increase the maximum extended length of the telescopic assembly 2.

[0123] Specifically, the telescopic assembly 2 includes a fixed plate 21, a connecting plate 22, an extension plate 24, and a telescopic plate 23 arranged in sequence from outside to inside, and further includes a telescopic transmission assembly 25 and a telescopic drive assembly 26 for synchronously telescoping the connecting plate 22, the fixed plate 21, and the telescopic plate 23. Among them, the telescopic drive assembly 26 includes a drive motor, and the telescopic transmission assembly 25 includes a first telescopic transmission assembly for horizontally telescoping the connecting plate 22 relative to the fixed plate 21, a second telescopic transmission assembly for horizontally telescoping the extension plate 24 relative to the connecting plate 22, and a third telescopic transmission assembly for horizontally telescoping the telescopic plate 23 relative to the extension plate 24.

[0124] The first telescopic transmission assembly includes first pulleys 251 arranged at both ends in the length direction of the fixed plate 21 and a first synchronous belt 252 wound around the two first pulleys 251. The central axes of the two first pulleys 251 are at the same height, and one of the two first pulleys 251 is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor. The first end of the connecting plate 22 is detachably connected to the first synchronous belt 252 through a first connecting member 7.

[0125] That is, when the drive motor drives one of the first pulleys 251 to rotate, the first pulley 251 drives the first synchronous belt 252 to rotate. Since the portion of the first synchronous belt 252 between the two first pulleys 251 is horizontally arranged and connected to the connecting plate 22, the connecting plate 22 moves with the first synchronous belt 252, realizing the horizontal telescoping of the connecting plate 22 relative to the fixed plate 21.

[0126] The second telescopic transmission assembly includes second pulleys 253 arranged at both ends of the telescopic plate 23 and a second synchronous belt 254 wound around the two second pulleys 253. The centers of the two second pulleys 253 are at the same height, and the second synchronous belt 254 is connected to the extension plate 24 through a second connecting member.

[0127] The third telescopic transmission assembly includes third pulleys 255 arranged at both ends in the length direction of the extension plate 24 and a third synchronous belt 256 wound around the third pulleys 255. The centers of the two third pulleys 255 are at the same height, and the telescopic plate 23 is connected to the third synchronous belt 256 through a third connecting member.

[0128] Adopting the setting of three synchronous belt drive structures can achieve the horizontal expansion and contraction of the connecting plate 22, the extension plate 24 and the telescopic plate 23. The structure is simple and the cost is relatively low. And when the telescopic assembly 2 is in the contracted state, i.e., the initial state, the first connecting piece 7 is near the first end of the fixed plate 21, the second connecting piece is near the first end of the connecting plate 22, the third connecting piece is near the first end of the extension plate 24, and the first ends of the fixed plate 21, the connecting plate 22, the extension plate 24 and the telescopic plate 23 are arranged oppositely; when the telescopic assembly 2 is in the maximum extended state, the first connecting piece 7 is near the second end of the fixed plate 21, the second connecting piece is near the second end of the connecting plate 22, and the third connecting piece is near the second end of the extension plate 24. That is, the expansion and contraction stroke of the connecting plate 22, the extension plate 24 and the telescopic plate 23 is less than the distance between the belt pulleys at both ends of the connected synchronous belt.

[0129] The telescopic assembly 2 provided by the present invention has a simple structure and is convenient to set, and can realize the two-way expansion and contraction of the telescopic assembly 2 to synchronously pick up the boxes 40 in the inventory containers on the opposite sides of the handling robot. It can be understood that the present invention is not limited to adopting the above telescopic assembly 2 to realize three-stage expansion and contraction. In other embodiments, other three-stage synchronous expansion and contraction structures in the prior art can also be used to realize the synchronous expansion and contraction of the extension plate 24, the connecting plate 22 and the telescopic plate 23, or a structure in which the connecting plate 22 and the extension part are expanded and contracted in stages with the telescopic plate 23 can be used to realize the maximum extension of the telescopic plate 23.

[0130] In this embodiment, when the telescopic plate 23 is in the maximum extended state, the total length of the telescopic assembly 2 is greater than the sum of the lengths of the three boxes 40, so that the telescopic plate 23 can cross a front-side position in the double-deep storage location and pick up the box 40 in the rear-side position.

[0131] In this embodiment, telescopic assemblies 2 are arranged on both opposite sides of the temporary storage plate 1. The two telescopic assemblies 2 are synchronously driven by the same telescopic drive assembly 26, and the telescopic drive assembly 26 drives the first belt pulleys 251 in the two telescopic assemblies 2 respectively through the synchronous transmission assembly 27.

[0132] Specifically, the synchronous transmission assembly 27 includes a fourth belt pulley 272 sleeved on the output shaft of the driving motor, a transmission shaft 271 with two first belt pulleys 251 of the two telescopic assemblies 2 sleeved at both ends respectively, a fifth belt pulley 273 sleeved on the transmission shaft 271, and a fourth synchronous belt 274 wound around the fourth belt pulley 272 and the fifth belt pulley 273.

[0133] However, this embodiment is not limited to the above structural form of the synchronous transmission assembly, and other structural forms that can realize the synchronous rotation of the two first belt pulleys 251 can also be adopted. This embodiment will not give examples one by one.

[0134] It can be understood that the handling robot provided in this embodiment can not only be applicable to the picking and placing of the cargo box 40 in the double-deep inventory container, but also be applicable to the picking and placing of the triple-deep and quadruple-deep inventory containers. For the double-deep and quadruple-deep inventory containers, when placed in the warehouse, every two adjacent inventory containers are spaced apart to form a passage for the handling robot to pass through between the two inventory containers.

[0135] This embodiment also provides a warehousing and logistics system, including the above-mentioned handling robot.

[0136] Embodiment III

[0137] Figure 7 is a flowchart of the box-taking method provided by the embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 7 shown, this embodiment provides a box-taking method, which uses the handling robot provided in Embodiment I to pick up the target cargo box 40 on the inventory container to implement the order picking task.

[0138] In this embodiment, the height of the inventory container is basically the same as the height of the handling robot, so that the handling robot can pick up the cargo box 40 on each layer of the inventory container. And the height of each box-taking mechanism 10 is less than or equal to the height of the cargo box 40, so as to avoid interference of the box-taking operation of the box-taking mechanism 10 on the adjacent box-taking mechanism 10 when the two box-taking mechanisms 10 pick up the cargo boxes 40 on the adjacent two layers of cargo positions respectively.

[0139] Specifically, the box-taking method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0140] Step S301, the control system assigns a box-taking task to the handling robot;

[0141] Assume that the number of target cargo boxes 40 included in the box-taking task assigned to the handling robot by the order management system is N, and the number of box-taking mechanisms 10 on the handling robot is M. The assignment of the box-taking task follows the following principles:

[0142] (1) N≤M;

[0143] (2) The N target cargo boxes 40 are located on different layers of the inventory container, or there are n1 target cargo boxes 40 located on the Fn1 layer of the inventory container, and n1≤Fn1 - sum(F<Fn1), and n1≤Fmax - Fn1 - sum(F>Fn1)+1, where sum(F<Fn1) refers to the sum of the quantities of all target cargo boxes 40 with floor heights less than Fn1, and sum(F>Fn1) refers to the sum of the quantities of all target cargo boxes 40 with floor heights greater than Fn1.

[0144] An example of the above allocation principle is as follows: When there are two box - picking mechanisms 10 on the handling robot, two boxes 40 cannot be allocated to the same handling robot at the topmost and bottommost layers of the inventory container; When the handling robot has three forks, two boxes 40 cannot be simultaneously allocated to the same handling robot at the topmost and bottommost layers of the inventory container, and when there are no allocated boxes 40 at the topmost and bottommost layers, three boxes 40 cannot be allocated to the same handling robot at the second layer and the second - topmost layer. If there are boxes 40 allocated at both the topmost and the second - topmost layers, two boxes 40 cannot be simultaneously allocated to the same handling robot at the second - topmost layer.

[0145] In this embodiment, during one handling process of the handling robot, the boxes 40 picked up by multiple box - picking mechanisms 10 are preferably the target boxes 40 corresponding to the same order, or can also be the target boxes 40 in different orders.

[0146] Further, in the box - picking task, at least two target boxes 40 are located in the same vertical column of the same inventory container, so that multiple box - picking mechanisms 10 can simultaneously perform box - picking operations on the target boxes 40 to improve the box - picking efficiency.

[0147] Step S302: The control system plans the optimal box - picking travel path according to the positions of all target boxes 40 in the box - picking task;

[0148] The optimal box - picking travel path is preferably the shortest travel path among all feasible paths to improve the box - picking efficiency.

[0149] Step S303: The control system allocates the box - picking mechanism 10 for box - picking to each target box 40 according to the sorting of the floor levels where all target boxes 40 are located;

[0150] When the floor levels of all target boxes 40 are different, the box - picking mechanism 10 is allocated according to the sorting of the floor levels of the target boxes 40. If the sorting of the floor level of the target box 40 from low to high among all target boxes 40 is Kh, and the sorting of the height of the box - picking mechanism 10 used to pick up this target box 40 from low to high among all box - picking mechanisms 10 is Kq, then Kh ≤ Kq, and N - Kn ≤ M - Kq.

[0151] In one embodiment, Kh = Kq, that is, the sorting serial number of the floor level of the target box 40 among all target boxes 40 is consistent with the height sorting of the box - picking mechanism 10 corresponding to this target box 40. For example, if three target boxes 40 are located on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors respectively, and the handling robot has three box - picking mechanisms 10, then the box - picking mechanism 10 at the lowest layer is used to pick up the target box 40 on the first floor, the box - picking mechanism 10 in the middle layer is used to pick up the target box 40 on the second floor, and the box - picking mechanism 10 at the highest layer is used to pick up the target box 40 on the third floor.

[0152] When there are n1 cargo boxes 40 located on the same layer of the inventory container, since the n1 cargo boxes 40 have the same layer height, when performing layer height sorting, first, based on the layer height sorting of the layer heights of the n1 cargo boxes 40 among the layer heights of all the cargo boxes 40, allocate n1 box picking mechanisms 10 respectively for picking up the n1 cargo boxes 40, and for the n1 cargo boxes 40, any one of the n1 box picking mechanisms 10 can be used to pick up the cargo boxes 40 among them.

[0153] For example, if there are four target cargo boxes 40 to be picked up, where the A1 cargo box 40 is located on the first layer, the A2 and A3 cargo boxes 40 are located on the third layer, and the A4 cargo box 40 is located on the fifth layer, if there are four box picking mechanisms 10, and the five box picking mechanisms 10 are B1, B2, B3, and B4 from low to high respectively, then use the B1 box picking mechanism 10 to pick up the A1 cargo box 40, the B2 and B3 box picking mechanisms 10 to pick up the A2 and A3 cargo boxes 40, the B4 box picking mechanism 10 to pick up the A4 cargo box 40, and one of the B2 and B3 box picking mechanisms 10 picks up any one of the A2 and A3 cargo boxes 40, and the other picks up the remaining cargo box among the A2 and A3.

[0154] Step S304: The handling robot runs in front of each target cargo box 40 in sequence according to the optimal travel path and picks up the target cargo box 40 using the allocated box picking mechanism 10. Among them, when several target cargo boxes 40 are located in the same vertical column of the inventory container, several box picking mechanisms 10 corresponding to the several target cargo boxes 40 perform the picking operation simultaneously.

[0155] The picking operation of the box picking mechanism 10 on the target cargo box 40 includes the following steps:

[0156] Step S3041: The box picking mechanism 10 lifts to directly in front of the corresponding target cargo box 40;

[0157] Step S3042: The controller controls the telescopic component 2 to extend until the two telescopic plates 23 are located on both sides of the target cargo box 40;

[0158] Step S3043: The controller controls the lever driving part 32 of the lever component 3 located at the front end of the telescopic plate 23 to act, so that the lever 31 rotates to the working position;

[0159] Step S3044: The controller controls the telescopic component 2 to retract. During this process, the lever 31 contacts the target cargo box 40 and drives the target cargo box 40 to move from the cargo position of the inventory container to the temporary storage position of the temporary storage plate 1;

[0160] Step S3045: The controller controls the lever driving part 32 of the lever component 3 located at the front end of the telescopic plate 23 to act, so that the lever 31 rotates to the idle position.

[0161] Step S305: After the handling robot picks up all the target containers 40, it runs to the picking point;

[0162] Step S306: The box picking mechanism 10 is successively lifted to the height position suitable for the picking staff to pick.

[0163] In the box picking method provided in this embodiment, since the handling robot in Embodiment 1 is used for box picking operation, when multiple containers 40 are located in the same vertical column of the same storage container, multiple box picking mechanisms 10 on the handling robot can perform box picking operations simultaneously, making the box picking operation convenient and fast, improving the box picking efficiency, and thus improving the goods picking and logistics efficiency.

[0164] Embodiment 4

[0165] Figure 8 is a flowchart of the box picking method provided by the embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 8 shown, this embodiment provides a box picking method based on a handling robot, which uses the handling robot provided in Embodiment 2 to pick up the target containers 40 on the storage container. The box picking method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0166] Step S401: The control system assigns a box picking task to the handling robot;

[0167] Step S402: Determine whether there is an internal container 40 in the box picking task. If so, execute Step S403; if not, execute Step S406;

[0168] Step S403: Determine whether the number n2 of the target containers 40 with the floor height label Fn2 where the internal container 40 is located satisfies n2 ≤ Fn2 - sum(F < Fn2) - 1 and n2 ≤ Fmax - Fn2 - sum(F > Fn2) + 1. If so, execute Step S404; if not, execute Step S405;

[0169] Step S404: Use the outer container 40 corresponding to the internal container 40 as an additional target container 40 for the box picking task;

[0170] Step S405: Use the outer container 40 corresponding to the internal container 40 as a new box picking task and assign it to other handling robots, and first perform the box picking operation on the outer container 40;

[0171] Step S406: The control system plans the optimal box picking travel path according to the positions of all the target containers 40 in the box picking task;

[0172] Step S407: The control system assigns the box picking mechanism 10 for box picking to each target container 40 according to the floor height where all the target containers 40 are located;

[0173] The target container 40 includes the target container 40 assigned in the initial task allocation of the order management center and the additional target container 40 formed based on the internal target container 40.

[0174] For the operation of assigning the picking mechanism 10 to the target container 40, reference can be specifically made to step S303 of Embodiment III;

[0175] Step S408: The handling robot runs in front of each target container 40 in sequence according to the optimal picking travel path and picks up the target container 40 using the assigned picking mechanism 10. Among them, after picking up the internal target container 40 corresponding to the additional target container 40, the additional target container 40 is returned to the internal storage location corresponding to the additional target container 40;

[0176] By reversing the additional target container 40 to the internal storage location corresponding to the additional target container 40, after the target container 40 is picked, it can be directly returned to the outer storage location, avoiding returning it to the inner storage location and causing the picking operation of the container 40 on the outer storage location, thus improving the return efficiency.

[0177] When the same handling robot is used for picking the internal target container and the additional target container, the return operation of the additional target container is performed by this handling robot and is carried out after completing the picking operation of the current internal target container and before performing the picking operation of another target container; when different handling robots are used for picking the internal target container and the additional target container, the return operation of the additional target container and the picking operation of the target container can be carried out synchronously.

[0178] Step S409: When the handling robot has picked up all the target containers 40, it runs to the picking point;

[0179] Step S410: The picking mechanism 10 is lifted to a height position suitable for the picking staff to pick.

[0180] For the picking method provided in this embodiment, since the handling robot in Embodiment II is used for the picking operation, when multiple containers 40 are in the same vertical column of the same inventory container, multiple picking mechanisms 10 on the handling robot can perform the picking operation simultaneously, making the picking operation convenient and fast, improving the picking efficiency, and thus improving the goods picking and logistics efficiency; moreover, the picking method provided in this embodiment can be applied to the picking operation of the internal containers of double-deep, triple-deep or quadruple-deep inventory containers, further improving the picking efficiency and the warehouse utilization rate.

[0181] Embodiment V

[0182] Figure 9 is the flowchart of the method for loading goods onto the container provided by the embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 9As shown in the figure, this embodiment provides a method for loading a cargo box onto a handling robot, which is used to load the cargo box 40 into the target storage location of the storage container, so as to improve the efficiency of the handling robot in loading the cargo box 40 or returning the box after picking. The box-returning method provided in this embodiment is applicable to the handling robot in Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2.

[0183] It can be understood that the loading of the cargo box can be the operation of returning the picked cargo box to the storage location of the storage container after picking up the cargo box from the storage container due to picking operations, or the operation of replenishing a new cargo box into the storage container, or the operation of placing the cargo box into the storage container for other reasons. This embodiment does not make specific restrictions on this.

[0184] Specifically, the box-returning method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0185] Step S501: The control system assigns a cargo box loading task to the handling robot;

[0186] The assignment principle of the box-returning task corresponds to the storage location assignment principle, which will not be elaborated here.

[0187] In one embodiment, among the target storage locations corresponding to the cargo box loading task, at least two target storage locations are located in the same vertical column of the same storage container, so as to enable at least two box-picking mechanisms to perform the operation of loading the cargo box at the same time, thereby improving the efficiency of loading the cargo box.

[0188] In one embodiment, since the box-picking mechanism 10 can extend and retract bidirectionally, and when the handling robot picks up the target cargo box, if there are several target cargo boxes in the storage containers on the opposite sides of the handling robot that are located in the same vertical column and are staggered in the height direction, the box-picking mechanisms 10 corresponding to the several target cargo boxes perform the box-picking operation at the same time.

[0189] Step S502: The control system plans the optimal box-returning travel path according to the locations of all the target cargo boxes 40 in the box-returning task;

[0190] Step S503: The handling robot runs to the front of the target storage location of each target cargo box 40 in turn according to the optimal travel path and places the target cargo box 40 into the target storage location. And when there are several cargo boxes 40 located in the same vertical column of the same storage container, the box-picking mechanisms 10 where the several cargo boxes 40 are located perform the operation of loading the cargo box at the same time.

[0191] Further, since the telescopic mechanism 10 can telescopically extend and retract in both directions, and when the handling robot is loading the cargo box, if a number of target storage locations in the inventory containers on the opposite sides of the handling robot are located in the same vertical column in the height direction and are offset, the picking mechanisms 10 corresponding to the number of target storage locations simultaneously perform the operation of loading the cargo box.

[0192] The operation of the picking mechanism 10 to place the cargo box 40 into the target storage location includes the following steps:

[0193] Step S5031: The picking mechanism 10 is lifted to the front of the target storage location;

[0194] Step S5032: The controller controls the operating member 32 of the lever assembly 3 on the side away from the target storage location to act, so that the lever 31 rotates to the working position;

[0195] Step S5032: The controller controls the telescopic assembly 2 to extend until the target cargo box 40 falls into the target storage location;

[0196] Step S5033: The controller controls the corresponding lever 31 to rotate from the working position to the idle position;

[0197] Step S5034: The controller controls the telescopic assembly 2 to retract to the initial state.

[0198] Among them, the order of step S5033 and step S5034 can be exchanged or can be carried out synchronously.

[0199] For the cargo box loading method provided in this embodiment, since the handling robot in Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2 is used for the cargo box loading operation, when the target storage locations corresponding to multiple cargo boxes 40 are in the same vertical column of the same inventory container, multiple picking mechanisms 10 on the handling robot can simultaneously perform the cargo box loading operation, making the cargo box loading operation convenient and fast, improving the cargo box loading efficiency, and thus improving the loading, goods picking and logistics efficiency.

[0200] Note that the above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the technical principles applied. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described here, and various obvious changes, re-adjustments and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in more detail through the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments only. Without departing from the concept of the present invention, more other equivalent embodiments can be included, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A handling robot, It is characterized in that include: Mobile chassis (30); A stand (20) vertically arranged on the mobile chassis (30); A box picking mechanism (10) is provided with at least two sets along the height direction of the stand (20), each set of the box picking mechanism (10) can be horizontally extended and vertically lifted relative to the mobile chassis (30) to pick up a cargo box (40) on the inventory container or place the cargo box (40) on the inventory container; when the transport robot is used to pick up the cargo box (40) on the inventory container, it includes: The control system assigns a box-picking task to the transport robot; The control system plans a box picking travel path according to the locations of all target boxes in the box picking task; The control system allocates the box-taking mechanism (10) for taking the box to each of the target boxes according to the order of the floor heights of all the target boxes; The transport robot moves in sequence to the front of each of the target cargo boxes according to the box picking travel path and picks up the target cargo box using the assigned box picking mechanism (10); The inventory container has an inner cargo box and an outer cargo box arranged side by side in the depth direction. After assigning the task of picking up the cargo box and before planning the travel path, the following operations are also included: Determine whether the target cargo box is the inner cargo box. If the target cargo box is the inner cargo box, determine whether the total number of target cargo boxes n2 on the same layer as the inner cargo box satisfies n2≤Fn2-sum(F<Fn2)-1 and n2≤Fmax-Fn2-sum(F>Fn2)+1. If so, add the outer cargo box outside the inner cargo box as an additional target cargo box to the box picking task. If not, the control system dispatches other handling robots to carry the outer cargo box. Among them, Fn2 refers to the layer height number of the internal cargo box, Fmax is the highest layer height number of the inventory container, sum(F<Fn2) refers to the total number of the target cargo boxes with layer height numbers less than Fn2, and sum(F>Fn2) refers to the total number of all target cargo boxes with layer height numbers greater than the Fn2th layer.

2. The transport robot according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The box taking mechanism (10) is provided with a temporary storage position for temporarily storing the cargo box (40).

3. The transport robot according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The box taking mechanism (10) comprises: A temporary storage plate (1), the temporary storage position being formed on the temporary storage plate (1); A lever assembly (3) configured to move the cargo box (40) so as to move the cargo box (40) between the temporary storage plate (1) and the inventory container; A telescopic assembly (2) is connected to the temporary storage plate (1) and the lever assembly (3), and is configured to drive the lever assembly (3) to telescope horizontally relative to the temporary storage plate (1).

4. The transport robot according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The telescopic component (2) is a two-stage synchronous telescopic structure or the telescopic component (2) is a three-stage synchronous telescopic structure.

5. The handling robot according to claim 3, characterized in that, the telescopic components (2) are arranged on both opposite sides of the temporary storage plate (1), and baffles (4) are arranged on both sides of the temporary storage plate (1) corresponding to the telescopic components (2). The baffles (4) are located inside the telescopic components (2), and a temporary storage position is formed between the two baffles (4).

6. The handling robot according to claim 5, characterized in that, the baffle (4) includes a baffle main body (41) extending along the telescopic direction of the telescopic component (2) and a guide plate portion (42) arranged at the end of the baffle main body (41). One end of the guide plate portion (42) is connected to the baffle main body (41), and the other end of the guide plate portion (42) extends obliquely towards the corresponding telescopic component (2) in a direction away from the baffle main body (41); and / or the temporary storage plate (1) includes a horizontally arranged temporary storage plate body (11) and a guide portion (12) arranged at the inlet end of the temporary storage plate (1). One end of the guide portion (12) is connected to the temporary storage plate body (11), and the other end of the guide portion (12) extends obliquely downward in a direction away from the temporary storage plate body (11).

7. The handling robot according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, the box picking mechanism (10) can telescopically move in two directions to pick up the boxes (40) in the inventory containers on both opposite sides of the handling robot respectively.

8. A box picking method, using the handling robot according to any one of claims 1-7 to pick up the boxes (40) on the inventory container, characterized in that, when the handling robot picks up the target box, if there are several target boxes in the same vertical column of the inventory container, the box picking mechanisms (10) corresponding to the several target boxes perform the box picking operation simultaneously.

9. The box picking method according to claim 8, characterized in that, after picking up the inner box, the outer box corresponding to the inner box is put back to the original inner storage position where the inner box was located.

10. The box picking method according to claim 8, characterized in that, after the handling robot finishes picking up all the target boxes, the handling robot runs to the picking point, and the box picking mechanisms (10) are sequentially lifted to a height suitable for the picking staff to perform the picking operation.

11. The box picking method according to any one of claims 8-10, characterized in that, the box picking mechanism (10) can telescopically move in two directions, and when the handling robot picks up the target box, if there are several target boxes in the inventory containers on both opposite sides of the handling robot that are located in the same vertical column and are misaligned in the height direction, the box picking mechanisms (10) corresponding to the several target boxes perform the box picking operation simultaneously.

12. A box loading method, using the handling robot according to any one of claims 1-7 to load the boxes (40) into the target storage positions on the inventory container, characterized in that, The method for loading the cargo box (40) includes the steps of: The control system assigns the cargo box loading task to the handling robot; The control system plans the loading travel path according to the target cargo position corresponding to all the cargo boxes (40) in the cargo box loading task; The handling robot runs to the front of the target cargo position of each cargo box (40) in sequence according to the loading travel path and places the cargo box (40) into the target cargo position. When there are several target cargo positions in the same vertical column of the same storage container, the loading operation is performed on several target cargo positions simultaneously.

13. The method for loading a cargo box according to claim 12, wherein, The box-taking mechanism (10) can be telescopically extended in both directions. When the handling robot is loading the cargo box, if there are several target cargo positions in the storage containers on the opposite sides of the handling robot that are in the same vertical column and are offset in the height direction, the box-taking mechanisms (10) corresponding to the several target cargo positions perform the cargo box loading operation simultaneously.

14. A warehousing and logistics system, wherein, It includes the handling robot according to any one of claims 1-7.

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