A logistics system and control method thereof
By designing a customizable logistics system, using McNum wheels and reducer motors to achieve precise sorting of packages, the problem of low sorting efficiency and high cost in the express delivery industry is solved. It is suitable for small and medium-sized logistics companies and realizes automation and flexibility a complete sorting solution.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202111605996.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2021-12-25
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-17
- Estimated Expiration
- 2041-12-25
AI Technical Summary
The existing express delivery industry has low sorting efficiency and high cost, and is especially suitable for large logistics companies. It is difficult for small and medium-sized companies to introduce large-scale automated sorting equipment, and the equipment fails to fully utilize its advanced nature, resulting in waste of resources and losses.
A logistics system was designed, including a conveying module, sorting module, detection module and control module. By detecting the size, location and address of the package, a sorting strategy was formulated, and the McNum wheel and a gearbox were used to realize the package. Accurate motion trajectory, modular scheme can customize sorting equipment according to space and equipment size.
It improves sorting speed, reduces equipment costs and land space, realizes automation and flexibility of logistics sorting, reduces maintenance time, and saves labor costs. It is suitable for small and medium-sized logistics companies.
Smart Images

Figure CN114130679B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of logistics sorting, and in particular to a logistics system and a control method thereof. Background Art
[0002] Nowadays, e-commerce is booming and closely related to people's daily lives. In connection with this, my country's express delivery business volume and express delivery revenue have been growing in recent years. Looking around the world, China has grown into the world's fastest-growing and most dynamic emerging delivery market. While the express delivery industry is developing rapidly, it is also widely criticized by consumers. The main reason is that the logistics time is often difficult to guarantee, especially when there is a situation of express delivery "warehouse explosion", the direct consequence is that the goods are seriously stranded. Factors such as low sorting efficiency, high error rate, and slow logistics have always restricted the development of my country's express delivery service industry, among which sorting efficiency is the main factor affecting logistics time.
[0003] The reason is that most express delivery companies in my country still adopt manual sorting or semi-automatic sorting, and the sorting efficiency is extremely low. In order to improve the sorting efficiency, some companies have introduced some large-scale automated sorting equipment, such as ring cross belt sorters, bag-drop sorters, etc., but these equipment are very expensive and occupy a large area. They are only suitable for the needs of large logistics companies, and small and medium-sized logistics companies cannot introduce them. Moreover, some companies that have introduced the above equipment have directly applied them to the existing logistics system without modification, which cannot give full play to the advanced nature of the equipment, and also caused a great waste of resources, which ultimately brought a certain degree of loss to the logistics company. Summary of the invention
[0004] The present invention provides a logistics system and a control method thereof, which can freely customize and build sorting equipment according to actual working conditions such as space size, package size, and diversion equipment size.
[0005] The present invention provides a logistics system, comprising:
[0006] A conveying module, used for conveying packages;
[0007] A sorting module receives the parcels delivered by the conveying module;
[0008] The detection module is arranged above the conveying module and the sorting module, and is used to detect the length and width, lateral position and azimuth of the parcel on the conveying module, and obtain the address information of the parcel;
[0009] The control module is used to receive the length and width dimensions, lateral position, azimuth angle and address information of the package detected by the detection module, and formulate corresponding sorting strategies and control schemes based on the above information, and control the movement trajectory of the package by controlling the movement direction of the sorting module.
[0010] Optionally, the sorting module includes a plurality of sorting units, which are detachably connected to each other to form a rectangular whole, wherein each sorting unit includes:
[0011] The housing has four placement slots distributed in a square shape on the upper end surface;
[0012] Two left-handed Mecanum wheels are placed one by one in two diagonally arranged slots;
[0013] Two right-handed Mecanum wheels are disposed one by one in two other diagonally disposed slots, and upper end surfaces of the left-handed Mecanum wheel and the right-handed Mecanum wheel are both higher than the upper end surface of the housing;
[0014] The reduction motors are connected to the left-handed Mecanum wheel and the right-handed Mecanum wheel one by one, and the reduction motors are connected to the control module signals to control the rotation speed of each reduction motor.
[0015] Optionally, the detection module includes:
[0016] Photoelectric sensors, located on both sides of the conveyor module, are used to detect whether there are packages on the conveyor module;
[0017] The first camera is located above the end of the conveying module away from the sorting module, and is used to take a photo of the package and identify the QR code on the package after the photoelectric sensor detects the package, so as to obtain the address information of the package;
[0018] The second camera is located above the end of the conveying module close to the sorting module, and is used to detect the length, width and lateral position of the package;
[0019] The third camera is arranged above the sorting module near the edge, and is used to monitor the azimuth angle of the package and whether it leaves the sorting module according to the movement trajectory. The azimuth angle is the angle formed by a certain edge of the package and a certain edge of the sorting module.
[0020] Optionally, the resolutions of the first camera, the second camera, and the third camera are gradually improved.
[0021] Optionally, it also includes multiple groups of diversion modules, and the multiple diversion modules are distributed at different positions around the sorting module. Each group of diversion modules includes a diversion conveyor belt and a diversion motor driving the movement. The diversion conveyor belt is connected to the sorting module so that the packages on the sorting module are conveyed along the conveying direction of the diversion conveyor belt. The third camera is arranged above the sorting module and the diversion module.
[0022] Optionally, it also includes a loading module, which is connected to the conveying module, and a drive controller of the loading module is connected to the control module to control the frequency of the loading module transmitting packages to the conveying module.
[0023] Optionally, the drive controller of the conveying module is connected to the control module signal to control the conveying speed of the conveying module so that the conveying speed of the conveying module matches the loading frequency of the loading module.
[0024] The present invention also provides a control method for a logistics system, comprising:
[0025] S1: The parcel is transferred to the conveying module through the loading module, and the loading frequency of the loading module matches the conveying speed of the conveying module;
[0026] S2: The detection module detects the length and width, lateral position and azimuth of the package, and obtains the address information of the package;
[0027] S3: Control the movement direction of the sorting module according to the detection result of the detection module to control the movement trajectory of different packages;
[0028] S4: The diversion module adjusts the corresponding diversion conveyor belt to transport the package according to the movement trajectory of the package.
[0029] Optionally, S2 specifically includes:
[0030] S21: The photoelectric sensors located on both sides of the conveying module in the detection module detect whether there is a package on the conveying module;
[0031] S22: When the photoelectric sensor detects the package, the first camera in the detection module located above the end of the conveying module away from the sorting module takes a photo of the package and identifies the QR code thereon to obtain the address information of the package. The address information of the package is the diversion conveyor belt corresponding to the package, and the diversion conveyor belt is determined as the target point;
[0032] S23: A second camera located above one end of the conveying module close to the sorting module acquires image information of the package and its vicinity to obtain the length, width and lateral position of the package;
[0033] S24: A third camera arranged above the sorting module and the diversion module in the detection module monitors the azimuth angle of the package and whether it enters the corresponding diversion conveyor belt. The azimuth angle is the angle formed by an edge of the package and an edge of the sorting module.
[0034] Optionally, S3 specifically includes:
[0035] S31: According to the spacing between adjacent Mecanum wheels in the sorting module and the ratio of the pixel size to the actual size of the image information of the package and its vicinity obtained by the second camera in S23, the image is divided into grids, and the size of the grid corresponds to the spacing between adjacent Mecanum wheels;
[0036] S32: With the package moving direction as the positive direction of the Y axis and the vertical upward direction as the positive direction of the Z axis, establish the xOy rectangular coordinate system according to the right-hand rule, set the coordinates of the lower left corner Mecanum wheel contact point to 1,1, set the unit distance to the distance between adjacent Mecanum wheels, and the distance from the left midpoint of the package to the straight line formed by the leftmost row of Mecanum wheels to be L, L is between k-1 units and k units, that is, L∈k-1,k; the package length is A, AkL∈m-1,m; the package width is B, B∈n-1,n. Then the Mecanum wheels in the driving group obtained by grouping in the first period are: k+1,1,k+1,2,…,k+1,n;
[0037] k+2, 1, k+2, 2, … k+2, n; …, k+m, 1, …, k+m, n, this is group 1;
[0038] S33: Calculate the coordinates of the geometric center of the package when it enters the edge of the sorting module, mark the coordinates as the starting point, and plan the sorting trajectory based on the starting point and the target point;
[0039] S34: Group 2 to Group n can be grouped according to the sorting trajectory and Group 1. Group 2 to Group n are the groups obtained from the 2nd period to the nth period. Group 2 is obtained by Group 1 and the next trajectory of Group 1, and so on, to obtain the coordinates of the driving wheels similar to the above, until the package completely enters the diversion module.
[0040] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: compared with the traditional manual sorting method, the present invention greatly improves the sorting speed of packages, liberates labor to a certain extent, saves a certain amount of labor costs for the enterprise, and realizes the automation of logistics sorting and its upstream and downstream links.
[0041] Compared with the sorting method using large-scale sorting equipment, the present invention reduces the cost of the sorting equipment and reduces the space occupied by the sorting equipment; at the same time, the present invention adopts a modular solution, and the sorting equipment can be freely customized and built according to actual working conditions such as space size, package size, and diversion equipment size. When the sorting equipment fails, it is generally the sorting unit therein that fails. It only needs to replace the failed sorting unit to continue operating, which reduces maintenance time, improves operating efficiency, and realizes the flexibility of logistics sorting.
[0042] Compared with the sorting method using a sorting robot, in which the sorting robot needs to stop working and be charged after working for a period of time, the present invention does not require each sorting unit to be charged in the above manner, and can work at any time as long as it operates normally, thereby improving the sorting efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0043] Figure 1 An overall schematic diagram of a logistics system proposed in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0044] Figure 2 An axonometric diagram of a sorting module and a conveying module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0045] Figure 3 An axonometric diagram of a sorting unit in a conveying module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0046] Figure 4 A right side cross-sectional view of a sorting unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0047] Figure 5 A bottom view of a sorting unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0048] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a top view of a sorting module, a diversion module, and a conveying module during operation according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0049] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the communication mode between a control module and its controlled object in a control method of a logistics system proposed in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0050] Figure 8 A schematic top view of a sorting module in a logistics system performing posture adjustment on a large-sized package according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0051] A specific implementation of the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but it should be understood that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited by the specific implementation.
[0052] In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms “center”, “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside”, “axial”, “radial”, “circumferential”, etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing the technical solutions of the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.
[0053] Nowadays, e-commerce is booming and closely related to people's daily lives. In connection with this, my country's express delivery business volume and express delivery revenue have been growing in recent years. Looking around the world, China has grown into the world's fastest-growing and most dynamic emerging delivery market. While the express delivery industry is developing rapidly, it is also widely criticized by consumers. The main reason is that the logistics time is often difficult to guarantee, especially when there is a situation of express delivery "warehouse explosion", the direct consequence is that the goods are seriously stranded. Factors such as low sorting efficiency, high error rate, and slow logistics have always restricted the development of my country's express delivery service industry, among which sorting efficiency is the main factor affecting logistics time.
[0054] The reason is that most express delivery companies in my country still adopt manual sorting or semi-automatic sorting, and the sorting efficiency is extremely low. In order to improve the sorting efficiency, some companies have introduced some large-scale automated sorting equipment, such as ring cross belt sorters, bag-drop sorters, etc., but these equipment are very expensive and occupy a large area. They are only suitable for the needs of large logistics companies, and small and medium-sized logistics companies cannot introduce them. Moreover, some companies that have introduced the above equipment have directly applied them to the existing logistics system without modification, which cannot give full play to the advanced nature of the equipment, and also caused a great waste of resources, which ultimately brought a certain degree of loss to the logistics company.
[0055] Based on the above technical problems, the present invention provides a logistics system and a control method thereof, which can freely customize and build sorting equipment according to actual working conditions such as space size, package size, and diversion equipment size. The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 This is an overall schematic diagram of a logistics system proposed in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 This is an axonometric diagram of the sorting module and the conveying module proposed in the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 This is an axonometric diagram of a sorting unit in a conveying module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 It is a right side cross-sectional view of the sorting unit proposed in the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 A bottom view of a sorting unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a top view of the sorting module, the diversion module, and the conveying module during operation according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the communication mode between a control module and its controlled object in a control method of a logistics system proposed in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 A schematic top view of a sorting module in a logistics system performing posture adjustment on a large-sized package according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0056] like Figure 1-2As shown, a logistics system provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes: a conveying module 3, a sorting module 1, a detection module 4 and a control module 6. The conveying module 3 is used to convey the package 8. The sorting module 1 receives the package 8 conveyed by the conveying module 3. The detection module 4 is arranged above the conveying module 3 and the sorting module 1, and is used to detect the length and width dimensions, lateral position and azimuth angle of the package 8 on the conveying module 3, and obtain the address information of the home location of the package 8. The control module 6 is used to receive the length and width dimensions, lateral position, azimuth angle and home location address information of the package 8 detected by the detection module 4, and formulate corresponding sorting strategies and control schemes according to the above information, and control the movement trajectory of the package 8 by controlling the movement direction of the sorting module 1.
[0057] like Figure 3-5 The sorting module 1 includes a plurality of sorting units 7, which are detachably connected to each other to form a rectangular whole. Adjacent sorting units 7 are connected by cylindrical pins 1-1, which are used to limit the freedom of movement of the sorting unit 7 in the X and Y directions and the freedom of rotation around the Z direction. Each sorting unit 7 includes: a housing 7-3, two left-handed Mecanum wheels 7-1, two right-handed Mecanum wheels 7-2 and a reduction motor 7-9. The upper end surface of the housing 7-3 has four square-shaped The two left-handed Mecanum wheels 7-1 are arranged in two diagonal placement slots, and the two right-handed Mecanum wheels 7-2 are arranged in the other two diagonal placement slots. The upper end surfaces of the left-handed Mecanum wheels 7-1 and the right-handed Mecanum wheels 7-2 are higher than the upper end surface of the housing 7-3. The reduction motors 7-9 are connected to the left-handed Mecanum wheels 7-1 and the right-handed Mecanum wheels 7-2 one by one. The reduction motors 7-9 are connected to the control module 6 signal to control the speed of each reduction motor 7-9.
[0058] The sorting unit 7 is mainly composed of 4 Mecanum wheels, 4 DC reduction motors 7-9 and a sorting unit housing 7-3, which can satisfy the omnidirectional movement of the package 8 controlled by the speed synthesis of the Mecanum wheels; the left-handed Mecanum wheel 7-1 and the right-handed Mecanum wheel 7-2 respectively drive the package 8 to move in different directions, the sorting unit housing 7-3 is used as the support of the sorting unit 7 as a whole, the deep groove ball bearing 7-4 is used for fixing and supporting the support shaft 7-14, the housing notch 7-5 provides space for the wiring of each DC reduction motor 7-9 and the drive controller, the cylindrical pin hole 7-6 is used for fixing with the cylindrical pin 1-1, and the mounting plate nut 7-7, the mounting plate bolt 7-8 and the motor mounting plate 7-10 are used to fix the DC reduction motor 7-9 to the sorting unit housing 7-3 The DC reduction motor 7-9 drives the Mecanum wheel to rotate at a certain speed, the motor connection port 7-11 is used for connecting the DC reduction motor 7-9, the motor shaft 7-12 is connected to the support shaft 7-14 through the shaft sleeve 7-13, and is used to connect and fix the Mecanum wheel and the DC reduction motor 7-9, the wheel rim 7-21, the wheel hub 7-22, the roller 7-24, the roller support 7-25 and other structures together constitute the Mecanum wheel, wherein the wheel axle hole 7-23 is fixedly matched with the motor shaft 7-12, the sorting module 1 adopts the scheme of grouping control, determines the motion unit of the package 8 on the sorting module during the whole sorting process, and improves the sorting accuracy; at the same time, through the grouping method, it is ensured that the vast majority of the remaining unpressurized Mecanum wheels do not need to rotate, which greatly reduces the operating cost of the sorting module 1 and improves the service life of the sorting module 1.
[0059] Optionally, the detection module 4 includes: a photoelectric sensor 4-4, a first camera 4-1, a second camera 4-2 and a third camera 4-3. The photoelectric sensor 4-4 is located on both sides of the conveying module 3, and is used to detect whether there is a package 8 on the conveying module 3. The first camera 4-1 is located above the end of the conveying module 3 away from the sorting module 1, and is used to take a photo of the package 8 and identify the QR code thereon after the photoelectric sensor 4-4 detects the package 8, so as to obtain the address information of the location of the package 8. The second camera 4-2 is located above the end of the conveying module 3 close to the sorting module 1, and is used to detect the length and width dimensions and the lateral position of the package 8. The third camera 4-3 is arranged above the edge of the sorting module 1, and is used to monitor the azimuth of the package 8 and whether it leaves the sorting module 1 according to the motion trajectory. The azimuth is the angle formed by an edge of the package 8 and an edge of the sorting module 1.
[0060] Optionally, the resolutions of the first camera 4-1, the second camera 4-2 and the third camera 4-3 are gradually improved, and the resolution depends on the distance between the camera and the photographed object. After the photoelectric sensor 4-4 detects the package 8, it sends a signal to the low-resolution camera 4-1. The low-resolution camera 4-1 is located above the conveying system 3 away from the sorting system 1. At this time, it starts to take pictures of the package 8 and recognize the QR code thereon; the medium-resolution camera 4-2 is located above the conveying system 3 close to the sorting system 1, and is used to detect the length and width dimensions and the lateral position of the package 8. The planning range and lateral position of the dimensions are different, so the control scheme is different; the high-resolution camera 4-3 is arranged above the sorting platform, and is used to monitor the azimuth angle of the package 8 and whether it leaves the sorting module 1 according to the motion trajectory.
[0061] Optionally, it also includes multiple groups of diversion modules 2, and the multiple diversion modules 2 are distributed at different positions around the sorting module 1. Each group of diversion modules 2 includes a diversion conveyor belt and a diversion motor driving the movement. The diversion conveyor belt is connected to the sorting module 1 so that the package 8 on the sorting module 1 is conveyed along the conveying direction of the diversion conveyor belt. The third camera 4-3 is arranged above the sorting module 1 and the diversion module 2.
[0062] Optionally, a loading module 5 is further included, the loading module 5 is connected to the conveying module 3 , and a driving controller of the loading module 5 is connected to the control module 6 to control the frequency of the loading module 5 transmitting the packages 8 to the conveying module 3 .
[0063] Optionally, the drive controller of the conveying module 3 is connected to the control module 6 via signals to control the conveying speed of the conveying module 3 so that the conveying speed of the conveying module 3 matches the loading frequency of the loading module 5 .
[0064] The present invention also provides a control method for a logistics system, comprising:
[0065] S1: The package 8 is transferred to the conveying module 3 through the loading module 5, and the loading frequency of the loading module 5 matches the conveying speed of the conveying module 3;
[0066] S2: The detection module 4 detects the length and width, lateral position and azimuth of the package 8.
[0067] And obtain the address information of the place of origin of package 8;
[0068] S3: Control the movement direction of the sorting module 1 according to the detection result of the detection module 4 to control the movement trajectory of different packages 8;
[0069] S4: the diversion module 2 adjusts its corresponding diversion conveyor belt to convey the package 8 according to the movement trajectory of the package 8.
[0070] Optionally, S2 specifically includes:
[0071] S21: The photoelectric sensors 4 - 4 located on both sides of the conveying module 3 in the detection module 4 detect whether there is a package 8 on the conveying module 3;
[0072] S22: After the photoelectric sensor 4-4 detects the package 8, the first camera 4-1 in the detection module 4 located above the end of the conveying module 3 away from the sorting module 1 takes a photo of the package 8 and identifies the QR code thereon to obtain the address information of the package 8. The address information of the package 8 is the diversion conveyor belt corresponding to the package 8, and the diversion conveyor belt is determined as the target point;
[0073] S23: The second camera 4-2 located above one end of the conveying module 3 close to the sorting module 1 obtains image information of the package 8 and its vicinity to obtain the length and width dimensions and the lateral position of the package 8;
[0074] S24: The third camera 4 - 3 in the detection module 4 arranged above the sorting module 1 and the diversion module 2 monitors the azimuth angle of the package 8 and whether it enters the corresponding diversion conveyor belt. The azimuth angle is the angle formed by an edge of the package 8 and an edge of the sorting module 1.
[0075] Optionally, S3 specifically includes:
[0076] S31: According to the spacing between adjacent Mecanum wheels in the sorting module 1 and the ratio of the pixel size to the actual size of the image information of the package 8 and its vicinity obtained by the second camera 4-2 in S23, the image is gridded, and the size of the grid corresponds to the spacing between adjacent Mecanum wheels;
[0077] S32: With the direction of package 8 moving as the positive direction of the Y axis and the vertically upward direction as the positive direction of the Z axis, establish the xOy rectangular coordinate system according to the right-hand rule, set the coordinates of the lower left corner Mecanum wheel contact point to 1,1, set the unit distance to the distance between adjacent Mecanum wheels, and the distance from the left midpoint of the package to the straight line formed by the leftmost row of Mecanum wheels to be L, L is between k-1 units and k units, that is, L∈k-1,k; the package length is A, AkL∈m-1,m; the package width is B, B∈n-1,n. Then the Mecanum wheels in the driving group obtained by grouping in the first period are: k+1,1,k+1,2,…,k+1,n;
[0078] k+2, 1, k+2, 2, … k+2, n; …, k+m, 1, …, k+m, n, this is group 1;
[0079] S33: Calculate the coordinates of the geometric center of the package 8 when it enters the edge of the sorting module 1, mark this coordinate as the starting point, and plan the sorting trajectory based on the starting point and the target point;
[0080] S34: Group 2 to Group n can be grouped according to the sorting trajectory and Group 1. Group 2 to Group n are the groups obtained from the 2nd period to the nth period. Group 2 is obtained by Group 1 and the next trajectory of Group 1, and so on, to obtain the coordinates of the driving wheels similar to the above, until the package 8 completely enters the diversion module 2.
[0081] How to use and working principle:
[0082] refer to Figure 6-8 The parcel 8 is first loaded onto the conveying system 3 by the loading system 5 at a specified frequency. The main controller controls the loading frequency by sending instructions to the driving controller of the loading system 5. The loading frequency directly affects the sorting rate: if the loading frequency is too high, the detection frequency of the detection system 4 will be too high, which may easily cause missed detection and greatly reduce the sorting efficiency. If the loading frequency is too low, the number of parcels 8 sorted per unit time will naturally be small, and the sorting rate will decrease accordingly.
[0083] Subsequently, the package 8 enters the conveying system 3, and the conveyor belt transports the package 8 at a specified speed. The main controller controls the conveying speed by sending instructions to the drive controller of the conveying system 3. The conveying speed directly affects the sorting rate, and the principle is the same as that of the above-mentioned loading system 5.
[0084] After the package 8 enters the conveying system 3, the detection system 4 is ready to start working. When the photoelectric sensor 4-4 detects a package 8, it sends a signal to the low-resolution camera 4-1, and the low-resolution camera 4-1 starts to take pictures and sends the pictures to the main controller. The main controller processes the pictures and recognizes the QR code to obtain the address information of the package 8. After the address information is obtained, the diversion intersection can be determined, that is, the sorting target point is determined. When the package 8 is about to enter the sorting system 1, the medium-resolution camera 4-2 obtains the picture information of the package 8 and its vicinity and sends it to the main controller. The communication method of the control system is as follows: Figure 7 As shown, it is distributed control.
[0085] like Figure 8As shown, before the package 8 enters the sorting system 1, it is necessary to determine which Mecanum wheels drive the package 8 at different time periods. Therefore, it is necessary to group the Mecanum wheels driving the package in a certain way, and the formed group is called a drive group. The grouping method is: the main controller receives the image of the medium-resolution camera 4-2, and divides the image into grids according to the spacing of the Mecanum wheels and the ratio of the pixel size to the actual size. As shown in the dotted squares in the figure, the size of the grid corresponds to the size of the adjacent Mecanum wheels. Since the spacing between adjacent Mecanum wheels is equal, the size of each grid is equal and fixed. Then the intersection of the grid vertex and the package 8 image corresponds to the contact point between each Mecanum wheel in the drive group and the package 8, so grouping can be performed according to this intersection. As shown in the figure, the travel direction of package 8 is taken as the positive direction of the Y axis, and the vertical upward direction is taken as the positive direction of the Z axis. The xOy rectangular coordinate system is established according to the right-hand rule. The coordinates of the lower left corner Mecanum wheel contact point are set to (1, 1). The unit distance is the distance between adjacent Mecanum wheels. The corresponding Mecanum wheels are expressed in coordinates. The Mecanum wheels in the driving group obtained by grouping in the first period are: (4, 1), (4, 2), (4, 3), (5, 1),
[0086] (5, 2), (5, 3), (6, 1), (6, 2), (6, 3), this is group 1. The main control system then calculates the coordinates of the geometric center of the package when it passes the lower edge of the sorting system 1, which is the starting point of the sorting, and plans the sorting trajectory based on the starting point and the above-mentioned target point, as shown by the solid curve in the figure. The main control system can group groups 2 to n according to the sorting trajectory and group 1, and obtain coordinates similar to the above-mentioned driving wheels until the package 8 completely enters the diversion system 2. The operating time of group 1 is: from the time when package 8 just enters the sorting system to the time when package 8 completely leaves group 1, and the operating time of other groups is similar, so the operating time of adjacent groups must be crossed to ensure the continuous and smooth movement of package 8.
[0087] Figure 5 The figure is a schematic diagram of the structure of the right-handed Mecanum wheel 7-2. Unlike ordinary wheels, the Mecanum wheel has three degrees of freedom, namely, the wheel rotates around the wheel axle, the roller rotates around the roller axis, and the wheel rotates around the normal line of the normal plane formed at the contact point. Like the left-handed Mecanum wheel 7-1, its roller axis is at an angle of 45° with the wheel axis. These rollers make the Mecanum wheel have a velocity component along the wheel axle direction when it moves. When the right-handed Mecanum wheel 7-2 rotates forward, the linear velocity direction of its contact point with the package 8 is toward the left front, and similarly, the left-handed Mecanum wheel is toward the right front.
[0088] like Figures 3 to 5As shown, it is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sorting unit 7. One sorting unit 7 includes two left-handed Mecanum wheels 7-1 and two right-handed Mecanum wheels 7-2. It can be seen from the top view that the axes of the rollers are distributed in an "X" shape. This distribution method can satisfy the omnidirectional movement of the package 8 by controlling the forward or reverse rotation of each wheel at different speeds. It is the smallest motion unit of the sorting system. The spacing between adjacent Mecanum wheels in the sorting unit 7 is determined by the minimum length and width of the package 8. It should be ensured that the package 8 is always supported by more than 3 contact points when moving on the sorting system 1; the number of sorting units 7 is determined by factors such as the maximum length and width of the package 8, the number of diversion conveyor belts, and the lateral dimensions. It should be ensured that the package enters the diversion system 2 smoothly without falling. As shown Figure 3 The figure shows the speed decomposition diagram of the four Mecanum wheels when they rotate forward. When the package 8 is driven by the four wheels in forward rotation, the speed synthesis will produce forward movement, otherwise it will move backward; when the upper right and lower left wheels rotate forward and the upper left and lower right wheels rotate backward, the package 8 moves to the left, otherwise it moves to the right; when the upper left and lower left wheels rotate forward and the upper right and lower right wheels rotate backward, the package 8 rotates clockwise around the geometric center of the four wheels, otherwise it rotates counterclockwise. Therefore, the movement form and direction of the package 8 can be controlled by controlling the direction of the Mecanum wheels.
[0089] like Figure 8 As shown, after the sorting system 1 completes the sorting work, the package 8 will enter the diversion system 2. The diversion system 2 is composed of a plurality of diversion conveyor belts. In order to save floor space and increase the number of diversion passages, the width of the diversion conveyor belt is slightly larger than the maximum length and width of the package 8. Then the length and width of the large-sized package 8 must be greater than the width of the diversion conveyor belt. If the posture of the large-sized package is not adjusted to standard, it will be difficult for it to enter the diversion system. Therefore, the specific process of the above work is as follows: After the medium-resolution camera 4-2 sends the image to the main control system, the main control system calculates the length of the hypotenuse of the package 8 to determine whether the posture adjustment is required. If adjusted, a posture adjustment signal is sent to the high-resolution camera 4-3. When the package 8 is about to produce a contact point with the Mecanum wheel at the edge of the sorting system 1, the main control system sends a start posture adjustment signal to the motor drive. The drive group n in this period rotates the package 8, and the selection of the drive wheel in the drive group is as described above. When the parallelism between the long side or wide side of the parcel 8 and the wide side of the diversion conveyor belt meets the requirements, the main control system sends a stop posture adjustment signal to the motor drive, and the drive group stops rotating the parcel 8, and then drives the parcel 8 to move horizontally to the diversion system 2. At this point, the sorting work for the parcel is completely completed.
[0090] Compared with the traditional manual sorting method, the equipment of the present invention greatly improves the sorting speed of packages, liberates labor to a certain extent, saves a certain amount of labor costs for the enterprise, and realizes the automation of logistics sorting and its upstream and downstream links.
[0091] Compared with the sorting method using large-scale sorting equipment, the present invention reduces the cost of the sorting equipment and reduces the space occupied by the sorting equipment; at the same time, the present invention adopts a modular solution, and the sorting equipment can be freely customized and built according to actual working conditions such as space size, package size, and diversion equipment size. When the sorting equipment fails, it is generally the sorting unit therein that fails. It only needs to replace the failed sorting unit to continue operating, which reduces maintenance time, improves operating efficiency, and realizes the flexibility of logistics sorting.
[0092] Compared with the sorting method using a sorting robot, in which the sorting robot needs to stop working and be charged after working for a period of time, the present invention does not require each sorting unit to be charged in the above manner, and can work at any time as long as it operates normally, thereby improving the sorting efficiency.
[0093] The above disclosures are only several specific embodiments of the present invention. However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. Any changes that can be conceived by those skilled in the art should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A logistics system, characterized in that: include: A conveying module (3) for conveying a package (8); A sorting module (1) receives the parcel (8) conveyed by the conveying module (3); A detection module (4) is arranged above the conveying module (3) and the sorting module (1), and is used to detect the length and width, lateral position and azimuth of the parcel (8) on the conveying module (3), and to obtain the address information of the parcel (8); A control module (6) is used to receive the length and width dimensions, lateral position, azimuth angle and address information of the parcel (8) detected by the detection module (4), and formulate a corresponding sorting strategy and control scheme based on the above information, and control the movement trajectory of the parcel (8) by controlling the movement direction of the sorting module (1); The sorting module (1) comprises a plurality of sorting units (7), wherein the plurality of sorting units (7) are detachably connected to each other to form a rectangular whole, wherein each of the sorting units (7) comprises: The housing (7-3) has four placement grooves distributed in a square shape on the upper end surface; Two left-handed Mecanum wheels (7-1) are arranged one by one in the two diagonal placement slots; Two right-handed Mecanum wheels (7-2) are disposed one by one in the other two diagonally disposed placement grooves, and the upper end surfaces of the left-handed Mecanum wheel (7-1) and the right-handed Mecanum wheel (7-2) are both higher than the upper end surface of the housing (7-3); A reduction motor (7-9) is connected one by one to the left-handed Mecanum wheel (7-1) and the right-handed Mecanum wheel (7-2), and the reduction motor (7-9) is connected to a control module (6) via a signal so as to control the rotation speed of each reduction motor (7-9); The detection module (4) comprises: Photoelectric sensors (4-4), located on both sides of the conveying module (3), and used to detect whether the package (8) is on the conveying module (3); A first camera (4-1) is located above an end of the conveying module (3) away from the sorting module (1), and is used to take a photo of the package (8) and identify a QR code thereon after the photoelectric sensor (4-4) detects the package (8), so as to obtain the address information of the location of the package (8); A second camera (4-2) is located above one end of the conveying module (3) close to the sorting module (1) and is used to detect the length, width and lateral position of the package (8) so as to group the Mecanum wheels driving the package (8); a third camera (4-3), arranged above the sorting module (1) near an edge, for monitoring the azimuth angle of the package (8) and whether it leaves the sorting module (1) according to the movement trajectory, the azimuth angle being the angle formed by an edge of the package (8) and an edge of the sorting module (1); The resolutions of the first camera (4-1), the second camera (4-2) and the third camera (4-3) are gradually improved; It also includes a loading module (5), the loading module (5) is connected to the conveying module (3), and a drive controller of the loading module (5) is connected to the control module (6) to control the frequency of the loading module (5) transmitting the package (8) to the conveying module (3).
2. The logistics system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes a multi-component flow module (2), The plurality of diverter modules (2) are respectively distributed at different positions around the sorting module (1), and each group of the diverter modules (2) comprises a diverter conveyor belt and a diverter motor for driving the diverter conveyor belt to move. The diverter conveyor belt is connected to the sorting module (1) so that the parcels (8) on the sorting module (1) are conveyed along the conveying direction of the diverter conveyor belt. The third camera (4-3) is arranged above the sorting module (1) and the diverter module (2).
3. The logistics system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drive controller of the conveying module (3) is connected to the control module (6) via a signal so as to control the conveying speed of the conveying module (3) so as to match the conveying speed of the conveying module (3) with the loading frequency of the loading module (5).
4. A control method for a logistics system, characterized in that: include: S1: transferring a package (8) to a conveying module (3) via a loading module (5), wherein the loading frequency of the loading module (5) matches the conveying speed of the conveying module (3); S2: the detection module (4) detects the length and width, lateral position and azimuth of the package (8), and obtains the address information of the location of the package (8); S3: controlling the movement direction of the sorting module (1) according to the detection result of the detection module (4) to control the movement trajectories of different packages (8); S4: the diversion module (2) adjusts the corresponding diversion conveyor belt to convey the parcel (8) according to the movement trajectory of the parcel (8); The S2 specifically includes: S21: the photoelectric sensors (4-4) located on both sides of the conveying module (3) in the detection module (4) detect whether the package (8) is on the conveying module (3); S22: When the photoelectric sensor (4-4) detects the package (8), the first camera (4-1) in the detection module (4) located above the end of the conveying module (3) away from the sorting module (1) takes a photo of the package (8) and identifies the QR code thereon to obtain the home address information of the package (8), the home address information being the diversion conveyor belt corresponding to the package (8), and the diversion conveyor belt is determined as the target point; S23: a second camera (4-2) located above one end of the conveying module (3) close to the sorting module (1) acquires image information of the package (8) and its vicinity to obtain the length and width dimensions and the lateral position of the package (8); S24: a third camera (4-3) in the detection module (4) arranged above the sorting module (1) and the diversion module (2) monitors the azimuth angle of the package (8) and whether it enters the corresponding diversion conveyor belt, wherein the azimuth angle is the angle formed by an edge of the package (8) and an edge of the sorting module (1); The S3 specifically includes: S31: dividing the image into grids according to the spacing between adjacent Mecanum wheels in the sorting module (1) and the ratio of the pixel size to the actual size of the image information of the package (8) and its vicinity obtained by the second camera (4-2) in S23, wherein the size of the grids corresponds to the spacing between adjacent Mecanum wheels; S32: With the direction of travel of the package (8) as the positive direction of the Y axis and the vertically upward direction as the positive direction of the Z axis, an xOy rectangular coordinate system is established according to the right-hand rule, and the coordinates of the contact point of the lower left Mecanum wheel are set as (1, 1). The unit distance is set as the distance between adjacent Mecanum wheels. The distance from the left midpoint of the package to the straight line formed by the leftmost row of Mecanum wheels is L, and L is between k-1 units and k units, that is, L∈(k-1, k); the package length is A, A-(kL)∈(m-1, m); the package width is B, B∈(n-1, n), then the Mecanum wheels in the driving group obtained by grouping in the first time period are: (k+1, 1), (k+1, 2), ..., (k+1, n); (k+2, 1), (k+2, 2), ... (k+2, n); ..., (k+m, 1), ..., (k+m, n), which is group 1; S33: Calculate the coordinates of the geometric center of the package (8) when it enters the edge of the sorting module (1), mark the coordinates as the starting point, and plan a sorting trajectory based on the starting point and the target point; S34: Groups 2 to n can be grouped according to the sorting trajectory and group 1. Groups 2 to n are the groups obtained from the second period to the nth period. Group 2 is obtained by group 1 and the subsequent trajectory of group 1, and so on, to obtain the coordinates of the above-mentioned Mecanum wheels until the package (8) completely enters the diversion module (2).
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