Automatic loading and unloading mechanism and system for logistics drones

Abstract

The present invention relates to a logistics drone automatic loading and unloading mechanism and system, the mechanism comprises a transmission jacking mechanism (3), the transmission jacking mechanism (3) comprises a transmission frame (31), a drone conveyor belt (34), a warehouse conveyor belt (33) and a warehouse jacking mechanism (32), the drone conveyor belt (34) and the warehouse conveyor belt (33) are parallelly distributed in the upper and lower layers of the transmission frame (31); the warehouse jacking mechanism (32) is vertically arranged and passes through the warehouse conveyor belt (33) to the drone conveyor belt (34), and is used to lift the warehouse to coordinate the loading and unloading of the warehouse and the drone. The present invention realizes the transmission and positioning of the drone and the warehouse, and lifts the warehouse to coordinate the automatic loading and unloading of the warehouse and the drone.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an automatic loading and unloading mechanism and system for a logistics unmanned aerial vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Drone delivery of goods saves manpower and material resources, and is quick and convenient. Especially in areas where the transportation system is not well developed, the population density is not high, and the average daily delivery volume is relatively small, using drones instead of manual delivery can effectively reduce logistics costs.

[0003] Using drones to deliver goods is an inevitable trend in the future logistics and express delivery industry. How to use drones for logistics transportation while ensuring safety and reliability is the prerequisite for using drones for delivery.

[0004] In actual usage scenarios, logistics drones require a large number of auxiliary facilities of ground equipment, including communications, warehouses, system management, etc. Current logistics drones generally adopt a design that separates the drone from the cargo warehouse. During the use of the drone, the cargo warehouse system will form a set of ground systems related to the drone.

[0005] The currently widely used design method of separating the aircraft from the cargo hold can effectively manage the standardized cargo hold in the warehouse, but every time the aircraft performs a mission, the drone cargo hold needs to be loaded and unloaded. The drone cargo hold is generally located at the bottom of the aircraft. For manual loading and unloading, loading and unloading the cargo hold from the bottom to the top is cumbersome. The main technical problems that need to be solved are:

[0006] 1. One set of equipment can be used to complete the automatic loading and unloading of drone cargo warehouses at the same time.

[0007] 2. Solve the secondary positioning problem required for the coordination between the cargo warehouse and the drone.

[0008] 3. The drone body is relatively fragile, so avoid damage to the drone body by the positioning mechanism.

[0009] It can be seen that solving the above-mentioned problem of automatic loading and unloading of drones has become an urgent technical issue at present. Summary of the invention

[0010] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an automatic loading and unloading mechanism for a logistics drone, which can realize the transmission of the drone and the cargo warehouse, and can coordinate the cargo warehouse with the loading and unloading of the drone by lifting and lowering the cargo warehouse.

[0011] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0012] A logistics drone automatic loading and unloading mechanism includes a conveying jacking mechanism 3, wherein the conveying jacking mechanism 3 includes a conveying frame 31, a drone conveyor belt 34, a cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 and a cargo warehouse jacking mechanism 32, wherein the drone conveyor belt 34 and the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 are parallelly distributed as the upper and lower layers of the conveying frame 31; the cargo warehouse jacking mechanism 32 is vertically arranged and passes through the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 to the drone conveyor belt 34, and is used to lift the cargo warehouse to coordinate the loading and unloading of the cargo warehouse and the drone.

[0013] Furthermore, the cargo warehouse lifting mechanism 32 includes a cargo warehouse lifting rail 321 and a cargo warehouse lifting platform 322. The drone conveyor belt 34 and the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 are both double rails. The cargo warehouse lifting rail 321 is set in the middle of the drone conveyor belt 34, and is vertically set from the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 to the drone conveyor belt 34. The cargo warehouse lifting platform 322 is slidably set along the cargo warehouse lifting rail 321.

[0014] Furthermore, the cargo hold lifting mechanism 32 is also provided with an electric power system and a cargo hold clamping plate 323. The cargo hold clamping plate 323 is provided on the cargo hold lifting platform 322. The cargo hold clamping plate 323 is electrically connected to the electric power system and is used for positioning the cargo hold in the front and rear directions.

[0015] Furthermore, it also includes a positioning system 4, which includes a UAV positioning mechanism 41 and a cargo hold positioning mechanism 42, and is used for secondary positioning of the UAV and the cargo hold.

[0016] Furthermore, the positioning system 4 also includes a positioning frame 43, which is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the conveying frame 31. The drone positioning mechanism 41 and the cargo warehouse positioning mechanism 42 respectively correspond vertically to the drone conveyor belt 34 and the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33, and are distributed in parallel to form the upper and lower layers of the positioning frame 43.

[0017] Furthermore, the drone positioning mechanism 41 is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the drone conveyor belt 34, including a drone positioning drive rail 411, a drone positioning driven rail 412, a drone positioning lifting platform 413, and a drone positioning V-groove nylon block 414, wherein the drone positioning drive rail 411 is perpendicular to the drone conveyor belt 34 and distributed on both sides of the drone conveyor belt 34, the drone positioning lifting platform 413 is slidably set along the drone positioning drive rail 411 and the drone positioning driven rail 412, and a drone positioning V-groove nylon block 414 is set on the drone positioning lifting platform 413 for fixing the position with the lower end of the drone.

[0018] Furthermore, the cargo warehouse positioning mechanism 42 is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33, including a cargo warehouse positioning push block 421 and a cargo warehouse positioning drive rail 422; the cargo warehouse positioning drive rail 422 is vertically distributed on both sides of the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33; the cargo warehouse positioning push block 421 is slidably set on the cargo warehouse positioning drive rail 422, and is used for positioning on the left and right sides of the cargo warehouse.

[0019] Furthermore, the drone also includes a landing gear, which spans across both sides of the drone conveyor belt 34.

[0020] The present invention also provides an automatic loading and unloading system for a logistics drone, which forms a complete and automatic assembly line system without the need for manual handling.

[0021] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0022] A logistics drone automatic loading and unloading system includes the above-mentioned logistics drone automatic loading and unloading structure, a cargo hold track, and a drone track. The cargo hold track is connected to the cargo hold conveyor belt 33 and connected to the cargo hold channel for entering and leaving the warehouse. The drone track is connected to the drone conveyor belt 34 and connected to the drone channel for entering and leaving the warehouse, so as to form a complete assembly line operation system.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0024] 1. The present invention is provided with a conveying jacking mechanism to separately convey the cargo hold and the UAV. The cargo hold jacking mechanism is vertically arranged and passes through the cargo hold conveyor belt to the UAV conveyor belt, so as to lift the cargo hold and coordinate the loading and unloading of the cargo hold and the UAV.

[0025] 2. The present invention also provides a positioning system for secondary positioning of the UAV and the cargo hold, providing positioning assistance for automatic loading and unloading.

[0026] 3. The conveying track of the drone of the present invention and the conveying track of the cargo warehouse are divided into two layers, the conveying tracks can be connected to other supporting conveying systems, the cargo warehouse track can be connected to the cargo warehouse channel for entering and leaving the warehouse, and the drone track can be connected to the drone channel for entering and leaving the warehouse, forming a complete assembly line operation system.

[0027] 4. The upper drone track and the lower cargo hold track of the present invention can freely adjust the width and can be adapted to cargo holds and drones of various widths.

[0028] 5. The present invention is not only applicable to the loading and unloading of drones and cargo warehouses, but can also be extended to the assembly of all equipment that uses an up and down locking method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] FIG. 1( a ) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0030] FIG. 1( b ) is a front view of FIG. 1( a );

[0031] Figure 2(a) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cargo hold and the UAV transmission lifting mechanism;

[0032] FIG2( b ) is a side view of FIG2( a );

[0033] Figure 3(a) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cargo warehouse and drone positioning system;

[0034] FIG3( b ) is a side view of FIG3( a );

[0035] Figure 4(a) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cargo hold and the drone arriving at the loading and unloading station;

[0036] FIG4( b ) is a front view of FIG4( a );

[0037] Figure 5(a) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the secondary positioning of the cargo warehouse and the drone;

[0038] FIG5( b ) is a front view of FIG5( a );

[0039] Figure 6(a) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cargo hold and the UAV loading lock;

[0040] FIG6( b ) is a front view of FIG6( a );

[0041] Figure 7(a) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the drone cargo hold before unloading;

[0042] Figure 7(b) is a schematic diagram of the structure of the drone cargo hold after unloading. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In these drawings, the same or equivalent components are marked with the same reference numerals. The following is only the best embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following contents.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 1( a ), the present invention provides an automatic loading and unloading mechanism for a logistics drone, comprising a conveying and lifting mechanism 3 and a positioning system 4 , wherein the positioning system 4 is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the conveying and lifting mechanism 3 .

[0045] As shown in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b), the conveying lifting mechanism 3 includes a conveying frame 31, a cargo warehouse lifting mechanism 32, a cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33, and a drone conveyor belt 34. The conveying frame 31 is divided into two layers, the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 is installed on the lower layer of the conveying frame 31, and the drone conveyor belt 34 is installed on the upper layer of the conveying frame 31. The cargo warehouse lifting mechanism 32 is vertically fixed on the conveying frame 31 and passes through the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 and the drone conveyor belt 34; it is used to transport the drone 1 and the cargo warehouse 2 to the designated position; the cargo warehouse lifting mechanism 32 is vertically arranged and passes through the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 to the drone conveyor belt 34, and is used to lift the cargo warehouse 2 to coordinate the loading and unloading of the cargo warehouse 2 and the drone 1.

[0046] The positioning system 4 includes a UAV positioning mechanism 41, a cargo warehouse positioning mechanism 42, and a positioning frame 43. The positioning frame 43 is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the conveying frame 31. The positioning frame 43 is divided into two layers. The UAV positioning mechanism 41 is installed on the upper layer of the positioning frame 43, perpendicular to the UAV conveyor belt 34; the cargo warehouse positioning mechanism 42 is installed on the lower layer of the positioning frame 43, perpendicular to the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33; the UAV positioning mechanism 41 and the cargo warehouse positioning mechanism 42 correspond vertically to the UAV conveyor belt 34 and the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 respectively, and are distributed in parallel in the upper and lower layers of the positioning frame 43, for secondary positioning of the UAV 1 and the cargo warehouse 2.

[0047] Among them, Figure 2(a) , 2(b) As shown, the cargo warehouse lifting mechanism 32 includes a cargo warehouse lifting rail 321 and a cargo warehouse lifting platform 322. The drone conveyor belt 34 and the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 are both double rails. The cargo warehouse lifting rail 321 is set in the middle of the drone conveyor belt 34. The cargo warehouse lifting rail 321 is fixed on the middle beam of the conveying frame 31, and vertically passes through the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 to the drone conveyor belt 34; the cargo warehouse lifting platform 322 is slidably set along the cargo warehouse lifting rail 321.

[0048] The cargo hold lifting mechanism 32 is also provided with an electric power system and a cargo hold clamping plate 323. The cargo hold clamping plate 323 is provided on the cargo hold lifting platform 322. The cargo hold clamping plate 323 is electrically connected to the electric power system and is used for positioning the cargo hold in the front and rear directions.

[0049] like Figure 3(a) , 3(b)As shown, the drone positioning mechanism 41 includes a drone positioning drive rail 411, a drone positioning driven rail 412, a drone positioning lifting platform 413, and a drone positioning V-groove nylon block 414, wherein the drone positioning drive rail 411 is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the drone conveyor belt 34 vertically on the horizontal plane, the drone positioning lifting platform 413 is slidably arranged along the drone positioning drive rail 411 and the drone positioning driven rail 412, and a drone positioning block 414 is arranged on the drone positioning lifting platform 413. The drone positioning block 414 has a V-shaped groove and is made of nylon to prevent the drone arm from being scratched during the positioning movement, and is used to be fixed with the lower end of the drone 1.

[0050] The cargo warehouse positioning mechanism 42 is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33, and the cargo warehouse positioning mechanism 42 includes a cargo warehouse positioning push block 421 and a cargo warehouse positioning drive rail 422; the cargo warehouse positioning drive rail 422 is vertically distributed on both sides of the cargo warehouse conveyor belt 33 in the horizontal plane; the cargo warehouse positioning push block 421 is slidably set on the cargo warehouse positioning drive rail 422, and is used for positioning on the left and right sides of the cargo warehouse.

[0051] As shown in Figure 1(a), the drone 1 enters the drone conveyor belt 34 on the upper layer, and the landing gears on both sides of the drone 1 respectively cross the two sides of the drone conveyor belt 34. The drone 1 is transported from the rear side to the front side following the drone conveyor belt 34, and the cargo hold 2 enters the cargo hold conveyor belt 33 on the lower layer from the front side, and the cargo hold 2 is transported from the front side to the rear side following the cargo hold conveyor belt 33.

[0052] like Figure 4(a) , 4(b) As shown, the drone 1 follows the drone conveyor belt 34 to move to the target position. Corresponding to the drone positioning mechanism 41, after the sensor senses the drone 1, the drone conveyor belt 34 receives the sensor signal and stops moving. The warehouse 2 follows the warehouse conveyor belt 33 to move to the target position. Corresponding to the warehouse positioning mechanism 42, the sensor senses the warehouse 2, and the warehouse conveyor belt 33 receives the sensor signal and stops moving;

[0053] like Figure 5(a) , 5(b) As shown, when the drone 1 moves to the position of the drone positioning mechanism 41, the drone positioning lifting platform 413 is driven by the drone positioning drive track 411 and moves from the left and right sides to the drone 1. There are 6 drone positioning V-groove nylon blocks 414 in total, and the positioning lifting platforms on both sides are respectively provided with 3 V-groove nylon blocks. As the drone positioning lifting platform 413 rises, the drone positioning V-groove nylon blocks 414 clamp the corresponding circular conveying frame pipe set at the lower end of the drone 1, and lift the drone to a certain height, for example, about 10 mm, so that the drone is in a suspended state. Due to its own weight, the drone 1 falls to the bottom of the 6 V-groove nylon blocks, completing the secondary positioning of the drone 1.

[0054] After the positioning of the UAV 1 is completed, the UAV positioning lifting platform 413 descends, and the UAV positioning driving track 411 retreats; the positioning mechanism 41 returns to the initial state and waits for the next UAV.

[0055] like Figure 5(a) , 5(b) As shown, when the cargo hold 2 moves to the position of the cargo hold positioning mechanism 42, the cargo hold positioning drive rails 422 on both sides drive the cargo hold positioning push blocks 421 to complete the left and right position positioning of the cargo hold 2.

[0056] like Figure 2(a) , 6(a) As shown in Figure 6(b), the power system under the cargo hold lifting platform 322 drives the cargo hold clamping plate 323 to fix the cargo hold 2 in the front and rear directions, completes the front and rear positioning of the cargo hold 2, and keeps the cargo hold 2 in a stable state. The cargo hold lifting platform 322 clamping the cargo hold 2 rises along the cargo hold lifting track 321, and the cargo hold 2 rises to the middle position of the landing gear of the UAV 1; when the cargo hold 2 is lifted to the bottom side of the fuselage of the UAV 1, the UAV 1 and the cargo hold 2 are connected by the automatic lock of the cargo hold, and the lock is automatically locked, completing the automatic loading of the UAV cargo hold;

[0057] The above is the process of automatically loading the cargo hold by an empty drone.

[0058] When the drone 1 carries the cargo hold 2, this mechanism can perform automatic unloading of the drone cargo hold. At this time, the drone positioning mechanism 41 and the cargo hold positioning mechanism 42 do not need to work;

[0059] As shown in Figure 2(a), Figure 7(a) , 7(b) As shown, drone 1 carries cargo hold 2, which is transported to the target location by drone conveyor belt 34. The sensor senses drone 1, and drone conveyor belt 34 on the upper layer receives the sensor signal and stops moving. Drone 1 receives the command and opens the automatic lock of the cargo hold. Cargo hold 2 separates from drone 1 and falls onto cargo hold lifting platform 322. Cargo hold lifting platform 322 descends along cargo hold lifting track 321 to cargo hold conveyor belt 33 on the lower layer, and cargo hold 2 leaves this mechanism along cargo hold conveyor belt 33 and enters the next conveying system.

[0060] In this way, the present invention can complete the automatic loading and unloading of the drone cargo warehouse. The cargo warehouse track can be connected to the cargo warehouse channel for entering and leaving the warehouse, and the drone track can be connected to the drone channel for entering and leaving the warehouse, forming a complete assembly line system without manual handling.

[0061] The above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments used to illustrate the principles of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For those of ordinary skill in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention. These modifications and improvements are also considered to be the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic loading and unloading mechanism for a logistics drone, characterized in that: The invention comprises a conveying lifting mechanism (3), wherein the conveying lifting mechanism (3) comprises a conveying frame (31), a drone conveyor belt (34), a cargo warehouse conveyor belt (33) and a cargo warehouse lifting mechanism (32), wherein the drone conveyor belt (34) and the cargo warehouse conveyor belt (33) are arranged in parallel to form the upper and lower layers of the conveying frame (31); the cargo warehouse lifting mechanism (32) is arranged vertically and passes through the cargo warehouse conveyor belt (33) to the drone conveyor belt (34), and is used for lifting the cargo warehouse to coordinate the loading and unloading of the cargo warehouse and the drone; The cargo warehouse lifting mechanism (32) comprises a cargo warehouse lifting track (321) and a cargo warehouse lifting platform (322); the drone conveyor belt (34) and the cargo warehouse conveyor belt (33) are both double tracks; the cargo warehouse lifting track (321) is arranged in the middle of the drone conveyor belt (34) and is vertically arranged from the cargo warehouse conveyor belt (33) to the drone conveyor belt (34); the cargo warehouse lifting platform (322) is slidably arranged along the cargo warehouse lifting track (321); It also includes a positioning system (4), wherein the positioning system (4) includes a drone positioning mechanism (41) and a cargo hold positioning mechanism (42), and is used for performing secondary positioning of the drone and the cargo hold; The positioning system (4) further comprises a positioning frame (43), wherein the positioning frame (43) is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the conveying frame (31), and the drone positioning mechanism (41) and the cargo warehouse positioning mechanism (42) respectively correspond vertically to the drone conveyor belt (34) and the cargo warehouse conveyor belt (33), and are distributed in parallel to form upper and lower layers of the positioning frame (43); The drone positioning mechanism (41) is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the drone conveyor belt (34), and includes a drone positioning driving track (411), a drone positioning driven track (412), and a drone positioning lifting platform (413); The cargo warehouse positioning mechanisms (42) are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the cargo warehouse conveyor belt (33).

2. The automatic loading and unloading mechanism for a logistics drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cargo hold lifting mechanism (32) is also provided with an electric power system and a cargo hold clamping plate (323). The cargo hold clamping plate (323) is provided on the cargo hold lifting platform (322). The cargo hold clamping plate (323) is electrically connected to the electric power system and is used for positioning the cargo hold in the front and rear directions.

3. The automatic loading and unloading mechanism for a logistics drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drone positioning mechanism (41) further comprises a drone positioning V-groove nylon block (414), wherein the drone positioning drive track (411) is perpendicular to the drone conveyor belt (34) and is distributed on both sides of the drone conveyor belt (34); the drone positioning lifting platform (413) is slidably arranged along the drone positioning drive track (411) and the drone positioning driven track (412); and the drone positioning lifting platform (413) is provided with a drone positioning V-groove nylon block (414) for being fixedly positioned with the lower end of the drone.

4. The automatic loading and unloading mechanism for a logistics drone according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The cargo warehouse positioning mechanism (42) includes a cargo warehouse positioning push block (421) and a cargo warehouse positioning drive rail (422); the cargo warehouse positioning drive rail (422) is vertically distributed on both sides of the cargo warehouse conveyor belt (33); the cargo warehouse positioning push block (421) is slidably arranged on the cargo warehouse positioning drive rail (422) and is used for positioning the left and right sides of the cargo warehouse.

5. The automatic loading and unloading mechanism for a logistics drone according to claim 1 is characterized in that: It also includes landing gears provided on the drone, and the landing gears are respectively spanned on both sides of the drone conveyor belt (34).

6. A logistics drone automatic loading and unloading system, characterized in that: It comprises the automatic loading and unloading mechanism of a logistics drone as described in any one of claims 1-5, as well as a cargo hold track and a drone track, wherein the cargo hold track is connected to a cargo hold conveyor belt (33) and connected to a cargo hold passage for entering and leaving the warehouse, and the drone track is connected to a drone conveyor belt (34) and connected to a drone passage for entering and leaving the warehouse, so as to form a complete assembly line system.

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