Robotic merchandise cabinet

Abstract

The utility model relates to a kind of robot commodity cabinet, including cabinet, the cabinet door of the cabinet is provided with the lifting bucket that front end is inclined downward and is driven lifting by driving mechanism, the lower part both sides of cabinet door are inclinedly provided with the guide plate for guiding goods into lifting bucket when lifting bucket drops to the lowest position, the middle part of cabinet door is provided with the discharge port for guiding goods when lifting bucket rises to the highest position. The robot commodity cabinet is designed to facilitate the interface with the robot to realize the delivery of goods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a robotic merchandise cabinet. Background Technology

[0002] Vending machines are among the most representative technological products of the "new retail" era. With the continuous expansion of application scenarios and product categories, the overall scale of the vending machine industry will continue to grow. In the future, with technological upgrades and supply chain optimization, vending machines will also develop towards large-scale and refined operations, bringing a brand-new shopping experience to people's lives.

[0003] With the development of robots, their application in hotels, factories, and other facilities within designated areas is becoming increasingly common. However, existing vending machines have their dispensing ports located at the bottom of the cabinet and mostly only support in-store purchases. This type of dispensing port cannot interface with robots, thus preventing current vending machines from supporting remote purchases and robot delivery to designated locations within a specified area. Designing a vending machine that can work in conjunction with robots would significantly improve the shopping experience. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this utility model is to provide a robotic merchandise cabinet with a designed delivery channel that facilitates docking with a robot to deliver goods.

[0005] The technical solution of this utility model is as follows: a robot merchandise cabinet, including a cabinet, wherein the cabinet door is provided with a lifting bucket that is inclined downward at the front end and driven to rise and fall by a drive mechanism, and guide plates are inclined on both sides of the lower part of the cabinet door for guiding the merchandise into the lifting bucket when it is lowered to the lowest position, and a discharge port is provided in the middle of the cabinet door for discharging the merchandise when the lifting bucket is raised to the highest position.

[0006] Furthermore, the drive mechanism includes transverse shafts rotatably mounted in the middle and lower part of the cabinet door, and one of the transverse shafts is driven to rotate by a power source. Both ends of the transverse shaft are equipped with synchronous pulleys, and a synchronous belt is fitted on the two synchronous pulleys on the same side between the two transverse shafts. Linear guide rails are vertically arranged on both sides of the lifting bucket inside the cabinet door, and the side plate of the lifting bucket is fixed to the synchronous belt on the corresponding side via a slider on the linear guide rail.

[0007] Furthermore, the power source includes a drive motor, the output end of which is connected to one of the transverse shafts via a synchronous belt mechanism.

[0008] Furthermore, a matching commodity detection sensor is located between the lower ends of the two guide plates.

[0009] Furthermore, the two guide plates work together to form an inverted V-shape, and the distance between the two guide plates allows the lifting bucket to move up and down.

[0010] Furthermore, the cabinet door is equipped with a lifting bucket upper position sensor and a lower position sensor on one side of the middle and lower part respectively.

[0011] Furthermore, a vertical plate is provided at the rear end of one of the guide plates, and a folding plate that turns backward and upward is provided at the upper end of the vertical plate.

[0012] Furthermore, a discharge hopper or conveying mechanism connected to the discharge port is provided on the outer side of the cabinet door.

[0013] Furthermore, the cabinet is equipped with shelves, and the shelves are equipped with partition channels, spring channels, push-plate channels or tank channels.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: 1. The robotic vending machine's dispensing channel is designed to not only support in-store purchases but also facilitate interaction with the robot to retrieve goods. It is suitable for selling disposable items, snacks, beverages, and daily necessities in hotels, or for selling protective equipment such as gloves, masks, and goggles, as well as water, in factories.

[0015] 2. The product channels inside the robot's product cabinet can be configured according to needs, such as partition channels, spring channels, push plate channels, and can channels. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of this utility model; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure behind the hidden cabinet door of this utility model (the lifting bucket is located at the lowest position); Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the cabinet door structure from the rear (the lifting bucket is located at the loading position). Figure 4 This is a partially enlarged view of the drive mechanism of this utility model; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the robot docking with the discharge hopper according to this utility model; In the diagram: 1-Robot; 10-Cabinet; 20-Cabinet Door; 21-Discharge Port; 22-Upper Position Sensor; 23-Lower Position Sensor; 24-Discharge Hopper; 30-Lifting Hopper; 31-Horizontal Shaft; 32-Synchronous Belt Pulley; 33-Synchronous Belt; 34-Linear Guide Rail; 35-Drive Motor; 36-Synchronous Belt Mechanism; 40-Guide Plate; 41-Product Detection Sensor; 42-Vertical Plate; 43-Folding Plate; 50-Shelf. Detailed Implementation

[0017] To make the above-mentioned features and advantages of this utility model more easily understood, specific embodiments are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but this utility model is not limited thereto.

[0018] refer to Figures 1 to 5 A robotic merchandise cabinet includes a cabinet 10, within which a shelf 50 with a dispensing channel is installed. The cabinet door 20 has a downward-sloping lifting bucket 30 driven by a drive mechanism, with the front end of the lifting bucket close to the inner wall of the door. Guide plates 40 are inclined on both sides of the lower part of the door to guide goods into the lifting bucket when it reaches its lowest position. A discharge port 21 is located in the middle of the door to connect with the lifting bucket when it reaches its highest position, allowing goods to exit. Goods are pushed out through the dispensing channel and fall onto the guide plates, then further down into the lowest-positioned lifting bucket. The lifting bucket then raises the goods and outputs them through the discharge port, allowing them to be imported into the robot's storage compartment.

[0019] In this embodiment, to drive the lifting bucket to rise and fall, the driving mechanism includes transverse shafts 31 rotatably mounted in the middle and lower part of the cabinet door, with one of the transverse shafts driven to rotate by a power source. Synchronous pulleys 32 are mounted at both ends of the transverse shafts, and a synchronous belt 33 is fitted onto the two synchronous pulleys on the same side between the two transverse shafts. Linear guide rails 34 are vertically arranged on both sides of the lifting bucket inside the cabinet door. The side plate of the lifting bucket is fixed to a slider on the linear guide rail, and the slider is fixed to the corresponding synchronous belt. Thus, the lifting bucket is raised and lowered by the rotation of the synchronous belt, and guided by the linear guide rail. The power source includes a drive motor 35, the output end of which is connected to one of the transverse shafts via a synchronous belt mechanism 36, thereby driving the two synchronous belts to rotate synchronously.

[0020] The drive mechanism can be a lifting electric cylinder or other mechanism that can drive lifting and lowering, which is connected to the lifting bucket.

[0021] In this embodiment, in order to detect whether the goods have fallen into the lifting hopper, a matching goods detection sensor 41 is provided between the lower ends of the two guide plates. The goods detection sensor is connected to the controller.

[0022] In this embodiment, the two guide plates cooperate to form an inverted V-shape, and the distance between the two guide plates allows the lifting bucket to move up and down, so that after the goods fall into the guide plates, the slope of the guide plates allows the goods to slide into the lifting bucket.

[0023] In this embodiment, in order to detect whether the lifting bucket has moved up or down to the correct position, an upper position sensor 22 and a lower position sensor 23 for the lifting bucket are respectively installed on one side of the middle and lower part of the cabinet door. The upper position sensor and the lower position sensor are connected to the controller so that after the upper position sensor and the lower position sensor detect that the lifting bucket has moved up or down to the correct position, they send a command to stop the drive mechanism.

[0024] In this embodiment, a discharge hopper 24 connected to the discharge port is provided on the outer side of the cabinet door for docking with the robot's storage compartment to guide goods into the robot's storage compartment or for manual retrieval of goods. Alternatively, the discharge hopper can be replaced with a conveyor mechanism according to different robot requirements. The conveyor mechanism can be a tracked conveyor or other types of discharge structure that docks with the robot.

[0025] In this embodiment, a first shelf is provided on one side of the cabinet, and a second shelf and a third shelf located below the second shelf are provided on the other side of the cabinet. The first, second, and third shelves are configured with corresponding delivery channels as needed, such as partition channels, spring channels, push-plate channels, or can channels. For example, the first shelf can be used to place canned beverages, the second shelf can be used to place hotel supplies, and the third shelf can be used to place small commodities.

[0026] In this embodiment, a vertical plate 42 is provided at the rear end of one of the guide plates, and a folding plate 43 that turns upward and backward is provided at the upper end of the vertical plate so that small items can fall into the guide plate.

[0027] The working process when used in conjunction with a robot: 1. Initial state: The manager puts in the goods for sale, closes the machine cabinet door, and the lifting bucket is in the upper delivery position (discharge hopper position), waiting for the delivery instruction; 2. Ready to ship status: The customer places an order, the robot moves to the discharge port and docks with the discharge hopper, sends a positioning signal, the product cabinet receives the shipping instruction, and prepares to ship; 3. Shipment Status 1: The lifting bucket is lowered to the lowest point (receiving position) by controlling the drive mechanism and a position signal is sent; 4. Shipment Status 2: After receiving the signal that the lifting bucket has reached its position, the controller of the merchandise cabinet controls the shelf to ship out the goods and the corresponding goods fall into the guide plate; 5. Shipment Status 3: The goods that fall into the guide plate slide into the lifting bucket due to gravity. During the sliding process, the goods detection sensor can detect the goods and report a shipment success instruction. 6. Shipment Status 4: After receiving the shipment success instruction, the controller of the product cabinet raises the lifting bucket to the shipment position by controlling the lifting mechanism; 7. Shipment Status 5: The goods slide into the robot's compartment through the hopper due to gravity; 8. Delivery complete: After the robot retrieves the goods, it leaves, and the goods cabinet returns to its initial state, awaiting the next delivery instruction.

[0028] If the terms "first" and "second" are used in the above description to define the components, those skilled in the art should know that the use of "first" and "second" is only for the convenience of distinguishing the components in the description. Unless otherwise stated, the above terms have no special meaning.

[0029] If this utility model discloses or relates to mutually fixedly connected parts or structural components, then unless otherwise stated, a fixed connection can be understood as: a detachable fixed connection (e.g., using bolts or screws) or a non-detachable fixed connection (e.g., riveting or welding). Of course, mutually fixed connections can also be replaced by an integral structure (e.g., manufactured using a casting process) (except where it is obviously impossible to use an integral forming process).

[0030] In addition, unless otherwise stated, the terms used to indicate positional relationships or shapes in any of the technical solutions disclosed in this utility model above include states or shapes that are similar to, close to, or approximate with them.

[0031] Any component provided by this utility model can be assembled from multiple individual components, or it can be a single component manufactured by a one-piece molding process.

[0032] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model. All equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of the patent application of the present utility model shall be covered by the present utility model.

Claims

1. A robotic merchandise cabinet, comprising a cabinet, characterized in that, The cabinet door is equipped with a lifting bucket that tilts downwards at the front and is driven to rise and fall by a drive mechanism. Both sides of the lower part of the cabinet door are inclined with guide plates for guiding goods into the lifting bucket when it is lowered to the lowest position. The two guide plates cooperate to form an inverted V-shape, and the distance between the two guide plates allows the lifting bucket to rise and fall. A vertical plate is provided at the rear end of one of the guide plates, and a folding plate that turns backwards and upwards is provided at the upper end of the vertical plate. The middle part of the cabinet door is provided with a discharge port for discharging goods when the lifting bucket is raised to the highest position. A discharge hopper or conveying mechanism connected to the discharge port is provided on the outer side of the cabinet door.

2. The robotic merchandise cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive mechanism includes transverse shafts rotatably mounted in the middle and lower part of the cabinet door, one of which is driven to rotate by a power source. Both ends of the transverse shafts are equipped with synchronous pulleys, and a synchronous belt is fitted onto the two synchronous pulleys on the same side between the two transverse shafts. Linear guide rails are vertically arranged on both sides of the lifting bucket inside the cabinet door, and the side plates of the lifting bucket are fixed to the corresponding synchronous belts via sliders on the linear guide rails.

3. The robotic merchandise cabinet according to claim 2, characterized in that, The power source includes a drive motor, and the output end of the drive motor is connected to one of the transverse shafts via a synchronous belt mechanism.

4. The robotic merchandise cabinet according to claim 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that, A matching product detection sensor is located between the lower ends of the two guide plates.

5. The robotic merchandise cabinet according to claim 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that, The cabinet door is equipped with a lifting bucket upper position sensor and a lower position sensor on one side of the middle and lower part respectively.

6. The robotic merchandise cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cabinet is equipped with shelves, which are equipped with partition channels, spring channels, push-plate channels or tank channels.

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