Material handover method, material operation mechanism and material handover system

Abstract

The invention discloses a material handover method, a material operation mechanism and a material handover system, and relates to the technical field of intelligent warehousing. The material handover method comprises the steps that the position of a target material box is determined; the goods shelf robot is controlled to move to the position of the target material box, the goods shelf robot comprises a material operation mechanism, the material operation mechanism comprises a material box containing part and a moving assembly, a feeding port and a discharging port are formed in the material box containing part, and a connecting port is formed in the bottom of the material box containing part; the interior of the material box containing part communicates with the external environment through the feeding port, the discharging port and the connecting port, and the moving assembly is arranged in the material box containing part; the moving assembly is controlled to move the target material box into the material box containing piece through the feeding opening; controlling the shelf robot to move to the handover position; and under the condition that it is detected that the bearing piece of the ground robot is located in the connecting opening of the material box containing piece, the material operation mechanism is controlled to place the target material box on the bearing piece of the ground robot, so that the ground robot can drive the bearing piece and the target material box to penetrate through the discharging opening and leave the material box containing piece.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of intelligent warehousing, and particularly to a method for material handover, an industrial control computer for executing the material handover method, a material operating mechanism, and a material handover system. Background Art

[0002] Intelligent warehousing technology is an automated solution for application scenarios such as piece-picking, full-case buffering, and semi-finished / product storage in a warehousing center through advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and robots.

[0003] In a warehousing center, the material handover between shelves and picking stations usually adopts the following two solutions. One is to independently complete the entire process of picking up, placing, and transporting with an integrated robot; the other is to use a group of robots, such as the cooperation of shelf robots and ground robots, to achieve transfer through division of labor.

[0004] Both of the above two material handover solutions have the problem of low transfer efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve one of the technical problems in the related art to a certain extent. For this purpose, the present invention provides a method for material handover, an industrial control computer for executing the material handover method, a material operating mechanism, and a material handover system, which have the advantage of high transfer efficiency.

[0006] To achieve the above object, as the first aspect of the present invention, a method for material handover is provided for an industrial control computer, wherein the method for material handover includes:

[0007] Determine the position of the target bin;

[0008] Control the shelf robot to move to the position of the target bin, wherein the shelf robot includes a material operating mechanism, the material operating mechanism includes a bin accommodating member and a moving component, an inlet and an outlet are formed on the bin accommodating member, an interface is formed at the bottom of the bin accommodating member, the inlet, the outlet, and the interface all communicate the inside of the bin accommodating member with the external environment, and the moving component is arranged inside the bin accommodating member;

[0009] Control the moving component to move the target bin into the bin accommodating member through the inlet;

[0010] Control the shelf robot to move to the handover position;

[0011] In the case where the carrier of the ground robot is detected to be located at the interface of the bin accommodating member, control the material operating mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the ground robot, so that the ground robot can drive the carrier and the target bin through the discharge port and leave the bin accommodating member.

[0012] Optionally, the controlling the material operating mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the ground robot in the case where the carrier of the ground robot is detected to be located at the interface of the bin accommodating member includes:

[0013] Obtain the image information at the interface;

[0014] In the case where the image information at the interface includes the carrier image information, control the material operating mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the ground robot.

[0015] Optionally, the controlling the material operating mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the ground robot includes:

[0016] Obtain the position information of the target bin and the position information of the carrier;

[0017] Control the movement of the material operating mechanism according to the position information of the target bin and the position information of the carrier until the position information of the target bin is the same as the position information of the carrier.

[0018] Optionally, the handover position includes the handover position information in the first direction and the handover position information in the second direction; the second direction is perpendicular to the interface, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction; the shelf robot moves on the shelf in the first direction; the material operating mechanism moves on the shelf robot in the second direction;

[0019] The controlling the handover position of the shelf robot includes:

[0020] Move the shelf robot to the handover position in the corresponding first direction of the shelf according to the handover position information in the first direction;

[0021] Move the material operating mechanism to the handover position in the corresponding second direction of the shelf robot according to the handover position information in the second direction.

[0022] Optionally, the position of the target bin includes the bin position information in the first direction and the bin position information in the second direction;

[0023] The controlling the shelf robot to move to the position of the target bin includes:

[0024] Move the shelf robot to the bin position in the first direction according to the bin position information in the first direction;

[0025] Move the material handling mechanism to the bin position in the second direction corresponding to the shelf robot according to the bin position information in the second direction.

[0026] Optionally, the moving component includes a moving sub-component and a gripper. The moving sub-component is arranged in the bin accommodating member, and the gripper is arranged on the moving sub-component. The moving sub-component is used to drive the gripper to move to grasp or release the target bin;

[0027] Controlling the moving component to move the target bin into the bin accommodating member includes:

[0028] Control the moving component to move along the second direction and / or the third direction until the gripper grasps the target bin; wherein, the third direction is the direction from the feed inlet to the discharge outlet;

[0029] When the gripper grasps the target bin, control the moving component to move along the third direction to move the target bin into the bin accommodating member.

[0030] Optionally, the material handling mechanism further includes a plurality of bin conveying components. The plurality of bin conveying components are arranged in the bin accommodating member, and the bin conveying components move along the third direction;

[0031] Controlling the moving component to move along the third direction to move the target bin into the bin accommodating member includes:

[0032] When it is detected that the target bin enters the bin accommodating member, the moving component moves along the second direction to place the target bin on the bin conveying component, so that the bin conveying component drives the target bin to move along the third direction;

[0033] When it is detected that the target bin moves to the first designated position, the moving component moves along the second direction until the gripper releases the target bin; wherein, the first designated position is the position where the gripper releases the target bin;

[0034] When it is detected that the target bin moves to the second designated position, the bin conveying component stops moving; wherein, the second designated position is the position corresponding to the stop of the bin conveying component.

[0035] Optionally, the material transfer method further includes:

[0036] Control the shelf robot to move to the transfer position;

[0037] When it is detected that the shelf robot moves to the handover position, control the floor robot carrying the target bin to move to the interface;

[0038] When it is detected that the target bin on the carrier of the floor robot is located in the interface of the bin receptacle, place the target bin into the bin receptacle;

[0039] Determine the location of the shelf storage location;

[0040] Control the shelf robot to move to the location of the shelf storage location;

[0041] When the shelf robot moves to the location of the shelf storage location, control the moving component and the target bin to move the target bin into the shelf storage location through the discharge port.

[0042] As a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an industrial control computer, which includes:

[0043] One or more processors;

[0044] A memory, on which one or more computer programs are stored. When the one or more computer programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the material handover method provided in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0045] As a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a material handling mechanism, wherein the material handling mechanism includes a bin receptacle and a moving component. An inlet and a discharge port are formed on the bin receptacle, and an interface is formed at the bottom of the bin receptacle. The inlet, the discharge port, and the interface communicate the interior of the bin receptacle with the external environment, so that the carrier of the floor robot can enter the interface, and the moving component is arranged inside the bin receptacle.

[0046] Optionally, the bin receptacle includes a plurality of support members, the moving component includes a moving sub-component and a gripping member. The moving sub-component is arranged on the support members, the gripping member is arranged on the moving sub-component, and the moving sub-component is used to drive the gripping member to move to grip or release the target bin.

[0047] Optionally, the material handling mechanism further includes a camera and a plurality of distance sensors. The camera is arranged on the gripping member to obtain image information at the interface; the plurality of distance sensors correspond to the plurality of support members one by one, and the distance sensors are arranged at the bottom of the support members to obtain the position information of the shelf.

[0048] Optionally, the material handling mechanism further includes a plurality of bin conveying components, the plurality of bin conveying components are arranged in the bin accommodating member, and the bin conveying components are located on the side of the moving component facing the interface.

[0049] In addition, as the fourth aspect of the present invention, a material transfer system is further provided. The material transfer system includes a shelf, a shelf robot, and a driving component. The shelf robot is arranged on the shelf guide rail of the shelf, and the driving component is arranged on the shelf robot to drive the shelf robot to move along the direction of the shelf guide rail. Wherein, the shelf robot includes a material handling mechanism, and the material handling mechanism is the material handling mechanism provided in the fourth aspect of the present invention.

[0050] In the material transfer method provided by the present invention, the shelf robot and the material handling mechanism slidably arranged above the shelf robot move in specified directions respectively, and can move to the target bin position in any shelf storage location; the material handling mechanism includes a bin accommodating member and a moving component, and the moving component can move the target bin on the shelf through the feed port of the bin accommodating member into the bin accommodating member by moving in the specified direction; after obtaining the transfer position for handing over with the ground robot, move the shelf robot to the transfer position, and after detecting that the carrier on the ground robot is located at the interface below the bin accommodating member, place the target bin in the bin accommodating member on the carrier above the ground robot to complete the material transfer; after the material transfer is completed, the ground robot carries the target bin and drives out of the discharge port of the bin accommodating member to transport the target bin to the picking station; at the same time, the shelf robot and the material handling mechanism move to the shelf storage location where the next target bin is located according to the next specified direction. This material transfer method neither requires an additional buffer position for placing the target bin during the transfer process, nor maximally reduces the number of times the material handling mechanism grabs and places the target bin, reducing the time for a single transfer; in addition, the material transfer method provided by the present invention does not require the two robots to perform a grabbing operation on the target bin after being aligned in height through the design of transfer while moving, further reducing the alignment waiting time of the two robots and improving the transfer efficiency; finally, the material transfer method provided by the present invention supports continuous operation of the shelf robot and the material handling mechanism during the handover of the ground robot. This parallel operation mode can also reduce the time consumption and improve the transfer efficiency. The material transfer method provided by the present invention has the characteristics and advantages of high transfer efficiency.

[0051] These features and advantages of the present invention will be disclosed in detail in the following specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The best embodiments or means of the present invention will be shown in detail in combination with the accompanying drawings, but it is not a limitation to the technical solution of the present invention. In addition, these features, elements, and components that appear in each of the following texts and drawings are multiple, and different symbols or numbers are marked for convenience of representation, but they all represent components with the same or similar structures or functions. Description of the Drawings

[0052] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0053] Figure 1 It is a flowchart of a material handover method provided by the present invention;

[0054] Figure 2 It is a flowchart of an embodiment of step S150 of the material handover method provided by the present invention;

[0055] Figure 3 It is a flowchart of an embodiment of step S152 of the material handover method provided by the present invention;

[0056] Figure 4 It is a flowchart of an embodiment of step S140 of the material handover method provided by the present invention;

[0057] Figure 5 It is a flowchart of an embodiment of step S120 of the material handover method provided by the present invention;

[0058] Figure 6 It is a flowchart of an embodiment of step S130 of the material handover method provided by the present invention;

[0059] Figure 7 It is a flowchart of an embodiment of step S132 of the material handover method provided by the present invention;

[0060] Figure 8 It is a flowchart of another embodiment of the material handover method provided by the present invention;

[0061] Figure 9 It is a module diagram of an industrial control computer provided by the present invention;

[0062] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of a material operating mechanism provided by the present invention;

[0063] Figure 11 It is another schematic diagram of a material operating mechanism provided by the present invention;

[0064] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of the moving component structure of a material operating mechanism provided by the present invention;

[0065] Figure 13 Schematic diagram of the grasping member of a material handling mechanism provided by the present invention;

[0066] Figure 14 Schematic diagram of the bin conveying assembly of a material handling mechanism provided by the present invention;

[0067] Figure 15 Structure diagram of a material transfer system provided by the present invention;

[0068] Figure 16 Top view of a material transfer system provided by the present invention;

[0069] Figure 17 Retrieval and placement flowchart of the target bin in the shelf robot and the shelf inventory location provided by the present invention;

[0070] Figure 18 Handover flowchart of the shelf robot obtaining the target bin from the ground robot provided by the present invention;

[0071] Figure 19 Handover flowchart of the shelf robot placing the target bin on the ground robot provided by the present invention.

[0072] Explanation of reference numerals

[0073] Among them, 101, processor; 102, memory; 103, I / O interface; 104, bus; 200, material handling mechanism; 210, bin accommodating member; 211, support member; 212, ranging sensor; 220, moving assembly; 223, moving sub-assembly; 221, first-direction moving assembly; 2210, first-direction conveyor belt; 2211, first-direction motor; 2212, first-direction guide rail; 2213, first-direction driving wheel; 2214, first-direction limit sensor; 222, second-direction moving assembly; 2220, moving plate; 2221, second-direction conveyor belt; 2222, second-direction motor; 2223, second-direction guide rail; 2224, second-direction driving wheel; 2225, second-direction limit sensor; 230, grasping member; 231, bracket; 232, hook; 233, camera; 240, bin conveying assembly; 241, conveying motor; 242, conveyor belt; 243, guiding member; 250, feed inlet; 260, discharge outlet; 270, interface; 300, target bin; 301, hook groove; 400, shelf; 401, shelf guide rail; 500, shelf robot; 600, driving assembly; 700, ground robot; 701, bearing member; 800, waiting point; 900, handover point. Detailed implementation manners

[0074] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, where the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. Based on the embodiments in the implementation manners, it is intended to explain the present invention and should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

[0075] As used herein, the terms "one embodiment", "example", or "instance" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0076] Currently, there are mainly two methods for the transfer of bins in intelligent warehousing: the independent operation of an integrated robot and the collaborative operation of a group of robots. The integrated robot needs to independently complete the entire process of picking up a bin, transporting it, and placing it. It cannot process in parallel. When any link is delayed or a key component fails, the task is interrupted. Moreover, during the transfer process, it is necessary to use a bin operating member to first store the target bin in the buffer position of the integrated robot and then transfer it to the target position, which increases the number of times of grasping and placing by the bin operating member, prolongs the single transfer time, and results in low transfer efficiency. For a group of robots (such as the collaborative transfer of a ground robot and a shelf robot), it is necessary to repeatedly adjust the positions and heights of the two robots to achieve precise alignment in the height direction, and then use the bin operating member to grasp the target bin to the buffer position or push the target bin out of the buffer position. Repeatedly adjusting the positions and heights of the two robots not only increases the transfer time, but also may cause transfer failure if the positioning of the bin operating member is deviated or jitter occurs, and requires re-operation, resulting in low transfer efficiency.

[0077] In view of this, as the first aspect of the present invention, a method for material handover is provided, as Figure 1 shown, the method for material handover includes:

[0078] In step S110, determine the position of the target bin;

[0079] In step S120, control the shelf robot to move to the position of the target bin. The shelf robot includes a material operating mechanism, and the material operating mechanism includes a bin accommodating member and a moving component. An inlet and an outlet are formed on the bin accommodating member, and an interface is formed at the bottom of the bin accommodating member. The inlet, the outlet, and the interface communicate the inside of the bin accommodating member with the external environment, and the moving component is arranged inside the bin accommodating member;

[0080] In step S130, control the moving component to move the target bin into the bin accommodating member through the inlet;

[0081] In step S140, control the shelf robot to move to the handover position;

[0082] In step S150, when it is detected that the carrier of the ground robot is located at the interface of the bin receiving member, control the material handling mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the ground robot, so that the ground robot can drive the carrier and the target bin through the discharge port and leave the bin receiving member.

[0083] The material handover method provided by the present invention neither requires an additional buffer position for placing the target bin during the transfer process, nor maximally reduces the number of times the material handling mechanism grabs and places the target bin, reducing the time for a single transfer; in addition, the material handover method provided by the present invention, through the design of moving and handing over, does not require the two robots to perform a grabbing operation on the target bin after being aligned in height, further reducing the alignment waiting time of the two robots and improving the handover efficiency; finally, the material handover method provided by the present invention supports continuous operation of the shelf robot and the material handling mechanism during the handover of the ground robot. This parallel operation mode can also reduce the time consumption and improve the transfer efficiency. The material handover method provided by the present invention has the characteristics and advantages of high transfer efficiency.

[0084] It should be noted that the above steps S110 - S150 are the process of handing over the target bin on the shelf location to the picking station in the material handover method. After the shelf robot hands over the target bin to the carrier of the ground robot, the ground robot will continue to move in the specified direction until it moves to the picking station. The process of moving the target bin on the robot to the picking station can use the material handling mechanism provided by the present invention, or the target bin can be taken to the picking station manually.

[0085] A detailed description is given to the design concept of moving and handing over of the shelf robot and the ground robot provided by the present invention. As an alternative implementation manner of step S150, as Figure 2 shown, the detection that the carrier of the ground robot is located at the interface of the bin receiving member, and controlling the material handling mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the ground robot includes:

[0086] In step S151, obtain the image information at the interface;

[0087] In step S152, when the image information at the interface includes the carrier image information, control the material handling mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the ground robot.

[0088] In order to make the handover process more accurate, it is necessary to further determine the accuracy of the handover with the help of image information or position information. As an alternative implementation manner of step S152, asFigure 3 As shown, controlling the material handling mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the ground robot includes:

[0089] In step S152a, obtain the position information of the target bin and the position information of the carrier.

[0090] In step S152b, control the movement of the material handling mechanism according to the position information of the target bin and the position information of the carrier until the position information of the target bin is the same as the position information of the carrier.

[0091] The shelf robot and the ground robot need to complete the transfer of the target bin at the handover position. The handover position includes the handover position information in the first direction and the handover position information in the second direction. The second direction is perpendicular to the handover interface, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. The shelf robot moves along the first direction on the shelf. The material handling mechanism moves along the second direction on the shelf robot. The following combines the attached Figure 4 Introduce a way for the shelf robot to move to the handover position. As an alternative implementation of step S140, controlling the shelf robot to the handover position includes:

[0092] In step S141, move the shelf robot to the handover position in the corresponding first direction of the shelf according to the handover position information in the first direction.

[0093] In step S142, move the material handling mechanism to the handover position in the corresponding second direction of the shelf robot according to the handover position information in the second direction.

[0094] It can be seen from step S141 and step S142 that the shelf robot includes two moving processes. First, move the shelf robot along the shelf direction, and then move the material handling mechanism along the vertical ground direction (perpendicular to the handover interface direction). This decoupled moving process can reduce the operation complexity and operation time.

[0095] Before the handover action is executed, it is also necessary to move the shelf robot to the position of the target bin according to the position information of the target bin. This moving process is similar to the above step S141 and step S142. When the position information of the target bin is obtained and decomposed into the bin position information in the first direction and the bin position information in the second direction, as an alternative implementation of step S120, such as Figure 5 As shown, controlling the shelf robot to move to the position of the target bin includes:

[0096] In step S121, move the shelf robot to the bin position in the corresponding first direction of the shelf according to the bin position information in the first direction.

[0097] In step S122, according to the bin position information in the second direction, the material operating mechanism is moved to the bin position in the second direction corresponding to the shelf robot.

[0098] After the shelf robot reaches the position of the target bin on the shelf storage location, it is necessary to move the target bin into the material operating mechanism provided on the shelf robot. In order to stably and accurately move the target bin into the material operating mechanism, the material moving assembly includes a moving sub-assembly and a grasping member. The moving sub-assembly is disposed within the bin receiving member, and the grasping member is disposed on the moving sub-assembly. The moving sub-assembly is used to drive the grasping member to move so as to grasp or release the target bin; As an alternative implementation of step 130, as Figure 6 shown, controlling the moving assembly to move the target bin into the bin receiving member includes:

[0099] In step S131, control the moving assembly to move along the second direction and / or the third direction until the grasping member grasps the target bin; wherein, the third direction is the direction from the feed inlet to the discharge outlet;

[0100] In step S132, when the grasping member grasps the target bin, control the moving assembly to move along the third direction to move the target bin into the bin receiving member.

[0101] The warehousing center is a three-dimensional space. Since the first direction and the second direction limit the movement directions of the shelf robot and the material operating mechanism, and the second direction is perpendicular to the ground (interface), it can be concluded that in order for the shelf robot to reach any height layer of the shelf and the shelf storage location defined in the horizontal direction, the first direction is the horizontal direction of the shelf, and the material operating mechanism needs to move the target bin in the shelf storage location into the bin receiving member. Therefore, the feed inlet of the bin receiving member is perpendicular to the inside of the shelf storage location, that is, the above-mentioned third direction. In this way, the movement can be accurately performed at any position in the warehousing center through the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction.

[0102] In order to enable the target bin to be stably moved into the bin receiving member and stably stored in the bin receiving member before handover, the material operating mechanism further includes a plurality of bin conveying components. The plurality of bin conveying components are disposed within the bin receiving member, and the bin conveying components move along the third direction; As an alternative implementation of step S132, as Figure 7 shown, controlling the moving assembly to move along the third direction to move the target bin into the bin receiving member includes:

[0103] In step S132a, when it is detected that the target bin enters the bin accommodating member, the moving assembly moves in the second direction, places the target bin on the bin conveying assembly, so that the bin conveying assembly drives the target bin to move in the third direction;

[0104] In step S132b, when it is detected that the target bin moves to the first designated position, the moving assembly moves in the second direction until the gripper releases the target bin; wherein, the first designated position is the position where the gripper releases the target bin;

[0105] In step S132c, when it is detected that the target bin moves to the second designated position, the bin conveying assembly stops moving; wherein, the second designated position is the position corresponding to where the bin conveying assembly stops moving.

[0106] It should be emphasized again that the bin conveying assembly can help the moving assembly complete the process of bin transfer quickly and stably. Steps S132a - S132c further illustrate that when the target bin reaches the bin accommodating member, with the help of the bin conveying assembly, the process of enabling the target bin to enter the bin accommodating member through the feed port can be more labor-saving and stable. In addition, on the premise of ensuring that the target bin will not fall, the gripper can be disengaged from the bin at the designated position to release the bin, reducing the use time of the gripper and improving the service life of the gripper; of course, it can be concluded that since the bin conveying assembly moves along the direction of the feed port and the discharge port, when the target bin completely enters the bin accommodating member, the bin conveying assembly needs to stop moving, only carry the target bin and make the target bin in a stable state within the bin accommodating member.

[0107] The above-mentioned realizes the handover method of the target bin on the shelf storage location to the picking station. The material handover method provided by the present invention can also complete placing the target bin at the picking station on the shelf storage location. After the target bin at the picking station is placed at the designated position on the carrying member of the ground robot by manual means or by the material operation assembly, as an alternative implementation manner from the picking station to the shelf storage location, as Figure 8 shown, the material handover method further includes:

[0108] In step S110, control the shelf robot to move to the handover position;

[0109] In step S120, when it is detected that the shelf robot moves to the handover position, control the ground robot carrying the target bin to move to the handover interface;

[0110] In step S130, when it is detected that the target bin on the carrying member of the ground robot is located in the handover interface of the bin accommodating member, place the target bin into the bin accommodating member;

[0111] In step S140, the position of the shelf bin is determined.

[0112] In step S150, the shelf robot is controlled to move to the position of the shelf bin.

[0113] In step S160, when the shelf robot moves to the position of the shelf bin, the moving assembly and the target bin are controlled to move the target bin into the shelf bin through the discharge port.

[0114] It should be noted in detail for step S130 that the floor robot carrying the target bin can enter and exit the interface of the bin accommodating member. The size of the interface is smaller than the size of the target bin to prevent the target bin from leaking out from the bottom of the interface. The bin conveying assemblies on both sides of the interface of the bin accommodating member are lower than the target bin. Therefore, when the floor robot is at the interface, the target bin on the carrying member of the floor robot is directly placed on the bin conveying assembly, and the bin conveying assembly receives and stably carries the target bin. When the shelf robot or the material handling mechanism moves, the target bin is driven to move. For example, when the material handling mechanism moves upward along the shelf robot, the target bin in the bin accommodating member is driven to move together.

[0115] It should be pointed out that although Figure 8 the embodiment of placing the target bin at the picking station into the shelf bin is given, the moving assembly completes the operations of picking up and placing the target bin as described above.

[0116] As the second aspect of the present invention, an industrial control computer is provided, as Figure 9 shown, including:

[0117] One or more processors 101;

[0118] A memory 102, on which one or more computer programs are stored. When the one or more computer programs are executed by the one or more processors 101, the one or more processors 101 implement the material transfer method provided according to the first aspect of the present invention.

[0119] The industrial control computer may further include one or more I / O interfaces 103, connected between the processor 101 and the memory 102, configured to implement information interaction between the processor 101 and the memory 102.

[0120] Among them, the processor 101 is a device with data processing capabilities, including but not limited to a central processing unit 101 (CPU), etc.; the first memory 102 is a device with data storage capabilities, including but not limited to a random access memory 102 (RAM, more specifically such as SDRAM, DDR, etc.), a read-only memory 102 (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory 102 (EEPROM), a flash memory (FLASH); the I / O interface 103 (read / write interface) is connected between the processor 101 and the memory 102, and can realize the information interaction between the processor 101 and the memory 102, including but not limited to a data bus 104 (Bus), etc.

[0121] In some embodiments, the processor 101, the memory 102, and the I / O interface 103 are interconnected through the bus 104, and then connected to other components of the computing device.

[0122] As the third aspect of the present invention, a material handling mechanism for a material handover method is provided, such as Figure 10 and 11 As shown, the material handling mechanism includes a bin accommodating member 210 and a moving component 220. An inlet 250 and an outlet 260 are formed on the bin accommodating member 210, and an interface 270 is formed at the bottom of the bin accommodating member 210. The inlet 250, the outlet 260, and the interface 270 all communicate the inside of the bin accommodating member 210 with the external environment, so that the carrier 701 of the ground robot 700 can enter the interface 270. The moving component 220 is arranged inside the bin accommodating member 210. The bin accommodating member 210 includes a plurality of support members 211. The moving component 220 includes a moving sub-component 223 and a grasping member 230. The moving sub-component 223 is arranged on the support members 211, and the grasping member 230 is arranged on the moving sub-component 223. The moving sub-component 223 is used to drive the grasping member 230 to move to grasp or release the target bin 300. Figure 11 It can be further seen that the interface 270 of the bin accommodating member 210 is larger than the size of the carrier 701 of the ground robot 700; the interface 270 of the bin accommodating member 210 is smaller than the target bin 300; the moving sub-component 223 is arranged inside the bin accommodating member 210. The bin accommodating member 210 includes a plurality of support members 211 arranged parallel to each other. The moving sub-component 223 includes a first-direction moving component 221 and a second-direction moving component 222. The first direction is the direction from the inlet 250 to the outlet 260, the second direction is perpendicular to the interface 270, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction; the first-direction moving component 221 is fixed on the support members 211; the second-direction moving component 222 is fixed on the first-direction moving component 221. It should be noted that Figure 10 and Figure 11Provided is a bin accommodating member with a feed inlet 250 and a discharge outlet 260 oppositely arranged. This arrangement corresponds to oppositely arranged storage locations on the shelf, which, while facilitating the entry and exit of the floor robot 700, also allows the simultaneous grasping of target bins 300 at both-sided storage locations. In practical applications, the directions of the feed inlet 250 and the discharge outlet 260 can be flexibly adjusted according to the actual arrangement direction of the shelf storage locations and the departure route of the robot.

[0123] To more intuitively show the structure of the moving sub-component 223 for facilitating the understanding of its working principle, Figure 12 a structural schematic diagram of the moving sub-component 223 is given. The first-direction moving component 221 includes a first-direction conveyor belt 2210, a first-direction motor 2211, multiple first-direction guide rails 2212, multiple first-direction drive wheels 2213, and multiple first-direction limit sensors 2214;

[0124] Both ends of the first-direction guide rail 2212 are respectively fixed on the oppositely arranged support members 211; the first-direction guide rail 2212 is perpendicular to the support member 211; multiple first-direction guide rails 2212 are arranged in parallel on the support member 211;

[0125] The first-direction conveyor belt 2210, the first-direction motor 2211, and multiple first-direction drive wheels 2213 are arranged between multiple first-direction guide rails 2212; multiple first-direction drive wheels 2213 are respectively located at both ends of the first-direction guide rail 2212; the first-direction conveyor belt 2210 surrounds multiple first-direction drive wheels 2213, and the first-direction motor 2211 is connected to at least one first-direction drive wheel 2213; for driving the first-direction drive wheel 2213 to rotate to drive the first-direction conveyor belt 2210 to move in the first direction;

[0126] Multiple first-direction limit sensors 2214 are respectively arranged at both ends of the first-direction guide rail 2212.

[0127] The second-direction moving component 222 includes a moving plate 2220, a second-direction conveyor belt 2221, a second-direction motor 2222, multiple second-direction guide rails 2223, multiple second-direction drive wheels 2224, and multiple second-direction limit sensors 2225;

[0128] The moving plate 2220 is arranged on the first-direction conveyor belt 2210 and multiple first-direction guide rails 2212, and the moving plate 2220 is perpendicular to the first-direction conveyor belt 2210 and multiple first-direction guide rails 2212; so that the moving plate 2220 moves in the first direction; the second-direction conveyor belt 2221, the second-direction motor 2222, multiple second-direction guide rails 2223, multiple second-direction drive wheels 2224, and multiple second-direction limit sensors 2225 are arranged on the moving plate 2220;

[0129] A plurality of second-direction guide rails 2223 are arranged in parallel with each other. The second-direction conveyor belt 2221, the second-direction motor 2222, and a plurality of second-direction drive wheels 2224 are arranged between the plurality of second-direction guide rails 2223. The plurality of second-direction drive wheels 2224 are respectively located at both ends of the second-direction guide rails 2223. The second-direction conveyor belt 2221 surrounds the plurality of second-direction drive wheels 2224. The second-direction motor 2222 is connected to at least one second-direction drive wheel 2224 for driving the second-direction drive wheel 2224 to rotate so as to drive the second-direction conveyor belt 2221 to move in the second direction. A plurality of second-direction limit sensors 2225 are respectively arranged at both ends of the second-direction guide rails 2223.

[0130] The first-direction limit sensor 2214 and the second-direction limit sensor 2225 in the moving sub-assembly 223 can not only limit the safe movement of the first-direction moving assembly 221 and the second-direction moving assembly 222 in the corresponding moving directions, preventing the movement range from exceeding the bin accommodating member 210, but also have a reset function.

[0131] To ensure that the moving assembly 220 can accurately grasp the target bin 300, as Figure 13 shown, the grasping member 230 includes a bracket 231 and a plurality of hooks 232. The bracket 231 is arranged on the second-direction conveyor belt 2221 and the plurality of second-direction guide rails 2223 so that the bracket 231 moves in the second direction. The plurality of hooks 232 are respectively arranged at both ends of the bracket 231. The hooks 232 are matched with the hook grooves 301 of the target bin 300. Hooks 232 are arranged at both ends of the bracket 231, which can be used to grasp the target bins 300 in the double-sided storage positions, and complete the transfer of the target bins 300 in the double-sided storage positions within a unit time.

[0132] Furthermore, the material handling mechanism 200 further includes a camera 233 and a plurality of distance sensors 212. The camera 233 is arranged on the grasping member 230 to obtain image information at the interface 270. The plurality of distance sensors 212 correspond to the plurality of support members 211 one by one, and the distance sensors 212 are arranged at the bottoms of the support members 211. As above Figure 13 can be seen, the camera 233 is arranged on the bracket 231 facing the interface 270. This arrangement can not only obtain the image information of the interface 270, but also detect the position of the target bin 300 and read the two-dimensional codes of the target bin 300 and the shelf 400. The installation method of arranging the distance sensors 212 at the bottoms of the support members 211 can more conveniently detect the position information of the shelf 400, as Figure 10 shown.

[0133] To enable the target bin 300 to move stably into the bin accommodating member 210 and be temporarily stored stably in the bin accommodating member 210 before handover, the material handling mechanism 200 further includes a plurality of bin conveying components 240. The plurality of bin conveying components 240 are arranged in the bin accommodating member 210, and the bin conveying components 240 are located on the side of the moving component 220 facing the handover interface 270. As an alternative implementation, Figure 14 A specific arrangement manner of the plurality of bin conveying components 240 in the bin accommodating member 210 is given. The plurality of bin conveying components 240 are oppositely arranged in the bin accommodating member 210 and are located at the bottom of the bin accommodating member 210; the bin conveying component 240 includes a conveying motor 241, a conveyor belt 242, and a guiding member 243;

[0134] The conveying motor 241 is arranged at the bottom of the support member 211. The conveyor belt 242 is connected to the conveying motor 241 and faces the handover interface 270. The conveyor belt 242 drives the target bin 300 on the conveyor belt 242 to enter and exit the bin accommodating member 210 in a first direction under the drive of the conveying motor 241. The guiding member 243 is arranged between the conveying motor 241 and the conveyor belt 242 for stabilizing the target bin 300 on the conveyor belt 242.

[0135] In addition, as the fourth aspect of the present invention, a material handover system is further provided, as Figure 15 and 16 shown in the structural schematic diagram of the material handover system. The material handover system includes a shelf 400, a shelf robot 500, and a driving component 600. The shelf robot 500 is arranged on the shelf guide rail 401, and the driving component 600 is arranged on the shelf robot 500 to drive the shelf robot 500 to move along the direction of the shelf guide rail 401. Among them, the shelf robot 500 includes a material handling mechanism 200, and the material handling mechanism 200 is the material handling mechanism 200 provided in the fourth aspect of the present invention. As an alternative implementation, the material handling mechanism 200 is arranged on the shelf robot 500 and moves on the shelf robot 500 along a direction perpendicular to the shelf guide rail 401.

[0136] To achieve the handover of the target bin 300 between the shelf 400 and the picking station, the material handover system further includes a ground robot 700. A limiting mechanism is arranged on the bearing member 701 above the ground robot for stabilizing the target bin 300 during movement.

[0137] The following is based on Figure 15 and 16Several cooperative delivery methods are given in the material delivery system. The material delivery system also includes a ground robot 700, which is located at a waiting point 800 below the shelf 400. The shelf robot 500 moves along the shelf guide rail 401, and the material handling mechanism 200 moves in a direction perpendicular to the shelf guide rail 401 until the material handling mechanism 200 reaches the target material box 300 position in the designated shelf 400 storage location, and the material handling mechanism 200 grabs the target material box 300 into the material handling mechanism 200, and the material handling mechanism 200 moves in a direction perpendicular to the shelf 400 to the intersection point 900, and the ground robot waits at the intersection point 900. When the material handling mechanism 200 moves in a direction perpendicular to the shelf 400 to the intersection point 900 and the ground robot reaches the intersection below the material handling mechanism 200, the material handling mechanism 200 places the target material box 300 on the ground robot 700, and the ground robot 700 drives the target material box 300 to move to the picking station, and the material handling mechanism 200 moves away from the intersection point 900 in a direction perpendicular to the shelf 400, and the shelf robot 500 moves in the direction of the shelf 400 to the next target material box 300 position. For the handover method of moving the target material box to the shelf 400 storage location, the ground robot 700 carries the target material box 300 and first waits at the waiting point 800. When the material handling mechanism arrives at the handover point 900, the ground robot 700 carries the target material box 300 and moves from the waiting point 800 to the handover point 900, arrives at the handover interface 270 under the material handling mechanism 200, and places the target material box 300 into the material box container 210. Figure 17 A flowchart of the pick-and-place process between the shelf robot 500 and the target bin 300 in the inventory location of the shelf 400 is provided; Figure 18 A material transfer flow chart is provided for the shelf robot 500 to obtain the target bin 300 from the ground robot 700; Figure 19 The material transfer flow chart of the shelf robot 500 placing the target material box 300 on the ground robot 700 is given. It should be noted that, Figure 17 、 Figure 18 and Figure 19 The several handover processes represented in will start executing the next handover task after completing the current handover process.

[0138] The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention includes but is not limited to the contents described in the drawings and the above specific embodiments. Any modifications that do not deviate from the functional and structural principles of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A material handover method for an industrial control computer, characterized in that, The material transfer method includes: Determine the position of the target bin; Control the shelf robot to move to the position of the target bin. The shelf robot includes a material operating mechanism, and the material operating mechanism includes a bin accommodating member and a moving component. An inlet and an outlet are formed on the bin accommodating member, and an interface is formed at the bottom of the bin accommodating member. The inlet, the outlet, and the interface communicate the inside of the bin accommodating member with the external environment. The moving component is arranged inside the bin accommodating member; Control the moving component to move the target bin into the bin accommodating member through the inlet; Control the shelf robot to move to the transfer position; When it is detected that the carrier of the floor robot is located in the interface of the bin accommodating member, control the material operating mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the floor robot, so that the floor robot can drive the carrier and the target bin to pass through the outlet and leave the bin accommodating member.

2. The material transfer method according to claim 1, wherein The step of, when it is detected that the carrier of the floor robot is located in the interface of the bin accommodating member, controlling the material operating mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the floor robot includes: Obtain the image information at the interface; When the image information at the interface includes the image information of the carrier, control the material operating mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the floor robot.

3. The material transfer method according to claim 2, characterized in that The step of controlling the material operating mechanism to place the target bin on the carrier of the floor robot includes: Obtain the position information of the target bin and the position information of the carrier; Control the movement of the material operating mechanism according to the position information of the target bin and the position information of the carrier until the position information of the target bin is the same as the position information of the carrier.

4. The material transfer method according to claim 1, characterized in that The transfer position includes the transfer position information in the first direction and the transfer position information in the second direction; the second direction is perpendicular to the interface, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction; the shelf robot moves along the first direction on the shelf; the material operating mechanism moves along the second direction on the shelf robot; The step of controlling the shelf robot to the transfer position includes: Move the shelf robot to the transfer position in the corresponding first direction of the shelf according to the transfer position information in the first direction; Move the material operating mechanism to the transfer position in the corresponding second direction of the shelf robot according to the transfer position information in the second direction.

5. The material transfer method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The position of the target bin includes the bin position information in the first direction and the bin position information in the second direction; The step of controlling the shelf robot to move to the position of the target bin includes: Move the shelf robot to the bin position in the corresponding first direction of the shelf according to the bin position information in the first direction; Move the material operating mechanism to the bin position in the corresponding second direction of the shelf robot according to the bin position information in the second direction.

6. The material transfer method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The moving component includes a moving sub-component and a gripper. The moving sub-component is disposed within the bin accommodating member, and the gripper is disposed on the moving sub-component. The moving sub-component is configured to drive the gripper to move so as to grasp or release a target bin. Controlling the moving component to move the target bin into the bin accommodating member includes: Controlling the moving component to move along the second direction and / or the third direction until the gripper grasps the target bin; wherein, the third direction is the direction from the inlet to the outlet. When the gripper grasps the target bin, controlling the moving component to move along the third direction to move the target bin into the bin accommodating member.

7. The material transfer method according to claim 6, wherein The material handling mechanism further includes a plurality of bin conveying components. The plurality of bin conveying components are disposed within the bin accommodating member, and the bin conveying components move along the third direction. Controlling the moving component to move along the third direction to move the target bin into the bin accommodating member includes: When it is detected that the target bin enters the bin accommodating member, the moving component moves along the second direction to place the target bin on the bin conveying component, so that the bin conveying component drives the target bin to move along the third direction. When it is detected that the target bin moves to the first specified position, the moving component moves along the second direction until the gripper releases the target bin; wherein, the first specified position is the position where the gripper releases the target bin. When it is detected that the target bin moves to the second specified position, the bin conveying component stops moving; wherein, the second specified position is the position corresponding to where the bin conveying component stops moving.

8. The material transfer method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material transfer method further includes: Controlling the shelf robot to move to the transfer position. When it is detected that the shelf robot moves to the transfer position, controlling the floor robot carrying the target bin to move to the interface. When it is detected that the target bin on the carrier of the floor robot is located in the interface of the bin accommodating member, placing the target bin into the bin accommodating member. Determining the position of the shelf storage location. Controlling the shelf robot to move to the position of the shelf storage location. When the shelf robot moves to the position of the shelf storage location, controlling the moving component and the target bin to move the target bin into the shelf storage location through the outlet.

9. An industrial control computer, characterized in that, Includes: One or more processors; A memory having stored thereon one or more computer programs, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement the material transfer method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A material handling mechanism, characterized in that, The material operating mechanism includes a bin accommodating member (210) and a moving assembly (220). An inlet (250) and an outlet (260) are formed on the bin accommodating member (210). An interface (270) is formed at the bottom of the bin accommodating member (210). The inlet (250), the outlet (260) and the interface (270) all communicate the interior of the bin accommodating member (210) with the external environment, so that the carrier (701) of the floor robot (700) can enter the interface (270). The moving assembly (220) is arranged inside the bin accommodating member (210).

11. The material operating mechanism according to claim 10, characterized in that, The bin accommodating member (210) includes a plurality of support members (211). The moving assembly (220) includes a moving sub-assembly (223) and a grasping member (230). The moving sub-assembly (223) is arranged on the support members (211), and the grasping member (230) is arranged on the moving sub-assembly (223). The moving sub-assembly (223) is used to drive the grasping member (230) to move to grasp or release the target bin (300).

12. The material handling mechanism according to claim 11, wherein The material operating mechanism further includes a camera (233) and a plurality of ranging sensors (212). The camera (233) is arranged on the grasping member (223) to obtain image information at the interface (270). The plurality of ranging sensors (212) correspond to the plurality of support members (211) one by one. The ranging sensors (212) are arranged at the bottom of the support members (211) to obtain the position information of the shelf (400).

13. The material handling mechanism according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, The material operating mechanism further includes a plurality of bin conveying assemblies (240). The plurality of bin conveying assemblies (240) are arranged inside the bin accommodating member (210), and the bin conveying assemblies (240) are located on the side of the moving assembly (220) facing the interface (270).

14. A material transfer system, the material transfer system comprising a shelf (400), a shelf robot (500) and a drive assembly (600), the shelf robot (500) being disposed on the shelf (400), the drive assembly (600) being disposed on the shelf robot (500) to drive the shelf robot (500) to move along the direction of the shelf (400), characterized in that, The shelf robot (500) includes a material operating mechanism (200), and the material operating mechanism (200) is the material operating mechanism (200) according to any one of claims 10 to 13.

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