Four-way automated guided vehicle

Abstract

This invention discloses a four-way automated guided vehicle (AGV) for use on tracks in automated warehousing equipment, automatically moving to designated points for picking up and storing goods. It includes a vehicle body, two X-axis wheel sets, two lifting mechanisms, two Y-axis wheel sets, a wheel set drive unit, and a wheel set drive mechanism. The two X-axis wheel sets are located on two first sides of the vehicle body, the two lifting mechanisms are located on two second sides of the vehicle body, and the two Y-axis wheel sets are mounted on the wheel frames of the two lifting mechanisms. The wheel set drive units are located within the vehicle body; the former synchronously drives the two X-axis and two Y-axis wheel sets to rotate, while the latter drives the two lifting mechanisms and the two Y-axis wheel sets to lift and lower. The drive mechanism of this invention uses all-gear transmission, reducing the frequency of adjustment and maintenance. The two lifting mechanisms can be used to switch between X and Y directions of movement and can be used to lift and lower goods.

Claims

1. A four-way automated guided vehicle, comprising a vehicle body, two X-axis wheel sets, two lifting mechanisms, two Y-axis wheel sets, a wheel set drive unit, a lifting mechanism drive unit, and two racks, wherein: The vehicle body is rectangular. Two X-axis wheel sets are rotatably mounted on opposite first sides of the vehicle body, each with at least two X-axis wheels, enabling the vehicle body to reciprocate in the X direction. Two lifting mechanisms are respectively mounted on opposite second sides of the vehicle body. Each lifting mechanism includes a wheel frame, two slide rail modules, and at least one crankshaft. Each wheel frame is assembled onto the outer surface of the second side of the vehicle body through the two slide rail modules, parallel to the second side of the vehicle body, and has at least one opening. The crankshaft is rotatably mounted on the second side of the vehicle body, each crankshaft having a power input shaft and a power output shaft. The power input shaft extends into the vehicle body. The power output shaft protrudes from the second side of the vehicle body and abuts against the opening in the wheel frame. When rotated, the power output shaft drives the wheel frame to move up and down. The two Y-axis wheel sets are rotatably mounted on the outer side of the wheel frames of the two lifting mechanisms. Each Y-axis wheel set has at least two Y-axis wheels. The wheel frame and the Y-axis wheels can descend, causing the Y-axis wheels to support the vehicle body and disengage the X-axis wheels from the track, allowing the vehicle body to reciprocate in the Y direction. The wheel set drive device includes a wheel set drive motor, a bidirectional right-angle gearbox, a first gear transmission mechanism, and a second gear transmission mechanism. The wheel set drive motor is fixed in the vehicle body and outputs power to the bidirectional right-angle gearbox. The bidirectional right-angle gearbox has a first power output shaft and a second power output shaft that operate synchronously. The first power output shaft drives the first gear transmission mechanism, and the second power output shaft drives the second gear transmission mechanism. The first gear transmission mechanism synchronously drives the two X-axis wheel sets to rotate, and the second gear transmission mechanism synchronously drives the two Y-axis wheel sets to rotate. The lifting mechanism drive device includes a lifting drive motor and two third gear transmission mechanisms. The lifting drive motor is fixed in the vehicle body, and the third gear transmission mechanisms are located inside the two opposite second sides of the vehicle body, respectively connecting the power input shaft of each crankshaft of the vehicle body to the power output shaft of the lifting drive motor. The lifting drive motor drives the two third gear transmission mechanisms and each crankshaft to rotate, so that the two lifting mechanisms can move up and down. The two shelves are respectively installed on the two corresponding first sides of the vehicle body and are parallel to the first sides. When the wheel frame of the two lifting mechanisms rises, it can lift the two shelves.

2. The four-way automated guided vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first gear transmission mechanism has two first gear sets and a first drive shaft; the two first gear sets are respectively disposed inside two opposite first sides of the vehicle body, and each of the two first gear sets has multiple meshing gears, wherein at least one gear is engaged with the axle of the X-axis wheel; wherein one gear in a selected set of first gear sets is engaged with the first power output shaft of the bidirectional right-angle gearbox; both ends of the first drive shaft are connected to the two first gear sets, so that the two first gear sets synchronously drive the X-axis wheels on the two first sides of the vehicle body to rotate.

3. The four-way automated guided vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second gear transmission mechanism has a second drive shaft, two universal joints and a second gear set; the second drive shaft is disposed in the vehicle body and its two ends face the two second sides of the vehicle body; the two universal joints are respectively connected to the two ends of the second drive shaft and to the wheel axles of the Y-axis wheels on the two second sides; the second gear set connects the second power output shaft of the bidirectional right-angle gearbox to the second drive shaft, so as to drive the Y-axis wheels on the two second sides of the vehicle body to rotate synchronously.

4. The four-way automated guided vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two third gear transmission mechanisms of the lifting mechanism drive device each include a plurality of meshing gears, wherein at least one gear is coupled to the power input shaft of the crankshaft; the lifting mechanism drive device further includes a third drive shaft and a fourth gear set, the two ends of the third drive shaft being coupled to the gears of the two third gear transmission mechanisms respectively, and the fourth gear set connecting the power output shaft of the lifting drive motor to the third drive shaft.

5. The four-way automated guided vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 4, wherein the crankshaft has a crank arm, the power input shaft is connected to one side of the crank arm near one end, and the power output shaft is connected to the other side of the crank arm at the other end; wherein the power output shaft is fitted with a bearing that abuts against an opening in the wheel carrier.

6. The four-way automated guided vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle body includes a rectangular base plate, two corresponding first side plates, two additional corresponding second side plates, and a top cover, the two first side plates and the two second side plates being attached to the four sides of the rectangular base plate, forming an accommodating space on the rectangular base plate, and the top cover covering the accommodating space; two X-axis wheel sets are rotatably disposed on the outer surfaces of the two first side plates; two lifting mechanisms are disposed on the outer surfaces of the two second side plates; and the wheel set drive device and the lifting mechanism drive device are disposed in the accommodating space.

7. The four-way automated guided vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rack includes two optical axis guide rail units, a lower rack, two digital weight sensing modules and an upper rack; the two optical axis guide rail units are fixed inside the two first sides of the vehicle body, the lower rack is fixed to the upper end of the optical axis of the two optical axis guide rail units, the two digital weight sensing modules are fixed to the near ends of the lower rack, and the near ends of the lower part of the upper rack are fixed to the two digital weight sensing modules.

8. The four-way automated guided vehicle as described in claim 1 further includes a vehicle body positioning sensing module, at least three cargo sensing modules, two shelf sensing modules, and two sensing radars; the vehicle body positioning sensing module is fixed in the vehicle body and is used to read barcodes on the track below the vehicle body; the cargo sensing modules are fixed in the vehicle body and are used to sense whether the position of the cargo is correct; the two shelf sensing modules are disposed on two first sides or two second sides of the vehicle body and are used to sense whether there is cargo on the shelf; the sensing radars are fixed at two opposite corners of the vehicle body and are used to sense objects around the vehicle body.

9. The four-way automated guided vehicle as claimed in claim 1 further includes a rechargeable battery and a wireless charging module. The rechargeable battery is disposed in the vehicle body and supplies power to the four-way automated guided vehicle. The wireless charging module is disposed at the bottom of the vehicle body and is used to inductively charge the rechargeable battery by communicating with another external wireless charging module.

Images