Delivery Robot

Abstract

The present application relates to a delivery robot, which includes a support assembly, a tray and a weighing module. The tray is movably arranged on the support assembly along the direction of gravity. The weighing module is used to detect the weight of items on the tray, and the weighing module is connected to the tray or the support assembly and is located at the bottom of the tray. The tray is movably arranged on the support assembly along the direction of gravity, that is, the tray is not fixedly connected to the support assembly, which can prevent the force applied to the tray by the support assembly from affecting the weighing of the items after the tray is fixed. The weighing module is located at the bottom of the tray, that is, when an item is placed on the tray, the heavy object can apply pressure to the weighing module through the tray, and the weighing module can detect the weight of the item.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of robotics, and in particular to delivery robots. Background Art

[0002] With the advancement of technology, many catering or logistics industries have introduced delivery robots in the delivery process. The use of delivery robots to transport items has the advantages of convenience, speed, manpower saving, and reduced human contact. However, the interaction between such delivery robots and humans in the prior art is not strong.

[0003] The pallet in the delivery robot cannot detect the weight of the delivered goods, especially the robot used in the return pallet scenario. Since it cannot detect whether the pallet load has reached the critical weight, the robot cannot independently determine whether it should return to its position. Utility Model Content

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a delivery robot to address the problem that the delivery robot cannot detect the weight of the pallet load.

[0005] A delivery robot, comprising:

[0006] Bracket assembly;

[0007] A tray is movably arranged on the support assembly along the direction of gravity;

[0008] A weighing module is used to detect the weight of the items on the tray. The weighing module is connected to the tray or the bracket assembly and is located at the bottom of the tray.

[0009] In one embodiment, the tray has a first end and a second end symmetrical about its axis, the first end is rotatably connected to the bracket assembly, and the weighing module is disposed at the bottom of the second end.

[0010] In one embodiment, the delivery robot includes an elastic member, one end of which is connected to the bottom of the second end, and the other end of which is connected to the bracket assembly.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the weighing module is fixed to the bottom of the tray, and one end of the weighing module away from the tray is used to abut against the bracket assembly.

[0012] In one of the embodiments, the weighing module includes a gravity sensor and a detection head disposed at the bottom of the gravity sensor, and the detection head abuts against the bracket assembly.

[0013] In one of the embodiments, the bracket assembly includes a first bracket arranged along the height direction and a second bracket arranged perpendicular to the first bracket, and the detection head abuts against the second bracket.

[0014] In one of the embodiments, the weighing module includes a protective cover, which is buckled on the bottom of the tray to form an installation cavity, and the second bracket, the gravity sensor and the detection head are located in the installation cavity.

[0015] In one of the embodiments, the weighing module is fixed on the bracket assembly, and one end of the weighing module away from the bracket assembly abuts against the bottom of the tray.

[0016] In one of the embodiments, there are multiple trays, and the multiple trays are sequentially spaced apart along the height direction on the bracket assembly, and the weighing module is respectively disposed at the bottom of at least one of the trays.

[0017] In one of the embodiments, a limiting groove is provided on the tray, and the limiting groove is used to limit the position of the object.

[0018] In the above-mentioned delivery robot, the tray is movably arranged on the support assembly along the direction of gravity, that is, the tray is not fixedly connected to the support assembly, which can prevent the force applied by the support assembly to the tray from affecting the weighing of the items after the tray is fixed. The weighing module is located at the bottom of the tray, that is, when the items are placed on the tray, the heavy objects can apply pressure to the weighing module through the tray, and the weighing module can detect the weight of the items on the tray. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of a delivery robot in one embodiment.

[0020] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the detection principle of a weighing module in one embodiment.

[0021] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a partially enlarged structure of a delivery robot in one embodiment.

[0022] Reference numerals: 100, bracket assembly; 110, first bracket; 120, second bracket;

[0023] 200, tray; 210, first end; 220, second end;

[0024] 300, weighing module; 310, gravity sensor; 320, detection head; 330, protective cover;

[0025] 400. Elastic parts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present application, so the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0027] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that if the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. appear, the orientation or position relationship indicated by these terms is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0028] In addition, if the terms "first" or "second" appear, these terms are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of this application, if the term "plurality" appears, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0029] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, if the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like appear, these terms should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integrated connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0030] In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, if there is a description that a first feature is "above" or "below" a second feature, etc., or similar descriptions appear, it may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "above" and "above" the second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. The first feature being "below", "below" and "below" the second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0031] It should be noted that if an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. If an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. If any, the terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used in this application are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation method.

[0032] See also Figure 1 , a delivery robot provided by an embodiment of the present application includes a support assembly 100, a tray 200, and a weighing module 300. The tray 200 is movably arranged on the support assembly 100 along the direction of gravity. The weighing module 300 is used to detect the weight of the items on the tray 200. The weighing module 300 is connected to the tray 200 or the support assembly 100 and is located at the bottom of the tray 200.

[0033] In this embodiment, the tray 200 is movably arranged on the support assembly 100 along the direction of gravity, that is, the tray 200 is not fixedly connected to the support assembly 100, which can prevent the force applied by the support assembly 100 to the tray 200 from affecting the weighing of the items after the tray 200 is fixed. The weighing module 300 is located at the bottom of the tray 200, that is, when an item is placed on the tray 200, the heavy object can apply pressure to the weighing module 300 through the tray 200, and the weighing module 300 can detect the weight of the item.

[0034] In some embodiments, there are multiple trays 200 , and the multiple trays 200 are sequentially spaced apart on the support assembly 100 along the height direction, and a weighing module 300 is disposed at the bottom of at least one tray 200 .

[0035] In one embodiment, only one tray 200 is provided with a weighing module 300 at the bottom. When placing items, the items may be placed on the tray 200 with the weighing module 300 first. If the weight of the items on the tray 200 is not overweight, an equal or less amount of items may be placed on other trays 200. For example, when five plates are placed on the tray 200 with the weighing module 300, if the weighing module 300 detects that there is no overweight, less than or equal to five plates may be placed on other trays 200.

[0036] In some other embodiments, a weighing module 300 is respectively disposed at the bottom of each tray 200 , so as to detect the weight of the items on each tray 200 , thereby facilitating the placement of different types of items on each tray 200 .

[0037] In some embodiments, the tray 200 is a rectangular structure, four support members are arranged at the same height on the bracket assembly 100, and weighing modules 300 are respectively arranged at the four corners of the tray 200, and the weighing modules 300 are arranged one by one on the corresponding support members.

[0038] In this embodiment, each pallet 200 requires four weighing modules 300, and since there are multiple pallets 200, the entire delivery robot requires a large number of weighing modules 300. Correspondingly, the same number of drive boards as the weighing modules 300 are required for control. The use of a large number of drive boards not only takes up a large space, but also leads to high hardware costs and complex and error-prone software control.

[0039] Therefore, in some other embodiments, the tray 200 has a first end 210 and a second end 220 symmetrical about its axis, the first end 210 is rotatably connected to the bracket assembly 100 , and the weighing module 300 is disposed at the bottom of the second end 220 .

[0040] In this embodiment, since the second end 220 of each tray 200 is arranged on the weighing module 300, that is, each tray 200 can weigh the items by relying on only one weighing module 300, it is beneficial to reduce the number of weighing modules 300, reduce the area of ​​the driving board used to connect to the weighing module 300, and reduce the hardware cost.

[0041] At the same time, the first end 210 of the tray 200 is rotatably connected to the bracket assembly 100 through the rotating shaft, and the second end 220 of the tray 200 is used to be set on the weighing module 300, and the first end 210 and the second end 220 are symmetrical about the central axis of the tray 200, that is, the moment between the weighing module 300 and the rotating shaft is twice the moment of the weighing module 300 relative to the center of gravity of the tray 200. Figure 2According to the lever principle, the force detected by the weighing module 300 is half of the object, which is helpful to narrow the selection of sensors and reduce costs.

[0042] In addition, only one weighing module 300 is disposed at the bottom of each tray 200 , so there is no need to ensure that multiple weighing modules 300 must be at the same height during installation, which facilitates reducing the position accuracy requirements for the weighing modules 300 .

[0043] In some other embodiments, weighing modules 300 are disposed at the bottom of the first end 210 and the bottom of the second end 220 , that is, the weight of each item is the sum of the weights of the two weighing modules 300 corresponding to the tray 200 .

[0044] Combination Figure 3 In some embodiments, the weighing module 300 is fixed to the bottom of the tray 200, and one end of the weighing module 300 away from the tray 200 abuts against the support assembly 100. When an object is placed on the tray 200, the tray 200 transfers the gravity of the object to the weighing module 300, and the weight of the object is detected through the squeezing force of the weighing module 300 on the support assembly 100.

[0045] Furthermore, the weighing module 300 includes a gravity sensor 310 and a detection head 320 disposed at the bottom of the gravity sensor 310 , and the detection head 320 abuts against the bracket assembly 100 .

[0046] In this embodiment, the hardness of the tray 200 is lower than that of steel. The tray 200 is made of plastic, and the bracket assembly 100 is made of steel. Therefore, the weighing module 300 is fixed to the bottom of the tray 200, and the detection head 320 faces the bracket assembly 100. When an object is placed on the tray 200, the tray 200 transfers the gravity of the object to the detection head 320. The detection head 320 is used to squeeze the bracket assembly 100 with greater hardness, thereby ensuring the detection accuracy of the gravity sensor 310.

[0047] Specifically, the bracket assembly 100 includes a first bracket 110 arranged in the height direction and a second bracket 120 arranged perpendicular to the first bracket 110, and the detection head 320 abuts against the second bracket 120. The first bracket 110 is arranged in the height direction, and the second bracket 120 is arranged horizontally. When an object is placed on the tray 200, the tray 200 is compressed and used to transfer the pressure to the detection head 320, and the detection head 320 then presses the second bracket 120. The second bracket 120 is fixedly connected to the first bracket 110. Therefore, the detection head 320 is subjected to reverse pressure from the second bracket 120, and then detects the weight of the object.

[0048] In some other embodiments, the weighing module 300 is fixed on the bracket assembly 100, and one end of the weighing module 300 away from the bracket assembly 100 abuts against the bottom of the tray 200. When an object is placed on the tray 200, the tray 200 applies pressure to the weighing module 300 to detect the weight of the object.

[0049] In some embodiments, the delivery robot includes an elastic member 400 , one end of the elastic member 400 is connected to the bottom of the tray 200 , and the other end of the elastic member 400 is connected to the support assembly 100 .

[0050] In this embodiment, the elastic member 400 connects the tray 200 to the bracket assembly 100 to provide a pre-tightening force to prevent the tray 200 from swinging and colliding and making noise during the robot's walking. The elastic member 400 may be a tension spring, or a rubber rope, an elastic band, or other components that can provide tension pre-tightening.

[0051] In some embodiments, the weighing module 300 includes a protective cover 330 , which is buckled onto the bottom of the tray 200 to form an installation cavity with the tray 200 , and the second bracket 120 , the gravity sensor 310 , and the detection head 320 are located in the installation cavity.

[0052] In this embodiment, the protective cover 330 is used to wrap the second bracket 120 , the gravity sensor 310 , the detection head 320 and the elastic member 400 in the installation cavity to prevent dust or pollutants from contaminating the gravity sensor 310 .

[0053] In some embodiments, a limiting groove is provided on the tray 200, and the limiting groove is used to limit the position of the items.

[0054] In actual use, since the gravity sensor 310 is disposed at one end of the tray 200, the gravity of the object detected by the gravity sensor 310 is related to the center of gravity. In order to ensure that the center of gravity is at the center of the tray 200 each time, a limiting groove is disposed on the tray 200, and the object is placed in the limiting groove. For example, if the object is a cup, a plurality of limiting grooves are evenly disposed on the tray 200, and each limiting groove is used to place a cup. Alternatively, if the object is a plate, a limiting groove is disposed at the center of the tray 200, and the limiting groove is used to match the plate, and the plate is placed in the limiting groove.

[0055] The tray 200 of the present application is movably arranged on the support assembly 100 along the direction of gravity, that is, the tray 200 is not fixedly connected to the support assembly 100, which can prevent the force applied by the support assembly 100 to the tray 200 from affecting the weighing of the items after the tray 200 is fixed. The weighing module 300 is located at the bottom of the tray 200, that is, when an item is placed on the tray 200, the heavy object can apply pressure to the weighing module 300 through the tray 200, and the weighing module 300 can detect the weight of the item.

[0056] The first end 210 of the tray 200 is rotatably connected to the bracket assembly 100, and the weighing module 300 is arranged at the bottom of the second end 220. That is, each tray 200 can weigh the items by relying on only one weighing module 300, which is conducive to reducing the number of weighing modules 300, reducing the area of ​​the driving board connected to the weighing module 300, and reducing the hardware cost. At the same time, according to the principle of lever, the force detected by the weighing module 300 is half of the item, which is conducive to reducing the selection of sensors and reducing costs.

[0057] The elastic member 400 is used to connect the tray 200 to the bracket assembly 100 , and the elastic member 400 is used to provide a pre-tightening force to avoid noise caused by the swing and collision of the tray 200 when the robot is walking.

[0058] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0059] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be construed as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A delivery robot, characterized in that: The delivery robot comprises: A support assembly (100); A tray (200) is movably arranged on the support assembly (100) along the direction of gravity; A weighing module (300) is used to detect the weight of items on the tray (200); the weighing module (300) is connected to the tray (200) or the support assembly (100); and the weighing module (300) is located at the bottom of the tray (200).

2. The delivery robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tray (200) has a first end (210) and a second end (220) symmetrical about its axis, the first end (210) being rotatably connected to the support assembly (100), and the weighing module (300) being arranged at the bottom of the second end (220).

3. The delivery robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The delivery robot comprises an elastic member (400), one end of the elastic member (400) is connected to the bottom of the second end (220), and the other end of the elastic member (400) is connected to the support assembly (100).

4. The delivery robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The weighing module (300) is fixed to the bottom of the tray (200), and one end of the weighing module (300) away from the tray (200) is used to abut against the bracket assembly (100).

5. The delivery robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The weighing module (300) comprises a gravity sensor (310) and a detection head (320) arranged at the bottom of the gravity sensor (310), and the detection head (320) abuts against the bracket assembly (100).

6. The delivery robot according to claim 5, characterized in that: The support assembly (100) comprises a first support (110) arranged along a height direction and a second support (120) arranged perpendicular to the first support (110), and the detection head (320) abuts against the second support (120).

7. The delivery robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The weighing module (300) comprises a protective cover (330), wherein the protective cover (330) is buckled onto the bottom of the tray (200) to form an installation cavity with the tray (200), and the second bracket (120), the gravity sensor (310) and the detection head (320) are located in the installation cavity.

8. The delivery robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The weighing module (300) is fixed on the bracket assembly (100), and one end of the weighing module (300) away from the bracket assembly (100) abuts against the bottom of the tray (200).

9. The delivery robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are a plurality of trays (200), and the plurality of trays (200) are sequentially arranged on the support assembly (100) at intervals along a height direction, and the weighing module (300) is arranged at the bottom of at least one of the trays (200).

10. The delivery robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tray (200) is provided with a limiting groove, and the limiting groove is used to limit the position of the article.

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