Sorting robot and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to a picking robot and a control method thereof.The picking robot comprises a chassis, and a wheel assembly is arranged at the bottom of the chassis; the door frame is mounted on the chassis; the sliding frame is arranged on the door frame, and at least two container hooking devices are arranged on the sliding frame; containers on the container hooking device comprise a first container and a second container, the first container is used for storing to-be-sorted materials, and the second container is used for storing the sorted materials. The mechanical arm is arranged on the door frame and ascends and descends synchronously with the rowing frame, and a picking mechanism used for picking materials is arranged at the action tail end of the mechanical arm; the mechanical arm lifting mechanism drives the mechanical arm to ascend and descend along the portal frame independently of the rowing frame; the material identification device is used for identifying the position of the material in the container; and the controller is used for controlling the mechanical arm to move the target material from the first container to the second container based on the information returned by the material recognition device. According to the scheme, the material recognition device and the controller work cooperatively, full-automatic positioning and grabbing are achieved, and the requirement for manual intervention in the whole sorting process is remarkably lowered.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of intelligent warehousing, and particularly relates to a picking robot and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In the current intelligent warehousing system, there is a container storage robot (CTU) that can carry multiple containers at a time and dock with a stereoscopic warehouse for storing or retrieving containers as required. However, container storage can only be processed in whole containers, and individual parts in the containers cannot be picked.

[0003] Materials are stored in containers, and the containers are stored in the stereoscopic warehouse as a whole, and the storage of the containers in the stereoscopic warehouse is traceable. In actual use, one container can store the same kind of material, or different kinds of materials can be stored in one container. There is a need for material sorting in the following stages: 1. If one or more specified materials are stored in one container, the specified materials need to be stored in the container to be warehoused before warehousing; 2. When formulating orders according to the recipe, it is necessary to obtain the specified materials from several containers stored in the stereoscopic warehouse. However, at present, the sorting of materials mainly relies on manual sorting, and the sorting efficiency is low. There is also a scheme of automatic sorting with the aid of a conveyor belt and a robotic arm, but this scheme requires the setting of a sorting station for centralized sorting, which occupies a large space and has poor sorting flexibility. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a picking robot and a control method thereof.

[0005] A picking robot includes: A chassis with a wheel assembly at its bottom; A gantry mounted on the chassis; A rack is provided on the gantry, and at least two container grabbing devices are provided on the rack. The container grabbing device is used to load a container onto the rack or unload a container from the rack. The containers on the container grabbing device include a first container and a second container. The first container is used to store materials to be sorted, and the second container is used to store sorted materials; A robotic arm is provided on the gantry and moves up and down synchronously with the rack. A picking mechanism for picking up materials is provided at the operating end of the robotic arm. The picking mechanism is located above the container grabbing device and is driven by the robotic arm to carry materials and transfer them between the containers on at least two container grabbing devices; A robotic arm lifting mechanism drives the robotic arm to lift and lower along the gantry independently of the rack; A material identification device for identifying the position of materials in the container; A controller for controlling the robotic arm to move the target material from the first container to the second container based on the information returned by the material identification device.

[0006] With the above settings, the picking robot realizes flexible movement through the wheel assembly of the chassis, can freely shuttle in the warehouse, and does not require a fixed sorting station; the gantry supports the synchronous lifting of the rack and the robotic arm, ensuring that mechanical interference is avoided when accessing bins at different heights; multiple bin picking devices can at least hold one empty bin and one full bin storing the target material, realizing the sorting of materials from the full bin and storing them in the empty bin, and the automatic loading and unloading of the bin can be realized through the bin picking device; the independent control of the robotic arm lifting mechanism enables it to accurately adjust the height, and cooperate with the picking mechanism to transfer materials between bins; the material identification device and the controller work together to achieve full-automatic positioning and grasping, significantly reducing the need for manual intervention in the entire sorting process.

[0007] Preferably, it includes a slewing mechanism and a tilting mechanism, which are connected to the rack and used to adjust the angle of the bin picking device on the rack for docking with the bin.

[0008] By adjusting the docking angle of the bin picking device through the slewing mechanism and the tilting mechanism, the robot can adapt to the postures of bins at different storage positions (such as tilted or rotated states), improving the compatibility and operation reliability in complex warehousing environments.

[0009] Preferably, the rack includes a fixed seat frame, a mounting seat, and a diagonal brace bracket; The fixed seat frame is installed on the gantry, The bin picking device is arranged on the mounting seat, The mounting seat is supported by the diagonal brace bracket, and the diagonal brace bracket is arranged between the fixed seat frame and the mounting seat; One end of the diagonal brace bracket is hinged to the fixed frame seat to form a first rotation center, and the other end of the diagonal brace bracket is driven by the tilting mechanism to rotate and lift around the first rotation center; The slewing mechanism is arranged between the fixed frame seat and the mounting seat.

[0010] The fixed seat frame and the mounting seat are connected by the diagonal brace bracket. Combining with the tilting mechanism driving the diagonal brace bracket to rotate around the first rotation center, the height and angle adjustment of the bin picking device are realized; the slewing mechanism directly drives the mounting seat to rotate, and the overall mechanical structure is compact and stable.

[0011] Preferably, the tilting mechanism includes a first driving mechanism and a connecting rod assembly. The upper end of the connecting rod assembly is connected to the diagonal brace bracket, and the lower end of the connecting rod assembly is connected to the fixed frame seat. The first driving mechanism acts to drive the overall height change of the connecting rod assembly. The tilting mechanism adopts the first driving mechanism and the connecting rod assembly to jointly drive the diagonal brace bracket to lift and lower. Through the transmission advantage of the mechanical connecting rod, high-precision angle adjustment is achieved, the load pressure on the motor is reduced, and the service life of the equipment is prolonged.

[0012] Preferably, the slewing mechanism includes a second driving mechanism and a slewing gear. The second driving mechanism is meshed with the slewing gear through a transmission gear, and drives the slewing gear to drive the mounting base to rotate and adjust. The slewing mechanism is driven by the second driving mechanism to be meshed and transmitted with the slewing gear, and drives the mounting base to rotate. Its gear meshing design ensures that the rotation angle is controllable and there is no cumulative error, which is suitable for scenarios that require precise alignment (such as the access of storage bins in a high-level stereoscopic warehouse).

[0013] Preferably, the gantry is a multi-stage overlapping gantry. The robotic arm, the scriber and the robotic arm lifting mechanism are arranged on the first-stage gantry, and the first-stage gantry is a first-stage gantry that can move within the maximum stroke range of the gantry. The design of the multi-stage overlapping gantry enables the robot to cover a larger range of vertical storage space. The first-stage gantry moves within the maximum stroke, further expanding the working range of the robotic arm and the scriber to meet the needs of ultra-high-density warehousing. The robotic arm, the scriber and the robotic arm lifting mechanism are arranged on the first-stage gantry. The first-stage gantry drives the robotic arm and the scriber to lift synchronously, and the robotic arm can lift independently of the scriber, with a simple structure.

[0014] Preferably, the material identification device includes depth cameras arranged on both sides of the head of the robotic arm. The depth cameras are used to identify one or more of the operating position of the robotic arm, the clamping state of the picking mechanism, and the position of the parts in the storage bin. The position of the head of the robotic arm is relatively fixed. The depth cameras are arranged on the head of the robotic arm, and depth cameras are respectively arranged on both sides of the head of the robotic arm, which can ensure that it has a large field of view and can cover the operating range of the robotic arm. The depth cameras identify the position of the robotic arm, the clamping state and the position of the parts in the storage bin through three-dimensional space data, and combine with the controller to correct the path in real time, significantly improving the sorting accuracy.

[0015] Preferably, the robotic arm has a plurality of rotatable joints, which drive the action end to grab the target material within the spherical range. It can grab the materials at any position in the storage bin, reduce the blind area, and enhance the sorting coverage ability.

[0016] Preferably, it includes a code reading device for scanning the coding information on the storage bin to locate the storage bin and identify the storage bin information. After retrieving the storage position of the target storage bin through the warehousing system, the code reading device further identifies and locates the storage bin at this storage position to verify the accuracy of the storage bin information.

[0017] This application also provides a control method for a picking robot, including a picking robot as described in any one of the above. The method includes the steps: Place a second storage bin at at least one storage bin grabbing device; Control the picking robot to move to a specified position, and extract the specified first storage bin through the storage bin grabbing device; Identify the specified material in the first cargo box through the material identification device, control the robotic arm to pick up the specified material from the first cargo box according to the feedback information of the material identification device, and place it into the second cargo box. After the picking of the first cargo box is completed, control the storage position of the picking robot for the first cargo box, and the cargo box grabbing device operates to move the first cargo box to the storage position.

[0018] The above control method realizes full-process automatic sorting by coordinating the movement of the robot, the extraction of the cargo box, the identification and transfer of materials in steps; it can enable the robot to pick up a whole box of goods by the cargo box grabbing device on one side, and after the robotic arm grabs parts as needed and places them into another cargo box, send the whole box of goods back to the shelf, and pick goods in this cycle. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the present application; Figure 2 It is Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of the hidden cargo box; Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the rack; Figure 4 It is Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram from another angle; Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of the rack after hiding the fixed frame; Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of the robotic arm in the present application; Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of the cargo box grabbing device; Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of the base; Figure 9 It is Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram from another angle; Figure 10 It is Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram from another angle; Figure 11 It is Figure 7 An enlarged view of part A in Figure 12 It is a schematic installation diagram of the wheel assembly.

[0020] Reference Signs: Chassis 1, drive wheel 11, floating mounting plate 112, universal wheel 12, bridge 13, Gantry 2, first-stage gantry 21, Rack 3, fixed seat frame 31, connecting part 311, mounting seat 32, inclined support bracket 33, inclined support mechanism 34, first drive mechanism 341, connecting rod assembly 342, slewing mechanism 35, second drive mechanism 351, The cargo box picking device 4, the base 41, the enclosure 411, the sliding telescopic device 42, the first-stage slide rail 421, the buffer block 422, the second-stage slide rail 422, the first lateral connection seat 4221, the second lateral connection seat 4222, the third-stage slide rail 423, the rack 4231, the first synchronous belt 4242, the second synchronous belt 4243, the picking device 43, the hook 431, the lifting bracket 434, the moving seat 435, The robotic arm 5, the head 51, the rotating joints 5.1 - 5.6, the picking mechanism 52, The robotic arm lifting mechanism 6. Specific embodiments

[0021] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.

[0022] This embodiment provides a picking robot, comprising: The chassis 1, with wheel assemblies provided at its bottom; The gantry 2, installed on the chassis 1; The rack 3, disposed on the gantry 2, and at least two cargo box picking devices 4 are provided on the rack 3. The cargo box picking device 4 is used to load the cargo box onto the rack 3 or unload the cargo box from the rack 3. The cargo boxes on the cargo box picking device 4 include a first cargo box and a second cargo box. The first cargo box is used to store the materials to be sorted, and the second cargo box is used to store the sorted materials; The robotic arm 5, disposed on the gantry 2, and rising and falling synchronously with the rack 3. A picking mechanism 52 for picking up materials is provided at the action end of the robotic arm 5. The picking mechanism 52 is located above the cargo box picking device 4 and is driven by the robotic arm 5 to carry the materials and transfer them between the cargo boxes on at least two cargo box picking devices 4; The robotic arm lifting mechanism 6, driving the robotic arm 5 to rise and fall along the gantry 2 independently of the rack 3; The material identification device, used to identify the position of the materials in the cargo box; The controller, used to control the action of the robotic arm 5 based on the information returned by the material identification device to move the target material from the first cargo box to the second cargo box.

[0023] Combined with Figure 12As shown, in this embodiment, the wheel assembly includes a set of drive wheels 11 arranged in the middle of the chassis 1 and two sets of universal wheels 12 arranged on the front and rear sides of the chassis 1. The drive wheels 11 are floatingly mounted on the chassis 1. The drive wheels 11 in this embodiment are mounted on a floating mounting plate 112. The floating mounting plate 112 is connected to the chassis 1 through a hinge shaft. The floating mounting plate 112 can rotate around the hinge shaft and float up and down relative to the chassis 1; a first compression spring (not shown in the figure) is provided between the floating mounting plate 112 and the chassis 1. When the floating mounting plate 112 floats up and down, it drives the first compression spring to expand and contract synchronously. The floating mounting plate 112 is arranged on both sides of the chassis 1, with a compact structure. According to the above setting of the first compression spring, when the drive wheel 11 moves upward, the floating mounting plate 112 compresses the first compression spring upward. When the drive wheel 11 moves downward, the reaction force of the first compression spring presses down the floating mounting plate 112. Thus, the first compression spring can effectively absorb the ground impact.

[0024] Further, at least one set of universal wheels 12 is mounted on both sides of a bridge 13. The bridge 13 is arranged along the width direction of the chassis 1, and the middle of the bridge 13 is hinged to the chassis 1. Thus, this set of universal wheels 12 can move up and down along the left and right of the chassis 1 with the bridge 13, ensuring that during the movement of the chassis 1, at least one set of universal wheels 12 and one set of drive wheels 11 are in contact with the ground, ensuring the movement stability.

[0025] The picking robot is driven by the chassis 1 to move freely. It includes an automatic driving system to control the picking robot to automatically find the path in the warehouse and drive automatically according to the planned path. The automatic driving system includes one or more 3D sensors. Optionally, it also includes one or more proximity sensors. The robot automatic driving system is a conventional technical means in the art. The picking robot in this embodiment is configured with an automatic driving system and can freely shuttle between different shelves and workstations to obtain the target cargo box according to the intelligent warehousing system.

[0026] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, a gantry 2 is arranged on the chassis 1. In this embodiment, the gantry 2 is a multi-stage overlapping gantry to provide a greater lifting stroke. The structure of the multi-stage overlapping gantry and its lifting control method are conventional technical means in the art and will not be described in detail here. For the convenience of description, a first-stage gantry 21 that can lift and move within the maximum stroke range of the gantry 2 is defined. As Figure 2As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the robotic arm 5, the carriage 3, and the robotic arm lifting mechanism 6 are arranged on the first-level gantry 21, so that the synchronous lifting of the robotic arm 5 and the carriage 3 can be realized, and the robotic arm 5 can be driven by the robotic arm lifting mechanism 6 to lift independently of the carriage 3. For example, when it is necessary to lift or unload the cargo box by the carriage 3, the first-level gantry 21 is lifted and moved to drive the carriage 3 and the robotic arm 5 to lift synchronously. With this setting, it is not necessary to separately control the robotic arm 5 to avoid the carriage 3 during the process of loading and unloading the cargo box by the carriage 3, and the control method is simpler.

[0027] As Figures 3 - 5 shown in the figure, a slewing mechanism 35 and a tilting mechanism 34 are connected to the carriage 3 for adjusting the angle of the cargo box grabbing device 4 on the carriage 3 to dock with the cargo box. Specifically, the carriage 3 in this embodiment includes a fixed seat frame 31, a mounting seat 32, and a diagonal brace bracket 33; the fixed seat frame 31 is installed on the gantry 2. In this embodiment, the fixed seat frame 31 includes a connecting portion 311 extending upward, and is installed on the gantry 2 through the connecting portion 311. The cargo box grabbing device 4 is arranged on the mounting seat 32. In this embodiment, at least two cargo box grabbing devices 4 are provided on the mounting seat 32. The cargo boxes placed in the cargo box grabbing device 4 include a first cargo box and a second cargo box. The first cargo box refers to the cargo box storing the target material before sorting, and the second cargo box refers to the cargo box for placing the sorted target material.

[0028] The mounting seat 32 is supported by the diagonal brace bracket 33, and the diagonal brace bracket 33 is arranged between the fixed seat frame 31 and the mounting seat 32; one end of the diagonal brace bracket 33 is hinged to the fixed frame seat 31 to form a first rotation center, and the other end of the diagonal brace bracket 33 is driven by the tilting mechanism 34 to rotate and lift around the first rotation center; the slewing mechanism 35 is arranged between the fixed frame seat 31 and the mounting seat 32. As Figure 5 shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the diagonal brace bracket 33 is fixed to the lower end of the mounting seat 32 and is located in the middle of the mounting seat 32. The mounting seat 32 is connected to the fixed seat frame 31 through the diagonal brace bracket 33.

[0029] In this embodiment, the tilting mechanism 34 includes a first driving mechanism 341 and a connecting rod assembly 342. The upper end of the connecting rod assembly 342 is connected to the diagonal brace bracket 33, and the lower end of the connecting rod assembly 342 is connected to the fixed seat frame 31. The first driving mechanism 341 acts to drive the overall height change of the connecting rod assembly 342. As Figure 5As shown, the connecting rod assembly 342 in this embodiment includes a first connecting rod unit and a second connecting rod unit. The first connecting rod unit and the second connecting rod unit are in an H shape to improve their support strength. The upper end of the first connecting rod unit is hinged to the mounting seat 32, the lower end of the first connecting rod unit is hinged to the upper end of the second connecting rod unit, the lower end of the second connecting rod unit is hinged to the fixed seat frame 31, and the first driving mechanism 341 is connected to the middle of the connecting rod assembly 342 to push and pull the connecting rod assembly 342 from the middle, so as to drive the overall height of the connecting rod assembly 342 to change. Since the relative position of the fixed seat frame 31 is fixed, after the overall height of the connecting rod assembly 342 changes, the inclination angle of the mounting seat 32 and the cargo box hooking device 4 thereon can be adjusted by the diagonal bracing bracket 33. In a specific embodiment, the first driving mechanism 341 can be an electric push rod or an electric cylinder, and its telescopic end is directly connected to the connecting rod assembly 342, with a simple transmission structure and high transmission efficiency; the electric push rod or the electric cylinder is arranged horizontally, and the installation structure is compact.

[0030] As Figures 7 - 11 shown, the cargo box hooking device 4 in this embodiment includes a base 41; a sliding telescopic device 42 is provided on the base 41. Among them, in the fully extended state, the first-stage slide rail 421 is located at the forefront of the telescopic direction; a hooking device 43 is slidably connected to the first-stage slide rail 421, including a lifting bracket 434, and a hook 431 is slidably connected to the lifting bracket 434. The hook 431 is driven by a second driving mechanism 33 to lift along the lifting bracket 434.

[0031] The base 41 includes a bottom plate and a surrounding plate 411 arranged circumferentially around the bottom plate. The base 41 is open towards the front side, and the surrounding plate 411 is inclined in the direction of expanding the opening at the open end, facilitating the cargo box to enter the range of the base 41. In the length direction of the base 41, the width of the surrounding plate 411 and the base 41 narrows at the rear, and the width at the front is wider for accommodating the target cargo box. The width at the rear is narrower for installing the hooking device 43 retracted on the first-stage slide rail 421, and the width at the rear is narrower for installing the driving motor 241 of the driving mechanism for driving the sliding telescopic device 42 to expand and contract. Thus, the driving device and the cargo box can be separated to prevent the cargo box from moving out of position and colliding with the above-mentioned hooking device 43 and the driving motor 241, and the rear contraction structure can reduce the overall volume of the base 41 and its overall occupied space.

[0032] Combined Figure 9 and Figure 10The sliding telescopic device 42 includes a multi-stage slide rail (a first-stage slide rail 421, a second-stage slide rail 422, and a third-stage slide rail 423) arranged along the length direction of the base 41 and a driving mechanism for driving the multi-stage slide rail to extend and retract relative to the mobile cabinet; in the fully extended state, the first-stage slide rail 421 is located at the front end of the telescopic direction. By adjusting the telescopic length of the multi-stage slide rail, it is possible to pick up goods from deep and shallow positions on the shelf. The driving mechanism of the sliding telescopic device 42 includes a driving motor 241 and a synchronous belt assembly (a first synchronous belt 4242, a second synchronous belt 4243) that is transmission-connected to the driving motor 241. The synchronous belt drive structure is simple and can simplify control.

[0033] In this embodiment, the multi-stage slide rail includes a first-stage slide rail 421, a second-stage slide rail 422 and a third-stage slide rail 423. The hooking device 43 is slidably arranged on the first-stage slide rail 421. The first-stage slide rail 421 and the second-stage slide rail 422 are connected by a first synchronous belt assembly; the second-stage slide rail 422 and the third-stage slide rail 423 are connected by a second synchronous belt assembly. The second synchronous belt 4243 is driven to rotate by the first drive motor 241, and the second synchronous belt 4243 is linked to the first synchronous belt 4242. In this embodiment, the multi-stage slide rails are nested, and the overall space occupied after contraction is small. In-place sensors are provided to control the maximum telescopic position of each stage of the slide rails. The structure and working principle of the in-place sensors are conventional technical means in this field and will not be described in detail here.

[0034] like Figure 11 As shown, the second-level slide rail 422 includes a first transverse connecting seat 4221 arranged at the rear end of the moving direction and a second transverse connecting seat 4222 arranged at the front end of the moving direction; the first transverse connecting seat 4221 is fixed with the second synchronous belt 4243, and a synchronous pulley on one side of the first synchronous belt 4242 is provided on the first transverse connecting seat 4221; the synchronous pulley on the other side of the first synchronous belt 4242 is installed on the second transverse connecting seat 4222, the first-level slide rail 421 is fixed with the first synchronous belt 4242, and the other end of the first synchronous belt 4242 is fixed with the base 41 or the third-level slide rail 423. In this embodiment, the second synchronous belt 4243 is arranged along the center line of the third-level slide rail 423, and in the retracted state of the multi-level slide rail, a pair of first synchronous belts 4242 are located on both sides of the width direction of the first synchronous belt 4242 to avoid mutual interference between the synchronous belts in the retracted state of the multi-level slide rail. And a pair of first synchronous belts 4242 are used to connect the first-level slide rail 421 at the front end of the moving direction, so that its movement is more stable. In this embodiment, the third-level slide rail 423 is fixed on the base 41, and the second-level slide rail 422 and the third-level slide rail 423 can extend forward relative to the third-level slide rail 423, so that the sliding telescopic device 42 can extend forward relative to the base 41 and enter the depth of the shelf storage position.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment, when the multi-stage slide rail is in a fully extended state, at least a part of it can fit the bottom surface of the target cargo box storage position on the shelf. The fitting design can disperse the impact force of the weight of the cargo box on the slide rail, making the movement of the cargo box more stable when it is driven to retract.

[0036] The picking mechanism 43 is slidably connected to the first-stage slide rail 421 through a slider and can move back and forth along the first-stage slide rail 421. In this embodiment, the picking device 43 is driven by a driving mechanism to move along the first-stage slide rail 421. The driving mechanism for driving the picking mechanism 43 to slide along the first-stage slide rail 421 includes a driving motor and a gear-rack assembly. The driving motor and the picking device 43 are installed on the same slider. The slider is slidably connected to the first-stage slide rail 421. The rack 4231 is arranged along the first-stage slide rail 421. The gear meshes with the rack 4231 and is driven by the driving motor to rotate. The gear-rack transmission has the characteristics of high precision and high rigidity, ensuring the position accuracy when the picking mechanism 43 moves along the first-stage slide rail 421. The gear-rack structure can bear a large load, is suitable for handling heavy cargo boxes, and has a simple transmission structure.

[0037] After the cargo box carried by the picking mechanism 43 moves onto the first-stage slide rail 421, the sliding telescopic device 42 retracts to move it onto the base 41. In this embodiment, a buffer block 422 facing the cargo box is provided at the rear of the first-stage slide rail 421. The buffer block 422 can absorb the impact energy when the cargo box retracts or there is a positioning error, preventing the cargo box from colliding hard with the slide rail.

[0038] The picking mechanism 43 includes a lifting bracket 434. A claw 431 is slidably connected to the lifting bracket 434. The claw 431 is driven by a driving mechanism to lift along the lifting bracket 434. In this embodiment, the claw 431 is slidably connected to the lifting bracket 434 through a moving seat 435. The moving seat 435 includes a claw connecting part located on the front side of the lifting bracket 434 and a lifting connecting part located at the upper end of the lifting bracket 434. The claw 431 is installed on the front side of the claw connecting part. The claw 431 is arranged near the lower end of the lifting bracket 434. When moving to one side of the target cargo box, the claw 431 can move up and down close to the side surface of the cargo box. Thus, after the foremost claw 431 presses against the target cargo box, it can have a large lifting distance longitudinally, facilitating the establishment of connection with cargo boxes of different sizes. The lower limit of the moving seat 435 is provided by the cooperation of the lifting connecting part and the upper end of the lifting bracket 434. The driving mechanism is arranged at the rear side of the lifting bracket 434, and its output end is connected to the lifting connecting part to drive the moving seat 435 to drive the claw 431 to lift. The claw 431 in this embodiment is in an L shape facing upward and can realize connection or disconnection with the hook part of the cargo box by moving up and down, with a simple structure.

[0039] The slewing mechanism 35 in this embodiment includes a second driving mechanism 351 and a slewing gear. The second driving mechanism 351 is engaged with the slewing gear through a transmission gear, and drives the slewing gear to drive the mounting base 32 to rotate and adjust. The slewing gear in this embodiment is arranged in the middle of the mounting base 32, and the rotation angle control of the mounting base 32 is easier to control. The second driving mechanism 351 selects a slewing motor. In a specific embodiment, the picking mechanism 52 at the action end of the robotic arm 5 can be structures such as a suction cup, a clamping jaw, a magnetic attraction device, etc., and can be selected according to the specific material characteristics.

[0040] The structure of the robotic arm 5 in this embodiment is as Figure 6 shown. The position of the mechanical part head 51 is relatively fixed. The robotic arm 5 in this embodiment has a plurality of rotatable joints 5.1 - 5.6, which drive the action end to grasp the target material within the spherical range. For example, the robotic arm 5 in this embodiment has 6 rotatable joints 5.1 - 5.6 in total. The two adjacent joints can rotate relative to each other, so that the robotic arm 5 can grasp materials within a large range.

[0041] The material identification device in this embodiment includes depth cameras arranged on both sides of the robotic arm head 51. The depth cameras are used to identify one or more of the operating position of the robotic arm 5, the clamping state of the picking mechanism 52, and the position of the parts in the cargo box. By arranging depth cameras on both sides of the robotic arm head 51, it can be adjusted up and down with the robotic arm 5, so that the field of view of the depth cameras can cover all the cargo boxes on the rack 3, and there is no need to additionally set up a camera mounting bracket to drive the depth cameras to move and adjust their fields of view. By arranging depth cameras on both sides to identify from both sides respectively, the reliability of the identification result is improved. In this solution, for the depth cameras, the key lies in their installation positions and installation methods. The specific implementation of the depth cameras to identify the positions and information of objects in the three-dimensional space is a conventional technical means in the art.

[0042] The control method of the above picking robot is as follows: It includes the following steps: Place a second cargo box at at least one cargo box hooking device 4; Control the picking robot to move to a specified position, and extract the specified first cargo box through the cargo box hooking device 4; Identify the specified material in the first cargo box through the material identification device, and control the robotic arm 5 to pick up the specified material from the first cargo box and place it into the second cargo box according to the feedback information of the material identification device; After the picking of the first cargo box is completed, control the storage position of the first cargo box of the picking robot, and the cargo box hooking device 4 acts to move the first cargo box to the storage position.

[0043] In the above method, before extracting or unloading the cargo box by the cargo box hooking device 4, the following steps are further included: adjusting the height of the cargo box hooking device 4 to one side of the target cargo box storage location, and controlling the synchronous lifting and lowering of the robotic arm 5. Before the cargo box hooking device 4 loads and unloads goods, control the slewing device 35 and the tilting mechanism 34 to act, and adjust the entrance and exit positions of the current operating cargo box hooking device 4 so that it can be aligned with the target cargo box or the target storage location, facilitating the precise control of loading and unloading the target cargo box.

[0044] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A picking robot, characterized in that, Comprising, A chassis with wheel assemblies provided at its bottom; A gantry mounted on the chassis; A picking frame provided on the gantry, with at least two container gripping devices provided on the picking frame, the container gripping devices being used to load a container onto the picking frame or unload a container from the picking frame; the containers on the container gripping devices include a first container and a second container, the first container being used to store materials to be sorted, and the second container being used to store sorted materials; A robotic arm provided on the gantry, synchronously lifting and lowering with the picking frame, a picking mechanism for picking up materials being provided at the action end of the robotic arm, the picking mechanism being located above the container gripping devices and being driven by the robotic arm to carry materials and transfer them between the containers on at least two container gripping devices; A robotic arm lifting mechanism for driving the robotic arm to lift and lower along the gantry independently of the picking frame; A material identification device for identifying the position of materials in the container; A controller for controlling the action of the robotic arm based on the information returned by the material identification device to move the target material from the first container to the second container.

2. The picking robot according to claim 1, wherein Comprising a slewing mechanism and a tilting mechanism, connected to the picking frame, for adjusting the angle of the container gripping devices on the picking frame to dock with the container.

3. The picking robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The picking frame includes a fixed seat frame, a mounting seat, and a diagonal bracing bracket; The fixed seat frame is mounted on the gantry, The container gripping devices are provided on the mounting seat, The mounting seat is supported by the diagonal bracing bracket, and the diagonal bracing bracket is provided between the fixed seat frame and the mounting seat; One end of the diagonal bracing bracket is hinged to the fixed frame seat to form a first rotation center, and the other end of the diagonal bracing bracket is driven by the tilting mechanism to rotate and lift around the first rotation center; The slewing mechanism is provided between the fixed frame seat and the mounting seat.

4. The picking robot according to claim 3, wherein The tilting mechanism includes a first driving mechanism and a connecting rod assembly, the upper end of the connecting rod assembly is connected to the diagonal bracing bracket, the lower end of the connecting rod assembly is connected to the fixed frame seat, and the action of the first driving mechanism drives the overall height of the connecting rod assembly to change.

5. The picking robot according to claim 3, characterized in that, The slewing mechanism includes a second driving mechanism and a slewing gear, the second driving mechanism is engaged with the slewing gear through a transmission gear, and drives the slewing gear to drive the mounting seat to rotate and adjust.

6. The picking robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The gantry is a multi-stage overlapping gantry, the robotic arm, the picking frame, and the robotic arm lifting mechanism are provided on the first-stage gantry, and the first-stage gantry is a first-stage gantry that can move within the maximum stroke range of the gantry.

7. The picking robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material identification device includes depth cameras provided on both sides of the head of the robotic arm, and the depth cameras are used to identify one or more of the operating position of the robotic arm, the clamping state of the picking mechanism, and the position of parts in the container.

8. A picking robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The robotic arm has a plurality of rotatable joints to drive the action end to grab the target material within a spherical range.

9. The picking robot according to claim 1, wherein, Comprising a code reading device for scanning the coding information on the container to locate the container and identify the container information.

10. A control method for a picking robot, characterized in that, Comprising a picking robot according to any one of claims 1-9, the method comprising the steps: Placing a second container at at least one container gripping device; Controlling the picking robot to move to a designated position and extracting a designated first container through the container gripping device; Identifying the designated material in the first container through the material identification device, and controlling the robotic arm to pick up the designated material from the first container and place it into the second container according to the feedback information of the material identification device; After the picking of the first cargo box is completed, control the storage position of the first cargo box by the picking robot, and the cargo box grabbing device operates to move the first cargo box to the storage position.

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