Material handover system
By setting up a handover area at the bottom of the shelf, the first robot and the second robot can directly hand over the material box, eliminating the lifting mechanism, solving the problems of long time and high cost of material box transfer in the existing technology, and realizing efficient and low-cost material handover.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202422673108.9
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-11-02
- Publication Date
- 2025-09-30
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-11-02
AI Technical Summary
In the existing material handover system, the steps of transferring material boxes between ground robots and shelf robots at the buffer location are time-consuming, prone to congestion, complex to control, and costly.
A handover area is set at the bottom of the storage area of the shelf. The first robot and the second robot directly hand over the material box in the handover area. The second robot transports along the track, eliminating the lifting mechanism, with a simple structure and low cost.
The simplicity and efficiency of the material box handover process are achieved, and the complexity and cost of the system are reduced.
Smart Images
Figure CN223396793U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of material warehousing and logistics, and in particular to a material handover system. Background Art
[0002] The material handover system is mainly used in warehousing systems, and different work units cooperate with each other to achieve the handover and transfer of material boxes and materials.
[0003] In a warehousing system, a material transfer system is used to remove boxes from shelves and place them on transport vehicles, or to remove boxes carried by transport vehicles and place them on shelves. Prior art material transfer systems typically have a cache location at the bottom of the shelf. When a box is unloaded, a shelf robot first removes the box from the shelf's box storage location and places it in the cache location. A ground robot then removes the box from the cache location and transports it to the target location. When a box is restocked, a ground robot transports the box to the shelf and places it in the cache location. A shelf robot then removes the box from the cache location and places it on the shelf. The disadvantage of the above solution is that both the ground robot and the shelf robot need to complete the box transfer at the shelf's cache location. The box is transferred from the shelf robot to the cache location and then to the ground robot. The process is time-consuming and prone to congestion at the cache location. The shelf robot and the ground robot easily interfere with each other, resulting in a complex control process and low work efficiency. Furthermore, the ground robot requires a lifting device to take and place the box, which is costly. Summary of the Invention
[0004] 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 material handover system that can efficiently and stably perform material box handover.
[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present application adopts the following technical solution: a material transfer system, comprising a shelf, a first robot and a second robot, wherein the shelf is provided with a storage area for storing material boxes and a transfer area for transferring material boxes with the second robot, wherein the transfer area is located below the storage area;
[0006] The first robot is used to take out a material box from a material box storage location of the shelf and hand it over to the second robot, and to take a material box from the second robot and store it in the material box storage location of the shelf;
[0007] The second robot is used to transport the material box to the handover area and hand it over to the first robot, and to receive the material box from the first robot and transport it to the target location;
[0008] The second robot includes a track and a transport vehicle capable of moving along the track, wherein the track passes through the intersection area of the shelves.
[0009] In this technical solution, by setting up a handover area at the bottom of the storage area of the shelf, the first robot and the second robot can directly hand over the material boxes in the handover area, and the material box picking and placing operation performed by the first robot for the material box storage position of the shelf and the material box handover operation performed by the second robot are the same, and the control process of the first robot is simpler; at the same time, the second robot only needs to carry the material box and move along the track, and there is no need to set up other actuators such as lifting mechanisms. The structure is simple and the cost is low.
[0010] Preferably, the first robot includes an actuator, a column and a horizontal guide rail, the actuator is used to carry the material box, the column is slidably connected to the horizontal guide rail and can move in the horizontal direction along the horizontal guide rail, and the actuator is slidably connected to the column and can move in the vertical direction along the column.
[0011] Preferably, the execution assembly includes a pallet and a robotic arm, the pallet is used to carry the material box, and the robotic arm is used to move the material box into or out of the pallet.
[0012] Preferably, the robotic arm is configured as a telescopic arm capable of telescopic movement, the telescopic arm comprising a base plate, a connecting plate and an end plate, the base plate being fixedly connected to the support plate, and the connecting plate being slidably connected between the base plate and the end plate.
[0013] Preferably, blocking members are provided at both ends of the end plate along the telescopic movement direction, and the blocking members are rotatably connected to the end plate and can form a first connection state and a second connection state with the end plate. When the blocking member and the end plate form the first connection state, the end plate can move relative to the material box along both sides of the material box. When the blocking member and the end plate form the second connection state, the blocking member can abut against the material box, and the end plate can drive the material box to move.
[0014] Preferably, when the blocking member and the end plate form a first connection state, the blocking member is parallel to the end plate; when the blocking member and the end plate form a second connection state, the blocking member is perpendicular to the end plate.
[0015] Preferably, the horizontal guide rail is fixedly connected to the shelf.
[0016] Preferably, the robotic arm includes a first robotic arm and a second robotic arm located on both sides of the support plate, and the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the support plate.
[0017] Preferably, the transport vehicle comprises a chassis and a drive assembly, wherein the chassis is used to carry the material box, and the drive assembly drives the chassis to move on the track.
[0018] Preferably, the track is set as a circular track.
[0019] 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
[0020] The present application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:
[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the material transfer system according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0022] Figure 2 This is a front view of the material transfer system according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the first robot according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0024] Figure 4 A schematic top view of a first robot according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0025] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the second robot according to an embodiment of the present application.
[0026] Among them, 100, the first robot; 110, the execution component; 111, the pallet; 112, the robotic arm; 1121, the base plate; 1122, the connecting plate; 1123, the end plate; 113, the blocking member; 120, the column; 130, the horizontal guide rail; 200, the second robot; 210, the chassis; 211, the limit block; 220, the track; 500, the shelf; 510, the material box. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] 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.
[0028] 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.
[0029] like Figure 1 、 2 As shown, this embodiment proposes a material handover system, including a shelf 500, a first robot 100 and a second robot 200, the shelf 500 is provided with a storage area for storing a material box 510 and a handover area for handing over the material box 510 with the second robot 200, and the handover area is located below the storage area; the first robot 100 is used to take out the material box 510 from the material box 510 storage position of the shelf 500 and hand it over to the second robot 200, and to receive the material box 510 from the second robot 200 and store it in the material box 510 storage position of the shelf 500; the second robot 200 is used to transport the material box 510 to the handover area and hand it over to the first robot 100, and to receive the material box 510 from the first robot 100 and transport it to the target location; the second robot 200 includes a track 220 and a transport vehicle capable of moving along the track 220, and the track 220 passes through the handover area of the shelf 500.
[0030] In this embodiment, a handover area is set at the bottom of the storage area of the shelf 500, so that the first robot 100 and the second robot 200 can directly hand over the material box 510 in the handover area, and the action of the first robot 100 to pick up and place the material box 510 in the storage position of the material box 510 on the shelf 500 is consistent with the action of handing over the material box 510 to the second robot 200, so that the control process of the first robot 100 is simpler; at the same time, the second robot 200 only needs to carry the material box 510 and move along the track 220, and there is no need to set up other actuators such as a lifting mechanism, so the structure is simple and the cost is low.
[0031] Specifically, such as Figure 3 As shown, the first robot 100 includes an actuator 110, a column 120, and a horizontal guide rail 130. The actuator 110 is used to carry the material box 510. The column 120 is slidably connected to the horizontal guide rail 130 and can move horizontally along the horizontal guide rail 130. The actuator 110 is slidably connected to the column 120 and can move vertically along the column 120. Through the cooperation of the actuator 110, the column 120, and the horizontal guide rail 130, the actuator 110 can move in both the horizontal and vertical directions, and further, can move in a plane parallel to the pick-and-place plane of the shelf 500, so as to store and retrieve the material box 510 from any storage location in the storage of the shelf 500 and the second robot 200 in the handover area.
[0032] Specifically, such as Figure 3 、 4As shown, the execution component 110 includes a pallet 111 and a robotic arm 112. The pallet 111 is used to carry a material box 510, and the robotic arm 112 is used to move the material box 510 into or out of the pallet 111. This includes controlling the robotic arm 112 to move a material box 510 from a storage location of a material box 510 on a shelf 500 onto the pallet 111, and to move a material box 510 on the pallet 111 to a storage location of a material box 510 on a shelf 500; and also includes controlling the robotic arm 112 to move a material box 510 carried by a second robot 200 onto the pallet 111, and to move a material box 510 carried on the pallet 111 onto the second robot 200.
[0033] Specifically, such as Figure 3 、 4 As shown, the robotic arm 112 is configured as a telescopic arm capable of telescopic movement, and the telescopic arm includes a base plate 1121, a connecting plate 1122, and an end plate 1123. The base plate 1121 is fixedly connected to the support plate 111, and the connecting plate 1122 is slidably connected between the base plate 1121 and the end plate 1123. By providing the connecting plate 1122 slidably connected between the base plate 1121 and the end plate 1123, the robotic arm 112 is capable of telescopic movement. In other embodiments, the robotic arm 112 may also be composed of a plurality of nested tubular or rod-shaped components, each of which can slide relative to the other components with which it is nested to achieve telescopic movement of the robotic arm 112.
[0034] Specifically, such as Figure 3 、 4As shown, the end plate 1123 is provided with blocking members 113 at both ends along the telescopic movement direction. The blocking members 113 are rotatably connected to the end plate 1123 and can form a first connection state and a second connection state with the end plate 1123. When the blocking members 113 and the end plate 1123 are in the first connection state, the end plate 1123 can move relative to the material box 510 along both sides of the material box 510. When the blocking members 113 and the end plate 1123 are in the second connection state, the blocking members 113 can abut against the material box 510, and the end plate 1123 can drive the material box 510 to move. When the blocking members 113 and the end plate 1123 are in the first connection state, the blocking members 113 are parallel to the end plate 1123. When the blocking members 113 and the end plate 1123 are in the second connection state, the blocking members 113 and the end plate 1123 are perpendicular to the end plate 1123. The process of the actuator taking the material box 510 includes: controlling the blocking member 113 to form a first connection state with the end plate 1123, and then aligning the actuator with the material box 510. The alignment of the material box 510 and the actuator means that the center lines of the two are in the same vertical plane, and then controlling the robot arm 112 to extend into the shelf 500 along both sides of the material box 510, and making the blocking member 113 on the front side of the end plate 1123 pass through the plane where the material box 510 is located (such as Figure 4 The actuator moves the material box 510 from the pallet 111 to the shelf 500 or the second robot 200 by controlling the blocking member 113 to rotate so that the blocking member 113 and the end plate 1123 form a second connection state, and then controlling the robot arm 112 to retract so that the material box 510 follows the end plate 1123 of the robot arm 112 and moves to the pallet 111. The process of the actuator moving the material box 510 from the pallet 111 to the shelf 500 or the second robot 200 includes: controlling the blocking member 113 to rotate so that the blocking member 113 and the end plate 1123 form a second connection state, controlling the robot arm 112 to drive the material box 510 to move out of the pallet 111 and carry it on the material box 510 storage position of the shelf 500 or on the second robot 200, and then controlling the blocking member 113 to rotate so that the blocking member 113 and the end plate 1123 form a first connection state, and then controlling the end plate 1123 of the robot arm 112 to retract along both sides of the material box 510 onto the pallet 111.
[0035] In this embodiment, the horizontal guide rail 130 is fixedly connected to the shelf 500 , and the robotic arm 112 includes a first robotic arm 112 and a second robotic arm 112 located on both sides of the pallet 111 , and the first robotic arm 112 and the second robotic arm 112 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the pallet 111 .
[0036] In this embodiment, if Figure 5As shown, the transport vehicle includes a chassis 210 and a drive assembly. The chassis 210 is used to carry the container 510. The drive assembly drives the chassis 210 to move on a track 220. The track 220 is configured as a circular track 220. The chassis 210 is disposed on the track 220 and is capable of moving along the track 220. The track 220 passes through the bottom of the shelf 500. When the mobile chassis 210 moves along the track 220 to the bottom of the shelf 500, the first robot 100 can dock with the chassis 210 and complete the transfer of containers 510-510.
[0037] In this embodiment, both the first robot 100 and the second robot 200 are provided with sensors for detecting the position of the material box 510. The material box 510 is positioned by the sensors so that the material box 510 is always in the correct position during the docking process between the first robot 100 and the second robot 200.
[0038] To sum up, the first robot 100 and the second robot 200 of the material handover system of this embodiment complete docking in the handover area at the bottom of the shelf 500 and carry out the handover of the material box 510. The handover process is simple and fast, with high work efficiency. In addition, the first robot 100 and the second robot 200 have a simple structure, are easy to control, and have low cost.
[0039] 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 material handover system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a shelf (500), a first robot (100) and a second robot (200), wherein the shelf (500) is provided with a storage area for storing a material box (510) and a handover area for handing over the material box (510) to the second robot (200), and the handover area is located below the storage area; The first robot (100) is used to take out a material box (510) from a material box (510) storage position of the shelf (500) and hand it over to the second robot (200), and to receive a material box (510) from the second robot (200) and store it in a material box (510) storage position of the shelf (500); The second robot (200) is used to transport the material box (510) to the handover area and hand it over to the first robot (100), and to receive the material box (510) from the first robot (100) and transport it to a target location; The second robot (200) includes a track (220) and a transport vehicle capable of moving along the track (220), and the track (220) passes through the intersection area of the shelf (500).
2. The material transfer system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first robot (100) includes an actuator (110), a column (120) and a horizontal guide rail (130), wherein the actuator (110) is used to carry a material box (510), the column (120) is slidably connected to the horizontal guide rail (130) and can move in a horizontal direction along the horizontal guide rail (130), and the actuator (110) is slidably connected to the column (120) and can move in a vertical direction along the column (120).
3. The material transfer system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The execution component (110) includes a pallet (111) and a robotic arm (112), wherein the pallet (111) is used to carry a material box (510), and the robotic arm (112) is used to move the material box (510) into or out of the pallet (111).
4. The material transfer system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The mechanical arm (112) is configured as a telescopic arm capable of telescopic movement, the telescopic arm comprising a base plate (1121), a connecting plate (1122) and an end plate (1123), the base plate (1121) being fixedly connected to the supporting plate (111), and the connecting plate (1122) being slidably connected between the base plate (1121) and the end plate (1123).
5. The material transfer system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The end plate (1123) is provided with blocking members (113) at both ends along the telescopic movement direction. The blocking member (113) is rotatably connected to the end plate (1123) and can form a first connection state and a second connection state with the end plate (1123). When the blocking member (113) and the end plate (1123) form the first connection state, the end plate (1123) can move relative to the material box (510) along both sides of the material box (510). When the blocking member (113) and the end plate (1123) form the second connection state, the blocking member (113) can abut against the material box (510), and the end plate (1123) can drive the material box (510) to move.
6. The material transfer system according to claim 5, characterized in that: When the blocking member (113) and the end plate (1123) form a first connection state, the blocking member (113) and the end plate (1123) are parallel to each other; when the blocking member (113) and the end plate (1123) form a second connection state, the blocking member (113) and the end plate (1123) are perpendicular to each other.
7. The material transfer system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The horizontal guide rail (130) is fixedly connected to the shelf (500).
8. The material transfer system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The mechanical arm (112) comprises a first mechanical arm (112) and a second mechanical arm (112) located on both sides of the support plate (111), wherein the first mechanical arm (112) and the second mechanical arm (112) are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the support plate (111).
9. The material transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The transport vehicle comprises a chassis (210) and a drive assembly, wherein the chassis (210) is used to carry a material box (510), and the drive assembly drives the chassis (210) to move on a track (220).
10. The material transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The track (220) is configured as a circular track (220).