Sorting system

Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model provides a sorting system. The sorting system comprises a plurality of sorting devices, a box changing robot and a material box conveying device. The at least two sorting devices are arranged in parallel at intervals, and a box changing robot channel is formed between the two parallel and adjacent sorting devices; the at least two sorting devices are provided with storage areas and connection areas used for being in butt joint with the material box conveying devices. The box changing robot is hung on any sorting device on the two sides of the box changing robot channel, can run along the box changing robot channel and is used for carrying empty material boxes in the connection area of the two sorting devices to the storage area or carrying full material boxes in the storage area to the connection area for the two sorting devices on the two sides of the box changing robot channel. The utilization rate of the box changing robot is increased, the cost of the sorting system is reduced, automatic changing of the material boxes of the sorting system is achieved, and the sorting efficiency and the sorting accuracy are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of logistics and warehousing technology, and in particular to a sorting system. Background Technology

[0002] With the continuous improvement of intelligent logistics and warehousing technology, packaging and handling processes can be completed by intelligent robots. However, sorting processes still require human intervention. For example, in the sorting process, workers need to take the full boxes from the sorting equipment shelves to the next stage, and also need to replenish the empty boxes in the empty spaces, which reduces sorting efficiency.

[0003] Currently, related technologies mainly focus on researching sorting equipment to improve sorting efficiency. However, after the sorting equipment has filled the boxes with goods to be sorted, manual replacement of the boxes is usually required, which limits sorting efficiency. Furthermore, the height of the sorting equipment shelves is limited by the height of the workers, resulting in low space utilization. In addition, to improve sorting efficiency, a sorting system can be equipped with multiple sorting machines. If one robot is used to replace the boxes on one machine, it will lead to low robot utilization and high sorting system costs. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a sorting system that enables automatic bin replacement, thereby improving sorting efficiency and space utilization. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0005] This application provides a sorting system, including: at least two sorting devices, a carton-changing robot, and a carton transport device; the at least two sorting devices are arranged side by side with intervals, and a carton-changing robot channel is formed between two adjacent sorting devices; each sorting device is capable of sorting received goods into various cartons; the at least two sorting devices are provided with a storage area for storing cartons and a docking area for docking with the carton transport device; the carton transport device is used to transport empty cartons to the docking area of ​​the sorting device, or to transport full cartons located in the docking area of ​​the sorting device to the outside of the sorting device; the carton-changing robot is attached to either sorting device on both sides of the carton-changing robot channel, and is capable of traveling along the carton-changing robot channel, for transporting empty cartons in the docking area of ​​the two sorting devices on both sides of the carton-changing robot channel to the storage area of ​​the sorting device, or transporting full cartons in the storage area of ​​the storage area of ​​the two sorting devices to the docking area of ​​the sorting device.

[0006] In some embodiments of this application, the sorting equipment includes: a picking mechanism and shelves; the shelves are arranged in two rows, the storage area is located on the shelves, and multiple storage layers are arranged at intervals along the vertical direction; the picking mechanism is arranged between the two rows of shelves and is used to receive goods to be sorted and transport the goods to be sorted to each bin of the shelves; the box-changing robot is hung on the side of the shelf of any sorting equipment on both sides of the box-changing robot channel away from the picking mechanism, and is used to transport empty bins in the receiving area to the storage layer of the shelf, or transport full bins in the storage layer of the shelf to the receiving area for the two shelves on both sides of the box-changing robot channel.

[0007] In some embodiments of this application, if only one of the two shelves of each sorting device is adjacent to the carton-changing robot aisle, then at least one of the carton-changing robots is hung on the other shelf on the side away from the picking mechanism.

[0008] In some embodiments of this application, the docking area is located below the bottom storage layer of the shelf and is provided with a docking layer for temporarily storing full or empty boxes; the box transport equipment is a transfer robot; the transfer robot is used to move empty boxes to the docking layer or move full boxes from the docking layer to the outside of the sorting equipment; the box-changing robot is used to move full boxes from the storage layer of the shelf to the docking layer or move empty boxes from the docking layer of the shelf to the storage layer.

[0009] In some embodiments of this application, a material bin transfer station is also included; the transfer robot is used to move between the shelf and the material bin transfer station to transport empty material bins from the material bin transfer station to the docking layer of the shelf, or to transport full material bins from the docking layer to the material bin transfer station.

[0010] In some embodiments of this application, the material box transfer station includes: a first full material box conveyor line and a first empty material box conveyor line; the transfer robot is used to transport empty material boxes on the first empty material box conveyor line to the docking layer of the shelf, or to transport full material boxes on the docking layer to the first full material box conveyor line.

[0011] In some embodiments of this application, a transfer robot channel is further provided from the material bin transfer station to the sorting equipment; the transfer robot channel extends from the material bin transfer station to the sorting equipment; the transfer robot is used to move along the transfer robot channel to transport empty material bins from the material bin transfer station to the shelf of the sorting equipment, or to transport full material bins from the shelf of the sorting equipment to the material bin transfer station.

[0012] In some embodiments of this application, the transfer robot channel includes: a first channel, a second channel, and a third channel; the first channel extends from the bin transfer station to the sorting equipment, and partially overlaps with the bin-changing robot channel; the second channel and the third channel extend from the first channel, wherein the second channel is located in the docking area, and the third channel is located on the side of the sorting equipment away from the bin-changing robot channel, and both the second channel and the third channel are parallel to the bin-changing robot channel; the transfer robot is used to move along the first channel or the third channel to a position corresponding to a target position on the docking layer, then move to the second channel at the bottom of the docking layer, dock with the docking layer to pick up and place bins, then move to the first channel or the third channel, and proceed to the bin transfer station.

[0013] In some embodiments of this application, the docking layer is divided into multiple docking compartments; each docking compartment is used to temporarily store a full or empty material box; the bottom of the docking compartment is provided with a through groove so that the transfer robot can pick up and place the material box on the docking compartment based on the through groove.

[0014] In some embodiments of this application, the transfer robot includes a walking mechanism and a lifting mechanism; the lifting mechanism is disposed on top of the walking mechanism; the transfer robot is used such that, after the walking mechanism drives the lifting mechanism to move along the box-changing robot channel to a position corresponding to the docking compartment, it moves to the bottom of the docking compartment, and the lifting mechanism passes through the through slot in a vertical direction to lift or place the box.

[0015] In some embodiments of this application, the sorting system further includes: an auxiliary connecting shelf or an auxiliary transmission line; the auxiliary connecting shelf or auxiliary transmission line is disposed on the side of the sorting equipment away from the carton-changing robot channel, for temporarily storing full and empty cartons; the auxiliary connecting shelf or auxiliary transmission line can dock with the carton-changing robot on the shelf of the sorting equipment away from the carton-changing robot channel, so that the carton-changing robot can pick up and put away cartons.

[0016] In some embodiments of this application, the connecting area is located on the outer side of one end of the shelf along its length; the bin transport equipment is a first bin conveyor line; the bin conveyor lines are arranged in two rows; a portion of each row of the first bin conveyor line is located in the connecting area; the bin-changing robot is used to travel along the bin-changing robot channel to move between the shelf and the connecting area. For the two shelves on both sides of the bin-changing robot channel, the bin-changing robot transports empty bins on the first bin conveyor line in the connecting area to the storage layer of the shelf, or transports full bins on the storage layer of the shelf to the first bin conveyor line in the connecting area.

[0017] In some embodiments of this application, the portion of the first material box conveyor line located in the docking area is provided with one or more spaced docking positions, and the portion of the first material box conveyor line other than the docking positions is a conveying section; the docking position is used to dock with the box-changing robot, receive full boxes transported by the box-changing robot and transmit them to the conveying section, or receive empty boxes transmitted by the conveying section for the box-changing robot to pick up; the conveying section is used to convey empty boxes to the docking position, or receive full boxes conveyed by the docking position and convey them in a direction away from the shelf.

[0018] In some embodiments of this application, each row of the first material box conveyor line includes: a second full material box conveyor line and a second empty material box conveyor line arranged at intervals in the vertical direction; the box-changing robot is used to travel along the box-changing robot channel to move between the shelf and the docking area. For the two shelves on both sides of the box-changing robot channel, the box-changing robot transports the empty material boxes on the second empty material box conveyor line located in the docking area to the storage layer of the shelf, or transports the full material boxes on the storage layer of the shelf to the second full material box conveyor line located in the docking area.

[0019] In some embodiments of this application, the connecting area is located below the lowest storage layer of the shelf; the bin transport equipment is a second bin conveyor line; the second bin conveyor line is arranged in two rows; each row of the second bin conveyor line is located at one end of the length direction of the shelf and extends to the connecting area; the bin-changing robot is used to travel along the bin-changing robot channel, and for the two shelves on both sides of the bin-changing robot channel, to transport empty bins on the second bin conveyor line located in the connecting area to the storage layer of the shelf, or to transport full bins on the storage layer of the shelf to the second bin conveyor line located in the connecting area.

[0020] In some embodiments of this application, the shelf is provided with multiple horizontal tracks spaced apart in the vertical direction on the side near the carton-changing robot channel; the carton-changing robot is installed on the outside of the shelf based on the horizontal tracks; the carton-changing robot includes: a mounting frame and a picking and placing component; the mounting frame is movably mounted on the horizontal tracks, and the picking and placing component is disposed on the mounting frame and is capable of moving vertically along the mounting frame and moving horizontally along the horizontal tracks with the mounting frame to pick and place cartons at different positions in the storage layer and connecting area of ​​the shelves on both sides of the carton-changing robot channel.

[0021] In some embodiments of this application, the connecting area is located on the outer side of one end of the shelf along its length; the bin transport device is a first bin conveyor line; the bin conveyor line is arranged in two rows; a portion of each row of the first bin conveyor line is located in the connecting area; the horizontal track extends to the connecting area so that the bin-changing robot can move along the horizontal track between the shelf and the connecting area to pick up and place bins at different positions on the storage layer of the shelf on both sides of the bin-changing robot's passage and on the first bin conveyor line.

[0022] In some embodiments of this application, the picking mechanism includes: a feeding platform, a lifting mechanism, a guiding mechanism, and a shuttle sorting vehicle; the lifting mechanism is located at one or both ends of the shelf and is used to drive the shuttle sorting vehicle to move up and down along the height direction of the shelf; the feeding platform is located on one or both sides of the lifting mechanism and is connected to the lifting mechanism; the guiding mechanism is located between two rows of the shelf and includes multiple shuttle guide rails corresponding to the height of each storage layer, the shuttle guide rails are connected to the lifting mechanism, and the shuttle sorting vehicle moves back and forth along the length direction of the shelf; the shuttle sorting vehicle is used to switch between shuttle guide rails of different heights through the lifting mechanism to sort the goods to be sorted at the feeding platform into the material bins of different height storage compartments, and to sort the goods to be sorted at the feeding platform into the material bins of different storage compartments along the length direction through the guiding mechanism.

[0023] The sorting system provided in this application embodiment includes a carton-changing robot mounted on either side of the carton-changing robot's channel. This robot travels along the channel to move empty cartons from the receiving area of ​​one of the two sorting devices to the storage area of ​​that device, or vice versa. This improves the utilization rate of the carton-changing robot, reduces the cost of the sorting system, and achieves automatic carton replacement. Compared to manual carton changing, this improves sorting efficiency and accuracy. Furthermore, the carton-changing robot replaces manual carton changing, allowing the height of the sorting equipment to overcome the height limitations of workers, thus increasing the storage capacity, sorting ability, and space utilization of the sorting system.

[0024] The bin transport equipment is used to transport empty bins to the docking area of ​​the sorting equipment, or to transport full bins located in the docking area of ​​the sorting equipment to the outside of the sorting equipment, realizing the automatic transfer of empty and full bins and further improving the overall operating efficiency of the sorting system.

[0025] Of course, any product implementing this application does not necessarily need to achieve all of the advantages described above at the same time. Attached Figure Description

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0027] Figure 1a This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the sorting system according to the first embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 1b for Figure 1a A top view of the sorting system shown.

[0029] Figure 1c for Figure 1a A front view schematic diagram of the sorting equipment shown.

[0030] Figure 2 for Figure 1a A top view of the docking layer is shown.

[0031] Figure 3 for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of the transfer robot shown;

[0032] Figure 4 for Figure 1a A three-dimensional structural diagram of the box-changing robot shown;

[0033] Figure 5a This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the sorting system according to the second embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 5b for Figure 5a A top view of the sorting system shown.

[0035] Figure 5c for Figure 5a A front view schematic diagram of the sorting equipment shown.

[0036] Figure 6 This is a top view schematic diagram of the sorting system according to the third embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 7 This is a top view schematic diagram of the sorting system according to the fourth embodiment of this application.

[0038] Figure label:

[0039] Sorting equipment 100; picking mechanism 110; feeding table 111; lifting mechanism 112; guiding mechanism 113; shuttle guide rail 1131; shuttle sorting cart 114; shelf 120; storage layer 121; storage compartment 1211; docking layer 122; docking compartment 1221; through channel 1222; horizontal track 130; connection area 140;

[0040] 200-type box-changing robot; 210-type mounting frame; 211-type column; 220-type picking and placing assembly;

[0041] Material box transport equipment 300; transfer robot 300A; walking mechanism 310; lifting mechanism 320; first material box conveyor line 300B; docking position 330; conveying section 340; second full material box conveyor line 350; second empty material box conveyor line 360; second material box conveyor line 300C;

[0042] 400-lane carton changing robot;

[0043] 500 hoppers;

[0044] Material bin transfer station 600; first full material bin conveyor line 610; first empty material bin conveyor line 620;

[0045] Transfer robot channel 700; First channel 710; Second channel 720; Third channel 730;

[0046] Auxiliary connecting rack 810; auxiliary transmission line 820. Detailed Implementation

[0047] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0048] As mentioned in the background technology, with the continuous improvement of intelligent logistics and warehousing technology, packaging, handling and other processes can be completed by intelligent robots. However, sorting still requires human intervention. For example, in the sorting process, workers need to take the full boxes from the sorting equipment shelf to the next stage, and also need to replenish the empty boxes in the empty space, which reduces sorting efficiency.

[0049] Currently, related technologies mainly focus on researching sorting equipment to improve sorting efficiency. However, after the sorting equipment has filled the boxes with goods to be sorted, manual replacement of the boxes is usually required, which limits sorting efficiency. Furthermore, the height of the sorting equipment shelves is limited by the height of the workers, resulting in low space utilization. In addition, to improve sorting efficiency, a sorting system can be equipped with multiple sorting machines. If one robot is used to replace the boxes on one machine, it will lead to low robot utilization and high sorting system costs.

[0050] In order to realize the automatic replacement of material bins in the sorting system and improve the sorting efficiency and space utilization of the sorting system, this application provides a sorting system, which will be described in detail below.

[0051] See Figures 1a to 1c , Figure 1a This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the sorting system according to the first embodiment of this application; Figure 1b for Figure 1a A top view of the sorting system shown. Figure 1c for Figure 1a The diagram shows a front view of the sorting equipment.

[0052] like Figures 1a to 1c As shown, the sorting system includes: at least two sorting devices 100, a box-changing robot 200, and a box transport device 300.

[0053] At least two sorting devices 100 are arranged side by side with intervals, and a carton-changing robot channel 400 is formed between the two adjacent sorting devices 100; each sorting device 100 is able to sort the received goods to be sorted into each material box 500.

[0054] At least two sorting devices 100 are provided with a storage area for storing bins 500 and a docking area 140 for docking with bin transport equipment 300.

[0055] The bin transport device 300 is used to transport empty bins 500 to the docking area 140 of the sorting device 100, or to transport full bins 500 located in the docking area 140 of the sorting device 100 to the outside of the sorting device 100.

[0056] The box-changing robot 200 is mounted on either of the sorting devices 100 on either side of the box-changing robot channel 400. It can travel along the box-changing robot channel 400 and is used to transport empty boxes 500 in the connection area 140 of the two sorting devices 100 on either side of the box-changing robot channel 400 to the storage area of ​​the sorting device 100, or to transport full boxes 500 in the storage area of ​​the sorting device 100 to the connection area 140 of the sorting device 100.

[0057] It should be noted that there are multiple sorting devices 100 in the sorting system. As long as two sorting devices 100 meet the above-mentioned parallel spacing setting and are transported by a common box-changing robot 200, the material boxes 500 are sufficient.

[0058] This application provides a sorting system in which a carton-changing robot 200 is mounted on either side of a sorting device 100 along a carton-changing robot channel 400. The robot can travel along the channel 400 to move empty cartons 500 from their connection areas 140 to the storage area of ​​the sorting device 100, or full cartons 500 from their storage areas to the connection areas 140. This improves the utilization rate of the carton-changing robot 200, reduces the cost of the sorting system, and achieves automatic carton replacement. Compared with manual carton changing, this improves sorting efficiency and accuracy. Furthermore, the use of a carton-changing robot instead of manual carton changing allows the height of the sorting equipment to overcome the height limitations of workers, increasing the storage capacity, sorting ability, and space utilization of the sorting system.

[0059] The bin transport device 300 is used to transport empty bins 500 to the connection area 140 of the sorting device 100, or to transport full bins 500 located in the connection area 140 of the sorting device 100 to the outside of the sorting device 100, thereby realizing the automatic transfer of empty bins 500 and full bins 500 and further improving the overall operating efficiency of the sorting system.

[0060] Figure 1a In the illustrated embodiments, as Figures 1a to 1c As shown, the sorting equipment 100 includes: a picking mechanism 110 and a shelf 120.

[0061] The shelves 120 are arranged in two rows, and the storage area is located on the shelves 120. Multiple storage layers 121 are arranged vertically at intervals. The multiple storage layers 121 are used to store the boxes 500 to be loaded. Each storage layer 121 is divided into multiple storage compartments 1211, and each storage compartment 1211 is used to store one box 500 to be loaded.

[0062] The picking mechanism 110 is located between two rows of shelves 120 and is used to receive goods to be picked and transport them to the various bins 500 on the shelves 120.

[0063] The carton-changing robot 200 is mounted on the side of the shelf 120 of any sorting device 100 on both sides of the carton-changing robot channel 400, away from the picking mechanism 110. For the two shelves 120 on both sides of the carton-changing robot channel 400, the carton-changing robot 200 moves the empty cartons 500 in the receiving area 140 to the storage layer 121 of the shelf 120, or moves the full cartons 500 in the storage layer 121 of the shelf 120 to the receiving area 140.

[0064] If only one of the two shelves 120 of each sorting device 100 is adjacent to the carton-changing robot aisle 400, then at least one carton-changing robot 200 shall be hung on the other shelf 120 on the side away from the picking mechanism 110.

[0065] like Figure 1c As shown, the sorting system in this embodiment includes two sorting devices 100, and a box-changing robot channel 400 is formed between the two sorting devices 100. A box-changing robot 200 is provided in the box-changing robot channel 400. The box-changing robot 200 is hung on the shelf 120 of the sorting device 100 on one side of the box-changing robot channel 400 and is used to pick up and put the material boxes 500 on the shelves 120 on both sides of the box-changing robot channel 400.

[0066] It should be noted that, Figure 1c The embodiment shown has only one box-changing robot 200 in the box-changing robot channel 400.

[0067] Multiple carton-changing robots 200 can also be installed in the carton-changing robot channel 400, mounted on the shelves 120 of any sorting equipment 100 on both sides of the carton-changing robot channel 400. Each robot is responsible for picking up and placing cartons 500 in a certain area on these two shelves 120, thereby improving carton-changing efficiency and avoiding collisions between the carton-changing robots 200. For example, Figure 1a In the illustrated embodiment, two carton-changing robots 200 are provided in the carton-changing robot channel 400, respectively mounted on the shelves 120 of the two sorting devices 100. One carton-changing robot 200 is provided on each shelf 120 located on the side of the two sorting devices 100 away from the carton-changing robot channel 400. This carton-changing robot 200 is responsible for picking up and placing the material boxes 500 from the shelf 120 and its connecting area 140.

[0068] In this embodiment, the picking mechanism 110 is positioned between two rows of shelves 120 for picking, and the box-changing robot 200 is positioned within the box-changing robot aisle 400 to pick up and place boxes 500, thus improving the space utilization of the sorting system. The box-changing robot 200 positioned within the box-changing robot aisle 400 can pick up and place boxes 500 on the shelves 120 of the two sorting devices 100 and on the connecting area 140, further improving the utilization rate of the box-changing robot 200. Box-changing robots 200 are also mounted on shelves 120 of the sorting devices 100 that are not adjacent to the box-changing robot aisle 400, ensuring that boxes 500 on all shelves 120 in the sorting system can be automatically changed.

[0069] Figure 1a In the illustrated embodiments, as Figures 1a to 1cAs shown, the docking area 140 is located below the bottom storage layer 121 of the shelf 120, and is equipped with a docking layer 122 for temporarily storing full or empty bins 500. The docking layer 122 is divided into multiple docking positions 1221; each docking position 1221 is used to temporarily store one full or empty bin 500.

[0070] The material box transport equipment 300 is a transfer robot 300A; the transfer robot 300A is used to transport empty material boxes 500 to the docking layer 122, or to transport full material boxes 500 of the docking layer 122 to the outside of the sorting equipment 100.

[0071] The box-changing robot 200 is used to move full boxes 500 on the storage layer 121 of the shelf 120 to the docking layer 122, or to move empty boxes 500 on the docking layer 122 of the shelf 120 to the storage layer 121.

[0072] Specifically, the box-changing robot 200 is used to move along the box-changing robot channel 400 to transport the full box 500 on the storage compartment 1211 of the shelf 120 to the empty docking compartment 1221, or to transport the empty box 500 on the docking compartment 1221 to the empty storage compartment 1211.

[0073] The transfer robot 300A is used to move along the transfer robot channel 700 to transport empty material boxes 500 outside the sorting equipment 100 to empty docking positions 1221, or to transport full material boxes 500 in docking positions 1221 to the outside of the sorting equipment 100.

[0074] The carton-changing robot channel 400 is a two-way channel. The transfer robot channel 700 partially overlaps with the carton-changing robot channel 400. The carton-changing robot 200 is hung on the shelf 120 with a preset distance from the ground, so that the movement of the carton-changing robot 200 and the transfer robot 300A in the overlapping part of the two channels does not interfere with each other. They can move and pick up the material box 500 at the same time, improving the overall operating efficiency of the sorting system.

[0075] By applying the embodiments of this application, a box-changing robot 200 picks up and places boxes 500 between storage compartment 1211 and docking layer 122, and a transfer robot 300A transports boxes 500 between docking layer 122 and the outside of sorting equipment 100. This achieves automatic replacement of boxes 500 in the sorting system, improving sorting efficiency and accuracy compared to manual box-changing. The docking layer 122 is set up, with both the transfer robot 300A and the box-changing robot 200 docking with it to pick up and place boxes 500. Compared to direct docking between the transfer robot 300A and the box-changing robot 200, this improves the transmission efficiency of boxes 500 in the sorting system, thereby increasing the overall operating efficiency of the sorting system.

[0076] Figure 1a In the illustrated embodiment, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 , Figure 2 for Figure 1a A top view of the docking layer is shown. Figure 3 for Figure 1a The diagram shows a three-dimensional structure of the transfer robot. Figure 1a , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the bottom of the docking compartment 1221 is provided with a through groove 1222 so that the transfer robot 300A can pick up and put the material box 500 on the docking compartment 1221 based on the through groove 1222.

[0077] The transfer robot 300A includes a walking mechanism 310 and a lifting mechanism 320; the lifting mechanism 320 is located on top of the walking mechanism 310.

[0078] The transfer robot 300A is used so that the walking mechanism 310 drives the lifting mechanism 320 to move along the transfer robot channel 700 to the position corresponding to the docking bin 1221, and then moves to the bottom of the docking bin 1221. The lifting mechanism 320 passes through the through groove 1222 in the vertical direction to lift or place the material box 500.

[0079] Specifically, such as Figure 1a and Figure 2 As shown, the through slot 1222 is perpendicular to the length of the shelf 120. The width of the through slot 1222 is smaller than the size of the bin 500 and larger than the top width of the lifting mechanism 320, so that the lifting mechanism 320 can lift or lower the bin 500 through the through slot 1222, and also prevent the bin 500 from falling through the through slot 1222.

[0080] The process by which the transfer robot 300A removes the full 500 container from docking layer 122 is as follows:

[0081] The walking mechanism 310 of the unloaded transfer robot 300A drives the lifting mechanism 320 to move along the transfer robot channel 700 to the position corresponding to the docking compartment 1221. After moving to the bottom of the docking compartment 1221, the lifting mechanism 320 lifts the full material box 500 through the through groove 1222. The walking mechanism 310 drives the lifting mechanism 320 to exit the docking compartment 1221 along the through groove 1222 and continues to move along the transfer robot channel 700 out of the sorting equipment 100.

[0082] The process by which the transfer robot 300A places the empty material box 500 onto the docking layer 122 is as follows:

[0083] The walking mechanism 310 of the transfer robot 300A drives the lifting mechanism 320, which carries the empty material box 500, to move along the transfer robot channel 700 to the position corresponding to the docking compartment 1221. After that, the lifting mechanism 320 moves upward to lift the empty material box 500. The walking mechanism 310 moves to below the docking compartment 1221 and the lifting mechanism 320 descends through the through slot 1222 to place the empty material box 500 on the docking compartment 1221. After that, the walking mechanism 310 drives the lifting mechanism 320 to exit the docking compartment 1221. Then, the transfer robot 300A can continue to move along the transfer robot channel 700 to other docking compartments 1221 to pick up full material boxes 500, or move along the transfer robot channel 700 out of the sorting equipment 100 to continue picking up empty material boxes 500.

[0084] When the transfer robot 300A docks with the docking layer 122, it is located at the bottom of the docking layer 122, which improves the space utilization of the sorting system. The lifting mechanism 320 of the transfer robot 300A can lift or place the material box 500 by moving vertically through the through slot 1222. The material box 500 can be picked up and placed without stopping or only briefly stopping, which improves the efficiency of the transfer robot 300A in picking up and placing the material box 500.

[0085] Figure 1a In the illustrated embodiments, as Figure 1c As shown, the sorting system also includes a bin transfer station 600.

[0086] The transfer robot 300A is used to move between the shelf 120 and the bin transfer station 600 to move empty bins 500 from the bin transfer station 600 to the docking layer 122 of the shelf 120, or to move full bins 500 from the docking layer 122 to the bin transfer station 600.

[0087] The structure of the material bin transfer station 600 includes, but is not limited to, conveyor lines and connecting frames. Figure 1c The material bin transfer station 600 shown is in the form of a conveyor line.

[0088] Specifically, the material box transfer station 600 is used to transport empty material boxes 500 in the direction toward the sorting equipment 100, or to receive full material boxes from the sorting equipment 100 transported by the transfer robot 300A, and to pack and ship them out of the warehouse.

[0089] The outbound process of the full container 500 is as follows: the container changing robot 200 moves the full container 500 from the storage layer 121 of the shelf 120 to the docking layer 122 at the bottom of the shelf 120. The transfer robot 300A moves to the docking layer 122 to pick up the full container 500 and moves the full container 500 to the container transfer station 600.

[0090] The process of empty material box 500 entering the warehouse is as follows: the transfer robot 300A moves to the material box transfer station 600 to pick up the empty material box 500 and transports the empty material box 500 to the docking layer 122 at the bottom of the shelf 120 where the target empty storage location 1211 is located. The box-changing robot 200 then transports the empty material box 500 from the docking layer 122 to the target empty storage location 1211.

[0091] According to the embodiments of this application, the bin transfer station 600 can transport empty bins 500 in the direction toward the sorting equipment 100, or receive full bins from the sorting equipment 100 transported by the transfer robot 300A, and pack them for shipment. By setting up the bin transfer station 600, the travel path length of the transfer robot 300A is shortened. The transfer robot 300A only needs to transport bins 500 between the bin transfer station 600 and the sorting equipment 100, improving the transport efficiency of the transfer robot 300A, thereby improving the overall operating efficiency of the sorting system.

[0092] Figure 1a In the illustrated embodiments, as Figure 1c As shown, the material bin transfer station 600 includes: a first full material bin conveyor line 610 and a first empty material bin conveyor line 620.

[0093] The transfer robot 300A is used to move empty boxes 500 on the first empty box conveyor line 620 to the docking layer 122 of the shelf 120, or to move full boxes 500 on the docking layer 122 to the first full box conveyor line 610.

[0094] Specifically, such as Figure 1c As shown, the first full box conveyor line 610 and the first empty box conveyor line 620 are arranged side by side outside the sorting equipment 100. The first empty box conveyor line 620 is used for placing empty boxes 500 by manual labor or equipment and docking with the transfer robot 300A to transport the empty boxes 500 to the transfer robot 300A.

[0095] The first full-load box conveyor line 610 is used to receive full-load boxes 500 from the sorting equipment 100 brought by the transfer robot 300A, and transport them to the outbound area for packaging and outbound.

[0096] In the embodiments of this application, the material box transfer station 600 is configured with two conveyor lines, which are used to transport full material boxes 500 and empty material boxes 500 respectively. The transfer robot 300A can connect with different conveyor lines according to the task being performed, which can improve the material box transfer efficiency of the sorting system.

[0097] Figure 1a In the illustrated embodiments, as Figure 1cAs shown, a transfer robot channel 700 is also provided between the material bin transfer station 600 and the sorting equipment 100; the transfer robot channel 700 extends from the material bin transfer station 600 to the sorting equipment 100.

[0098] The transfer robot 300A is used to move along the transfer robot channel 700 to transport empty bins 500 from the bin transfer station 600 to the shelf 120 of the sorting equipment 100, or to transport full bins 500 on the shelf 120 of the sorting equipment 100 to the bin transfer station 600.

[0099] The transfer robot channel 700 includes: the first channel 710, the second channel 720, and the third channel 730.

[0100] The first channel 710 extends from the material box transfer station 600 to the sorting equipment 100, and partially overlaps with the box-changing robot channel 400.

[0101] The first channel 710 extends into the second channel 720 and the third channel 730. The second channel 720 is located in the connecting area 140, and the third channel 730 is located on the side of the sorting equipment 100 away from the box-changing robot channel 400. Both the second channel 720 and the third channel 730 are parallel to the box-changing robot channel 400.

[0102] The transfer robot 300A is used to move along the first channel 710 or the third channel 730 to the position corresponding to the target position on the docking layer 122, then move to the second channel 720 at the bottom of the docking layer 122 to dock with the docking layer 122 to pick up and put away the material box 500, then move to the first channel 710 or the third channel 730 and go to the material box transfer station 600.

[0103] Specifically, such as Figure 1c As shown, part of the first channel 710 is located between the two sorting devices 100, and the other part extends to the material box transfer station 600. Multiple branch channels extend from the first channel 710, including four second channels 720 located in the connection area 140 and two third channels 730 located on the side of the sorting device 100 away from the box-changing robot channel 400.

[0104] The process of the 300A transfer robot moving a full 500-ton container is as follows:

[0105] The unloaded transfer robot 300A moves to the position corresponding to the target docking compartment 1221 on the second channel 720, lifts the full material box 500 through the through groove 1222, and then moves back along the through groove 1222 to the first channel 710 or the third channel 730 outside the shelf 120, and moves toward the material box transfer station 600.

[0106] The process of the 300A transfer robot moving an empty 500-ton container is as follows:

[0107] After receiving an empty bin 500 from the bin transfer station 600, the transfer robot 300A moves along the first channel 710 to a position close to the sorting equipment 100. Then, depending on the location of the target docking position 1221, it travels along the corresponding first channel 710 or third channel 730 to the position corresponding to the target docking position 1221, lifts the bin 500 and moves it towards the target docking position 1221 to the second channel 720. After placing the bin 500, it can move directly along the second channel 721 to other docking positions 1221 to receive full bins 500, or it can retreat outside the shelf 120 and go to the bin transfer station 600 to continue receiving empty bins 500.

[0108] It should be noted that the diagram shows the first channel 710 and the carton-changing robot channel 400 separately, distinguishing the widths of the two channels. In actual scenarios, the widths of the two channels are not limited. In addition, the width of the third channel 730 is also not limited; the transfer robot 300A only needs to travel within the space on the side of the sorting equipment 100 away from the carton-changing robot channel 400.

[0109] By applying the embodiments of this application and setting up the aforementioned transfer robot channel 700, the movement of the transfer robot 300A can be standardized, facilitating the management of multiple transfer robots 300A in the sorting system. The transfer robot 300A can switch between the first channel 710, the second channel 720, and the third channel 730 to avoid each other and improve the efficiency of material box handling.

[0110] Figure 1a In the illustrated embodiment, see Figure 4 , Figure 4 for Figure 1a The diagram shows a three-dimensional structure of the box-changing robot. Figure 1a , Figure 1b and Figure 4 As shown, the shelf 120 is provided with multiple horizontal tracks 130 spaced apart in the vertical direction on the side near the carton-changing robot channel 400; the carton-changing robot 200 is installed on the outside of the shelf 120 based on the horizontal tracks 130.

[0111] The box-changing robot 200 includes: a mounting frame 210 and a picking and placing component 220; the mounting frame 210 is movably mounted on a horizontal track 130, and the picking and placing component 220 is disposed on the mounting frame 210 and can move vertically along the mounting frame 210 and horizontally along the horizontal track 130 with the mounting frame 210 to pick and place boxes 500 at different positions on the storage layer 121 and the connecting area 140 of the shelves 120 on both sides of the box-changing robot channel 400.

[0112] Specifically, the mounting bracket 210 has various structures; it can be a single column or a column frame composed of two columns. This application does not limit this. In specific embodiments, such as... Figure 1a , Figure 1b and Figure 4 As shown, the mounting frame 210 is a column gantry, including two opposing columns 211. The loading and unloading assembly 220 is located between the two columns 211 of the mounting frame 210, and is movably connected to one column 211 on each side.

[0113] The loading and unloading assembly 220 can take various forms, including but not limited to forklift type, suction cup type, roller type, hook arm type, etc. In a specific embodiment, such as... Figure 1a and Figure 1b As shown, the picking and placing component 220 can extend relative to the mounting frame 210 toward the storage layer 121 of the shelves 120 on both sides of the box-changing robot channel 400 or the docking layer 122 at the bottom of the shelves 120 to pick and place the box 500.

[0114] The process of a 200-ton box-changing robot moving a full 500-ton box is as follows:

[0115] The mounting frame 210 drives the picking and placing component 220 to move horizontally along the horizontal track 130 to the column where the target storage compartment 1211 containing the full material box 500 is located; the picking and placing component 220 moves vertically along the mounting frame 210 to the row where the target storage compartment 1211 is located; the picking and placing component 220 extends toward the target storage compartment 1211, picks up the full material box 500 and then retracts; the picking and placing component 220 moves horizontally along the horizontal track 130 with the mounting frame 210 and moves vertically downward along the mounting frame 210 to the empty docking compartment 1221; the picking and placing component 220 extends toward the empty docking compartment 1221 and places the full material box 500.

[0116] The process of a 200-unit box-changing robot moving 500 empty boxes is as follows:

[0117] The mounting frame 210 drives the picking and placing component 220 to move horizontally along the horizontal track 130, and the picking and placing component 220 moves vertically along the mounting frame 210, so that the picking and placing component 220 moves to the target docking position 1221 where an empty material box 500 is temporarily stored; the picking and placing component 220 extends toward the target docking position 1221, picks up the empty material box 500 and then retracts; the mounting frame 210 drives the picking and placing component 220 to move horizontally along the horizontal track 130, and the picking and placing component 220 moves vertically along the mounting frame 210, so that the picking and placing component 220 moves to an empty storage position 1211; the picking and placing component 220 extends toward the empty storage position 1211 and places the empty material box 500.

[0118] During the process of the carton-changing robot 200 handling the material box 500, the loading frame 210 drives the picking and placing component 220 to move horizontally along the horizontal track 130 and the picking and placing component 220 moves vertically along the loading frame 210. There is no specific order for them to move horizontally first and then horizontally; or they can move horizontally first and then vertically; or they can move horizontally and vertically at the same time to improve the carton-changing efficiency of the carton-changing robot 200.

[0119] According to the embodiments of this application, the box-changing robot 200 can pick up and place boxes 500 on the storage layer 121 or docking layer 122 of the shelves 120 on both sides of the box-changing robot channel 400 in the horizontal direction based on the horizontal track 130, and pick up and place boxes 500 on the shelves 120 at different heights of the storage layer 121 or docking layer 122 in the vertical direction based on the vertical movement of the picking and placing component 220 along the mounting frame 210.

[0120] Figure 1a In the illustrated embodiments, as Figures 1a to 1c The picking mechanism 110 shown includes: a feeding table 111, a lifting mechanism 112, a guiding mechanism 113, and a shuttle sorting vehicle 114.

[0121] The lifting mechanism 112 is located at one or both ends of the shelf 120 and is used to drive the shuttle sorting cart 114 to move up and down along the height direction of the shelf 120.

[0122] The feeding platform 111 is located on one or both sides of the lifting mechanism 112 and is connected to the lifting mechanism 112.

[0123] The guiding mechanism 113 is set between two rows of shelves 120 and includes multiple shuttle guide rails 1131 corresponding to the height of each storage layer 121. The shuttle guide rails 1131 are connected to the lifting mechanism 112, allowing the shuttle sorting cart 114 to move back and forth along the length of the shelf 120.

[0124] The shuttle sorting vehicle 114 is used to switch between shuttle guides 1131 at different heights via the lifting mechanism 112 to sort the goods to be sorted at the feeding table 111 into the material bins 500 of the storage compartments 1211 at different heights, and to sort the goods to be sorted at the feeding table 111 into the material bins 500 of the storage compartments 1211 at different lengths via the guiding mechanism 113.

[0125] Specifically, the supply station 111 can be connected to the cargo conveyor line, which transports the goods to be sorted to the supply station 111. Alternatively, staff can place the goods to be sorted at the supply station 111 for the shuttle sorting vehicle 114 to pick up.

[0126] The sorting system also includes control equipment. The control equipment is communicatively connected to the shuttle sorting vehicle 114 and can send commands to control the shuttle sorting vehicle 114 to put each item to be sorted into the corresponding bin 500.

[0127] The control device is communicatively connected to the lifting mechanism 112. The control device can send commands to control the lifting mechanism 112 to move the shuttle sorting cart 114 along the height direction of the shelf 120 to the height of the storage layer 121 where the corresponding material box 500 is located. The shuttle sorting cart 114 continues to move along the shuttle guide rail 1131 at the storage layer 121 where the corresponding material box 500 is located to the corresponding material box 500 and put the goods into the material box 500.

[0128] The above operation is repeated continuously. When a bin 500 on shelf 120 is full of goods, or when all the goods in the order bound to bin 500 have been picked, bin 500 is considered a full bin 500. The control device communicates with the bin-changing robot 200 and controls the bin-changing robot 200 to move the full bin 500 on storage layer 121 to docking layer 122. The transfer robot 300A then transports the full bin 500 away from sorting equipment 100. Then, the bin-changing robot 200 moves the empty bin 500 on docking layer 122 to the empty storage compartment 1211 on storage layer 121.

[0129] By applying the embodiments of this application, the lifting mechanism 112 and the guiding mechanism 113 enable the shuttle sorting cart 114 to move in the height and length directions of the shelf 120; the shuttle sorting cart 114 can also handle the order sorting of the two rows of shelves 120 of the sorting equipment 100 and the loading boxes 500 through the shuttle guide rail 1131, thereby improving the working efficiency of the sorting system.

[0130] As mentioned above, Figure 1a In the sorting system of the first embodiment shown, the bin handling device 300 is a transfer robot 300A, which transports empty bins 500 to the docking layer 122 of the shelves 120 on both sides of the bin-changing robot channel 400, or transports full bins 500 of the docking layer 122 to the outside of the sorting device 100; in other embodiments of the sorting system, the bin handling device 300 may also be a first bin conveyor line 300B or a second bin conveyor line 300C.

[0131] The following is a detailed description of a second embodiment of the bin handling equipment 300, which is the first bin conveyor line 300B.

[0132] See Figures 5a to 5c , Figure 5a This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the sorting system according to the second embodiment of this application; Figure 5b for Figure 5a A top view of the sorting system shown. Figure 5c for Figure 5a The diagram shows a front view of the sorting equipment.

[0133] like Figures 5a to 5c As shown, the connection area 140 is located on the outer side of one end of the shelf 120 along its length.

[0134] The material box transport equipment 300 is the first material box conveyor line 300B; the material box conveyor line 300B is arranged in two rows; a portion of the first material box conveyor line 300B in each row is located in the connecting area 140.

[0135] The box-changing robot 200 is used to travel along the box-changing robot aisle 400 to move between the rack 120 and the docking area 140. For the two racks 120 on both sides of the box-changing robot aisle 400, the box-changing robot 200 transports empty boxes 500 located on the first box conveyor line 300B in the docking area 140 to the storage layer 121 of the rack 120, or transports full boxes 500 in the storage layer 121 of the rack 120 to the first box conveyor line 300B in the docking area 140.

[0136] Specifically, Figures 5a to 5c Only the arrangement direction of the first material box conveyor line 300B is shown as parallel to the length direction of the shelf 120. The actual arrangement of the first material box conveyor line 300B needs to be determined according to the specific scenario. The first material box conveyor line 300B located in the connection area 140 needs to be set parallel to the length direction of the shelf 120 so that the box-changing robot 200 can pick up and put the material box 500 on the first material box conveyor line 300B. The part located outside the connection area 140 can be arranged according to the source location of the empty material box 500 and the destination location to which the full material box 500 is to be transported. This application does not limit this.

[0137] In this embodiment, the first material box conveyor line 300B directly provides empty material boxes 500 to the shelf 120 and transports full material boxes 500 on the shelf 120 to the outside of the sorting equipment 100, eliminating the need for multiple transfer robots 300A, thus reducing the cost of the sorting system. Furthermore, one row of shelves 120 corresponds to one row of the first material box conveyor line 300B, resulting in a smaller number of material box transport devices 300, simpler control, and easier maintenance. In addition, the connecting area 140 is located on the outer side of one end of the shelf 120 along its length, eliminating the need for reserved space at the bottom of the shelf 120, allowing for more storage layers 121, thereby increasing the storage density of the shelf 120 and the storage capacity of the sorting system.

[0138] exist Figure 5a In the second embodiment shown, as Figures 5a to 5cAs shown, the horizontal track 130 extends to the docking area 140 so that the box-changing robot 200 can move along the horizontal track 130 between the shelf 120 and the docking area 140 to pick up and put away boxes 500 at different positions on the storage layer 121 of the shelf 120 on both sides of the box-changing robot channel 400 and the first box conveyor line 300B.

[0139] In this embodiment, the number of lifting mechanisms 112 in the picking mechanism 110 of each sorting device 100 is 1, and the two rows of first material box conveyor lines 300B of the sorting device 100 are respectively set at the ends of the two rows of shelves 120 of the sorting device 100 away from the lifting mechanism 112.

[0140] Excluding the number of lifting mechanisms 112, the structure of the bin handling equipment 300, the shelf 120 and the horizontal track 130, and the position of the connecting area 140, the picking mechanism 110 and the box-changing robot 200 in the sorting equipment 100 of this embodiment can be combined with... Figure 1a The first embodiment shown is the same, and will not be described again here.

[0141] exist Figure 5a In the second embodiment shown, as Figure 5c As shown, the first material box conveyor line 300B is provided with one or more spaced connection positions 330 in the connection area 140, and the part of the first material box conveyor line 300B other than the connection positions 330 is the conveying section 340.

[0142] The docking position 330 is used to dock with the box-changing robot 200, receive the full box 500 transported by the box-changing robot 200 and transfer it to the conveyor section 340, or receive the empty box 500 transferred by the conveyor section 340 for the box-changing robot 200 to pick up.

[0143] The conveyor section 340 is used to convey empty bins 500 to the docking station 330, or to receive full bins 500 from the docking station 330 and convey them in a direction away from the shelf 120.

[0144] Specifically, the first material bin conveyor line 300B can be a roller conveyor line, with both the connecting position 330 and the conveying section 340 including multiple rollers, enabling rolling transmission. The first material bin conveyor line 300B also includes a drive device (not shown in the figure), and both the connecting position 330 and the conveying section 340 are equipped with detection devices (not shown in the figure). The control equipment can control the drive device to start or stop the rotation of the rollers in the connecting position 330 or the conveying section 340 based on the detection information fed back by the detection devices in the connecting position 330 and the conveying section 340.

[0145] The specific transmission process of the first material bin conveyor line 300B is as follows:

[0146] When the box-changing robot 200 is about to place a full box 500, the control device sends a command to the first box conveyor line 300B, instructing the connecting position 330 of the first box conveyor line 300B to stop rolling. The roller at the connecting position 330 is stationary. After the full box 500 is placed, the connecting position 330 is instructed to start rolling again, and the conveyor section 340 will send the full box 500 to the next processing stage, such as outbound or verification and packaging workstation. When an empty box 500 is transported to the connecting position 330, the roller at the connecting position 330 stops rolling. After the box-changing robot 200 takes away the empty box 500, the first box conveyor line 300B will then transport the next empty box 500 to the connecting position 330 to wait for the box-changing robot 200 to pick it up.

[0147] A photoelectric sensor can be installed in the area of ​​the conveying section 340 adjacent to the downstream connection position 330. When the downstream connection position 330 is placing a full material box 500 or an empty material box 500 is placed on the connection position 330, the roller at the connection position 330 is stationary, and the area of ​​the conveying section 340 away from the connection position 330 remains in a rolling state. When the photoelectric sensor detects that a material box 500 has been transported to the area adjacent to the downstream connection position 330, the area adjacent to the material box 500 stops rolling. After the connection position 330 starts rolling, the area adjacent to the material box 500 also starts rolling, and the material box 500 continues to be transported.

[0148] It should be noted that when the connecting position 330 stops rolling, the sorting system only pauses the conveying of the feeding box 500 in a part of the conveying section 340 upstream of the connecting position 330, which is adjacent to the connecting position 330. It does not affect the conveying of the feeding box 500 in a part of the conveying section 340 that is far away from the connecting position 330.

[0149] In the embodiments of this application, the transfer of the docking position 330 and the conveying section 340 of the first material box conveyor line 300B is independent yet coordinated. The docking position 330 and the conveying section 340 can cooperate to transfer the material box 500. When a material box 500 is temporarily placed on the docking position 330 and cannot roll, it will not affect the transfer of the conveying section 340, thus improving the working efficiency of the first material box conveyor line 300B. The box-changing robot 200 does not need to move along the length of the first material box conveyor line 300B to pick up or put down the material box 500; it only needs to move to the docking position 330 to dock, which can complete the picking up or putting down of the material box 500, thus improving the efficiency of the box-changing robot 200 in picking up and putting down the material box 500 and improving the sorting efficiency of the sorting system.

[0150] exist Figure 5a In the second embodiment shown, as Figure 5a and Figure 5b As shown, each row of first material box conveyor line 300B includes: a second full material box conveyor line 350 and a second empty material box conveyor line 360 ​​arranged at intervals along the vertical direction.

[0151] The carton-changing robot 200 is used to travel along the carton-changing robot aisle 400 to move between the rack 120 and the docking area 140. For the two racks 120 on both sides of the carton-changing robot aisle 400, the carton-changing robot 200 transports empty cartons 500 located on the second empty carton conveyor line 360 ​​in the docking area 140 to the storage layer 121 of the rack 120, or transports full cartons 500 in the storage layer 121 of the rack 120 to the second full carton conveyor line 350 located in the docking area 140.

[0152] Specifically, the second full-load conveyor line 350 and the second empty-load conveyor line 360 ​​have the same structure, both consisting of one or more connection points 330 and conveying sections 340. The second full-load conveyor line 350 can be located above or below the second empty-load conveyor line 360; this application does not limit the vertical relationship between the second full-load conveyor line 350 and the second empty-load conveyor line 360. Figure 5a and Figure 5b As shown, the second full-load box conveyor line 350 is located below the second empty-load box conveyor line 360, and there is a gap between the two conveyor lines to provide appropriate space for the second full-load box conveyor line 350 to transport the full-load box 500.

[0153] Figure 5a and Figure 5b In the illustrated embodiment, the second empty bin conveyor line 360 ​​and the second full bin conveyor line 350 are arranged parallel to the length direction of the shelf 120, and the second empty bin conveyor line 360 ​​is shorter, while the second full bin conveyor line 350 is longer. In practical applications, the arrangement of the bin conveyor lines 300B needs to be determined according to the specific scenario. This application does not limit the length of the second empty bin conveyor line 360 ​​and the second full bin conveyor line 350, nor their orientation after extending out of the connection area 140.

[0154] The handling process for a full 500-ton container is as follows:

[0155] The mounting frame 210 drives the picking and placing component 220 to move horizontally along the horizontal track 130 to the column where the target storage compartment 1211 containing the full box 500 is located; the picking and placing component 220 moves vertically along the mounting frame 210 to the row where the target storage compartment 1211 is located; the picking and placing component 220 extends towards the target storage compartment 1211, picks up the full box 500, and then retracts; the picking and placing component 220 moves horizontally along the horizontal track 130 with the mounting frame 210 and moves vertically along the mounting frame 210 to the connecting position 330 of the second full box conveyor line 350 in the connecting area 140; the picking and placing component 220 extends towards the connecting position 330 and places the full box 500; the connecting position 330 cooperates with the conveyor section 340 to send the full box 500 to the next processing stage, such as outbound or verification and packaging workstation.

[0156] The handling process for empty container 500 is as follows:

[0157] The mounting frame 210 drives the picking and placing component 220 to move horizontally along the horizontal track 130, and the picking and placing component 220 moves vertically along the mounting frame 210, so that the picking and placing component 220 moves to the connection position 330 of the second empty material box conveyor line 360 ​​where the empty material box 500 is temporarily stored; the picking and placing component 220 extends toward the connection position 330, picks up the empty material box 500 and then retracts; the mounting frame 210 drives the picking and placing component 220 to move horizontally along the horizontal track 130, and the picking and placing component 220 moves vertically along the mounting frame 210, so that the picking and placing component 220 moves to the empty storage compartment 1211; the picking and placing component 220 extends toward the empty storage compartment 1211 and places the empty material box 500.

[0158] By applying the embodiments of this application, the first material box conveyor line 300B is divided into a second full material box conveyor line 350 and a second empty material box conveyor line 360 ​​arranged at intervals along the vertical direction. This makes the division of labor between the second full material box conveyor line 350 and the second empty material box conveyor line 360 ​​clear. The two tasks of transporting the full material box 500 to the outside of the sorting equipment 100 and transporting the empty material box 500 to the receiving position 330 can be performed simultaneously, which improves the working efficiency of the material box conveyor line 300B. After the box-changing robot 200 places the full material box 500 on the second full material box conveyor line 350, it can then pick up the empty material box 500 on the second empty material box conveyor line 360, which simplifies the movement route of the box-changing robot 200 and improves the working efficiency of the box-changing robot 200.

[0159] The third embodiment of the material box handling equipment 300 as the second material box conveyor line 300C will be described in detail below.

[0160] See Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is a top view schematic diagram of the sorting system according to the third embodiment of this application. Figure 6 As shown, the connection area 140 is located below the bottom storage layer 121 of the shelf 120.

[0161] The material box transport equipment 300 is the second material box conveyor line 300C.

[0162] The second material box conveyor line 300C is arranged in two rows; each row of the second material box conveyor line 300C is located at one end of the length direction of a shelf 120 and extends to the connecting area 140.

[0163] The box-changing robot 200 is used to travel along the box-changing robot channel 400 and to move empty boxes 500 on the second box conveyor line 300C located in the connecting area 140 to the storage layer 121 of the shelf 120, or to move full boxes 500 in the storage layer 121 of the shelf 120 to the second box conveyor line 300C located in the connecting area 140.

[0164] Specifically, in this embodiment, the second material box conveyor line 300C and Figure 5a The difference between the first hopper conveyor line 300B in the second embodiment shown is in its different location; the structure can be the same. The second hopper conveyor line 300C has one or more spaced-apart connection points in the connection area 140, and the portion outside the connection points is a conveying section. Each row of the second hopper conveyor lines 300C includes: a third full hopper conveyor line and a third empty hopper conveyor line spaced apart vertically. The specific structure of the second hopper conveyor line 300C will not be described in detail in this application.

[0165] In this embodiment, the shelf 120 can be raised to provide sufficient height space for the second material box conveyor line 300C, so that its bottom has enough height to accommodate the second material box conveyor line 300C.

[0166] If the shelf 120 is not raised, the length of one or two storage layers 121 at the bottom of the shelf 120 that may interfere with the second material box conveyor line 300C can be shortened. That is, the bottom one or two storage layers 121 are shortened towards the lifting mechanism 112, and two columns are set at the shortened end for support. These two columns and the two columns of the shelf 120 away from the lifting mechanism 112 form a connection area 140, thereby accommodating the connection position of the second material box conveyor line 300C.

[0167] By applying the embodiments of this application, the second material box conveyor line 300C directly provides empty material boxes 500 to the shelf 120 and transports full material boxes 500 on the shelf 120 to the outside of the sorting equipment 100, eliminating the need for a transfer robot 300A, thus reducing the cost of the sorting system. Furthermore, the second material box conveyor line 300C extends to the bottom of the shelf 120, improving the space utilization of the sorting system. Moreover, the box-changing robot 200 only needs to move within the length range of the shelf 120 to complete the replacement of the material boxes 500, improving the handling efficiency of the box-changing robot 200 and the overall operating efficiency of the sorting system.

[0168] In this embodiment, the number of lifting mechanisms 112 in the picking mechanism 110 of the sorting equipment 100 is one. The structures of the picking mechanism 110 and the box-changing robot 200 in the sorting equipment 100 of this embodiment can be integrated with... Figure 1aThe process of handling the full or empty material bin 500 in this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown. Figure 5a The second embodiment shown is the same, and will not be described again here.

[0169] The sorting system of the fourth embodiment of this application will now be described in detail.

[0170] See Figure 7 , Figure 7 This is a top view schematic diagram of the sorting system according to the fourth embodiment of this application, as shown below. Figure 7 As shown, the sorting system also includes: auxiliary connecting shelves 810 or auxiliary conveyor lines 820.

[0171] The auxiliary connecting shelf 810 or auxiliary conveyor line 820 is set on the side of the sorting equipment 100 away from the box-changing robot channel 400, and is used to temporarily store full boxes 500 and empty boxes 500.

[0172] The auxiliary connecting shelf 810 or auxiliary conveyor line 820 can dock with the carton-changing robot 200 on the shelf 120 of the sorting equipment 100 away from the carton-changing robot channel 400, so that the carton-changing robot 200 can pick up and put down the material box 500.

[0173] Specifically, such as Figure 7 As shown, the bin handling equipment 300 is a transfer robot 300A. One sorting device 100 has an auxiliary connecting shelf 810 on the side away from the bin-changing robot channel 400, and the other sorting device 100 has an auxiliary transmission line 820 on the side away from the bin-changing robot channel 400. In other embodiments of this application, both can be either auxiliary connecting shelves 810 or auxiliary transmission lines 820; this application does not limit this to either.

[0174] By applying the embodiments of this application, auxiliary connecting shelves 810 or auxiliary transmission lines 820 are set up so that the bottom of the adjacent shelf 120 does not need to be set up with a connecting area 140, and more storage layers 121 can be set up to increase the storage density of the shelf 120.

[0175] When the sorting equipment 100 is provided with an auxiliary connecting shelf 810 on the side away from the box changing robot channel 400, the box handling equipment 300 is a transfer robot 300A, and the shelf 120 adjacent to the auxiliary connecting shelf 810 does not need to be provided with a docking layer 122.

[0176] The specific structure of the auxiliary connecting rack 810 carrying the material box 500 can be the same as that of the docking layer 122, and it is also divided into multiple docking positions 1221. Each docking position 1221 is provided with a through slot 1222 so that the transfer robot 300A can dock with the auxiliary connecting rack 810 to lift and place the material box 500.

[0177] When the top surface of the lifting mechanism 320 of the transfer robot 300A is comb-shaped, corresponding comb-shaped grooves can also be opened on the docking compartments of the auxiliary connecting rack 810 and the docking layer 122. This application does not limit this, as long as the shape of the through groove corresponds to the shape of the top surface of the lifting mechanism 320 and the lifting mechanism 320 can pass through the through groove.

[0178] The docking method of the transfer robot 300A with the auxiliary connecting shelf 810 to pick up and put down the material box 500 is the same as the aforementioned docking method with the docking layer 122 to pick up and put down the material box 500, and will not be repeated here.

[0179] In other embodiments of this application, the bin handling equipment 300 may be of other types, or the bin handling equipment 300 may not be provided, and the bins 500 on the auxiliary connecting rack 810 may be handled manually. This application does not limit this.

[0180] When both sorting devices 100 are equipped with auxiliary transmission lines 820 on the side away from the carton-changing robot channel 400, the carton-changing robot 200 can complete the transportation of the carton 500 by cooperating with the auxiliary transmission line 820. Therefore, the carton handling equipment 300 can be of other types than the transfer robot 300A, or the carton handling equipment 300 can be omitted and the carton 500 can be handled independently by the auxiliary transmission line 820. This application does not limit this.

[0181] In this embodiment, the auxiliary transmission line 820 and Figure 5a The difference between the first material box conveyor line 300B in the second embodiment shown is that the setting position is different, but the structure can be the same, including a full material box conveyor line and an empty material box conveyor line, which will not be described in detail here.

[0182] In practical applications, regardless of the first, second, third, or fourth embodiments, or variations thereof, the carton-changing robot 200 can be mounted on either of the sorting devices 100 on either side of the carton-changing robot channel 400. It can travel along the carton-changing robot channel 400 to transport empty cartons 500 from their connection areas 140 to the storage area of ​​the sorting device 100, or vice versa. This improves the utilization rate of the carton-changing robot 200, reduces the cost of the sorting system, and achieves automatic carton replacement. Compared to manual carton changing, this improves sorting efficiency and accuracy. Furthermore, replacing manual carton changing with a carton-changing robot allows the height of the sorting equipment to overcome the height limitations of workers, increasing the storage capacity, sorting ability, and space utilization of the sorting system. The bin transport device 300 is used to transport empty bins 500 to the connection area 140 of the sorting device 100, or to transport full bins 500 located in the connection area 140 of the sorting device 100 to the outside of the sorting device 100, thereby realizing the automatic transfer of empty bins 500 and full bins 500 and further improving the overall operating efficiency of the sorting system.

[0183] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0184] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application are included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A sorting system, characterized in that, include: At least two sorting devices (100), a box-changing robot (200), and a box transport device (300); The at least two sorting devices (100) are arranged side by side with intervals, and a carton-changing robot channel (400) is formed between the two adjacent sorting devices (100); each sorting device (100) is capable of sorting the received goods to be sorted into each material box (500); The at least two sorting devices (100) are provided with a storage area for storing bins (500) and a docking area (140) for docking with bin transport equipment (300). The bin transport device (300) is used to transport empty bins (500) to the docking area (140) of the sorting device (100), or to transport full bins (500) located in the docking area (140) of the sorting device (100) to the outside of the sorting device (100). The box-changing robot (200) is mounted on either of the sorting devices (100) on both sides of the box-changing robot channel (400). It can travel along the box-changing robot channel (400) and is used to transport empty boxes (500) in the connection area (140) of the two sorting devices (100) on both sides of the box-changing robot channel (400) to the storage area of ​​the sorting device (100), or to transport full boxes (500) in the storage area of ​​the sorting device (100) to the connection area (140) of the sorting device (100).

2. The sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sorting equipment (100) includes: a picking mechanism (110) and a shelf (120); The shelves (120) are arranged in two rows, and the storage area is located on the shelves (120), with multiple storage layers (121) spaced apart in the vertical direction. The picking mechanism (110) is located between two rows of shelves (120) for receiving goods to be picked and transporting the goods to be picked to each bin (500) of the shelves (120); The box-changing robot (200) is mounted on the side of the shelf (120) of any sorting device (100) on both sides of the box-changing robot channel (400) away from the picking mechanism (110). For the two shelves (120) on both sides of the box-changing robot channel (400), the box-changing robot (200) moves the empty box (500) of the receiving area (140) to the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120), or moves the full box (500) of the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120) to the receiving area (140).

3. The sorting system according to claim 2, characterized in that, If only one of the two shelves (120) of each sorting device (100) is adjacent to the carton-changing robot aisle (400), then at least one of the carton-changing robots (200) is mounted on the other shelf (120) on the side away from the picking mechanism (110).

4. The sorting system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The connecting area (140) is located below the bottom storage layer (121) of the shelf (120) and is provided with a connecting layer (122) for temporarily storing full or empty bins (500). The material box transport equipment (300) is a transfer robot (300A); the transfer robot (300A) is used to transport empty material boxes (500) to the docking layer (122), or to transport full material boxes (500) of the docking layer (122) to the outside of the sorting equipment (100); The box-changing robot (200) is used to transport full boxes (500) on the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120) to the docking layer (122), or to transport empty boxes (500) on the docking layer (122) of the shelf (120) to the storage layer (121).

5. The sorting system according to claim 4, characterized in that, Also includes: Material bin transfer station (600); The transfer robot (300A) is used to move between the shelf (120) and the bin transfer station (600) to transport empty bins (500) from the bin transfer station (600) to the docking layer (122) of the shelf (120), or to transport full bins (500) from the docking layer (122) to the bin transfer station (600).

6. The sorting system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The material box transfer station (600) includes: a first full material box conveyor line (610) and a first empty material box conveyor line (620); The transfer robot (300A) is used to transport empty boxes (500) on the first empty box conveyor line (620) to the docking layer (122) of the shelf (120), or to transport full boxes (500) on the docking layer (122) to the first full box conveyor line (610).

7. The sorting system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The material bin transfer station (600) to the sorting equipment (100) is also provided with a transfer robot channel (700). The transfer robot channel (700) extends from the bin transfer station (600) to the sorting equipment (100). The transfer robot (300A) is used to move along the transfer robot channel (700) to transport empty bins (500) from the bin transfer station (600) to the shelf (120) of the sorting equipment (100), or to transport full bins (500) on the shelf (120) of the sorting equipment (100) to the bin transfer station (600).

8. The sorting system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The transfer robot channel (700) includes: a first channel (710), a second channel (720) and a third channel (730); The first channel (710) extends from the bin transfer station (600) to the sorting equipment (100), and partially overlaps with the bin-changing robot channel (400); The first channel (710) extends into the second channel (720) and the third channel (730), wherein, The second channel (720) is located in the connecting area (140), and the third channel (730) is located on the side of the sorting equipment (100) away from the box-changing robot channel (400). Both the second channel (720) and the third channel (730) are parallel to the box-changing robot channel (400). The transfer robot (300A) is used to move along the first channel (710) or the third channel (730) to a position corresponding to the target position on the docking layer (122), then move to the second channel (720) at the bottom of the docking layer (122), dock with the docking layer (122) to pick up and put away the material box (500), then move to the first channel (710) or the third channel (730) and go to the material box transfer station (600).

9. The sorting system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The docking layer (122) is divided into multiple docking compartments (1221); each docking compartment (1221) is used to temporarily store a full material box (500) or an empty material box (500); The bottom of the docking compartment (1221) is provided with a through groove (1222) so that the transfer robot (300A) can pick up and put the material box (500) on the docking compartment (1221) based on the through groove (1222).

10. The sorting system according to claim 9, characterized in that, The transfer robot (300A) includes: a walking mechanism (310) and a lifting mechanism (320); the lifting mechanism (320) is disposed on top of the walking mechanism (310); The transfer robot (300A) is used so that the walking mechanism (310) drives the lifting mechanism (320) to move along the box-changing robot channel (400) to the position corresponding to the docking compartment (1221), and then moves to the bottom of the docking compartment (1221). The lifting mechanism (320) passes through the through slot (1222) in the vertical direction to lift or place the material box (500).

11. The sorting system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The sorting system also includes: auxiliary connecting shelves (810) or auxiliary conveyor lines (820). The auxiliary connecting rack (810) or auxiliary transmission line (820) is located on the side of the sorting equipment (100) away from the box-changing robot channel (400) for temporary storage of full boxes (500) and empty boxes (500). The auxiliary connecting shelf (810) or auxiliary transmission line (820) can dock with the changing robot (200) on the shelf (120) of the sorting equipment (100) away from the changing robot channel (400) so that the changing robot (200) can pick up and put down the box (500).

12. The sorting system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The connecting area (140) is located on the outer side of one end of the shelf (120) along its length. The bin transport equipment (300) is a first bin conveyor line (300B); the bin conveyor line (300B) is arranged in two rows; a portion of the first bin conveyor line (300B) in each row is located in the connecting area (140); The box-changing robot (200) is used to travel along the box-changing robot channel (400) to move between the shelf (120) and the docking area (140). For the two shelves (120) on both sides of the box-changing robot channel (400), the box-changing robot (200) transports empty boxes (500) on the first box conveyor line (300B) in the docking area (140) to the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120), or transports full boxes (500) in the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120) to the first box conveyor line (300B) in the docking area (140).

13. The sorting system according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first material box conveyor line (300B) is provided with one or more spaced connection positions (330) in the connection area (140), and the part of the first material box conveyor line (300B) other than the connection positions (330) is the conveying section (340). The docking position (330) is used to dock with the box-changing robot (200), receive the full box (500) transported by the box-changing robot (200) and transmit it to the conveying section (340), or receive the empty box (500) transmitted by the conveying section (340) for the box-changing robot (200) to pick up. The conveying section (340) is used to convey empty bins (500) to the docking station (330), or to receive full bins (500) from the docking station (330) and convey them in a direction away from the shelf (120).

14. The sorting system according to claim 12, characterized in that, Each row of the first material box conveyor line (300B) includes: a second full material box conveyor line (350) and a second empty material box conveyor line (360) arranged at intervals along the vertical direction; The box-changing robot (200) is used to travel along the box-changing robot channel (400) to move between the shelf (120) and the docking area (140). For the two shelves (120) on both sides of the box-changing robot channel (400), the box-changing robot (200) transports the empty boxes (500) on the second empty box conveyor line (360) in the docking area (140) to the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120), or transports the full boxes (500) in the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120) to the second full box conveyor line (350) in the docking area (140).

15. The sorting system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The connection area (140) is located below the bottom storage layer (121) of the shelf (120); The bin transport equipment (300) is the second bin conveyor line (300C); The second material box conveyor line (300C) is arranged in two rows; each row of the second material box conveyor line (300C) is located at one end of the length direction of one of the shelves (120) and extends to the connecting area (140). The box-changing robot (200) is used to travel along the box-changing robot channel (400) and, for the two shelves (120) on both sides of the box-changing robot channel (400), to move the empty boxes (500) on the second box conveyor line (300C) located in the docking area (140) to the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120), or to move the full boxes (500) in the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120) to the second box conveyor line (300C) located in the docking area (140).

16. The sorting system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The shelf (120) is provided with multiple horizontal rails (130) spaced apart in the vertical direction on the side near the box-changing robot channel (400); the box-changing robot (200) is installed on the outside of the shelf (120) based on the horizontal rails (130); The box-changing robot (200) includes: a mounting frame (210) and a picking and placing component (220); the mounting frame (210) is movably mounted on the horizontal track (130), and the picking and placing component (220) is disposed on the mounting frame (210) and can move vertically along the mounting frame (210) and horizontally along the horizontal track (130) with the mounting frame (210) to pick and place boxes (500) at different positions on the storage layer (121) and the connecting area (140) of the shelves (120) on both sides of the box-changing robot channel (400).

17. The sorting system according to claim 16, characterized in that, The connecting area (140) is located on the outer side of one end of the shelf (120) along its length. The bin transport equipment (300) is a first bin conveyor line (300B); the bin conveyor line (300B) is arranged in two rows; a portion of the first bin conveyor line (300B) in each row is located in the connecting area (140); The horizontal track (130) extends to the docking area (140) so that the box-changing robot (200) can move along the horizontal track (130) between the shelf (120) and the docking area (140) to pick up and place boxes (500) at different locations on the storage layer (121) of the shelf (120) on both sides of the box-changing robot channel (400) and the first box conveyor line (300B).

18. The sorting system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The picking mechanism (110) includes: a feeding station (111), a lifting mechanism (112), a guiding mechanism (113), and a shuttle sorting vehicle (114). The lifting mechanism (112) is located at one or both ends of the shelf (120) and is used to drive the shuttle sorting vehicle (114) to move up and down along the height direction of the shelf (120); The feeding platform (111) is located on one or both sides of the lifting mechanism (112) and is connected to the lifting mechanism (112); The guiding mechanism (113) is set between the two rows of shelves (120) and includes multiple shuttle guide rails (1131) corresponding to the height of each storage layer (121). The shuttle guide rails (1131) are connected to the lifting mechanism (112) so that the shuttle sorting car (114) can move back and forth along the length of the shelf (120). The shuttle sorting vehicle (114) is used to switch between shuttle guides (1131) at different heights via the lifting mechanism (112) to sort the goods to be sorted at the feeding station (111) into the material boxes (500) of storage compartments (1211) at different heights, and to sort the goods to be sorted at the feeding station (111) into the material boxes (500) of storage compartments (1211) at different lengths via the guiding mechanism (113).

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