Wheel type skip car locking mechanism for submarine type transfer robot

By introducing positioning and transmission components and locking and guiding components into the stealthy transfer robot, and utilizing millimeter-wave sensors and photoelectric sensing units, the problem of positional deviation in the gripping of wheeled material carts was solved, achieving stable and safe material cart gripping.

CN121553280APending Publication Date: 2026-02-24AUTO MOBILE ROBOT(JIANGSU) CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202511916181.7
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-12-18
Publication Date
2026-02-24

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing stealth transfer robots are prone to poor stability after gripping wheeled carts due to shifting gripping position, especially when using wheeled carts, which are prone to tipping over.

Method used

The system employs positioning and transmission components and locking and guiding components, and uses a combination of sensors such as millimeter-wave sensors and through-beam photoelectric sensors to measure the position of the material trolley's positioning caster plate in real time, ensuring accurate positioning and stable gripping, and preventing deviation.

Benefits of technology

It achieves stable gripping of wheeled material carts, ensuring that the conveying direction is centered during gripping, avoiding tipping over, and improving the stability and safety of gripping.

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Abstract

The invention discloses a wheel-type skip car locking mechanism for a submarine transfer robot, which comprises a transfer robot main body and a wheel-type loading skip car, a positioning conduction assembly and a locking guide assembly are slidably mounted on the inner side of the transfer robot main body, and a locking end conduction mechanism is mounted at the bottom of the wheel-type loading skip car; after the four sets of millimeter wave sensors synchronously obtain that the skip car positioning trundle plate is in place, it is confirmed that the skip car positioning trundle plate reaches the skip car grabbing position, and after the skip car positioning trundle plate is kept stable, the skip car grabbing position is obtained. A correlation type photoelectric sensing unit and a sound wave distance measuring unit secondarily check whether a skip car positioning trundle plate is kept in the center of an anti-rollover guide plate or not according to the responding distance and signal covering data after the skip car positioning trundle plate enters the inner side of the anti-rollover guide plate, and the whole skip car positioning trundle plate is stably attached to four-side point positions set by a transfer robot body. And the grabbing position is prevented from deviating, the conveying direction during grabbing is located in the middle of the skip car wheel set, and therefore it is guaranteed that the skip car is stably grabbed.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of feeding mechanism technology, and in particular to a locking mechanism for wheeled material carts by a stealthy transfer robot. Background Technology

[0002] AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) are intelligent logistics equipment based on automatic navigation technology. They achieve autonomous movement and cargo handling through technologies such as magnetic strips, lasers, or SLAM, and are widely used in manufacturing, special industries, and logistics. Automatic material handling is a key technology in industrial automation, mainly achieved through the integration of sensors, robotic arms or gripper systems, and intelligent control algorithms to automatically identify, locate, and grasp material carts. Since lurking transfer robots typically only use infrared sensors to predict the gripping position when locking the material cart, this is prone to problems with wheeled carts. Grip position deviations and the conveying direction during gripping not being centered on the cart's wheels can lead to less than ideal stability after gripping, and the cart is prone to tipping over during lifting due to the gripping mechanism. Therefore, we propose a locking mechanism for wheeled material carts in lurking transfer robots. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The main objective of this invention is to provide a locking mechanism for wheeled material carts for a stealthy transfer robot.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: The stealthy transfer robot for the wheeled trolley locking mechanism includes a transfer robot body and a wheeled loading trolley. A positioning transmission component and a locking guide component are slidably installed on the inner side of the transfer robot body. A locking end transmission mechanism is installed at the bottom of the wheeled loading trolley. The positioning transmission component is used to determine the position of the locking end transmission mechanism after it stops moving. The locking guide component is used for positioning and locking the locking end transmission mechanism after the position is accurately determined. After the locking guide component completes the positioning and locking of the locking end transmission mechanism, the positioning transmission component is also used to verify whether the locking position of the locking end transmission mechanism deviates from the preset position.

[0005] A further improvement of the present invention is that the locking end transmission mechanism includes a material cart positioning caster plate, a locking support column, and a material cart guide wheel assembly. The material cart positioning caster plate is installed at the bottom of the wheeled loading material cart in a four-corner arrangement. The bottom of the locking support column is fixedly connected to the material cart positioning caster plate, and the bottom of the material cart positioning caster plate is fixedly connected to the material cart guide wheel assembly.

[0006] A further improvement of the present invention is that the positioning transmission component includes an anti-rollover guide plate, a millimeter-wave sensor, and a movement point positioning response component. The anti-rollover guide plate is slidably connected to the inner side of the transfer robot body. The anti-rollover guide plate is used to engage the material cart positioning caster plate to pre-position the wheeled loading material cart. The millimeter-wave sensor is fixedly connected to the anti-rollover guide plate. There are two movement point positioning response components, which are symmetrically distributed inside the anti-rollover guide plate. The millimeter-wave sensor is used to determine whether the anti-rollover guide plate has completed gripping the material cart positioning caster plate after the wheeled loading material cart moves. The movement point positioning response component is used to determine whether the material cart positioning caster plate remains in a centered state after being pre-positioned by the anti-rollover guide plate.

[0007] A further improvement of the present invention is that the moving point arrival response component includes a through-beam photoelectric sensing unit and an acoustic ranging unit. Both the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit and the acoustic ranging unit are fixedly connected to the inner side of the anti-rollover guide plate. The transmitting end and receiving end of the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit and the acoustic ranging unit are symmetrically distributed on the inner side of the anti-rollover guide plate.

[0008] A further improvement of the present invention is that the locking guide assembly includes a guide support base plate, a signal processing unit, and a double row of guide wheels. The guide support base plate is fixedly connected to the anti-rollover guide plate, the signal processing unit is fixedly connected to the guide support base plate, and the double row of guide wheels are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the guide support base plate.

[0009] A further improvement of the present invention is that the millimeter-wave sensor and the movement point positioning response component are both signal-connected to the signal processing unit, and the signal processing unit is signal-connected to the main body of the transfer robot.

[0010] A further improvement of this invention lies in the method of using the locking mechanism of the wheeled material cart by the stealthy transfer robot, which includes the following steps: Step S1: After the material car moves to the position of the wheeled loading material car, the millimeter-wave sensors arranged on both sides of the main body of the transfer robot synchronously obtain the positioning wheel plate of the material car. After the four sets of millimeter-wave sensors synchronously obtain the positioning wheel plate of the material car, it is confirmed that the positioning wheel plate of the material car has reached the material car grabbing position. Step S2: After reaching the material trolley grabbing position, the inner drive component of the transfer robot pushes the anti-tipping guide plate forward to the position of the material trolley positioning caster plate. During the forward movement, the material trolley positioning caster plate and the double row of guide wheels contact each other and guide each other, so that the material trolley positioning caster plate quickly reaches the inner position of the guide support base plate. At the same time, the anti-tipping guide plate slides to the upper surface of the material trolley positioning caster plate. In the current state, the X-axis and Y-axis of the material trolley positioning caster plate are limited by the anti-tipping guide plate, and the whole remains stable. Step S3: After the material cart positioning caster plate is stabilized, the through-beam photoelectric sensor unit and the through-beam photoelectric sensor unit verify for the second time whether the material cart positioning caster plate is kept in the center of the anti-rollover guide plate and whether it is stably attached to the four sides of the transfer robot body. After verification, the inner drive component of the transfer robot body drives the anti-rollover guide plate and the guide support base plate to move forward and extend to grab the material cart positioning caster plate.

[0011] Compared with existing technologies, this invention uses millimeter-wave sensors to synchronously acquire the positioning wheel plate of the material cart. Based on the synchronous acquisition of the positioning wheel plate by four sets of millimeter-wave sensors, it is confirmed that the positioning wheel plate has reached the material cart gripping position. After the positioning wheel plate stabilizes, the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit and the acoustic ranging unit perform a secondary verification based on the distance and signal coverage data after the positioning wheel plate enters the inner side of the anti-tipping guide plate. This ensures that the positioning wheel plate remains in the center of the anti-tipping guide plate, and the entire system stably fits the four sides of the transfer robot body, avoiding gripping position deviation. This ensures that the conveying direction during gripping is in the center of the material cart wheel assembly, thereby ensuring that the material cart is stably gripped. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the locking mechanism for wheeled material carts in the stealthy transfer robot of the present invention. Figure 1 .

[0013] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the locking mechanism for wheeled material carts in the stealthy transfer robot of the present invention. Figure 2 .

[0014] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of part A in the middle.

[0015] Figure 4 This is a top view of the locking mechanism of the wheeled material cart for the stealthy transfer robot of the present invention.

[0016] In the diagram: 1. Main body of the transfer robot; 2. Wheeled loading trolley; 3. Locking end transmission mechanism; 31. Trolley positioning caster plate; 32. Locking support column; 33. Trolley guide wheel assembly; 4. Positioning transmission component; 41. Anti-rollover guide plate; 42. Millimeter wave sensor; 43. Movement point arrival response component; 431. Through-beam photoelectric sensor unit; 432. Acoustic ranging unit; 5. Locking guide assembly; 51. Guide support base plate; 52. Signal processing unit; 53. Double row of guide wheels. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The present invention will be further described below with reference to specific embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are schematic diagrams, not actual pictures. They should not be construed as limiting the present invention. In order to better illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention, some parts in the drawings may be omitted, enlarged or reduced, and do not represent the actual product size. It is understandable to those skilled in the art that some well-known structures and their descriptions may be omitted in the drawings. Based on the specific embodiments of the present invention, all other specific embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] Please refer to the instruction manual appendix. Figure 1-4 The stealthy transfer robot for the wheeled trolley locking mechanism includes a transfer robot body 1 and a wheeled loading trolley 2. A positioning transmission component 4 and a locking guide component 5 are slidably installed on the inner side of the transfer robot body 1. A locking end transmission mechanism 3 is installed at the bottom of the wheeled loading trolley 2. The positioning transmission component 4 is used to determine the position of the locking end transmission mechanism 3 after it stops moving. The locking guide component 5 is used for positioning and locking after the position of the locking end transmission mechanism 3 is accurately determined. After the locking guide component 5 completes the positioning and locking of the locking end transmission mechanism 3, the positioning transmission component 4 is also used to verify for a second time whether the locking position of the locking end transmission mechanism 3 deviates from the preset position.

[0019] In this embodiment, to address the problem that existing stealth transfer robots typically only use infrared sensors to predict the gripping position when locking the material cart, which can lead to unsatisfactory stability after gripping wheeled carts due to gripping position deviation or the conveying direction not being centered on the cart's wheels, this invention proposes a stealth transfer robot with a wheeled cart locking mechanism. This mechanism consists of a transfer robot body 1, a wheeled loading cart 2, a locking end transmission mechanism 3, a positioning transmission component 4, and a locking guide component 5. It uses four sets of millimeter-wave sensors 42 to simultaneously detect the positioning of the cart's wheel plates 31. After confirming that the material cart positioning caster plate 31 has reached the material cart gripping position, and after the material cart positioning caster plate 31 is stable, the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit 431 and the acoustic ranging unit 432 verify for the second time whether the material cart positioning caster plate 31 is kept in the center of the anti-tipping guide plate 41 and whether it is stably attached to the four sides of the transfer robot body 1, so as to avoid the gripping position deviation and make the conveying direction during gripping in the center of the material cart positioning caster plate 31, thereby ensuring that the material cart is stably gripped and solving the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0020] The locking end transmission mechanism 3 includes a material cart positioning caster plate 31, a locking support column 32, and a material cart guide wheel assembly 33. The material cart positioning caster plate 31 is installed at the bottom of the wheeled loading material cart 2 in a four-corner arrangement. The bottom of the locking support column 32 is fixedly connected to the material cart positioning caster plate 31, and the bottom of the material cart positioning caster plate 31 is fixedly connected to the material cart guide wheel assembly 33.

[0021] In this embodiment, the locking end transmission mechanism 3 is installed at the bottom of the wheeled loading cart 2 for transmission of the wheeled loading cart 2. The cart positioning caster plate 31 and locking support column 32 are used to provide a target point after the transfer robot body 1 slides to the bottom of the wheeled loading cart 2. The cart guide wheel set 33 is used for the self-transportation of the wheeled loading cart 2. After the wheeled loading cart 2 is supported by the transfer robot body 1, the cart guide wheel set 33 will not interfere with the movement of the transfer robot body 1 when it is off the ground.

[0022] The positioning transmission component 4 includes an anti-rollover guide plate 41, a millimeter-wave sensor 42, and a movement point positioning response component 43. The anti-rollover guide plate 41 is slidably connected to the inside of the transfer robot body 1. The anti-rollover guide plate 41 is used to engage the material cart positioning caster plate 31 for pre-positioning the wheeled loading material cart 2. The millimeter-wave sensor 42 is fixedly connected to the anti-rollover guide plate 41. There are two movement point positioning response components 43, which are symmetrically distributed inside the anti-rollover guide plate 41. The millimeter-wave sensor 42 is used to determine whether the anti-rollover guide plate 41 has completed the gripping of the material cart positioning caster plate 31 after the wheeled loading material cart 2 moves. The movement point positioning response component 43 is used to determine whether the material cart positioning caster plate 31 remains in the center state after being pre-positioned by the anti-rollover guide plate 41.

[0023] In this embodiment, millimeter-wave sensors 42 are set to synchronously acquire the positioning caster plate 31 of the material cart. After the four sets of millimeter-wave sensors 42 synchronously acquire the positioning caster plate of the material cart, it is confirmed that the positioning caster plate 31 of the material cart has reached the material cart gripping position. That is, after the signal generating ends of the four sets of millimeter-wave sensors 42 are blocked by the positioning caster plate 31 of the material cart, it is confirmed that the gripping position has been reached.

[0024] The moving point positioning response component 43 includes a through-beam photoelectric sensing unit 431 and an acoustic ranging unit 432. Both the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit 431 and the acoustic ranging unit 432 are fixedly connected to the inner side of the anti-rollover guide plate 41. The transmitting and receiving ends of the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit 431 and the acoustic ranging unit 432 are symmetrically distributed on the inner side of the anti-rollover guide plate 41.

[0025] In this embodiment, after the material cart positioning caster plate is stabilized, the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit 431 and the acoustic ranging unit 432 perform a secondary verification based on the distance and signal coverage data after the material cart positioning caster plate enters the inner side of the anti-tipping guide plate 41. The material cart positioning caster plate 31 is kept in the center of the anti-tipping guide plate 41 and is stably attached to the four sides of the transfer robot body 1. That is, the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit 431 determines that after the anti-tipping guide plate 41 is engaged with the inner side of the locking support column 32, the through-beam light is blocked by the locking support column 32, and the distance measured by the two symmetrically arranged acoustic ranging units 432 is close to that of the locking support column 32. The secondary verification is then completed. After that, the anti-tipping guide plate 41 can continue to be pushed by the pusher inside the transfer robot body 1 to clamp the material cart positioning caster plate 31.

[0026] The locking guide assembly 5 includes a guide support base plate 51, a signal processing unit 52, and double-row guide wheels 53. The guide support base plate 51 is fixedly connected to the anti-rollover guide plate 41, the signal processing unit 52 is fixedly connected to the guide support base plate 51, and the double-row guide wheels 53 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the guide support base plate 51.

[0027] The millimeter-wave sensor 42 and the moving point positioning response component 43 are both connected to the signal processing unit 52, which is connected to the transfer robot body 1.

[0028] In this embodiment, the signal processing unit 52 is used to transmit signals between each sensing unit and the transfer robot body 1. After the transfer robot body 1 receives the transmitted signal, the transfer robot body 1 controls its inner driving component to drive the anti-rollover guide plate 41 to grip the material cart positioning caster plate 31.

[0029] The working principle of this invention is: Step S1: After the wheeled loading trolley 2 moves to the position of the transfer robot body 1, the millimeter-wave sensors 42 arranged on both sides of the transfer robot body 1 synchronously acquire the positioning wheel plate 31 of the trolley. After the four sets of millimeter-wave sensors 42 synchronously acquire the positioning wheel plate 31 of the trolley, it is confirmed that the positioning wheel plate 31 of the trolley has reached the trolley grab position. Step S2: After reaching the material trolley grabbing position, the inner drive component of the transfer robot body 1 pushes the anti-tipping guide plate 41 forward to the position of the material trolley positioning caster plate 31. During the forward movement, the material trolley positioning caster plate 31 and the double row of guide wheels 53 come into contact with each other and guide each other, so that the material trolley positioning caster plate 31 quickly reaches the inner position of the guide support base plate 51. At the same time, the anti-tipping guide plate 41 slides to the upper surface of the material trolley positioning caster plate 31. In the current state, the X-axis and Y-axis of the material trolley positioning caster plate 31 are limited by the anti-tipping guide plate 41, and the whole remains stable. Step S3: After the material cart positioning caster plate 31 is stabilized, the through-beam photoelectric sensor unit 431 and the acoustic ranging unit 432 verify for the second time whether the material cart positioning caster plate 31 is kept in the center of the anti-rollover guide plate 41 and is stably attached to the four sides of the transfer robot body 1 according to the distance and signal coverage data after the material cart positioning caster plate 31 enters the inner side of the anti-rollover guide plate 41. After verification, the inner drive component of the transfer robot body 1 drives the anti-rollover guide plate 41 and the guide support base plate 51 to move forward and extend to grab the material cart positioning caster plate 31.

[0030] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the present invention as claimed. The scope of protection of this invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A stealthy transfer robot with a locking mechanism for a wheeled loading cart, comprising a transfer robot body (1) and a wheeled loading cart (2), characterized in that: The main body (1) of the transfer robot is slidably installed with a positioning transmission component (4) and a locking guide component (5). The wheeled loading vehicle (2) is equipped with a locking end transmission mechanism (3) at the bottom. The positioning transmission component (4) is used to determine the position of the locking end transmission mechanism (3) after it stops moving. The locking guide component (5) is used for positioning and locking the locking end transmission mechanism (3) after the position is accurately determined. After the locking guide component (5) completes the positioning and locking of the locking end transmission mechanism (3), the positioning transmission component (4) is also used to verify for the second time whether the locking position of the locking end transmission mechanism (3) deviates from the preset position.

2. The locking mechanism for wheeled material carts in the stealthy transfer robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The locking end transmission mechanism (3) includes a material cart positioning caster plate (31), a locking support column (32), and a material cart guide wheel assembly (33). The material cart positioning caster plate (31) is installed at the bottom of the wheeled loading material cart (2) in a four-corner distribution. The bottom of the locking support column (32) is fixedly connected to the material cart positioning caster plate (31), and the bottom of the material cart positioning caster plate (31) is fixedly connected to the material cart guide wheel assembly (33).

3. The locking mechanism for wheeled material carts in the stealthy transfer robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The positioning transmission component (4) includes an anti-rollover guide plate (41), a millimeter-wave sensor (42), and a movement point positioning response component (43). The anti-rollover guide plate (41) is slidably connected to the inner side of the transfer robot body (1). The anti-rollover guide plate (41) is used to engage the material cart positioning caster plate (31) to pre-position the wheeled loading material cart (2). The millimeter-wave sensor (42) is fixedly connected to the anti-rollover guide plate (41). There are two movement point positioning response components (43), which are symmetrically distributed inside the anti-rollover guide plate (41). The millimeter-wave sensor (42) is used to determine whether the anti-rollover guide plate (41) has completed the gripping of the material cart positioning caster plate (31) after the wheeled loading material cart (2) moves. The movement point positioning response component (43) is used to determine whether the material cart positioning caster plate (31) remains in the center after being pre-positioned by the anti-rollover guide plate (41).

4. The locking mechanism for wheeled material carts in the stealthy transfer robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The moving point arrival response component (43) includes a through-beam photoelectric sensing unit (431) and an acoustic ranging unit (432). The through-beam photoelectric sensing unit (431) and the acoustic ranging unit (432) are both fixedly connected to the inner side of the anti-rollover guide plate (41). The transmitting end and receiving end of the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit (431) and the acoustic ranging unit (432) are symmetrically distributed on the inner side of the anti-rollover guide plate (41).

5. The locking mechanism for wheeled material carts in the stealthy transfer robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The locking guide assembly (5) includes a guide support base plate (51), a signal processing unit (52), and a double row of guide wheels (53). The guide support base plate (51) is fixedly connected to the anti-rollover guide plate (41), the signal processing unit (52) is fixedly connected to the guide support base plate (51), and the double row of guide wheels (53) are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the guide support base plate (51).

6. The locking mechanism for wheeled material carts in the stealthy transfer robot according to claim 5, characterized in that: The millimeter-wave sensor (42) and the moving point positioning response component (43) are both signal-connected to the signal processing unit (52), and the signal processing unit (52) is signal-connected to the transfer robot body (1).

7. The method of using the locking mechanism of the wheeled material cart with the stealthy transfer robot according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: Step S1: After the main body (1) of the transfer robot moves to the position of the wheeled loading trolley (2), the millimeter-wave sensors (42) arranged on both sides of the main body (1) of the transfer robot synchronously obtain the positioning wheel plate (31) of the trolley in position signal. After the four sets of millimeter-wave sensors (42) synchronously obtain the positioning wheel plate (31) of the trolley in position, it is confirmed that the positioning wheel plate (31) of the trolley has reached the trolley grab position. Step S2: After reaching the material car grabbing position, the inner drive component of the transfer robot body (1) pushes the anti-tipping guide plate (41) forward to the position of the material car positioning caster plate (31). During the forward movement, the material car positioning caster plate (31) and the double row of guide wheels (53) come into contact with each other and guide each other, so that the material car positioning caster plate (31) quickly reaches the inner position of the guide support base plate (51). At the same time, the anti-tipping guide plate (41) slides to the upper surface of the material car positioning caster plate (31). In the current state, the X-axis and Y-axis of the material car positioning caster plate (31) are both limited by the anti-tipping guide plate (41), and the whole remains stable. Step S3: After the material cart positioning caster plate (31) is stabilized, the through-beam photoelectric sensing unit (431) and the acoustic ranging unit (432) verify for the second time whether the material cart positioning caster plate (31) is kept in the center of the anti-rollover guide plate (41) and the overall stable fit of the four sides set by the transfer robot body. After verification, the inner drive component of the transfer robot body (1) drives the anti-rollover guide plate (41) and the guide support base plate (51) to move forward and extend to grab the material cart positioning caster plate (31).