Goods shelf robot and warehousing system

Abstract

The utility model discloses a goods shelf robot which comprises an executing mechanism and further comprises a sorting mechanism, the executing mechanism comprises a goods taking assembly and a sorting position, the goods taking assembly is used for taking out material boxes from goods shelves and storing the material boxes into the goods shelves, and the sorting position is used for placing order material boxes. The sorting mechanism is fixedly connected to the executing mechanism and used for sorting the target materials in the material boxes on the goods taking assembly into the order material boxes of the sorting positions. In addition, the utility model further discloses a warehousing system, the picking mechanism and the picking position are arranged on the executing mechanism of the goods shelf robot, so that the goods shelf robot can complete material picking operation on a goods shelf, the number of transportation steps of material boxes is reduced, and working efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of warehouse robots, and in particular to a shelf robot and a warehouse system. Background Art

[0002] In a warehousing system, the material outbound process usually includes the following steps: first, the shelf robot takes out the material box containing the target material from the storage position of the shelf; the shelf robot then hands over the material box containing the target material to the ground robot; the ground robot transports the material box to the picking station; the picking robot or staff then picks the target material from the material box into the order material box, and then the ground robot transports the picked material box back to the shelf and hands it over to the shelf robot, and finally the shelf robot puts the material box back to the original storage position of the shelf; the picking robot at the picking station hands over the order material box to the ground robot after the order material box is full or an order task is completed, and the ground robot then ships the order material box out of the warehouse. The shortcomings of the above technical solution are: it is necessary to set up an independent picking station and the material box needs to be transported back and forth between the shelf and the picking station by the ground robot. The transportation pressure of the ground robot is high, the outbound process is cumbersome, and the work efficiency is low. Utility Model Content

[0003] The present application aims to solve one of the technical problems in the related art to a certain extent. To this end, the present application provides a shelf robot and a warehousing system that can directly pick materials from material boxes on the shelf, shorten the transportation distance of the material boxes, and improve work efficiency.

[0004] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present application adopts the following technical solution: a shelf robot, comprising an actuator, wherein the actuator comprises a picking component and a picking position, wherein the picking component is used to take out material boxes from the shelf and store the material boxes into the shelf, and the picking position is used to place order material boxes;

[0005] The shelf robot also includes a picking mechanism, which is fixedly connected to the actuator and is used to pick the target material in the material box on the picking component to the order material box at the picking position.

[0006] In this technical solution, a picking mechanism fixedly connected to the shelf robot is provided to realize picking of target materials in the material box on the shelf robot. The shelf robot is connected to the picking mechanism, which shortens the transportation distance of the material box during the picking work and improves work efficiency.

[0007] Preferably, the actuator further comprises a transfer assembly, which is capable of driving the order bin to move to the picking location and also capable of driving the order bin to move out of the picking location. The transfer assembly is used to transport the order bin and deliver it to the picking location before the picking mechanism begins picking, so that the picking mechanism can place the picked target material into the order bin.

[0008] Preferably, the handover assembly includes a clamping mechanism and a driving device, the driving device can drive the clamping mechanism to move in the vertical direction, the clamping mechanism includes a first clamping arm and a second clamping arm that can clamp on both sides of the order material box, the first clamping arm and the second clamping arm can move relative to each other so that the relative position therebetween forms a first state and a second state, when the first clamping arm and the second clamping arm form the first state, the order material box can be clamped between the first clamping arm and the second clamping arm and moved in the vertical direction under the drive of the driving device, when the first clamping arm and the second clamping arm form the second state, the first clamping arm and the second clamping arm can be detached from the order material box from both sides in the vertical direction. The handover assembly and the ground robot are docked for the order material box through the clamping mechanism and the driving device.

[0009] Preferably, the handover assembly includes a first pallet for supporting the order box, the first pallet being provided with a comb-tooth portion, the comb-tooth portion comprising a plurality of spaced comb-tooth plates, the outer bottom surface of the order box being provided with a plurality of spaced grooves, the comb-tooth plates being located within the grooves when the first pallet supports the order box. By providing the handover assembly with the first pallet having the comb-tooth portion, the handover assembly can directly dock the order box with the ground robot.

[0010] Preferably, the picking mechanism is located above the picking position and includes a picking robot arm and a vision module. The vision module is used to identify target materials in the material box, and the picking robot arm is used to grab the target materials from the material box and place them in the order material box located at the picking position. The target materials in the material box are picked by the cooperation of the picking robot arm and the vision module.

[0011] Preferably, the picking assembly includes a hook-pull picking assembly, which can extend into the material box storage position of the shelf and pull the material box out of the material box storage position. By setting the picking assembly as a hook-pull picking assembly, the picking assembly can extend into the material box storage position of the shelf to quickly take out the material box.

[0012] Preferably, the pickup assembly further comprises a second pallet for carrying a material box, and the hook-pull pickup assembly is further configured to place the material box on the second pallet into a material box storage location on the shelf. A pallet for carrying the material box is provided at the bottom of the hook-pull pickup assembly, and the pickup assembly only needs to hook the material box onto the second pallet and push the material box on the second pallet into a material box storage location on the shelf.

[0013] Preferably, the picking position can accommodate several order boxes at the same time, and the picking component is also used to place the material boxes into the picking position.

[0014] Preferably, the shelf robot further comprises a column and a guide rail, the actuator is slidably connected to the column and can move along the column in a vertical direction, and the column is slidably connected to the guide rail and can move along the guide rail in a horizontal direction.

[0015] In addition, this application also proposes a warehousing system comprising a shelving robot and a shelving. The shelving robot is configured as any of the above technical solutions, and the shelving includes a plurality of storage locations for storing the material boxes. The reasoning process for the beneficial effects of the warehousing system and the shelving robot provided in this application is similar and will not be repeated here.

[0016] These features and advantages of this application will be disclosed in detail in the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. The best embodiments or means of this application will be fully illustrated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but this does not limit the technical solutions of this application. Furthermore, although there may be multiple features, elements, and components in each of the following text and accompanying drawings, different symbols or numbers may be used for convenience, but all represent components with the same or similar structure or function. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The present application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a shelf robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of another shelf robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the bottom structure of the order box according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a handover component according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the handover preparation state between the warehousing system and the ground robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Description of reference numerals:

[0024] Among them, 110, actuator; 112, picking component; 114, column; 115, guide rail; 116, second pallet; 120, handover component; 121, first pallet; 122, comb plate; 123, first clamping arm; 124, second clamping arm; 200, picking mechanism; 310, material box; 320, order material box; 321, groove; 400, ground robot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described in the embodiments are intended to be used to explain the present application and are not to be construed as limiting the present application.

[0026] References in this specification to "one embodiment," "an example," or "an example" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment itself can be included in at least one embodiment disclosed herein. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0027] like Figure 1-2 As shown, a shelf robot includes an actuator 110, which includes a picking component 112 and a picking position. The picking component 112 is used to remove material boxes 310 from the shelf and store the material boxes 310 on the shelf. The picking position is used to place order material boxes 320. The shelf robot also includes a picking mechanism 200, which is fixedly connected to the actuator 110 and is used to pick target materials from the material boxes 310 on the picking component 112 into the order material boxes 320 at the picking position. In some embodiments, the picking mechanism 200 is fixedly connected to the actuator 110 via a connecting member and moves synchronously with the picking component 112 and the picking position on the shelf, so that the picking mechanism 200 can pick target materials while the actuator 110 moves on the shelf. In other embodiments, the picking mechanism 200 can also be fixedly connected to the shelf. When the material box 310 and the order box 320 are both located on the execution mechanism 110, the execution mechanism 110 carries the material box 310 and the order box 320 to the picking range of the picking mechanism 200, so that the picking mechanism 200 can pick the target material in the material box 310 into the order box 320.

[0028] The shelf robot of this embodiment is installed on a shelf. The shelf robot's actuator 110 can move within the shelf and, through a picking component 112, pick and place a material box 310 from a storage location on the shelf. The picking component 112 removes the material box 310 containing the target material from the storage location on the shelf. The picking mechanism 200 then picks the target material from the material box 310 into an order box 320 at the picking location. The shelf robot of this embodiment can complete the picking of the target material from the material box 310, reducing the number of transportation steps for the material box 310 and improving work efficiency.

[0029] Specifically, the actuator 110 further includes a handover assembly 120, which can drive the order bin 320 to move to the picking position and can drive the order bin 320 to move out of the picking position. The handover assembly 120 is used to carry the order bin 320, and transport the order bin 320 to the picking position before the picking action of the picking mechanism 200 begins, so that the picking mechanism 200 can put the picked target materials into the order bin 320. The picking position is a relative spatial position determined by the spatial position and the operating range of the actuator 110 and the picking mechanism 200, that is, the position of the picking position is determined by the position of the actuator 110 and the picking mechanism 200. Since the actuator 110 and the picking mechanism 200 are fixedly connected and can move within the shelf range, the picking position also moves accordingly following the actuator 110. In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown in FIG2 , the picking position is located below the picking mechanism 200 and within the operating range of the picking mechanism 200 .

[0030] like Figure 1As shown, the handover assembly 120 includes a clamping mechanism and a driving device, and the driving device can drive the clamping mechanism to move in the vertical direction. The clamping mechanism includes a first clamping arm 123 and a second clamping arm 124 that can clamp on both sides of the order material box 320. The first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 can move relative to each other so that the relative positions therebetween form a first state and a second state. When the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 form the first state, the order material box 320 can be clamped between the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 and moved in the vertical direction under the drive of the driving device. When the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 form the second state, the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 can be detached from the order material box 320 from both sides of the material box in the vertical direction. The handover assembly 120 is used to hand over the order container 320 with the ground robot 400 or other external equipment, including removing the order container 320 from the ground robot 400 and transporting it to the picking position, and transporting the order container 320 in the picking position to the ground robot 400. During the process of the clamping mechanism removing the order container 320 from the ground robot 400, the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 enter the second state. Driven by the driving device, the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 move vertically to the two sides of the order container 320. Then, driven by the driving device, the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 move toward each other and enter the first state, clamping the order container 320 between them. Finally, the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 carry the order container 320 and move vertically under the drive of the driving device and enter the picking position. During the process of the clamping mechanism handing over the order material box 320 from the picking position to the ground robot 400, initially, a first state is formed between the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 and the order material box 320 is clamped in the picking position; the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 are driven by the driving device to move the order material box 320 out of the picking position and transport it to the ground robot 400 in the vertical direction; the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 move to both sides and form a second state to make the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 detach from the two side walls of the order material box 320, and then, the first clamping arm 123 and the second clamping arm 124 are driven by the driving device to detach from the order material box 320 in the vertical direction, thus completing the placement of the order material box 320 on the ground robot 400, and then the ground robot 400 takes the order material box 320 out of the warehouse. In addition, in this embodiment, the clamping mechanism is also used to carry the order box 320 after the order box 320 enters the picking position. In other embodiments, the order box 320 can also be carried by setting a supporting mechanism on the actuator 110, and the clamping mechanism can place the order box 320 on the supporting mechanism.

[0031] like Figure 2-4 As shown, as another implementation, the handover assembly 120 includes a first support plate 121 for supporting the order container 320. The support plate is provided with a comb-tooth portion, which includes a plurality of comb-tooth plates 122 spaced apart. The outer bottom surface of the order container 320 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart grooves 321. When the first support plate 121 supports the order container 320, the comb-tooth plates 122 are located within the grooves 321. By providing the handover assembly 120 with the first support plate 121 with the comb-tooth portion, the handover assembly 120 can directly dock the order container 320 with the ground robot 400. The height of the first support plate 121 and the comb-tooth plates 122 is less than the depth of the grooves 321, so that the handover assembly 120 can be separated from between the order container 320 and the ground robot 400 after the order container 320 is placed on the bottom plate of the ground robot 400.

[0032] When in use, after the shelf robot starts working, first, the handover component 120 receives the order material box 320 from the external device and transports it to the picking position, then obtains the outbound task list and controls the shelf robot's actuator 110 to move to the storage position of the target material box on the shelf (the material box 310 storing the task target material) according to the task list, controls the picking component 112 to take out the first material box 310 corresponding to the task list from the shelf, and then controls the picking mechanism 200 to pick the material box 310 on the picking component 112. The target materials in the material box 310 are taken out one by one and placed in the order material box 320. After all the target materials in the current material box 310 are picked, the picking component 112 puts the material box 310 back into the raw material box storage position of the shelf. The shelf robot completes the picking work of each material box 310 in turn according to the outbound task list until all the target materials in the outbound task list are picked into the order material box 320. The handover component 120 then hands over the order material box 320 to the ground robot 400 and the ground robot 400 transports it out of the warehouse.

[0033] In this embodiment, the picking mechanism 200 is located above the picking position and includes a picking robot arm and a vision module. The vision module is used to identify the target material in the material box 310. The picking robot arm is used to grab the target material from the material box 310 and place it in the order material box 320 located at the picking position. The picking robot arm includes a fixed end and a free end. The fixed end is fixedly connected to the actuator 110 or the shelf, and the free end is capable of moving and grabbing the target material. The picking of the target material in the material box 310 is achieved through the cooperation of the picking robot arm and the vision module.

[0034] In this embodiment, the picking assembly 112 includes a hook-and-pull picking assembly that can extend into a bin storage location on a shelf to pull a material box 310 out of the bin storage location. The picking assembly 112 also includes a second pallet 116 for carrying the material box 310. The hook-and-pull picking assembly is further configured to place the material box 310 on the second pallet 116 into a bin storage location on the shelf. The hook-and-pull picking assembly can move the material box 310 onto the second pallet 116 and remove the material box 310 from the second pallet 116. In other embodiments, the hook-and-pull picking assembly applies force to the sides or bottom of the material box 310 to lift the material box 310, and then controls the telescopic movement of the picking assembly 112 to remove the material box 310 from the shelf or place the material box 310 into the shelf. Providing the second pallet 116 on the picking assembly 112 allows for a more stable carrying of the material box 310. In addition, the picking component 112 can also carry the material box 310 in a clamping or supporting manner.

[0035] In this embodiment, the handover component 120 is used to transport the empty order box 320 from the ground robot 400 to the picking position of the actuator 110, or to transport the order box 320 that has completed the picking task or is full at the picking position to the ground robot 400. The ground robot 400 can be set as an automated guided vehicle (AGV).

[0036] Specifically, the picking position can simultaneously accommodate several order bins 320, and the pickup component 112 is further configured to place a bin 310 into the picking position. Depending on the volume and usage requirements of the target material, the picking position can accommodate one or more order bins 320. Furthermore, for full-case outbound delivery tasks, the pickup component 112 can directly place a bin 310 taken from a shelf onto the picking position, and the delivery component 120 then delivers the bin 310 to the ground robot 400. In other embodiments, the pickup component 112 can directly dock with the ground robot 400, meaning that the pickup component 112 can deliver the bin 310 to the ground robot 400.

[0037] In this embodiment, the shelf robot further includes a column 114 and a guide rail 115. The actuator 110 is slidably connected to the column 114 and can move vertically along the column 114. The column 114 is slidably connected to the guide rail 115 and can move horizontally along the guide rail 115. The actuator 110 of the shelf robot is moved in the vertical direction of the shelf by sliding with the column 114, and is moved in the horizontal direction of the shelf by sliding with the column 114 and the guide rail 115. Therefore, the actuator 110 of the shelf robot is able to move within the vertical plane of the shelf, and can then perform the picking and placing operation of the material box 310 in the shelf through the first picking component 112 and the second picking component 112.

[0038] like Figure 5 As shown, this embodiment further proposes a warehousing system, including a shelf robot and a shelf. The shelf robot is configured as a shelf robot as described in any one of the above technical solutions, and the shelf includes a plurality of storage locations for storing the material box 310.

[0039] This embodiment further proposes a material picking method for a controller, wherein the controller is used to control the operation of the shelf robot described in the above embodiment, including:

[0040] Get the outbound task list;

[0041] Obtain the storage location of the target materials to be shipped on the shelf one by one according to the shipping task list;

[0042] Controlling the actuator 110 of the shelf robot to move to the storage location of the target material, including obtaining the storage locations of all N material boxes 310 of the target material to be shipped out, setting a pointer i, initially set i = 1, and after the shelf robot completes the picking operation of the material box 310, incrementing the pointer i by 1 and performing the pick-and-place and picking operation on the next material box 310;

[0043] Control the actuator 110 of the shelf robot to move to the storage location of the i-th target material, and the picking component 112 takes the material box 310 out of the shelf;

[0044] Control the picking mechanism 200 to pick the target material from the material box 310 on the picking component 112 to the order material box 320 on the picking position, and the picking component 112 puts the picked material box 310 back to the material box storage position on the shelf;

[0045] Let the pointer i = i + 1, and determine whether i is equal to N, that is, whether all the material boxes 310 of the target materials to be shipped out have been picked. If so, end the picking and control the handover component 120 to move the order material box 320 from the picking position and place it on the ground robot 400. If not, continue to control the shelf robot's actuator to move to the storage location of the next target material, and continue to pick and place the material box 310 until all the target materials in the shipping task list are picked.

[0046] In summary, the aforementioned embodiment of the shelf robot, with its actuator 110, includes a picking mechanism 200 and a picking position, enabling the shelf robot to complete material picking operations on the shelf, reducing the number of steps required to transport the material bins 310 and improving work efficiency. By controlling the pickup component 112 to retrieve and place the material bins 310, and controlling the handover component 120 to communicate with the ground robot 400 to complete the handover of the order bins 320, the shelf robot can directly interface with the ground robot 400, further improving work efficiency.

[0047] The above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present application 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 application are included within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A shelf robot, comprising an actuator (110), characterized in that: The actuator (110) includes a picking component (112) and a picking position, wherein the picking component (112) is used to take out a material box (310) from a shelf and store the material box (310) in the shelf, and the picking position is used to place an order material box (320); The shelf robot further comprises a picking mechanism (200), wherein the picking mechanism (200) is fixedly connected to the actuator (110), and the picking mechanism (200) is used to pick target materials from a material box (310) on a picking component (112) to an order material box (320) at a picking position.

2. The shelf robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The execution mechanism (110) further includes a handover assembly (120), which is capable of driving the order box (320) to move to the picking position and is capable of driving the order box (320) to move out of the picking position.

3. The shelf robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The handover assembly (120) includes a clamping mechanism and a driving device, the driving device can drive the clamping mechanism to move in the vertical direction, the clamping mechanism includes a first clamping arm (123) and a second clamping arm (124) that can clamp on both sides of the order material box (320), the first clamping arm (123) and the second clamping arm (124) can move relative to each other so that the relative position between the two forms a first state and a second state, when the first clamping arm (123) and the second clamping arm (124) form the first state, the order material box (320) can be clamped between the first clamping arm (123) and the second clamping arm (124) and moved in the vertical direction under the drive of the driving device, when the first clamping arm (123) and the second clamping arm (124) form the second state, the first clamping arm (123) and the second clamping arm (124) can be detached from the order material box (320) from both sides of the material box in the vertical direction.

4. The shelf robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The handover assembly (120) includes a first support plate (121) for supporting the order material box (320), the first support plate (121) is provided with a comb tooth portion, the comb tooth portion includes a plurality of comb tooth plates (122) arranged at intervals, and a plurality of grooves (321) arranged at intervals are provided on the outer bottom surface of the order material box (320). When the first support plate (121) supports the order material box (320), the comb tooth plates (122) are located in the grooves (321).

5. The shelf robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The picking mechanism (200) is located above the picking position, and comprises a picking robot arm and a vision module, wherein the vision module is used to identify target materials in a material box (310), and the picking robot arm is used to grab the target materials from the material box (310) and place them into an order material box (320) located on the picking position.

6. The shelf robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The picking component (112) includes a hook-pull picking component, which can extend into the material box storage position of the shelf and pull the material box (310) out of the material box storage position of the shelf.

7. The shelf robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The picking component (112) also includes a second pallet (116), which is used to carry a material box (310). The hook-pull picking component is also used to place the material box (310) on the second pallet (116) into a material box storage position on the shelf.

8. The shelf robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The picking position can accommodate several order boxes (320) at the same time, and the picking component (112) is also used to place the material box (310) into the picking position.

9. The shelf robot according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The shelf robot further comprises a column (114) and a guide rail (115); the actuator (110) is slidably connected to the column (114) and can move in a vertical direction along the column (114); and the column (114) is slidably connected to the guide rail (115) and can move in a horizontal direction along the guide rail (115).

10. A warehousing system comprising a shelf robot and a shelf, characterized in that: The shelf robot is configured as a shelf robot as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, and the shelf includes a plurality of storage locations for storing the material boxes (310).

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