3D cargo segregating system

Abstract

FIELD: cargo segregation.SUBSTANCE: three-dimensional cargo segregating system includes a sorting and distribution unit, a parcel feeding device and shelves. The unit comprises a frame in the form of a closed path with at least one straight section, a guide, stators, several units of a supporting trolley, lifting and transport devices, and rotors. The stators are located on the frame and installed at intervals along the path of travel. The units are located on the guide and are pivotally fixed in pairs in the direction of the travel path. The devices are fixedly connected to the bogie units and include at least one transport platform, a drive motor, a transmission device, a vertical sliding rail and a stand. The rotors are fixedly mounted on the devices. The rotors and stators are configured to interact with each other to form linear motors that drive devices for movement along a travel path on a guide along with the units of the supporting trolley.EFFECT: increase in the speed of movement of lifting and transport devices, increased efficiency and increased scalability of the design of the sorting and distribution unit.6 cl, 8 dwg

Description

[0001] Field of technology to which the invention relates

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of cargo sorting technology and, in particular, to a three-dimensional cargo sorting system.

[0003] Technology Level

[0004] The robotic put-wall is an intelligent electronic device used in the distribution and secondary sorting process in an e-commerce warehouse. Its basic working principle is as follows: goods are fed into the transport devices of the robotic put-wall through the parcel feeding device at the parcel feeding positions. The computer vision system identifies and determines the destination of the goods, and then the transport devices distribute the goods to the corresponding delivery zones. The currently common problems associated with the robotic put-wall include: firstly, the number of transport devices is limited by their travel path, for example, on a circular path. If it is necessary to increase the number of transport devices, the radius of the circular path must be increased, and the degree of increase in the radius is limited by the dynamic load of the corresponding rotating drive devices (i.e.,These devices, which drive the transport devices to move along the circular path, limit the speed of movement and affect the efficiency of sorting and distribution. Secondly, the drive devices that ensure the movement of the transport devices along the working path typically use drive belts, drive chains, and other transport devices. Over long periods of use, belts and chains can become deformed to a certain extent and require regular tightening. Otherwise, this can lead to the accumulation of positioning errors in the transport device, leading to misalignment between the parcel feed position and the position of the sorting and distribution opening (the loading openings of the compartments), affecting the accuracy of the system.Furthermore, as the overall travel path length increases, the likelihood of this error accumulation also increases, resulting in poor scalability of the design dimensions of the sorting and distribution unit.

[0005] Essence of the invention

[0006] The present invention provides a three-dimensional cargo sorting system in response to the shortcomings of the existing technology, with the aim of improving the efficiency of sorting and distribution, and also preventing the problem of mismatch between the transport devices, the parcel feeding positions and the positions of the bay loading openings due to the long-term operation of the sorting and distribution unit, which may affect the normal operation of the system.

[0007] The technical solution adopted in the present invention is as follows.

[0008] A three-dimensional cargo sorting system comprises a sorting and distribution unit, a parcel feeding device and shelves, wherein said sorting and distribution unit comprises

[0009] frame;

[0010] a guide located on the said frame in the form of a closed path of movement, wherein the path of movement has at least one straight section of the path;

[0011] stators which are located on said frame and installed at intervals along said path of movement;

[0012] several units of the supporting trolley, which are located on the said guide and are pivotally fixed in pairs in the said direction of the travel path;

[0013] lifting and transport devices that are fixedly connected to the mentioned units of the supporting trolley, for moving loads in both vertical and horizontal directions;

[0014] rotors which are fixedly mounted on the said lifting and transport devices;

[0015] said rotors and said stators interact with each other to form linear motors that drive said lifting and transport devices to move along the path of movement on said guide together with said units of the supporting trolley.

[0016] Additional

[0017] The stators mentioned include stator cores and coils wound around them;

[0018] The rotors mentioned include iron plates and aluminum plates connected to them;

[0019] one side of said aluminum plates faces said stators, and the other side of said aluminum plates is tightly adjacent to one side of said iron plates, the other side of said iron plates is rigidly connected to the lifting and transport devices.

[0020] A limiting device is located between the said stators and aluminum plates to prevent the rotors and stators from sticking together.

[0021] The said guide consists of an upper and lower pair of corresponding guides, wherein the upper guide is fixedly connected to the upper end of the said frame, and the lower guide is fixedly connected to the lower end of the said frame;

[0022] The said guide has two symmetrical guide grooves on the left and right, and each guide groove has two symmetrical inclined surfaces on the top and bottom.

[0023] The said supporting bogie unit includes an upper supporting bogie located on the upper guide and a lower supporting bogie located on the lower guide, wherein the said upper supporting bogie and the said lower supporting bogie are in one-to-one correspondence and are connected by a vertical connecting element.

[0024] The structure of the said supporting bogie includes a bogie casing, within which at least one set of guide wheels is installed, wherein at least one set of guide wheels includes symmetrically arranged left and right, upper and lower guide wheels, the axes of said guide wheels are inclined, and the upper and lower guide wheels, i.e., the two corresponding guide wheels, respectively, interact with the two symmetrically inclined surfaces at the top and bottom. The angles of inclination of the inclined surfaces and the axes of the guide wheels interacting with them coincide, and the angle of inclination is 45°.

[0025] Multiple sets of induction devices for obtaining the position of the lifting and transporting devices are installed on the said frame, and the control module of the said three-dimensional cargo sorting system determines the moving speed of the lifting and transporting devices based on the position information in combination with the corresponding sampling time.

[0026] The said lifting and transport devices include at least one transport platform, the said transport platforms are installed at intervals in the vertical direction or are densely located in the horizontal direction to increase the horizontal area of ​​the bearing surface;

[0027] also include a drive motor, a transmission device, a vertical sliding rail and a rack, wherein said drive motor through said transmission device drives said transport platform up and down along said vertical sliding rail, so that the transport platform can start and stop at any position in height;

[0028] The said stand serves as a supporting element of the lifting and transport devices, is located on the reverse side in the vertical direction and is used to support the installation of the drive motor and the vertical sliding rail;

[0029] The said rotors are fixedly connected to the rack.

[0030] The said stators are located at an equal distance from each other along at least one straight section of the path.

[0031] The said device for feeding parcels is located on the said at least one straight section of the path, and the direction of feeding of the said device for feeding parcels forms an angle of 30°–70° with the direction of movement of the said lifting and transport devices along the said straight section of the path.

[0032] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows.

[0033] This invention uses a linear motor to drive the conveyor along a closed path. Compared with conventional belt and chain conveyors, this not only solves the problems of mismatch between the parcel inlet position and the position of the conveyor for loading parcels, as well as the mismatch between the position of the conveyor for unloading parcels and the position of the bay loading openings caused by the deformation and accumulation of errors during long-term operation of belt and chain conveyors, but also significantly improves the running speed. Furthermore, the scalability of the design of the sorting and distribution unit is improved, since it is not affected by the deformation of belt and chain conveyors. At least, the guide dimensions in the length direction (ellipse arc) are not limited (by the drive power).Thus, the increase in length does not affect the speed of movement, which fully meets the needs of large-scale warehouse sorting.

[0034] The parcel feeding device in the present invention is installed at an inclination angle of 30°-70° to ensure that the forward parcel feeding speed component matches the forward speed of the parcel handling equipment. This ensures that the parcel shipments are correctly positioned on the transport platform after parcel feeding, preventing postural deviations or damage caused by impacts on the parcel shipments and parcels, and ensuring flexible sorting. This also overcomes the problem of existing technology, namely, that to ensure smooth parcel feeding, the parcel feeding speed must be significantly higher than the forward speed of the forwarding equipment. This limits the forward speed of the forwarding equipment, further reducing efficiency, and making it possible to sort only small-sized parcels.

[0035] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following description or may be understood by practicing the present invention.

[0036] Brief description of drawings

[0037] Figure 1 shows a top view of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 2 shows a simplified front view of the sorting and distributing unit of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 3 shows a front view of the sorting and distribution unit in Figure 1.

[0040] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of the assembled structure of the lifting and transport devices and rotors of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the mounting structure of the stators of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 6 shows a front view of other lifting and transporting devices, different from those shown in Figure 4, of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of the assembled structure of the carrier carriage and the guide of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of the present invention.

[0045] In the figures: 1 - sorting and distribution unit; 2 - shelves; 3 - parcel feeding device; 4 - lifting and transport device; 5 - upper supporting trolley; 6 - upper guide; 7 - frame; 8 - induction device; 9 - lower guide; 10 - vertical connecting element; 11 - stator; 12 - rotor; 13 - U-shaped mounting rack; 14 - limiting device; 15 - lower supporting trolley; 16 - hinge axis; 121 - iron plates; 122 - aluminum plate; 21 - unloading openings of compartments; 41 - drive motor; 42 - transmission chain; 43 - vertical slide rail; 44 - transport platform; 45 - rack; 51 - trolley casing; 52 - wheel axle; 53 - guide wheel; 61 - upper inclined surface; 62 - lower inclined surface.

[0046] Description of preferred embodiments of the invention

[0047] Below, specific embodiments of the present invention are set out in conjunction with the figures.

[0048] As shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 8, the three-dimensional system for sorting goods includes a sorting and distribution unit 1, a parcel feeding device 3 and shelves 2. The structure of the sorting and distribution unit 1 includes a guide, a frame 7, stators 11, rotors 12, a carrier trolley unit and lifting and transport devices 4.

[0049] The said guide is mounted on the frame 7 in the form of a closed path of movement, wherein the path of movement has at least one rectilinear section of the path; in particular, the closed path of movement can be specifically an annular shape, preferably an arc of an ellipse; the guide consists of an upper and lower pair of corresponding guides, wherein the upper guide 6 is fixedly connected to the upper end of the said frame 7, and the lower guide 9 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the said frame 7.

[0050] The stators 11 are arranged on the frame 7 and are installed at intervals along the travel path; the stators 11 can be specifically installed on the post of the frame 7.

[0051] Several units of the supporting bogie are located on the said guide and are pivotally fixed in pairs in the direction of the said path of movement; the said unit of the supporting bogie, in particular, includes: an upper supporting bogie 5, located on the upper guide 6, and a lower supporting bogie 15, located on the lower guide 9, wherein the upper supporting bogie 5 and the lower supporting bogie 15 are in a one-to-one correspondence and are connected by a vertical connecting element 10; the hinge points are installed on both sides of the upper part of the upper and lower supporting bogies, and the adjacent units of the supporting bogie are installed in a detachable connection into a single whole through the said hinge points and the hinge axis 16.

[0052] Lifting and transporting devices 4, which are fixedly connected to the mentioned units of the supporting trolley, for moving loads in both the vertical and horizontal directions; in particular, the lifting and transporting devices 4 can be fixedly connected to the mentioned units of the supporting trolley by means of a vertical connecting element 10, after the connection at the upper and lower ends of the lifting and transporting devices 4 there is one supporting trolley to ensure that the supporting force in the vertical direction remains balanced during the movement of the lifting and transporting devices 4.

[0053] As shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, rotors 12 are fixedly mounted on lifting and transporting devices 4. The rotors 12 and stators 11 interact with each other to form linear motors. The rotors 12 are capable of performing rectilinear motion relative to the stators 11, thereby driving the lifting and transporting devices 4 to move along a closed path of motion on a guide along with the supporting trolley units. The specific direction of motion may be clockwise, as indicated by the four arrows around the outer ring of the sorting and distribution unit 1 in Figure 1, or counterclockwise.

[0054] It should be noted that Figure 3 shows a front view of the structure of the sorting and distribution unit 1 in Figure 1. For greater clarity of the structure, compared with Figure 3, in Figure 2, only one lifting and transport device 4 and some components of the carrier trolley are retained, while the control wires and other auxiliary structures are removed.

[0055] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the structure of the stators 11 includes a stator core and coils wound around them, and the structure of the rotors 12 includes iron plates 121 and aluminum plates 122 connected thereto. One side of the aluminum plates 122 faces the stators 11, and the other side of the aluminum plates fits tightly against one side of the iron plates, the other side of the iron plates 121 is rigidly connected to the lifting and transport devices 4.

[0056] In this embodiment, the secondary motor plates consist of iron plates 121 and aluminum plates 122 attached and connected thereto. By controlling the excitation direction of the coils in the stators 11 located along the travel path, the rotors 12 are driven into rectilinear motion relative to the stators 11 by magnetic force, so that the lifting and transport devices 4, connected as a whole through the carrier trolley units, continuously move along the aforementioned closed travel path. Compared with the rotors of a conventional linear motor, the rotors in this embodiment have a simple structure and low cost.

[0057] The stators 11 are preferably located at an equal distance from each other along at least one straight section of the path.

[0058] As shown in Figure 5, the limiting device 14 is located between the stators 11 and the aluminum plates 122 to prevent the rotors and stators from sticking together. The arrow in Figure 5 indicates the direction of rectilinear movement of the rotors 12 relative to the stators 11 after voltage is applied to the stator core coils. Obviously, the limiting device 14 prevents the rotors and stators from sticking together in a direction perpendicular to the said direction of rectilinear movement.

[0059] The stators 11 can be fixedly installed using the U-shaped mounting post 13. The limiting device 14 can be formed as two sets of limiting wheel pairs, the two sets of limiting wheel pairs can be respectively located on the upper and lower sides of the U-shaped mounting post 13.

[0060] As shown in Figure 4, the lifting and transporting devices include at least one transporting platform 44, at least one transporting platform 44 is capable of transporting loads in both vertical and horizontal directions, wherein the vertical and horizontal directions of transport are indicated by arrows in Figure 4.

[0061] The lifting and conveying device is a relatively advanced mechanical device in this field, which can be manufactured by combining commonly used drive and transmission devices and conveyor rollers or purchased by purchasing.

[0062] As shown in Figure 4, the specific structure of the lifting and transporting devices 4 in this embodiment includes a drive motor 41, a transmission chain 42, a transport platform 44, a vertical sliding rail 43 and a rack 45. The drive motor 41 through the transmission chain 42 drives the transport platform 44 up and down along the vertical sliding rail 43, so that the transport platform 44 can move and stop at any position in height, thereby ensuring the sorting and distribution of goods from any height of the loading openings of the compartments.

[0063] The column 45 serves as a supporting element of the lifting and transporting devices 4, is located on the rear side in the vertical direction, and is used to support the installation of the drive motor 41, the vertical slide rail 43, and the fixing parts. As a fixed connecting part of the lifting and transporting devices 4, the rotors 12 can be rigidly connected to the column 45. It can be understood that the column 45 and the vertical connecting element 10 can also be formed as a single unit.

[0064] Transport platform 44 can be designed as a roller or belt conveyor.

[0065] As shown in Figure 6, in order to improve the transportation efficiency in this embodiment, two or more transport platforms 44 can be arranged in a horizontal or vertical direction. As shown in Figure 6 (a), two transport platforms 44 are arranged close to each other in a horizontal direction, which increases the horizontal bearing surface area. They can be flexibly combined to accommodate cargo of different sizes. In practical use, for small-sized cargo, only one of the transport platforms can be turned on for loading and unloading. For large-sized cargo, both transport platforms 44 can be turned on simultaneously for loading and unloading. As shown in Figure 6 (b), two transport platforms 44 are installed at intervals in the vertical direction, which can increase the transportation density in the vertical direction and thus improve the efficiency.

[0066] As shown in Figures 2 and 7, the upper guide 6 and the lower guide 9 in this embodiment have the same structure: they have two symmetrical guide grooves on the left and right, and each guide groove has two symmetrical inclined surfaces on the top and bottom, namely, an upper inclined surface 61 and a lower inclined surface 62. Based on this, the assembly structure between the upper supporting carriage 5 and the upper guide 6 and / or between the lower supporting carriage 15 and the lower guide 9 is made as follows.

[0067] The design of the supporting bogie includes a bogie casing 51, inside the bogie casing 51 at least one set of guide wheels is installed, wherein at least one set of guide wheels includes symmetrically located left and right, upper and lower guide wheels 53, the axes of the guide wheels 53 are located inclined, wherein the upper and lower guide wheels, that is, the two corresponding guide wheels 53 respectively interact with the mentioned two symmetrically inclined surfaces at the top and bottom, namely with the upper inclined surface 61 and the lower inclined surface 62.The angles of inclination of the two inclined surfaces and the axes of the guide wheels interacting with them coincide, and the angle of inclination (relative to the horizontal or vertical direction) is 45°, so that the forces acting on the guides in the horizontal direction balance each other, and the forces acting on the guides in the vertical direction balance each other, which results in zero pressure on the guide and ensures silent operation.

[0068] The said set of guide wheels is preferably configured with two wheels, which are respectively located at both ends of the casing of the bogie 51 along the direction of travel.

[0069] As shown in Figure 2, multiple sets of induction meters 8 are installed on the frame 7 to obtain the position of the lifting and transporting devices 4. The control module of the three-dimensional cargo sorting system determines the moving speed of the lifting and transporting devices based on the position information combined with the corresponding sampling time. Since this embodiment uses a linear motor drive, it is impossible to use an encoder to measure the speed; therefore, induction meters are used to calculate and obtain the speed information from the position information.

[0070] The induction devices 8 may be specifically photoelectric switches (sensors), they are preferably installed on a straight section of the path to improve the accuracy of distance measurement.

[0071] This embodiment uses a linear motor. Compared with conventional belt and chain conveyors, this not only solves the problems of mismatch between the parcel inlet position and the position of the parcel loading conveyor, as well as the mismatch between the position of the parcel unloading conveyor and the position of the bay loading openings caused by the deformation and accumulation of errors during long-term operation of belt and chain conveyors, but also significantly improves the running speed. Furthermore, the scalability of the system's size design is improved. It is not affected by the deformation of belt and chain conveyors. At least, the guide rail size can theoretically be infinitely expanded in the lengthwise direction (ellipse arc), thus meeting the needs of large-scale warehouse sorting.

[0072] As shown in Figure 1, the three-dimensional system for sorting goods in this embodiment is equipped with at least one device for feeding parcels 3, wherein at least one device for feeding parcels 3 is installed on at least one straight section of the path, the feeding direction of each device for feeding parcels 3 forms an angle "a" with the direction of movement of the lifting and transport devices along the straight section of the path, where the range of the angle is from 30°-70°.

[0073] Because the existing technology mainly uses vertical parcel feeding, that is, the parcel feeding direction of the parcel feeding device forms a 90° angle with the moving direction of the lifting and conveying device. This not only makes the above-mentioned parcels easily impacted and damaged, but also requires that in order to ensure the smooth feeding of parcels, the feeding speed is very high, far exceeding the moving speed of the lifting and conveying device. It is necessary to limit the moving speed of the lifting and conveying device to ensure the smooth feeding of parcels, which further reduces the sorting efficiency of the sorting and distribution unit, and vertical packaging feeding is only suitable for sorting small sizes.In this embodiment, the parcel feeding device is installed at an inclination angle of 30°-70° to ensure that the component of the parcel feeding speed in the straight path direction matches the movement speed of the lifting and transport devices for loading the parcels, thereby ensuring the correct position of the goods on the transport platform after feeding the parcels, preventing position deviation or damage caused by impact on the goods and parcels, and also ensuring flexible sorting.

[0074] In particular, the distance between at least one of the parcel feeding devices 3 must be a multiple of the distance between two adjacent carrying carts.

[0075] Parcel feeding devices 3, in particular, may be drum-type conveyor equipment or belt conveyor.

[0076] As shown in Figure 8, shelves 2 in this embodiment are located on the outer ring of the sorting and distribution unit 1. Discharge openings of compartments 21 are provided on the shelves 2. The receiving structure inside the discharge openings of compartments 21 can be formed as a tray or a regular returnable container, depending on the discharge needs. The transport platform of the lifting and transport devices can start and stop at any height, allowing the discharge of goods from the discharge openings of compartments 21 at any height. The height of the discharge openings of compartments 21 on each shelf 2 can be set to the same or different heights to meet the needs of sorting parcels with different height sizes. The sizes of compartments on the shelf can be arbitrarily combined, so this embodiment can also be used in the return process of goods in e-commerce.When the parcel handling devices move to the parcel handling positions, as shown in Figure 1, the centerline of the parcel handling speed coincides with the centerline of the handling platform, and the parcels can then be loaded. When the parcel handling devices move to the corresponding positions of the unloading openings of the compartments 21, the transport platform can transport the goods for unloading and perform sorting and distribution.

[0077] Those skilled in the art can understand that the above embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments or equivalently replace some technical features. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, or improvements that do not deviate from the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be included within the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional system for sorting cargo, comprising a sorting and distribution unit, a device for feeding parcels and shelves, wherein said sorting and distribution unit comprises frame; a guide located on the said frame in the form of a closed path of movement, wherein the path of movement has at least one straight section of the path; stators which are located on the said frame and installed at intervals along the said path of movement; several units of the supporting bogie, which are located on the said guide and are pivotally fixed in pairs in the said direction of the path of movement; lifting and transport devices that are rigidly connected to the mentioned units of the supporting trolley, for moving loads in both vertical and horizontal directions; rotors that are fixedly mounted on the said lifting and transport devices; the said rotors and the said stators are configured to interact with each other to form linear motors that drive the said lifting and transport devices to move along the path of movement on the said guide together with the said units of the supporting trolley; said guide consists of an upper and lower pair of corresponding guides, wherein the upper guide is fixedly connected to the upper end of said frame, and the lower guide is fixedly connected to the lower end of said frame; the said guide has two symmetrical guide grooves on the left and right, and each guide groove has two symmetrical inclined surfaces on the top and bottom; said support bogie unit includes an upper support bogie located on an upper guide and a lower support bogie located on a lower guide, wherein said upper support bogie and said lower support bogie are in one-to-one correspondence and are connected by a vertical connecting element; the design of the mentioned supporting bogie includes a bogie casing, in the mentioned bogie casing at least one set of guide wheels is installed, wherein at least one set of guide wheels includes symmetrically located left and right, upper and lower guide wheels, the axes of the mentioned guide wheels are located inclined, wherein the upper and lower guide wheels, that is, the two corresponding guide wheels respectively interact with the mentioned two symmetrically inclined surfaces from above and below, the angles of inclination of the inclined surfaces and the axes of the guide wheels interacting with them coincide, and the angle of inclination is 45°; The said lifting and transport devices include at least one transport platform, the said transport platforms are installed at intervals in the vertical direction or closely spaced in the horizontal direction to increase the horizontal area of ​​the bearing surface; they also include a drive motor, a transmission device, a vertical sliding rail and a rack, wherein the said drive motor, through the said transmission device, sets the said transport platform in motion up and down along the said vertical sliding rail, allowing the transport platform to start and stop in any position along the height; the said rack serves as a supporting element of the lifting and transport devices, is located on the reverse side in the vertical direction and is used to support the installation of the drive motor and the vertical sliding rail; the said rotors are fixedly connected to the rack.

2. A three-dimensional system for sorting cargo according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the mentioned stators include stator cores and coils wound around them; the said rotors include iron plates and aluminum plates connected to them; one side of said aluminum plates faces said stators, and the other side of said aluminum plates fits tightly against one side of said iron plates, the other side of said iron plates is rigidly connected to the lifting and transport devices.

3. A three-dimensional system for sorting cargo according to paragraph 2, characterized in that the limiting device is located between the said stators and aluminum plates to prevent the rotors and stators from sticking together.

4. A three-dimensional system for sorting cargo according to paragraph 1, characterized in that several sets of induction devices are installed on the said frame for obtaining the position of the lifting and transport devices, and the control module of the three-dimensional system for sorting cargo determines the speed of movement of the lifting and transport devices on the basis of information about the position in combination with the corresponding sampling time.

5. A three-dimensional system for sorting cargo according to paragraph 1, characterized in that said stators are located at an equal distance from each other along at least one straight section of the path.

6. A three-dimensional system for sorting cargo according to paragraph 1, characterized in that said device for feeding parcels is located on said at least one straight section of the path, and the direction of feeding of said device for feeding parcels forms an angle of 30-70° with the direction of movement of said lifting and transport devices along said straight section of the path.

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