Transport device

Abstract

To provide a conveyance device capable of easily moving an object without requiring accurate positioning control for engaging an arm and the object.SOLUTION: A conveyance device has a horizontally movable arm 140 and a control part 100 for controlling movement of the arm 140, the arm 140 has a ratchet pawl 142, the control part 100 moves the arm 140 along the surface of an object 90 having an engaging part 92.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a conveying device for conveying an object.

Background Art

[0002] Various devices for conveying an object have been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a load transfer device that moves a container between a shelf and a mounting table by engaging a hook provided at the tip of a shaft that can be extended or retracted from the mounting table with an engaging portion provided on the container. This load transfer device extends the shaft so that the hook is positioned below the engaging portion of the container, and then rotates the shaft to raise the hook, thereby hooking the hook on the engaging portion.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, accurate control is required to align the position of the hook with the position of the engaging portion, so the hook cannot be easily engaged with the engaging portion.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a conveying device that does not require accurate alignment control for engaging an arm with an object and can easily move the object.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure for achieving the above object has a horizontally movable arm and a control unit that controls the operation of the arm. The arm is provided with a ratchet claw, and the control unit is a transport device that moves the arm along a surface of an object having a surface provided with an engaging portion. According to such a transport device, by simply moving the arm, the ratchet claw engages with the engaging portion of the object. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform precise alignment control for engaging the arm and the object, and the object can be easily moved.

[0007] In the above aspect, the arm may include, as the ratchet claw, a first ratchet claw with the tip of the claw facing forward of the arm and a second ratchet claw with the tip of the claw facing rearward of the arm. According to such a configuration, the object is moved in a first direction using the first ratchet claw, and the object is moved in a second direction using the second ratchet claw. Therefore, the object can be moved in both directions using the arm.

[0008] In the above aspect, the first ratchet claw and the second ratchet claw are provided apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the arm, and the control unit may rotate the arm in the circumferential direction of the arm. According to such a configuration, by rotating the arm, the ratchet claw used for moving the object is switched. Therefore, convenience is improved.

[0009] In the above aspect, the second ratchet claw may be provided perpendicular to the first ratchet claw. According to such a configuration, the vertical width of the entire arm including the two ratchet claws can be suppressed. Therefore, it becomes easy to insert the arm into a narrow gap.

[0010] In the above aspect, the conveying device has a placement part, the arm is inserted and removed in the horizontal direction from the placement part, and the ratchet pawl may engage with the engaging part provided on the bottom surface of the object. According to such a configuration, the object can be moved to the placement part or moved from the placement part to the outside.

Effects of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a conveying device that can easily move an object without the need to precisely control the alignment for engaging the arm and the object.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic system configuration of the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0014] The autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the present embodiment is an example of a transport device, and is, for example, a robot that autonomously moves within a moving environment such as a house, a facility, a warehouse, a factory, or outdoors. The autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the present embodiment includes a movable moving unit 110, a telescopic unit 120 that expands and contracts in the vertical direction, a placement unit 130 for supporting a placed object, an arm 140, an arm drive mechanism 150, and a control unit 100 that controls the autonomous mobile robot 10 including control of the moving unit 110, the telescopic unit 120, and the arm 140, and a wireless communication unit 160.

[0015] The moving unit 110 includes a robot body 111, a pair of left and right drive wheels 112 rotatably provided on the robot body 111, a pair of front and rear driven wheels 113, and a pair of motors 114 that rotationally drive each drive wheel 112. Each motor 114 rotates each drive wheel 112 via a speed reducer or the like. Each motor 114 rotates each drive wheel 112 according to a control signal from the control unit 100, enabling the robot body 111 to move forward, move backward, and rotate. As a result, the robot body 111 can move to an arbitrary position. Note that the configuration of the moving unit 110 is an example and is not limited thereto. For example, the number of drive wheels 112 and driven wheels 113 of the moving unit 110 may be arbitrary, and any configuration can be applied as long as the robot body 111 can be moved to an arbitrary position.

[0016] The telescopic unit 120 is a telescopic mechanism that expands and contracts in the vertical direction. The telescopic unit 120 may be configured as a telescopic type telescopic mechanism. A mounting portion 130 is provided at the upper end of the telescopic unit 120, and the mounting portion 130 rises or falls due to the operation of the telescopic unit 120. The telescopic unit 120 includes a driving device 121 such as a motor, and expands and contracts by driving the driving device 121. That is, the mounting portion 130 rises or falls by driving the driving device 121. The driving device 121 is driven according to a control signal from the control unit 100. Note that in the autonomous mobile robot 10, instead of the telescopic unit 120, any known mechanism for controlling the height of the mounting portion 130 provided above the robot body 111 may be used.

[0017] The mounting portion 130 is provided at the upper part (tip) of the telescopic unit 120. The mounting portion 130 moves up and down by a driving device 121 such as a motor. In the present embodiment, the mounting portion 130 is used to place an object to be transported by the autonomous mobile robot 10. For transportation, the autonomous mobile robot 10 moves together with the object while supporting the object on the mounting portion 130. As a result, the autonomous mobile robot 10 transports the object.

[0018] The placement part 130 is composed of, for example, a plate material forming the upper surface and a plate material forming the lower surface, and has a space for accommodating the arm 140 and the arm drive mechanism 150 between the upper surface and the lower surface. In the present embodiment, the shape of this plate material, that is, the shape of the placement part 130 is, for example, a flat disc shape, but it may be any other arbitrary shape. More specifically, in the present embodiment, when the arm 140 moves, a notch 131 is provided in the placement part 130 along the movement path of the arm 140 so that the ratchet pawl 142a or the ratchet pawl 142b of the arm 140 does not collide with the placement part 130 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Note that the notch 131 is provided at least on the upper surface of the placement part 130.

[0019] The placement part 130 is provided with an arm 140 that is inserted into and removed from the placement part 130 in the horizontal direction. The arm 140 has a shaft part 141 extending in the horizontal direction and ratchet pawls 142a and 142b provided at the tip of the shaft part 141. In the following description, when referring to the ratchet pawl 142a and the ratchet pawl 142b without particularly distinguishing them, they will be referred to as the ratchet pawl 142. Further, the placement part 130 is provided with an arm drive mechanism 150 that moves the arm 140 in the horizontal direction (that is, the direction along the shaft part 141, or more specifically, the longitudinal direction of the arm 140) and rotates the shaft part 141 in response to a control signal from the control part 100. The arm drive mechanism 150 includes, for example, a motor and a linear guide, and moves the arm 140 in the horizontal direction and rotates the shaft part 141. However, as the arm drive mechanism 150, any known mechanism for performing these operations may be used.

[0020] As described above, the arm 140 is movable in the horizontal direction (the direction of the shaft part 141 of the arm 140), and the ratchet pawl 142 is rotatable as the shaft part 141 rotates. That is, with the shaft part 141 as the rotation axis, the ratchet pawl 142 is rotatable.

[0021] Here, the horizontal movement of the arm 140 is shown in the figure. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the placement portion 130 in a state where the tip of the arm 140 protrudes outside the horizontal direction of the placement portion 130. Further, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the placement portion 130 in a state where the tip of the arm 140 is retracted toward the placement portion 130 side. Note that the notch 131 of the placement portion 130 is a notch having a predetermined length extending along the axis of the arm 140 from the outer peripheral end of the placement portion 130 as shown in the figure. Specifically, the position of the end of the notch 131 corresponds to, for example, the position of the tip (ratchet claw 142) of the arm 140 when the arm 140 is most retracted toward the placement portion 130 side as shown in FIG. 5. Thus, since the placement portion 130 has the notch 131, the ratchet claw 142 of the arm 140 can be retracted to the inside of the outer periphery of the placement portion 130.

[0022] In this embodiment, when the ratchet claw 142 faces upward, the notch 131 is provided because the operation of the arm 140 is hindered without the notch 131. However, if there is no hindrance to the operation of the arm 140, the notch 131 may not be provided.

[0023] The arm 140 is provided with a ratchet pawl 142. The ratchet pawl 142 is provided along the extending direction of the arm 140 (shaft portion 141). That is, in the horizontal plane, the direction in which the tip of the pawl of the ratchet pawl 142 faces is the extending direction of the arm 140 (shaft portion 141). FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing the ratchet pawl 142 provided at the tip of the arm 140. Further, FIG. 7 is a side view schematically showing the ratchet pawl 142 provided at the tip of the arm 140. As shown in the figures, in the present embodiment, more specifically, the arm 140 includes a ratchet pawl 142a with the tip 143a of the pawl facing forward in the extending direction of the arm 140 (shaft portion 141), and a ratchet pawl 142b with the tip 143b of the pawl facing rearward in the extending direction of the arm 140 (shaft portion 141). That is, the tip 143a of the pawl of the ratchet pawl 142a faces forward in the moving direction of the arm 140. Also, the tip 143b of the pawl of the ratchet pawl 142b faces rearward in the moving direction of the arm 140. The ratchet pawl 142 is biased so that the tips of the pawls (tips 143a and 143b) jump up from the arm 140 (shaft portion 141). In the present embodiment, as an example, the ratchet pawl is biased in such a manner using biasing members 144a and 144b. Note that the biasing members 144a and 144b are specifically springs such as torsion springs, for example. Both the ratchet pawl 142a and the ratchet pawl 142b are freely rotatable in the direction in which the tip of the pawl approaches the arm 140 (shaft portion 141) (the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6), but can only rotate up to a predetermined angle in the direction in which the tip of the pawl moves away from the arm 140 (shaft portion 141). Specifically, this predetermined angle is the angle formed between the pawl and the shaft portion 141 and is an arbitrary angle of 90 degrees or less. More specifically, this predetermined angle is, for example, an arbitrary angle of 10 degrees or more and 90 degrees or less. The tips of the pawls (tips 143a and 143b) of the ratchet pawl 142 are biased to maintain this predetermined angle. Thus, the ratchet pawl 142 is configured to be freely rotatable in the direction opposite to the biasing direction with an axis perpendicular to the arm 140 (shaft portion 141) as the rotation axis, but can only rotate up to a predetermined rotation angle in the biasing direction.

[0024] As shown in the figure, the ratchet pawl 142a and the ratchet pawl 142b are provided apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the arm 140 (shaft portion 141). Therefore, by rotating the arm 140 in the circumferential direction of the arm 140, either the ratchet pawl 142a or the ratchet pawl 142b can be switched so as to face upward of the arm 140. In the present embodiment, more specifically, the ratchet pawl 142b (ratchet pawl 142a) is provided perpendicular to the ratchet pawl 142a (ratchet pawl 142b). That is, the ratchet pawl 142b (ratchet pawl 142a) is provided 90 degrees apart from the ratchet pawl 142a (ratchet pawl 142b) in the circumferential direction.

[0025] As described above, in the present embodiment, the arm 140 includes two ratchet pawls 142 with opposite pawl orientations. Therefore, using the first ratchet pawl, an object is moved in the first direction, and using the second ratchet pawl, the object is moved in the second direction. Therefore, as will be described later, the object can be moved in both directions using the arm 140.

[0026] Referring again to FIG. 3, the description of the configuration will be continued. The wireless communication unit 160 is a circuit for wireless communication in order to communicate with a server or other robots as necessary, and includes, for example, a wireless transceiver circuit and an antenna. Note that when the autonomous mobile robot 10 does not communicate with other devices, the wireless communication unit 160 may be omitted.

[0027] The control unit 100 is a device that controls the autonomous mobile robot 10, and includes a processor 101, a memory 102, and an interface 103. The processor 101, the memory 102, and the interface 103 are interconnected via a data bus or the like.

[0028] The interface 103 is an input / output circuit used to communicate with other devices such as the moving unit 110, the telescopic unit 120, the arm drive mechanism 150, and the wireless communication unit 160.

[0029] The memory 102 is composed of, for example, a combination of a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The memory 102 is used to store software (computer program) including one or more instructions executed by the processor 101, and data used for various processes of the autonomous mobile robot 10, etc.

[0030] The processor 101 reads and executes software (computer program) from the memory 102 to perform the processes described later for the control unit 100.

[0031] The processor 101 may be, for example, a microprocessor, an MPU (Micro Processor Unit), or a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. The processor 101 may include a plurality of processors. In this way, the control unit 100 is a device that functions as a computer.

[0032] The program includes a group of instructions (or software code) for causing a computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments when loaded into the computer. The program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, the computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc or other optical disc storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices. The program may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, the transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0033] Next, the processing of the control unit 100 will be described. The control unit 100 controls the operation of the autonomous mobile robot 10. That is, the control unit 100 controls the operations of the moving unit 110, the telescopic unit 120, and the arm 140. The control unit 100 can control the rotation of each drive wheel 112 by transmitting a control signal to each motor 114 of the moving unit 110, and move the robot body 111 to an arbitrary position. Further, the control unit 100 can control the height of the mounting unit 130 by transmitting a control signal to the driving device 121 of the telescopic unit 120. Further, the control unit 100 can control the horizontal movement of the arm 140 and the rotation of the ratchet pawl 142 by transmitting a control signal to the arm drive mechanism 150. In this way, the control unit 100 controls the linear movement in the horizontal direction of the ratchet pawl 142. In the present embodiment, in particular, the control unit 100 moves the arm 140 along the surface of an object having a surface with an engaging portion. Further, the control unit 100 controls the rotation of the ratchet pawl 142 having the shaft portion 141 as the rotation axis by rotating the arm 140 in the circumferential direction of the arm 140.

[0034] The control unit 100 may control the movement of the autonomous mobile robot 10 by performing well-known controls such as feedback control and robust control based on the rotation information of the drive wheel 112 detected by the rotation sensor provided on the drive wheel 112. Further, the control unit 100 may autonomously move the autonomous mobile robot 10 by controlling the moving unit 110 based on the distance information detected by a distance sensor such as a camera or an ultrasonic sensor provided on the autonomous mobile robot 10, the map information of the moving environment, and the like.

[0035] Here, the object to be carried by the autonomous mobile robot 10 will be specifically described. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a rack 80 and an object 90 to be carried stored in the rack 80. In FIG. 8, the autonomous mobile robot 10 located in front of the rack 80 is also illustrated. Further, FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the front, bottom, and side surfaces of the object 90. As shown in FIG. 8, when the autonomous mobile robot 10 moves the object 90 of the rack 80 to the placement unit 130 or moves the object 90 placed on the placement unit 130 to the rack 80, it moves to a position close to the rack 80. More specifically, for example, the autonomous mobile robot 10 moves to the front of the rack 80 and the midpoint between the pair of rails 81a and 81b of the rack 80.

[0036] The rack 80 has a pair of rails 81a and 81b that support both sides of the object 90. The pair of rails 81a and 81b are provided in parallel at the same height. The object 90 stored in the rack 80 has one side of the object 90 supported by the rail 81a and the other side supported by the rail 81b. Both the rails 81a and 81b are provided from the front to the back of the rack 80.

[0037] On both sides of the object 90, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, flanges 91 are provided, and the object 90 is supported in the rack 80 by the flanges 91 being supported from below by the rails 81a and 81b. The flanges 91 are provided on both sides of the object 90 from the front to the back. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the flanges 91 are provided at the upper part of the side of the object 90, but they may be provided, for example, at the lower part and do not necessarily have to be at the upper part. Also, when the bottom surface of the object 90 is supported by the rails 81a and 81b, the flanges 91 do not necessarily have to be provided on the object 90.

[0038] In this way, the rack 80 supports both sides of the object 90 from below by the rails 81a and 81b. And the object 90 can move back and forth within the rack 80 along the rails 81a and 81b. That is, by pushing the object 90 toward the back of the rack 80, the object 90 is stored in the rack 80. Conversely, by pulling the object 90 toward the front of the rack 80, the object 90 can be taken out of the rack 80.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 9, an engaging portion 92 for hooking the ratchet claw 142 of the arm 140 is formed at a predetermined position on the bottom surface of the object 90. The engaging portion 92 may have a structure in which the tip of the ratchet claw 142 can be hooked. Specifically, it may be a groove or a protrusion. Also, the protrusion used as the engaging portion 92 may be a rib provided to increase the strength of the surface of the object 90. In the example shown in FIG. 9, there is one engaging portion 92 provided on the object 90, but a plurality of engaging portions 92 arranged in a predetermined direction (the direction of the flange 91, that is, the moving direction of the object 90 within the rack 80) may be provided on the surface of the object 90. Note that the object 90 is, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped container (box), but is not limited thereto and may be any object. Other arbitrary objects can be stored in the object 90 as a container.

[0040] The control unit 100 of the autonomous mobile robot 10 moves the object 90 from the rack 80 to the placement unit 130 or moves the object 90 from the placement unit 130 to the rack 80 by operating the arm 140. FIGS. 10 to 14 are schematic diagrams showing the operation of placing the object 90 stored in the rack 80 on the placement unit 130.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 10, first, the control unit 100 rotates the shaft portion 141 of the arm 140 so that the ratchet claw 142b with the tip 143b of the claw facing backward of the arm 140 faces upward. In this way, in the present embodiment, by rotating the arm 140, the ratchet claw 142 used for the movement of the object 90 is switched. Therefore, the switching can be easily performed, and the convenience is high.

[0042] Next, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the control unit 100 sends out the arm 140 from the placement unit 130 by a predetermined length. At this time, as shown in the figure, the claw of the ratchet claw 142b is pushed down by the bottom surface of the object 90, but moves while contacting the bottom surface of the object 90 due to the biasing of the biasing member 144b. Under the control of the control unit 100, the ratchet claw 142b moves to a position beyond the engaging portion 92 of the bottom surface of the object 90 (see FIG. 12).

[0043] As described above, the ratchet claw 142a and the ratchet claw 142b are provided 90 degrees apart from each other in the circumferential direction. For this reason, while the ratchet claw 142b is facing upward, the ratchet claw 142a is facing horizontally. That is, since the ratchet claw 142a is not facing downward, the vertical width of the entire arm 140 including the two ratchet claws 142 can be suppressed. For this reason, it becomes easy to insert the arm 140 into a narrow gap. That is, it is easily realized to insert the arm 140 into a narrow space on the bottom surface side of the object 90 to be transported (for example, the narrow gap between the object 90 stored one level below the object 90 to be transported and the object 90 to be transported).

[0044] Next, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the control unit 100 returns the tip of the arm 140 (ratchet claw 142b) toward the placement unit 130. At this time, the ratchet claw 142b catches on the engaging portion 92 (see FIG. 13). Then, when the ratchet claw 142b catches on the engaging portion 92, the object 90 is pulled out from the rack 80 as the arm 140 moves, and moves from the rack 80 onto the placement unit 130 (see FIG. 14). Thus, in the present embodiment, by simply moving the arm 140, the ratchet claw 142 engages with the engaging portion 92 of the object 90. For this reason, it is not necessary to perform precise alignment control for engaging the arm 140 and the object 90, and the object can be easily moved.

[0045] In contrast, the control unit 100 performs reverse control to store the object 90 on the placement unit 130 in the rack 80. That is, the control unit 100 moves the tip of the arm 140 caught by the engaging portion 92 of the object 90 placed on the placement unit 130 toward the rack 80. That is, with the ratchet claw 142a engaged with the engaging portion 92, the arm 140 is extended from the placement unit 130 by a predetermined length, so that the object 90 on the placement unit 130 can be stored in the rack 80. Also at this time, by simply moving the arm 140, the ratchet claw 142a engages with the engaging portion 92 of the object 90. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform precise alignment control for engaging the arm 140 and the object 90, and the object can be easily moved. Note that prior to moving the arm 140, the control unit 100 rotates the shaft portion 141 of the arm 140 so that the ratchet claw 142a with the tip 143a of the claw facing forward of the arm 140 faces upward.

[0046] Note that when moving the object between the placement unit 130 and the rack 80, the height of the placement unit 130 is preliminarily adjusted to a height suitable for the movement of the object. That is, the control unit 100 controls in advance so that the height of the placement unit 130 becomes a predetermined height. Specifically, the control unit 100 controls so that the height of the placement unit 130 corresponds to the height of the storage position of the object in the rack 80. That is, in the case of moving the object from the rack 80 to the placement unit 130, the control unit 100 adjusts the height of the placement unit 130 so that the height of the upper surface of the placement unit 130 corresponds to (i.e., is the same as) the height of the bottom surface of the object 90 stored in the rack 80. Also, in the case of moving the object 90 from the placement unit 130 to the rack 80, the control unit 100 adjusts the height of the placement unit 130 so that the height of the flange 91 of the object 90 on the placement unit 130 is the same as the height of the rails 81a, 81b.

[0047] Incidentally, as described above, the number of the engaging portions 92 of the object 90 may be plural. That is, a plurality of engaging portions 92 arranged in the moving direction of the object 90 within the rack 80 may be provided on the object 90. In this case, the movement of the object 90 is realized by the following control by the control unit 100. When moving the object 90 stored in the rack 80 to the mounting portion 130, the control unit 100 rotates the arm 140 so that the ratchet claw 142b faces upward, and then repeats the control of sending out the arm 140 from the mounting portion 130 and the control of returning the arm 140 toward the mounting portion 130. Thereby, using the plurality of engaging portions 92 in order, the object 90 is gradually pulled out from the rack 80. Similarly, when moving the object 90 on the mounting portion 130 to the rack 80, the control unit 100 rotates the arm 140 so that the ratchet claw 142a faces upward, and then repeats the control of moving the arm 140 in the direction of drawing it into the mounting portion 130 and the control of sending out the arm 140 from the mounting portion 130. Thereby, using the plurality of engaging portions 92 in order, the object 90 is gradually pushed into the rack 80.

[0048] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the movement operation of the object 90 from the rack 80 to the mounting portion 130 by the autonomous mobile robot 10. It is assumed that the autonomous mobile robot 10 has moved to a predetermined position in front of the rack 80 in advance.

[0049] In step S100, the control unit 100 rotates the shaft portion 141 of the arm 140 so that the ratchet claw 142b faces upward.

[0050] Next, in step S101, the control unit 100 sends out the arm 140. Thereby, the ratchet claw 142b moves to a position beyond the engaging portion 92 or the position of the engaging portion 92.

[0051] Next, in step S102, the control unit 100 returns the arm 140 (ratchet claw 142b). At this time, the ratchet claw 142b is caught by the engaging portion 92, and the object 90 moves onto the mounting portion 130 as the arm 140 moves.

[0052] Through the above operations, the object 90 is moved from the rack 80 to the placement unit 130. However, as described above, when a plurality of engaging portions 92 are provided on the bottom surface of the object, the control unit 100 repeats steps S101 to S102 described above. After placing the object on the placement unit 130, the control unit 100 may control the moving unit 110 to move to the destination.

[0053] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the movement operation of the object 90 from the placement unit 130 to the rack 80 by the autonomous mobile robot 10. It is assumed that the autonomous mobile robot 10 has moved to a predetermined position in front of the rack in advance.

[0054] In step S200, the control unit 100 rotates the shaft portion 141 of the arm 140 so that the ratchet pawl 142a faces upward.

[0055] Next, in step S201, the control unit 100 moves the arm 140 (ratchet pawl 142a) in the retracting direction. As a result, the ratchet pawl 142a moves to a position beyond the engaging portion 92 or to the position of the engaging portion 92.

[0056] Next, in step S202, the control unit 100 extends the arm 140. At this time, the ratchet pawl 142a catches on the engaging portion 92, and the object 90 moves to the rack 80 as the arm 140 moves.

[0057] Next, in step S203, the control unit 100 retracts the arm 140 (ratchet pawl 142a). At this time, since the ratchet pawl 142a disengages from the engaging portion 92, only the arm 140 returns.

[0058] By the above operation, the object 90 is moved from the placement unit 130 to the rack 80. However, as described above, when a plurality of engaging portions 92 are provided on the bottom surface of the object, the control unit 100 repeats the above-described steps S201 to S202.

[0059] As described above, the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the present embodiment includes the arm 140 provided with the ratchet pawl 142. Therefore, by simply moving the arm 140, the ratchet pawl 142 engages with the engaging portion 92 of the object 90. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to perform precise alignment control for engaging the arm 140 and the object 90, and the object can be easily moved.

[0060] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in the above-described example, the engaging portion 92 is provided on the bottom surface of the object 90, and the control unit 100 moves the arm 140 along the bottom surface of the object 90. However, the engaging portion 92 may be provided on another surface (for example, a side surface, etc.) of the object 90. In this case, in order to engage the ratchet pawl 142 with the engaging portion 92, the control unit 100 may move the arm 140 along the surface having the engaging portion 92. Further, in the above-described example, the arm 140 includes two ratchet pawls 142 and enables the object to move in two directions. However, if movement in only one direction is sufficient, the arm 140 may include one ratchet pawl 142.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0061] 10 Autonomous mobile robot 80 Rack 90 Object 92 Engaging portion 100 Control unit 101 Processor 102 Memory 103 Interface 110 Moving unit 111 Robot body 112 Driving wheel 113 Driven wheel 114 Motor 120 Telescopic part 121 Driving device 130 Mounting part 140 Arm 141 Shaft part 142 Ratchet pawl 150 Arm drive mechanism 160 Wireless communication part

Claims

1. An arm movable in the horizontal direction, A control unit for controlling the operation of the arm, And having, The arm includes a first ratchet claw with the tip of the claw facing forward of the arm and a second ratchet claw with the tip of the claw facing rearward of the arm, The first ratchet claw and the second ratchet claw are provided apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the arm, The control unit rotates the arm in the circumferential direction of the arm, The control unit moves the arm along the surface of an object having a surface with an engaging portion, Transport device.

2. The second ratchet claw is provided perpendicular to the first ratchet claw, The transport device according to claim 1.

3. The transport device has a mounting portion, the arm is taken in and out horizontally from the mounting portion, and the ratchet claw engages with the engaging portion provided on the bottom surface of the object, The transport device according to claim 1 or 2.

Images