Material handover system

Abstract

The utility model discloses a material handover system, which comprises a transportation unit, a handover unit and an operation table, and is characterized in that the transportation unit is used for transporting a material box to a target position; the operation table comprises an input and output unit used for moving the material box into or out of the operation table, and the input and output unit and the handover unit are arranged in a butt joint mode. The handover unit can move the material box out of the transportation unit and handover the material box to the input and output unit of the operation table, and can receive the material box from the input and output unit of the operation table and handover the material box to the transportation unit. According to the utility model, the handover of the workbins from the transportation unit to the operation table and from the operation table to the transportation unit is completed through the handover unit, the handover process of the workbins is stable and high-speed, and the congestion of the transportation unit at the input / output unit of the operation table is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] The material transfer system is mainly used for the storage and inbound / outbound management of materials. It achieves the transfer and relocation of bins and materials through the cooperation of different work units.

[0003] Existing material handling systems typically require a workbench in the inventory area for picking and packing operations. A transport robot moves boxes from the shelves to the workbench, where operators or robots handle the picking and placing of materials. Regarding how to transfer boxes from the transport robot to the workbench, existing technologies usually employ a lifting device at the bottom of the transport robot or a clamping mechanism on the workbench. Both of these solutions suffer from slow box handling speeds and instability during transport. First, the lifting device raises the transport robot's center of gravity during lifting, and if the lifting speed is too fast or the box is heavy, both the box and the transport robot are prone to tipping over. Second, the clamping mechanism requires waiting for the clamping action to complete before vertical transport can begin, resulting in a longer transfer time and potential congestion caused by transport robots queuing at the workbench. The inbound and outbound processes of the material handling system often suffer from reduced overall system efficiency due to single-point congestion. Utility Model Content

[0004] This application aims to address one of the technical problems in related technologies to a certain extent. To this end, this application provides a material transfer system that offers fast and stable bin transfer speeds.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solution: a material transfer system, comprising a transport unit, a transfer unit, and an operating table, wherein the transport unit is used to transport the material box to the target location;

[0006] The operating table includes an input / output unit for moving the material box into or out of the operating table, and the input / output unit and the transfer unit are connected together.

[0007] The handover unit is capable of moving the material box from the transport unit and handing it over to the input / output unit of the operating table, and is also capable of receiving the material box from the input / output unit of the operating table and handing it over to the transport unit.

[0008] In this technical solution, the transport unit transports the material box to the input / output unit of the operating table. A transfer unit is installed at the interface between the input / output unit and the operating table, allowing the material box carried on the transport unit to be transferred to the input / output unit via the transfer unit. After the material box is operated on the operating table, the input / output unit can transfer the material box back to the transport unit via another transfer unit, and the transport unit then transports the material box to the designated location. The transfer unit completes the transfer of the material box from the transport unit to the operating table and from the operating table to the transport unit. The material box transfer process is stable and high-speed, reducing congestion of the transport unit at the input / output unit of the operating table.

[0009] Preferably, the handover unit includes a carrying component and a lifting component. The carrying component is used to carry the material box, and the lifting component is used to drive the carrying component to reciprocate between a first position docked with the transport unit and a second position docked with the input / output unit.

[0010] Preferably, the transport unit includes a mobile chassis, on which a bearing surface for supporting the material box is provided, and a plurality of connecting grooves are provided on the bearing surface.

[0011] Preferably, the load-bearing component is a toothed fork, which includes a plurality of teeth. When the load-bearing components of the transport unit and the transfer unit are docked in a first position, the teeth are inserted into the connecting groove.

[0012] Preferably, the inserter includes a drive wheel and a conveyor belt. The drive wheel drives the conveyor belt to move. The conveyor belt is used to carry the material box and drive the material box to move. When the carrying component of the transfer unit is docked with the input / output unit in the second position, the conveyor belt drives the material box to move onto the input / output unit.

[0013] Preferably, the input / output unit includes an input unit and an output unit for moving the material box into and out of the operating table, respectively, and the handover unit includes a first handover unit located in the input unit and a second handover unit located in the output unit.

[0014] Preferably, the transport unit further includes a track, and the mobile chassis is mounted on the track and is capable of moving along the track.

[0015] Preferably, the track is a circular track.

[0016] Preferably, when the carrying component of the first handover unit is docked with the input / output unit at the second position, the mobile chassis of the transport unit can move along the track from the input unit of the input / output unit to the output unit and hand over the material box with the carrying component of the second handover unit.

[0017] Preferably, the bottom of the mobile chassis is provided with guide wheels and rolling wheels. The rolling wheels are used to drive the mobile chassis to move, and the guide wheels are used to control the movement of the mobile chassis along the track.

[0018] These features and advantages of this application will be disclosed in detail in the following specific embodiments and accompanying drawings. The best embodiments or means of this application will be shown in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but are not intended to limit the technical solutions of this application. In addition, each of these features, elements and components appearing in the following text and drawings is multiple and is labeled with different symbols or numbers for convenience, but all represent parts with the same or similar structure or function. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, further illustrates this application:

[0020] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the material transfer system according to an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the transport unit (unloaded) according to an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a top view of the handover unit according to an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the handover status of the transport unit and the handover unit.

[0024] Among them, 200 is the transport unit; 210 is the mobile chassis; 211 is the connecting trough; 212 is the rolling wheel; 213 is the guide wheel; 220 is the track; 300 is the handover unit; 310 is the load-bearing component; 311 is the gear; 3111 is the conveyor belt; 3112 is the drive wheel; 312 is the drive shaft; 321 is the first motor; 322 is the second motor; 400 is the operating table; 410 is the input / output unit; and 510 is the material bin. Detailed Implementation

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

[0026] The terms "an embodiment," "example," or "example" used in this specification refer to a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment itself that may be included in at least one embodiment disclosed in this application. The phrase "in an embodiment" appearing in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0027] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, this embodiment proposes a material transfer system, including a transport unit 200, a transfer unit 300, and an operating table 400. The transport unit 200 is used to transport a material box 510 to a target location. The operating table 400 includes an input / output unit 410 for conveying the material box 510. An input unit and an output unit are respectively located at both ends along the transport direction of the input / output unit 410. Each input unit and output unit is equipped with a transfer unit 300. The transfer unit 300 can move the material box 510 from the transport unit 200 and transfer it to the input unit of the input / output unit 410, and can also receive the material box 510 from the output unit of the input / output unit 410 and transfer it to the transport unit 200. When one of the transfer unit 300 or the input / output unit 410 carries the material box 510, the material box 510 can be moved from one to the other.

[0028] In this technical solution, the transport unit 200 transports the material box 510 to the operating table 400. A transfer unit 300 is provided at both the input and output units of the input / output unit 410 of the operating table 400. This allows the material box 510 carried on the transport unit 200 to be transferred to the input / output unit 410 via the transfer unit 300. After the operating table 400 operates on the material box 510, the input / output unit 410 can transfer the material box 510 to the transport unit 200 via another transfer unit 300, and the transport unit 200 then transports the material box 510 to a designated location. The transfer unit 300 completes the transfer of the material box 510 from the transport unit 200 to the operating table 400 and vice versa. The material box 510 transfer process is stable and fast, reducing congestion of the transport unit 200 at the input / output units of the operating table 400.

[0029] In this embodiment, as Figures 2 to 4 As shown, the transfer unit 300 includes a carrying component 310 and a lifting component. The carrying component 310 is used to carry the material box 510, and the lifting component is used to drive the carrying component 310 to reciprocate between a first position docked with the transport unit 200 and a second position docked with the input / output unit 410.

[0030] Specifically, such as Figures 2 to 4As shown, the transport unit 200 includes a mobile chassis 210, on which a bearing surface for supporting the material box 510 is provided, and a plurality of connecting grooves 211 are provided on the bearing surface; the bearing assembly 310 is configured as a toothed fork, the toothed fork including a plurality of teeth 311, when the transport unit 200 and the bearing assembly 310 of the transfer unit 300 are docked in a first position, the teeth 311 are inserted into the connecting grooves 211. Figure 4 As shown, when the transport unit 200 is transferred to the handover unit 300, the insert teeth 311 are gradually inserted into the connecting groove 211 as the transport unit 200 moves, until the transport unit 200 stops when it moves to a designated position. At this time, the insert teeth 311 of the toothed fork are inserted into the connecting grooves 211 of the movable chassis 210. The toothed fork is located at the bottom of the material box 510. By controlling the operation of the lifting component, the toothed fork can move upward in the height direction to support the material box 510, thereby separating the material box 510 from the transport unit 200 and realizing the transfer of the material box 510 from the transport unit 200 to the handover unit 300.

[0031] Specifically, such as Figure 3 As shown, the carrying component 310 of the transfer unit 300 is configured as a toothed fork composed of four teeth 311. Each tooth 311 includes a drive wheel 3112 and a conveyor belt 3111. The drive wheel 3112 drives the conveyor belt 3111 to move. The conveyor belt 3111 is used to carry the material box 510 and drive the material box 510 to move. When the carrying component 310 of the transfer unit 300 is docked with the input / output unit 410 in the second position, the conveyor belt 3111 drives the material box 510 to move onto the input / output unit 410. In some embodiments, to ensure that the material box 510 can move smoothly along a preset direction on the bearing assembly 310, the drive wheels 3112 of several sets of pick teeth 311 are all driven by the same drive shaft and rotate at the same speed under the drive of the drive shaft, so that the movement speed of the conveyor belt 3111 of each pick tooth 311 is consistent. Therefore, when the bearing assembly 310 of the transfer unit 300 is docked with the input / output unit 410 of the operating table, the material box 510 can be stably transferred to the input / output unit 410. The lifting assembly includes a first motor 321 and a transmission mechanism. The first motor 321 drives the bearing assembly 310 of the transfer unit 300 to reciprocate up and down along the fixed guide rail in the height direction through the transmission mechanism. The drive shaft is connected to the output shaft of the second motor 322 and rotates under the drive of the second motor 322.

[0032] The transport unit 200 also includes a track 220, which is a circular track 220. The mobile chassis 210 is mounted on the track 220 and can move along the track 220. The track 220 passes through the bottom of the operating table and the transfer unit 300.

[0033] In this embodiment, the handover unit 300 includes a first handover unit located at the input unit of the input / output unit 410 and a second handover unit located at the output unit of the input / output unit 410. When the carrying component 310 of the first handover unit is docked with the input / output unit 410 at the second position, the movable chassis 210 of the transport unit 200 can move along the track 220 from the input unit of the input / output unit 410 to the output unit and hand over the material box 510 to the carrying component 310 of the second handover unit. That is, when the first handover unit lifts the material box 510 on the transport unit 200 upward and moves it to the second position, the transport unit 200 can move from the bottom of the toothed fork of the first handover unit along the track 220 to the bottom of the toothed fork of the second handover unit, and is ready to receive the material box 510 received by the second handover unit from the input / output unit 410.

[0034] In this embodiment, any end of the operating table 400 can be set as an input unit or an output unit. The conveying direction of the material box 510 of the input / output unit 410 can be switched. The first transfer unit and the second transfer unit are respectively set at both ends of the input / output unit 410. One of the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit is used to transport the material box 510 carried on the transport unit 200 to the input unit of the input / output unit 410, and the other is used to transport the material box 510 sent out by the output unit of the input / output unit 410 to the transport unit 200. In use, the transport unit 200 includes a plurality of mobile chassis 210 that move cyclically on the circular track 220. The process by which the transfer unit 300 receives the material box 510 from the output unit of the input / output unit 410 and transfers it to the transport unit 200 includes: the transfer unit 300 first moves to a second position and docks with the output unit of the input / output unit 410; the unloaded transport unit 200 (not carrying the material box 510) moves to a designated position below the transfer unit 300; the docking of the transfer unit 300 with the input / output unit 410 means that the bearing surface of the input / output unit 410 carrying and transporting the material box 510 is at the same height as the bearing surface of the material box 510 of the bearing component 310 of the transfer unit 300, and the material box 510 can move from one of them to the other; the material box 510 moves from the input / output unit 410 to the conveyor belt 3111 under the drive of the input / output unit 410 and the conveyor belt 3111; then the lifting component of the transfer unit 300 operates, controlling the bearing component 310 along the height direction. The load-bearing component 310 moves from the second position to the first position. After the load-bearing component 310 moves to the first position, the load-bearing component 310 of the transfer unit 300 docks with the transport unit 200, which has been pre-moved to the bottom of the load-bearing component 310. The toothed forks of the transfer unit 300 insert the teeth 311 from top to bottom into the connecting groove 211 of the mobile chassis 210. When the height of the upper surface of the conveyor belt 3111 of the teeth 311 is lower than the load-bearing surface of the mobile chassis 210, the hopper 510 is transferred from the toothed forks of the transfer unit 300 to the mobile chassis 210 of the transport unit 200. Then, the mobile chassis 210 is controlled to move forward along the track 220, so that the connecting groove 211 of the mobile chassis 210 and the teeth 311 of the transfer unit 300 are separated in the horizontal direction. After the teeth 311 and the mobile chassis 210 are completely separated, the lifting component controls the load-bearing component 310 to move from the first position to the second position to prepare to pick up the next hopper 510.

[0035] The process by which the handover unit 300 receives the material box 510 from the transport unit 200 and hands it over to the output unit of the input / output unit 410 includes: First, the carrying component 310 of the handover unit 300 moves to a first position, and the transport unit 200 moves along the track 220 to the first position and docks with the handover unit 300. During the movement of the transport unit 200, the teeth 311 of the toothed fork are gradually inserted into the connecting groove 211 of the moving chassis 210 in the horizontal direction. After the transport unit 200 moves to the designated position, it stops, and the teeth 311 are located in the connecting groove 211 and at the bottom of the material box 510. The lifting component of the handover unit 300 drives the carrying component 310 to move upward in the height direction. The toothed forks lift the hopper 510 from the bottom and detach it from the moving chassis 210 of the transport unit 200. When the carrying component 310 of the transfer unit 300 moves to the second position in the height direction, the transport unit 200 moves mechanically along the track 220 to the other end of the operating table. The conveyor belt 3111 of the toothed fork starts to move under the action of the drive wheel 3112, moving the hopper 510 located on the conveyor belt 3111 to the input / output unit 410. After the hopper 510 is completely detached from the conveyor belt 3111, the carrying component 310 of the transfer unit 300 moves down to the first position and waits for the next moving chassis 210 carrying the hopper 510 to move to the designated position.

[0036] In this embodiment, the handover of the material box 510 from the transport unit 200 to the operating table 400 and from the operating table 400 to the transport unit 200 is achieved through the first and second handover components. The handover process of the material box 510 is stable and fast, reducing congestion of the transport unit 200 at the input and output units of the operating table. In this embodiment, the handover unit 300 can be fixed to the ground and uses a lifting method to support and move the material box 510, making the movement of the material box 510 more stable and faster.

[0037] In this embodiment, the bottom of the mobile chassis 210 is provided with guide wheels 213 and rolling wheels 212. The rolling wheels 212 are used to drive the mobile chassis 210 to move, and the guide wheels 213 are used to control the mobile chassis 210 to move along the track.

[0038] In summary, the handover unit 300 of this embodiment can complete the handover of the material box 510 from the transport unit 200 to the operating table 400 and from the operating table 400 to the transport unit 200. The handover process of the material box 510 is stable and fast, reducing the congestion of the transport unit 200 at the input and output units of the operating table 400.

[0039] The above are merely specific embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that this application includes, but is not limited to, the contents described in the accompanying drawings and the specific embodiments above. Any modifications that do not depart from the functional and structural principles of this application will be included within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A material transfer system, characterized in that, It includes a transport unit (200), a handover unit (300), and an operating table (400), wherein the transport unit (200) is used to transport the hopper (510) to the target location; The operating table (400) includes an input / output unit (410) for moving the hopper (510) into or out of the operating table (400), and the input / output unit (410) and the transfer unit (300) are docked together. The handover unit (300) is capable of moving the hopper (510) from the transport unit (200) and handing it over to the input / output unit (410) of the operating table (400), and is also capable of receiving the hopper (510) from the input / output unit (410) of the operating table (400) and handing it over to the transport unit (200).

2. The material transfer system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The handover unit (300) includes a carrying component (310) and a lifting component. The carrying component (310) is used to carry the material box (510), and the lifting component is used to drive the carrying component (310) to reciprocate between a first position docked with the transport unit and a second position docked with the input / output unit (410).

3. The material transfer system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The transport unit (200) includes a mobile chassis (210), on which a bearing surface for supporting the material box (510) is provided, and a plurality of connecting grooves (211) are provided on the bearing surface.

4. The material transfer system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The carrying component (310) is configured as a toothed fork, which includes a plurality of teeth (311). When the carrying components (310) of the transport unit (200) and the transfer unit (300) are docked in the first position, the teeth (311) are inserted into the connecting groove (211).

5. The material transfer system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The inserter (311) includes a drive wheel (3112) and a conveyor belt (3111). The drive wheel (3112) drives the conveyor belt (3111) to move. The conveyor belt (3111) is used to carry the material box (510) and drive the material box (510) to move. When the carrying component (310) of the transfer unit (300) is docked with the input / output unit (410) in the second position, the conveyor belt (3111) drives the material box (510) to move onto the input / output unit (410) of the operating table (400).

6. The material transfer system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The transport unit (200) also includes a track (220), and the mobile chassis (210) is mounted on the track (220) and is able to move along the track (220).

7. The material transfer system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The input / output unit (410) includes an input unit and an output unit for moving the hopper (510) into and out of the operating table (400), respectively. The handover unit (300) includes a first handover unit located in the input unit and a second handover unit located in the output unit.

8. The material transfer system according to claim 7, characterized in that, When the carrier component (310) of the first handover unit is docked with the input / output unit (410) in the second position, the mobile chassis (210) of the transport unit (200) can move along the track (220) from the input unit of the input / output unit (410) to the output unit and hand over the hopper (510) to the carrier component (310) of the second handover unit.

9. The material transfer system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The track (220) is configured as a circular track (220).

10. The material transfer system according to any one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that, The bottom of the mobile chassis (210) is provided with guide wheels (213) and rolling wheels (212). The rolling wheels (212) are used to drive the mobile chassis (210) to move, and the guide wheels (213) are used to control the mobile chassis (210) to move along the track.

Images