Lifting appliance for automatically carrying ton bags and automatic carrying method

Abstract

The invention discloses a lifting appliance for automatically carrying ton bags. The lifting appliance comprises a cross beam, a lifting hook, a lifting hook rotating device, a camera, a multi-axis mechanical arm, a grabbing mechanism and a lifting mechanism. The cross beam is arranged on the travelling trolley through a lifting mechanism in an up-and-down moving manner; the lifting hook is rotatably arranged at the bottom of the cross beam through the lifting hook rotating device; the multi-axis mechanical arm is mounted at the bottom of the cross beam and located on one side of the lifting hook; the grabbing mechanism is arranged on an end effector of the multi-axis mechanical arm; the camera is fixedly arranged at the bottom of the crossbeam; the number of the cameras is one or more. By the adoption of the lifting appliance for automatic carrying of the ton bags, automatic hooking and unhooking in the ton bag carrying process can be effectively achieved, and the automation degree of equipment is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of automatic transportation of ton bags, and in particular to a sling for automatic transportation of ton bags and a transportation method. Background Art

[0002] In logistics, warehousing and dock operations, the handling of ton bags is an important task. Existing ton bag handling mainly relies on manual hooking, mechanical handling and manual unhooking, which is not only complicated and labor-intensive, but also inefficient and may pose safety hazards. With the increasing demand for logistics handling automation, it is particularly important to develop a sling that can realize automatic hooking, handling and unhooking of ton bags. Existing equipment still has a lot of room for improvement in terms of automation, ease of operation and safety. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the defects existing in the prior art and provide a sling for automatic transportation of ton bags, which can effectively realize automatic hooking and unhooking during the transportation of ton bags and improve the degree of automation of the equipment.

[0004] In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution provided by the present invention is as follows:

[0005] A lifting device for automatic handling of ton bags, comprising a crossbeam, a hook, a hook rotating device, a camera, a multi-axis mechanical arm, a grasping mechanism, and a lifting mechanism; the crossbeam is movably arranged on a traveling trolley through the lifting mechanism; the hook is rotatably arranged at the bottom of the crossbeam through the hook rotating device; the multi-axis mechanical arm is installed at the bottom of the crossbeam and is located on one side of the hook; the grasping mechanism is arranged on the end effector of the multi-axis mechanical arm; the camera is fixedly arranged at the bottom of the crossbeam; one or more cameras are provided.

[0006] The straps of the ton bags to be transported are not easy to be hooked because they hang directly on the top of the ton bags. After the straps are positioned by a camera, the multi-axis mechanical arm is used to grab the bags through a grabbing mechanism, which makes it convenient to hang the bags on the hooks. At the same time, the hook rotating device is used to drive the hooks to rotate, so as to realize automatic unhooking after the transport is completed.

[0007] The number of cameras to be set is adjusted according to the size of the beam and the shooting range of the camera, so that the camera can capture and identify all the ton bags to be transported.

[0008] Furthermore, the above-mentioned hook rotating device includes a reduction motor and a pin shaft; the reduction motor is fixedly installed at the bottom of the beam; the hook is fixedly connected to the pin shaft through a flat key, the pin shaft and the reduction motor are connected through a coupling, and the reduction motor drives the hook to rotate through the pin shaft.

[0009] Furthermore, the lifting mechanism includes a pulley block and a steel wire rope; the pulley block includes a plurality of fixed pulleys, which are evenly installed above the beam through high-strength bolts; a steel wire rope is sleeved on each fixed pulley, and the crane controls the rise and fall of the beam by retracting and releasing the steel wire rope.

[0010] The crane trolley is provided with a lifting drive mechanism, which includes a base, a motor, a transmission shaft, a reducer, and a drum. The base is used to connect with the bottom frame of the crane trolley, the motor, the transmission shaft, and the reducer are arranged on the base, the drum is arranged on the reducer, and the central axis of the drum coincides with the central axis of the reducer output shaft, one end of the wire rope is fixed on the drum, and the wire rope is spirally wound on the outer wall of the drum.

[0011] Contraction control of wire rope: The rotation of the motor drives the reducer to rotate through the transmission shaft, and the rotation of the reducer drives the rotation of the drum. The drum is covered with a wire rope, which drives the contraction and extension of the wire rope to achieve the lifting effect.

[0012] Furthermore, the hook rotation device is also provided with a hook rotation limiting device; the hook rotation limiting device adopts two limiting bars, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the hook along the rotation direction of the hook. The rotation angle of the hook is controlled by the hook rotation limiting device to prevent excessive rotation.

[0013] Furthermore, a plurality of hooks and hook rotating devices are provided at the bottom of the crossbeam. By providing a plurality of hooks, the crane can carry a plurality of ton bags at the same time.

[0014] Furthermore, the bottom of the crossbeam is provided with multiple groups of the multi-axis mechanical arms and the grasping mechanism; multiple groups of the hooks and the hook rotating devices are evenly distributed around each multi-axis mechanical arm. Each multi-axis mechanical arm controls multiple groups of hooks to hook the ton bag in sequence.

[0015] Furthermore, the crossbeam adopts a steel structure frame, a connecting piece is installed at the bottom of the frame, and the hook is rotatably arranged on the connecting piece through a pin shaft; the hook rotation limit device is fixedly installed on the connecting piece.

[0016] Furthermore, a protective column is provided at the bottom of the above-mentioned beam. When the beam descends, the multi-axis robotic arm is protected by the protective column to prevent it from encountering a collision when descending at an excessive speed.

[0017] Furthermore, the grabbing mechanism adopts a gripper with a grabbing function or an electromagnet sheet with a magnetic attraction function. When the electromagnet sheet is adopted, a magnetic material is provided on the ton bag belt.

[0018] The present invention also provides a method for automatically transporting ton bags using the above-mentioned sling, comprising the following steps:

[0019] S1. Grab the ton bag: The trolley reaches the top of the ton bag to be transported, controls the retraction and extension of the wire rope to put the crossbeam to a suitable height, and the camera starts to identify the position of the ton bag strap. Based on the coordinate information of the strap position given by the identification, the dispatching system of the trolley controls the grabbing mechanism at the execution end of the multi-axis robotic arm to grab the ton bag strap;

[0020] S2. Ton bag hooking: After the multi-axis robotic arm grabs the ton bag strap and lifts it to the specified position, the dispatching system drives the hook rotating device to rotate the hook so that the hook head passes through the gap between the ton bag strap and the ton bag body. At this time, the camera starts to identify and determine whether the strap is at the center of the hook. If the position is correct, the dispatching system drives the grabbing mechanism at the end of the robotic arm to release, and the ton bag strap falls into the hook head due to gravity to complete the hooking; if the camera recognizes that the position is incorrect, the dispatching system drives the hook rotating device again to rotate the hook to re-hook;

[0021] S3, ton bag unhooking: After the hooking is completed, the dispatching system dispatches the trolley to lift the ton bag to the designated location, drives the reduction motor to reverse, thereby driving the hook to reverse and complete the unhooking of the ton bag strap.

[0022] Furthermore, when multiple sets of hooks and hook rotating devices are provided at the bottom of the beam, the operations of grabbing the ton bag straps in step S1 and hooking the ton bags in step S2 are repeated until all hooks are full of ton bags or all ton bags to be transported are hooked.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0024] The method of the present invention realizes automatic hooking, automatic handling and automatic unhooking of ton bags, reduces manual participation and improves work efficiency. At the same time, the recognition and positioning of the camera and the dispatching system of the driving vehicle are used for control operations to avoid safety hazards caused by misoperation and equipment failure. In addition, the whole set of slings adopts a stable design such as beams and protective columns, which can operate reliably under complex working conditions. This sling is suitable for a variety of ton bag specifications and different operating scenarios, and has strong flexibility. The components used in the present invention have a simple structure, are easy to install and maintain, and reduce the cost of use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sling for automatic transport of ton bags of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle hook;

[0027] In the figure, 1-ton bag strap, 2-hook, 3-pin shaft, 4-reduction motor, 5-hook rotation limit device, 6-grabbing mechanism, 7-multi-axis robotic arm, 8-protective column, 9-camera, 10-beam, 11-pulley block, 12-wire rope. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] like Figure 1 As shown, the lifting device for automatic handling of ton bags of the present invention includes a hook 2, a pin shaft 3, a reduction motor 4, a hook rotation limit device 5, a grabbing mechanism 6, a multi-axis mechanical arm 7, a protective column 8, a camera 9, a crossbeam 10, a pulley block 11, and a wire rope 12.

[0030] The crossbeam 10 is a steel structure frame, and a connecting piece is installed at the bottom of the frame to carry the hook. Figure 2 The hook 2 and the pin 3 are fixed and rotated by a flat key, and the pin 3 is connected to the reduction motor 4 by a coupling. A hook rotation limiting device 5 is installed on the connecting piece to limit the rotation angle of the hook 2.

[0031] The grabbing mechanism 6 is arranged on the end effector of the multi-axis robot arm 7; the base part of the multi-axis robot arm 7 is reliably connected to the crossbeam 10 by a number of high-strength bolts. The grabbing mechanism 6 adopts an electromagnet sheet with a magnetic attraction function or a clamp with a grabbing function. When the grabbing mechanism 6 adopts an electromagnet sheet with a magnetic attraction function, a magnetic material is arranged in the middle of the ton bag strap 1. The number of grabbing mechanisms and matching multi-axis robot arms can be adjusted according to the size of the crossbeam. In this embodiment, 2 groups of multi-axis robot arms and 8 groups of hooks are matched as an example. A group of hooks and matching reduction motors and pins are respectively arranged at the four corners of the circumference of each group of multi-axis robot arms, that is, a group of multi-axis robot arms and grabbing mechanisms are used to hook the corresponding 4 ton bags in turn.

[0032] The cameras 9 are fixed to the crossbeam 10 by bolts, and the number of cameras 9 is set so that the shooting range can cover the ton bags to be transported. The protective column 8 is fixed to the lower part of the crossbeam 10, and the height is higher than the height of the multi-axis robot arm 7 in the folded state to protect the multi-axis robot arm from being hit when it is dropped too much.

[0033] The pulley block 11 is fixedly connected to the upper part of the cross beam 10; the wire rope 12 is installed on the inner side of the pulley block 11, and the height of the entire hoist is controlled by retracting and releasing the wire rope.

[0034] The specific implementation process of the sling for automatic transport of ton bags of the present invention is as follows:

[0035] The trolley arrives above the designated ton bag to be transported according to the instructions of the dispatching system. The camera under the beam starts image recognition to determine the position of the ton bag strap 1. According to the coordinate information of the strap position, the dispatching system controls the grabbing mechanism 6 at the execution end of the multi-axis mechanical arm 7 to grab the ton bag strap. After grabbing the ton bag strap and lifting it to the specified height, the dispatching system drives the reduction motor 4 to rotate so that the hook head passes through the gap between the ton bag strap and the ton bag body. At this time, the camera starts image recognition again to determine whether the hook is hooked on the strap (that is, whether the strap is located at the center of the hook). If it is hooked, the dispatching system drives the grabbing mechanism at the end of the mechanical arm to release (when the grabbing mechanism is an electromagnet sheet, the power is turned off and demagnetized), and the ton bag strap falls into the hook head due to gravity to complete the hook. If it is not hooked, the dispatching system drives the reduction motor to rotate again to re-hook. Repeat the above steps to hook the ton bags until each hook is hung with a ton bag or all the ton bags are hooked. The dispatching system dispatches the trolley to lift the ton bag to the designated location, drives the reduction motor to reverse, thereby driving the hook to reverse and complete the unhooking of the ton bag strap.

[0036] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be thought of by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention without creative work should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope defined in the claims.

Claims

1. A sling for automatic transport of ton bags, characterized in that: It includes a crossbeam, a hook, a hook rotating device, a camera, a multi-axis mechanical arm, a grasping mechanism, and a lifting mechanism; the crossbeam can be moved up and down on a traveling trolley through a lifting mechanism; the hook is rotatably arranged at the bottom of the crossbeam through a hook rotating device; the multi-axis mechanical arm is installed at the bottom of the crossbeam and is located on one side of the hook; the grasping mechanism is arranged on the end effector of the multi-axis mechanical arm; the camera is fixedly arranged at the bottom of the crossbeam; one or more cameras are provided.

2. The automatic sling for transporting ton bags according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hook rotating device includes a reduction motor and a pin; the reduction motor is fixedly installed at the bottom of the beam; the hook is fixedly connected to the pin through a flat key, the pin is connected to the reduction motor through a coupling, and the reduction motor drives the hook to rotate through the pin.

3. The sling for automatic transport of ton bags according to claim 2, characterized in that: The lifting mechanism includes a pulley block and a steel wire rope; the pulley block includes a plurality of fixed pulleys which are evenly installed above the crossbeam through high-strength bolts; a steel wire rope is sleeved on each fixed pulley; a lifting drive mechanism connected to the steel wire rope is provided on the traveling trolley, and the retraction and extension of the steel wire rope is controlled by the lifting drive mechanism.

4. The automatic transport sling for ton bags according to claim 3, characterized in that: The hook rotation device is also provided with a hook rotation limiting device; the hook rotation limiting device adopts two limiting strips, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the hook along the rotation direction of the hook.

5. The sling for automatic transport of ton bags according to claim 4, characterized in that: A plurality of groups of hooks and hook rotating devices are arranged at the bottom of the crossbeam.

6. The sling for automatic transport of ton bags according to claim 5, characterized in that: A plurality of groups of the multi-axis mechanical arms and grabbing mechanisms are arranged at the bottom of the crossbeam; a plurality of groups of the hooks and hook rotating devices are evenly distributed around each multi-axis mechanical arm.

7. The automatic sling for transporting ton bags according to claim 6, characterized in that: The crossbeam adopts a steel structure frame, a connecting piece is installed at the bottom of the frame, and the hook is rotatably arranged on the connecting piece through a pin shaft; the hook rotation limiting device is fixedly installed on the connecting piece.

8. The sling for automatic transport of ton bags according to claim 7, characterized in that: A protective column is also provided at the bottom of the crossbeam; the grabbing mechanism adopts a clamping claw with a grabbing function or an electromagnet sheet with a magnetic attraction function.

9. The method for automatically transporting ton bags using the sling for automatically transporting ton bags according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. Grab the ton bag: The trolley reaches the top of the ton bag to be transported, controls the retraction and extension of the wire rope to put the crossbeam to a suitable height, and the camera starts to identify the position of the ton bag strap. Based on the coordinate information of the strap position given by the identification, the dispatching system of the trolley controls the grabbing mechanism at the execution end of the multi-axis robotic arm to grab the ton bag strap; S2. Ton bag hooking: After the multi-axis robotic arm grabs the ton bag strap and lifts it to the designated position, the dispatching system drives the hook rotating device to drive the hook to rotate, so that the hook head passes through the gap between the ton bag strap and the ton bag body. At this time, the camera starts to identify again to determine whether the strap is at the center of the hook. If the position is correct, the dispatching system drives the grabbing mechanism at the end of the robotic arm to release, and the ton bag strap falls into the hook head due to gravity to complete the hooking; If the camera recognizes that the position is incorrect, the dispatching system will re-drive the hook rotating device to drive the hook to rotate and re-hook; S3, ton bag unhooking: After the hooking is completed, the dispatching system dispatches the trolley to lift the ton bag to the designated location, drives the reduction motor to reverse, thereby driving the hook to reverse and complete the unhooking of the ton bag strap.

10. The method for automatically transporting ton bags using a sling for automatically transporting ton bags according to claim 9, characterized in that: When a plurality of sets of the hooks and hook rotating devices are provided at the bottom of the crossbeam, the operations of grabbing the ton bag straps in step S1 and hooking the ton bags in step S2 are repeated until all the hooks are fully hung with ton bags or all the ton bags to be transported are hooked.

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