Detection assembly, mobile robot, and warehousing system

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a detection assembly, a mobile robot, and a warehousing system. The detection assembly is located in a housing of the mobile robot, and comprises a first support and a sensor. Specifically, the first support is fixed to the front end of a chassis of the mobile robot; the sensor is detachably fixed to the top end of the first support, and a signal transmitter and a signal receiver of the sensor are exposed out of a reserved hole in an upper cover of the housing; and the signal transmitting direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upwards, and the signal transmitting direction is adjustable. By means of the detection assembly provided by the embodiments of the present application, whether a case has been stored in a temporary storage position in front of the mobile robot can be detected, such that during case placement, a case carried by the mobile robot is prevented from colliding with the case that has been stored in the temporary storage position.

Description

Detection component, mobile robot and storage system

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 1, 2023, with application number 202323277404.9 and invention name “A detection component, mobile robot and storage system”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of logistics technology, and in particular to a detection component, a mobile robot, and a warehousing system. Background Art

[0003] With the development of robotics technology, mobile robots are widely used in the logistics industry to replace humans in completing material box handling tasks.

[0004] During the process of the mobile robot returning the material box to be stored, there may be a situation where other material boxes have been placed in the temporary storage position allocated by the platform for temporarily storing the material box to be stored. In this case, if the material box placed in the temporary storage position is not detected in time, then when the mobile robot returns the material box to be stored, the material box to be stored may collide with the material box placed in the temporary storage position, causing a box collision accident. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a detection component, a mobile robot, and a storage system to detect whether a material box is already stored in the temporary storage location in front of the mobile robot, thereby preventing the material box carried by the mobile robot from colliding with the material box already stored in the temporary storage location when placing the material box. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a detection component, which is located inside a housing of a mobile robot and includes:

[0007] A first bracket is fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot;

[0008] as well as,

[0009] The sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket, and the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor are exposed to the reserved hole in the upper cover of the shell; the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward, and the signal transmission direction is adjustable.

[0010] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the component further includes:

[0011] The second bracket is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket; the angle between the second bracket and the vertical direction is adjustable; and the sensor is fixed to the second bracket.

[0012] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the second bracket includes a mounting plate and a support plate;

[0013] The support plate is detachably fixed to the top end of the first bracket; the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction is adjustable; and the sensor is fixed to the mounting plate.

[0014] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the assembly further includes: a first fastener and a second fastener;

[0015] The support plate is detachably fixed to the first bracket by the first fastener and the second fastener;

[0016] The support plate has a first circular hole and a second circular hole;

[0017] The first bracket has a third circular hole corresponding to the first circular hole and an arc hole opposite to the second circular hole;

[0018] The first fastener passes through the first circular hole and the third circular hole;

[0019] The second fastener passes through the second circular hole and the arc hole.

[0020] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the first bracket includes: a main board and an auxiliary board;

[0021] The mainboard is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot; the sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the mainboard;

[0022] The auxiliary board is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot and is fixedly connected to the main board.

[0023] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the sensor includes a photoelectric sensor, a time-of-flight sensor, a single-point laser sensor, or an infrared ranging sensor.

[0024] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the minimum value of the adjustment range of the angle between the signal transmission direction and the vertical direction is 20 degrees, and the maximum value is 45 degrees.

[0025] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a mobile robot, wherein an upper cover of a shell of the mobile robot has a reserved hole; and the inside of the shell of the mobile robot has a detection component as described in any one of the first aspects.

[0026] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a mobile robot, wherein an upper cover of a housing of the mobile robot has a reserved hole; comprising:

[0027] A plurality of detection components, each detection component being detachably fixed inside the housing;

[0028] Each detection component includes: a first bracket and a sensor, the first bracket is detachably fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot, and the sensor is fixed to the top end of the first bracket; the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor are exposed to the reserved hole in the upper cover of the shell, and the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward; the signal transmission directions of the signal transmitters in any two detection components are different.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a warehousing system, the warehousing system comprising a mobile robot and a shelf;

[0030] The shelf includes a temporary storage location;

[0031] The mobile robot is the mobile robot described in the second aspect or the third aspect; the mobile robot uses the detection component installed on itself to detect whether a material box has been stored in the temporary storage location, and when it detects that no material box is stored in the temporary storage location, it places the material box it is carrying.

[0032] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the temporary storage position is located at the bottom of the shelf, and the temporary storage position is composed of two hoisted horizontal plates, with a through-type gap between the two horizontal plates; both ends of the horizontal plates have guide slopes; the bottom width of the material box is greater than the width of the gap, and the width of the gap is greater than or equal to the width of the lifting plate of the mobile robot.

[0033] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a warehousing system, the warehousing system comprising a mobile robot and a shelf;

[0034] The shelf includes a temporary storage location;

[0035] The mobile robot is equipped with a detection component; the mobile robot uses the detection component installed on itself to detect whether a material box has been stored in the temporary storage location, and when it detects that no material box is stored in the temporary storage location, the mobile robot places the material box it is carrying.

[0036] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the detection component is located inside the housing of the mobile robot and includes:

[0037] A first bracket is fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot;

[0038] as well as,

[0039] The sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket, and the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor are exposed to the reserved hole in the upper cover of the shell; the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward, and the signal transmission direction is adjustable.

[0040] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the detection component further includes:

[0041] The second bracket is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket; the angle between the second bracket and the vertical direction is adjustable; and the sensor is fixed to the second bracket.

[0042] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the second bracket includes a mounting plate and a support plate;

[0043] The support plate is detachably fixed to the top end of the first bracket; the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction is adjustable; and the sensor is fixed to the mounting plate.

[0044] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the detection assembly further includes: a first fastener and a second fastener;

[0045] The support plate is detachably fixed to the first bracket by the first fastener and the second fastener;

[0046] The support plate has a first circular hole and a second circular hole;

[0047] The first bracket has a third circular hole corresponding to the first circular hole and an arc hole opposite to the second circular hole;

[0048] The first fastener passes through the first circular hole and the third circular hole;

[0049] The second fastener passes through the second circular hole and the arc hole.

[0050] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the first bracket includes: a main board and an auxiliary board;

[0051] The mainboard is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot; the sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the mainboard;

[0052] The auxiliary board is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot and is fixedly connected to the main board.

[0053] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the sensor includes a photoelectric sensor, a time-of-flight sensor, a single-point laser sensor, or an infrared ranging sensor.

[0054] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the minimum value of the adjustment range of the angle between the signal transmission direction and the vertical direction is 20 degrees, and the maximum value is 45 degrees.

[0055] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the temporary storage position is located at the bottom of the shelf, and the temporary storage position is composed of two hoisted horizontal plates, with a through-type gap between the two horizontal plates; both ends of the horizontal plates have guide slopes; the bottom width of the material box is greater than the width of the gap, and the width of the gap is greater than or equal to the width of the lifting plate of the mobile robot.

[0056] As can be seen above, the detection assembly provided in the embodiments of the present application is located inside the housing of a mobile robot and includes a first bracket and a sensor. The first bracket is fixed to the front end of the mobile robot chassis; the sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket, with the sensor's signal transmitter and signal receiver exposed through a reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing; the signal transmitter transmits signals in an upward, tilted direction, and the signal transmission direction is adjustable.

[0057] Among them, since the signal emitted by the sensor's signal transmitter can pass through the reserved hole in the upper cover of the shell, and the signal emission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward, when the mobile robot has not contacted the temporary storage position in front, the detection component can detect in advance whether there is a material box on the temporary storage position, so as to avoid the material box carried by the mobile robot colliding with the material box stored in the temporary storage position when placing the material box; and since the signal emission direction of the detection component is adjustable, by adjusting the signal emission direction, the detection component can detect whether there are material boxes in temporary storage positions at different heights, that is, the detection component can flexibly adapt to different detection scenarios.

[0058] In this way, the signal transmission direction can be adjusted to adapt to the height of the temporary storage position to be detected at the detection site according to on-site requirements, so as to avoid inaccurate detection results caused by the signal transmission direction not matching the height of the temporary storage position to be detected, thereby improving the detection accuracy.

[0059] Furthermore, the detection component is located inside the shell of the mobile robot, which can prevent the obstacle avoidance device on the shell of the mobile robot from misidentifying the detection component as an obstacle, thereby improving the performance of the mobile robot.

[0060] In addition, an embodiment of the present application provides a mobile robot having a reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing; and the mobile robot includes multiple detection components. Each detection component can be detachably fixed inside the housing, and each detection component includes a first bracket and a sensor, the first bracket being detachably fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot, and the sensor being fixed to the top end of the first bracket; the sensor's signal transmitter and signal receiver are exposed in the reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing, and the signal transmitter transmits signals in an obliquely upward direction; and the signal transmitters in any two detection components have different signal transmission directions.

[0061] Therefore, when the detection component fixed inside the shell is replaced, since the signal emission directions of the signal transmitters in any two detection components are different, the detection heights of any two detection components are different; furthermore, after replacing the detection component, the detection height of the detection component fixed inside the shell of the mobile robot has changed.

[0062] In this way, the detection component fixed inside the shell of the mobile robot can be replaced according to on-site needs, thereby adjusting the detection height of the detection component fixed inside the shell of the mobile robot. That is to say, by replacing the detection component fixed inside the shell of the mobile robot, the mobile robot can adapt to different detection scenarios, and achieve the purpose of using low-cost non-contact sensors to detect material boxes at temporary storage locations, thereby avoiding the risk of box collisions caused by busy scheduling platforms and errors, and improving the safety and stability of the mobile robot during transportation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0064] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a mobile robot equipped with a detection component provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0065] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of a chassis of a mobile robot equipped with a detection component according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0066] FIG3( a ) and FIG3 ( b ) are schematic structural diagrams of area A on the housing of a mobile robot provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0067] FIG4(a) to FIG4(c) are schematic diagrams of detection examples of mobile robots provided in other embodiments of the present application;

[0068] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a detection component provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0069] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a detection component provided in some other embodiments of the present application;

[0070] FIG7( a ) is a schematic structural diagram of a support plate provided in some other embodiments of the present application;

[0071] FIG7( b ) is a schematic structural diagram of a first bracket provided in some other embodiments of the present application;

[0072] FIG7( c ) is a schematic diagram of the structure of a detection assembly provided in some other embodiments of the present application;

[0073] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a detection assembly provided in some other embodiments of the present application;

[0074] The corresponding relationship between the names of the components and the corresponding reference numerals in Figures 1 to 8 is as follows:

[0075] 1 shell, 11 upper cover, 12 chassis, 111 reserved hole, 112 obstacle detection device, 2 detection component, 21 first bracket, 22 sensor, 221 signal transmitter, 222 signal receiver, 3 signal, 23 second bracket, 231 mounting plate, 232 support plate, 4 material box, 41 first fastener, 42 second fastener, 51 first circular hole, 52 second circular hole, 53 third circular hole, 54 arc hole, 211 main board, 212 auxiliary board, 6 shelf, 61 temporary storage position, 611 horizontal board, 612 guide slope, 7 lifting plate, 8 mobile robot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0076] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0077] During the process of the mobile robot returning the material box to be stored, there may be a situation where other material boxes have been placed in the temporary storage position allocated by the platform for temporarily storing the material box to be stored. In this case, if the material box placed in the temporary storage position is not detected in time, then when the mobile robot returns the material box to be stored, the material box to be stored may collide with the material box placed in the temporary storage position, causing a box collision accident.

[0078] In order to solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a detection component.

[0079] The structure of a detection component provided in an embodiment of the present application is described in detail below. The detection component is located inside a housing of a mobile robot and may include: a first bracket and a sensor;

[0080] A first bracket is fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot;

[0081] The sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket, and the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor are exposed to the reserved holes in the upper cover of the shell; the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward and the signal transmission direction is adjustable.

[0082] To facilitate understanding of the structure of a detection component provided in an embodiment of the present application, optionally, in a specific implementation method, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a mobile robot equipped with the detection component provided in the present application, and Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the chassis of the mobile robot equipped with the detection component provided in the present application.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 1 , the housing 1 of the mobile robot includes an upper cover 11 and a chassis 12 , and the mobile robot carries a material box 4 .

[0084] The front end of the upper cover 11 of the mobile robot is provided with a reserved hole 111 and an obstacle detection device 112; wherein, the obstacle detection device 112 can be various types of detection devices, such as radar, time of flight (TOF) sensor, etc.

[0085] It should be emphasized that the positional relationship between the reserved hole 111 and the obstacle detection device 112 in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 above is only an implementation method of some embodiments of the embodiments of the present application. In addition to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 above, other positional relationships between the reserved hole 111 and the obstacle detection device 112 all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0086] For example, the reserved hole 111 and the radar are distributed side by side in the vertical direction, and the reserved hole 111 is located below the radar, etc.

[0087] As shown in FIG2 , the detection component 2 is located inside the housing 1 of the mobile robot and is fixed to the front end of the chassis 12 of the mobile robot. The detection component 2 includes a first bracket 21 and a sensor 22 .

[0088] Wherein, the first bracket 21 is fixed to the front end of the chassis 12 of the mobile robot;

[0089] The sensor 22 is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket 21 .

[0090] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the signal transmitter 221 and the signal receiver 222 of the sensor 22 are exposed to the reserved hole 111 in the upper cover 11 of the shell 1; and the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter 221 is tilted upward, and the signal transmission direction is adjustable, that is, the signal transmitter 221 transmits signal 3 tilted upward, wherein the signal 3 in the figure is a demonstration form of the signal emitted by the signal transmitter 221, which is used to indicate the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter 221 in actual application, and does not mean that the signal emitted by the signal transmitter 221 is visible.

[0091] It should be noted that the above Figures 1 and 2 are only used to illustrate the appearance structure of the mobile robot equipped with the detection component provided by the present application and the chassis structure of the mobile robot equipped with the detection component provided by the present application, and are not limiting.

[0092] Furthermore, taking the embodiment shown in FIG2 as an example, the various components included in a detection assembly provided in an embodiment of the present application are described in detail.

[0093] The first bracket 21 of the detection component 2 is fixed to the front end of the chassis 12 of the mobile robot.

[0094] The first bracket 21 can be of various shapes, such as an L-shaped bracket or a I-shaped bracket. Furthermore, the first bracket 21 can be fixed to the front end of the chassis 12 by various methods, such as welding, riveting, etc. For example, the first bracket 21 can be welded to the front end of the chassis 12. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the shape or fixing method of the first bracket 21.

[0095] Optionally, the first bracket 21 can be detachably fixed to the front end of the chassis 12 by various means such as a wedge pin connection, a threaded connection, etc. For example, the first bracket 21 can be detachably fixed to the front end of the chassis 12 by a threaded connection. In this way, by detachably fixing the first bracket 21 to the front end of the chassis 12 of the mobile robot, the detection component 2 can be detachable. That is, when it is desired to remove the detection component 2, the first bracket 21 can be removed.

[0096] Optionally, the material of the first bracket 21 can be any material that can be molded into a fixed shape, such as metal, alloy, or plastic. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the material of the first bracket 21.

[0097] For the chassis 12, the so-called front end is referred to when the chassis 12 is in the normal moving state of the mobile robot. The "front end" of the chassis 12 refers to the end of the chassis 12 facing the forward direction of the mobile robot when the mobile robot is in the moving state.

[0098] For example, as shown in Figure 4(a), the mobile robot 8 equipped with the detection component 2 moves toward the temporary storage position 61 of the shelf 6, that is, the temporary storage position 61 is located in front of the forward direction of the mobile robot 8, so that the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot 8 is the end of the temporary storage position 61 on the chassis of the mobile robot 8 close to the shelf 6, and since the detection component 2 is fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot 8, the detection component 2 is fixed to the end of the temporary storage position 61 on the chassis of the mobile robot 8 close to the shelf 6.

[0099] The sensor 22 of the detection component 2 is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket 21 .

[0100] The sensor 22 can be detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket 21 through various methods such as wedge pin connection and threaded connection. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the fixing method of the sensor 22.

[0101] The so-called top end of the first bracket 21 refers to the end of the first bracket 21 that is away from the chassis 12 of the mobile robot and close to the upper cover 11 of the mobile robot.

[0102] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the sensor 22 includes a photoelectric sensor, a time-of-flight sensor, a single-point laser sensor, or an infrared ranging sensor. This embodiment of the application does not limit the specific type of the sensor 22, and different types of sensors 22 can be installed in different detection components 2 according to different site requirements.

[0103] In addition, the detection component 2 is located inside the housing 1 , that is, the entire detection component 2 is located inside the housing 1 , that is, the height of the detection component 2 is not greater than the height of the housing 1 .

[0104] Therefore, to ensure that the sensor 22 can transmit and receive signals, the upper cover 11 of the housing 1 of the mobile robot is provided with a reserved hole 111 to ensure the normal operation of the sensor 22. In this way, the signal transmitter 221 and the signal receiver 222 of the sensor 22 are exposed to the reserved hole 111 in the upper cover 11 of the housing 1. In other words, the signal transmitted by the signal transmitter 221 of the sensor 22 can pass through the reserved hole 111, and the signal receiver 222 of the sensor 22 can receive the signal through the reserved hole 111.

[0105] Exemplarily, the signal transmitter 221 and the signal receiver 222 are exposed in area A on the upper cover 11 of the mobile robot, where the reserved hole 111 is located. Figures 3(a) and 3(b) are schematic diagrams of area A on the upper cover 11 of the mobile robot. As shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b), the signal transmitter 321 and the signal receiver 222 are exposed in the reserved hole 111.

[0106] Based on this, when the detection component 2 is fixed to the front end of the chassis 12, the installation position of the first bracket 21 of the detection component 2 needs to correspond to the reserved hole 111 of the upper cover 11. In other words, the orthographic projection of the reserved hole 111 on the chassis 12 overlaps with the orthographic projection of the detection component 2.

[0107] In this way, the detection component is located inside the shell of the mobile robot, which can avoid the obstacle avoidance detection device located at the front end of the upper cover of the mobile robot from misidentifying the detection component; and the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor of the detection component can be exposed to the reserved hole on the upper cover of the mobile robot, so that the signal transmitter can transmit the signal through the reserved hole, and the signal receiver can receive the signal through the reserved hole, thereby avoiding the upper cover blocking the signal transmitter and signal receiver, affecting the normal operation of the detection component.

[0108] In addition, the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter 221 is tilted upward, and the signal transmission direction is adjustable.

[0109] Among them, the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter 221 of the sensor 22 is adjustable, that is, the angle between the signal transmission direction and the vertical direction is adjustable. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the adjustment range of the angle between the signal transmission direction and the vertical direction.

[0110] Since the first bracket 21 is fixed to the front end of the mobile robot chassis 12, it remains fixed after being installed. Furthermore, since the sensor 22 is mounted on the top of the first bracket 21, the mounting angle of the sensor 22 is adjustable. By adjusting the mounting angle of the sensor 22, the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter 211 of the sensor 22 can be adjusted.

[0111] Optionally, in one specific implementation, the angle between the signal transmission direction and the vertical direction can be adjusted to a minimum of 20 degrees and a maximum of 45 degrees. By setting the adjustment range of the angle between the signal transmission direction and the vertical direction, the sensor can transmit signals tilted upward, thereby preventing the mobile robot's transported container from obstructing the transmitted signal and affecting container detection.

[0112] A mobile robot equipped with a detection component can place bins on the shelf. The following describes the structure of the shelf used to place bins. As shown in Figure 4(a), shelf 6 includes a temporary storage area 61. This area is used to buffer bins to be moved and is located at the bottom of shelf 6.

[0113] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the temporary storage location 61 is composed of two hoisted horizontal plates 611, and there is a through-type gap between the two horizontal plates 611 to facilitate the mobile robot to pick up and place the material box 4 and perform material box inspection.

[0114] The temporary storage position 61 can take out and put the material box in two directions. Both ends of the transverse plate 611 have guiding slopes 612 to prevent the material box 4 and the transverse plate 611 from colliding when the mobile robot 8 takes out and puts the material box.

[0115] The bottom width of the material box 4 is greater than the width of the interval, and the width of the interval is greater than or equal to the width of the lifting plate 7 of the mobile robot.

[0116] Furthermore, the process of the mobile robot equipped with the detection component performing the bin placement task is as follows:

[0117] The mobile robot 8 with the detection component is dispatched by the platform, loads the material box 4, and carries the material box 4 to the temporary storage position 61 indicated by the platform.

[0118] Upon reaching the preset detection position, the mobile robot 8 carrying the container 4 sends a first notification message to the platform, which receives the first notification message and issues a detection instruction to the detection component 2. Upon receiving the detection instruction, the signal transmitter of the sensor in the detection component 2 transmits a signal diagonally upward to detect whether a container 4 has been placed in the temporary storage position 61 of the shelf 6 in front.

[0119] In particular, since the reception of the return signal by the signal receiver of the sensor of the detection component 2 is different when a material box 4 is placed in the front temporary storage location 61 and when no material box 4 is placed in the front temporary storage location 61, the two are different. Therefore, whether a material box is placed in the front temporary storage location 61 can be determined based on the reception of the return signal by the signal receiver of the sensor of the detection component 2.

[0120] For example, when a material box is placed in the front temporary storage position, the signal receiver of the sensor of the detection component 2 can receive return information within 3 seconds after the signal is sent, while when no material box is placed in the front temporary storage position, the signal receiver of the sensor of the detection component 2 will not receive return information.

[0121] When the detection component 2 determines that a material box 4 has been placed in the front temporary storage location 61 based on the reception of the return signal, it sends a request to the platform to change the temporary storage location. After sending the request to the platform to change the temporary storage location, the detection component 2 can suspend detection and continue to detect the front temporary storage location 61 when it receives the detection instruction from the platform again.

[0122] After receiving the request to replace the temporary storage position 61 sent by the detection component 2, the platform sends a temporary storage position change instruction to the mobile robot. In this way, as shown in Figure 4(b), the mobile robot receives the temporary storage position change instruction and moves to the target temporary storage position 61 indicated by the temporary storage position change instruction. When arriving at the preset detection position, the mobile robot sends a second notification message to the platform so that the platform receives the second notification message and issues a detection instruction to the detection component 2. Upon receiving the detection instruction, the signal transmitter of the sensor of the detection component 2 transmits a signal diagonally upward to detect whether a material box 4 has been placed in the target temporary storage position 61 in front. When the detection component 2 determines that there is no material box 4 in the temporary storage position 61 in front based on the reception of the return signal, it sends a storage signal to the platform and stops the detection.

[0123] Upon receiving the entry signal, the platform sends an entry instruction to the mobile robot. As shown in Figure 4(c), because the width of the gap between the two horizontal plates of temporary storage position 61 is greater than the width of mobile robot 8's lifting plate 7, when mobile robot 8 moves below the target temporary storage position, lifting plate 7 of mobile robot 8 passes through the gap of temporary storage position 61 in a raised state, and the material box 4 lifted by lifting plate 7 is located above the gap of temporary storage position 61. Lifting plate 7 descends, but because the bottom width of material box 4 is greater than the width of the gap, material box 4 cannot pass through the gap. When lifting plate 7 descends below the gap of temporary storage position 61, material box 4 is placed on the two horizontal plates 611 of the target temporary storage position 61, and mobile robot 8 then drives away from the target temporary storage position 61.

[0124] In this way, the mobile robot uses the low-cost non-contact sensor installed on itself to detect whether there is a material box in the temporary storage position in front, thereby avoiding the risk of collision with the box caused by errors due to platform busyness and allocating the temporary storage position where the material box carried by the mobile robot is already stored. This protects the safety of the mobile robot body, the customer material boxes carried by the mobile robot, and the shelves, and improves the safety and stability of the mobile robot during transportation.

[0125] As can be seen above, the detection assembly provided in the embodiments of the present application is located inside the housing of a mobile robot and includes a first bracket and a sensor. The first bracket is fixed to the front end of the mobile robot chassis; the sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket, with the sensor's signal transmitter and signal receiver exposed through a reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing; the signal transmitter transmits signals in an upward, tilted direction, and the signal transmission direction is adjustable.

[0126] Among them, since the signal emitted by the sensor's signal transmitter can pass through the reserved hole in the upper cover of the shell, and the signal emission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward, when the mobile robot has not contacted the temporary storage position in front, the detection component can detect in advance whether there is a material box on the temporary storage position, so as to avoid the material box carried by the mobile robot colliding with the material box stored in the temporary storage position when placing the material box; and since the signal emission direction of the detection component is adjustable, by adjusting the signal emission direction, the detection component can detect whether there are material boxes in temporary storage positions at different heights, that is, the detection component can flexibly adapt to different detection scenarios.

[0127] In this way, the signal transmission direction can be adjusted to adapt to the height of the temporary storage position to be detected at the detection site according to on-site requirements, so as to avoid inaccurate detection results caused by the signal transmission direction not matching the height of the temporary storage position to be detected, thereby improving the detection accuracy.

[0128] Furthermore, the detection component is located inside the shell of the mobile robot, which can prevent the obstacle avoidance device on the shell of the mobile robot from misidentifying the detection component as an obstacle, thereby improving the performance of the mobile robot.

[0129] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the detection component may further include a second bracket: wherein the second bracket is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket; the angle between the second bracket and the vertical direction is adjustable; and the sensor is fixed to the second bracket.

[0130] In this specific implementation, the detection component may further include a second bracket, which is detachably fixed to the top end of the first bracket.

[0131] Among them, the second bracket can be a bracket of various shapes, such as an L-shaped bracket, a I-shaped bracket, etc.; and the second bracket can be detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket through various methods such as wedge pin connection and threaded connection. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the shape and fixing method of the second bracket.

[0132] Optionally, the material of the second bracket can be metal material, alloy material, plastic material or other materials that can be molded into a fixed shape.

[0133] The sensor is fixed to the second bracket.

[0134] The sensor can be fixed to the second bracket by various methods such as welding, fixed riveting, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the fixing method of the sensor.

[0135] Optionally, the sensor can be welded to the second bracket.

[0136] Optionally, the sensor can be detachably fixed to the second bracket by various means such as wedge pin connection, threaded connection, etc.

[0137] Since the sensor is fixed to the second bracket, the positional relationship between the sensor and the second bracket is fixed after the sensor is fixed to the second bracket. The second bracket is detachably fixed to the first bracket, and the angle between the second bracket and the vertical direction is adjustable, that is, the installation angle of the second bracket in the vertical direction is adjustable. Therefore, by changing the installation angle of the second bracket in the vertical direction, the signal transmission direction of the sensor signal transmitter can be changed.

[0138] Optionally, the first bracket and the second bracket are connected by a fastener. The second bracket has a circular hole, and the top of the first bracket has an arc hole. The fastener passes through the circular hole and the arc hole to connect the first bracket and the second bracket. When adjusting the installation angle of the second bracket, the fastener can be loosened and slid in the arc hole so that the fastener drives the second bracket to move. When the fastener slides to the new position, the fastener is tightened. In this way, by adjusting the fastener, the installation position of the fastener and the second bracket are changed, and the installation angle of the second bracket is also changed accordingly.

[0139] 5 , the detection assembly 2 includes a first bracket 21 , a sensor 22 , and a second bracket 23 . The second bracket 23 is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket 21 by fasteners; and the sensor 22 is fixed to the second bracket 23 .

[0140] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the second bracket may include a mounting plate and a support plate; the support plate is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket; the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction is adjustable; and the sensor is fixed to the mounting plate.

[0141] In this specific implementation, the second bracket may include a mounting plate and a support plate.

[0142] Among them, the support plate can be detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket through various methods such as wedge pin connection, threaded connection, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the fixing method of the support plate.

[0143] Furthermore, the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction is adjustable, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the adjustment range of the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction.

[0144] Optionally, the materials of the mounting plate and the support plate can be metal, alloy, plastic, or other materials that can be molded into a fixed shape. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the materials of the mounting plate and the support plate.

[0145] Optionally, the support plate can be fixed to the top of the first bracket by welding, fixed riveting, or other methods.

[0146] The sensor is fixed to the mounting plate.

[0147] The sensor can be fixed to the mounting plate by various methods such as welding, fixed riveting, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the fixing method of the sensor.

[0148] Alternatively, the sensor can be soldered to the mounting plate.

[0149] Optionally, the sensor can be detachably fixed to the mounting plate by various means such as wedge pin connection and threaded connection.

[0150] In addition, the mounting plate and the support plate can be connected by welding, threaded connection, etc., and the angle between the mounting plate and the support plate can be 90 degrees, 60 degrees, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the connection method of the mounting plate and the support plate, and the specific value of the angle between the two.

[0151] Since the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction is adjustable, the support plate is connected to the mounting plate, and the sensor is fixed to the mounting plate, the angle between the signal emission direction of the sensor's signal transmitter and the vertical direction can be changed by changing the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction.

[0152] Optionally, the support plate and the first bracket are connected via a fastener. The support plate has a circular hole, and the top of the first bracket has an arcuate hole. The fastener passes through the circular hole and the arcuate hole to connect the first bracket and the support plate. When adjusting the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction, the fastener can be loosened and slid in the arcuate hole so that the fastener moves the support plate. When the fastener slides to the new position, the fastener is tightened. In this way, by adjusting the fastener, the installation position of the fastener and the support plate are changed, and the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction is also changed accordingly.

[0153] For example, in one embodiment, as shown in FIG6 , the second bracket 23 includes a mounting plate 231 and a support plate 232 . The support plate 232 is detachably fixed to the first bracket 21 via fasteners; the angle between the support plate 232 and the vertical direction is adjustable; and the sensor 22 is fixed to the mounting plate 231 .

[0154] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the detection component may further include: a first fastener and a second fastener;

[0155] The support plate is detachably fixed to the first bracket by a first fastener and a second fastener;

[0156] A support plate having a first circular hole and a second circular hole;

[0157] The first bracket has a third circular hole corresponding to the first circular hole and an arc hole opposite to the second circular hole;

[0158] a first fastener passing through the first circular hole and the third circular hole;

[0159] The second fastener passes through the second circular hole and the arc hole.

[0160] In this specific implementation, the detection assembly may further include: a first fastener and a second fastener. The support plate is detachably fixed to the first bracket via the first fastener and the second fastener;

[0161] Specifically, the support plate has a first circular hole and a second circular hole; the first bracket has a third circular hole corresponding to the first circular hole and an arc hole opposite to the second circular hole; in this way, the first fastener passes through the first circular hole and the third circular hole, and the second fastener passes through the second circular hole and the arc hole, thereby removably fixing the support plate to the first bracket.

[0162] It should be noted that since the support plate and the first bracket are connected by fasteners, the first fastener may include a first bolt and a first nut, and the second fastener may include a second bolt and a second nut. The diameters of the first and third circular holes should be larger than the diameter of the stud of the first bolt; the diameter of the second circular hole should be larger than the diameter of the stud of the second bolt; the diameter of the first circular hole should be smaller than the diameter of the first nut; the diameter of the second circular hole should be smaller than the diameter of the second nut; the diameter of the third circular hole should be smaller than the diameter of the head of the first bolt; and the diameter of the arc hole should be smaller than the diameter of the head of the second bolt.

[0163] Since the first bracket has an arc hole opposite to the second circular hole, and the second fastener passes through the second circular hole and the arc hole, the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction can be changed by adjusting the position of the second fastener in the arc hole.

[0164] Optionally, the first fastener passes through the first circular hole and the third circular hole, and the second fastener passes through the second circular hole and the aforementioned arc hole to connect the first bracket and the second bracket. When adjusting the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction, the first fastener and the second fastener can be loosened, and the second fastener can be slid in the arc hole so that the second fastener drives the support plate to move. When the second fastener slides to the new position, the first fastener and the second fastener are tightened. In this way, by adjusting the position of the second fastener, the installation position of the second fastener and the support plate are changed, and the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction is also changed accordingly.

[0165] Optionally, the detection component may also include: a first fastener and a second fastener; a support plate detachably fixed to the first bracket by the first fastener and the second fastener; the support plate has a first circular hole and a second circular hole; the first bracket has a first arc hole corresponding to the first circular hole and a second arc hole opposite to the second circular hole; the first fastener passes through the first circular hole and the first arc hole; the second fastener passes through the second circular hole and the second arc hole.

[0166] Optionally, the detection component may also include: a first fastener and a second fastener; the support plate is detachably fixed to the first bracket by the first fastener and the second fastener; the support plate has a third circular hole and a second circular hole; the first bracket has a third circular hole corresponding to the third circular hole and a second circular hole opposite to the second circular hole; the first fastener passes through the third circular hole and the third circular hole; the second fastener passes through the second circular hole and the second circular hole.

[0167] For example, in one embodiment, as shown in Figures 7(a) to 7(c), the detection assembly 2 further includes a first fastener 41 and a second fastener 42. The support plate 232 is detachably secured to the first bracket 21 via the first fastener 41 and the second fastener 42; the sensor 22 is secured to the mounting plate 231.

[0168] The support plate 232 has a first circular hole 51 and a second circular hole 52; the first bracket 21 has a third circular hole 53 corresponding to the first circular hole 51 and an arc hole 54 opposite to the second circular hole 52; the first fastener 41 passes through the first circular hole 51 and the third circular hole 53; the second fastener 42 passes through the second circular hole 52 and the arc hole 54.

[0169] Optionally, in a specific implementation, the first bracket may include: a main board and an auxiliary board;

[0170] The mainboard is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot; the sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the mainboard;

[0171] The auxiliary board is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot and is fixedly connected to the main board.

[0172] In this specific implementation, the first bracket may include: a main board and an auxiliary board.

[0173] Specifically, the mainboard can be vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot by various methods such as welding, fixed riveting, etc.; the embodiment of the present application does not limit the fixing method of the mainboard.

[0174] Optionally, the mainboard can be vertically welded to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot.

[0175] Optionally, the mainboard can be detachably fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot by various means such as wedge pin connection and threaded connection.

[0176] Optionally, the main board and the auxiliary board may be made of metal, alloy, plastic or other materials that can be molded into a fixed shape.

[0177] The sensor can be detachably fixed to the top of the mainboard by various methods such as wedge pin connection and threaded connection; the embodiment of the present application does not limit the fixing method of the sensor.

[0178] Optionally, the sensor can be fixed to the top of the mainboard by welding, fixing riveting, or other methods.

[0179] The auxiliary plate can be vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot by welding, fixed riveting and other methods, and can be fixedly connected to the main board by welding, fixed riveting and other methods.

[0180] Optionally, the auxiliary plate can be detachably fixed vertically to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot by various means such as wedge pin connection and threaded connection;

[0181] Optionally, the auxiliary plate can be fixedly connected to the main plate by various means such as wedge pin connection, threaded connection, etc.

[0182] The main and auxiliary boards can be made of any material capable of being molded into a fixed shape, such as metal, alloy, or plastic. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the materials used for the main and auxiliary boards. Furthermore, this embodiment of the present application does not limit the shapes of the main and auxiliary boards. For example, the main board can be rectangular, and the auxiliary board can be a right-angled trapezoid.

[0183] The main board and the auxiliary board may form a certain angle, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the angle between the main board and the auxiliary board, for example, 90 degrees, 60 degrees, etc.

[0184] Since the main board and auxiliary board of the first bracket 21 are fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot, the first bracket can be fixed relatively stably to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot, avoiding the first bracket from shaking or even tipping over due to external force, thereby improving the stability of the detection component.

[0185] Exemplarily, in one embodiment, as shown in FIG8 , the first bracket 21 may include: a main board 211 and an auxiliary board 212 ;

[0186] The main board 211 is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot; the sensor 22 is detachably fixed to the top of the main board 211; the auxiliary board 212 is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot and is fixedly connected to the main board 211.

[0187] The following is a detailed description of a mobile robot provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0188] An embodiment of the present application provides a mobile robot having a reserved hole in its upper cover of its shell; and a detection component provided by an embodiment of the present application is provided inside the shell of the mobile robot.

[0189] In this specific implementation, the housing of the mobile robot may include an upper cover and a base. The upper cover of the housing of the mobile robot has a reserved hole, and the housing of the mobile robot has a detection component inside.

[0190] The detection component is located at the front end of the base of the mobile robot, and the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor of the detection component are exposed to the reserved hole in the upper cover of the shell; and the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward, and the signal transmission direction is adjustable.

[0191] For example, in one embodiment, as shown in FIG1 , the housing 1 of the mobile robot may include a top cover 11 and a base 12. The top cover 11 of the mobile robot housing 1 has a reserved hole 111 and an obstacle detection device 112 therein. Furthermore, a detection assembly 2 is located within the housing 1. The sensor signal transmitter 221 and signal receiver 222 of the detection assembly 2 are exposed through the reserved hole 111 in the top cover of the housing. The signal transmitter 221 transmits signals in an upward, tilted direction, and this direction of transmission is adjustable.

[0192] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the design of the detection component is the same as that of the previous embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0193] As can be seen above, the embodiments of the present application provide a mobile robot comprising a detection assembly located within a housing of the mobile robot, and the detection assembly comprises a first bracket and a sensor. The first bracket is fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot; the sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket, with the sensor's signal transmitter and signal receiver exposed through a reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing; the signal transmitter transmits signals in an upwardly inclined direction, and the signal transmission direction is adjustable.

[0194] Among them, since the signal emitted by the sensor's signal transmitter can pass through the reserved hole in the upper cover of the shell, and the signal emission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward, when the mobile robot has not contacted the temporary storage position in front, the detection component can detect in advance whether there is a material box on the temporary storage position, so as to avoid the material box carried by the mobile robot colliding with the material box stored in the temporary storage position when placing the material box; and since the signal emission direction of the detection component is adjustable, by adjusting the signal emission direction, the detection component can detect whether there are material boxes in temporary storage positions at different heights, that is, the detection component can flexibly adapt to different detection scenarios.

[0195] In this way, the signal transmission direction can be adjusted to adapt to the height of the temporary storage position to be detected at the detection site according to on-site requirements, so as to avoid inaccurate detection results caused by the signal transmission direction not matching the height of the temporary storage position to be detected, thereby improving the detection accuracy.

[0196] Furthermore, the detection component is located inside the shell of the mobile robot, which can prevent the obstacle avoidance device on the shell of the mobile robot from misidentifying the detection component as an obstacle, thereby improving the performance of the mobile robot.

[0197] Another mobile robot provided in an embodiment of the present application is described in detail below.

[0198] An embodiment of the present application provides a mobile robot, wherein an upper cover of a housing of the mobile robot has a reserved hole; and the mobile robot includes:

[0199] Multiple detection components, each detection component can be detachably fixed inside the housing;

[0200] Each detection component includes: a first bracket and a sensor, the first bracket is detachably fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot, and the sensor is fixed to the top end of the first bracket; the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor are exposed to the reserved holes in the upper cover of the shell, and the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward; the signal transmission directions of the signal transmitters in any two detection components are different.

[0201] Each detection assembly includes a first bracket and a sensor, and the sensor is fixed to the top of the first bracket. In other words, the first bracket and the sensor of each detection assembly can be two parts fixedly connected or a whole.

[0202] The signal emission direction of the signal transmitter of each detection component among the multiple detection components included in the mobile robot is fixed, and the signal emission directions of the signal transmitters of any two detection components among the multiple detection components are different. In this way, for different detection objects, the signal emission angle of the detection component of the mobile robot can be adjusted by replacing the detection component inside the mobile robot, so that the detection component of the mobile robot is adapted to the detection object in the material box placement scene, thereby improving the accuracy of the detection result.

[0203] It should be noted that the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter of the detection component in this embodiment is fixed. This fixed signal transmission direction can mean that the signal transmission angle of the detection component's signal transmitter is not adjustable, or that the signal transmission angle of the detection component's signal transmitter is adjustable, but the signal transmission angle of the detection component's signal transmitter is fixed at a signal transmission angle that optimizes the detection angle, adapted to the device parameters of the detection component. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the other designs of the detection component are the same as those in the previous embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0204] As can be seen from the above, an embodiment of the present application provides a mobile robot having a reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing of the mobile robot; and the mobile robot includes multiple detection components. Each detection component can be detachably fixed inside the housing, and each detection component includes a first bracket and a sensor, the first bracket being detachably fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot, and the sensor being fixed to the top end of the first bracket; the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor are exposed in the reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing, and the signal transmission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward; the signal transmission directions of the signal transmitters in any two detection components are different.

[0205] Therefore, when the detection component fixed inside the shell is replaced, since the signal emission directions of the signal transmitters in any two detection components are different, the detection heights of any two detection components are different; furthermore, after replacing the detection component, the detection height of the detection component fixed inside the shell of the mobile robot has changed.

[0206] In this way, the detection component fixed inside the shell of the mobile robot can be replaced according to on-site requirements, thereby adjusting the detection height of the detection component fixed inside the shell of the mobile robot. That is to say, by replacing the detection component fixed inside the shell of the mobile robot, the mobile robot can adapt to different detection scenarios.

[0207] The following is a detailed description of a warehousing system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0208] An embodiment of the present application provides a warehousing system including a mobile robot and a shelf;

[0209] The racks include temporary storage spaces;

[0210] The mobile robot is any mobile robot provided in the embodiments of the present application; the mobile robot uses the detection component installed on itself to detect whether a material box has been stored in the temporary storage location, and when it detects that no material box is stored in the temporary storage location, it places the material box it is carrying.

[0211] To facilitate understanding of the structure of a warehousing system provided in an embodiment of the present application, optionally, in a specific implementation, as shown in FIG4(a), the warehousing system includes a shelf 6 and a mobile robot 8. The shelf 6 includes a temporary storage location 61. The design of the shelf 6 is the same as in the previous embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0212] A detection component 2 is installed inside the shell of the mobile robot 8. The design of the detection component 2 and the design of the mobile robot 8 are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0213] The mobile robot 8 takes and places a material box from the temporary storage position 61 of the shelf 6 . When placing a material box in the temporary storage position 61 , the mobile robot 8 first uses the detection component 2 installed on itself to detect whether a material box 4 has been stored in the temporary storage position 61 .

[0214] While mobile robot 8 is carrying a container, it uses its installed detection component 2 to detect whether a container is already stored in the temporary storage location 61 assigned by the platform in front. Upon detecting that a container is already stored in the temporary storage location 61, detection component 2 sends a request to the platform to change the temporary storage location, causing the platform to issue a new target temporary storage location 61 to mobile robot 8. As mobile robot 8 moves to the target temporary storage location 61, it can continue to use its installed detection component 2 to detect whether a container is already stored in the target temporary storage location 61. Thus, upon detecting that no container is already stored in the temporary storage location 61, mobile robot 8's lifting platform 7 places the container 4 it is carrying into the temporary storage location 61.

[0215] As can be seen from the above, the embodiments of the present application provide a warehousing system comprising a mobile robot and shelves. The mobile robot uses a low-cost, non-contact sensor installed on it to detect the presence of a container in a temporary storage location ahead. This avoids the risk of a container collision caused by a busy platform and protects the safety of the mobile robot, the customer containers it carries, and the shelves, thereby improving the safety and stability of the mobile robot during transportation.

[0216] The following is a detailed description of a warehousing system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0217] An embodiment of the present application provides a warehousing system including a mobile robot and a shelf;

[0218] The racks include temporary storage spaces;

[0219] The mobile robot is equipped with a detection device; the mobile robot uses the detection component installed on itself to detect whether a material box has been stored in the temporary storage location, and when it detects that no material box is stored in the temporary storage location, it places the material box it is carrying.

[0220] As shown in FIG4(a), a warehousing system provided in an embodiment of the present application includes a shelf 6 and a mobile robot 8. The shelf 6 includes a temporary storage location 61 for caching a container 4 to be transported. The structures of the shelf 6 and the temporary storage location 61 are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0221] The mobile robot 8 is equipped with a detection component 2, which is a non-contact sensor for detecting whether a material box 4 has been stored in the temporary storage position 61 in front of the mobile robot 8. The structure of the detection component 2 is as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0222] Optionally, the mobile robot may have one detection component or multiple detection components. When the mobile robot includes one detection component, the signal emission direction of the detection component is adjustable, so that by adjusting the signal emission direction, the detection component can detect whether there are material boxes in temporary storage locations at different heights, that is, the detection component can flexibly adapt to different detection scenarios. When the mobile robot includes multiple detection components, the signal emission direction of the signal transmitter of each detection component is fixed, and the signal emission directions of the signal transmitters of any two detection components in the multiple detection components are different. In this way, for different detection objects, the signal emission angle of the detection component of the mobile robot can be adjusted by replacing the detection component inside the mobile robot, so that the detection component of the mobile robot is adapted to the detection object in the material box placement scenario, thereby improving the accuracy of the detection result.

[0223] The mobile robot 8 takes and places the material box 4 from the temporary storage position 61 of the shelf 6 . When placing the material box 4 in the temporary storage position 61 , the mobile robot 8 first uses the detection component 2 installed on itself to detect whether the material box 4 has been stored in the temporary storage position 61 .

[0224] Specifically, while mobile robot 8 is carrying a container 4, it moves to a temporary storage location 61 assigned by the platform and uses its installed detection component 2 to detect whether a container 4 is already stored in the temporary storage location 61 assigned by the platform. Upon detecting that a container 4 is already stored in the temporary storage location 61, detection component 2 sends a request to the platform to change the temporary storage location, causing the platform to issue a new target temporary storage location 61 to mobile robot 8. As mobile robot 8 moves to the new target temporary storage location 61, it can continue to use its installed detection component 2 to detect whether a container 4 is already stored in the target temporary storage location 61. Thus, upon detecting that a container 4 is not already stored in the target temporary storage location 61, mobile robot 8 places the container 4 it is carrying into the target temporary storage location 61.

[0225] As can be seen from the above, the embodiments of the present application provide a warehousing system comprising a mobile robot and shelves. The mobile robot uses a low-cost, non-contact sensor installed on it to detect the presence of a container in a temporary storage location ahead. This avoids the risk of a collision with a container due to a busy platform error in the allocated temporary storage location. This protects the safety of the mobile robot, the customer containers it carries, and the shelves, thereby improving the safety and stability of the mobile robot's transportation process.

[0226] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply the existence of any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the element.

[0227] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a related manner. The same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments.

[0228] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application are included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A detection component, characterized in that, The detection component is located inside the housing of the mobile robot and includes: A first bracket, fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot; And, A sensor, detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket, and the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor are exposed in a reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing; the signal emission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward, and the signal emission direction is adjustable.

2. The component according to claim 1, characterized in that, The component further includes: A second bracket, detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket; the angle between the second bracket and the vertical direction is adjustable; the sensor is fixed to the second bracket.

3. The component according to claim 2, characterized in that, The second bracket includes a mounting plate and a support plate; The support plate, detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket; the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction is adjustable; the sensor is fixed to the mounting plate.

4. The component according to claim 3, characterized in that, The component further includes: a first fastener and a second fastener; The support plate is detachably fixed to the first bracket through the first fastener and the second fastener; The support plate has a first round hole and a second round hole; The first bracket has a third round hole corresponding to the first round hole and an arc hole opposite to the second round hole; The first fastener passes through the first round hole and the third round hole; The second fastener passes through the second round hole and the arc hole.

5. The component according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first bracket includes: a main board and an auxiliary board; The main board is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot; the sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the main board; The auxiliary board is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot and is fixedly connected to the main board.

6. The component according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The sensor includes a photoelectric sensor, a time-of-flight sensor, a single-point laser sensor or an infrared ranging sensor.

7. The component according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that The minimum value of the adjustment range of the angle between the signal emission direction and the vertical direction is 20 degrees, and the maximum value is 45 degrees.

8. A mobile robot, characterized in that, The upper cover of the housing of the mobile robot has a reserved hole; the housing interior of the mobile robot has the detection component according to any one of claims 1-7.

9. A mobile robot, characterized in that, The upper cover of the housing of the mobile robot has a reserved hole; including: Multiple detection components, each detection component can be detachably fixed inside the housing; Each detection component includes: a first bracket and a sensor, the first bracket is detachably fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot, the sensor is fixed to the top of the first bracket; the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor are exposed in the reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing, and the signal emission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward; the signal emission directions of the signal transmitters in any two detection components are different.

10. A warehousing system, characterized in that, The warehousing system includes a mobile robot and a shelf; The shelf includes a temporary storage position; The mobile robot is the mobile robot according to claim 8 or 9; the mobile robot uses the detection component installed on itself to detect whether a bin is stored in the temporary storage position, and when it detects that no bin is stored in the temporary storage position, places the bin carried by itself.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein The temporary storage position is located at the bottom of the shelf. The temporary storage position is composed of two horizontally suspended plates, and there is a through interval between the two horizontally suspended plates; both ends of the horizontally suspended plates have guiding inclined surfaces; the bottom width of the bin is greater than the width of the interval, and the width of the interval is greater than or equal to the width of the lifting plate of the mobile robot.

12. A warehousing system, characterized in that, The storage system includes a mobile robot and a shelf; The shelf includes a temporary storage position; The mobile robot is equipped with a detection component; the mobile robot uses the detection component installed on itself to detect whether a bin is stored in the temporary storage position, and when it detects that no bin is stored in the temporary storage position, it places the bin carried by itself.

13. The system according to claim 12, characterized in that, The detection component is located inside the housing of the mobile robot and includes: A first bracket fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot; and a sensor detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket, and the signal transmitter and signal receiver of the sensor are exposed in a reserved hole in the upper cover of the housing; the signal emission direction of the signal transmitter is inclined upward and the signal emission direction is adjustable.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein The detection component further includes: A second bracket detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket; the angle between the second bracket and the vertical direction is adjustable; the sensor is fixed to the second bracket.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein The second bracket includes a mounting plate and a support plate; The support plate is detachably fixed to the top of the first bracket; the angle between the support plate and the vertical direction is adjustable; the sensor is fixed to the mounting plate.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein, The detection component further includes: a first fastener and a second fastener; The support plate is detachably fixed to the first bracket through the first fastener and the second fastener; The support plate has a first round hole and a second round hole; The first bracket has a third round hole corresponding to the first round hole and an arc hole opposite to the second round hole; The first fastener passes through the first round hole and the third round hole; The second fastener passes through the second round hole and the arc hole.

17. The system according to claim 13, wherein, The first bracket includes: a main board and an auxiliary board; The main board is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot; the sensor is detachably fixed to the top of the main board; The auxiliary board is vertically fixed to the front end of the chassis of the mobile robot and is fixedly connected to the main board.

18. The system according to any one of claims 13-17, characterized in that, The sensor includes a photoelectric sensor, a time-of-flight sensor, a single-point laser sensor or an infrared ranging sensor.

19. The system according to any one of claims 13-17, characterized in that, The minimum value of the adjustment range of the angle between the signal emission direction and the vertical direction is 20 degrees, and the maximum value is 45 degrees.

20. The system according to any one of claims 12-17, characterized in that, The temporary storage position is located at the bottom of the shelf. The temporary storage position is composed of two horizontally suspended plates, and there is a through interval between the two horizontally suspended plates; both ends of the horizontally suspended plates have guiding inclined surfaces; the bottom width of the bin is greater than the width of the interval, and the width of the interval is greater than or equal to the width of the lifting plate of the mobile robot.

Images