Rotary circulating storing and taking system and method for express parcels

Abstract

An express item rotary circulating storing and taking system comprises at least one storage unit, each storage unit comprises an outer shell, a storage cabinet set and a conveying mechanism, and each storage cabinet set comprises at least one storage cabinet used for storing express items; guide rails which are connected end to end are fixedly installed in the outer shell, the storage cabinet sets are connected with the guide rails in a sliding mode, the multiple storage cabinet sets are sequentially arranged along the guide rails, the conveying mechanism is used for driving the storage cabinet sets to move along the guide rails, photoelectric marks are arranged on the storage cabinet sets, and photoelectric sensors used for identifying the photoelectric marks are arranged in the outer shell. The moving area of the storage cabinet group comprises a feeding station used for carrying out express delivery operation and a discharging station used for carrying out express delivery taking operation, the invention further relates to an express delivery rotary circulating storing and taking method, by adopting the system, the optimal discharging line can be automatically found, and the express delivery taking time is saved. The problems that an existing express storing and taking device is inconvenient to store and take and low in space utilization rate are solved, and the express storing and taking device belongs to the technical field of logistics storing and taking.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of logistics access, and particularly relates to a rotary circulation access system and method for express parcels. Background Art

[0002] With the booming development of the e-commerce industry, the volume of express delivery business has increased sharply. The huge business volume has brought many challenges to express delivery stations, especially in the access of express parcels. The existing technologies have the following problems: (1) Difficult parcel out-of-warehouse: The number of parcels in the station is huge, and the efficiency of manual registration for out-of-warehouse is low. There is a lack of an efficient out-of-warehouse management system, which not only affects logistics tracking and service quality, but also leads to excessive waiting time for users and reduces user satisfaction. (2) Low space utilization rate: A traditional station with an area of 50-60 square meters can only store 2,000 parcels, and the space utilization efficiency is relatively low, making it difficult to meet the express storage needs. During the peak period of express delivery business volume, the goods are stacked in a messy manner, further reducing the space utilization rate and increasing the management difficulty. (3) Low picking efficiency: The goods are placed without scientific classification and positioning marks, and it takes a long time for staff to find parcels. In a traditional station, it takes an average of 3-5 minutes for staff to find a parcel, resulting in low overall picking efficiency. This not only affects the user's parcel collection experience, but also increases the operating costs of logistics enterprises. Although there are currently non-intelligent express cabinets developed, they also have disadvantages such as low space utilization rate and inconvenient parcel collection. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Aiming at the technical problems existing in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a rotary circulation access system and method for express parcels with high space utilization rate and convenient access and pick-up.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A rotary circulation access system for express parcels includes at least one storage unit. The storage unit includes an outer shell, a locker group, and a transmission mechanism. The locker group includes at least one locker for storing express parcels. A guide rail connected end to end is fixedly installed inside the outer shell. The locker group is slidably connected to the guide rail. The number of the locker groups is multiple and they are arranged in sequence along the guide rail. The transmission mechanism is used to drive the locker group to move along the guide rail. Photoelectric marks are provided on the locker group, and a photoelectric sensor for identifying the photoelectric marks is provided inside the outer shell. The moving area of the locker group includes a feeding station for performing parcel delivery operations and a discharging station for performing parcel pick-up operations.

[0005] As a preference, along the moving direction of the lockers, the inside of the outer shell is divided into multiple partitions in sequence, and each partition is correspondingly provided with a discharging station.

[0006] As a preference, the guide rail is composed of a serpentine section and a vertical section. The serpentine section is formed by alternately connecting multiple horizontal guide rails and semi-circular arc guide rails. The two ends of the serpentine section are connected by the vertical section. The guide rail as a whole is in a vertical serpentine shape with the vertical section facing backward. The feeding station is arranged at the vertical section, and the discharging station is arranged at the semi-circular arc guide rail at the front end.

[0007] As a preference, the outer housing is provided with a feeding port and a discharging port. The feeding port is opened at the rear side of the outer housing and is opposite to the feeding station, and the discharging port is opened at the lower front side of the outer housing and corresponds to the discharging station.

[0008] As a preference, the bottom of the storage locker is provided with a strip-shaped hole, and a pushing mechanism is arranged at the discharging station. The pushing mechanism includes a pushing cylinder, and the output end of the pushing cylinder is provided with a push plate that can extend into the strip-shaped hole.

[0009] As a preference, the transmission mechanism includes a chain and a servo motor with an encoder. Multiple storage locker groups are sequentially connected to the same chain. The servo motor drives the chain to move, and when the chain moves, it drives the storage lockers to move along the guide rail.

[0010] As a preference, each storage locker group includes two storage lockers, and the two storage lockers are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the guide rail; the number of storage units is multiple, and the multiple storage units are closely arranged in the left-right direction.

[0011] A method for rotary cyclic access of express parcels uses the above-mentioned express parcel rotary cyclic access system. Before working, the storage lockers are electronically numbered first, and the numbers of the storage lockers are associated with the access information. The access information is empty bin information or express parcel information;

[0012] The storage unit is provided with an operation screen. When parcel delivery is required, the courier inputs the express parcel information through the operation screen. At this time, the transmission mechanism drives the empty storage locker to the feeding station. After the parcel delivery is completed, the access information of this storage locker is updated to the corresponding express parcel information; when parcel pickup is required, the user inputs the express parcel information through the operation screen, determines the associated storage locker number according to the express parcel information, the transmission mechanism drives the corresponding storage locker to the discharging station. After the parcel pickup is completed, the access information of this storage locker is updated to empty bin information.

[0013] As a preference, every time a storage locker moves, the numbers of all storage lockers are updated according to the moving distance, so that the numbers of the storage lockers in each position are changed to the numbers of the storage lockers that were in this physical position before the movement.

[0014] As a preference, when parcel pickup is required, after determining the associated storage locker number, then determine the partition where this storage locker is located, and then move this storage locker to the discharging station of this partition.

[0015] Generally speaking, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0016] (1) The present invention drives the storage locker to move cyclically within the storage unit through a chain, so that the required storage locker can be moved near the discharge port or the feed port of the outer casing. In this way, for multiple storage lockers in each storage unit, only one discharge port and one feed port need to be set, and the pick-up personnel or the express item only need to stand at a fixed position to deliver or pick up the item, saving time and labor.

[0017] (2) The present invention stores the express items through a serpentine three-dimensional shelf, which can make full use of the space in the front and back, and has a high space utilization rate.

[0018] (3) By adopting the method of zone picking, when picking up the item, it discharges from the discharge station closest to the item, which can shorten the moving distance of the storage box during picking up, and update the storage locker number after each discharge. In this way, when discharging next time, the moving path of the storage locker can still be calculated in the same way, realizing that it automatically finds the best route to exit the warehouse and reducing the picking time. Description of the Drawings

[0019] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional view of the storage unit.

[0020] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional view of the storage unit from another angle.

[0021] Figure 3 It is an installation diagram of the storage locker group inside the storage unit.

[0022] Figure 4 It is an internal sectional view of the storage unit.

[0023] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the zoning inside the storage unit.

[0024] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram when the storage locker moves to the discharge station for discharging.

[0025] Figure 7 It is an enlarged view of the storage locker discharging.

[0026] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of the pushing mechanism.

[0027] Among them, a1 is the outer shell, a2 is the discharge port, a3 is the operation screen, a4 is the feed port, a5 is the storage cabinet, a6 is the door opening and closing mechanism, a7 is the photoelectric mark, a801 is the first photoelectric sensor, a802 is the second photoelectric sensor, a803 is the third photoelectric sensor, a804 is the fourth photoelectric sensor, a805 is the fifth photoelectric sensor, a9 is the buffer air cushion, a10 is the pushing cylinder, and a11 is the pushing plate. a501 is the cabinet door, and a502 is the strip hole. a601 is the telescopic device, and a602 is the electromagnet. 1, 2, 147, 148, 149, 150, 137, 81, 124 are storage cabinets with corresponding numbers. Detailed implementation manners

[0028] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation manners.

[0029] Embodiment 1

[0030] As Figures 1 to 5 shown, a courier item rotary circulation storage and retrieval system includes at least one storage unit. The storage unit includes an outer shell a1, a storage cabinet group, and a transmission mechanism. The storage cabinet group includes at least one storage cabinet a5 for storing courier items. A rail connected end to end is fixedly installed inside the outer shell. The storage cabinet group is slidably connected to the rail. The number of the storage cabinet group is multiple and they are arranged in sequence along the rail. The transmission mechanism is used to drive the storage cabinet group to move along the rail. A photoelectric mark a7 is provided on the storage cabinet group. A photoelectric sensor for identifying the photoelectric mark is provided inside the outer shell. The moving area of the storage cabinet group includes a feed station for performing the operation of putting in items and a discharge station for performing the operation of taking out items.

[0031] The transmission mechanism can adopt an existing sprocket and chain transmission mechanism to drive the storage cabinet to move in a cycle inside the storage unit through the chain. The photoelectric sensor determines the position of the storage cabinet group and the distance it moves by identifying the photoelectric mark. The photoelectric sensors include a first photoelectric sensor a801, a second photoelectric sensor a802, a third photoelectric sensor a803, a fourth photoelectric sensor a804, and a fifth photoelectric sensor a805.

[0032] In some embodiments, as Figure 5 shown, along the moving direction of the storage cabinet, the inside of the outer shell is divided into multiple partitions in sequence, and each partition is correspondingly provided with a discharge station. This discharge station is the optimal discharge station for the storage cabinet in this partition, that is, the discharge station with the shortest distance.

[0033] In some embodiments, as Figures 1 to 5As shown in the figure, the guide rail is composed of a serpentine section and a vertical section. The serpentine section is formed by alternately connecting multiple horizontal guide rails and semi-circular arc guide rails. The two ends of the serpentine section are connected by the vertical section. The guide rail as a whole is in a vertical serpentine shape with the vertical section facing backward. The feeding station is set at the vertical section, and the discharging station is set at the semi-circular arc guide rail at the front end. The serpentine guide rail arranges the lockers in a serpentine shape, which can make full use of the internal space.

[0034] In some embodiments, as Figures 1 to 3 shown, the outer casing is provided with a feeding port a4 and a discharging port a2. The feeding port is opened at the rear side of the outer casing and is opposite to the feeding station, and the discharging port is opened at the lower front side of the outer casing and corresponds to the discharging station.

[0035] In some embodiments, as Figures 6 to 8 shown, the bottom of the locker is provided with a strip hole a502, and a pushing mechanism is arranged at the discharging station. The pushing mechanism includes a pushing cylinder a10, and a push plate a11 that can extend into the strip hole is arranged at the output end of the pushing cylinder.

[0036] In some embodiments, as Figures 6 to 8 shown, the locker can adopt a door opening and closing mechanism a6 to realize automatic opening and closing of the cabinet door. A cabinet door a501 is slidably arranged on the locker. The door opening and closing structure includes a telescopic device a601, and an electromagnet a602 is connected to the telescopic device. The telescopic device can adopt a cylinder or an electric cylinder. The electromagnet can adsorb the door ears on both sides of the cabinet door. When the telescopic device extends, it drives the electromagnet to push open the cabinet door, and an elastic member for closing and resetting is arranged between the cabinet door and the locker.

[0037] The locker can also adopt an existing locker that can automatically open and close the door. Its size can be selected according to needs to match in order to adapt to different express sizes. According to the size of the express item to be stored or retrieved, a strip hole smaller than the size of the express item is opened at its bottom. After the locker moves to the discharging station, its cabinet door opens, and the internal express item falls onto the buffer air cushion a9 under the action of gravity and the push plate.

[0038] In some embodiments, the transmission mechanism includes a chain and a servo motor with an encoder. Multiple locker groups are sequentially connected to the same chain, and the servo motor drives the chain to move. When the chain moves, it drives the lockers to move along the guide rail.

[0039] The lengths of the chains between adjacent two lockers are equal, and the lockers are arranged evenly. On the basis of ensuring smooth movement, adjacent two lockers are arranged as closely as possible.

[0040] In some embodiments, each locker group includes two lockers, and the two lockers are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the guide rail; the number of storage units is multiple, and multiple storage units are arranged closely in the left-right direction.

[0041] A method for rotary cyclic access of express parcels. Before operation, the storage lockers are electronically numbered first, and the numbers of the storage lockers are associated with the access information, where the access information is empty locker information or express parcel information.

[0042] The storage unit is provided with an operation screen a3 with a scanning function. When delivering a parcel, the courier inputs the express parcel information through the operation screen. At this time, the transmission mechanism drives an empty storage locker to the feeding station. After the delivery is completed, the access information of this storage locker is updated to the corresponding express parcel information. When picking up a parcel, the user inputs the express parcel information through the operation screen, determines the associated storage locker number according to the express parcel information, and the transmission mechanism drives the corresponding storage locker to the discharging station. After the pick-up is completed, the access information of this storage locker is updated to empty locker information.

[0043] In some embodiments, every time a storage locker moves, the numbers of all storage lockers are updated according to the moving distance, so that the numbers of the storage lockers in each position are changed to the numbers of the storage lockers that were in this physical position before the movement.

[0044] In some embodiments, when picking up a parcel, after determining the associated storage locker number, then determine the partition where this storage locker is located, and then move this storage locker to the discharging station of this partition.

[0045] An example of the specific working process of the above express parcel rotary cyclic access system and method is as follows:

[0046] Before work, when all the lockers in the system are empty without any express packages, electronically number the lockers in the system first. The process is as follows: First, the servo motor in the system starts to drive the chain to move along a serpentine trajectory. The lockers on both sides of the chain move together. Each locker has an electronic tag, which can be a color code. When it passes by the first color-sensitive photoelectric sensor, the first photoelectric sensor will emit a signal. When the first photoelectric sensor is triggered, the position of the locker is exactly opposite the feeding port. When any random locker triggers the first photoelectric sensor, the system automatically assigns an electronic number to this locker, number 1. At the same time, the chain continues to move. When the next locker triggers the first photoelectric sensor, the system automatically assigns an electronic number to this locker, number 2, and so on. Each locker will be assigned a different electronic number in turn (this electronic number is only recorded in the system software and does not need to be printed or displayed, just remembered by the system software). If the total number of lockers is 150, then the electronic numbers of the lockers are from 1 to 150, and each locker corresponds to an independent number. The lockers can be numbered one by one after circulating in the device for one week. The second photoelectric sensor, the third photoelectric sensor, the fourth photoelectric sensor, and the fifth photoelectric sensor in the figure are all color-sensitive photoelectric sensors identical to the first photoelectric sensor. The length of the chain from the first photoelectric sensor to the second photoelectric sensor is an integer multiple of the center distance between adjacent lockers: After design, the center distance between lockers is set to L, the length of the chain from the first photoelectric sensor to the second photoelectric sensor is 26L; the length of the chain from the first photoelectric sensor to the third photoelectric sensor is 60L; the length of the chain from the first photoelectric sensor to the fourth photoelectric sensor is 95L; the length of the chain from the first photoelectric sensor to the fifth photoelectric sensor is 130L.

[0047] When there are no express packages stored in the device in the initial state, when a courier needs to deliver a package or an ordinary user needs to send a package, they first come to the operation screen at the rear of the storage unit to input the express package information. After the system receives the information, the servo motor drives the chain to send the empty locker numbered 1 near the feeding port 4. When the first photoelectric sensor detects the color code 7 on the empty locker 5, the servo motor brakes and stops rotating. Then the door of the locker opens to wait for the express package to be delivered. After the delivery is completed, the chain moves upward to take away the locker numbered 1. When the first photoelectric sensor detects the color code of the next locker, the chain stops again, and the cabinet door automatically opens to wait for the express package to be delivered, and so on. When the last locker numbered 150 completes the feeding, all the lockers are filled with express packages and are marked with corresponding electronic numbers. At the same time, the positions of all the lockers in the device are also determined, as Figure 5As shown, the distance between the locker numbered 137 and the second photoelectric sensor is 13L. For example, the distance between the locker numbered 81 and the third photoelectric sensor is 9L, and the distance between the locker numbered 1 and the fifth photoelectric sensor is 17L.

[0048] Since the lockers in the device are arranged in multiple layers, in order to quickly take out the express items in the lockers, they are divided into four zones: A, B, C, and D. The best discharge outlet for Zone A is the express item discharge outlet in front of the second photoelectric sensor. Similarly, the best discharge outlet for Zone B is the express item discharge outlet in front of the third photoelectric sensor, and so on.

[0049] When the person picking up the item needs to pick up express item X, he first enters the pick-up information on the operation screen in front of the device. Then the system determines the physical location of the express item in the device based on the information. Suppose the express item X of the person picking up the item is in the locker numbered 137. At this time, the servo motor drives the chain to move clockwise, and at the same time the second photoelectric sensor starts to count. Since there are 14 lockers between the locker numbered 137 and the second photoelectric sensor, when the second photoelectric sensor counts to 14, the locker numbered 137 is just located by the second photoelectric sensor. At this time, the servo motor stops, the door of the locker opens, and the pushing mechanism pushes out the express item X. The express item can then smoothly leave the warehouse and fall on the buffer air cushion, and finally be taken away by the person picking up the item.

[0050] After the pick-up is completed, the color mark of the locker numbered 137 is facing the second photoelectric sensor. At this time, the locker numbered 148 containing express item Y is parked at the original position of the locker numbered 137. Then the system updates the electronic numbers of the original lockers, changes the number of the locker numbered 137 to 124 and associates it with the original empty warehouse information, changes the number of the locker numbered 148 to 137, and associates it with the express item information that there is an express item Y in the warehouse. And so on, all 150 lockers are updated with numbers for the next pick-up.

[0051] When the second person comes to pick up the item, if his express item is in the locker numbered 81, at this time the servo motor drives the chain to move counterclockwise, and at the same time the third photoelectric sensor starts to count. Since there are 10 lockers between the locker numbered 81 and the third photoelectric sensor, when the second photoelectric sensor counts to 10, the locker numbered 81 is just located by the third photoelectric sensor. At this time, the servo motor stops, the locker door opening device opens the door of the locker, and the express item discharging device pushes out the express item. The express item can then smoothly leave the warehouse and fall on the buffer air cushion, and finally be taken away by the person picking up the item.

[0052] The storage locker that has completed discharging is in an empty bin state, and the system has also noted the access information of the empty bin in the number. At this time, if a courier needs to make a delivery, the system will accurately send the empty bin to the first optoelectronic sensor at the feeding port in the above way and automatically open the cabinet door to facilitate the courier to load the goods. The best conveying route for this process is: the chains in areas A and B are conveyed counterclockwise, and the chains in areas C and D are conveyed clockwise.

[0053] The above embodiments are preferred embodiments of the invention, but the embodiments of the invention are not limited by the above embodiments. Any other changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, and simplifications made without departing from the spirit and principle of the invention shall be equivalent replacement methods and are all included in the protection scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A courier rotation storage and retrieval system, characterized by: The storage unit comprises at least one storage unit, the storage unit comprises an outer shell, a locker group, and a transmission mechanism, and the locker group comprises at least one locker for storing express items; A guide rail connected end to end is fixedly installed in the outer shell, and the locker group is slidably connected to the guide rail. There are multiple locker groups and they are arranged in sequence along the guide rail. The transmission mechanism is used to drive the locker group to move along the guide rail. The locker group is provided with a photoelectric mark, and a photoelectric sensor for identifying the photoelectric mark is provided in the outer shell. The moving area of ​​the locker group includes a feeding station for inserting operations and a discharging station for taking out operations.

2. A courier rotation storage and retrieval system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Along the moving direction of the locker, the outer shell is divided into a plurality of partitions in sequence, and each partition is provided with a corresponding unloading station.

3. A courier rotation storage and retrieval system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide rail is composed of a serpentine section and a vertical section. The serpentine section is formed by alternating multiple horizontal guide rails and semicircular guide rails. The two ends of the serpentine section are connected by a vertical section. The guide rail is a vertical serpentine as a whole with the vertical section facing backward. The feeding station is set at the vertical section, and the discharging station is set at the semicircular guide rail at the front end.

4. A courier rotation and retrieval system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The outer shell is provided with a feed port and a discharge port. The feed port is opened at the rear side of the outer shell and is opposite to the feed station, and the discharge port is opened at the lower front side of the outer shell and is corresponding to the discharge station.

5. The express delivery rotating circulation storage and retrieval system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A strip hole is arranged at the bottom of the storage cabinet, a pushing mechanism is arranged at the discharging station, the pushing mechanism comprises a pushing cylinder, and a pushing plate which can extend into the strip hole is arranged at the output end of the pushing cylinder.

6. A courier rotation storage and retrieval system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission mechanism includes a chain and a servo motor with an encoder. Multiple locker groups are sequentially connected to the same chain. The servo motor drives the chain to move, and when the chain moves, the lockers are driven to move along the guide rail.

7. The express delivery rotating cycle storage and retrieval system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each locker group includes two lockers, and the two lockers are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the guide rail; There are multiple storage units, and the multiple storage units are closely arranged along the left-right direction.

8. A method for storing and retrieving express items in a circular manner, using a system for storing and retrieving express items in a circular manner as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: Before work, the lockers are electronically numbered and the locker numbers are associated with access information, which is empty warehouse information or express delivery information; The storage unit is equipped with an operation screen. When it is necessary to deliver a parcel, the courier inputs the parcel information through the operation screen. At this time, the transmission mechanism drives the empty locker to the feeding station. After the delivery is completed, the storage and access information of the locker is updated to the corresponding parcel information; when it is necessary to pick up the parcel, the user inputs the parcel information through the operation screen, determines the associated locker number according to the parcel information, and the transmission mechanism drives the corresponding locker to the discharging station. After the pickup is completed, the storage and access information of the locker is updated to the empty warehouse information.

9. A method for storing and retrieving express items according to claim 8, characterized in that: Each time a locker is moved, the numbers of all lockers are updated according to the distance of the move, so that the numbers of the lockers at each position are changed to the numbers of the lockers at the physical position before the move.

10. A method for storing and retrieving express items according to claim 8, characterized in that: When you need to pick up an item, determine the associated locker number, then determine the partition where the locker is located, and then move the locker to the unloading station of the partition.

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