Box taking device and box taking system

Abstract

The present specification discloses a box-taking device and a box-taking system. The box-taking device adjusts a telescopic component so that a gripper component descends along a storage column with a box-taking mechanism body to reach a storage position of a target storage box. After that, the gripper component first extends out of the box-taking mechanism body and fully opens at a joint position with the target storage box. After the gripper component extends out of a part of the box-taking mechanism body, in the process of fully opening, it drives a return-to-center component to extend, so as to push the target storage box within the limited range of a connecting rod component, so that the target storage box returns to the center position of the storage column, and then, by adjusting the telescopic length of the telescopic component, the target storage box is lifted. In the case where there is an error in the stacking position of the storage box in the horizontal direction or the storage box deviates from the center of the storage column due to the tilt of the stacking in the vertical direction, the storage box can be pushed to the center position of the storage column by the return-to-center component, so that the box-taking device can smoothly take out the target storage box through the gripper component.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of warehousing and logistics technology, and in particular to a box retrieval device and a box retrieval system. Background Art

[0002] Currently, in order to store as much goods as possible in a limited space, there are a variety of dense storage methods, one of which is a dense storage warehouse with a three-dimensional grid structure.

[0003] The dense storage warehouse of the three-dimensional grid structure is composed of multiple vertical storage columns and tracks arranged on the top of the multiple storage columns. Multiple storage boxes can be stacked and stored in each storage column along the vertical direction. The box-retrieving device can run on the track on the top, and the box-retrieving mechanism is vertically extended downward into the storage column to grab the goods in the storage column to complete the process of moving the target storage box from the storage column to the box-retrieving device.

[0004] Figure 1 The figure is a schematic diagram of a box-taking device and a storage shelf in the prior art. The figure is a side view. The rectangle filled with oblique lines represents a storage box. It can be seen that in the storage shelf, the storage boxes are stacked in the storage column in the vertical direction. The top of the multiple storage columns is provided with a track, and the box-taking device travels on the track. The box-taking device can be regarded as consisting of two parts. One part is a box-taking mechanism, which can extend from the top of the storage column into the storage column to extract the target storage box that needs to be transported. The other part is a moving mechanism, and the box-taking device can be moved on the track by the moving mechanism.

[0005] Figure 2 The figure is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the box-taking mechanism and the storage box, which is a side perspective view, wherein B represents a storage box stored in a storage shelf, and the storage box has a groove. A represents the gripper of the box-taking mechanism, and it can be seen that when the box-taking mechanism reaches the storage position where the storage box is located, the gripper will pop out, and after the gripper is opened, it will extend into the groove on the side of the storage box, so that the box-taking device can extract the storage box from the storage shelf through the gripper popped out of the box-taking mechanism.

[0006] However, there may be errors in the stacking of storage boxes, generally including: horizontal position deviation and vertical stacking tilt. For example, when the storage boxes are stacked in an interlaced manner, or when there are gaps between the storage columns and the storage boxes, and multiple storage boxes are stacked in the same storage column, the storage boxes may tilt toward one side of the storage column. In these cases, the storage boxes with stacking position errors deviate from the center of the storage column. When the stacking deviation of the storage boxes is large, the horizontal deviation may cause the gripper of the box-taking mechanism to be unable to extend into the groove on the side of the storage box after it pops out, and the vertical tilt may cause the box-taking mechanism to get stuck and wear the storage box and the storage column when taking the box, making it difficult for the box-taking device to take the box, and even causing damage to the box-taking device. Summary of the invention

[0007] The embodiments of this specification provide a box retrieval device and a box retrieval system, which are used to at least partially solve the problems existing in the prior art.

[0008] The embodiments of this specification adopt the following technical solutions:

[0009] The box-taking device provided in the present specification is applied in a dense storage warehouse with a three-dimensional grid structure. The dense storage warehouse includes a plurality of vertical storage columns. The box-taking device includes at least a telescopic component and a box-taking mechanism. The box-taking device controls the telescopic component to move the box-taking mechanism along the vertical direction of the storage column to take out the storage box placed in the storage column. The box-taking mechanism includes: a box-taking mechanism body, a centering component, a gripper component and a connecting rod component. The two ends of the centering component are respectively hinged to the gripper component and the connecting rod component. The gripper component is connected to the box-taking mechanism body through a first rotating shaft. The connecting rod component is connected to the box-taking mechanism body through a second rotating shaft. The box-taking mechanism body is connected to the telescopic component.

[0010] The telescopic assembly is used to adjust the telescopic length so that the box-taking mechanism body descends along the storage column to the storage position of the target storage box, and after the gripper assembly is at least partially located at the engaging position with the target storage box, adjust the telescopic length to lift the box-taking mechanism body upward so that the box-taking mechanism body lifts the target storage box;

[0011] The gripper assembly is used to open along the first rotation axis after the box-retrieving mechanism body reaches the storage position of the target storage box, so that the gripper assembly is fully opened at the engagement position between the gripper assembly and the target storage box;

[0012] The centering assembly is used to extend during the opening stroke of the gripper assembly and push the side wall of the target storage box to return the target storage box to the center position of the storage column;

[0013] The connecting rod assembly is used to pull the centering assembly when the centering assembly is extended, so as to limit the extension distance of the centering assembly and the hinged end thereof.

[0014] Optionally, the gripper assembly is further configured to open along the first rotation axis to be at least partially located at the engagement position when the box-taking mechanism body reaches the storage position of the target storage box, and to continue to open along the first rotation axis under the gravity reaction force of the target storage box when the telescopic assembly lifts the box-taking mechanism body upward until it is fully opened at the engagement position;

[0015] The telescopic assembly is further used to adjust the telescopic length and lift the box-taking mechanism body upward when the gripper assembly is at least partially located at the engaging position with the target storage box.

[0016] Optionally, the lower end of the centering assembly is hinged to the gripper assembly, and the upper end is hinged to the connecting rod assembly;

[0017] The upper end of the connecting rod assembly is hinged to the upper end of the centering assembly, and the lower end of the connecting rod assembly is connected to the box taking mechanism body through a second rotating shaft.

[0018] Optionally, a cavity is provided on a side of the centering assembly opposite to the connecting rod assembly, and when the centering assembly and the connecting rod assembly are retracted into the box retrieval mechanism body, the connecting rod assembly overlaps with the centering assembly, and the connecting rod assembly is received in the cavity.

[0019] Optionally, the hinge position of the centering component and the gripper component is not at the same height as the first rotation axis;

[0020] The farther the hinged position between the centering component and the gripper component is from the first rotation axis, the faster the centering component extends during the opening process of the gripper component.

[0021] Optionally, the position of the second rotation axis is higher than the position where the centering assembly is hinged to the gripper assembly, so that when the gripper assembly is fully opened at the engagement position, the centering assembly is vertical.

[0022] Optionally, the centering assembly, the connecting rod assembly and the gripper assembly are recessed into the side wall of the box taking mechanism body when they are accommodated in the box taking mechanism body.

[0023] Optionally, during the process of opening the gripper assembly, the distance the gripper assembly extends first exceeds the side wall of the box taking mechanism body, and then during the process of continuing to open the gripper assembly, the distance the centering assembly extends again exceeds the side wall of the box taking mechanism body.

[0024] Optionally, during at least part of the process of opening the gripper assembly, the distance that the centering assembly extends does not exceed the side wall of the box picking mechanism body; when the gripper assembly continues to open along the first rotation axis under the gravity reaction force of the target storage box, the centering assembly extends out of the side wall of the box picking mechanism body and pushes the side wall of the target storage box.

[0025] Optionally, the gripper assembly is further used to be retracted from the engagement position into the box taking mechanism body when the box taking device needs to put down the target storage box;

[0026] The centering component is also used to be retracted into the box taking mechanism body under the drive of the retracting action of the gripper component;

[0027] The connecting rod assembly is also used to be retracted into the box taking mechanism body under the drive of the centering assembly.

[0028] Optionally, the telescopic assembly, the centering assembly included in the box-taking mechanism, the gripper assembly, the box-taking mechanism body, and the connecting rod assembly are all arranged in pairs.

[0029] Optionally, for each box-taking mechanism body, the gripper assemblies arranged in pairs in the box-taking mechanism body are connected to the box-taking mechanism body via the same first rotating shaft.

[0030] Optionally, a motor is further provided on the first rotating shaft, for driving the gripper assembly to open or retract through the rotation of the first rotating shaft.

[0031] The box retrieval system provided in this specification includes a dense storage warehouse in a three-dimensional grid structure and the box retrieval equipment provided in the above-mentioned specification, wherein the dense storage warehouse includes a plurality of vertical storage columns, and storage boxes are stacked in the storage columns.

[0032] At least one of the above technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of this specification can achieve the following beneficial effects: the box-taking device adjusts the telescopic length of the telescopic assembly so that the gripper assembly descends along the storage column with the box-taking mechanism body to reach the storage position of the target storage box, and then the gripper assembly first extends out of the box-taking mechanism body, opens in the storage position, and fully opens at the joint position with the target storage box, and after the gripper assembly extends out a part of the box-taking mechanism body, in the process of fully opening, it drives the return-to-center assembly to extend, so as to push the target storage box within the limited range of the connecting rod assembly, so that the target storage box returns to the center position of the storage column, and then, by adjusting the telescopic length of the telescopic assembly, the target storage box is lifted. In the case where there is an error in the horizontal direction of the stacking position of the storage box or the storage box deviates from the center of the storage column due to the vertical stacking tilt, the storage box can be pushed to the center position of the storage column by the return-to-center assembly, so that the box-taking device can smoothly take out the target storage box through the gripper assembly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of this specification and constitute a part of this specification. The illustrative embodiments and descriptions of this specification are used to explain this specification and do not constitute an improper limitation on this specification. In the drawings:

[0034] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of box-taking equipment and storage shelves in the prior art;

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the box-taking mechanism and the storage box;

[0036] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a dense storage warehouse provided for this specification;

[0037] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a gripper provided in this manual that fails to pop out into place;

[0038] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a storage box stack tilt provided in this specification;

[0039] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the box-removing equipment provided for this manual;

[0040] Figure 7a to Figure 7c Schematic diagram of the storage box provided for this manual;

[0041] Figure 8 A partially enlarged schematic diagram of a box-taking mechanism provided in this specification;

[0042] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a box-taking mechanism provided in this manual;

[0043] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a joint position provided for this specification;

[0044] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of a box-taking mechanism provided in this manual;

[0045] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of a box-taking mechanism provided in this manual;

[0046] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of a storage box before and after centering provided in this manual;

[0047] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of a storage box centralization process provided in this manual;

[0048] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of a box retrieval system provided in this manual;

[0049] Fig.16 This is a schematic diagram of a box-taking method provided in this manual. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this specification more clear, the technical solutions of this specification will be clearly and completely described below in combination with the specific embodiments of this specification and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of this specification, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this specification, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this specification.

[0051] At present, the box-taking device can be used in a dense storage warehouse with a three-dimensional grid structure. The dense storage warehouse includes a plurality of vertical storage columns and a track arranged on the top of the plurality of storage columns. Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a dense storage warehouse provided in this specification. The figure is a top view, in which the dark area represents the track set on the top of the multiple storage columns, and the rectangle filled with oblique lines is the storage box stacked and stored in the storage column. Multiple storage boxes are stacked in the vertical direction in the storage column of the dense storage warehouse. The box retrieval device can move on the track of the dense storage warehouse to move to different positions to retrieve storage boxes in different storage columns.

[0052] In this specification, the box-taking mechanism in the box-taking device is used to take out the target storage box from the storage column where it is located. When the box-taking device moves to a specified position, the box-taking mechanism is above the storage column where the target storage box is located, and the box-taking device can take out the target storage box from the storage position where the target storage box is located by inserting the box-taking mechanism into the storage column where the target storage box is located.

[0053] However, when the box-taking mechanism in the prior art extracts the storage box from the storage column through the gripper, the storage boxes in the storage column need to be neatly stored and concentrated in the center of the storage column so that the gripper of the box-taking mechanism can smoothly take out the storage box. But in fact, there will be errors in the positions of multiple storage boxes stacked in the storage column, generally including: horizontal position deviation and stacking tilt in the vertical direction. For example, the storage boxes are stacked in an interlaced manner, or because there is a gap between the storage column and the storage box, when multiple storage boxes are stacked in the same storage column, the storage box may tilt toward one side of the storage column. In these cases, the storage box with errors in the stacking position will deviate from the center of the storage column. When the deviation of the stacking position of the storage box is large, the deviation in the horizontal direction may cause the gripper of the box-taking mechanism to be unable to extend into the groove on the side of the storage box after it pops out, and the tilt in the vertical direction may cause the storage box and the storage column to get stuck and wear when the box-taking mechanism is taking the box, making it difficult for the box-taking device to take the box, and even causing damage to the box-taking device.

[0054] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a gripper that fails to pop out in place provided in this specification. The figure shows two situations where the gripper fails to pop out in place. As shown in the figure, the gripper circled by a circle is a gripper that fails to pop out in place. In case A1, due to the storage error of the storage box, the storage box is too close to the left gripper, so that during the opening process, the left gripper touches the side wall of the storage box before it is inserted into the groove of the storage box, resulting in the left gripper failing to pop out in place. In case A2, due to the storage error of the storage box, the storage box is too far away from the left gripper, so that after opening, the left gripper cannot be inserted into the groove of the storage box, resulting in the left gripper failing to pop out in place.

[0055] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a storage box stack tilted provided in this specification. As shown in the figure, there are three storage boxes stacked between the box-taking mechanisms. The vertical dotted line represents the center line of the storage column where the three storage boxes are located, and the tilted solid line represents the center line of the storage box. It can be seen that the storage box is inclined to the right box-taking mechanism, causing the storage box to deviate from the center of the storage column.

[0056] In order to solve the current problem that when the storage box placement position deviation is large, it may cause the gripper of the box picking mechanism to be unable to extend into the groove on the side of the storage box after popping out, or cause the box picking mechanism to get stuck, wear, etc. when picking up the box, resulting in difficulty in picking up the box by the box picking device, and even causing damage to the box picking device, this specification provides a box picking device and a box picking system.

[0057] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this specification are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0058] Figure 6Schematic diagram of the box retrieval equipment provided for this instruction manual. Figure 6 It is a front view of the box-taking device, which at least includes a box-taking mechanism 200 and a telescopic assembly 201, and may also include a moving mechanism. The box-taking device can control the telescopic assembly 201 to move the box-taking mechanism 200 along the vertical direction of the storage column of the dense storage warehouse to take out the storage box placed therein. The box-taking mechanism 200 includes: a centering assembly 202, a gripper assembly 203, a connecting rod assembly 204 and a box-taking mechanism body 205. In addition, the centering assembly 202 and the gripper assembly 203 are in an open state. It can be seen that the two ends of the centering assembly 202 are respectively hinged to the gripper assembly 203 and the connecting rod assembly 204, and the telescopic assembly 201 is connected to the box-taking mechanism body 205.

[0059] In this specification, the mobile mechanism is used to move to a specified position when the box-retrieving device retrieves a target storage box. The mobile mechanism and the box-retrieving mechanism 200 can be connected through the telescopic component 201. The specific positional relationship and volume of the box-retrieving mechanism 200 and the mobile mechanism, as well as the position where the telescopic component 201 connects the mobile mechanism and the box-retrieving mechanism 200 can be set as needed, and this specification does not limit it.

[0060] In this specification, since the mobile mechanism needs to move based on the track and reach the designated position corresponding to the position of the storage column where the target storage box is located, the mobile mechanism at least includes a driving structure for traveling on tracks in different directions, such as a driving mechanism similar to the mobile mechanism of the four-way shuttle in the prior art. In addition, the mobile mechanism can be arranged at the bottom of the main structure of the box-retrieving device and contact the track.

[0061] In this specification, the two ends of the centering component 202 are respectively hinged to the gripper component 203 and the connecting rod component 204, the gripper component 203 is connected to the box taking mechanism body 205 through a first rotating axis, the connecting rod component 204 is connected to the box taking mechanism body 205 through a second rotating axis, and the box taking mechanism body 205 is connected to the telescopic component 201.

[0062] In this specification, the storage boxes stored in the dense storage warehouse may be provided with grooves. The specific form of the storage box can be various, for example, it can be a rectangular storage box with grooves, or an inverted trapezoidal storage box with grooves, or a storage box with a baffle on the top, etc. Figure 7a to Figure 7c shown.

[0063] Figure 7a to Figure 7c Illustration of the storage box provided for this instruction manual. Figure 7aThe rectangular storage box is provided with grooves on all sides, and the gripper assembly 203 can extract the storage box by extending into the grooves provided on all sides of the rectangular storage box. Goods are placed in the rectangular storage box, and dense storage of goods is achieved by stacking the rectangular storage boxes on the storage shelves. Figure 7b The storage box is an inverted trapezoidal storage box with a groove, and the gripper assembly 203 can be inserted into the groove of the inverted trapezoidal storage box to extract the storage box.

[0064] Of course, the storage boxes stored in the dense storage warehouse can also be Figure 7c Storage box shown without recesses.

[0065] In addition to the several types of storage boxes introduced above, other types of storage boxes may also be used, which can be specifically configured according to needs, as long as they can engage with the gripper assembly 203 of the box-retrieving device.

[0066] In this specification, the telescopic component 201 is connected to the box-taking mechanism body 205. When the box-taking device further includes a moving mechanism, the telescopic component 201 is also used to connect the box-taking mechanism body 205 and the moving mechanism. The telescopic component 201 can adjust the telescopic length so that the box-taking mechanism body 205 can be inserted into the storage column where the target storage box is located.

[0067] In this specification, since the dense storage warehouse includes multiple vertical storage columns in which multiple storage boxes can be stacked, and the position of the target storage box extracted by the box-retrieving device from different storage columns may be located at different depths of the storage columns, when the box-retrieving device retrieves multiple storage boxes stacked in a row at one time, the bottom storage box among the multiple storage boxes to be retrieved is the target storage box, and the box-retrieving device needs to extend into the storage position of the bottom target storage box. Therefore, when the box-retrieving device retrieves the target storage box from the storage column, the telescopic length of the telescopic component 201 can be adjusted according to the storage position of the target storage box, so that the gripper component 203 connected to the box-retrieving mechanism body 205 reaches the storage position of the target storage box.

[0068] Specifically, in the process from the box retrieval device extending into the storage column where the target storage box is located to lifting the target storage box, the telescopic component 201 is used to adjust the telescopic length according to the storage position of the target storage box, so that the box retrieval mechanism body 205 descends along the storage column where the target storage box is located to the storage position of the target storage box, so that the gripper component 203 reaches the storage position of the target storage box along with the box retrieval mechanism body 205. After the gripper component 203 is at least partially located at the engagement position with the target storage box, the telescopic length is adjusted to lift the box retrieval mechanism body 205 upward, so that the box retrieval mechanism body 205 lifts the target storage box.

[0069] Since the gripper assembly 203 connected to the box-picking mechanism body 205 needs to be opened and at least partially located at the engagement position with the target storage box so that the gripper assembly 203 can "grab" the target storage box, the telescopic assembly 201 can specifically target the engagement position of the target storage box in the storage position when adjusting the telescopic length so that the box-picking mechanism body 205 descends to the storage position of the target storage box, so that after the gripper assembly 203 is opened, the gripper assembly 203 can be at least partially located at the engagement position.

[0070] The telescopic component 201 may be in various specific forms, for example, a chain form, a rubber belt form, or a telescopic stick form, etc. Of course, it may also be in other forms and can be set as needed. This manual does not limit this.

[0071] In this specification, the gripper assembly 203 is used to open along the first rotation axis after the box-taking mechanism body 205 reaches the storage position of the target storage box, so that the gripper assembly 203 is fully opened at the engagement position with the target storage box. For example, the engagement position of the gripper assembly 203 and the target storage box can be the engagement position of the gripper assembly 203 and the groove of the target storage box. The engagement position can specifically be the position where the gripper assembly 203 contacts the target storage box and enables the gripper assembly 203 to lift the target storage box. That is, on the premise that the gripper assembly 203 can lift the target storage box, all positions within the contactable range of the gripper assembly 203 and the target storage box can be regarded as the engagement position. After the gripper assembly 203 is opened, as long as the position where the gripper assembly 203 contacts the target storage box falls within the contactable range, it is determined that the gripper assembly 203 is located at the engagement position with the target storage box.

[0072] In this specification, the box-retrieving device may be provided with a limiting device so that the gripper assembly 203 will not continue to open after being fully opened at the engagement position, thereby avoiding difficulty in retrieving the target storage box due to excessive opening of the gripper assembly 203.

[0073] Since a plurality of storage boxes are stacked and stored in the storage column, there may be errors in the stacking of each storage box, and other storage boxes may be stacked on the target storage box to be retrieved by the box-retrieving device, and the portion of the box-retrieving mechanism 200 extending into the storage column has a certain volume, therefore, when the box-retrieving device adjusts the telescopic length of the telescopic assembly 201 so that the gripper assembly 203 moves along with the movement of the box-retrieving mechanism body 205, the gripper assembly 203 can move along the two vertical surfaces of the storage column to avoid colliding with the storage box with a large stacking error during the movement of the gripper assembly 203. When the gripper assembly 203 reaches the storage position of the target storage box, the gripper assembly 203 can be opened along the first rotation axis so that the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located at the engagement position with the target storage box. The degree of opening of the gripper assembly 203 when it is at least partially located at the engagement position may be the same as or different from the degree of full opening of the gripper assembly 203 at the engagement position.

[0074] In this specification, the degree of opening of the gripper assembly 203 can be expressed by the angle formed by the gripper assembly 203 and the box-removing mechanism body 205, or can be expressed by the distance that the gripper assembly 203 extends from the box-removing mechanism body 205, and this specification does not impose any limitation on this.

[0075] In this specification, when the gripper assembly 203 is opened and at least partially located in the engagement position with the target storage box, the gripper assembly 203 points to the center of the storage column where the target storage box is located.

[0076] At present, the gripper assembly 203 of the box-taking device is usually provided with two, and the two gripper assemblies 203 extend into the groove of the storage box from opposite sides respectively to take out the storage box. In this specification, the telescopic assembly 201, the box-taking mechanism body 205 and each assembly included in the box-taking mechanism 200 can be arranged in pairs. That is, the telescopic assembly 201, the centering assembly 202, the gripper assembly 203, the box-taking mechanism body 205 and the connecting rod assembly 204 can all be arranged in pairs. For example, taking the gripper assembly 203 as an example, when the shape of the storage box is a quadrangular prism, the number of the gripper assemblies 203 can be 2, 4, etc. Of course, when the storage box is in the shape of other prisms (such as pentagonal prisms, hexagonal prisms, triangular prisms, etc.) or other shapes, the number of the gripper assemblies 203 can be adjusted accordingly. For example, assuming that the storage box is in the shape of a triangular prism, the number of the gripper assemblies 203 can be 3, 6, etc., assuming that the storage box is in the shape of a hexagonal prism, the number of the gripper assemblies 203 can be 2, 3, 6, etc., which can be set specifically as needed. The number of the box-taking mechanism body 205, the telescopic assembly 201, and other components included in the box-taking mechanism 200 can be adjusted accordingly, and this specification does not limit it. The following will be explained by taking the number of the box-taking mechanism body 205, the telescopic assembly 201, the centering assembly 202, and the connecting rod assembly 204 as 2, and each box-taking mechanism body 205 containing two gripper assemblies 203 as an example.

[0077] In this specification, the centering component 202 is used to extend during the opening stroke of the gripper component 203 and push the side wall of the target storage box to return the target storage box to the center position of the storage column. During the process of the centering component 202 extending with the pulling of the gripper component 203, if the centering component 202 hits the side wall of the target storage box, the centering component 202 can push the side wall of the target storage box to return the target storage box to the center position of the storage column. Therefore, during the opening process of the gripper component 203, the distance of the centering component 202 extending can make the target storage box return to the center.

[0078] For ease of understanding, this specification also provides a partial enlarged schematic diagram of the box taking mechanism 200, such as Figure 8 shown. Figure 8 This is a partial enlarged schematic diagram of a box-taking mechanism provided in this specification. As shown in the figure, the two ends of the centering component 202 are respectively hinged with the gripper component 203 and the connecting rod component 204, and the gripper component 203 is connected to the box-taking mechanism body 205 through a first rotating shaft. The gripper component 203 and the centering component 202 are both in an open state, and driven by the centering component 202, the connecting rod component 204 is also opened.

[0079] It can be seen that the gripper assembly 203 is connected to the box taking mechanism body 205 via the first rotating shaft, and the connecting rod assembly 204 is connected to the box taking mechanism body 205 via the second rotating shaft. The lower end of the centering assembly 202 is hinged to the gripper assembly 203, and the upper end is hinged to the connecting rod assembly 204. The upper end of the connecting rod assembly 204 is hinged to the upper end of the centering assembly 202, and the lower end of the connecting rod assembly 204 is connected to the box taking mechanism body 205 via the second rotating shaft.

[0080] The farther the hinged position of the centering component 202 and the gripper component 203 is from the first rotation axis, the faster the centering component 202 extends during the opening of the gripper component 203. The distance between the hinged position of the centering component 202 and the gripper component 203 and the first rotation axis can be set as needed, and this specification does not limit it.

[0081] It should be noted that the above-mentioned return to the center (return to the center position of the storage column) means that after pushing the target storage box, the distance between the center of the target storage box and the center line of the storage column is within the preset distance, that is, after returning to the center, the target storage box does not have to be in the center of the storage column where it is located, but is in a position range that allows the gripper assembly 203 to be opened to at least partially locate in the engagement position. In addition, when the target storage box is tilted toward one side of the storage column, the target storage box after returning to the center does not have to be in a vertical state, but can also be in a state close to vertical, so that the box-taking mechanism will not be stuck, worn, etc. when taking the box, that is, it will not cause difficulty in taking the box by the box-taking device, and will not cause damage to the box-taking device.

[0082] In this specification, the position of the second rotation axis is higher than the position where the centering assembly 202 and the gripper assembly 203 are hinged, so that when the gripper assembly 203 is fully opened at the engagement position, the centering assembly 202 is vertical. The length from the second rotation axis to the hinged position of the connecting rod assembly 204 and the centering assembly 202 may be equal to the length from the first rotation axis to the hinged position of the gripper assembly 203 and the centering assembly 202. The centering assembly 202 is kept vertical after extending out of the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body 205, so that the target storage box can be centered, and the tilted target storage box can be pushed to a vertical state or a nearly vertical state.

[0083] Fig. 9A schematic diagram of a box-taking mechanism provided in this specification. The figure is a side view. Among them, two gray filled circles represent the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis. As shown in the figure, the figure shows four stages from left to right in which the gripper assembly 203, the centering assembly 202 and the connecting rod assembly 204 extend out of the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body 205. It can be seen that in the first stage (i.e., the stage corresponding to the image on the left side of the first arrow from left to right), the gripper assembly 203, the centering assembly 202 and the connecting rod assembly 204 are all closed and recessed in the box-taking mechanism body 205, and the connecting rod assembly 204 is received in the cavity of the centering assembly 202. In the second stage, the gripper assembly 203 extends out of the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body 205 before the centering assembly 202. Under the pull of the gripper assembly 203, the centering assembly 202 moves in the box-taking mechanism body 205, so that the connecting rod assembly 204 partially leaves the cavity of the centering assembly 202. In the third stage, the gripper assembly 203, the centering assembly 202, and the connecting rod assembly 204 all extend out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205. In the fourth stage, the gripper assembly 203 is fully opened. It can be seen from the third and fourth stages that the centering assembly 202 remains vertical after extending out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205.

[0084] The centering component 202 is in a vertical state when the gripper component 203 is fully opened, so that the box-taking mechanism 200 can make the target storage box return to the center position of the storage column where it is located when the target storage box is pushed to the center by the centering component 202. In the process of the centering component 202 pushing the target storage box to the center, even if the target storage box itself tends to one side of the storage column, the centering component 202 can also make the target storage box return to the vertical position. In addition, since the centering components 202 are arranged in pairs, when the target storage box is pushed to the center by the centering component 202 on one side, it will gradually approach the centering component 202 on the other side. Under the push and restriction of the centering components 202 on both sides, the target storage box will gradually return to the vertical position from the side of the storage column to which it tends, and will no longer tend to the opposite side of the side of the storage column to which it originally tends. In this way, the problem of difficulty in taking boxes caused by errors in the stacking of target storage boxes or inclination to one side of the storage column can be solved.

[0085] In this specification, the connecting rod assembly 204 is used to pull the centering assembly 202 when the centering assembly 202 is extended, so as to limit the extension distance of the centering assembly 202 and its hinged end, so that the centering assembly 202 can remain vertical after extending the box-taking mechanism body 205 under the restriction of the connecting rod assembly 204.

[0086] Fig.10A schematic diagram of a coupling position provided in this specification. As shown in the figure, the circled position is the coupling position between the gripper assembly 203 and the target storage box, and the distance from the box taking mechanism body 205 to the dotted line L1 is the distance that the centering assembly 202 extends out of the box taking mechanism body 205. The distance from the box taking mechanism body 205 to the dotted line L2 is the distance that the gripper assembly 203 extends out of the box taking mechanism body 205. It can be seen that the gripper assembly 203 extends farther from the box taking mechanism body 205. After the gripper assembly 203 is extended and fully opened, it contacts the coupling position with the target storage box. And the centering assembly 202 contacts the side wall of the target storage box. It can be seen that the centering assembly 202 is closer to the target storage box during the extension process.

[0087] Since the centering component 202 is closer to the target storage box, it is possible that during the opening process of the gripper component 203, the gripper component 203 has already pulled the centering component 202 to open to a certain extent before it is at least partially opened to the engagement position, so that the centering component 202 has already contacted the side wall of the target storage box before the gripper component 203 is at least partially located in the engagement position.

[0088] In this case, it is necessary to rely on the torque of the motor to continue to open the gripper assembly 203, and the weights of the items stored in different storage boxes are different. If the weight of the items stored in the storage box is larger, the friction generated between the box-taking mechanism 200 and the storage box will be greater, resulting in the need for a motor with greater power to open the gripper assembly 203 to at least partially engage with the groove of the target storage box. This requires the installation of a larger motor in the box-taking mechanism 200, so that the box-taking mechanism 200 extending into the storage column is larger in volume, and the storage boxes in each storage column are densely stored, and the space between the storage box and the storage column is usually very limited, so the volume of the part of the box-taking mechanism 200 extending into the storage column is limited. In addition, even if a motor with a smaller volume and sufficient power can be installed in the box-taking mechanism 200, and the motor drives the gripper assembly 203 to open, so that the centering component 202 pushes the target storage box to the center, the energy consumption is also high, resulting in a shorter battery life of the box-taking device and reduced work efficiency.

[0089] Therefore, in order to avoid this situation, in the present specification, during the process of opening the gripper assembly 203, the gripper assembly 203 can be extended to a distance exceeding the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205, and then during the process of continuing to open the gripper assembly 203, the centering assembly 202 can be extended to a distance exceeding the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205. Fig. 9As shown, the gripper assembly 203 extends out of the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body 205 before the centering assembly 202. The hinged position of the centering assembly 202 and the gripper assembly 203 is not at the same height as the first rotation axis, and the hinged position of the centering assembly 202 and the gripper assembly 203 is higher than the position of the first rotation axis, and the hinged position of the lower end of the centering assembly 202 and the gripper assembly 203 is lower than the upper end of the gripper assembly 203. In this way, when the gripper assembly 203 is opened, no matter how much the gripper assembly 203 is opened, the extension distance of the centering assembly 202 is smaller than the extension distance of the gripper assembly 203. That is, the gripper assembly 203 is first extended out of the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body 205, and after being partially extended, the centering assembly 202 touches the side wall of the target storage box in the process of extending. When the gripper assembly 203 is opened, it can be at least partially located in the engagement position before the centering assembly 202 contacts the side wall of the storage box. Based on this, the gripper assembly 203 can be opened to a greater extent before the centering assembly 202 contacts the side wall of the target storage box, which can avoid the situation where the gripper assembly 203 pushes the side wall of the target storage box before the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially in the engagement position with the target storage box, so that the gripper assembly 203 cannot be fully opened.

[0090] In this specification, when the box-taking device needs to put down the target storage box (for example, when the box-taking device has finished taking the box from the storage column and stores the target storage box at another location, or when the storage box is placed in another storage column, etc.), the gripper assembly 203 is also used to be retracted from the engagement position into the box-taking mechanism body 205 when the box-taking device needs to put down the target storage box. The centering assembly 202 is also used to be retracted into the box-taking mechanism body 205 under the drive of the retracting action of the gripper assembly 203. In the process of the centering assembly 202 retracting the box-taking mechanism body 205, the connecting rod assembly 204 is also used to be retracted into the box-taking mechanism body 205 under the drive of the centering assembly 202.

[0091] In this specification, the centering assembly 202, the connecting rod assembly 204 and the gripper assembly 203 are recessed in the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205 when they are stored in the box taking mechanism body 205. That is, when the centering assembly 202, the connecting rod assembly 204 and the gripper assembly 203 are closed and retracted into the box taking mechanism body 205, they are all recessed and stored in the groove of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205, and there is no part that exceeds the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205. In the whole opening process of the gripper assembly 203, the centering assembly 202 first moves the distance it is recessed in the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205, and then extends out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205. It is further ensured that the gripper assembly 203 can extend out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205 before the centering assembly 202.

[0092] In the present specification, a cavity may be provided on a side opposite to the centering component 202 and the connecting rod assembly 204. When the centering component 202 and the connecting rod assembly 204 are retracted into the box taking mechanism body 205, the connecting rod assembly 204 overlaps with the centering component 202, and the connecting rod assembly 204 is received in the cavity of the centering component 202.

[0093] In this specification, a motor may also be provided on the first rotating shaft to drive the gripper assembly 203 to open or retract through the rotation of the first rotating shaft.

[0094] In this specification, in the box-taking mechanism main body 205 arranged in pairs in the box-taking device, for each box-taking mechanism main body 205, the box-taking mechanism main body 205 can be provided with a pair of gripper assemblies 203, and the pair of gripper assemblies 203 arranged in the box-taking mechanism main body 205 can be connected to the box-taking mechanism main body 205 through the same first rotating shaft. Fig.11 shown.

[0095] Fig.11A schematic diagram of a box-taking mechanism provided in this specification. As shown in the figure, a pair of gripper assemblies 203 are arranged on the main body 205 of the box-taking mechanism, and the two gripper assemblies 203 are located on both sides of the main body 205 of the box-taking mechanism, and are connected to the main body 205 of the box-taking mechanism through the same first rotating shaft. Among them, the dotted line indicates the position where the first rotating shaft passes through the main body 205 of the box-taking mechanism. The oval circled part represents the motor arranged in the main body 205 of the box-taking mechanism. The motor includes at least a push rod and a cross bar. The push rod can move back and forth in the direction of the double arrows in the figure. The cross bar can be lowered or raised under the drive of the push rod. Slide blocks are arranged on both sides of the motor. The two ends of the cross bar are respectively connected to the two slide blocks, and the two slide blocks are respectively connected to the first rotating shaft through two first connecting rods. When the motor controls the push rod to move downward, it can drive the slide block to move downward, so that the slide block drives the first rotating shaft to rotate through the first connecting rod. When the motor drives the first rotating shaft to rotate, the two gripper assemblies 203 connected to the box taking mechanism body 205 through the first rotating shaft are opened simultaneously with the rotation of the first rotating shaft, and first extend out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205. After extending a part, the centering assembly 202 extends out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205.

[0096] In the present specification, after the gripper assembly 203 is opened and at least partially located in the engagement position, the gravity of the target storage box can be used to open the gripper assembly 203 to the maximum extent, so as to push the target storage box to the center through the centering assembly 202. By cleverly using the gravity of the target storage box, the power requirement for the motor driving the gripper assembly 203 can be reduced, which is more energy-efficient.

[0097] Therefore, in the present specification, the gripper assembly 203 can be further used to open along the first rotation axis when the box retrieval mechanism body 205 reaches the storage position of the target storage box, so as to be at least partially located in the engagement position, and when the telescopic assembly 201 lifts the box retrieval mechanism body 205 upward, it continues to open along the first rotation axis under the gravity reaction force of the target storage box until it is fully opened at the engagement position.

[0098] The telescopic assembly 201 can also be further used to adjust the telescopic length and lift the box-retrieving mechanism body 205 upward when the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located at the engaging position with the target storage box.

[0099] In this way, the gravity of the target storage box can be used to make the gripper assembly 203 pre-opened at the engagement position fully open at the engagement position, and when there is an error in the stacking of the target storage box, its own gravity can be used to push it to the center of the storage column. It can achieve the effect of enabling the box-taking device to smoothly take out the target storage box and cleverly utilizing the gravity of the target storage box to reduce additional energy consumption. The motor in this specification does not need to have the power to push the storage box, but only needs to be able to open the gripper assembly 203 to allow the gripper assembly 203 to at least partially extend into the groove of the target storage box, so that the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located at the engagement position. It can be seen that the box-taking device in this specification can use a relatively small-power motor, and the box-taking device in the specification can achieve the effect of energy saving, improving the battery life of the box-taking device, and improving the working efficiency of the box-taking device.

[0100] Fig.12 The schematic diagram of a box taking mechanism provided in this specification is shown in the figure. As shown in the figure, the gripper assembly 203, the centering assembly 202 and the connecting rod assembly 204 of the box taking mechanism 200 are all closed and stored in the box taking mechanism body 205. It can be seen that the components included in the box taking mechanism 200 are recessed in the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205 when closed.

[0101] Fig.13 A schematic diagram for comparing the storage box provided in this specification before and after centering. The figure shows, from left to right, the positional relationship between the storage box with errors in the stacking position and the box-taking mechanism body 205 before and after centering. Among them, the solid line represents the center line of the storage box, and the dotted line represents the center line of the storage column where the storage box is located. The left side of the arrow is before centering, and it can be seen that the left edge of the storage box is almost in contact with the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body 205 on the left, and the center line of the storage box does not coincide with the center line of the storage column. The right side of the arrow is after centering, and it can be seen that in the process of the gripper assembly 203 driving the centering assembly 202 to open, the centering assembly 202 pushes the storage box to the center position of the storage column where the storage box is located. The center line of the storage box coincides with the center line of the storage column.

[0102] The process of the centering component 202 pushing the target storage box back to the center position of the storage column is as follows: Fig.14 As shown, Fig.14 A schematic diagram of the storage box centralization process provided in this manual. Fig.14Taking the box taking mechanism body 205 on one side of the box taking device as an example, four stages of the storage box centering process are shown from top to bottom. It can be seen that in the first stage, the left edge of the target storage box is almost in contact with the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205 on the left side of the box taking device. The gripper assembly 203 is in the process of opening and has extended a part of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205. At this time, the centering assembly 202 has not yet extended the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205. In the second stage, the gripper assembly 203 is opened to a greater extent. Driven by the gripper assembly 203, a small part of the centering assembly 202 also extends out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205. Due to the push of the centering assembly 202, a gap appears between the target storage box and the box taking mechanism body 205. In the third stage, the gripper assembly 203 drives the centering assembly 202 to continue opening, and the centering assembly 202 pushes the target storage box further away from the box taking mechanism body 205. In the fourth stage, the gripper assembly 203 is fully opened under the action of the gravity reaction force of the target storage box, and the centering assembly 202 returns the target storage box to the center position of the storage column. It can be seen that during the process of the centering assembly 202 extending to center the target storage box, the centering assembly 202 is always in a vertical state.

[0103] In this specification, during at least a portion of the process of the gripper assembly 203 opening, the distance of the centering assembly 202 extending does not exceed the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body 205. When the gripper assembly 203 continues to open along the first rotation axis under the gravity reaction force of the target storage box, the centering assembly 202 extends out of the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body 205 and pushes the side wall of the target storage box. That is, during at least a portion of the process of the gripper assembly 203 opening, the gripper assembly 203 pulls the centering assembly 202 to move, but does not pull the centering assembly 202 out of the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body 205. When the gripper assembly 203 continues to open along the first rotation axis under the gravity reaction force of the target storage box, and is fully opened at the engagement position, the centering assembly 202 is pulled out of the side wall of the box-taking mechanism body. That is, the gravity of the target storage box is used to pull the centering component 202 to extend further, so as to achieve the effect of centering the target storage box by using its gravity.

[0104] In this specification, during the process of opening the gripper assembly 203, the gripper assembly 203 first extends out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205, and the centering assembly 202 then extends out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205, so that the gripper assembly 203 can be opened to a greater extent before the centering assembly 202 extends out, so as to be at least partially located in the engagement position. This avoids the situation in which the centering assembly 202 has already contacted the side wall of the target storage box before the gripper assembly 203 is opened to be at least partially located in the engagement position, resulting in the gripper assembly 203 not being fully opened.

[0105] In the present specification, before the gripper assembly 203 is opened so that the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located at the engagement position with the target storage box, the gripper assembly 203 can also be opened along the first rotation axis when the box picking mechanism body 205 reaches the storage position of the target storage box so as to be at least partially located below the engagement position.

[0106] The telescopic assembly 201 can also be used to adjust the telescopic length and lift the box-taking mechanism body 205 when the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located below the engagement position, so that the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located at the engagement position.

[0107] That is, the gripper assembly 203 is further configured to open along the first rotation axis when reaching the storage position of the target storage box, so that the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located below the engagement position.

[0108] The telescopic assembly 201 is also used to adjust the telescopic length and lift the box-taking mechanism body 205 upward when the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located below the engagement position, so that the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located at the engagement position.

[0109] Since there is a certain height from the bottom of the combined position to the engagement position, taking the engagement position as an example, the engagement position with the target storage box groove, it can be known that the target storage box groove has a height. Therefore, when the gripper assembly 203 is opened and partially located below the engagement position of the target storage box, the gripper assembly 203 does not contact the upper end of the groove of the target storage box. At this time, the gripper assembly 203 cannot lift the storage box, and the box-taking mechanism 200 cannot use the gravity of the storage box to lift the storage box. Therefore, the telescopic component 201 is also used to adjust the telescopic length to lift the box taking mechanism body 205 upward when the gripper component 203 is at least partially located below the engagement position, so that the portion of the gripper component 203 extending into the groove reaches the engagement position, and continues to open along the first rotation axis under the reaction force of the gravity of the target storage box, so as to be fully opened at the engagement position. In the process of the gripper component 203 continuing to open to the maximum extent along the first rotation axis, the gripper component 203 can drive the centering component 202 to extend out of the side wall of the box taking mechanism body 205 to push the target storage box back to the center position.

[0110] During the process of the gripper assembly 203 opening to fully opening, the connecting rod assembly 204 continues to move with the centering assembly 202 and pulls the centering assembly 202, thereby limiting the extension distance of the end of the centering assembly 202 hinged to the connecting rod assembly 204. During the extension process, if the centering assembly 202 contacts the side wall of the target storage box, it will push the side wall to push the target storage box back to the center position.

[0111] The present specification also provides a box retrieval system. The box retrieval system includes a dense storage warehouse with a three-dimensional network structure and the box retrieval device as described above. The dense storage warehouse includes a plurality of vertical storage columns, and storage boxes are stacked in the storage columns.

[0112] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of a box picking system provided in this specification. As shown in the figure, the box picking system includes a dense storage warehouse and a box picking device. The dense storage warehouse includes a plurality of storage columns, in which storage boxes are stored, wherein the rectangle filled with diagonal lines represents the storage box. A track is arranged on the top of the dense storage warehouse, and the gray rectangle in the figure represents the track. The box picking device moves on the track through a moving mechanism. It can be seen that the box picking device includes a moving mechanism, a telescopic component 201 and the box picking mechanism 200. The moving mechanism and the box picking mechanism 200 are connected by the telescopic component 201. The ellipse and circle connected by dotted arrows in the figure respectively represent the schematic diagrams of the telescopic component 201 and the box picking mechanism 200 before and after enlargement. Among them, the ellipse represents before enlargement, and the circle represents after enlargement. It can be seen from the enlarged schematic diagram that the telescopic component 201 is connected to the box picking mechanism body 205 in the box picking mechanism 200. The box picking mechanism 200 includes: a box picking mechanism body 205, a centering component 202, a gripper component 203 and a connecting rod component 204.

[0113] Fig.16 A schematic diagram of a box-taking method provided in this manual specifically includes the following steps:

[0114] S100: According to the storage position of the target storage box, the telescopic assembly is adjusted so that the box-taking mechanism body reaches the storage position of the target storage box.

[0115] In one or more embodiments provided in the present specification, the box picking method is executed by the box picking device, and the box picking method is applied in a dense storage warehouse with a three-dimensional grid structure. The dense storage warehouse includes multiple vertical storage columns. The box picking device includes at least a box picking mechanism 200 and a telescopic component 201. The box picking device controls the telescopic component 201 to move the box picking mechanism 200 along the vertical direction of the storage column to lift the storage box placed on the storage column. The box picking mechanism 200 includes: a centering component 202, a gripper component 203, a box picking mechanism body 205, and a connecting rod component 204.

[0116] The specific structure of the box-removing device can refer to the aforementioned description of the structure of the box-removing device, and will not be described in detail in this specification.

[0117] S102: Control the gripper assembly to open until it is at least partially located in an engagement position with the target storage box.

[0118] In one or more embodiments provided in this specification, the box-taking mechanism 200 can control the gripper assembly 203 to open to a position at least partially engaged with a target storage box.

[0119] In one or more embodiments provided in this specification, the box-removing device may be provided with a sensor for monitoring whether the gripper assembly 203 in the box-removing device is open, so that the gripper assembly 203 is at least partially located in the engagement position.

[0120] S104: The centering component extends during the opening stroke of the gripper component and pushes the side wall of the target storage box to return the target storage box to the center position of the storage column where it is located.

[0121] In one or more embodiments provided in the present specification, during the opening stroke of the gripper assembly 203, the centering assembly 202 extends to push the side wall of the target storage box so that the target storage box returns to the center position of the storage column where it is located.

[0122] In one or more embodiments provided in the present specification, the centering component 202 can be extended vertically when extended, so that the centering component 202 and the target storage box have a larger contact surface, and the pressure at the contact surface is smaller. In the process of the centering component 202 pushing the target storage box to the center, damage to the target storage box can be avoided.

[0123] S106: Re-adjust the telescopic assembly to lift the centered target storage box.

[0124] In one or more embodiments provided in this specification, the specific process of extracting the target storage box from the storage column where the target storage box is located by the box extraction method in steps S100 to S106 can refer to the above embodiments, and this specification will not repeat them here.

[0125] based on Fig.16 In the box taking process shown, according to the storage position of the target storage box, the telescopic length of the telescopic assembly 201 is adjusted to make the gripper assembly 203 move along the two vertical surfaces of the storage column to reach the storage position of the target storage box. The gripper assembly 203 opens when reaching the storage position of the target storage box to be at least partially located at the engaging position with the target storage box, and drives the centering assembly 202 to extend during the opening process to push the target storage box so that the target storage box returns to the center position of the storage column, and then the target storage box is lifted by adjusting the length of the telescopic assembly 201. In the case where there is an error in the stack position of the storage box or the storage box deviates from the center of the storage column due to the tilted stacking, the storage box can be pushed to the center position of the storage column by the centering assembly 202, so that the box taking device can smoothly take out the target storage box through the gripper assembly 203.

[0126] In the 1990s, improvements to a technology could be clearly distinguished as hardware improvements (for example, improvements to the circuit structure of diodes, transistors, switches, etc.) or software improvements (improvements to the method flow). However, with the development of technology, many improvements to the method flow today can be regarded as direct improvements to the hardware circuit structure. Designers almost always obtain the corresponding hardware circuit structure by programming the improved method flow into the hardware circuit. Therefore, it cannot be said that an improvement in a method flow cannot be implemented using a hardware entity module. For example, a programmable logic device (PLD) (such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA)) is such an integrated circuit whose logical function is determined by the user's programming of the device. Designers can "integrate" a digital system on a PLD by programming it themselves, without having to ask a chip manufacturer to design and produce a dedicated integrated circuit chip. Moreover, nowadays, instead of manually making integrated circuit chips, this kind of programming is mostly implemented by "logic compiler" software, which is similar to the software compiler used when developing and writing programs, and the original code before compilation must also be written in a specific programming language, which is called hardware description language (HDL). There is not only one HDL, but many kinds, such as ABEL (Advanced Boolean Expression Language), AHDL (Altera Hardware Description Language), Confluence, CUPL (Cornell University Programming Language), HDCal, JHDL (Java Hardware Description Language), Lava, Lola, MyHDL, PALASM, RHDL (Ruby Hardware Description Language), etc. The most commonly used ones are VHDL (Very-High-Speed ​​Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language) and Verilog. Those skilled in the art should also know that it is only necessary to program the method flow slightly in the above-mentioned hardware description languages ​​and program it into the integrated circuit, and then it is easy to obtain the hardware circuit that implements the logic method flow.

[0127] The controller can be implemented in any appropriate manner, for example, the controller can take the form of a microprocessor or processor and a computer-readable medium storing a computer-readable program code (such as software or firmware) that can be executed by the (micro)processor, a logic gate, a switch, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic controller, and an embedded microcontroller. Examples of controllers include, but are not limited to, the following microcontrollers: ARC 625D, Atmel AT91SAM, Microchip PIC18F26K20, and Silicone Labs C8051F320. The memory controller can also be implemented as part of the control logic of the memory. Those skilled in the art also know that in addition to implementing the controller in a purely computer-readable program code manner, the controller can be implemented in the form of a logic gate, a switch, an application-specific integrated circuit, a programmable logic controller, and an embedded microcontroller by logically programming the method steps. Therefore, this controller can be considered as a hardware component, and the devices included therein for implementing various functions can also be regarded as structures within the hardware component. Or even, the devices for implementing various functions can be regarded as both software modules for implementing the method and structures within the hardware component.

[0128] The systems, devices, modules or units described in the above embodiments may be implemented by computer chips or entities, or by products with certain functions. A typical implementation device is a computer. Specifically, the computer may be, for example, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a camera phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or a combination of any of these devices.

[0129] For the convenience of description, the above device is described in various units according to their functions. Of course, when implementing this specification, the functions of each unit can be implemented in the same or multiple software and / or hardware.

[0130] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present invention may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0131] The present invention is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0132] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0133] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process in the computer or other programmable device. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0134] In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPU), input / output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

[0135] The memory may include non-permanent storage in a computer-readable medium, random access memory (RAM) and / or non-volatile memory in the form of read-only memory (ROM) or flash RAM. The memory is an example of a computer-readable medium.

[0136] Computer readable media include permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media that can be implemented by any method or technology to store information. Information can be computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other non-transmission media that can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined herein, computer readable media does not include temporary computer readable media (transitory media), such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.

[0137] It should also be noted that the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device including the elements.

[0138] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of this specification may be provided as methods, systems or computer program products. Therefore, this specification may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, this specification may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0139] This specification may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer, such as program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. This specification may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices connected through a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in local and remote computer storage media including storage devices.

[0140] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner, and the same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the system embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment.

[0141] The above description is only an embodiment of the present specification and is not intended to limit the present specification. For those skilled in the art, the present specification may have various changes and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present specification shall be included in the scope of the claims of the present specification.

Claims

1. A box-taking device, characterized in that: The box-taking device is applied in a dense storage warehouse with a three-dimensional grid structure, the dense storage warehouse includes a plurality of vertical storage columns, the box-taking device includes at least a telescopic component and a box-taking mechanism, the box-taking device controls the telescopic component to move the box-taking mechanism along the vertical direction of the storage column to take out the storage box placed in the storage column; the box-taking mechanism includes: a box-taking mechanism body, a centering component, a gripper component and a connecting rod component, the lower end of the centering component is hinged to the gripper component, the upper end of the centering component is hinged to the upper end of the connecting rod component, the gripper component is connected to the box-taking mechanism body through a first rotating shaft, the lower end of the connecting rod assembly is connected to the box-taking mechanism body through a second rotating shaft, and the box-taking mechanism body is connected to the telescopic component; The telescopic assembly is used to adjust the telescopic length so that the box-taking mechanism body descends along the storage column to the storage position of the target storage box, and after the gripper assembly is at least partially located at the engaging position with the target storage box, adjust the telescopic length to lift the box-taking mechanism body upward so that the box-taking mechanism body lifts the target storage box; The gripper assembly is used to open along the first rotation axis after the box-retrieving mechanism body reaches the storage position of the target storage box, so that the gripper assembly is fully opened at the engagement position between the gripper assembly and the target storage box; The centering assembly is used to extend during the opening stroke of the gripper assembly and push the side wall of the target storage box to return the target storage box to the center position of the storage column, and the centering assembly drives the connecting rod assembly to open during the extension process; The connecting rod assembly is used to pull the centering assembly when the centering assembly is extended, so as to limit the extension distance of the centering assembly and the upper end hinged to the centering assembly.

2. The box-removing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gripper assembly is further used to open along the first rotation axis to be at least partially located at the engagement position when the box-taking mechanism body reaches the storage position of the target storage box, and to continue to open along the first rotation axis under the gravity reaction force of the target storage box when the telescopic assembly lifts the box-taking mechanism body upward until it is fully opened at the engagement position; The telescopic assembly is further used to adjust the telescopic length and lift the box-taking mechanism body upward when the gripper assembly is at least partially located at the engaging position with the target storage box.

3. The box-taking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A cavity is provided on a side of the centering assembly opposite to the connecting rod assembly. When the centering assembly and the connecting rod assembly are retracted into the box taking mechanism body, the connecting rod assembly overlaps with the centering assembly, and the connecting rod assembly is received in the cavity.

4. The box-taking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The hinge position of the centering component and the gripper component is not at the same height as the first rotation axis; The farther the hinged position between the centering component and the gripper component is from the first rotation axis, the faster the centering component extends during the opening process of the gripper component.

5. The box-taking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The position of the second rotation axis is higher than the position where the centering assembly is hinged to the gripper assembly, so that when the gripper assembly is fully opened at the engagement position, the centering assembly is vertical.

6. The box-taking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The centering assembly, the connecting rod assembly and the gripper assembly are recessed into the side wall of the box taking mechanism body when they are accommodated in the box taking mechanism body.

7. The box-taking device according to claim 6, characterized in that: During the process of opening the gripper assembly, the gripper assembly extends beyond the side wall of the box taking mechanism body first, and then during the process of continuing to open the gripper assembly, the centering assembly extends beyond the side wall of the box taking mechanism body again.

8. The box-taking device according to claim 7, characterized in that: During at least part of the process of opening the gripper assembly, the distance that the centering assembly extends does not exceed the side wall of the box picking mechanism body. When the gripper assembly continues to open along the first rotation axis under the gravity reaction force of the target storage box, the centering assembly extends out of the side wall of the box picking mechanism body and pushes the side wall of the target storage box.

9. The box-taking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 5 to 8, characterized in that: The gripper assembly is also used to be retracted from the engagement position into the box taking mechanism body when the box taking device needs to put down the target storage box; The centering component is also used to be retracted into the box taking mechanism body under the drive of the retracting action of the gripper component; The connecting rod assembly is also used to be retracted into the box taking mechanism body under the drive of the centering assembly.

10. The box-taking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The telescopic assembly, the centering assembly included in the box-taking mechanism, the gripper assembly, the box-taking mechanism body and the connecting rod assembly are all arranged in pairs.

11. The box-taking device according to claim 10, characterized in that: For each box-taking mechanism body, the gripper assemblies arranged in pairs in the box-taking mechanism body are connected to the box-taking mechanism body through the same first rotating shaft.

12. The box-taking device according to claim 11, characterized in that: A motor is also provided on the first rotating shaft, which is used to drive the gripper assembly to open or retract through the rotation of the first rotating shaft.

13. A box retrieval system, characterized in that: It comprises a dense storage warehouse in a three-dimensional grid structure and a box-picking device as described in any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the dense storage warehouse comprises a plurality of vertical storage columns in which storage boxes are stacked.

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