Safety protection system applied to indoor guide rail robot

Abstract

The indoor guide rail robot safety protection system comprises a guide rail, a robot body is arranged at the top of the guide rail, and a protection unit is arranged at the lower end of the surface of the robot body. The robot can shoot and monitor the surrounding environment in real time through the camera, meanwhile, the infrared sensor can emit infrared light to sense whether people approach or not, sound waves can be emitted through the ultrasonic sensor, obstacles in the surrounding environment are detected through the sound waves, and the robot body is effectively prevented from colliding with the people or the obstacles; when the arc-shaped rubber plate collides with an external object, the impact force generated by collision of the arc-shaped rubber plate with the external object is preliminarily buffered and dispersed to the force dispersing plate, the force dispersing plate can transmit the impact force to the spring and the damper, the impact force can be counteracted through the reset elastic force of the spring and the damper, and the force dispersing plate and the arc-shaped rubber plate are driven to reset; therefore, the safety of the robot body is ensured, and the impact resistance of the robot body is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of indoor guide rail robots, and in particular to a safety protection system for indoor guide rail robots. Background Art

[0002] With the development of electronic technology, robots are increasingly used in work scenarios such as construction, inspection or cargo handling. They can be used outdoors or indoors. Rail robots can also be used indoors. Indoor rail robots are robots that can run automatically on preset rails and are usually used in automated warehousing, logistics, manufacturing and other environments.

[0003] When the rail robot is used indoors, the robot moves along the track of the rail. The robot picks up, places goods or performs inspections during the movement. However, in actual use, the rail robot may encounter emergencies during operation, such as external interference, which may cause the rail robot to collide with external interference facilities, robots or walls and other objects. The impact force generated by the collision can easily damage the rail robot, thereby affecting the service life of the rail robot. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a safety protection system for an indoor rail robot, which has the advantages of obstacle avoidance, collision prevention and impact resistance, and solves the problem that in actual use, the rail robot may encounter emergencies during operation, such as external interference, which may cause the rail robot to collide with external interference facilities, robots or walls and other objects. The impact force generated by the collision can easily damage the rail robot, thereby affecting the service life of the rail robot.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: a safety protection system for an indoor guide rail robot, comprising a guide rail, a robot body is arranged on the top of the guide rail, a protection unit is arranged at the lower end of the surface of the robot body, the protection unit comprises a protective cover, cameras are arranged on both sides of the top of the protective cover, a microcontroller is arranged on the front of the protective cover, infrared sensors are arranged on the upper ends of both sides of the protective cover, ultrasonic sensors are arranged on the lower ends of both sides of the protective cover, force dispersion plates are arranged around the protective cover, one side of the force dispersion plate is fixedly connected to an arc-shaped rubber plate, the side of the force dispersion plate away from the arc-shaped rubber plate is fixedly connected to a spring, and a damper is arranged in the inner cavity of the spring.

[0006] Preferably, one end of the spring away from the force dissipation plate is fixedly connected to one side of the protective cover, one end of the damper is fixedly connected to the force dissipation plate, and the other end of the damper is fixedly connected to one side of the protective cover.

[0007] Preferably, mounting holes are provided at the upper and lower ends of both sides of the protective cover, the infrared sensor is located in the inner cavity of the mounting hole at the upper end and is fixedly connected to the inner cavity of the mounting hole at the upper end, and the ultrasonic sensor is located in the inner cavity of the mounting hole at the lower end and is fixedly connected to the inner cavity of the mounting hole at the lower end.

[0008] Preferably, a mounting groove is opened on the front side of the protective cover, the microcontroller is located in the inner cavity of the mounting groove and is fixedly connected to the inner cavity of the mounting groove, the bottom of the camera is fixedly connected to a support block, and the bottom of the support block is fixedly connected to the top of the protective cover.

[0009] Preferably, the bottom of the guide rail is fixedly connected to a rail frame, the bottom of the protective cover is fixedly connected to the robot body, and the bottom of the rail frame is fixedly connected to a suction cup.

[0010] Preferably, a limiting cylinder is provided on one side of the force dissipation plate, the inner cavity of the limiting cylinder is slidably connected with a sliding rod, and the end of the sliding rod away from the inner cavity of the limiting cylinder is fixedly connected to the force dissipation plate, and the end of the limiting cylinder away from the sliding rod is fixedly connected to one side of the protective cover.

[0011] Preferably, the output end of the camera is connected to the input end of the microcontroller, and the model of the camera is Insta360 series, the output end of the infrared sensor is connected to the input end of the microcontroller, and the model of the infrared sensor is Sharp GP2Y0A41SK0F, the input end of the microcontroller is connected to the output end of the ultrasonic sensor, and the model of the ultrasonic sensor is HC-SR04, the output end of the microcontroller is connected to the input end of the main control end, and the output end of the main control end is connected to the input end of the robot body, and the model of the microcontroller is ESP32 series single-chip microcomputer.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The present invention places the robot body on the top of the guide rail, and the robot body can move along the guide rail, so that the guide rail limits the movement trajectory of the robot body, and the robot body can perform inspections or cargo handling and storage operations. When the robot body is in operation, the camera can perform real-time photography and monitoring of the surrounding environment, and at the same time, cooperate with the infrared sensor to emit infrared light to sense whether there is a human approaching, and the ultrasonic sensor can emit sound waves to detect obstacles in the surrounding environment through the sound waves. The detection sensor data of the camera, infrared sensor and ultrasonic sensor will be transmitted to the microcontroller. When it senses that there is a human approaching or there is an obstacle around, the microcontroller will transmit a signal to the main control end, and the main control end can transmit a signal to the robot body to stop the movement of the robot body, thereby effectively preventing the robot body from colliding with humans or obstacles, thereby causing wear. The present invention covers the lower end of the surface of the robot body through a protective cover, thereby providing preliminary protection for the robot body. When the robot body is collided with an external object, the arc-shaped rubber plate will first contact the object, and the impact force generated by the collision of the external object will be initially buffered by the arc-shaped rubber plate and dispersed to the force dispersion plate. The force dispersion plate will transmit the impact force to the spring and the damper, causing the spring and the damper to be compressed and deformed, and perform secondary buffering on the impact force. At the same time, the impact force will be offset by the reset elastic force of the spring and the damper, and the force dispersion plate and the arc-shaped rubber plate will be reset, thereby ensuring the safety of the robot body and improving its impact resistance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the connection structure of the protective cover, microcontroller and camera of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the protective cover, microcontroller, infrared sensor and ultrasonic sensor in the separated state of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the partial enlarged structure of point A in the figure of the present invention; Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the system principle of the present invention.

[0014] In the figure: 1. guide rail; 111. rail frame; 2. robot body; 3. protection unit; 31. protection cover; 311. mounting slot; 312. mounting hole; 32. camera; 321. support block; 33. microcontroller; 34. infrared sensor; 35. ultrasonic sensor; 36. force dissipation plate; 361. limit cylinder; 37. arc rubber plate; 38. spring; 39. damper. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] 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.

[0016] The guide rail 1, rail frame 111, robot body 2, protection unit 3, protection cover 31, mounting groove 311, mounting hole 312, camera 32, support block 321, microcontroller 33, infrared sensor 34, ultrasonic sensor 35, force dissipation plate 36, limit cylinder 361, arc rubber plate 37, spring 38 and damper 39 components of the present invention are all universal standard parts or components known to those skilled in the art, and their structures and principles can be known to those skilled in the art through technical manuals or through conventional experimental methods.

[0017] Example 1 like Figure 1-5 As shown, it is the first embodiment of the present invention, which provides a safety protection system for an indoor guide rail robot, including a guide rail 1, a robot body 2 is arranged on the top of the guide rail 1, a protection unit 3 is arranged at the lower end of the surface of the robot body 2, the protection unit 3 includes a protection cover 31, cameras 32 are arranged on both sides of the top of the protection cover 31, a microcontroller 33 is arranged on the front of the protection cover 31, infrared sensors 34 are arranged on the upper ends of both sides of the protection cover 31, ultrasonic sensors 35 are arranged on the lower ends of both sides of the protection cover 31, and force dissipation plates 36 are arranged around the protection cover 31, one side of the force dissipation plate 36 is fixedly connected to an arc-shaped rubber plate 37, the side of the force dissipation plate 36 away from the arc-shaped rubber plate 37 is fixedly connected to a spring 38, and a damper 39 is arranged in the inner cavity of the spring 38.

[0018] like Figure 1-5 As shown, the robot body 2 is located at the top of the guide rail 1, and the robot body 2 can move along the guide rail 1, so that the guide rail 1 limits the movement trajectory of the robot body 2. The robot body 2 can perform inspections or cargo handling and storage operations. When the robot body 2 is in operation, the camera 32 can perform real-time photography and monitoring of the surrounding environment. At the same time, the infrared sensor 34 will emit infrared light to sense whether there is a human approaching, and the ultrasonic sensor 35 will emit sound waves to detect obstacles in the surrounding environment. The detection sensor data of the camera 32, the infrared sensor 34 and the ultrasonic sensor 35 will be transmitted to the microcontroller 33. When it is sensed that there is a human approaching or there is an obstacle around, the microcontroller 33 will transmit a signal to the main control end, and the signal can be transmitted to the robot body 2 through the main control end, so that the robot The robot body 2 stops moving, which effectively prevents the robot body 2 from colliding with humans or obstacles and causing wear. The protective cover 31 covers the lower end of the surface of the robot body 2, thereby providing preliminary protection for the robot body 2. When colliding with an external object, the arc-shaped rubber plate 37 will first contact the object, and the impact force generated by the collision of the external object will be initially buffered by the arc-shaped rubber plate 37 and dispersed to the force-dissipating plate 36. The force-dissipating plate 36 will transmit the impact force to the spring 38 and the damper 39, causing the spring 38 and the damper 39 to compress and deform, and perform secondary buffering on the impact force. At the same time, the impact force will be offset by the reset elastic force of the spring 38 and the damper 39, and the force-dissipating plate 36 and the arc-shaped rubber plate 37 will be reset, thereby ensuring the safety of the robot body 2 and improving its impact resistance.

[0019] Example 2

[0020] Reference Figure 3 and 4, which is the second embodiment of the present invention, and this embodiment is based on the previous embodiment.

[0021] In this embodiment, one end of the spring 38 away from the force dissipation plate 36 is fixedly connected to one side of the protective cover 31 , one end of the damper 39 is fixedly connected to the force dissipation plate 36 , and the other end of the damper 39 is fixedly connected to one side of the protective cover 31 .

[0022] Mounting holes 312 are provided at the upper and lower ends of both sides of the protective cover 31. The infrared sensor 34 is located in the inner cavity of the upper mounting hole 312 and is fixedly connected to the inner cavity of the upper mounting hole 312. The ultrasonic sensor 35 is located in the inner cavity of the lower mounting hole 312 and is fixedly connected to the inner cavity of the lower mounting hole 312.

[0023] A mounting groove 311 is provided on the front of the protective cover 31. The microcontroller 33 is located in the inner cavity of the mounting groove 311 and is fixedly connected to the inner cavity of the mounting groove 311. A support block 321 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the camera 32. The bottom of the support block 321 is fixedly connected to the top of the protective cover 31.

[0024] like Figure 3 and 4 As shown, one end of the spring 38 and the damper 39 is fixedly connected to the protective cover 31, so that the protective cover 31 can support the spring 38 and the damper 39 to ensure their stability, and is connected to the spring 38 and the damper 39 through the dispersion plate 36, so that the dispersion plate 36 is convenient for transmitting the impact force generated by the collision to the spring 38 and the damper 39, so that the spring 38 and the damper 39 buffer the impact force, and one end of the support block 321 is connected to the protective cover 31, and the other end is connected to the camera 32, so that the camera 32 can be well supported stably to ensure the stability of the camera 32, and the infrared sensor 34 and the ultrasonic sensor 35 are both arranged in the inner cavity of the mounting hole 312, so that the mounting hole 312 is convenient for installing and placing the infrared sensor 34 and the ultrasonic sensor 35, and the microcontroller 33 is arranged in the inner cavity of the mounting groove 311, so that the mounting groove 311 is convenient for installing and placing the microcontroller 33.

[0025] Example 3

[0026] Reference Figure 1 , 4 and 5, which are the third embodiment of the present invention, and this embodiment is based on the first two embodiments.

[0027] In this embodiment, the bottom of the guide rail 1 is fixedly connected to a rail frame 111 , the bottom of the protective cover 31 is fixedly connected to the robot body 2 , and the bottom of the rail frame 111 is fixedly connected to a suction cup.

[0028] A limiting cylinder 361 is provided on one side of the force dissipating plate 36 , and a sliding rod is slidably connected to the inner cavity of the limiting cylinder 361 , and one end of the sliding rod away from the inner cavity of the limiting cylinder 361 is fixedly connected to the force dissipating plate 36 , and one end of the limiting cylinder 361 away from the sliding rod is fixedly connected to one side of the protective cover 31 .

[0029] The output end of the camera 32 is connected to the input end of the microcontroller 33, and the model adopted by the camera 32 is the Insta360 series. The output end of the infrared sensor 34 is connected to the input end of the microcontroller 33, and the model adopted by the infrared sensor 34 is Sharp GP2Y0A41SK0F. The input end of the microcontroller 33 is connected to the output end of the ultrasonic sensor 35, and the model adopted by the ultrasonic sensor 35 is HC-SR04. The output end of the microcontroller 33 is connected to the input end of the main control end, and the output end of the main control end is connected to the input end of the robot body 2. The model adopted by the microcontroller 33 is the ESP32 series single-chip microcomputer.

[0030] The method of use includes the following steps: A. First, the guide rail 1 is installed in an indoor environment, and the guide rail 1 is stably supported by the rail frame 111. Then, the robot body 2 is placed and installed on the top of the guide rail 1. The robot body 2 is located on the top of the guide rail 1. When the main control end transmits a signal to the robot body 2 to make the robot body 2 operate, the robot body 2 can move along the guide rail 1, so that the guide rail 1 limits the movement trajectory of the robot body 2, thereby ensuring the stability of the robot body 2. Inspection or cargo handling and storage operations can be performed through the robot body 2 when it is in operation; B. At the same time, the camera 32 can be used to take real-time photos and monitor the surrounding environment for real-time recording, and the infrared sensor 34 can emit infrared light to sense whether there is a human approaching, and the ultrasonic sensor 35 can emit sound waves to detect obstacles in the surrounding environment. During the detection and perception process, the detection sensor data of the camera 32, the infrared sensor 34 and the ultrasonic sensor 35 will be transmitted to the microcontroller 33. When it is sensed that there are humans approaching or obstacles around, the microcontroller 33 will transmit a signal to the main control end, and the main control end can transmit a signal to the robot body 2 to stop the robot body 2 from moving, effectively preventing the robot body 2 from continuing to run and colliding with humans or obstacles, thereby causing wear; C. The lower end of the surface of the robot body 2 is covered by the protective cover 31, thereby providing preliminary protection for the robot body 2. When the robot body 2 is hit by an external object, the arc-shaped rubber plate 37 will first contact the object, and the impact force generated by the collision of the external object will be initially buffered by the arc-shaped rubber plate 37 and dispersed to the force-dissipating plate 36. The force-dissipating plate 36 will transmit the impact force to the spring 38 and the damper 39, so that the spring 38 and the damper 39 are compressed and deformed, and the impact force is buffered for a second time. At the same time, the impact force is offset by the reset elastic force of the spring 38 and the damper 39, and the force-dissipating plate 36 and the arc-shaped rubber plate 37 are reset, thereby ensuring the safety of the robot body 2 and improving its impact resistance.

[0031] like Figure 1 , 4 As shown in Figure 5, the guide rail 1 can be well supported by the rail frame 111, and the suction cup can ensure the stability and firmness of the rail frame 111 and the guide rail 1. When the force dissipation plate 36 is subjected to impact movement, the force dissipation plate 36 drives the sliding rod to move to one side, and the sliding rod will slide along the inner cavity of the limiting cylinder 361, thereby ensuring the movement trajectory of the force dissipation plate 36 and realizing the limitation of the force dissipation plate 36. The camera 32, the infrared sensor 34 and the ultrasonic sensor 35 are all connected to the microcontroller 33, and the microcontroller 33 is connected to the main control end, so that the camera 32, the infrared sensor 34 and the ultrasonic sensor 35 detect data and transmit it to the microcontroller 33. The microcontroller 33 can analyze the data, and the signal can be transmitted to the main control end through the microcontroller 33, and the data can be transmitted to the main control end for storage. At the same time, the main control end is connected to the robot body 2, so that it is convenient to transmit the signal to the robot body 2, and the operation of the robot body 2 can be controlled.

[0032] During use: first install the guide rail 1 in an indoor environment, and use the rail frame 111 to stably support the guide rail 1, then place and install the robot body 2 on the top of the guide rail 1, with the robot body 2 located at the top of the guide rail 1, and then when the main control end transmits a signal to the robot body 2 to make the robot body 2 operate, the robot body 2 can move along the guide rail 1, so that the guide rail 1 limits the movement trajectory of the robot body 2, thereby ensuring the stability of the robot body 2, and the robot body 2 can perform inspections or cargo handling and storage operations during operation, while the camera 32 can perform real-time photography and monitoring of the surrounding environment for real-time recording, and cooperate with the infrared sensor 34 to emit infrared light to sense whether there is a human approaching, and at the same time, the ultrasonic sensor 35 will emit sound waves to detect obstacles in the surrounding environment, and the detection and sensing data of the camera 32, infrared sensor 34 and ultrasonic sensor 35 will be transmitted to the microcontroller 33 during the detection and sensing process. When there are humans approaching or obstacles around, the microcontroller 33 will transmit a signal to the main control end, and the main control end can transmit a signal to the robot body 2 to stop the robot body 2 from moving, effectively preventing the robot body 2 from continuing to run and colliding with humans or obstacles, thereby causing wear. The protective cover 31 covers the lower end of the surface of the robot body 2, and then provides preliminary protection for the robot body 2. When collided with by an external object, the arc rubber plate 37 will first contact the object, and the impact force generated by the collision of the external object will be initially buffered and dispersed to the force dissipation plate 36 by the arc rubber plate 37. The force dissipation plate 36 will transmit the impact force to the spring 38 and the damper 39, so that the spring 38 and the damper 39 are compressed and deformed, and the impact force is buffered for a second time. At the same time, the impact force will be offset by the reset elastic force of the spring 38 and the damper 39, and the force dissipation plate 36 and the arc rubber plate 37 will be reset, thereby ensuring the safety of the robot body 2 and improving its impact resistance.

[0033] The standard parts used in this application document can all be purchased from the market and can be customized according to the description in the specification and drawings. The specific connection methods of each part adopt conventional means such as mature bolts, rivets, welding, etc. in the prior art. The machinery, parts and equipment all adopt conventional models in the prior art. The control method is automatic control through a controller. The control circuit of the controller can be implemented through simple programming by technicians in this field, which is common knowledge in the field. This application is mainly used to protect mechanical devices, so this application no longer explains the control method and circuit connection in detail.

[0034] 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.

[0035] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A safety protection system for an indoor guide rail robot, comprising a guide rail (1), characterized in that: A robot body (2) is arranged on the top of the guide rail (1), a protection unit (3) is arranged at the lower end of the surface of the robot body (2), the protection unit (3) comprises a protection cover (31), cameras (32) are arranged on both sides of the top of the protection cover (31), a microcontroller (33) is arranged on the front of the protection cover (31), infrared sensors (34) are arranged on the upper ends of both sides of the protection cover (31), ultrasonic sensors (35) are arranged on the lower ends of both sides of the protection cover (31), and force dispersion plates (36) are arranged around the protection cover (31), one side of the force dispersion plate (36) is fixedly connected to an arc-shaped rubber plate (37), a side of the force dispersion plate (36) away from the arc-shaped rubber plate (37) is fixedly connected to a spring (38), and a damper (39) is arranged in the inner cavity of the spring (38).

2. The safety protection system for indoor rail robots according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the spring (38) away from the force dissipation plate (36) is fixedly connected to one side of the protective cover (31), one end of the damper (39) is fixedly connected to the force dissipation plate (36), and the other end of the damper (39) is fixedly connected to one side of the protective cover (31).

3. The safety protection system for indoor rail robots according to claim 1 is characterized in that: Mounting holes (312) are provided at the upper and lower ends of both sides of the protective cover (31); the infrared sensor (34) is located in the inner cavity of the mounting hole (312) at the upper end and is fixedly connected to the inner cavity of the mounting hole (312) at the upper end; and the ultrasonic sensor (35) is located in the inner cavity of the mounting hole (312) at the lower end and is fixedly connected to the inner cavity of the mounting hole (312) at the lower end.

4. The safety protection system for indoor rail robots according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front side of the protective cover (31) is provided with a mounting groove (311); the microcontroller (33) is located in the inner cavity of the mounting groove (311) and is fixedly connected to the inner cavity of the mounting groove (311); the bottom of the camera (32) is fixedly connected to a support block (321); and the bottom of the support block (321) is fixedly connected to the top of the protective cover (31).

5. The safety protection system for indoor guide rail robots according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The bottom of the guide rail (1) is fixedly connected to a rail frame (111), the bottom of the protective cover (31) is fixedly connected to the robot body (2), and the bottom of the rail frame (111) is fixedly connected to a suction cup.

6. The safety protection system for indoor rail robots according to claim 1, characterized in that: A limiting cylinder (361) is provided on one side of the force dissipating plate (36), the inner cavity of the limiting cylinder (361) is slidably connected to a sliding rod, and one end of the sliding rod away from the inner cavity of the limiting cylinder (361) is fixedly connected to the force dissipating plate (36), and one end of the limiting cylinder (361) away from the sliding rod is fixedly connected to one side of the protective cover (31).

7. The safety protection system for indoor rail robots according to claim 1, characterized in that: The output end of the camera (32) is connected to the input end of the microcontroller (33), and the model of the camera (32) is the Insta360 series. The output end of the infrared sensor (34) is connected to the input end of the microcontroller (33), and the model of the infrared sensor (34) is Sharp GP2Y0A41SK0F. The input end of the microcontroller (33) is connected to the output end of the ultrasonic sensor (35), and the model of the ultrasonic sensor (35) is HC-SR04. The output end of the microcontroller (33) is connected to the input end of the main control end, and the output end of the main control end is connected to the input end of the robot body (2). The model of the microcontroller (33) is the ESP32 series single-chip microcomputer.

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