System and method for processing luggage basket arriving at port

Abstract

The invention discloses a system and method for processing arrival luggage baskets. The system for processing the arrival luggage baskets comprises a conveying line and a lifting unstacker. The conveying line comprises a luggage taking rotary disc, a luggage unloading line located on the upper layer and an empty basket pile conveying line located on the lower layer. The tail end of the luggage unloading line is connected with the luggage taking turntable; the lifting unstacker is used for conveying the empty basket piles on the empty basket pile conveying line to the luggage unloading line. Empty baskets are convenient to transfer, and the transfer efficiency is high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of airport luggage basket transfer, and more particularly to a system and method for processing luggage baskets arriving at a port. Background Art

[0002] When handling the arriving baggage, the staff will load the baggage on the plane onto the baggage trailer, which will be transported to the baggage hall and placed on the unloading conveyor line. The arriving baggage will reach the baggage claim carousel through the unloading conveyor line. During the placement process, the baggage that is convenient for direct conveying on the belt can be directly placed on the unloading conveyor line. The baggage that is too small, soft baggage, etc. that are not suitable for direct conveying can be loaded with baggage baskets and then placed on the unloading conveyor line. The baggage that is transported in baskets and the baggage that is not transported in baskets will finally enter the baggage claim carousel through the conveyor line. After the passengers have taken out the baggage on the carousel, only the baggage baskets are transported on the carousel. The staff will take down the empty baskets transported on the carousel and stack them. The stacked empty baskets are transported to the nearby unified empty basket recycling point. The empty basket recycling point is the starting point of the empty basket recycling line. The empty basket stacks return to the baggage claim carousel through the empty basket recycling line. The staff will move the empty basket stacks to the starting point of the baggage claim carousel for the next baggage that needs to be transported in baskets.

[0003] The above process is a common way to handle empty baskets of arriving baggage, but it has many disadvantages: 1. In the process of collecting the baskets, if the staff has been waiting at the turntable to collect the baskets in time, the human resource demand is large. If the baskets are collected at a certain time period, the uncollected baskets will occupy the turntable resources (the subsequent baggage will be injected into the turntable only when there is a vacant space in the turntable), which will eventually increase the time for passengers to pick up their baggage. 2. In the process of manually transporting the empty baskets, the staff collects and stacks them at the turntable, and transports the empty baskets between each turntable and the empty basket collection point, which will affect the passage of passengers. 3. The empty baskets are cached at a centralized location in the baggage hall via the empty basket conveyor line. When using the empty baskets, the staff also needs to transport the baggage baskets at the centralized cache location to each baggage claim turntable position to facilitate the use of the next piece of baggage to be loaded. Therefore, the current method of handling the arriving baggage baskets has the problems of low turnover efficiency of the baskets, large usage, and large human resource demand for transporting the empty baskets.

[0004] Therefore, it is an urgent problem for technical personnel in this field to develop a system and method for handling luggage baskets at the port that is convenient in turnover and highly efficient. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a system and method for processing arriving luggage baskets with convenient turnover and high efficiency.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] A system for handling arriving totes, comprising:

[0008] A conveyor line, the conveyor line comprising a baggage claim carousel, a baggage unloading line located at an upper layer, and an empty basket stack conveyor line located at a lower layer; the end of the baggage unloading line is connected to the baggage claim carousel;

[0009] A lifting and depalletizing machine is used to transport the empty basket stacks on the empty basket stack conveying line to the baggage unloading line.

[0010] The beneficial effect of adopting the above technical solution is that the transportation of luggage and empty baskets in the present invention is a closed-loop transportation route, which does not intersect with the passengers' walking route and does not affect the passage of passengers. At the same time, it simplifies the transportation route of luggage and empty baskets, and can improve the turnover efficiency of empty baskets.

[0011] Preferably, the system for processing arriving baggage baskets further comprises a robotic arm, which is used to grab the empty baskets on the baggage claim carousel and move them to the empty basket stack conveyor line, and the empty basket stack conveyor line moves the stacked empty baskets to the lifting and depalletizing machine.

[0012] Preferably, the baggage claim carousel is provided with an identification locator, and the identification locator and the mechanical arm are arranged in sequence along the conveying direction of the baggage claim carousel. The identification locator can identify the empty baskets on the baggage claim carousel, which can improve the accuracy of the empty basket turnover.

[0013] Preferably, the gripping end of the mechanical arm is provided with a suction cup, which facilitates the gripping of the empty basket.

[0014] Preferably, the baggage unloading line is provided with a baggage unloading station for loaded baskets and a baggage unloading station for unloaded baskets, and a detection device is provided on the side of the baggage unloading station for loaded baskets. The detection device can detect whether there is baggage in the empty basket of the baggage unloading station for loaded baskets.

[0015] Preferably, the empty basket stacking conveyor line is provided with an empty basket stacking station, and the robot arm stacks the empty baskets at the empty basket stacking station. When a certain number of empty baskets are stacked at the empty basket stacking station, the empty basket stacking conveyor line will be started to transport the empty basket stack.

[0016] A method for processing a luggage basket at a port, comprising the following processing steps:

[0017] S1, first, the items on the baggage claim carousel are detected by the identification locator, and when an empty basket is detected and the empty basket meets the grabbing conditions, the position information of the empty basket is transmitted to the controller in the robot arm;

[0018] S2, the controller in the robot arm calculates the grasping path according to the positioning information, and the robot arm drives the suction cup to reach the grasping preparation position to grasp the empty basket;

[0019] S3, after the suction cup on the robot arm grabs the empty basket, the empty basket is transferred to the empty basket stacking station, and then the empty basket is released, and the empty basket stacking is completed in multiple cycles, and after the stacking is completed, the empty basket stack is transported to the lifting and depalletizing machine;

[0020] S4, the lifting and destacking machine lifts the empty baskets to the upper baggage unloading line and then destackers them. The destacking stops when the empty baskets are transported to the baggage unloading station.

[0021] S5, when the unloading photoelectric tube of the baggage unloading station detects that luggage is put into the empty basket, the luggage basket is transported downstream, and at the same time, the lifting and depalletizing machine removes another empty basket, and the empty basket stops at the baggage unloading station, waiting for loading;

[0022] S6: After the luggage is picked up by the passenger, only empty baskets are left on the luggage claim carousel, and the processing of the empty baskets continues to be executed in a loop starting from step S1.

[0023] Preferably, in step S2, when the suction cup sucks the empty basket, it is necessary to first adjust the suction surface of the suction cup to be parallel to the bottom surface of the empty basket; when the empty basket is moved to the empty basket stacking station, the bottom surface of the empty basket is adjusted to a horizontal state, and a two-dimensional camera arranged on the side of the empty basket stacking station takes a picture of the bottom surface of the empty basket, and the relative position relationship between the suction cup and the empty basket is calculated in combination with the spatial coordinates of the suction cup to achieve accurate stacking of the empty baskets.

[0024] Preferably, in step S5, both the baggage loaded in the basket and the baggage not loaded in the basket arrive at the baggage claim carousel along the same conveying route.

[0025] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that, compared with the prior art, the present invention discloses a system and method for processing arriving luggage baskets, which has the following beneficial effects:

[0026] (1) The conveyor lines for luggage and empty baskets do not intersect with the passenger routes, which has little impact on the passage of passengers;

[0027] (2) The conveying route of the present invention is a single closed-loop conveying. There is no diversion or confluence of empty baskets between the baggage unloading line and the baggage claim carousel, so the usage of empty baskets can be accurately controlled. Even with fewer empty baskets, a higher turnover efficiency of empty baskets can be ensured, thus saving the cost of baggage baskets and the cost of empty basket stacking by manual porters. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] 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 embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without paying creative work.

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of empty basket collection on the baggage claim conveyor line provided by the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of empty basket placement on the baggage unloading conveyor line provided by the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 The present invention provides Figure 2 Side view of.

[0032] Among them, in the figure,

[0033] 1- Baggage unloading line;

[0034] 11- unloading station for baggage loaded in baskets; 12- unloading station for baggage not loaded in baskets;

[0035] 2-Baggage claim carousel;

[0036] 21-identify the locator;

[0037] 3-lifting and destacking machine; 4-empty basket stacking;

[0038] 5-Empty basket stack conveyor line;

[0039] 51- Empty basket stacking station;

[0040] 6-Robotic arm;

[0041] 61-suction cup;

[0042] 7-Empty basket; 8-Baggage in the basket; 9-Unpacked luggage. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] 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.

[0044] The embodiment of the present invention discloses a system for processing an arriving baggage basket, comprising:

[0045] The conveyor line includes a baggage claim carousel 2, a baggage unloading line 1 located at the upper layer, and an empty basket stack conveyor line 5 located at the lower layer; the end of the baggage unloading line 1 is connected to the baggage claim carousel 2;

[0046] The lifting and destacking machine 3 is used to transport the empty basket stack 4 on the empty basket stack conveying line 5 to the baggage unloading line 1.

[0047] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, the system for processing arriving baggage baskets also includes a robotic arm 6, which is used to grab the empty baskets 7 on the baggage retrieval carousel 2 and move them to the empty basket stack conveyor line 5, and the empty basket stack conveyor line 5 moves the stacked empty basket stacks 4 to the lifting and destacking machine 3.

[0048] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, the baggage claim carousel 2 and the empty basket stack conveyor line 5 are relatively independent. After the baggage is unloaded, it arrives at the baggage unloading line 2, and then is conveyed to the baggage claim carousel 2 through the baggage unloading line 2. When the passenger takes away the baggage, the empty basket 7 on the baggage claim carousel 2 is taken away by the mechanical arm 6 and placed on the empty basket stacking station 51 of the empty basket stack conveyor line 5. When a certain number of empty baskets 7 are stacked, the empty basket stack conveyor line 5 is started to convey the empty basket stack 4 to the lifting and destacking machine 3, and then the lifting and destacking machine 3 conveys the empty basket stack 4 to the baggage unloading line 1, and the empty basket 7 is destacking, and the above operation steps are repeated.

[0049] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, an identification locator 21 is provided on the baggage claim carousel 2 , and the identification locator 21 and the mechanical arm 6 are arranged in sequence along the conveying direction of the baggage claim carousel 2 .

[0050] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, a suction cup 61 is provided at the gripping end of the robot arm 6. The suction cup can be a flat suction cup or a universal suction cup, and the universal suction cup is convenient for adjusting the angle of the suction cup. The suction cup structure at the bottom of the robot arm 6 and its specific working process can be specifically referred to the content of the suction cup in the existing patent CN202222566641.6.

[0051] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, the baggage unloading line 1 is provided with a baggage unloading station 11 for basketed baggage and a baggage unloading station 12 for non-basketed baggage, and a detection device is provided on the side of the baggage unloading station 11 for basketed baggage. The baggage unloading station 11 for basketed baggage and the baggage unloading station 12 for non-basketed baggage are on two different conveyor belts. When baggage with baskets or baggage without baskets arrives at the station, the conveyor belts of the corresponding stations will convey all the baggage to the baggage unloading line 1 for unified transportation.

[0052] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, the detection device can be an unloading photoelectric tube, which is used to detect whether the luggage is put into an empty basket. It can also be a variety of detection methods such as setting a weight sensor under the unloading station of the loaded luggage, setting a luggage basket release button, and setting a sensor in the vertical direction for detection.

[0053] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, an empty basket stacking station 51 is provided on the empty basket stacking conveyor line 5 , and the robot arm 6 stacks the empty baskets 4 at the empty basket stacking station 51 .

[0054] A method for processing a luggage basket at a port, comprising the following processing steps:

[0055] S1, first, the items on the baggage claim carousel 2 are detected by the identification locator 21, and when an empty basket 7 is detected and the empty basket 7 meets the grabbing conditions, the position information of the empty basket 7 is transmitted to the controller in the robot arm 6;

[0056] S2, the controller in the robot arm 6 calculates the grasping path according to the positioning information, and the robot arm 6 drives the suction cup 61 to the grasping preparation position to grasp the empty basket 7;

[0057] S3, after the suction cup 61 on the robot arm 6 grabs the empty basket 7, the empty basket 7 is transferred to the empty basket stacking station 51, and then the empty basket 7 is released, and the stacking of the empty basket 7 is completed in multiple cycles, and after the stacking is completed, the empty basket stack 4 is transported to the lifting and depalletizing machine 3;

[0058] S4, the lifting and destacking machine 3 lifts the empty basket stack 4 to the upper baggage unloading line 2, and then destackers it. The empty baskets 7 are transported to the baggage unloading station 11 and then stop.

[0059] S5, when the unloading photoelectric tube of the loaded baggage unloading station 11 detects that baggage has been put into the empty basket 7, the baggage basket is transported downstream, and at the same time, the lifting and depalletizing machine 3 removes another empty basket 7, and the empty basket 7 stops at the loaded baggage unloading station 11, waiting for loading;

[0060] S6: After the luggage is picked up by the passenger, only the empty basket 7 is left on the luggage claim carousel 2, and the processing of the empty basket 7 continues to be executed in a loop starting from step S1.

[0061] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, in step S2, when the suction cup 61 sucks the empty basket 7, it is necessary to first adjust the adsorption surface of the suction cup 61 to be parallel to the bottom surface of the empty basket 7; when the empty basket 7 is moved to the empty basket stacking station 51, the bottom surface of the empty basket 5 is adjusted to a horizontal state, and the two-dimensional camera arranged on the side of the empty basket stacking station 51 takes a picture of the bottom surface of the empty basket 7, and the relative position relationship between the suction cup 61 and the empty basket 7 is calculated in combination with the spatial coordinates of the suction cup 61 to achieve accurate stacking of the empty baskets.

[0062] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, in step S5, both the baggage loaded in baskets and the baggage not loaded in baskets arrive at the baggage claim carousel 2 along the same conveying route.

[0063] In order to further optimize the above technical solution, the lifting and destacking machine 3 can not only transport the empty baskets on the lower layer to the upper layer, but also destacking the empty baskets on the empty basket stack 4. The specific structure and working process of the lifting and destacking machine 3 are the same as the use principle of the existing lifting and destacking machine, as long as the lifting and destacking functions can be realized.

[0064] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referenced to each other.

[0065] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables one skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0066] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine different embodiments or examples described in this specification.

[0067] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is to be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and are not to be construed as limitations of the present invention. A person skilled in the art may change, modify, replace and vary the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for handling arriving totes, characterized in that: include: A conveyor line, the conveyor line comprising a baggage claim carousel (2), a baggage unloading line (1) located at an upper layer, and an empty basket stack conveyor line (5) located at a lower layer; the end of the baggage unloading line (1) is connected to the baggage claim carousel (2); A lifting and destacking machine (3) is used to transport the empty basket stack (4) on the empty basket stack conveying line (5) to the luggage unloading line (1).

2. A system for handling arriving totes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The system for processing arriving baggage baskets also includes a robot arm (6), which is used to grab the empty baskets (7) on the baggage claim carousel (2) and move them to the empty basket stack conveyor line (5), and the empty basket stack conveyor line (5) moves the stacked empty basket stacks (4) to the lifting and depalletizing machine (3).

3. A system for handling arriving totes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The luggage unloading line (1) is provided with a basketed luggage unloading station (11) and an unboxed luggage unloading station (12), and a detection device is provided on the side of the basketed luggage unloading station (11).

4. A method for handling luggage baskets arriving at a port, characterized in that: The processing steps include: S1, first, detecting the items on the baggage claim carousel (2) through the identification locator (21), and when an empty basket (7) is detected and the empty basket (7) meets the grasping conditions, transmitting the position information of the empty basket (7) to the controller in the robot arm (6); S2, a controller in the robot arm (6) calculates a grasping path according to the positioning information, and the robot arm (6) drives the suction cup (61) to reach a grasping preparation position to grasp the empty basket (7); S3, after the suction cup (61) on the robot arm (6) grabs the empty basket (7), the empty basket (7) is transferred to the empty basket stacking station (51), and then the empty basket (7) is released, and the stacking of the empty baskets (7) is completed in multiple cycles, and after the stacking is completed, the empty basket stack (4) is transported to the lifting and depalletizing machine (3); S4, the lifting and destacking machine (3) lifts the empty basket stack (4) to the upper luggage unloading line (1), and then destacking the empty baskets (7) and stops when the destacking empty baskets (7) are transported to the loaded luggage unloading station (11); S5, when the unloading photoelectric tube of the baggage unloading station (11) detects that luggage is put into the empty basket (7), the luggage basket is transported downstream, and at the same time, the lifting and unstacking machine (3) removes another empty basket (7), and the empty basket (7) stops at the baggage unloading station (11) to wait for loading; S6: After the luggage is picked up by the passenger, only the empty basket (7) is left on the luggage claim carousel (2), and the processing of the empty basket (7) continues to be executed in a loop starting from step S1.

5. A method for handling arriving luggage baskets according to claim 4, characterized in that: In the step S2, when the suction cup (61) sucks the empty basket (7), it is necessary to first adjust the suction surface of the suction cup (61) to be parallel to the bottom surface of the empty basket (7); when the empty basket (7) is moved to the empty basket stacking station (51), the bottom surface of the empty basket (7) is adjusted to a horizontal state, and a two-dimensional camera arranged on the side of the empty basket stacking station (51) takes a picture of the bottom surface of the empty basket (7), and the relative position relationship between the suction cup (61) and the empty basket (7) is calculated in combination with the spatial coordinates of the suction cup (61), so as to achieve accurate stacking of the empty baskets.

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