Distribution robot and navigation method

Abstract

The invention discloses a delivery robot and a navigation method thereof, and relates to the technical field of unmanned delivery, the delivery robot comprises a shell, a pickup mechanism, an electric door opening and closing assembly, a walking mechanism, an electronic navigation device and a control device, an opening is formed in the front side of the shell, and a supporting plate is arranged in the shell; the picking mechanism is provided with a picking part and a first driving device for driving the picking part to move; the electric door opening and closing assembly comprises an opening and closing door and a second driving device for driving the opening and closing door to move; the walking mechanism comprises a walking part arranged at the bottom of the shell and a third driving device for driving the walking part to move; the electronic navigation device is arranged in the shell and is used for identifying a moving path and an article; and the control device is electrically connected with the electronic navigation device, the first driving device, the second driving device and the third driving device, so that safe and reliable automatic cargo distribution is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of unmanned delivery, and in particular to a delivery robot and a navigation method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of e-commerce and logistics industries, the demand for delivery is increasing. Traditional delivery methods usually rely on manual labor, which is inefficient and prone to errors. In recent years, intelligent delivery robots have gradually emerged. These robots can autonomously complete the picking, transportation and delivery of items, greatly improving work efficiency.

[0003] Existing robots can achieve automatic delivery, but the placement and removal of items must be done manually. If the on-site staff are busy or there are no staff at night, the robot can only wait at the destination to pick up and place the goods. The existing delivery robots on the market cannot achieve true unmanned delivery in public areas. Summary of the invention

[0004] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a delivery robot and a navigation method thereof, aiming to achieve safe and reliable automatic delivery of goods.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the delivery robot proposed by the present invention comprises:

[0006] A shell body having an opening at the front side thereof, wherein a support plate is arranged in the shell body;

[0007] The picking mechanism comprises a picking portion that can move up and down and forward and backward, and a first driving device for driving the picking portion to move, wherein the picking portion is used to transfer the object between the pallet and the external platform;

[0008] An electric switch door assembly, comprising a switch door which is openably arranged at the opening, and a second driving device which drives the switch door to move;

[0009] A walking mechanism, comprising a walking portion arranged at the bottom of the housing, and a third driving device for driving the walking portion to move;

[0010] an electronic navigation device, disposed in the housing, for identifying a moving path and identifying an object; and

[0011] The control device is electrically connected to the electronic navigation device, the first driving device, the second driving device and the third driving device.

[0012] In one embodiment, the inner cavity of the shell is divided into a front cavity and a rear cavity, and the support plate is arranged in the rear cavity;

[0013] The picking mechanism comprises:

[0014] A support seat is movably disposed in the front cavity; and

[0015] A clamping assembly, which can be movably mounted on the support seat forward and backward;

[0016] The first driving device comprises:

[0017] A lifting device, drivingly connected to the support base to drive the support base to move up and down; and

[0018] The telescopic driving device is drivingly connected to the clamping assembly to drive the clamping assembly to move forward and backward.

[0019] In one embodiment, a first slide rail is provided on an inner side wall of the housing in the left-right direction, the first slide rail extends in the up-down direction, and the support seat can be slidably mounted on the first slide rail;

[0020] The lifting device includes a first motor and a first transmission mechanism 311 that is transmission-connected between the first motor and the support base. The first transmission mechanism 311 converts the rotation of the first motor into the up-and-down movement of the support base.

[0021] In one embodiment, the delivery robot further comprises at least one limit block, and the limit block is respectively arranged at one end of the first slide rail close to the upper end, so as to limit the maximum rising height of the clamping mechanism.

[0022] In one embodiment, the support seat is provided with a second slide rail extending in the front-rear direction, and the clamping assembly is slidably mounted on the second slide rail;

[0023] The telescopic driving device includes a second motor and a second transmission mechanism that is transmission-connected between the second motor and the clamping assembly, and the second transmission mechanism converts the rotation of the second motor into forward and backward movement of the clamping assembly.

[0024] In one embodiment, the first transmission mechanism 311 includes a first gear connected to the output shaft of the first motor and a first rack connected to the support seat, the first rack extends in the up-down direction and meshes with the first gear; and / or,

[0025] The second transmission mechanism includes a second gear connected to the output shaft of the second motor and a second rack connected to the clamping assembly, wherein the second rack extends in the front-to-back direction and meshes with the second gear.

[0026] In one embodiment, the clamping assembly includes two clamping arms, and the two clamping arms are arranged opposite to each other in the left-right direction;

[0027] A limit assembly is arranged on the inner side of at least one of the clamping arms, and the limit assembly includes two first limit members and a first limit driving device. The two first limit members are arranged in a front-to-back direction at intervals, and each of the first limit members can be flipped and installed on the corresponding clamping arm, and has a first avoidance position of flipping and folding to the corresponding clamping arm, and a first extended position extending toward the other clamping arm, and the first limit driving device drives the two first limit members to rotate;

[0028] A second limiting member and a second limiting driving device are arranged at the front side of the supporting plate, and the second limiting member can be folded to a second avoiding position of the supporting plate and flipped to a second extending position extending upward.

[0029] In one embodiment, the left and right side walls of the housing are provided with a plurality of mounting points at different positions along the up and down directions;

[0030] The supporting plates include a plurality of supporting plates, and the plurality of supporting plates are connected to the respective installation points.

[0031] In one embodiment, the electronic navigation device includes a visual camera and a laser radar, wherein the visual camera is used to extract feature points through images or depth information, and the laser radar is used to measure distance information of the surrounding environment by emitting laser pulses and receiving reflected signals;

[0032] A two-dimensional code navigation sensor is provided at the middle of the bottom of the walking mechanism to identify a two-dimensional code provided on the ground near the shelf;

[0033] The picking mechanism is provided with a code reader.

[0034] The present invention also proposes a delivery robot navigation method. Based on the above delivery robot, the delivery robot navigation method comprises the following steps:

[0035] When receiving a pickup instruction, a set pickup route between two shelves is planned on the road network map;

[0036] According to the set pickup path, the walking mechanism is controlled to walk, and during the walking process, characteristic points on the walking path are extracted, and the current characteristic points are matched with the characteristic points on the set pickup path. When the match is unsuccessful, the set pickup path is corrected to avoid the current characteristic points to form a corrected pickup path;

[0037] According to the modified picking path, the walking mechanism is controlled to walk, and when the QR code navigation sensor recognizes the QR code near the shelf, it switches to the QR code navigation mode and walks along the QR code to the shelf corresponding to the material box;

[0038] Confirming whether the shelf code is correct by using the code reader;

[0039] If the shelf code is correct, control the picking mechanism to pick up the material box onto the pallet;

[0040] If the shelf code is wrong, report the fault.

[0041] In the technical solution of the present invention, when it is necessary to deliver goods, it is only necessary to place two shelves at the pickup end and the delivery end respectively, the staff puts the items to be delivered into the material box, and then puts the material box on the shelf, the delivery robot navigates to the vicinity of the shelf corresponding to the material box through the electronic navigation device, the first drive device drives the picking part of the delivery robot to move up and down to the height corresponding to the external platform, and then moves forward to the position corresponding to the material box and picks up the material box, then the picking mechanism returns to the shell, and puts the material box on the pallet, thereby completing automatic picking up, the second drive device drives the switch door to open when picking up and placing the material box, and automatically closes when walking autonomously, which can effectively prevent the loss of items transported by the delivery robot when walking in public areas, the electronic navigation device continues to navigate the delivery robot to the shelf at the delivery point, and then adopts the opposite process of picking up the material box to put the material box on the shelf, and no human intervention is required throughout the process, thereby realizing safe and reliable automatic delivery of goods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention 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 invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without paying creative work.

[0043] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of a delivery robot provided by the present invention;

[0044] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the electric switch door assembly being closed;

[0045] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the pickup device;

[0046] Figure 4 for Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of a pickup device;

[0047] Figure 5 This is a flow chart of the delivery robot navigation method provided by the present invention.

[0048] Description of Figure Numbers:

[0049] 100. Delivery robot; 1. Shell; 11. Pallet; 111. Second limiter; 12. First slide rail; 2. Picking mechanism; 21. Support seat; 211. Second slide rail; 22. Clamping assembly; 221. Clamping arm; 222. Material box tray; 223. First limiter; 23. Barcode reader; 24. Baffle; 3. First drive device; 31. Lifting device; 311. First transmission mechanism 311; 32. Telescopic drive device; 321. Second transmission mechanism; 322. Second slide rail; 4. Electronic navigation device; 5. Limiter; 6. Electric switch door assembly; 7. Walking mechanism.

[0050] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0052] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present invention involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components in a certain specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0053] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present invention, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features limited to "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, if "and / or" or "and / or" appears in the full text, its meaning includes three parallel solutions. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes solution A, solution B, or solutions that satisfy both A and B. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in this field to implement. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0054] The present invention provides a delivery robot 100 .

[0055] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2In one embodiment of the present invention, the delivery robot 100 includes a shell 1, a picking mechanism 2, an electric switch door assembly 6, a walking mechanism 7, an electronic navigation device 4 and a control device, wherein the shell 1 has an opening on the front side, and a pallet 11 is arranged in the shell 1; the picking mechanism 2 has a picking part that can move up and down and forward and backward, and a first driving device 3 for driving the picking part to move, and the picking part is used to transfer items between the pallet 11 and the external platform; the electric switch door assembly 6 includes a switch door that can be opened and closed at the opening, and a second driving device for driving the switch door to move; the walking mechanism 7 includes a walking part arranged at the bottom of the shell 1, and a third driving device for driving the walking part to move; the electronic navigation device 4 is arranged in the shell 1 to identify the moving path and identify the items; the control device is electrically connected to the electronic navigation device 4, the first driving device 3, the second driving device and the third driving device.

[0056] When taking out a material box, the first driving device 3 drives the picking part of the delivery robot 100 to move up and down to the height corresponding to the external platform, and then moves forward to the position corresponding to the material box and picks up the material box. Then the picking mechanism 2 retreats into the shell 1 and places the material box on the pallet 11, thereby completing the picking up. The external platform can be a table or a shelf, and the present invention is not limited to this.

[0057] The walking mechanism 7 includes a base frame, a shell 1, two driving wheels and a plurality of universal wheels; wherein, the two driving wheels are respectively installed on both sides of the middle of the base frame along the first direction, and the plurality of universal wheels are distributed and installed at the bottom of the base frame. The third driving device can be a servo motor, which drives the two driving wheels to rotate to move the delivery robot 100. When turning, the servo motor controls the speed difference between the two driving wheels. The four universal wheels are respectively installed at the four corners of the base frame to support the robot and prevent it from tipping over. It can be understood that the present invention does not limit the specific number of the universal wheels, and the number of the universal wheels can be increased or decreased according to the load adaptability of the delivery robot 100.

[0058] The switch door can be a rolling door, the door body is wound on a roller, the second driving device can be a driving motor, which drives the roller of the rolling door to open or cover the opening; the switch door can also be a folding door, and the second driving device can be a driving cylinder, which is used to push and pull the folding door body to achieve it; by setting the electric switch door assembly 6, when the robot reaches the picking position or the placing position without occupying the opening space, the switch door will automatically open or close according to the control instruction. During the autonomous walking process, there is no need to worry about unrelated personnel taking away the items, which improves the safety of the goods, thereby achieving small space occupation and high safety.

[0059] In addition, in another embodiment of the present invention, another opening can be set on the rear side of the shell 1 and another switch door can be set at the other opening, so that when an abnormal situation such as an abnormal power outage occurs, the staff can open the switch door with a key to take out the items, thereby facilitating maintenance.

[0060] In the technical solution of the present invention, when it is necessary to deliver goods, it is only necessary to place two shelves at the pickup end and the delivery end respectively, the staff puts the items to be delivered into the material box, and then puts the material box on the shelf, the delivery robot 100 navigates to the vicinity of the shelf corresponding to the material box through the electronic navigation device 4, the first drive device 3 drives the picking part of the delivery robot 100 to move up and down to the height corresponding to the external platform, and then moves forward to the position corresponding to the material box and picks up the material box, then the picking mechanism 2 returns to the shell 1, and puts the material box on the pallet 11, thereby completing automatic picking up, the second drive device drives the switch door to open when picking up and placing the material box, and automatically closes when walking autonomously, which can effectively prevent the delivery robot 100 from losing the items transported when walking in public areas, the electronic navigation device 4 continues to navigate the delivery robot 100 to the shelf of the delivery point, and then adopts the opposite process of picking up the material box to put the material box on the shelf, and no human intervention is required throughout the process, thereby realizing safe and reliable automatic delivery of goods.

[0061] For better gripping of the bin, see Figure 1 In one embodiment of the present invention, the inner cavity of the shell 1 is divided into a front cavity and a rear cavity, and the support plate 11 is arranged in the rear cavity; the picking mechanism 2 includes a support seat 21 and a clamping assembly 22, and the support seat 21 can be movably arranged in the front cavity up and down; the clamping assembly 22 can be installed on the support seat 21 to be movable forward and backward; the first driving device 3 includes a lifting device 31 and a telescopic driving device 32, and the lifting device 31 is driven and connected to the support seat 21 to drive the support seat 21 to move up and down; the telescopic driving device 32 is driven and connected to the clamping assembly 22 to drive the clamping assembly 22 to move forward and backward.

[0062] When the material box robot wants to pick up a material box, the lifting device 31 drives the support seat 21 to move up and down to the height corresponding to the external platform, and the telescopic drive device 32 drives the clamping assembly 22 to move forward to the position corresponding to the material box and pick up the material box. Then the picking mechanism 2 retreats into the shell 1, and places the material box on the pallet 11 located in the rear cavity. Putting the material box back to the shelf is the opposite process. Through such a setting, the delivery robot 100 can better complete the automatic storage and retrieval of material boxes, thereby improving the automation of the delivery robot 100.

[0063] It is understandable that when the clamping assembly 22 extends forward to clamp the material box, the front side of the support seat 21 will be subjected to torque, and long-term unilateral torque will cause the movement trajectory to change. For this reason, in one embodiment of the present invention, an inner wall of the shell 1 in the left and right directions is provided with a first slide rail 12, and the first slide rail 12 extends in the up and down directions. The support seat 21 can be slidably installed on the first slide rail 12; by providing the slide rail, the movement of the support seat 21 is limited and guided, thereby preventing the movement trajectory from bending toward the front side, thereby improving the movement accuracy and service life.

[0064] In addition, the lifting device 31 includes a first motor, and a first transmission mechanism 311 that is transmission-connected between the first motor and the support base 21. The first transmission mechanism 311 converts the rotation of the first motor into the up and down movement of the support base 21. The first transmission mechanism 311 can be a traditional lifting structure such as a sprocket chain structure, a gear transmission structure, etc., so as to achieve precise displacement of the support base 21 and improve the picking accuracy.

[0065] See also Figure 1 In one embodiment of the present invention, the delivery robot 100 further includes at least one limit block 5, which is respectively arranged at one end of the first slide rail 12 close to the upper end, so as to limit the maximum rising height of the clamping mechanism, prevent the support seat 21 from colliding with the switch door during the upward sliding process, and improve the reliability of picking.

[0066] In one embodiment of the present invention, a second slide rail 211 extending in the front-to-back direction is provided on the support seat 21, and the clamping assembly 22 is slidably installed on the second slide rail 211; similarly, the clamping assembly 22 is limited and guided by the second slide rail 211, so that the clamping assembly 22 can operate stably during the front-to-back movement.

[0067] The telescopic drive device 32 includes a second motor and a second transmission mechanism 321 that is transmission-connected between the second motor and the clamping assembly 22. The second transmission mechanism 321 converts the rotation of the second motor into the forward and backward movement of the clamping assembly 22. The second rotation mechanism can be a traditional lifting structure such as a sprocket chain structure and a gear transmission structure, thereby achieving precise displacement of the clamping assembly 22 and improving the picking accuracy.

[0068] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first transmission mechanism 311 includes a first gear connected to the output shaft of the first motor and a first rack connected to the support seat 21, the first rack extending in the up-down direction and meshing with the first gear; and / or, the second transmission mechanism 321 includes a second gear connected to the output shaft of the second motor and a second rack connected to the clamping assembly 22, the second rack extending in the front-to-back direction and meshing with the second gear. By setting the gear rack transmission, the transmission efficiency is high, the working state is stable, and the structure layout is compact, which can reduce the volume of the delivery robot 100. In addition, it can be understood that the first transmission mechanism 311 and the second transmission mechanism 321 of the present application are not limited to the gear rack matching. In order to reduce noise and facilitate maintenance, the rack can also be adaptively replaced with a first synchronous belt and a second synchronous belt sleeved outside the gear, the first synchronous belt extending in the up-down direction, and the second synchronous belt extending in the front-to-back direction.

[0069] See also Figure 3 In one embodiment of the present invention, the clamping assembly 22 includes two clamping arms 221, and the two clamping arms 221 are arranged opposite to each other in the left and right directions; a limiting assembly is arranged on the inner side of at least one of the clamping arms 221, and the limiting assembly includes two first limiting members 223 and a first limiting driving device, and the two first limiting members 223 are arranged at intervals in the front and rear directions, and each of the first limiting members 223 can be flipped and installed on the corresponding clamping arm 221, and has a first avoidance position flipped and folded to the corresponding clamping arm 221, and a first extended position extending toward the other clamping arm 221, and the first limiting driving device drives the two first limiting members 223 to rotate; a second limiting member 111 and a second limiting driving device are arranged on the front side of the support plate 11, and the second limiting member 111 has a second avoidance position folded to the support plate 11 and a second extended position flipped to an upwardly extending setting.

[0070] It should be noted that the first limit member 223 can be a dial finger, which is rotatably installed on the clamping arm 221, or it can be a slider, which is slidably connected to the clamping arm 221 in the left-right direction, so as to have a first avoidance position away from the other clamping arm 221, and a first extended position that slides toward the other clamping arm 221; the second limit member 111 can be a dial finger, which is rotatably installed on the support plate 11, or it can be a slider connected to the support plate 11 in the up-down direction, so as to have a first avoidance position for sliding downward, and a first extended position for sliding upward.

[0071] In addition, to prevent the bin from falling during the clamping process, please refer to Figure 3 In one embodiment of the present invention, the clamping assembly 22 further includes a material box tray 222, and the clamping arm 221 is movably arranged on the material box tray 222 in the front-to-back direction. When accessing the material box, the material box tray 222 moves forward to abut against the shelf, and the clamping arm 221 continues to extend forward. When it moves to the position of the material box, the two first limit members 223 spaced apart in the front and back rotate to the first extended position, thereby clamping the material box to prevent the material box from falling off during the clamping process. When the clamping arm 221 clamps the material box and returns to the position where it is located During the process of the material box pallet 222, the material box can be clamped together to the material box pallet 222, and the material box pallet 222 then drives the clamping arm 221 and the material box to return to the front cavity of the shell 1. Thereafter, the clamping arm 221 continues to move backward to move the material box from the material box pallet 222 to the pallet 11, and the second limit driving device drives the second limit member 111 to rotate to the second extended position, so as to prevent the material box from sliding out of the pallet 11 due to shaking during the movement of the delivery robot 100, thereby improving the clamping stability.

[0072] In one embodiment of the present invention, the left and right side walls of the shell 1 are provided with a plurality of installation points at different positions along the up and down directions; the pallets 11 include a plurality of pallets, and the plurality of pallets 11 are connected to the respective installation points; it can be understood that the present invention does not limit the specific positions and quantities of the installation points in the up and down directions, and can be based on the height size of the material box and the number of layers of the material box pallet 222, while setting the corresponding number of layers of the material box pallet 222 on the touch screen of the delivery robot 100, and the picking mechanism 2 can automatically match the corresponding program to take and place the material box on the material box pallet 222, thereby improving the delivery efficiency.

[0073] In one embodiment of the present invention, the electronic navigation device 4 includes a visual camera and a laser radar, wherein the visual camera is used to extract feature points through images or depth information. It can be understood that the feature points are the images and depth information of obstacles and facilities such as elevators that may be encountered on the path. By respectively collecting image and depth information and conducting comprehensive analysis, more accurate feature extraction of the obstacles and elevators can be performed; the laser radar is used to measure the distance information of the surrounding environment by emitting laser pulses and receiving reflected signals; by setting the visual camera and the laser radar, the delivery robot 100 can better identify the surrounding environment information during walking, thereby better avoiding obstacles and improving stability during the delivery process.

[0074] It is understandable that when the delivery robot 100 arrives near the shelf, due to the large number of shelves, there are too many feature points, and the visual camera and the laser radar are not easy to accurately identify. In order to navigate more accurately, in one embodiment of the present invention, a path composed of two-dimensional codes can be arranged in advance on the bottom surface near the shelf, and a two-dimensional code navigation sensor is provided at the front of the housing 1 near its lower end to identify the two-dimensional code set on the ground near the shelf, so as to accurately move to the front of the shelf to be delivered according to the two-dimensional code;

[0075] In addition, the picking mechanism 2 is provided with a code reader 23, and a shelf code is correspondingly provided on the shelf. When the delivery robot 100 arrives in front of the shelf, the code reader 23 reads the shelf code on the shelf, thereby further confirming whether the delivery robot 100 picks up or places the correct material box, thereby improving the delivery accuracy.

[0076] Furthermore, the code reader 23 can be arranged at the front end of the material box pallet 222, so that when the material box pallet 222 moves forward to abut against the shelf, the code reader 23 can directly read the shelf code on the shelf; and in order to prevent the code reader 23 from being damaged during abutment, a baffle can be set at the front end of the material box pallet 222, and the baffle is arranged around the code reader 23 so that the baffle abuts against the shelf, thereby protecting the code reader 23.

[0077] The present invention also proposes a delivery robot navigation method, comprising the following steps:

[0078] S10. When receiving the pickup instruction, the set pickup path for the two shelves is planned on the road network map;

[0079] S20. According to the set pickup path, the walking mechanism 7 is controlled to walk, and during the walking process, characteristic points on the walking path are extracted, and the current characteristic points are matched with the characteristic points on the set pickup path. When the match is unsuccessful, the set pickup path is corrected to avoid the current characteristic points to form a corrected pickup path;

[0080] S30. According to the modified picking path, the walking mechanism 7 is controlled to walk, and when the two-dimensional code navigation sensor recognizes the two-dimensional code near the shelf, it switches to the two-dimensional code navigation mode and walks along the two-dimensional code to the shelf corresponding to the material box;

[0081] S40. Confirm whether the shelf code is correct through the code reader 23;

[0082] S41. If the shelf code is correct, control the picking mechanism 2 to pick up the material box onto the pallet 11;

[0083] S42. If the shelf code is wrong, report the fault.

[0084] See also Figure 5 Before delivery, a road network line is drawn on the map and saved as a road network map. A QR code is deployed on the ground near the shelf, and a shelf code is deployed on the shelf. When a pickup instruction is received, a set pickup path between the two shelves is planned on the road network map.

[0085] According to the set pickup path, the walking mechanism 7 is controlled to walk, and during the walking process, it can be understood that since it is in a public area, there will inevitably be obstacles on the set pickup path and the need to enter an elevator or access control. For this reason, the visual camera and the laser radar are used to extract feature points on the walking path. The feature points are the images and depth information of the obstacles and facilities such as elevators. The current feature points are matched with the feature points on the set pickup path. When the match is unsuccessful, the set pickup path is corrected to avoid the current feature points to form a corrected pickup path, thereby completing the avoidance of obstacles during walking.

[0086] According to the modified picking path, the walking mechanism 7 is controlled to walk. When the two-dimensional code navigation sensor recognizes the two-dimensional code near the shelf, it switches to the two-dimensional code navigation mode and walks along the two-dimensional code to the shelf corresponding to the material box. It can be understood that when the delivery robot 100 arrives near the shelf, due to the large number of shelves, the visual camera and the laser radar are not easy to accurately identify. In order to navigate more accurately, in one embodiment of the present invention, a path composed of two-dimensional codes can be arranged on the bottom surface near the shelf in advance, and a two-dimensional code navigation sensor is provided at the front of the shell 1 near its lower end to identify the two-dimensional code set on the ground near the shelf, so as to accurately move to the front of the shelf to be delivered according to the two-dimensional code.

[0087] The code reader 23 is used to confirm whether the shelf code is correct; if the shelf code is correct, the picking mechanism 2 is controlled to pick up the material box and put it on the pallet 11; if the shelf code is wrong, a fault is reported; a shelf code is correspondingly set on the shelf, and when the delivery robot 100 arrives in front of the shelf, the code reader 23 reads the shelf code on the shelf, thereby further confirming whether the delivery robot 100 picks up or places the correct material box, thereby improving the delivery accuracy.

[0088] In the technical solution of the present invention, by planning paths in public areas and re-planning paths according to feature points, autonomous walking in public areas and autonomous obstacle avoidance are achieved. The robot can enter elevators and be linked with door control. When near the shelves, it switches to QR code navigation to achieve precise navigation. The two navigation modes are automatically switched within the robot algorithm, which not only ensures the accuracy requirements when picking up and placing material boxes, but also ensures the efficiency of distribution, while greatly simplifying the deployment requirements. At the same time, a code reader is set when picking up material boxes to further improve distribution accuracy.

Claims

1. A delivery robot, characterized in that: include: A shell body having an opening at the front side thereof, wherein a support plate is arranged in the shell body; A picking mechanism, comprising a picking portion that can move up and down and forward and backward and a first driving device that drives the picking portion to move, wherein the picking portion is used to transfer the object between the pallet and the external platform; An electric switch door assembly, comprising a switch door which is openably arranged at the opening, and a second driving device which drives the switch door to move; A walking mechanism, comprising a walking portion arranged at the bottom of the housing, and a third driving device for driving the walking portion to move; An electronic navigation device, disposed in the housing, for identifying a moving path and identifying an object; as well as, The control device is electrically connected to the electronic navigation device, the first driving device, the second driving device and the third driving device.

2. The delivery robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner cavity of the shell is divided into a front cavity and a rear cavity, and the support plate is arranged in the rear cavity; The picking mechanism comprises: A support seat is movably disposed in the front cavity; and A clamping assembly, which can be movably mounted on the support seat forward and backward; The first driving device comprises: A lifting device, drivingly connected to the support base to drive the support base to move up and down; and The telescopic driving device is drivingly connected to the clamping assembly to drive the clamping assembly to move forward and backward.

3. The delivery robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: A first slide rail is provided on an inner side wall of the housing in the left-right direction, the first slide rail extends in the up-down direction, and the support seat can be slidably mounted on the first slide rail; The lifting device includes a first motor and a first transmission mechanism 311 that is transmission-connected between the first motor and the support base. The first transmission mechanism 311 converts the rotation of the first motor into the up-and-down movement of the support base.

4. The delivery robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The delivery robot further comprises at least one limit block, which is respectively arranged at one end of the first slide rail close to the upper end, so as to limit the maximum rising height of the clamping mechanism.

5. The delivery robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The support seat is provided with a second slide rail extending in the front-rear direction, and the clamping assembly is slidably mounted on the second slide rail; The telescopic driving device includes a second motor and a second transmission mechanism that is transmission-connected between the second motor and the clamping assembly, and the second transmission mechanism converts the rotation of the second motor into forward and backward movement of the clamping assembly.

6. The delivery robot according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The first transmission mechanism 311 includes a first gear connected to the output shaft of the first motor and a first rack connected to the support seat, wherein the first rack extends in the up-down direction and meshes with the first gear; and / or, The second transmission mechanism includes a second gear connected to the output shaft of the second motor and a second rack connected to the clamping assembly, wherein the second rack extends in the front-to-back direction and meshes with the second gear.

7. The delivery robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The clamping assembly comprises two clamping arms, the clamping arms are movably arranged on the support seat along the front-back direction, and the two clamping arms are arranged opposite to each other in the left-right direction; A limit assembly is arranged on the inner side of at least one of the clamping arms, and the limit assembly includes two first limit members and a first limit driving device. The two first limit members are arranged in a front-to-back direction at intervals, and each of the first limit members can be flipped and installed on the corresponding clamping arm, and has a first avoidance position of flipping and folding to the corresponding clamping arm, and a first extended position extending toward the other clamping arm, and the first limit driving device drives the two first limit members to rotate; A second limiting member and a second limiting driving device are arranged at the front side of the supporting plate, and the second limiting member can be folded to a second avoiding position of the supporting plate and flipped to a second extending position extending upward.

8. The delivery robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The left and right side walls of the shell are provided with a plurality of installation points at different positions along the up and down directions; The supporting plates include a plurality of supporting plates, and the plurality of supporting plates are connected to the respective installation points.

9. The delivery robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electronic navigation device includes a visual camera and a laser radar, wherein the visual camera is used to extract feature points through images or depth information, and the laser radar is used to measure distance information of the surrounding environment by emitting laser pulses and receiving reflected signals; A two-dimensional code navigation sensor is provided at the middle of the bottom of the walking mechanism to identify a two-dimensional code provided on the ground near the shelf; The picking mechanism is provided with a code reader.

10. A delivery robot navigation method, based on the delivery robot according to claim 9, characterized in that: The delivery robot navigation method comprises the following steps: When receiving a pickup instruction, a set pickup route between two shelves is planned on the road network map; According to the set pickup path, the walking mechanism is controlled to walk, and during the walking process, characteristic points on the walking path are extracted, and the current characteristic points are matched with the characteristic points on the set pickup path. When the match is unsuccessful, the set pickup path is corrected to avoid the current characteristic points to form a corrected pickup path; According to the modified picking path, the walking mechanism is controlled to walk, and when the QR code navigation sensor recognizes the QR code near the shelf, it switches to the QR code navigation mode and walks along the QR code to the shelf corresponding to the material box; Confirming whether the shelf code is correct by using the code reader; If the shelf code is correct, control the picking mechanism to pick up the material box onto the pallet; If the shelf code is wrong, report the fault.

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