Transport tool for automatically getting on and off a mobile robot and method for getting on and off a transport tool

Abstract

The present invention discloses a transport tool for automatically getting on and off a mobile robot and a method for getting on and off the transport tool, wherein the transport tool comprises a transport carriage provided with a hydraulic tailgate, wherein multiple layers of partitions are arranged up and down inside the transport carriage, wherein multiple parking positions are arranged on the partitions, wherein a movable plate is respectively arranged at the rear end of each layer of the partitions, wherein the rear end of each movable plate can be tilted downward and connected in sequence, and connected with the hydraulic tailgate to form a ramp for the mobile robot to get on and off the transport carriage; wherein limiting devices are respectively arranged on both sides of the parking position to limit the mobile robot at the parking position. In the present invention, a movable plate is respectively arranged at the rear end of each layer of the partitions, wherein the rear end of each movable plate can be tilted downward and connected in sequence, and connected with the hydraulic tailgate to form a ramp for the mobile robot to get on and off the transport carriage, wherein the mobile robot can automatically travel along the ramp to the parking positions on each layer, and be locked by the limiting device, which has high efficiency and reduces labor intensity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of robots, and in particular to a transportation tool for automatically moving a robot up and down and a method for moving the robot up and down. Background Art

[0002] With the development and progress of society, the public environment is getting better and better, and there are more and more large lawn green belts.

[0003] Lawns need to be trimmed and maintained frequently, but manual trimming is not only labor-intensive but also inefficient. Automatic weeding robots can walk and weed automatically without manual operation, thereby reducing manpower, improving work efficiency, and maintaining stable weeding height and quality. Therefore, they are widely used.

[0004] For large lawns, more robots are needed to work together to improve efficiency, so it is necessary to provide multiple mobile robots for transportation and up and down transportation. The existing manual transportation method is inefficient and labor-intensive.

[0005] In view of this, there is an urgent need to improve the existing way of getting on and off the mobile robot transportation tool to improve efficiency and reduce labor intensity. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is that the existing mobile robot up and down transportation tools have low efficiency and high labor intensity.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a transportation tool for a mobile robot to automatically get on and off.

[0008] The invention comprises a transport carriage provided with a hydraulic tailgate, wherein multiple layers of partitions are arranged in the upper and lower parts of the transport carriage, and multiple parking spaces are arranged on the partitions, and the invention is characterized in that:

[0009] A movable plate is provided at the rear end of each layer of the partition, and the rear end of each movable plate can be tilted downward and connected in sequence, and connected with the hydraulic tail plate to form a ramp for the mobile robot to transport the carriage up and down;

[0010] Limiting devices are respectively provided on both sides of the parking position, which are used to limit the mobile robot to the parking position.

[0011] In the above-mentioned transport means, the limiting device comprises:

[0012] Two pedestals arranged one behind the other, the pedestals being fixed to the partition or the bottom plate of the transport compartment;

[0013] A rotating shaft, with two ends rotatably disposed on the two bases respectively;

[0014] Two limiting sleeves are respectively arranged on the rotating shaft at intervals, and the spacing between the two limiting sleeves is the same as the front and rear wheelbase of the mobile robot. The cross-section of the limiting sleeve is a semicircular opening opening upward, and the semicircular opening matches the outer end of the wheel axle of the mobile robot.

[0015] In the above-mentioned transport vehicle, the rotating shaft is driven by a motor, and the limiting sleeve can rotate with the rotating shaft and is configured as follows:

[0016] In the non-limiting state, the limiting sleeve rotates to a vertical state, and the semicircular opening faces the opposite direction of the center of the mobile robot;

[0017] When the mobile robot is located at the parking position, the limiting sleeve rotates to a horizontal state, and the semicircular opening clamps the front and rear wheel axles of the mobile robot upwards.

[0018] In the above-mentioned transport vehicle, the movable panels at each layer are adapted to the width of the transport compartment.

[0019] In the above-mentioned transport vehicle, each layer of the movable plate is also provided with a limiting device.

[0020] In the above-mentioned transport vehicle, the width of the movable plates at each layer is adapted to the width of the mobile robots, and the width of the transport carriage is greater than the width of two mobile robots.

[0021] In the above-mentioned transport vehicle, except for the rectangular notch on the rear side of the partition at the bottom layer, a parking space is still provided behind the rectangular notch.

[0022] In the above-mentioned transport vehicle, two-dimensional codes for navigation and positioning of the mobile robot are provided on the ground of the hydraulic tail plate, the bottom plate, each layer of movable plates, and each layer of partitions.

[0023] The present invention also provides a method for a mobile robot to automatically get on and off a transport tool, comprising the following steps:

[0024] According to the boarding signal, the rear ends of the movable plates and hydraulic tail plates on each layer are respectively turned downward to form a ramp for the mobile robot to reach the parking position on the upper partition.

[0025] After receiving the boarding signal, the mobile robot starts to drive along the ramp to the parking space on the upper partition after a delay;

[0026] When the parking spaces on the upper partition are full, the upper movable plate is retracted and limited by the limit device; the subsequent mobile robot drives along the ramp to the parking space on the lower partition and is limited by the limit device;

[0027] The hydraulic tailgate is retracted until the bottom parking space of the transport compartment has reached the limit.

[0028] In the above method, the boarding signal is sent by the remote controller of the mobile robot and captured by the transportation vehicle, and the hydraulic system is controlled to operate the movable plates on each layer and the hydraulic tail plate to form a ramp for the mobile robot to go up and down.

[0029] Compared with the prior art, the present invention provides a transportation tool for a mobile robot that automatically goes up and down, and a method for going up and down the transportation tool. A movable plate is provided at the rear end of each layer of partition. The rear end of each movable plate can be tilted downward and connected in sequence, and connected with the hydraulic tail plate to form a ramp for the mobile robot to go up and down the transportation compartment. The mobile robot can automatically travel along the ramp to the parking position on each layer, and be locked in place by a limit device, which has high efficiency and reduces labor intensity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a transport vehicle shown in a specific embodiment 1 of the present invention (the side panels are hidden in the figure);

[0031] Figure 2 For the present invention Figure 1 The transport shown hides the schematic diagram of the mobile robot;

[0032] Figure 3 For the present invention Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a ramp formed by a movable deck and a hydraulic tailboard of a transport vehicle;

[0033] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the working state of the limit device in the present invention;

[0034] Figure 5 It is a structural diagram of the limiting device in the present invention;

[0035] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a transport vehicle shown in a specific embodiment 2 of the present invention (the side panels are hidden in the figure);

[0036] Figure 7 For the present invention Figure 6 The transport shown hides the schematic diagram of the mobile robot;

[0037] Figure 8 For the present invention Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a ramp formed by a movable deck and a hydraulic tailboard of a transport vehicle;

[0038] Fig. 9 for Figure 2 Enlarged view of the arrangement of the middle limit device on the upper and lower partitions. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The present invention provides a transport tool for automatically getting on and off a mobile robot and a method for getting on and off a transport tool. The mobile robot can automatically travel and park in order from top to bottom on parking positions of each layer of partitions in a transport compartment and keep it locked. The efficiency of getting on and off the transport tool is high and the labor intensity is reduced. The present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments of the specification.

[0040] The automatic up-and-down transport vehicle for a mobile robot provided by the present invention comprises a transport carriage with a hydraulic tailgate at the rear end, the interior of the transport carriage is provided with multi-layer partitions arranged up and down, a plurality of parking positions are provided on the partitions, and limiting devices are respectively provided on both sides of the parking positions for clamping the mobile robot in the parking positions.

[0041] The rear end of each layer of partition is respectively provided with a movable plate, and the rear end of each movable plate can be tilted downward and connected with the hydraulic tail plate position to form a ramp for the mobile robot to go up and down the transportation tool.

[0042] The limiting device is provided with two rotatable limiting sleeves, the cross section of which is semicircular and is used to clamp the wheel axle of the mobile robot to prevent it from moving forward and backward.

[0043] The following describes in detail the automatic up and down transportation tool of the mobile robot provided by the present invention through two specific embodiments.

[0044] Specific embodiment 1.

[0045] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the transport vehicle for automatically getting on and off the mobile robot provided by the specific embodiment 1 of the present invention comprises a transport carriage 100 provided with a hydraulic tailgate 110 and multi-layer partitions arranged up and down inside the transport carriage 100. The hydraulic tailgate 110 can be controlled by the hydraulic system of the transport vehicle, with the rear end tilted downward to form a ramp; or folded upward and buckled on the rear side of the transport carriage 100.

[0046] In this specific embodiment 1, the interior of the transport carriage 100 is divided into three layers of parking space by the upper partition 200 and the lower partition 300, and the lowest layer is the bottom plate of the transport carriage 100. However, it should be understood that the scheme of the present invention is not limited to two layers of partitions, and the transport carriage can be divided into two layers, upper and lower, by one layer of partitions, or divided into four or more layers by three layers of partitions.

[0047] The hydraulic tail plate 110 is arranged at the rear end of the transport carriage 100, the rear end of the upper partition 200 is provided with an upper movable plate 210, and the rear end of the lower partition 300 is provided with a lower movable plate 310. The upper movable plate 210 and the lower movable plate 310 are also controlled by the hydraulic system of the transport vehicle so that their rear ends can be tilted downward. Thus, the upper movable plate 210, the lower movable plate 310 and the hydraulic tail plate 110 form a ramp for the mobile robot to go up and down the transport carriage.

[0048] Parking spaces are respectively provided on the bottom plate of the transport carriage 100 and the upper partition 200 and the lower partition 300 for parking the mobile robot, and limiting devices 400 for limiting the mobile robot are respectively provided on the left and right sides of the parking space.

[0049] like Figure 4 , Figure 5 As shown, the limiting device 400 includes two bases 410 arranged front to back, and both ends of the rotating shaft 420 are rotatably set on the two bases 410 respectively. Two spaced-apart limiting sleeves 430 are provided on the rotating shaft 420. The spacing between the two limiting sleeves 430 is the same as the front and rear wheelbase of the mobile robot. The longitudinal section of the limiting sleeve 430 is a semicircular opening opening upward, and the semicircular opening matches the outer end of the wheel axle of the mobile robot.

[0050] The rotating shaft 420 is driven by a motor. In the non-limiting state, the limiting sleeve 430 rotates to a vertical state, and the semicircular opening faces the opposite direction of the center of the mobile robot. When the mobile robot reaches the parking position and brakes to a stop, the motor drives the rotating shaft 420 to rotate, so that the limiting sleeve 430 rotates to a horizontal state. The semicircular openings on the two limiting sleeves 430 respectively clamp the front and rear wheel axles of the mobile robot upward, thereby limiting the mobile robot to the parking position. Even when the transport vehicle goes uphill or downhill, the mobile robot cannot slide back and forth, thereby ensuring transportation safety.

[0051] The limiting device provided by the present invention has a very simple structure and reliable limiting function.

[0052] Each layer of movable board is adapted to the width of the transport carriage, the rear end of the lower movable board 310 is flush with the rear end of the carriage floor, and the rear end of the upper movable board 210 is flush with the front end of the lower movable board 310, so that when the hydraulic tail board 110, the lower movable board 310 and the upper movable board 210 are tilted, a complete ramp is formed for the mobile robot to go up and down the transport carriage. Among them, the hydraulic tail board 110 forms a ramp leading to the bottom plate parking position, the hydraulic tail board 110 and the lower movable board 310 form a ramp leading to the lower parking position, and the hydraulic tail board 110, the lower movable board 310 and the upper movable board 210 form a ramp leading to the upper parking position.

[0053] The upper movable plate 210 and the lower movable plate 310 are also provided with limiting devices 400 respectively, so that the mobile robot can also be parked on the upper movable plate 210 and the lower movable plate 310, thereby effectively utilizing the space of the transport compartment.

[0054] like Fig. 9 As shown, each layer of partitions is provided with a plurality of spaced strip grooves 450 in the longitudinal direction, the strip grooves 450 are arranged corresponding to the parking positions, and the spacing between the two strip grooves 450 matches the wheel track of the mobile robot. After the mobile robot drives to the parking position, the wheels will be stuck in the corresponding strip grooves. Then, the outer end of the wheel axle of the mobile robot is stuck by the limit device 400.

[0055] This double positioning method not only enables rapid positioning, but also greatly improves the reliability of positioning.

[0056] Regarding the operation of the limit device 400, a simpler mechanical control method can also be used. Specifically, a plurality of first gears are provided on the rotating shaft of the movable plate, and the limit devices 400 are arranged in a row along the length direction. The rotating shaft adopts the same rotating shaft, and a second gear is provided on the rotating shaft. The first gear and the second gear are coupled by a bevel gear transmission system. Therefore, when the movable plate rotates, the rotating shaft of the limit device 400 is driven to rotate by the first gear, the bevel gear transmission system and the second gear, thereby completing the simultaneous locking of all mobile robots.

[0057] Specific embodiment 2.

[0058] In the above-mentioned specific embodiment 1, since the width of the upper movable board 210 is substantially the same as that of the transport carriage 100, there is a large distance between the rear end of the upper movable board 210 and the rear door of the transport carriage, resulting in some space waste. Therefore, specific embodiment 2 of the present invention is improved on the basis of specific embodiment 1 so as to be able to park more mobile robots.

[0059] In the specific embodiment 2, the widths of the upper movable board 210 and the lower movable board 310 are both adapted to the width of the mobile robot, and the width of the transport carriage 100 can park 2, 3 or more mobile robots.

[0060] Except for the bottommost partition, the rear sides of the other partitions are provided with rectangular notches, and parking spaces are still provided behind the rectangular notches.

[0061] In the specific embodiment 2, the lower partition 300 is rectangular, and a first rectangular notch is provided at a corner of the rear end thereof, and the lower movable panel 310 is hinged at the first notch. Specifically, the front end of the lower movable panel 310 is hinged to the front end of the first notch, and the rear end of the lower movable panel 310 is suspended to tilt downward to form a slope.

[0062] In order to make better use of the space in the transport compartment, a better solution is to provide a second rectangular notch on the rear side of the upper partition 200, and a rear parking position is still provided behind the second rectangular notch. When the mobile robot drives onto the upper partition 200, it first parks at the rear parking position, and then parks forward in sequence until it is full.

[0063] The advantage of the specific embodiment 1 is that multiple mobile robots can move up and down at the same time, but the disadvantage is that there is wasted space at the rear end of the upper partition.

[0064] The advantage of the specific embodiment 2 is that the space of the transport compartment is fully utilized, but the disadvantage is that only one vehicle can be loaded and unloaded one by one.

[0065] Based on the specific embodiment 2, multiple upper movable boards 210 and lower movable boards 310 can be arranged side by side, and at least one driving channel is reserved, that is, at least one parking space is reserved on one side of the upper movable board 210 and the lower movable board 310. In this way, when efficiency needs to be improved, multiple mobile robots can also go up and down at the same time.

[0066] Based on the above-mentioned automatic up and down transport tool, the present invention also provides a method for a mobile robot to automatically get on and off the transport tool, comprising the following steps:

[0067] Step 110: According to the boarding signal of the mobile robot, the rear ends of the upper movable board 210, the lower movable board 310 and the hydraulic tail board 110 are respectively turned downward to form a travel ramp for the mobile robot to reach the upper parking position.

[0068] The boarding signal of the mobile robot may be sent by the remote controller of the mobile robot, and the boarding signal may be captured by the transportation tool to control the hydraulic system to operate the upper movable board 210 , the lower movable board 310 and the hydraulic tail board 110 .

[0069] After receiving the boarding signal, the mobile robot starts to drive along the ramp into the upper parking space after a delay period. This delay time can be determined according to the time for the hydraulic system to control the ramp formation.

[0070] Sensors may also be provided on the hydraulic cylinders of the upper movable floor 210 , the lower movable floor 310 , and the hydraulic tail board 110 to detect the formation of the ramp.

[0071] Step 120: The mobile robot drives along the ramp into the upper parking space and brakes. The hydraulic tail plate, the bottom plate, the upper movable plate, the upper partition plate, the lower movable plate and the lower partition plate are all provided with a QR code for navigation and positioning of the mobile robot. The mobile robot automatically drives and parks in the parking space by scanning the QR code.

[0072] Step 130: According to the positioning signal of the mobile robot at the parking position, the corresponding limiting device rotates to clamp the four wheel axles of the mobile robot.

[0073] Step 140: After the upper parking spaces are full, the upper movable panels are folded up.

[0074] Step 150: The subsequent mobile robot drives along the ramp into the lower parking space and brakes.

[0075] Step 160: According to the positioning signal of the mobile robot at the parking position, the corresponding limiting device rotates to clamp the four wheel axles of the mobile robot.

[0076] Step 170: After the lower parking spaces are full, the lower movable panels are folded up.

[0077] Step 180: The mobile robot moves along the tailgate into a parking position on the bottom plate and brakes.

[0078] Step 190: According to the positioning signal of the mobile robot at the parking position, the corresponding limiting device rotates to clamp the four wheel axles of the mobile robot.

[0079] Step 200: When the bottom plate parking space is full, the hydraulic tailgate is retracted.

[0080] The QR code can be used to determine whether the mobile robot has reached the parking position.

[0081] The present invention can realize automatic boarding and disembarking of all mobile robots by a remote controller. All mobile robots are turned on, and after receiving the boarding or disembarking signal from the remote controller, each mobile robot determines which is the first robot to board or disembark based on the front image. For example, the robot facing the ramp in the front image is the first robot to board or disembark.

[0082] After the first robot moves, the following robots move according to the distance from the robot in front.

[0083] If they are arranged in multiple rows, the robots in the second row, third row, etc. can navigate to the direction of travel of the robots in the first row through the guide lines in front.

[0084] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned optimal implementation mode. Anyone should be aware that any structural changes made under the inspiration of the present invention, and any technical solutions that are the same or similar to the present invention, fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A transport vehicle for automatically moving a mobile robot up and down, comprising a transport carriage with a hydraulic tailgate, wherein multiple layers of partitions are arranged up and down inside the transport carriage, and multiple parking spaces are arranged on the partitions, wherein: A movable plate is provided at the rear end of each layer of the partition, and the rear end of each movable plate can be tilted downward and connected in sequence, and connected with the hydraulic tail plate to form a ramp for the mobile robot to transport the carriage up and down; Limiting devices are respectively provided on both sides of the parking position, for limiting the mobile robot at the parking position; The limiting device comprises: Two pedestals arranged one behind the other, the pedestals being fixed to the partition or the bottom plate of the transport compartment; A rotating shaft, with two ends rotatably disposed on the two bases respectively; Two limiting sleeves are respectively arranged on the rotating shaft at intervals, the spacing between the two limiting sleeves is the same as the front and rear wheelbase of the mobile robot, the cross section of the limiting sleeve is a semicircular opening with the opening facing upward, and the semicircular opening matches the outer end of the wheel axle of the mobile robot; The movable panels at each layer are adapted to the width of the transport carriage; The rear end of the lower movable board is flush with the rear end of the carriage bottom plate, and the rear end of the upper movable board is flush with the front end of the lower movable board; A plurality of strip grooves are provided at intervals along the length direction of each layer of the partition, the strip grooves are arranged corresponding to the parking positions, and the distance between two strip grooves matches the wheelbase of the mobile robot; The limiting sleeve can rotate with the rotating shaft and is configured as follows: In the non-limiting state, the limiting sleeve rotates to a vertical state, and the semicircular opening faces the opposite direction of the center of the mobile robot; When the mobile robot is located at the parking position, the limiting sleeve rotates to a horizontal state, and the semicircular opening clamps the front and rear wheel axles of the mobile robot upwards.

2. The transportation vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The movable plates at each layer are also provided with limiting devices respectively.

3. The transportation vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The width of the movable plates at each layer is adapted to the width of the mobile robots, and the width of the transport carriage is greater than the width of two mobile robots.

4. The transportation vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that: Except for the partitions at the bottom layer, the rear sides of the other partitions are provided with rectangular notches, and parking spaces are still provided behind the rectangular notches.

5. The transportation vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that: The hydraulic tail plate, the bottom plate, the movable plates at each layer, and the ground surfaces of the partition plates at each layer are all provided with two-dimensional codes for navigation and positioning of the mobile robot.

6. A method for automatically getting on and off a transport tool with a mobile robot, using the transport tool for automatically getting on and off a mobile robot as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising the following steps: According to the boarding signal, the rear ends of the movable plates and hydraulic tail plates on each layer are respectively turned downward to form a ramp for the mobile robot to reach the parking position on the upper partition. After receiving the boarding signal, the mobile robot starts to drive along the ramp to the parking space on the upper partition after a delay; When the parking spaces on the upper partition are full, the upper movable plate is retracted and limited by the limit device; the subsequent mobile robot drives along the ramp to the parking space on the lower partition and is limited by the limit device; The hydraulic tailgate is retracted until the bottom parking space of the transport compartment has reached the limit.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The boarding signal is sent by the remote controller of the mobile robot and captured by the transportation vehicle, and the hydraulic system is controlled to operate the movable plates on each layer and the hydraulic tail plate to form a ramp for the mobile robot to go up and down.

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