A wheeled cargo robot chassis and a cargo robot

Abstract

The present invention relates to a chassis of a wheeled cargo robot, which includes a power supply, a chassis frame, a plurality of traveling mechanisms, and a plurality of steering mechanisms; the plurality of traveling mechanisms are located at the bottom of the chassis frame, and one traveling mechanism is connected to the chassis frame through one steering mechanism; the steering mechanism includes a conductive slip ring, a hollow shaft motor, and a bearing; the traveling mechanism includes a traveling component and a driving motor for driving the traveling component to operate; the outer ring of the bearing is fixedly installed on the chassis frame, the hollow shaft motor is installed on the outer ring of the bearing, the traveling component is connected to the inner ring of the bearing, and the steering motor is sleeved outside the conductive slip ring; the rotating parts of the driving motor and the conductive slip ring are connected through motor wires, and the motor wires rotate with the rotating part of the conductive slip ring; the fixed part of the conductive slip ring is connected to the power supply through a wire, and both the wire and the power supply are relatively fixed to the chassis frame. The present invention also relates to a cargo robot. The present invention can rotate infinitely in one direction and belongs to the field of warehouse cargo transportation robots.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a warehouse goods transportation robot, and more particularly to a wheeled goods transportation robot chassis and a goods transportation robot. Background Art

[0002] In warehouses or factories, it is often necessary to use goods transportation robots to assist in the transportation of a large number of goods. At present, common goods transportation robots or freight vehicles mostly use conventional wheeled chassis. Such chassis cannot move left and right horizontally, are difficult to operate in narrow spaces, and will cause speed loss and increased tire wear when turning. If a Mecanum wheel chassis is used, although omnidirectional movement is achieved, the load-bearing capacity and running stability of the Mecanum wheels are poor, and the rollers wear severely under large loads, reducing the efficiency of left and right translation. If a conventional steering wheel structure is used, since the drive motor of the steering wheel rotates with the steering wheel, the wire connecting the drive motor to the power supply also rotates with the steering wheel. If the steering wheel rotates infinitely in one direction, the wire will be wound around the steering wheel. Therefore, its steering direction is limited within 360 degrees and cannot rotate infinitely in one direction, resulting in the need for the wheel set to suddenly turn 180 degrees or 360 degrees during movement to stay within the limited 360-degree range, making the operation not smooth enough. Therefore, there is a need for an economical and practical, smoothly operating goods transportation robot chassis that can rotate infinitely in one direction. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Aiming at the technical problems existing in the prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide a wheeled goods transportation robot chassis and a goods transportation robot that can rotate infinitely in one direction.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0005] A wheeled goods transportation robot chassis includes a power supply, a chassis frame, a plurality of traveling mechanisms, and a plurality of steering mechanisms; the plurality of traveling mechanisms are located at the bottom of the chassis frame, and one traveling mechanism is connected to the chassis frame through one steering mechanism; the steering mechanism includes a conductive slip ring, a steering motor, and a bearing; the traveling mechanism includes a traveling component and a drive motor for driving the traveling component to operate.

[0006] The electrical slip ring includes a fixed part at the upper end and a rotating part at the lower end; the steering motor is a hollow shaft motor, including a fixed part and a rotating part; the bearing includes a fixed part located on the outer ring and a rotating part located on the inner ring; the steering motor is sleeved outside the electrical slip ring; the chassis frame, the fixed part of the bearing, the fixed part of the steering motor, and the fixed part of the electrical slip ring are relatively fixed, and the traveling mechanism, the rotating part of the bearing, the rotating part of the steering motor, and the rotating part of the electrical slip ring are relatively fixed; the driving motor and the rotating part of the electrical slip ring are connected by a motor wire, and this motor wire rotates with the rotating part of the electrical slip ring; the fixed part of the electrical slip ring is connected to the power supply by a wire, and both this wire and the power supply are relatively fixed to the chassis frame. After adopting this structure, the chassis of the wheeled cargo robot can rotate infinitely in one direction.

[0007] As a preference, the fixed part of the bearing is fixedly installed on the chassis frame, the steering motor is located at the top of the bearing, the fixed part of the steering motor is installed on the fixed part of the bearing, and the rotating part of the steering motor is fixedly connected to the rotating part of the bearing; the traveling component is fixedly connected to the rotating part of the bearing; the rotating part of the electrical slip ring is connected to the rotating part of the steering motor. After adopting this structure, it is convenient for the steering motor to control the steering of the traveling component.

[0008] As a preference, the traveling component includes a wheel hub, a wheel bracket, an electronic speed controller, and a flange coupling; the stator of the driving motor is fixedly connected to the wheel bracket, the output shaft of the driving motor is connected to the wheel hub through the flange coupling, the electronic speed controller for controlling the driving motor is installed on the wheel bracket, and the wheel bracket is fixedly connected to the bottom of the rotating part of the bearing. After adopting this structure, each traveling component is directly driven by an independent driving motor, and the electronic speed controller controls the speed of the driving motor, so that the movement of each traveling mechanism is not affected by the movement of other traveling mechanisms.

[0009] As a preference, the motor wire passes through the rotating part of the bearing and is connected to the rotating part of the electrical slip ring; the electronic speed controller is connected to the rotating part of the electrical slip ring through an electronic speed controller wire, and the electronic speed controller wire passes through the rotating part of the bearing and is connected to the rotating part of the electrical slip ring. After adopting this structure, the motor wire and the electronic speed controller wire will not be wound by themselves or wind other components of the traveling mechanism due to the rotation of the traveling mechanism.

[0010] As a preference, the steering mechanism further includes a connecting frame, and the connecting frame includes a fixing plate, an aluminum column, and a supporting plate; the fixing plate is erected on the fixed part of the bearing through the aluminum column and the supporting plate; the fixed part of the steering motor is connected to the fixing plate. After adopting this structure, it is convenient to fix the steering motor on the fixed part of the bearing.

[0011] As a preference, the chassis frame is a rectangular frame structure, and the number of both the traveling mechanism and the steering mechanism is four. The four traveling mechanisms are located at the four top corners of the chassis frame, and the four traveling mechanisms are distributed in a rectangle; the four steering mechanisms are respectively connected to the chassis frame corresponding to the four traveling mechanisms, and the four steering mechanisms are distributed in a rectangle. After adopting this structure, the chassis of the wheeled freight robot runs smoothly and has a strong load-bearing capacity.

[0012] As a preference, the wheel bracket includes two connecting plates, and the connecting plates are made of fiberglass boards; the two connecting plates are respectively fixedly connected to the rotating part of the bearing through round head adapter nuts; the driving motor is fixedly installed on one connecting plate, the flange coupling is rotationally connected to the other connecting plate, and the wheel hub is located between the two connecting plates. After adopting this structure, the walking components are compact, firm, and save the rotating space of the traveling mechanism.

[0013] As a preference, the chassis frame is spliced by multiple square aluminum tubes, and a connecting piece is provided at the connection of the square aluminum tubes. The connecting piece is connected to the square aluminum tube by screws. After adopting this structure, the chassis frame structure is stable and firm, and has a strong load-bearing capacity.

[0014] As a preference, the connecting piece is a flat plate structure, and the connecting piece is made of fiberglass board; the thickness of the connecting piece is 2 mm. After adopting this structure, the connecting piece is convenient to process and has a low cost.

[0015] A freight robot includes a load platform and a wheeled freight robot chassis; the load platform includes a platform bottom plate and four baffles. The platform bottom plate is installed on the chassis frame. The platform bottom plate is a rectangular flat plate structure, and the four baffles are connected to the four peripheral edges of the platform bottom plate, and the four baffles all extend outward and upward. After adopting this structure, the freight robot can achieve full-angle steering and is convenient for freight transportation.

[0016] The principle of the present invention is: after power-on, the steering motor reads the encoder value and controls the four wheel groups to face forward. This process is called calibration and zeroing. Subsequently, it can receive instructions from a remote controller or other controllers to control the rotation and angle of the steering motor and the driving motor, and can respectively achieve: moving forward, backward, left, and right, rotating left, rotating right, turning at any radian during forward movement, and moving forward, backward, left, and right relative to the world coordinate system while rotating around its own center.

[0017] Generally speaking, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0018] 1. The present invention can adapt to steering movement in a narrow space. Each wheel is a vector drive output, without speed loss, runs stably, can move omnidirectionally, and the translation and rotation are smooth without bumps.

[0019] 2. In the present invention, a hollow shaft motor is sleeved outside the conductive slip ring. The rotating part of the conductive slip ring rotates along with the rotating part of the hollow shaft motor, while the fixed part of the conductive slip ring is fixed relative to the chassis frame. The fixed part of the conductive slip ring is connected to the power supply through a wire. Thus, the wire of the fixed part of the conductive slip ring does not rotate along with the rotating part of the conductive slip ring. The rotating part of the conductive slip ring rotates along with the rotating part of the hollow shaft motor. The drive motor and the electronic speed controller are respectively connected to the rotating part of the conductive slip ring through the motor wire and the electronic speed controller wire. Therefore, the motor wire and the electronic speed controller wire rotate simultaneously with the rotating part of the conductive slip ring. The drive motor wire and the electronic speed controller wire do not tangle with each other, nor do they tangle with the components of the traveling mechanism or the steering mechanism. Thus, it is realized that the hollow shaft motor controls the traveling mechanism to rotate infinitely in one direction.

[0020] 3. The conductive slip ring plays a role in connecting the steering part and the drive part during the process that the traveling mechanism can rotate infinitely in one direction, and provides control signals and drive power for the drive part.

[0021] 4. The chassis frame travels through four traveling mechanisms, and four steering mechanisms control the steering of the four traveling mechanisms. Thus, the chassis frame has eight degrees of freedom of movement.

[0022] 5. The chassis frame is assembled by splicing square aluminum tubes, with a stable structure. At the joints of the square aluminum tubes, the connection area between the square aluminum tubes is increased through connectors, improving the load-bearing capacity of the chassis frame. Description of the Drawings

[0023] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional view of a chassis of a wheeled cargo-carrying robot.

[0024] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a chassis of a wheeled cargo-carrying robot.

[0025] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the partial cross-section of the steering mechanism connected to the traveling mechanism.

[0026] Figure 4 It is a three-dimensional view of a cargo-carrying robot.

[0027] Among them, 1 is the chassis frame, 2 is the traveling mechanism, 3 is the steering mechanism, 4 is the power supply, 5 is the bearing, 6 is the drive motor, 7 is the electronic speed controller, 8 is the wheel bracket, 9 is the electronic speed controller wire, 10 is the motor wire, 11 is the steering motor, 12 is the wheel hub, 13 is the rotating part of the conductive slip ring, 14 is the fixed part of the conductive slip ring, 15 is the fixing plate, 16 is the aluminum column, 17 is the support plate, 18 is the platform bottom plate, 19 is the baffle, and 20 is the connector. Detailed Embodiment

[0028] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments.

[0029] Embodiment 1

[0030] A wheeled cargo robot chassis includes a power source, a chassis frame, a plurality of traveling mechanisms, and a plurality of steering mechanisms; the plurality of traveling mechanisms are all located at the bottom of the chassis frame, and one traveling mechanism is connected to the chassis frame through one steering mechanism; the steering mechanism includes a conductive slip ring, a steering motor, a bearing, and a connecting frame; the traveling mechanism includes a traveling component and a driving motor for driving the traveling component to operate; the power source is installed on the chassis frame.

[0031] The conductive slip ring includes a fixed part at the upper end and a rotating part at the lower end; the steering motor is a hollow shaft motor, and the hollow shaft motor is equipped with an encoder for angle control of the traveling mechanism. The hollow shaft motor includes a fixed part and a rotating part; the bearing includes a fixed part located on the outer ring and a rotating part located on the inner ring; the steering motor is sleeved outside the conductive slip ring.

[0032] The fixed part of the bearing is fixedly installed on the chassis frame. The steering motor is located at the top of the bearing. The fixed part of the steering motor is installed on the fixed part of the bearing through a connecting frame. The rotating part of the steering motor is fixedly connected to the rotating part of the bearing; the traveling component is fixedly connected to the rotating part of the bearing; the rotating part of the conductive slip ring is connected to the rotating part of the steering motor. The driving motor and the rotating part of the conductive slip ring are connected through a motor wire. The motor wire passes through the rotating part of the bearing and is connected to the rotating part of the conductive slip ring; the motor wire rotates with the rotating part of the conductive slip ring; the fixed part of the conductive slip ring is connected to the power source through a wire, and both the wire and the power source are relatively fixed to the chassis frame. Thus, the chassis frame, the fixed part of the bearing, the fixed part of the steering motor, and the fixed part of the conductive slip ring are relatively fixed. The traveling mechanism, the rotating part of the bearing, the rotating part of the steering motor, and the rotating part of the conductive slip ring are relatively fixed.

[0033] The rotating part of the conductive slip ring is installed in the through hole of the hollow shaft motor through a flange and is fixedly connected to the rotating part of the hollow shaft motor by three screws.

[0034] The traveling components include wheels, wheel brackets, electronic speed governors, and flange couplings; the stator of the drive motor is fixedly connected to the wheel bracket, the output shaft of the drive motor is connected to the wheel through the flange coupling, the electronic speed governor for controlling the drive motor is installed on the wheel bracket, and the wheel bracket is fixedly connected to the bottom of the rotating part of the bearing. The electronic speed governor is connected to the rotating part of the slip ring through an electronic speed governor wire, and the electronic speed governor wire passes through the rotating part of the bearing and is connected to the rotating part of the slip ring. The wheel bracket includes two connecting plates, and the connecting plates are made of fiberglass boards; the tops of the two connecting plates are respectively fixedly connected to the rotating part of the bearing through round head adapter nuts; the drive motor is fixedly installed on one connecting plate, the flange coupling is rotatably connected to the other connecting plate, and the wheel is located between the two connecting plates. The wheel is sleeved outside the drive motor through a 6909 type bearing, the coupling sleeve of the flange coupling is sleeved outside the rotating part of the drive motor, and the flange plate of the flange coupling is fixedly connected to the wheel. The traveling components arranged in this way have a compact structure and save the slewing space.

[0035] The connecting frame includes a fixing plate, aluminum columns, and a support plate; the steering mechanism further includes a connecting frame, which includes a fixing plate, aluminum columns, and a support plate; the fixing plate is erected on the fixed part of the bearing through the aluminum columns and the support plate; the fixed part of the steering motor is connected to the fixing plate. The number of aluminum columns is four, the number of support plates is two, the fixed part of the steering motor is connected to the fixing plate, the bottoms of the four aluminum columns and the two support plates are all connected to the fixed part of the bearing, the two support plates are symmetrically arranged on the left and right of the fixed part of the bearing, the four aluminum columns are symmetrically arranged in pairs on the left and right of the fixed part of the bearing, two aluminum columns are arranged corresponding to both sides of one support plate, and the fixing plate is installed on the tops of the support plate and the aluminum columns.

[0036] In this embodiment, the chassis frame is a rectangular frame structure, the number of traveling mechanisms and steering mechanisms is four each, the four traveling mechanisms are located at the four top corners of the chassis frame, and the four traveling mechanisms are arranged in a rectangle; the four steering mechanisms are respectively arranged corresponding to the four traveling mechanisms on the chassis frame, and the four steering mechanisms are arranged in a rectangle.

[0037] The chassis frame is spliced by multiple square aluminum tubes, the chassis frame is rectangular in the top view direction, and a connecting piece is provided at the connection of the square aluminum tubes, and the connecting piece is connected to the square aluminum tube by screws. The connecting piece increases the connection area of the square aluminum tubes and improves the stability and load-bearing capacity of the chassis frame. The connecting piece is a flat plate structure, the connecting piece is made of fiberglass board, there are three types of connecting pieces, namely "right-angled" connecting pieces, "T-shaped" connecting pieces and "cross-shaped" connecting pieces, and the thickness of the connecting piece is 2 mm.

[0038] In this embodiment, the rotating part of the bearing described is a strip-shaped ring, which is the inner ring of the bearing and rotates relative to the outer ring of the bearing; the fixed part of the bearing is a strip-shaped ring, which is the outer ring of the bearing and is fixed to the chassis frame.

[0039] Usage process of the wheeled cargo robot chassis:

[0040] After power-on, the steering motor reads the encoder value and controls the orientations of the four wheel groups to face forward. This process is called calibration and zeroing. Subsequently, the mechanism starts to receive instructions from the remote controller or other controllers to control the rotation and angles of the steering motor and the driving motor, which can respectively achieve: moving forward, backward, left, and right, rotating left, rotating right, turning at any radian during forward movement, and moving forward, backward, left, and right relative to the world coordinate system while rotating around its own center.

[0041] Embodiment 2

[0042] A cargo robot in this embodiment includes a load platform and a wheeled cargo robot chassis of Embodiment 1; the load platform includes a platform bottom plate and four baffles. The platform bottom plate is made of fiberglass board and is installed on the chassis frame by eight screws. The platform bottom plate is located at the geometric center of the chassis frame and is a rectangular flat plate structure. The four baffles are connected to the four edges of the platform bottom plate, and the four baffles all extend outward and upward, thereby forming a load space with a sealed bottom and an open top. The four baffles are designed according to the length specifications of the four edges of the platform bottom plate. The four baffles extending outward and upward also facilitate placing the goods to be transported, and at the same time limit the sliding of the goods on the platform bottom plate to ensure that the goods will not fall.

[0043] Parts not mentioned in this embodiment are the same as those in Embodiment 1.

[0044] The above embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiments. Any other changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, and simplifications made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be equivalent replacement methods and are all included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A freight robot, characterized in that: It includes a load platform and a wheeled cargo robot chassis; the load platform includes a platform bottom plate and four baffle plates. The platform bottom plate is installed on the chassis frame. The platform bottom plate is a rectangular flat plate structure, and the four baffle plates are connected to the four peripheral edges of the platform bottom plate. The four baffle plates all extend outward and upward. The described wheeled cargo robot chassis includes a power supply, a chassis frame, a plurality of traveling mechanisms, and a plurality of steering mechanisms. The plurality of traveling mechanisms are located at the bottom of the chassis frame. One traveling mechanism is connected to the chassis frame through one steering mechanism. The steering mechanism includes a conductive slip ring, a steering motor, and a bearing. The traveling mechanism includes a traveling component and a drive motor for driving the traveling component to operate. The conductive slip ring includes a fixed part at the upper end and a rotating part at the lower end; the steering motor is a hollow shaft motor and includes a fixed part and a rotating part; the bearing includes a fixed part located on the outer ring and a rotating part located on the inner ring; the steering motor is sleeved outside the conductive slip ring. The chassis frame, the fixed part of the bearing, the fixed part of the steering motor, and the fixed part of the conductive slip ring are relatively fixed. The traveling mechanism, the rotating part of the bearing, the rotating part of the steering motor, and the rotating part of the conductive slip ring are relatively fixed. The drive motor and the rotating part of the conductive slip ring are connected through a motor wire, and this motor wire rotates with the rotating part of the conductive slip ring. The fixed part of the conductive slip ring is connected to the power supply through a wire, and this wire and the power supply are both relatively fixed to the chassis frame. The rotating part of the conductive slip ring is installed in the through hole of the hollow shaft motor through a flange and is fixedly connected to the rotating part of the hollow shaft motor by three screws.

2. The freight robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fixed part of the bearing is fixedly installed on the chassis frame. The steering motor is located on the top of the bearing. The fixed part of the steering motor is installed on the fixed part of the bearing. The rotating part of the steering motor is fixedly connected to the rotating part of the bearing. The traveling component is fixedly connected to the rotating part of the bearing. The rotating part of the conductive slip ring is connected to the rotating part of the steering motor.

3. A freight robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The traveling component includes a wheel hub, a wheel bracket, an electronic speed controller, and a flange coupling. The stator of the drive motor is fixedly connected to the wheel bracket. The output shaft of the drive motor is connected to the wheel hub through a flange coupling. The electronic speed controller for controlling the drive motor is installed on the wheel bracket, and the wheel bracket is fixedly connected to the bottom of the rotating part of the bearing.

4. The cargo robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The motor wire passes through the rotating part of the bearing and is connected to the rotating part of the conductive slip ring. The electronic speed controller is connected to the rotating part of the conductive slip ring through an electronic speed controller wire. The electronic speed controller wire passes through the rotating part of the bearing and is connected to the rotating part of the conductive slip ring.

5. A freight robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steering mechanism further includes a connecting frame. The connecting frame includes a fixing plate, an aluminum column, and a supporting plate. The fixing plate is erected on the fixed part of the bearing through the aluminum column and the supporting plate. The fixed part of the steering motor is connected to the fixing plate.

6. The freight robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The chassis frame is a rectangular frame structure. The number of both the traveling mechanisms and the steering mechanisms is four. The four traveling mechanisms are located at the four top corners of the chassis frame, and the four traveling mechanisms are distributed in a rectangle. The four steering mechanisms are respectively connected to the chassis frame corresponding to the four traveling mechanisms, and the four steering mechanisms are distributed in a rectangle.

7. The cargo robot according to claim 3, wherein: The wheel bracket includes two connecting plates made of fiberglass boards. The two connecting plates are respectively fixedly connected to the rotating part of the bearing through round head adapter nuts. The driving motor is fixedly installed on one connecting plate, and the flange coupling is rotatably connected to the other connecting plate. The wheel hub is located between the two connecting plates.

8. A freight robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The chassis frame is assembled by splicing multiple square aluminum tubes. A connecting piece is provided at the connection between the square aluminum tubes, and the connecting piece is connected to the square aluminum tubes by screws.

9. A freight robot according to claim 8, characterized in that: The connecting piece is of a flat plate structure and is made of fiberglass board; the thickness of the connecting piece is 2 mm.

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