A mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm and a control method and device

Abstract

The application discloses a mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm and a control method and device, and the mobile charging robot comprises a motion mechanism, a multi-axis flexible arm, a depth camera, an end execution mechanism, a processing unit and a control unit. The motion mechanism is connected with a ring-shaped slide rail assembly, and the ring-shaped slide rail assembly is arranged above a plurality of parking spaces. The multi-axis flexible arm is connected with the motion mechanism, and a plurality of connecting shafts and connecting arms are arranged on the multi-axis flexible arm. The end execution mechanism is arranged at the end of the multi-axis flexible arm, and the end execution mechanism is provided with a gripper for achieving taking and placing of a charging gun. The charging gun is connected with a charging pile through a cable winding device. The depth camera is arranged on the gripper, and the depth camera is connected with the processing unit. The control unit is connected with the processing unit, the multi-axis flexible arm and the end execution mechanism. The mobile charging robot automatically moves to the charging port of a target vehicle, realizes automatic charging, and ensures trajectory planning and pose motion in a small space.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of intelligent robots, in particular to a mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm and a control method and device. BACKGROUND

[0002] In recent years, with the continuous expansion of the demand for labor in the social economy, more and more social needs are gradually promoting the development of the robot industry. At present, due to the characteristics of high generalization and strong safety and reliability of robot products, robots have been widely used in coal mines, tunnels, subways, power, logistics distribution and other scenes, so that the intelligentization and automation level have been significantly improved, and robots replacing manual work has become a social development trend.

[0003] With the increasing number of new energy vehicles, the problem of new energy vehicle charging out of line has also attracted widespread attention. In the future, automatic charging and discharging will be a development direction of new energy vehicle charging. Due to the design reasons of different manufacturers of new energy vehicles and the parking habits of vehicle owners, autonomous charging has high requirements for robots, which need to have high flexibility and recognition and detection capabilities. SUMMARY

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides a mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm and a control method, which comprises:

[0005] The motion mechanism, multi-axis flexible arm, depth camera, end execution mechanism, processing unit and control unit are connected. The motion mechanism is connected with the ring-shaped slide rail assembly, and the ring-shaped slide rail assembly is arranged above the plurality of parking spaces. The multi-axis flexible arm is connected with the motion mechanism, and a plurality of connecting shafts and connecting arms are arranged on the multi-axis flexible arm. The end execution mechanism is arranged at the end of the multi-axis flexible arm, and the end execution mechanism is provided with a gripper for taking and placing the charging gun. The charging gun is connected to the charging pile through the cable winding device. The depth camera is arranged on the gripper, and the depth camera is connected with the processing unit. The control unit is connected with the processing unit, the multi-axis flexible arm and the end execution mechanism.

[0006] In one example, the execution end is provided with a suction cup, the suction cup is fixed at the top end of the gripper, and the suction cup is connected with a vacuum device through an air pipe.

[0007] In one example, the motion mechanism comprises a driving device connected with the multi-axis flexible arm, and a pulley engaged with the ring-shaped slide rail assembly.

[0008] The present application also provides a mobile charging robot control method carrying a flexible mechanical arm, which is applied to the above mobile charging robot. The method further comprises:

[0009] receiving a charging instruction from a vehicle owner, the charging instruction including at least a parking stall number of a target vehicle;

[0010] based on the parking stall number, moving a mobile charging robot to a parking stall coordinate corresponding to the parking stall number, and collecting a parking state of the target vehicle and target vehicle information through a depth camera;

[0011] determining a target position of the mobile charging robot according to the parking state of the target vehicle and the target vehicle information;

[0012] after moving the mobile charging robot to the target position, obtaining a first positional relationship between a charging gun and a charging port through the depth camera, and correcting a movement trajectory of a multi-axis flexible arm according to the first positional relationship until the charging gun is inserted into the charging port.

[0013] In one example, after moving the mobile charging robot to the target position, the method further includes: opening a charging cover of the target vehicle through a suction cup; obtaining a charging pile position closest to the target vehicle, and moving the mobile charging robot to the charging pile position; using the gripper to grab the charging gun, and moving the mobile charging robot to the target position again.

[0014] In one example, the opening of the charging cover of the target vehicle through the suction cup specifically includes: obtaining a second positional relationship between the suction cup and the charging cover through the depth camera, and correcting the movement trajectory of the multi-axis flexible arm according to the second positional relationship until the suction cup contacts the charging cover; and discharging air in the suction cup through a vacuum device to make the suction cup adsorb to the charging cover.

[0015] In one example, the determining of the target position of the mobile charging robot according to the parking state of the target vehicle and the target vehicle information specifically includes: determining a charging cover coordinate of the target vehicle of the target vehicle according to vehicle information of the target vehicle; correcting the charging port coordinate according to the parking stall coordinate and the vehicle parking state of the target vehicle to obtain a parking stall charging port coordinate; and determining the target position on the ring-shaped slide rail assembly according to the parking stall charging port coordinate.

[0016] In one example, the determining of the target position on the ring-shaped slide rail assembly according to the parking stall charging port coordinate specifically includes: taking the parking stall charging port coordinate as a center and a preset length as a radius to make a circle, determining an intersecting slide rail of the ring-shaped slide rail assembly in the made circle; determining a current position coordinate of the mobile charging robot, and determining a point closest to the current position coordinate in the intersecting slide rail as the target position.

[0017] In an example, the receiving of the charging instruction includes at least one of mobile terminal receiving or applet receiving.

[0018] The application further provides a mobile charging robot control device carrying a flexible mechanical arm, which is applied to the mobile charging robot and includes at least one processor and a memory in communication connection with the at least one processor, wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the following: receiving a charging instruction from a vehicle owner, the charging instruction including at least a parking space number of a target vehicle; moving the mobile charging robot to a parking space coordinate corresponding to the parking space number based on the parking space number, and collecting a parking state of the target vehicle and target vehicle information through a depth camera; determining a target position of the mobile charging robot according to the parking state of the target vehicle and the target vehicle information; after moving the mobile charging robot to the target position, acquiring a first position relationship between a charging gun and a charging port through the depth camera, and correcting a motion trajectory of the multi-axis flexible arm according to the first position relationship until the charging gun is inserted into the charging port.

[0019] The method provided by the application can bring the following beneficial effects: the parking state of a target vehicle can be automatically recognized by a mobile charging robot, and the specific position of a charging port of the target vehicle can be determined according to the type of the vehicle, so that the mobile charging robot can be automatically moved to the charging port of the target vehicle to realize automatic charging. Meanwhile, the multi-axis flexible mechanical arm carried by the mobile charging robot can ensure trajectory planning and pose motion of the mobile charging robot in a complex scene and a small space. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the application and constitute a part of this application, illustrate certain illustrative embodiments of the application and together with the description serve to explain the application. In the drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm according to an embodiment of the application;

[0022] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a control method of a mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm according to an embodiment of the application;

[0023] Figure 3 FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a control device of a mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm according to an embodiment of the application.

[0024] Wherein, 1: ring-shaped slide rail assembly; 2: motion mechanism; 3: multi-axis flexible arm; 4: depth camera; 5: clamping jaw; 6: suction cup; 7: charging gun; 8: cable. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions of the present application will be described below in connection with the embodiments thereof and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without any creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0026] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below in connection with the drawings.

[0027] Figure 1 The structure schematic diagram of the mobile charging robot carrying the flexible mechanical arm in the embodiments of the present application comprises a motion mechanism 2, a multi-axis flexible arm 3, a depth camera 4, an end execution mechanism, a processing unit and a control unit. The motion mechanism 2 is connected with the ring-shaped slide rail assembly 1, and the ring-shaped slide rail assembly 1 is arranged above a plurality of parking spaces. One ring-shaped slide rail can meet the charging requirements of a plurality of parking spaces. The specific number of parking spaces can be adjusted according to the space arrangement of the parking lot and the charging frequency, so as to take into account the number of uses and reduce the waiting time. The multi-axis flexible arm 3 is connected with the motion mechanism 2, and a plurality of connecting shafts and connecting arms are arranged on the multi-axis flexible arm 3, so that trajectory planning and pose motion can be performed in a complex scene and a small space. The end execution mechanism is arranged at the end of the multi-axis flexible arm 3, and the end execution mechanism is provided with a clamping jaw 5 for realizing the taking and placing of the charging gun 7. The charging gun 7 is connected to the charging pile through a cable 8 winding device. The depth camera 4 is arranged on the clamping jaw 5, and is used for identifying the three-dimensional information of an object and identifying the appearance, license plate number and logo of a vehicle. Meanwhile, the depth camera 4 can detect the position and distance between the end execution mechanism of the mechanical arm and the charging port, so as to realize the real-time feedback of the pose relationship between the end mechanism of the mechanical arm and the charging port. The depth camera 4 is connected with the processing unit, and the control unit is connected with the processing unit, the multi-axis flexible arm 3 and the end execution mechanism.

[0028] In one embodiment, the end execution mechanism is provided with a suction cup 6 fixed at the top end of the clamping jaw 5, and the suction cup 6 is connected with a vacuum device through an air pipe. After receiving a charging instruction, the charging bin cover is opened through the suction of the suction cup 6.

[0029] In one embodiment, the motion mechanism 2 comprises a driving device connected with the multi-axis flexible arm 3, and a pulley engaged with the ring-shaped slide rail assembly 1.

[0030] Figure 2A flowchart of a control method of a mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm is provided for one or more embodiments of the present specification. The method can be applied to the mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm described above, the flowchart can be executed by the processing unit of the robot, and some input parameters or intermediate results in the flowchart allow manual intervention to adjust to help improve accuracy.

[0031] As Figure 2 shown, the embodiments of the present application provide a control method of a mobile charging robot carrying a flexible mechanical arm, comprising:

[0032] S201: receiving a charging instruction from a vehicle owner, the charging instruction at least including a parking space number of a target vehicle.

[0033] After the vehicle owner parks, opens the charging APP or mini program, selects the parking space number where the current vehicle is located, and determines the charging. It should be noted that when the vehicle owner uses the system for the first time, the system needs to collect information such as license plate number, vehicle brand, and model, and verify and match information such as charging position, charging interface, and charging current of the vehicle.

[0034] S202: Based on the parking space number, moving the mobile charging robot to the parking space coordinates corresponding to the parking space number, and collecting the parking state of the target vehicle and the target vehicle information through the depth camera 4.

[0035] After the robot receives the charging instruction, it moves to the specified parking space, and the end-of-arm depth camera 4 of the robot identifies the vehicle parking state and license plate number and feeds back to the processing unit.

[0036] S203: determining the target position of the mobile charging robot according to the parking state of the target vehicle and the target vehicle information.

[0037] According to the feedback of the vehicle parking state and the system stored information of the charging port position of the vehicle, the current coordinate position of the charging port of the vehicle is determined. The charging robot matches the system stored information by detecting the license plate number of the vehicle to determine the information of the related charging settings of the vehicle. The robot moves to the charging port position along the guide rail according to the charging port position coordinates. It should be noted that the target position refers to the position to which the mobile charging robot needs to move.

[0038] S204: After moving the mobile charging robot to the target position, acquiring the first position relationship between the charging gun 7 and the charging port through the depth camera 4, and correcting the motion trajectory of the multi-axis flexible arm 3 according to the first position relationship until the charging gun 7 is inserted into the charging port.

[0039] The robot moves along the guide rail to the charging pile position, the mechanical arm end gripper 5 grabs the charging gun 7, and returns to the target position. The depth camera 4 detects the first positional relationship between the charging gun 7 and the charging port in real time, and corrects the movement trajectory of the mechanical arm until the mechanical arm controls the charging gun 7 to be inserted into the charging port. After the charging gun 7 starts charging, the mechanical arm gripper 5 is released, and the overhead line robot goes to other parking spaces for charging or returns to the original point according to system scheduling.

[0040] In one embodiment, since most vehicle charging ports have charging covers that need to be opened manually, after moving the mobile charging robot to the target position, the charging cover of the target vehicle can be opened by the suction cup 6, and then the position of the charging pile closest to the target vehicle is obtained, and the mobile charging robot is moved to the charging pile position, and then the charging gun 7 is grabbed by the gripper 5, and the mobile charging robot is moved to the target position again.

[0041] Further, when opening the charging cover of the target vehicle by the suction cup 6, first, the second positional relationship between the suction cup 6 and the charging cover is obtained by the depth camera 4, and then the movement trajectory of the multi-axis flexible arm 3 is corrected according to the second positional relationship until the suction cup 6 contacts the charging cover. Finally, the air in the suction cup 6 is discharged by the vacuum device, so that the suction cup 6 is adsorbed on the charging cover, and then the charging cover is opened by moving the suction cup 6.

[0042] In one embodiment, according to the target vehicle parking state and the target vehicle information, when determining the target position of the mobile charging robot, since the positions of charging ports on vehicles are different for different types of vehicles, first, the charging cover coordinate of the target vehicle on the target vehicle is determined according to the vehicle information of the target vehicle, and then the charging port coordinate is corrected according to the parking coordinate and the vehicle parking state of the target vehicle to obtain the parking charging port coordinate. Finally, the target position is determined on the ring-shaped slide rail assembly 1 according to the parking charging port coordinate.

[0043] Further, when determining the target position on the ring-shaped slide rail assembly 1 according to the parking charging port coordinate, first, a circle with a preset length as the radius is made with the parking charging port coordinate as the origin, and the intersecting slide rail of the ring-shaped slide rail assembly 1 in the circle is determined. The preset length here can be three-quarters of the maximum working distance of the mobile charging robot. Then the current position coordinate of the mobile charging robot is determined, and the point closest to the current position coordinate in the intersecting slide rail is determined as the target position to reduce the movement distance of the mobile charging robot and speed up the charging speed.

[0044] As Figure 3As shown, the embodiment of the present application also provides a mobile charging robot control device carrying a flexible mechanical arm, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory in communication connection with the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to:

[0045] receive a charging instruction from a vehicle owner, the charging instruction at least including a parking stall number of a target vehicle; based on the parking stall number, move the mobile charging robot to a parking stall coordinate corresponding to the parking stall number, and collect a parking state of the target vehicle and target vehicle information through a depth camera 4; determine a target position of the mobile charging robot according to the parking state of the target vehicle and the target vehicle information; after moving the mobile charging robot to the target position, acquire a first positional relationship between a charging gun 7 and a charging port through the depth camera 4, and correct a motion trajectory of a multi-axis flexible arm 3 according to the first positional relationship, until the charging gun 7 is inserted into the charging port.

[0046] The embodiment of the present application also provides a non-volatile computer storage medium, which stores computer executable instructions, and the computer executable instructions are configured to:

[0047] receive a charging instruction from a vehicle owner, the charging instruction at least including a parking stall number of a target vehicle; based on the parking stall number, move the mobile charging robot to a parking stall coordinate corresponding to the parking stall number, and collect a parking state of the target vehicle and target vehicle information through a depth camera 4; determine a target position of the mobile charging robot according to the parking state of the target vehicle and the target vehicle information; after moving the mobile charging robot to the target position, acquire a first positional relationship between a charging gun 7 and a charging port through the depth camera 4, and correct a motion trajectory of a multi-axis flexible arm 3 according to the first positional relationship, until the charging gun 7 is inserted into the charging port.

[0048] Each of the embodiments in the present application is described in a progressive manner, and the same and similar parts of each embodiment can be referred to each other. Each embodiment focuses on the difference from other embodiments. In particular, the device and medium embodiments are described simply because they are basically similar to the method embodiments, and the relevant parts can be referred to the part of the method embodiment.

[0049] The device and medium provided by the embodiment of the present application are one-to-one corresponding to the method, so the device and medium also have the similar beneficial technical effects as the method. Since the beneficial technical effects of the method have been described in detail above, the beneficial technical effects of the device and medium will not be described here.

[0050] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the application can be readily used as software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPUs), input / output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

[0051] The present application is described in reference to the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams according to the embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processing system, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 one or more functions specified in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 one or more functions specified in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams.

[0052] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer- readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the functions specified in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 one or more functions specified in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 one or more functions specified in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams.

[0053] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 one or more functions specified in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 one or more functions specified in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams.

[0054] In one typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPUs), input / output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

[0055] The memory can include non-persistent memory, random access memory (RAM), and / or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM) or flash memory, among others. The memory is an example of computer-readable media.

[0056] Computer-readable media includes permanent and non-permanent, movable and non-movable media that can be implemented by any method or technology to store information. The 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 disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmission medium that can be used to store information accessible to a computing device. According to the definition herein, computer-readable media does not include transitory media such as modulated data signals and carriers.

[0057] It should also be noted that the terms "comprising", "containing", or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, so that a process, method, article or apparatus that includes a list of elements does not only include those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or further includes elements inherent in such a process, method, article or apparatus. Without more limitations, the element defined by the statement "comprising a" does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or apparatus that includes the element.

[0058] The above only describes the embodiments of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application can have various modifications and changes. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a mobile charging robot with a flexible manipulator, applied to a mobile charging robot with a flexible manipulator, characterized in that, The mobile charging robot comprises: a motion mechanism, a multi-axis flexible arm, a depth camera, an end effector, a processing unit, a control unit; the motion mechanism is connected with a ring-shaped slide rail assembly, and the ring-shaped slide rail assembly is arranged above a plurality of parking spaces; the multi-axis flexible arm is connected with the motion mechanism, and a plurality of connecting shafts and connecting arms are arranged on the multi-axis flexible arm; the end effector is arranged at the end of the multi-axis flexible arm, and the end effector is provided with a gripper for taking and placing a charging gun; the charging gun is connected to a charging pile through a cable winding device; the depth camera is arranged on the gripper, and the depth camera is connected with the processing unit; the control unit is connected with the processing unit, the multi-axis flexible arm and the end effector; the end effector is provided with a suction cup, the suction cup is fixed at the top end of the gripper, and the suction cup is connected with a vacuum device through an air pipe; the motion mechanism comprises a driving device connected with the multi-axis flexible arm and a pulley engaged with the ring-shaped slide rail assembly; the method comprises: receiving a charging instruction from a vehicle owner, the charging instruction at least comprising a parking space number of a target vehicle; based on the parking space number, moving the mobile charging robot to a parking space coordinate corresponding to the parking space number, and collecting a parking state of the target vehicle and target vehicle information through a depth camera; determining a target position of the mobile charging robot according to the parking state of the target vehicle and the target vehicle information; after moving the mobile charging robot to the target position, obtaining a first positional relationship between a charging gun and a charging port through the depth camera, and correcting a motion trajectory of the multi-axis flexible arm according to the first positional relationship until the charging gun is inserted into the charging port; after moving the mobile charging robot to the target position, the method further comprises: opening the charging cover of the target vehicle through the suction cup; obtaining a charging pile position closest to the target vehicle, and moving the mobile charging robot to the charging pile position; using the gripper to grab the charging gun, and moving the mobile charging robot to the target position again; determining the target position of the mobile charging robot according to the parking state of the target vehicle and the target vehicle information, specifically comprising: determining a charging cover coordinate of the target vehicle on a vehicle charging port coordinate of the target vehicle according to the vehicle information of the target vehicle; correcting the vehicle charging port coordinate according to the parking space coordinate and the parking state of the target vehicle to obtain a parking space charging port coordinate; determining the target position on the ring-shaped slide rail assembly according to the parking space charging port coordinate; determining the target position on the ring-shaped slide rail assembly according to the parking space charging port coordinate, specifically comprising: making a circle with the parking space charging port coordinate as the origin and a preset length as the radius, determining the intersecting slide rail of the circle and the ring-shaped slide rail assembly; determining a current position coordinate of the mobile charging robot, and determining a point closest to the current position coordinate in the intersecting slide rail as the target position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The opening of the target vehicle's charging cover through the suction cup specifically includes: The second position relationship between the suction cup and the charging cover is acquired through the depth camera, and the motion trajectory of the multi-axis flexible arm is corrected according to the second position relationship until the suction cup contacts the charging cover. The air in the suction cup is discharged through the vacuum device, so that the suction cup is adsorbed on the charging cover.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The receiving mode of the charging instruction includes at least one of mobile terminal receiving or applet receiving.

4. A mobile charging robot control device mounted with a flexible robot arm, applied to the mobile charging robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, It comprises: At least one processor; And a memory connected in communication with the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-3.

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