Material box taking and placing mechanism, material box carrying robot, warehousing system and material box carrying method

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a workbin taking and placing mechanism, a workbin carrying robot, a warehousing system and a workbin carrying method. The workbin taking and placing mechanism comprises a supporting frame, a horizontal moving mechanism and a goods taking mechanism. The supporting frame is provided with a containing space capable of containing the material box. Under the condition that goods are taken from the first goods shelf on one side of the roadway and placed on the second goods shelf on the other side of the roadway, the goods taking mechanism is driven by the horizontal moving mechanism to pull the material box on the first goods shelf, the material box is driven to move into the containing space, and then the goods taking mechanism moves to the other side of the material box; and the material box is pushed to the second goods shelf under the driving of the horizontal moving mechanism. The material box is moved by pulling and pushing the material box, the material box does not need to be rotated, the roadway space can be set to be small, and therefore the goods shelf density and the storage capacity of the warehousing system are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of intelligent warehousing technology, and in particular to a material box picking and placing mechanism, a material box handling robot, a warehousing system and a material box handling method. Background Art

[0002] At present, in the field of intelligent warehousing technology, goods are usually placed in boxes, which are stored on shelves. Box handling robots are used to pick up and place boxes on the shelves to achieve sorting.

[0003] In the related art, a storage system includes multiple shelves, and a material box handling robot is located between adjacent shelves. By moving the goods on the shelves to other positions on the shelves, one-sided sorting is achieved. Some material box handling robots can also move the goods on the first shelf to the second shelf adjacent to the first shelf to achieve double-sided sorting. However, the material box handling robots that are currently capable of double-sided sorting need to take the material box from the first shelf through a picking mechanism, then drive the material box to rotate, and then place the material box on the second shelf, so that the aisle space between the first shelf and the second shelf needs to be set larger to allow the picking mechanism to rotate the material box, resulting in a low shelf density and storage capacity of the storage system. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a material box picking and placing mechanism, a material box handling robot, a storage system and a material box handling method, which can adapt to smaller lane spaces and improve the shelf density and storage capacity of the storage system. The specific technical solutions are as follows:

[0005] An embodiment of the present application provides a material box picking and placing mechanism, which includes: a support frame, a horizontal moving mechanism and a picking mechanism; the support frame is provided with a storage space capable of accommodating a material box; the picking mechanism is arranged on the support frame; when picking up goods from a first shelf on one side of an alley and delivering goods to a second shelf on the other side of the alley, the picking mechanism pulls the material box on the first shelf under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism, drives the material box to move into the storage space, and then the picking mechanism moves to the other side of the material box and pushes the material box to the second shelf under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism.

[0006] In some embodiments of the present application, the material box picking and placing mechanism also includes a conveyor line arranged at the bottom of the support frame, and the conveyor line is used to carry the material box and cooperate with the picking mechanism to move the material box.

[0007] In some embodiments of the present application, the support frame includes: a top plate and a bottom plate; the accommodating space is located between the top plate and the bottom plate; a movable through slot is opened on the top plate, and the movable through slot extends from one end of the top plate close to the first shelf to the other end close to the second shelf; the picking mechanism is arranged in the movable through slot, and extends through the movable through slot to the accommodating space, and can reciprocate along the movable through slot under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism; the picking mechanism includes a control component and an execution component; the execution component is located in the accommodating space, and can move up and down under the control of the control component; the picking mechanism can pull or push the material box through the execution component.

[0008] In some embodiments of the present application, the control component of the pickup mechanism includes: a vertical movement control component, which is used to control the execution component to move up and down in the moving slot.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present application, the actuator is a pneumatic suction cup; the material box has a plane to be adsorbed; under the control of the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement control component, the pneumatic suction cup sucks the plane to be adsorbed on the material box of the first shelf and then pulls the material box, driving the material box to move into the accommodating space, and then the pneumatic suction cup moves to the other side of the material box, sucks the material box and pushes the material box to the second shelf; or, the actuator is a clamping member; the material box has a portion to be clamped; under the control of the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement control component, the clamping member clamps the portion to be clamped on the material box of the first shelf and then pulls the material box, driving The material box moves into the accommodating space, and then the clamping member moves to the other side of the material box, clamps the material box and pushes the material box to the second shelf; or, the actuator is a first magnetic member; the material box has a second magnetic member; and the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member have opposite magnetic properties; under the control of the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement control component, the first magnetic member is attracted to the second magnetic member on the material box of the first shelf and then pulls the material box, driving the material box to move into the accommodating space, and then the first magnetic member moves to the other side of the material box, is attracted to the second magnetic member on the other side of the material box and pushes the material box to the second shelf.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present application, the control component of the picking mechanism also includes: a rotation control component; the execution component is a hook, and the material box has a groove; when picking up goods from the first shelf on one side of the alley and putting goods on the second shelf on the other side of the alley, the hook is driven by the horizontal movement mechanism, the vertical movement control component and the rotation control component to move to the end of the moving through slot close to the first shelf, and insert into the groove in the material box; move upward to engage with the groove; then move toward the second shelf to pull the material box into the accommodating space; then, the hook rotates along the first direction to disengage from the material box, and moves upward to a position higher than the material box; moves toward the first shelf and moves to the other side of the material box; moves downward and rotates along the first direction to insert into the groove on the other side of the material box, moves upward to engage with the groove and pushes the material box to the second shelf; the first direction is a clockwise or counterclockwise direction on a horizontal plane.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present application, the maximum length L2 of the picking mechanism located in the accommodating space and the length L3 of the supporting frame satisfy the following relationship: L2+L4≤L3≤L; k*L1≤L4≤L1; wherein L is the width of the alley, L1 is the length of the material box, L4 is the minimum length of the material box entering the conveyor line when the conveyor line can independently drive the material box to move, and k is a coefficient, and the size of k is determined by the friction coefficient of the conveyor line.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present application, the minimum height H2 of the pickup mechanism located in the accommodating space and the height H3 of the accommodating space satisfy the following relationship: H3>H1+H2; wherein H1 is the height of the material box.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present application, the picking mechanism includes: a first mounting frame and a second mounting frame; the second mounting frame is at least partially arranged inside the first mounting frame and is slidably connected to the first mounting frame in a vertical direction; the rotation control component is a rotating motor, which is arranged inside the second mounting frame, and the rotating motor has an output shaft, which extends out of the second mounting frame and is driven and connected to the actuator component to control the actuator component to rotate in a first direction; the vertical movement control component is installed on one side of the first mounting frame and is driven and connected to the second mounting frame, and can drive the second mounting frame to move up and down, driving the rotating motor and the actuator component installed on the second mounting frame to move up and down; the horizontal movement mechanism is driven and connected to the first mounting frame, and can drive the first mounting frame to reciprocate along the moving slot, thereby driving the vertical movement control component installed on the first mounting frame, the second mounting frame, and the rotating motor and the actuator component installed on the second mounting frame to reciprocate along the moving slot.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present application, the horizontal moving mechanism includes: a horizontal drive motor, a first gear and a first rack; the horizontal drive motor is fixedly connected to the other side of the first mounting frame; the first gear is arranged on the output shaft of the horizontal drive motor, and the first rack is meshed with the first gear and is arranged parallel to one side of the movable through slot; the horizontal drive motor is used to drive the first gear to roll along the first rack, thereby driving the picking mechanism to move back and forth along the movable through slot.

[0015] In some embodiments of the present application, the vertical movement control component includes: a vertical drive motor, a second gear and a second rack; the vertical drive motor is fixedly connected to the first mounting frame; the second gear is arranged on the output shaft of the vertical drive motor, and the second rack is meshed with the second gear and fixedly arranged on the second mounting frame along the vertical direction; the vertical drive motor is used to drive the second gear and the second rack to mesh and transmit, so that the second rack drives the second mounting frame to move up and down.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present application, the horizontal moving mechanism also includes: a horizontal guide rail and a horizontal slider arranged between the first mounting frame and the top plate of the support frame; the horizontal guide rail and the horizontal slider are slidably connected; the horizontal guide rail is fixedly arranged on one side or both sides of the movable through groove, and the horizontal slider is fixedly connected to the first mounting frame; the first mounting frame can move back and forth on the horizontal guide rail under the drive of the horizontal drive motor.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present application, the vertical movement control component also includes: a vertical guide rail and a vertical slider arranged between the first mounting frame and the second mounting frame; the vertical guide rail and the vertical slider are slidably connected; the vertical guide rail and the vertical slider are respectively fixedly connected to the first mounting frame or the second mounting frame; the second mounting frame can move up and down along the vertical guide rail or the vertical slider under the drive of the vertical drive motor.

[0018] An embodiment of the present application also provides a material box handling robot, comprising a carrying mechanism and the material box picking and placing mechanism described in any of the above embodiments; the material box picking and placing mechanism is movably installed on the carrying mechanism; when picking up goods from a first shelf on one side of the alley and placing goods on a second shelf on the other side of the alley, the material box picking and placing mechanism can move along the length direction of the alley or vertically under the drive of the carrying mechanism, move to a position corresponding to the material box on the first shelf, and a position corresponding to an empty storage position on the second shelf, and move the material box on the first shelf to the empty storage position of the second shelf.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present application, the supporting mechanism includes: a third mounting frame and a moving chassis; a first lifting mechanism is arranged on the third mounting frame; the material box picking and placing mechanism is movably mounted on the third mounting frame in the vertical direction, and can be lifted and lowered under the drive of the first lifting mechanism to pick up and place material boxes at different heights on the first shelf or the second shelf; the third mounting frame is arranged on the moving chassis, and can be moved along the lane under the drive of the moving chassis, so that the material box picking and placing mechanism can pick up and place different material boxes in the length direction of the first shelf or the second shelf.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present application, the supporting mechanism includes: at least one horizontal track, a second horizontal moving mechanism, and a second lifting mechanism; the at least one horizontal track is arranged at intervals in the vertical direction and is fixedly connected to the length direction of the first shelf or the second shelf; the second horizontal moving mechanism is movably connected to the horizontal track, and can drive the second lifting mechanism to reciprocate along the horizontal track; the second lifting mechanism is fixedly connected to the material box picking and placing mechanism, and can drive the material box picking and placing mechanism to rise and fall in the direction of the shelf height to pick up and place materials at different heights on the first shelf or the second shelf.

[0021] An embodiment of the present application also provides a warehousing system, including shelves and the material box handling robot described in the above embodiment; an aisle is formed between two adjacent rows of a first shelf and a second shelf; the material box handling robot is movably hung on the first shelf and / or the second shelf, and can move along the aisle to move the material box on the first shelf to the second shelf; or move the material box on the second shelf to the first shelf.

[0022] An embodiment of the present application also provides a material box handling method, characterized in that it is applied to a control device, and the control device is communicatively connected to the material box handling robot of the storage system described in the above embodiment; the picking mechanism includes: a control component and an execution component; the control component includes: a vertical movement control component and a rotation control component; the execution component is a hook, and the target material box has a groove; the method includes: when picking up goods from a first shelf on one side of the alley and putting goods on a second shelf on the other side of the alley, using a horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to pull the material box on the first shelf, and drive the material box to move into the accommodating space; controlling the picking mechanism to move to the other side of the material box, and using the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to push the material box to the second shelf.

[0023] In some embodiments of the present application, the control of moving the picking mechanism to the other side of the material box and using the horizontal movement mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to push the material box to the second shelf includes: controlling the vertical movement control component to drive the hook of the picking mechanism to move downward so that the hook releases the target material box; controlling the rotation control component to drive the hook of the picking mechanism to rotate in a first direction so that the hook is separated from the target material box, and the first direction is a clockwise or counterclockwise direction on a horizontal plane; controlling the vertical movement control component to drive the hook of the picking mechanism to move upward to a position higher than the target material box; Control the horizontal movement mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to move to the other side of the target material box; control the vertical movement control component to drive the hook of the picking mechanism to move downward to a position corresponding to the groove of the target material box; control the rotation control component to drive the hook of the picking mechanism to rotate along a first direction to an angle perpendicular to the target material box, so that the hook is inserted into the groove of the target material box; control the vertical movement control component to drive the hook of the picking mechanism to move upward, so that the hook is engaged with the groove of the target material box; control the horizontal movement mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to move along the moving through groove toward the second shelf, and push the target material box to the target empty warehouse position through the hook.

[0024] In some embodiments of the present application, the material box picking and placing mechanism also includes: a conveyor line; the method also includes: controlling the conveyor line to transport the target material box toward the second shelf; before using the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to pull the material box on the first shelf, it also includes: controlling the second horizontal moving mechanism of the bearing mechanism to drive the second lifting mechanism to move along the horizontal track, and controlling the second lifting mechanism to drive the material box picking and placing mechanism to lift and lower along the shelf height direction, so that the material box picking and placing mechanism moves to a position corresponding to the target material box on the first shelf; after driving the material box to move into the accommodating space, it also includes: controlling the second horizontal moving mechanism of the bearing mechanism to drive the second lifting mechanism to move along the horizontal track, and controlling the second lifting mechanism to drive the material box picking and placing mechanism to lift and lower along the shelf height direction, so that the material box picking and placing mechanism moves to a position corresponding to the target empty warehouse position on the second shelf.

[0025] Beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application:

[0026] The material box picking and placing mechanism provided in the embodiment of the present application pulls the material box on the first shelf into the storage space through the picking mechanism, and then moves to the other side of the material box, and pushes the material box to the second shelf to realize double-sided sorting. Among them, the picking mechanism moves the material box by pulling and pushing the material box, and the material box can be moved from the first shelf to the second shelf without rotating the material box, so that the aisle space can be set smaller, thereby improving the shelf density and storage capacity of the storage system; moving the material box by pulling and pushing the material box also makes the left and right gaps of the material box and the spacing between the upper and lower layers of the shelf can be set smaller, thereby improving the storage density of the material box on the shelf.

[0027] Of course, implementing any product or method of the present application does not necessarily require achieving all of the advantages described above at the same time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other embodiments can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0029] Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a material box picking and placing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present application at a first angle;

[0030] Figure 1b A three-dimensional structural diagram of the material box picking and placing mechanism of the embodiment of the present application from a second angle;

[0031] Figure 1c A three-dimensional structural diagram of the material box picking and placing mechanism of the embodiment of the present application from a third angle;

[0032] Figure 1d for Figure 1a An exploded schematic diagram of the material box picking and placing mechanism shown;

[0033] Figure 1e for Figure 1a A schematic front view of the first state of the material box picking and placing mechanism shown;

[0034] Figure 1f for Figure 1a A schematic front view of the second state of the material box picking and placing mechanism shown;

[0035] Figure 2a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook is inserted into a material box groove of a first shelf;

[0036] Figure 2b for Figure 2a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0037] Figure 3a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook claws are hooked upwards into the grooves;

[0038] Figure 3b for Figure 3a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0039] Figure 4a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which a hook is used to pull a material box;

[0040] Figure 4b for Figure 4a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0041] Figure 5a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which a hook releases a material box;

[0042] Figure 5b for Figure 5a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0043] Figure 6a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook is rotated to separate from the material box;

[0044] Figure 6b for Figure 6a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0045] Figure 7a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system for conveying material boxes on a conveyor line as shown;

[0046] Figure 7b for Figure 7a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0047] Figure 8a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of the storage system in which the hook is raised to the top of the accommodation space;

[0048] Figure 8b for Figure 8a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0049] Figure 9a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook is moved to the other side of the material box;

[0050] Figure 9b for Figure 9a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0051] Fig.10a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook is inserted into a groove on the other side of the material box;

[0052] Fig.10b for Fig.10a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0053] Fig.11a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which a hook is shown pushing a material box onto a second shelf;

[0054] Fig.11b for Fig.11a A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the storage system shown;

[0055] Fig.12a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system according to a first embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 12b for Fig.12a A front view of the storage system shown;

[0057] Fig.12c for Fig.12a A side view of the storage system shown;

[0058] Fig.12d for Fig.12a A top view of the storage system shown;

[0059] Fig.13a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system according to a second embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Fig.13b for Fig.13a A front view of the storage system shown;

[0061] Fig.13c for Fig.13a A side view of the storage system shown;

[0062] Fig.13d for Fig.13a A top view of the storage system shown;

[0063] Fig.14 A flow chart of a first embodiment of the material box handling method provided in this application;

[0064] Fig.15 for Fig.14 A flowchart of a specific implementation method of step S1410 is shown;

[0065] Fig.16 for Fig.14A flowchart of a specific implementation method of step S1420 is shown;

[0066] Fig.17 This is a flow chart of a second embodiment of the material box handling method provided in this application.

[0067] Description of reference numerals:

[0068] Material box pick-up and place mechanism 100; support frame 110; top plate 111; moving slot 1111; bottom plate 112; accommodating space 113; horizontal moving mechanism 120; horizontal driving motor 121; first gear 122; first rack 123; horizontal guide rail 124; horizontal slider 125; picking mechanism 130; control assembly 131; vertical moving control assembly 131A; vertical driving motor 1311; second gear 1312; second rack 1313; vertical guide rail 1314; vertical slider 1315; rotation control assembly 131B; actuator assembly 132; first mounting frame 133; second mounting frame 134; conveyor line 140; roller 141; conveyor belt 142; limit baffle 143; drag chain 150;

[0069] Shelf 200; first shelf 200A; second shelf 200B; storage layer 210; storage bin 211;

[0070] Lane 300;

[0071] Material box 400; groove 410;

[0072] The material box handling robot 500 ; the carrying mechanism 510 ; the third mounting frame 511 ; the moving chassis 512 ; the horizontal track 513 ; the second horizontal moving mechanism 514 ; the driving wheel 5141 ; the driven wheel 5142 ; the driving motor 5143 ; and the second lifting mechanism 515 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0073] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the present application belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0074] As mentioned in the background technology, in the related technology, a storage system includes multiple shelves, and a material box handling robot is located between adjacent shelves. By moving the goods on the shelves to other positions of the shelves, one-sided sorting is achieved. Some material box handling robots can also move the goods on the first shelf to the second shelf adjacent to the first shelf to achieve double-sided sorting. However, the material box handling robots that are currently capable of double-sided sorting need to take the material box from the first shelf through a pickup mechanism, then drive the material box to rotate, and then place the material box on the second shelf, so that the lane space between the first shelf and the second shelf needs to be set larger to allow the pickup mechanism to rotate the material box, resulting in a low shelf density and storage capacity of the storage system.

[0075] In addition, the current bin handling robot that can realize double-sided tallying uses a clamping mechanism for its picking mechanism, which stretches out toward the bin and clamps the left and right sides of the bin to take out the bin. Since the clamping mechanism itself has a certain thickness and height, the left and right gaps of the bin and the gap between the upper and lower shelves need to be set larger, resulting in a low storage density of bins on the shelf.

[0076] In order to adapt to smaller aisle spaces and improve the shelf density and storage capacity of the warehousing system, the embodiments of the present application provide a material box picking and placing mechanism, a material box handling robot, a warehousing system and a material box handling method. First, the material box picking and placing mechanism provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail.

[0077] See also Figure 1a to Figure 1d and Figure 2a , Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of the material box picking and placing mechanism of an embodiment of the present application from a first angle; Figure 1b A three-dimensional structural diagram of the material box picking and placing mechanism of the embodiment of the present application from a second angle; Figure 1c A three-dimensional structural diagram of the material box picking and placing mechanism of the embodiment of the present application from a third angle; Figure 1d for Figure 1a An exploded schematic diagram of the material box picking and placing mechanism shown; Figure 2a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook is inserted into a material box groove of a first shelf.

[0078] like Figures 1a to 2a As shown, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 includes: a support frame 110, a horizontal moving mechanism 120 and a picking mechanism 130.

[0079] The support frame 110 is provided with a receiving space 113 capable of receiving a material box, and the picking mechanism 130 is provided on the support frame 110 .

[0080] When picking up goods from the first shelf 200A on one side of the alley 300 and placing goods on the second shelf 200B on the other side of the alley 300, the picking mechanism 130 pulls the material box 400 on the first shelf 200A under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism 120, and drives the material box 400 to move into the accommodating space 113. Thereafter, the picking mechanism 130 moves to the other side of the material box 400 and pushes the material box 400 to the second shelf 200B under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism 120.

[0081] Specifically, the storage system includes a plurality of shelves 200 arranged at intervals, and among every two adjacent shelves 200, one is a first shelf 200A and the other is a second shelf 200B. Figure 2a As shown, in this embodiment, the shelf 200 on the right side of the lane 300 is designated as the first shelf 200A, and the shelf 200 on the left side of the lane 300 is designated as the second shelf 200B. In other embodiments, the shelf 200 on the left side of the lane 300 may also be designated as the first shelf 200A, and the shelf 200 on the right side of the lane 300 may be designated as the second shelf 200B, and this embodiment of the application does not limit this. Figure 2a The shelf 200 on the right side of the lane 300 shown is a first shelf 200A, and the shelf 200 on the left side of the lane 300 is a second shelf 200B.

[0082] Each shelf 200 includes a plurality of storage layers 210 arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. The storage layers 210 are divided into a plurality of storage locations 211 for storing material boxes 400 .

[0083] The material box picking and placing mechanism 100 can move in the lane 300 along the vertical direction or the length direction of the lane 300 to align with the material box 400 to be transported on the shelf 200, and then pull the material box 400 into the accommodation space 113 through the picking mechanism 130, and then move to a position corresponding to the target empty position, and push the material box 400 to the target empty position. Based on the above-mentioned transport process, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 can pick up and place the material box 400 in any storage position 211 of the first shelf 200A and the second shelf 200B.

[0084] Alternatively, the first shelf 200A may be used to pick up the goods and the second shelf 200B may be used to place the goods on the second shelf 200B in the reverse order. Figure 2a The material box 400 on the second shelf 200B shown in the figure is moved to the first shelf 200A, which will not be repeated here.

[0085] In addition to being able to realize the above-mentioned double-sided tallying of picking up goods from the first shelf 200A and placing goods on the second shelf 200B, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 can also realize single-sided tallying of picking up goods from and placing goods on the first shelf 200A.

[0086] Next, the process of single-side sorting by the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 is described by taking the first shelf 200A as an example.

[0087] After the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 moves to align with the material box 400 to be transported on the first shelf 200A, the picking mechanism 130 pulls the material box 400 under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism 120, and drives the material box 400 to move into the accommodating space 113. Thereafter, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 moves to align with the target empty warehouse position on the first shelf 200A, and the picking mechanism 130 is driven by the horizontal moving mechanism 120 to push the material box 400 into the target empty warehouse position.

[0088] In addition, whether in single-sided tallying or double-sided tallying, the process of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 moving and aligning and the process of the picking mechanism 130 adjusting its own position based on the horizontal moving mechanism 120 can be performed simultaneously to improve the material box handling efficiency.

[0089] The material box picking and placing mechanism 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application pulls the material box 400 on the first shelf 200A into the accommodation space 113 through the picking mechanism 130, and then moves to the other side of the material box 400, and pushes the material box 400 to the second shelf 200B to realize double-sided sorting. Among them, the picking mechanism 130 moves the material box 400 by pulling and pushing the material box 400, and can move the material box 400 from the first shelf 200A to the second shelf 200B without rotating the material box 400, so that the aisle space can be set smaller, thereby improving the shelf density and storage capacity of the storage system; moving the material box 400 by pulling and pushing the material box 400 also makes the left and right gaps of the material box 400 and the spacing between the upper and lower shelves of the shelf can be set smaller, thereby improving the storage density of the material box 400 on the shelf 200.

[0090] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1a to Figure 1d As shown, the support frame 110 includes: a top plate 111 and a bottom plate 112 ; and a receiving space 113 is located between the top plate 111 and the bottom plate 112 .

[0091] A moving through slot 1111 is formed on the top plate 111 . The moving through slot 1111 extends from one end of the top plate 111 close to the first shelf 200A to one end of the top plate 111 close to the second shelf 200B.

[0092] The picking mechanism 130 is disposed in the movable through slot 1111 , and extends through the movable through slot 1111 to the accommodating space 113 , and can reciprocate along the movable through slot 1111 under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism 120 .

[0093] The picking mechanism 130 includes a control component 131 and an execution component 132 ; the execution component 132 is located in the accommodating space 113 and can move up and down under the control of the control component 131 .

[0094] The picking mechanism 130 can pull or push the container 400 through the execution component 132 .

[0095] Below, see Figure 1a and Figure 2a , illustrating the process of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 picking up goods from the first shelf 200A and placing goods on the second shelf 200B.

[0096] After the material box pick-up and placement mechanism 100 moves to align with the material box 400 to be transported on the first shelf 200A, the picking mechanism 130, driven by the horizontal moving mechanism 120, moves along the moving slot 1111 to the side close to the first shelf 200A, pulls the material box 400 through the actuator 132, and then, driven by the horizontal moving mechanism 120, moves along the moving slot 1111 to the side away from the first shelf 200A to drive the material box 400 to move into the accommodation space 113, and then the material box pick-up and placement mechanism 100 moves. The picking mechanism 130 is moved to align with the target empty position on the second shelf 200B, and the picking mechanism 130 is separated from the material box 400. Under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism 120 and the control component 131, it first moves upward to a position higher than the material box 400 through the execution component 132, and then moves horizontally to the other side of the material box 400 and then moves downward to contact the other side of the material box 400, and then moves toward the second shelf 200B under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism 120, and pushes the material box 400 to the target empty position on the second shelf 200B.

[0097] By applying the embodiment of the present application, the picking mechanism 130 of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 can be driven by the horizontal moving mechanism 120 to reciprocate along the movable through groove 1111 on the support frame 110, so as to pull the material box 400 to the accommodating space 113 and push it to the empty position; the actuator 132 of the picking mechanism 130 can be controlled by the control component 131 to move up and down, so that the actuator 132 can avoid the material box 400 and move to the other side of the material box 400.

[0098] In addition, the power components of the picking mechanism of the prior art box handling robot are all arranged at the bottom of the picking mechanism, that is, arranged below the cargo platform, which results in the minimum picking height of the picking mechanism being limited by the size of the power components. When the picking mechanism picks up and places the box at the bottom of the shelf, since the power component is at the bottom of the picking mechanism, the cargo platform above the power component cannot be lowered to a lower state, making the minimum picking height of the picking mechanism higher. Therefore, the layer board at the bottom of the shelf needs to be set higher so that the picking mechanism can move to the height corresponding to the layer board at the bottom, resulting in a low storage density of boxes on the shelf.

[0099] The material box picking and placing mechanism 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application accommodates the material box 400 through the accommodating space 113 of the supporting frame 110, and only the bottom plate 112 of the supporting frame 110 is arranged at the bottom of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100; the power mechanism of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100, that is, the horizontal moving mechanism 120 and the control component 131 are arranged at the top of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100. When the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 picks and places the material box 400 at the bottom layer of the shelf 200, since no other mechanism is arranged under the bottom plate 112, the lowest picking height of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 is relatively low, so that the layer plate at the bottom layer of the shelf can be arranged relatively low, thereby improving the storage density of the material boxes 400 on the shelf 200.

[0100] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1a to Figure 1d As shown, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 also includes a conveyor line 140 arranged at the bottom of the support frame 110, and the conveyor line 140 is used to carry the material box 400 and cooperate with the picking mechanism 130 to move the material box 400.

[0101] Specifically, the conveyor line 140 is disposed on the bottom plate 112, or the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 may not be provided with the bottom plate 112, and only the conveyor line 140 is provided at the bottom. The conveyor line 140 can transport in both directions, and both single-item tallying and two-way tallying can be achieved through the two-way transportation. For example, when it is necessary to transport the material box on the first shelf 200A to the second shelf 200B, the conveyor line 140 can be transported toward the second shelf 200B to transport the material box 400 from the end of the support frame 110 close to the first shelf 200A to the end close to the second shelf 200B; when it is necessary to transport the material box on the second shelf 200B to the first shelf 200A, the conveyor line 140 can be transported toward the first shelf 200A to transport the material box 400 from the support frame 110 close to the first shelf 200A The material boxes 400 are transported from one end near the second shelf 200B to the end near the first shelf 200A; when the material boxes 400 in the first shelf 200A need to be sorted, the conveyor line 140 can be transported toward the second shelf 200B, and the material boxes 400 are first transported to the storage space 113. After the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 moves to the corresponding empty position, the conveyor line 140 is then transported toward the first shelf 200A to transport the material boxes 400 to the end of the support frame 110 near the first shelf 200A.

[0102] When the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 is working, the conveyor line 140 can be in operation all the time to cooperate with the picking mechanism 130 to move the material box 400; it can also start running at any time after the sensor of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 recognizes that a material box 400 enters the storage space.

[0103] During the double-sided sorting work, when the picking mechanism 130 is detached from the material box 400 and moves to the other side of the material box 400, the picking mechanism 130 cannot drive the material box 400 to move. At this time, the conveyor line 140 independently drives the material box 400 to move to avoid the material box 400 from parking. The picking mechanism 130 continues to push after it moves to the other side of the material box 400, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100.

[0104] like Figure 1d As shown, the conveying line 140 includes: a roller 141, a conveyor belt 142 and a limiting baffle 143.

[0105] There are two rollers 141, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the bottom plate 112 of the support frame 110 along the length direction of the lane 300. The conveyor belt 142 is wound around the two rollers 141. The rollers 141 rotate to drive the conveyor belt 142 to transport the material box 400. There are two limit baffles 143, which are respectively arranged on the other two sides of the bottom plate 112 of the support frame 110. The length direction of the limit baffles 143 is parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 142, and is used to limit the deviation of the material box 400 on the conveyor belt 142 in a direction perpendicular to the shelf 200. A trumpet-shaped opening is provided at the end of the limit baffle 143, which is used to guide the material box 400 so that the material box 400 can smoothly enter the conveyor belt 142.

[0106] By applying the embodiment of the present application, the conveyor line 140 can be used as an auxiliary power when in operation, cooperating with the pickup mechanism 130 to move the material box 400, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the material box 400 in the accommodating space 113.

[0107] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1a to Figure 1d As shown, the control component 131 of the picking mechanism 130 includes: a vertical movement control component 131A, which is used to control the execution component 132 to move up and down in the moving groove 1111.

[0108] Specifically, see Figure 1a and Figure 2a In the above description of the process of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 picking up goods from the first shelf 200A and placing goods on the second shelf 200B,

[0109] Before the actuator 132 pulls the material box 400 and moves to the other side of the material box 400, the height of the actuator 132 needs to be adjusted to correspond to the height of the material box 400 through the vertical movement control component 131A, so that the actuator 132 can contact the material box 400. After the actuator 132 is separated from the material box 400, the height of the actuator 132 also needs to be adjusted to be higher than the top of the material box through the vertical movement control component 131A, so as to avoid the collision of the actuator 132 with the material box 400 when the actuator 132 moves horizontally.

[0110] When the actuator component 132 detaches from the material box 400 and rises under the drive of the vertical movement control component 131A, a part of the picking mechanism 130 located in the accommodating space 113 moves along the movable groove 1111 to above the top plate 111 of the support frame 110, thereby reducing the height dimension of the picking mechanism 130 in the accommodating space 113 and being able to adapt to a smaller accommodating space.

[0111] In addition, during the one-sided sorting process, since the picking mechanism 130 only needs to pull the material box to the storage space 113 through the execution component 132 and then push it back to the empty position of the original shelf 200, the execution component 132 only involves horizontal movement, and there is no need to detach from the material box 400 and move to the other side of the material box 400 as in the two-sided sorting process. Therefore, the vertical movement control component 131A may not work during the one-sided sorting process.

[0112] In some embodiments of the present application, see Figure 1e , Figure 1e for Figure 1a The front view of the first state of the material box picking and placing mechanism is shown in FIG. Figure 1e As shown, the first state refers to the state when, after leaving the material box 400, the execution component 132 moves upward to the highest position under the control of the vertical movement control component 131A. At this time, there is a minimum height of the part of the picking mechanism 130 located in the accommodating space 113, which is H2.

[0113] The minimum height H2 of the pickup mechanism 130 located in the accommodating space 113 and the accommodating space height H3 satisfy the following relationship:

[0114] H3>H1+H2;

[0115] Among them, H1 is the height of the material box.

[0116] When the above relationship is satisfied, it is ensured that within the accommodating space 113, the picking mechanism 130 can pass above the material box 400 at a minimum height H2 while making the height of the supporting frame 110 relatively small.

[0117] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1a to Figure 1d As shown, the control component 131 of the pickup mechanism 130 also includes: a rotation control component 131B.

[0118] The execution component 132 is a hook, and the material box 400 has a groove 410 .

[0119] When picking up goods from the first shelf 200A on one side of the alley 300 and delivering goods to the second shelf 200B on the other side of the alley 300, the hook is driven by the horizontal movement mechanism 120, the vertical movement control component 131A and the rotation control component 131B to move to the end of the moving groove 1111 close to the first shelf 200A, and is inserted into the groove 410 in the material box 400; it moves upward to engage with the groove 410; and then moves toward the second shelf 200B to pull the material box 400 into the accommodating space 113.

[0120] Afterwards, the hook rotates in the first direction to disengage from the material box 400, and moves upward to a position higher than the material box 400; moves toward the first shelf 200A, and moves to the other side of the material box 400; moves downward and rotates in the first direction, inserts into the groove 410 on the other side of the material box 400, moves upward to engage with the groove 410, and then pushes the material box 400 to the second shelf 200B; the first direction is a clockwise or counterclockwise direction on a horizontal plane.

[0121] Specifically, the execution component 132 may also be in other forms, as described in detail later.

[0122] See also Figure 2a to Figure 11b In the embodiment of the present application, the execution component 132 adopts a hook as an example to illustrate the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 picking up goods from the first shelf 200A and placing goods on the second shelf 200B.

[0123] like Figure 2a and Figure 2b As shown, Figure 2a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook is inserted into a material box groove of a first shelf; Figure 2b for Figure 2a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0124] Step A: After the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 moves to align with the material box 400 to be transported on the first shelf 200A, the picking mechanism 130, driven by the horizontal moving mechanism 120, moves along the moving groove 1111 to the side close to the first shelf 200A, and the hook of the picking mechanism 130 is inserted into the groove 410 of the material box 400 of the first shelf 200A.

[0125] like Figure 3a and Figure 3b As shown, Figure 3a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook claws are hooked upwards into the grooves; Figure 3b for Figure 3a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0126] Step B: Under the control of the vertical movement control assembly 131A, the hook moves upward to engage with the groove 410 of the material box 400 .

[0127] like Figure 4a and Figure 4b As shown, Figure 4a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which a hook is used to pull a material box; Figure 4b for Figure 4a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0128] Step C: driven by the horizontal moving mechanism 120 , the hook moves toward the second shelf 200B to pull the material box 400 into the accommodation space 113 .

[0129] like Figure 5a and Figure 5b As shown, Figure 5a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which a hook releases a material box; Figure 5b for Figure 5a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0130] Step D: Under the control of the vertical movement control assembly 131A, the hook moves downward to release the material box 400.

[0131] like Figure 6a and Figure 6b As shown, Figure 6a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook is rotated to separate from the material box; Figure 6b for Figure 6a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0132] Step E: Under the control of the rotation control assembly 131B, the hook rotates in the first direction to disengage from the material box 400.

[0133] like Figure 7a and Figure 7b As shown, Figure 7a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system for conveying material boxes on a conveyor line as shown; Figure 7b for Figure 7a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0134] Step F: The conveyor line 140 independently transports the container 400 toward the second shelf 200B.

[0135] like Figure 8a and Figure 8b As shown, Figure 8a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of the storage system in which the hook is raised to the top of the accommodation space; Figure 8b for Figure 8a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0136] Step G: Under the control of the vertical movement control assembly 131A, the hook moves upward to a position higher than the material box 400.

[0137] like Figure 9a and Figure 9b As shown, Figure 9a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook is moved to the other side of the material box; Figure 9b for Figure 9a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0138] Step H: driven by the horizontal moving mechanism 120 , the hook moves to the other side of the material box 400 .

[0139] like Fig.10a and Fig.10b As shown, Fig.10a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which the hook is inserted into a groove on the other side of the material box; Fig.10b for Fig.10a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0140] Step I: Under the control of the vertical movement control component 131A, the hook moves downward to a height corresponding to the groove 410 of the material box 400; under the control of the rotation control component 131B, the hook rotates along a first direction to an angle perpendicular to the material box 400 and inserts into the groove 410 of the material box 400; under the control of the vertical movement control component 131A, the hook moves upward to engage with the groove 410 of the material box 400;

[0141] like Fig.11a and Fig.11b As shown, Fig.11a for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system in which a hook is shown pushing a material box onto a second shelf; Fig.11b for Fig.11a A schematic diagram of a partial cross section of the storage system shown.

[0142] Step J: After the material box pick-and-place mechanism 100 moves to align with the target empty position on the second shelf 200B, the hook moves toward the second shelf 200B under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism 120 to push the material box 400 onto the second shelf 200B.

[0143] The conveyor line 140 may continue to operate during steps A to J, or may start to operate after step E.

[0144] The operation of the conveyor line 140 in step F can be carried out simultaneously with the process of the hook moving to dock with the other side of the material box 400 in steps G to I, so as to improve the efficiency of material box handling.

[0145] The material box picking and placing mechanism 100 mentioned in step J moves to align with the target empty position on the second shelf 200B. This movement process can be performed after the end of the material box 400 moves into the accommodating space 113 to improve the material box handling efficiency.

[0146] When the hook in step C pulls the material box 400 onto the conveyor line 140 to a length of L4, steps D to F can be executed, the hook releases the material box 400 and moves toward the other side of the material box 400, and the conveyor line 140 independently transports the material box 400.

[0147] See also Figure 1f , Figure 1f for Figure 1a The front view of the second state of the material box picking and placing mechanism is shown in FIG. Figure 1f As shown, the second state refers to the state when the actuator 132 pulls the material box 400. When the rotation control component 131B controls the actuator 132 to rotate in the first direction, the portion of the pickup mechanism 130 located in the accommodation space 113 has a maximum length, which is L2. L2 is the maximum value of the length of the pickup mechanism 130 when the actuator 132 is facing the material box 400 and the length of the pickup mechanism 130 when the actuator 132 rotates away from the material box 400.

[0148] like Figure 1f , Figure 5b and Figure 6b As shown, the length of the hook is greater than the width. In this embodiment, L2 is the length of the picking mechanism 130 when the hook is facing the material box 400. The hook rotates in the first direction to separate from the material box 400 and then rises, which can avoid the large occupied space caused by the actuator 132 directly translating away from the material box 400, so that the accommodating space 113 can be smaller, the support frame length L3 and the lane width L are smaller, so as to improve the density of the shelves 200 in the storage system.

[0149] When the actuator 132 is a hook, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 also needs to adjust the height of the hook by vertically moving the control component 131A to clamp the material box 400 during the single-side sorting process.

[0150] Next, the process of one-side sorting of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 is described by taking the use of a hook as an example of the execution component 132 .

[0151] Step A', after the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 moves to align with the material box 400 to be transported on the first shelf 200A, the picking mechanism 130, driven by the horizontal moving mechanism 120, moves along the moving groove 1111 to the side close to the first shelf 200A, and the hook of the picking mechanism 130 is inserted into the groove 410 of the material box 400 of the first shelf 200A.

[0152] Step B′: under the control of the vertical movement control assembly 131A, the hook moves upward to engage with the groove 410 of the material box 400 .

[0153] Step C′: driven by the horizontal moving mechanism 120 , the hook moves toward the second shelf 200B to pull the material box 400 into the containing space 113 .

[0154] Step D′: After the material box pick-and-place mechanism 100 moves to align with the target empty position on the first shelf 200A, the hook moves toward the first shelf 200A under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism 120 to push the material box 400 to the target empty position on the first shelf 200A.

[0155] In the embodiment of the present application, the actuator 132 adopts a hook, which has a simple structure and a simple control method. The hook is controlled to rotate and disengage from the material box 400 by the rotation control component 131B. Compared with driving the hook to move horizontally to disengage from the material box 400 through the horizontal moving mechanism 120, the large space occupied by the actuator 132 directly moving horizontally to disengage from the material box 400 can be avoided, so that the accommodating space 113 can be smaller, the length of the support frame 110 and the width of the aisle 300 can be smaller, thereby improving the density and storage capacity of the shelves 200 in the storage system.

[0156] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1f As shown, the maximum length L2 of the portion of the pickup mechanism 130 located in the accommodating space 113 and the length L3 of the support frame satisfy the following relationship:

[0157] L2+L4≤L3≤L;

[0158] kL1≤L4≤L1;

[0159] Among them, L is the width of the lane 300, L1 is the length of the material box 400, L4 is the minimum length of the material box 400 entering the conveyor line 140 when the conveyor line 140 can independently drive the material box 400 to move, and k is a coefficient, the size of k is determined by the friction coefficient of the conveyor line 140.

[0160] Specifically, when the load applied by the material box 400 to the conveyor line 140 is a uniform load, If the friction coefficient of the conveyor line 140 is large, When the load applied by the material box 400 to the conveyor line 140 is a non-uniform load, If the load is serious, The specific value of k needs to be set according to the actual scenario.

[0161] Since the conveyor line 140 can cooperate with the picking mechanism 130 to move the material box 400, the support frame length L3 can be set to be slightly larger than the material box length L1 while retaining a safety margin.

[0162] If the existing box handling robot wants to achieve double-sided sorting, the lane needs to leave a width of at least two box lengths, so that its picking mechanism can move to the end of the loading platform away from the shelf, drive the box on the shelf to the loading platform, and then drive the box to turn and place it on the adjacent shelf. If the lane width is too large, the shelf density of the storage system will be reduced, resulting in a reduction in the storage capacity of the storage system.

[0163] The dimensions of the picking mechanism 130 and the supporting frame 110 of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 of the embodiment of the present application satisfy the above-mentioned relationship, ensuring that within the accommodating space 113, the picking mechanism 130 can pull the material box 400 into the conveyor line 140 to a sufficient length so that the conveyor line 140 can independently drive the material box 400 to move, and there is enough space in the accommodating space 113 for the actuator 132 to rotate, while making the width of the aisle 300 smaller, so as to increase the density of the shelves 200, thereby improving the space utilization rate of the warehousing system and the material box storage capacity.

[0164] In some embodiments of the present application, the execution component 132 for hooking and pulling the material box 400 can also be a pneumatic suction cup. The material box 400 has a surface to be sucked, and the pneumatic suction cup absorbs and releases the material box 400 by suction and exhaust.

[0165] Under the control of the horizontal movement mechanism 120 and the vertical movement control component 131A, the pneumatic suction cup sucks the surface to be sucked on the material box 400 of the first shelf 200A and pulls the material box 400, driving the material box 400 to move into the accommodating space 113. After that, the pneumatic suction cup moves to the other side of the material box 400, sucks the material box 400 and pushes the material box 400 to the second shelf 200B.

[0166] The execution component 132 can also be a clamping member; the material box 400 has a portion to be clamped.

[0167] Under the control of the horizontal moving mechanism 120 and the vertical moving control component 131A, the clamping member clamps the part to be clamped on the material box 400 of the first shelf 200A and then pulls the material box 400, driving the material box 400 to move into the accommodating space 113. Thereafter, the clamping member moves to the other side of the material box 400, clamps the material box 400 and then pushes the material box 400 to the second shelf 200B.

[0168] Alternatively, the actuator 132 is a first magnetic member; the material box 400 has a second magnetic member; and the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member have opposite magnetic properties. The first magnetic member can be an electromagnet, and the second magnetic member can be a magnetic material. The actuator 132 absorbs or releases the material box 400 by energizing or de-energizing the first magnetic member.

[0169] Under the control of the horizontal movement mechanism 120 and the vertical movement control component 131A, the first magnetic member attracts the second magnetic member on the material box 400 of the first shelf 200A and pulls the material box 400, driving the material box 400 to move into the accommodating space 113. Thereafter, the first magnetic member moves to the other side of the material box 400, attracts the second magnetic member on the other side of the material box 400 and pushes the material box 400 to the second shelf 200B.

[0170] When the execution component 132 adopts a suction cup, a clamping piece or a first magnetic piece, compared to the hook, in addition to the different connection method with the material box 400, since the hook needs to rotate a certain angle to detach from the material box 400, while the suction cup only needs to stop the air supply, the clamping piece only needs to stop clamping, and the first magnetic piece only needs to cut off the power to detach from the material box 400, therefore, when the execution component 132 adopts a suction cup, a clamping piece or a first magnetic piece, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 may not be provided with a rotation control component 131B to reduce the maximum length L2 of the picking mechanism 130 located in the accommodating space 113, so that the support frame length L3 can be smaller, so that it can adapt to narrower aisles 300, so as to improve the density of the shelves 200 in the storage system and the storage capacity of the storage system.

[0171] When the execution component 132 adopts a suction cup, a clamping member or a first magnetic member, the handling step can omit the control process of the rotation control component 131B, and the rest is the same as the steps of the hook to carry the material box 400, which will not be repeated here. The omission of the control process of the rotation control component 131B can improve the handling efficiency of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100. In the process of single-sided tallying, since the picking mechanism 130 only needs to pull the material box to the accommodating space 113 through the execution component 132, and then push it back to the empty position of the original shelf 200, the execution component 132 only involves horizontal movement, and there is no need to release the material box 400 and move it to the other side of the material box 400 as in the double-sided tallying process, so the rotation control component 131B may not work in the process of single-sided tallying.

[0172] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1a to Figure 1d As shown, the pickup mechanism 130 includes: a first mounting frame 133 and a second mounting frame 134 .

[0173] The second mounting frame 134 is at least partially disposed inside the first mounting frame 133 and is slidably connected to the first mounting frame 133 along the vertical direction.

[0174] The rotation control component 131B is a rotation motor, which is disposed inside the second mounting frame 134 . The rotation motor has an output shaft, which extends out of the second mounting frame 134 and is drivingly connected to the actuator component 132 to control the actuator component 132 to rotate in the first direction.

[0175] The vertical movement control component 131A is installed on one side of the first mounting frame 133 and is drivingly connected to the second mounting frame 134 , and can drive the second mounting frame 134 to move up and down, driving the rotating motor and the actuator 132 installed on the second mounting frame 134 to move up and down.

[0176] The horizontal moving mechanism 120 is drivingly connected to the first mounting frame 133, and can drive the first mounting frame 133 to move back and forth along the moving groove 1111, thereby driving the vertical moving control component 131A installed on the first mounting frame 133, the second mounting frame 134, and the rotating motor and actuator component 132 installed on the second mounting frame 134 to move back and forth along the moving groove 1111.

[0177] Take the execution component 132 as a hook as an example. Figure 1e As shown, the minimum height H2 of the pickup mechanism 130 located in the storage space 113 is the sum of the heights of the second mounting bracket 134 and the hook that remain in the storage space 113. Figure 1f As shown, the maximum length L2 of the portion of the picking mechanism 130 located in the accommodating space 113 is: the distance between the end of the second mounting frame 134 away from the material box 400 and the end of the hook located in the groove 410.

[0178] In the embodiment of the present application, a first mounting frame 133 is provided to facilitate the connection between the pickup mechanism 130 and the horizontal moving mechanism 120, and a second mounting frame 134 is provided to facilitate the connection between the control assembly 131 and the execution assembly 132. The first mounting frame 133 can drive the vertical movement control assembly 131A, the second mounting frame 134, the rotating motor and the execution assembly 132 to reciprocate along the moving through slot 1111 under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism 120; the second mounting frame 134 can drive the rotating motor and the execution assembly 132 to move up and down under the drive of the vertical movement control assembly 131A.

[0179] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1a to Figure 1d As shown, the horizontal moving mechanism 120 includes: a horizontal driving motor 121 , a first gear 122 and a first rack 123 .

[0180] The horizontal driving motor 121 is fixedly connected to the other side of the first mounting bracket 133 .

[0181] The first gear 122 is disposed on the output shaft of the horizontal driving motor 121 , and the first rack 123 is meshed with the first gear 122 and is disposed in parallel on one side of the moving through slot 1111 .

[0182] The horizontal driving motor 121 is used to drive the first gear 122 to roll along the first rack 123 , thereby driving the picking mechanism 130 to reciprocate along the moving through slot 1111 .

[0183] In the embodiment of the present application, the horizontal moving mechanism 120 adopts a horizontal driving motor 121 to drive the first gear 122 and the first rack 123 to transmit, so that the transmission is smooth, the transmission efficiency is high, and the load-bearing capacity is strong; by driving the first gear 122 to roll along the first rack 123, the picking mechanism 130 can move back and forth along the moving groove 1111, making the way in which the horizontal moving mechanism 120 drives the picking mechanism 130 to move simpler.

[0184] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1a to Figure 1d As shown, the vertical movement control assembly 131A includes: a vertical drive motor 1311 , a second gear 1312 and a second rack 1313 .

[0185] The vertical drive motor 1311 is fixedly connected to the first mounting bracket 133 .

[0186] The second gear 1312 is disposed on the output shaft of the vertical driving motor 1311 , and the second rack 1313 is meshed with the second gear 1312 and fixedly disposed on the second mounting bracket 134 along the vertical direction.

[0187] The vertical driving motor 1311 is used to drive the second gear 1312 and the second rack 1313 to engage and transmit, so that the second rack 1313 drives the second mounting frame 134 to move up and down.

[0188] In the embodiment of the present application, the vertical movement control component 131A adopts the vertical drive motor 1311 to drive the second gear 1312 and the second rack 1313 to transmit, so that the transmission is smooth, the transmission efficiency is high, and the load-bearing capacity is strong; by driving the second gear 1312 and the second rack 1313 to engage in transmission, so that the second rack 1313 drives the second mounting frame 134 to move up and down, the vertical movement control component 131A drives the second mounting frame 134 to move more simply.

[0189] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1a to Figure 1d As shown, the horizontal moving mechanism 120 further includes: a horizontal guide rail 124 and a horizontal slider 125 disposed between the first mounting frame 133 and the top plate 111 of the supporting frame 110; the horizontal guide rail 124 and the horizontal slider 125 are slidably connected.

[0190] The horizontal guide rail 124 is fixedly disposed on one side or both sides of the movable through slot 1111 , and the horizontal slider 125 is fixedly connected to the first mounting frame 133 ; the first mounting frame 133 can reciprocate on the horizontal guide rail 124 under the drive of the horizontal driving motor 121 .

[0191] like Figure 1aIn the illustrated embodiment, two horizontal guide rails 124 are respectively disposed on both sides of the moving through slot 1111, parallel to the length direction of the moving through slot 1111. The horizontal sliders 125 on the two horizontal guide rails 124 are respectively fixedly connected to one side of the first mounting bracket 133. A drag chain 150 is also disposed on one side of the horizontal guide rail 124 for restraining cables.

[0192] By applying the embodiment of the present application, a horizontal guide rail 124 and a horizontal slider 125 are provided, so that the first mounting frame 133 can move back and forth on the horizontal guide rail 124 under the drive of the horizontal drive motor 121, thereby avoiding shaking of the first mounting frame 133 when moving in the movable groove 1111 supported only by the first gear 122, thereby improving the stability of the movement of the first mounting frame 133.

[0193] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1a to Figure 1d As shown, the vertical movement control assembly 131A further includes: a vertical guide rail 1314 and a vertical slider 1315 disposed between the first mounting frame 133 and the second mounting frame 134; the vertical guide rail 1314 and the vertical slider 1315 are slidably connected.

[0194] The vertical guide rail 1314 and the vertical slider 1315 are fixedly connected to the first mounting frame 133 or the second mounting frame 134 respectively; the second mounting frame 134 can move up and down along the vertical guide rail 1314 or the vertical slider 1315 under the drive of the vertical drive motor 1311.

[0195] like Figure 1d In the illustrated embodiment, the vertical guide rail 1314 is fixedly connected to the second mounting frame 134, and the vertical slider 1315 is fixedly connected to the first mounting frame 133. In other embodiments, the vertical guide rail 1314 may be fixedly connected to the first mounting frame 133, and the vertical slider 1315 may be fixedly connected to the second mounting frame 134. The present application does not limit the specific connection objects of the vertical guide rail 1314 and the vertical slider 1315.

[0196] By applying the embodiment of the present application, a vertical guide rail 1314 and a vertical slider 1315 are provided, so that the second mounting frame 134 can move up and down along the vertical guide rail 1314 or the vertical slider 1315 under the drive of the vertical drive motor 1311, thereby preventing the second mounting frame 134 from being suspended inside the first mounting frame 133 and shaking during movement, thereby improving the stability of the movement of the second mounting frame 134 and the stability of the cargo picking mechanism 130.

[0197] Below, the material box handling robot provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0198] See also Fig.12a and Fig.13a , Fig.12aA three-dimensional structural diagram of a storage system according to a first embodiment of the present application; Fig.13a This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the warehousing system of the second embodiment provided in this application.

[0199] like Fig.12a and Fig.13a As shown, the container handling robot 500 includes: a carrying mechanism 510 and the container picking and placing mechanism 100 described in any of the above embodiments.

[0200] The material box picking and placing mechanism 100 is movably mounted on the supporting mechanism 510 .

[0201] When picking up goods from the first shelf 200A on one side of the alley 300 and placing goods on the second shelf 200B on the other side of the alley 300, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 can move along the length direction of the alley 300 or move vertically under the drive of the supporting mechanism 510 to the position corresponding to the material box 400 on the first shelf 200A and the position corresponding to the empty storage position on the second shelf 200B, and move the material box 400 on the first shelf 200A to the empty storage position of the second shelf 200B.

[0202] The material box handling robot provided in the embodiment of the present application has a bearing mechanism 510 that can drive the material box pick-up and placement mechanism 100 to move along the length direction of the lane 300 or move vertically, so that the material box pick-up and placement mechanism 100 can pick up goods from the first shelf 200A on one side of the lane 300 and place goods on the second shelf 200B on the other side of the lane 300. The material box pick-up and placement mechanism 100 installed on the bearing mechanism 510 moves the material box 400 by pulling and pushing the material box 400 by the picking mechanism 130, and the material box 400 can be moved from the first shelf 200A to the second shelf 200B without rotating the material box 400, so that the lane space can be set smaller, thereby improving the shelf density and storage capacity of the storage system; by pulling and pushing the material box 400, the picking mechanism does not need to occupy the space in the shelf 200 during the process, so that the left and right gaps of the material box 400 and the spacing between the upper and lower layers of the shelf can be set smaller, thereby improving the storage density of the material box 400 on the shelf 200.

[0203] In some embodiments of the present application, see Figures 12b to 12d , Figure 12b for Fig.12a A front view of the storage system shown; Fig.12c for Fig.12a A side view of the storage system shown; Fig.12d for Fig.12a A top view of the storage system shown.

[0204] like Figures 12a to 12dAs shown, the bearing mechanism 510 includes: a third mounting frame 511 and a moving chassis 512. The third mounting frame 511 is provided with a first lifting mechanism.

[0205] The material box picking and placing mechanism 100 is movably mounted on the third mounting frame 511 along the vertical direction, and can be lifted and lowered driven by the first lifting mechanism to pick up and place material boxes 400 at different heights on the first shelf 200A or the second shelf 200B.

[0206] The third mounting frame 511 is disposed on the moving chassis 512 and can move along the lane 300 driven by the moving chassis 512 so that the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 can pick and place different material boxes 400 in the length direction of the first shelf 200A) or the second shelf 200B.

[0207] Specifically, the first lifting mechanism can be a transmission structure such as a conveyor belt wheel, a sprocket chain, etc., fixed to the third mounting frame 511, driving the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 to rise and fall along the height direction of the shelf 200. The present application does not limit the specific structure of the first lifting mechanism.

[0208] When the box handling robot picks up and places a box 400, the moving chassis 512 first drives the third mounting frame 511 and the box picking and placing mechanism 100 to move to the column where the target box 400 is located, and the first lifting mechanism drives the box picking and placing mechanism 100 to move to the row where the target box 400 is located, so that the box picking and placing mechanism 100 is aligned with the target box 400, and then picks up and places the box 400. The above-mentioned process of moving to the column and row where the target box 400 is located is not in order, and can also be performed simultaneously to improve the working efficiency of the box handling robot 500.

[0209] Using the embodiment of the present application, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 is installed on the third mounting frame 511, and can move along the height direction of the shelf, and move along the length direction of the shelf with the third mounting frame 511 to achieve picking and placing of material boxes 400 at different positions on the shelf 200.

[0210] In some embodiments of the present application, see Figures 13b to 13d , Fig.13b for Fig.13a A front view of the storage system shown; Fig.13c for Fig.13a A side view of the storage system shown; Fig.13d for Fig.13a A top view of the storage system shown.

[0211] like Figures 13a to 13d As shown, the carrying mechanism 510 includes: at least one horizontal track 513 , a second horizontal moving mechanism 514 and a second lifting mechanism 515 .

[0212] At least one horizontal rail 513 is arranged at intervals along the vertical direction and is fixedly connected to the first shelf 200A or the second shelf 200B in the length direction.

[0213] The second horizontal moving mechanism 514 is movably connected to the horizontal track 513 , and can drive the second lifting mechanism 515 to reciprocate along the horizontal track 513 .

[0214] The second lifting mechanism 515 is fixedly connected to the material box picking and placing mechanism 100, and can drive the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 to rise and fall along the shelf height direction to pick up and place the material boxes 400 at different heights on the first shelf 200A or the second shelf 200B.

[0215] Specifically, the structure for installing the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 in the second lifting mechanism 515 can be: Fig.13a The column gantry shown may also be a single-column support frame, and the structure used to drive the lifting of the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 may be a transmission structure such as a conveyor belt wheel, a sprocket chain, etc. The present application does not limit the specific structure of the second lifting mechanism 515.

[0216] The second horizontal moving mechanism 514 is fixed to the second lifting mechanism 515, and includes a driving wheel 5141, a driven wheel 5142, and a driving motor 5143. The driving wheel 5141 and the driven wheel 5142 clamp the horizontal track 513 from the upper and lower directions, respectively, so that the second lifting mechanism 515 is hung on the horizontal track 513. The driving wheel 5141 can drive the second lifting mechanism 515 to move along the horizontal track 513 under the drive of the driving motor 5143.

[0217] By applying the embodiment of the present application, the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 can, driven by the second lifting mechanism 515, pick up and place material boxes 400 at different heights on the shelf 200, and follow the second lifting mechanism 515 to move along the horizontal track 513 to pick up and place different material boxes 400 in the length direction of the shelf 200.

[0218] Below, the warehousing system provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0219] like Figures 13a to 13d As shown, the storage system includes: a shelf 200 and the container handling robot 500 described in the above embodiment.

[0220] An aisle 300 is formed between two adjacent rows of first shelves 200A and second shelves 200B.

[0221] The material box handling robot 500 is movably mounted on the first shelf 200A and / or the second shelf 200B, and can move along the lane 300 to move the material box 400 on the first shelf 200A to the second shelf 200B; or move the material box 400 on the second shelf 200B to the first shelf 200A.

[0222] Specifically, there can be one box handling robot 500 in each lane 300, which is used to handle boxes on the shelves 200 on both sides of the lane 300; or there can be multiple box handling robots 500, each of which can be responsible for handling boxes in a partial area on the shelf 200 to improve the box handling efficiency.

[0223] In the storage system provided by the present application, the material box handling robot 500 is movably mounted on the first shelf 200A and / or the second shelf 200B, and is spaced from the ground, so that other handling equipment can carry the material box 400 out of the warehouse or into the warehouse, thereby avoiding interference and improving the space utilization rate of the storage system. The material box picking and placing mechanism 100 of the material box handling robot 500 moves the material box 400 by pulling and pushing the material box 400 through the picking mechanism 130, and the material box 400 can be moved from the first shelf 200A to the second shelf 200B without rotating the material box 400, so that the lane space can be set smaller, thereby improving the shelf density and storage capacity of the storage system; by pulling and pushing the material box 400, the material box 400 does not need to occupy the space in the shelf 200, so that the left and right gaps of the material box 400 and the spacing between the upper and lower layers of the shelf can be set smaller, thereby improving the storage density of the material box 400 on the shelf 200.

[0224] Finally, the material box handling method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0225] The material box handling method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to a control device, and the control device is communicatively connected with the material box handling robot of the storage system described in the above embodiment.

[0226] The picking mechanism comprises: a control component and an execution component; the control component comprises: a vertical movement control component and a rotation control component; the execution component is a hook claw, and the target material box has a groove.

[0227] See also Fig.14 , Fig.14 This is a flow chart of the first embodiment of the material box handling method provided by this application. Fig.14 As shown, the process includes the following steps:

[0228] When picking up goods from the first rack on one side of the aisle and placing goods on the second rack on the other side of the aisle,

[0229] Step S1410, using the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to pull the material box on the first shelf, and drive the material box to move into the containing space;

[0230] Step S1420, controlling the picking mechanism to move to the other side of the material box, and utilizing the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to push the material box onto the second shelf.

[0231] The embodiment of the present application is applied to the above-mentioned warehousing system. The method instructs the material box handling robot to pick up goods from the first shelf on one side of the lane and put goods on the second shelf on the other side of the lane. This enables the material box handling robot to realize double-sided sorting. Moreover, the material box can be moved by pulling and pushing the material box by the picking mechanism. The material box can be moved from the first shelf to the second shelf without rotating the material box, so that the lane space can be set smaller, thereby improving the shelf density and storage capacity of the warehousing system, and also making the left and right gaps of the material box and the spacing between the upper and lower shelves of the shelf can be set smaller, thereby improving the storage density of the material box on the shelf.

[0232] In some embodiments of the present application, see Fig.15 , Fig.15 for Fig.14 A flowchart of a specific implementation method of step S1410 is shown. Fig.15 As shown, step S1410 includes the following steps:

[0233] Step S1411, controlling the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to move along the moving through slot to one end close to the first shelf, so that the hook of the picking mechanism is inserted into the groove of the target material box;

[0234] Step S1412, controlling the vertical movement control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to move upward, so that the hook engages with the groove of the target material box;

[0235] Step S1413, controlling the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to move along the moving through slot toward the second shelf, and pulling the target material box into the accommodation space through the hook claw.

[0236] By applying the embodiment of the present application, the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement control component are controlled to drive the hook of the picking mechanism to move horizontally and up and down, and the target material box is pulled into the accommodating space. The control process is simple and convenient, and the efficiency of picking up the material box is improved.

[0237] In some embodiments of the present application, see Fig.16 , Fig.16 for Fig.14 A flowchart of a specific implementation method of step S1420 is shown. Fig.16 As shown, step S1420 includes the following steps:

[0238] Step S1421, controlling the vertical movement control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to move downward, so that the hook releases the target material box;

[0239] Step S1422, controlling the rotation control component to drive the hook of the picking mechanism to rotate in a first direction so that the hook is separated from the target material box, wherein the first direction is a clockwise or counterclockwise direction on a horizontal plane;

[0240] Step S1423, controlling the vertical movement control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to move upward to a position higher than the target material box;

[0241] Step S1424, controlling the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to move to the other side of the target material box;

[0242] Step S1425, controlling the vertical movement control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to move downward to a position corresponding to the groove of the target material box;

[0243] Step S1426, controlling the rotation control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to rotate in a first direction to an angle perpendicular to the target material box, so that the hook is inserted into the groove of the target material box;

[0244] Step S1427, controlling the vertical movement control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to move upward, so that the hook engages with the groove of the target material box;

[0245] Step S1428, controlling the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to move along the moving slot toward the second shelf, and pushing the target material box to the target empty warehouse position through the hook claw.

[0246] By applying the embodiments of the present application, the hook is driven to move upward to a position higher than the target material box and then moved to the other side of the target material box, thereby avoiding interference with the material box during horizontal movement; by controlling the hook to rotate away from the material box, the large space occupied by the hook directly moving horizontally away from the material box can be avoided, so that the accommodating space can be smaller, the supporting frame length and the aisle width can be smaller, thereby improving the density and storage capacity of the shelves in the storage system.

[0247] In some embodiments of the present application, the material box picking and placing mechanism also includes: a conveyor line.

[0248] The material box handling method also includes: controlling the conveyor line to transport the target material box toward the second shelf.

[0249] See also Fig.17 , Fig.17 This is a flow chart of the second embodiment of the material box handling method provided by this application. Fig.17 As shown,

[0250] Before step S1410, the method further includes: step S1400, controlling the second horizontal moving mechanism of the bearing mechanism to drive the second lifting mechanism to move along the horizontal track, controlling the second lifting mechanism to drive the material box picking and placing mechanism to move up and down along the shelf height direction, so that the material box picking and placing mechanism moves to a position corresponding to the target material box on the first shelf;

[0251] After step S1410, the method further includes: step S1414, controlling the second horizontal moving mechanism of the supporting mechanism to drive the second lifting mechanism to move along the horizontal track, controlling the second lifting mechanism to drive the material box picking and placing mechanism to rise and fall along the shelf height direction, so that the material box picking and placing mechanism moves to a position corresponding to the target empty warehouse position on the second shelf.

[0252] By using the embodiment of the present application, the conveyor line is controlled to transport the target material box toward the second shelf, and the material box can be moved in cooperation with the picking mechanism to improve the transmission efficiency of the material box in the storage space. The carrying mechanism drives the material box picking and placing mechanism 100 to move along the length direction of the lane 300 and the vertical movement can be performed synchronously, thereby improving the handling efficiency of the material box handling robot.

[0253] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article 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, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0254] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application are included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A material box picking and placing mechanism, characterized in that: The material box picking and placing mechanism (100) comprises: a support frame (110), a horizontal movement mechanism (120) and a picking mechanism (130); The support frame (110) is provided with a receiving space (113) capable of receiving a material box; The cargo picking mechanism (130) is arranged on the supporting frame (110); When picking up goods from a first shelf (200A) on one side of the alley (300) and placing goods on a second shelf (200B) on the other side of the alley (300), the picking mechanism (130) pulls the material box (400) on the first shelf (200A) under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism (120), and drives the material box (400) to move into the accommodating space (113). Thereafter, the picking mechanism (130) moves to the other side of the material box (400) and pushes the material box (400) onto the second shelf (200B) under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism (120).

2. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material box picking and placing mechanism (100) further comprises a conveyor line (140) arranged at the bottom of the support frame (110), and the conveyor line (140) is used to carry the material box (400) and cooperate with the picking mechanism (130) to move the material box (400).

3. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The support frame (110) comprises: a top plate (111) and a bottom plate (112); the accommodation space (113) is located between the top plate (111) and the bottom plate (112); The top plate (111) is provided with a movable through slot (1111), and the movable through slot (1111) extends from an end of the top plate (111) close to the first shelf (200A) to an end close to the second shelf (200B); The picking mechanism (130) is arranged in the movable through slot (1111), passes through the movable through slot (1111) and extends to the accommodating space (113), and can reciprocate along the movable through slot (1111) under the drive of the horizontal moving mechanism (120); The picking mechanism (130) comprises a control component (131) and an execution component (132); The actuator component (132) is located in the accommodating space (113) and can move up and down under the control of the control component (131); The picking mechanism (130) is capable of pulling or pushing the material box (400) through the execution component (132).

4. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The control component (131) of the pickup mechanism (130) comprises: a vertical movement control component (131A) for controlling the execution component (132) to move up and down in the moving slot (1111).

5. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The actuator component (132) is a pneumatic suction cup; the material box (400) has a plane to be sucked; Under the control of the horizontal movement mechanism (120) and the vertical movement control component (131A), the pneumatic suction cup sucks the surface to be sucked on the material box (400) of the first shelf (200A) and then pulls the material box (400), driving the material box (400) to move into the accommodating space (113); thereafter, the pneumatic suction cup moves to the other side of the material box (400), sucks the material box (400) and then pushes the material box (400) onto the second shelf (200B); or, The execution component (132) is a clamping member; the material box (400) has a portion to be clamped; Under the control of the horizontal movement mechanism (120) and the vertical movement control assembly (131A), the clamping member clamps the to-be-clamped portion on the material box (400) of the first shelf (200A) and then pulls the material box (400), driving the material box (400) to move into the accommodating space (113); thereafter, the clamping member moves to the other side of the material box (400), clamps the material box (400), and then pushes the material box (400) onto the second shelf (200B); or, The actuator (132) is a first magnetic component; the material box (400) has a second magnetic component; and the first magnetic component and the second magnetic component have opposite magnetic properties; Under the control of the horizontal movement mechanism (120) and the vertical movement control component (131A), the first magnetic member attracts the second magnetic member on the material box (400) of the first shelf (200A) and then pulls the material box (400), driving the material box (400) to move into the accommodating space (113); thereafter, the first magnetic member moves to the other side of the material box (400), attracts the second magnetic member on the other side of the material box (400), and then pushes the material box (400) onto the second shelf (200B).

6. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The control component (131) of the pickup mechanism (130) further includes: a rotation control component (131B); The execution component (132) is a hook, and the material box (400) has a groove (410); When picking up goods from a first shelf (200A) on one side of the lane (300) and placing goods on a second shelf (200B) on the other side of the lane (300), the hook, driven by the horizontal movement mechanism (120), the vertical movement control component (131A) and the rotation control component (131B), moves to one end of the moving slot (1111) close to the first shelf (200A), inserts into the groove (410) in the material box (400); moves upward to engage with the groove (410); then moves toward the second shelf (200B) to pull the material box (400) into the accommodating space (113); Afterwards, the hook rotates in the first direction to disengage from the material box (400), and moves upward to a position higher than the material box (400); moves toward the first shelf (200A) and moves to the other side of the material box (400); moves downward and rotates in the first direction, inserts into the groove (410) on the other side of the material box (400), moves upward to engage with the groove (410), and then pushes the material box (400) onto the second shelf (200B); the first direction is a clockwise or counterclockwise direction on a horizontal plane.

7. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The maximum length L2 of the cargo pickup mechanism in the accommodating space and the length L3 of the support frame satisfy the following relationship: L2+L4≤L3≤L; k*L1≤L4≤L1; Wherein, L is the width of the lane (300), L1 is the length of the material box (400), L4 is the minimum length of the material box (400) entering the conveyor line (140) when the conveyor line (140) can independently drive the material box (400) to move, and k is a coefficient, the size of which is determined by the friction coefficient of the conveyor line (140).

8. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The minimum height H2 of the pickup mechanism (130) located in the accommodating space (113) and the height H3 of the accommodating space (113) satisfy the following relationship: H3>H1+H2; Wherein, H1 is the height of the material box (400).

9. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that: The picking mechanism (130) comprises: a first mounting frame (133) and a second mounting frame (134); The second mounting frame (134) is at least partially disposed inside the first mounting frame (133) and is slidably connected to the first mounting frame (133) along a vertical direction; The rotation control component (131B) is a rotation motor, which is arranged inside the second mounting frame (134). The rotation motor has an output shaft, which extends out of the second mounting frame (134) and is drivingly connected to the actuator component (132) to control the actuator component (132) to rotate in a first direction; The vertical movement control component (131A) is installed on one side of the first mounting frame (133) and is drivingly connected to the second mounting frame (134), and is capable of driving the second mounting frame (134) to move up and down, thereby driving the rotating motor and the actuator component (132) installed on the second mounting frame (134) to move up and down; The horizontal moving mechanism (120) is drivingly connected to the first mounting frame (133), and is capable of driving the first mounting frame (133) to move back and forth along the moving slot (1111), thereby driving the vertical moving control component (131A) installed on the first mounting frame (133), the second mounting frame (134), and the rotating motor and the actuator component (132) installed on the second mounting frame (134) to move back and forth along the moving slot (1111).

10. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 9, characterized in that: The horizontal moving mechanism (120) comprises: a horizontal driving motor (121), a first gear (122) and a first rack (123); The horizontal driving motor (121) is fixedly connected to the other side of the first mounting frame (133); The first gear (122) is arranged on the output shaft of the horizontal driving motor (121); the first rack (123) is meshed with the first gear (122) and is arranged in parallel on one side of the moving through slot (1111); The horizontal driving motor (121) is used to drive the first gear (122) to roll along the first rack (123), thereby driving the picking mechanism (130) to move back and forth along the moving through slot (1111).

11. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 9, characterized in that: The vertical movement control assembly (131A) comprises: a vertical drive motor (1311), a second gear (1312) and a second rack (1313); The vertical drive motor (1311) is fixedly connected to the first mounting frame (133); The second gear (1312) is arranged on the output shaft of the vertical drive motor (1311), and the second rack (1313) is meshed with the second gear (1312) and is fixedly arranged on the second mounting frame (134) along the vertical direction; The vertical drive motor (1311) is used to drive the second gear (1312) and the second rack (1313) to engage and transmit, so that the second rack (1313) drives the second mounting frame (134) to move up and down.

12. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 10, characterized in that: The horizontal moving mechanism (120) further comprises: a horizontal guide rail (124) and a horizontal slider (125) arranged between the first mounting frame (133) and the top plate (111) of the supporting frame (110); the horizontal guide rail (124) and the horizontal slider (125) are slidably connected; The horizontal guide rail (124) is fixedly arranged on one side or both sides of the movable through groove (1111), and the horizontal sliding block (125) is fixedly connected to the first mounting frame (133); the first mounting frame (133) can reciprocate on the horizontal guide rail (124) under the drive of the horizontal driving motor (121).

13. The material box picking and placing mechanism according to claim 11, characterized in that: The vertical movement control assembly (131A) further comprises: a vertical guide rail (1314) and a vertical slider (1315) arranged between the first mounting frame (133) and the second mounting frame (134); the vertical guide rail (1314) and the vertical slider (1315) are slidably connected; The vertical guide rail (1314) and the vertical slide block (1315) are respectively fixedly connected to the first mounting frame (133) or the second mounting frame (134); the second mounting frame (134) can move up and down along the vertical guide rail (1314) or the vertical slide block (1315) under the drive of the vertical drive motor (1311).

14. A material box handling robot, characterized in that: It comprises a carrying mechanism (510) and a material box picking and placing mechanism (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 13; The material box picking and placing mechanism (100) is movably mounted on the carrying mechanism (510); When picking up goods from the first shelf (200A) on one side of the alley (300) and placing goods on the second shelf (200B) on the other side of the alley (300), the material box picking and placing mechanism (100) can move along the length direction of the alley (300) or move vertically under the drive of the supporting mechanism (510) to a position corresponding to the material box (400) on the first shelf (200A) and a position corresponding to an empty storage position on the second shelf (200B), and move the material box (400) on the first shelf (200A) to an empty storage position on the second shelf (200B).

15. The container handling robot according to claim 14, characterized in that: The bearing mechanism (510) comprises: a third mounting frame (511) and a moving chassis (512); The third mounting frame (511) is provided with a first lifting mechanism; The material box picking and placing mechanism (100) is movably mounted on the third mounting frame (511) in a vertical direction, and can be raised and lowered under the drive of the first lifting mechanism to pick and place material boxes (400) at different heights on the first shelf (200A) or the second shelf (200B); The third mounting frame (511) is arranged on the moving chassis (512) and can be moved along the lane (300) driven by the moving chassis (512) so as to enable the material box picking and placing mechanism (100) to pick up and place different material boxes (400) in the length direction of the first shelf (200A) or the second shelf (200B).

16. The container handling robot according to claim 14, characterized in that: The carrying mechanism (510) comprises: at least one horizontal track (513), a second horizontal moving mechanism (514) and a second lifting mechanism (515); The at least one horizontal rail (513) is arranged at intervals along the vertical direction and is fixedly connected to the first shelf (200A) or the second shelf (200B) in the length direction; The second horizontal moving mechanism (514) is movably connected to the horizontal track (513) and can drive the second lifting mechanism (515) to move back and forth along the horizontal track (513); The second lifting mechanism (515) is fixedly connected to the material box picking and placing mechanism (100), and can drive the material box picking and placing mechanism (100) to rise and fall along the shelf height direction to pick up and place material boxes (400) at different heights on the first shelf (200A) or the second shelf (200B).

17. A storage system, characterized in that: It comprises a shelf (200) and the box handling robot (500) according to claim 16; An aisle (300) is formed between two adjacent rows of first shelves (200A) and second shelves (200B); The material box handling robot (500) can be movably mounted on the first shelf (200A) and / or the second shelf (200B), and can move along the lane (300) to move the material box (400) on the first shelf (200A) to the second shelf (200B); or move the material box (400) on the second shelf (200B) to the first shelf (200A).

18. A material box handling method, characterized in that: Applied to a control device, the control device being communicatively connected to a bin handling robot of the storage system according to claim 17; The picking mechanism comprises: a control component and an execution component; the control component comprises: a vertical movement control component and a rotation control component; the execution component is a hook claw, and the target material box has a groove; The method comprises: When picking up goods from a first shelf on one side of the lane and placing goods on a second shelf on the other side of the lane, the picking mechanism is driven by the horizontal moving mechanism to pull the material box on the first shelf, and the material box is driven to move into the accommodation space; The picking mechanism is controlled to move to the other side of the material box, and the horizontal moving mechanism is used to drive the picking mechanism to push the material box onto the second shelf.

19. The container transport method according to claim 18, characterized in that: The controlling the picking mechanism to move to the other side of the material box, and using the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to push the material box to the second shelf, includes: Control the vertical movement control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to move downward, so that the hook releases the target material box; Controlling the rotation control component to drive the hook of the picking mechanism to rotate in a first direction so that the hook is separated from the target material box, wherein the first direction is a clockwise or counterclockwise direction on a horizontal plane; Control the vertical movement control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to move upward to a position higher than the target material box; Control the horizontal moving mechanism to drive the picking mechanism to move to the other side of the target material box; Control the vertical movement control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to move downward to a position corresponding to the groove of the target material box; Control the rotation control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to rotate in a first direction to an angle perpendicular to the target material box, so that the hook is inserted into the groove of the target material box; Control the vertical movement control assembly to drive the hook of the pickup mechanism to move upward, so that the hook engages with the groove of the target material box; The horizontal moving mechanism is controlled to drive the picking mechanism to move along the moving through slot toward the second shelf, and the target material box is pushed to the target empty warehouse position by the hook claw.

20. The container transport method according to claim 18, characterized in that: The material box picking and placing mechanism also includes: a conveyor line; The method further includes: controlling the conveyor line to transport the target container toward a second shelf; Before the horizontal moving mechanism is used to drive the picking mechanism to pull the material box on the first shelf, the method further includes: Control the second horizontal moving mechanism of the bearing mechanism to drive the second lifting mechanism to move along the horizontal track, and control the second lifting mechanism to drive the material box picking and placing mechanism to move up and down along the shelf height direction, so that the material box picking and placing mechanism moves to a position corresponding to the target material box on the first shelf; After the material box is driven to move into the accommodation space, the method further includes: The second horizontal moving mechanism of the bearing mechanism is controlled to drive the second lifting mechanism to move along the horizontal track, and the second lifting mechanism is controlled to drive the material box picking and placing mechanism to rise and fall along the shelf height direction, so that the material box picking and placing mechanism moves to a position corresponding to the target empty warehouse position on the second shelf.

Images