Robot, actuation mechanism of robot, and warehouse system
By introducing a two-stage telescopic and floating claw mechanism into the robot actuator, the problem of a large number of robots in the existing warehousing system is solved, and efficient service and high storage rate of double-sided racks are achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/CN2025/077653
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-11-04
- Filing Date
- 2025-02-17
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-23
AI Technical Summary
Existing warehousing systems require multiple robots to serve both sides of the shelving simultaneously, resulting in high costs and low efficiency.
A robot actuator is adopted, which utilizes a two-stage telescopic mechanism, a rotating mechanism, and a floating claw mechanism to enable the claw assembly to extend from both ends of the support frame, thereby achieving bidirectional large-stroke picking and placing of material boxes and reducing the number of robots required.
This system enables a single robot to serve both sides of the shelving simultaneously, reducing the number of robots required in the warehousing system, improving the storage rate and stability of the material bins, and reducing the need for operating space on both sides of the material bins.
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Figure CN2025077653_23102025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Robot, actuating mechanism of robot and warehousing system
[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202422680335.4, filed on November 04, 2024, and entitled "A robot, actuating mechanism of robot and warehousing system", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of robot devices, in particular to a robot, actuating mechanism of robot and warehousing system. BACKGROUND
[0003] A robot is an automated device that can be used in the field of warehousing logistics, for example, to improve the efficiency of cargo handling and sorting. The use of robots can automatically transport goods from one location to another in a warehouse, reducing the need for manual handling.
[0004] In a warehousing system, multiple shelves are usually included, and one or more robots need to be set up for each shelf, which greatly increases the cost of the entire warehousing system. SUMMARY
[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a robot, actuating mechanism of robot and warehousing system to enable one robot to be applicable to shelves on both sides, thereby reducing the number of robots in the warehousing system.
[0006] In an embodiment of the present application, an actuating mechanism of a robot is provided, comprising:
[0007] a support frame extending in a horizontal direction, the support frame being supported by the robot;
[0008] a movement plate supported by the support frame and being driven by a first telescopic assembly to extend or retract relative to the support frame along a length direction of the support frame;
[0009] a claw assembly supported by the movement plate and being driven by a second telescopic assembly to move within a range of the movement plate along the length direction;
[0010] wherein the movement plate extends out of the support frame from a first end or a second end of the length direction of the support frame, and the extending direction of the claw assembly is the same as the extending direction of the movement plate;
[0011] the claw assembly is driven by the first telescopic assembly and / or the second telescopic assembly to move the bin via a side of the bin facing the claw assembly.
[0012] In one embodiment, the claw assembly comprises a fixed claw and a movable claw which are spaced apart along a vertical direction, and a side of the magazine facing the actuator has a handle, and the distance between the movable claw and the fixed claw is adjustable to grip or release the handle.
[0013] In one embodiment, the claw assembly comprises:
[0014] a claw base supported by the second telescopic assembly;
[0015] a fixed base mounted on the claw base;
[0016] a first floating assembly movably mounted on the fixed base along a vertical direction,
[0017] wherein the fixed claw is fixedly mounted on the first floating assembly, and the movable claw is movably mounted on the first floating assembly along a vertical direction;
[0018] the movable claw moves along a vertical direction under the drive of a claw drive motor to adjust the distance between the movable claw and the fixed claw.
[0019] In one embodiment, the first floating assembly comprises:
[0020] a first floating support plate movably mounted on the fixed base along a vertical direction, and the fixed claw is fixedly mounted on the first floating support plate;
[0021] a return spring connected between the first floating support plate and the fixed base, and the return spring drives the first floating support plate to move relative to the fixed base in response to the driving force of the claw drive motor, so that the distance between the movable claw and the fixed claw is adjustable.
[0022] In one embodiment, the claw assembly comprises a second floating assembly, and the first floating assembly is mounted on the fixed base via the second floating assembly;
[0023] the second floating assembly comprises:
[0024] a second floating support plate movably mounted on the fixed base along a vertical direction;
[0025] the first floating support plate is movably mounted on the second floating support plate along a vertical direction.
[0026] In one embodiment, the second floating assembly comprises:
[0027] A limiting plate is arranged on the second floating support plate, and one end of the return spring is limited on the limiting plate.
[0028] In one embodiment, the hook assembly comprises:
[0029] A rotary drive bearing is arranged on the fixed base to rotate around a vertical direction under the driving of a rotary drive motor.
[0030] In one embodiment, the movable hook is arranged below the fixed hook.
[0031] The fixed hook is formed in a flat shape to fit the top surface of the material box.
[0032] The movable hook has a hook part extending along a vertical direction.
[0033] In one embodiment, the hook assembly comprises:
[0034] A positioning rod extending along a vertical direction is connected between the fixed hook and the movable hook, and the movable hook moves along the positioning rod.
[0035] In one embodiment, the first telescopic assembly comprises a first telescopic drive motor and a first transmission chain driven by the first telescopic drive motor, and the movement plate is fixedly connected to the first transmission chain; and / or
[0036] The second telescopic assembly comprises a second telescopic drive motor and a rack arranged on the movement plate along a length direction, the second telescopic drive motor moves relative to the rack along the length direction, and the hook assembly is fixedly connected to the second telescopic drive motor.
[0037] Another embodiment of the present application further provides a robot, comprising:
[0038] A movement platform has a degree of freedom of movement along a horizontal direction.
[0039] A lifting slide rail is fixedly supported on the movement platform, and the lifting slide rail extends along a vertical direction.
[0040] The actuator as described above, the support frame is fixed to the lifting slide rail to move up and down along the lifting slide rail.
[0041] In one embodiment, the movement platform is supported on a movement rail extending along a horizontal direction to move horizontally along the movement rail; or
[0042] The mobile platform is driven by the horizontal driving device to move along the horizontal surface.
[0043] Another embodiment of the present application also provides a warehouse system, comprising:
[0044] A rack having a plurality of storage spaces, wherein the bins are stored in the storage spaces;
[0045] The robot as described above is used to transport the bins;
[0046] The rack is located on either side of the robot in the length direction of the support frame, and the extension direction of the moving plate is the side of the execution mechanism facing the target storage space.
[0047] The present application uses a new form of execution mechanism. The moving plate can be extended or retracted under the drive of the first telescopic assembly. The claw assembly can move in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving plate under the drive of the second telescopic assembly. Therefore, the claw assembly can have a large stroke through the two-stage telescopic structure. Since the claw assembly can extend out of the support frame from both ends of the length direction of the support frame, the claw assembly can take and place the bins in two directions relative to the support frame. Thus, the two-stage telescopic mechanism, the rotating mechanism, and the floating claw mechanism are used to realize bidirectional and large-stroke bin taking and placing, so that one robot can be applied to racks on both sides at the same time, which can greatly reduce the number of robots in the warehouse system. Compared with conventional claw robots, the stroke is larger, the bin taking and placing action can be performed in the deep part of the rack, and the claw can be telescoped in two directions, which can be applied to bins on racks on both sides of the robot at the same time. Since the claw directly interfaces with the bin through the bin handle, compared with the conventional bin robot, there is no need to reserve operation space on both sides of the bin, which improves the storage rate of the bin. The claw mechanism uses the upper and lower claw clamping scheme, which has better stability and is less likely to unhook the bin compared with the conventional single-sided claw scheme. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0048] The following drawings only schematically illustrate and explain the present application and do not limit the scope of the present application:
[0049] Fig. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;
[0050] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an application environment of the robot in an embodiment of the present application;
[0051] Fig. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of an execution mechanism of the robot in an embodiment of the present application;
[0052] Fig. 4a and Fig. 4b are structural schematic diagrams of a claw assembly of the execution mechanism of the robot in an embodiment of the present application;
[0053] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the claw moving process of the claw assembly of the present application when grabbing the bin;
[0054] Fig. 6a is a schematic diagram of the first state of the claw moving process of the claw assembly of the present application when adjusting the height at the edge of the shelf;
[0055] Fig. 6b is a schematic diagram of the second state of the claw moving process of the claw assembly of the present application when adjusting the height at the edge of the shelf;
[0056] Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the warehouse system of the present application.
[0057] Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the warehouse system of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0058] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application clearer, further detailed description will be given below with reference to the drawings and examples. Obviously, the described examples are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments. Based on the examples in the present application, all other examples obtained by those skilled in the art belong to the scope of protection of the present application.
[0059] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application clearer, further detailed description will be given below with reference to the drawings and examples. Obviously, the described examples are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments. Based on the examples in the present application, all other examples obtained by those skilled in the art belong to the scope of protection of the present application.
[0060] In this document, "schematic" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration", and any diagram, embodiment described as "schematic" in this document should not be interpreted as a more preferred or more advantageous technical solution.
[0061] To make the drawings simple, only the relevant parts of the present application are schematically shown in the drawings, and do not represent the actual structure of the product. In addition, to make the drawings simple and easy to understand, in some drawings, only one of the components with the same structure or function is schematically shown, or only one of them is labeled.
[0062] In the present text, "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right" and the like are used only to indicate relative positional relationship between relevant parts, and do not limit the absolute position of the relevant parts.
[0063] In the present text, "first", "second" and the like are used only to distinguish from each other, and do not represent importance and order, and the premise of each other.
[0064] In the present text, "equal", "same" and the like are not strictly limited in the sense of mathematics and / or geometry, but also include errors allowed by manufacturing or use that can be understood by those skilled in the art. Unless otherwise stated, the numerical range in the present text not only includes the entire range between the two endpoints, but also includes several sub-ranges contained therein.
[0065] Now, each example embodiment will be described more completely with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0066] As shown in FIGS. 1-6b, one embodiment of the present application provides a robot, comprising:
[0067] A moving platform 2, the moving platform 2 having a degree of freedom of movement in the horizontal direction;
[0068] A lifting slide rail 3, the lifting slide rail 3 being fixedly supported on the moving platform 2, the lifting slide rail 3 extending in the vertical direction;
[0069] An actuator 4, a support portion of the actuator 4 being fixed to the lifting slide rail 3, so as to move up and down along the lifting slide rail 3.
[0070] The actuator 4 is installed on the lifting slide rail 3, and the actuator 4 is movable along the lifting slide rail 3 to achieve height adjustment. The moving platform 2 at the bottom is responsible for horizontal movement. Under normal working conditions, the actuator 4 is moved to the vicinity of the target bin 1 by the moving platform 2 and the lifting slide rail 3, and then the actuator 4 is moved to obtain the bin 1 inside the actuator 4. The robot carries the bin 1 to the target position, and pushes the bin 1 inside the actuator 4 into the target position.
[0071] The robot of the present embodiment can be applied to a CTU (Container Transfering Unit) or a STU (Sky Transfer Unit). When implemented as a CTU, the mobile platform 2 can be moved along a horizontal surface (e.g. ground) by the horizontal drive mechanism, and the moving direction of the mobile platform 2 in the horizontal direction can be a free direction or one or two limited directions. When implemented as a STU, as shown in FIG. 2, the mobile platform 2 can be installed on a moving track 5 extending in the horizontal direction, and moved along the moving track 5 by the horizontal drive mechanism, so that the moving direction of the mobile platform 2 is limited to the extending direction of the moving track 5.
[0072] The horizontal drive mechanism is a part of the mobile platform 2. The free direction refers to any direction on a horizontal surface (e.g. ground), and the one or two limited directions refer to one or two limited directions on a horizontal surface (e.g. ground).
[0073] In one specific example, as shown in FIG. 3, the present application provides an execution mechanism 4 of a robot, which comprises:
[0074] A support frame 10, which can be formed in a rectangular shape and extend in the horizontal direction, is fixedly supported on the robot as shown in FIG. 1, in particular, on the lifting track 3;
[0075] A moving plate 20, which corresponds in shape to the support frame 10, is slidingly supported on the support frame 10, and can be extended or retracted relative to the support frame 10 along the length direction of the support frame 10 under the drive of the first extension assembly 31. The top of the moving plate 20 can support a container pallet 33 for supporting the container 1. The top of the moving plate 20 refers to the side away from the support frame 10 of the two side walls arranged in the length direction on the moving plate 20, and the container pallet 33 is arranged on the two side walls of the moving plate 20.
[0076] A claw assembly 40, which is slidingly supported on the moving plate 20, can be moved along the length direction within the stroke range of the second extension assembly 32 on the moving plate 20 under the drive of the second extension assembly 32.
[0077] The moving plate 20 can extend from the first end or the second end of the length direction of the support frame 10. Correspondingly, the extension direction of the claw assembly 40 relative to the moving plate 20 is the same as the extension direction of the moving plate 20. The first end can be any end of the length direction of the support frame 10, and the second end is the other end of the length direction of the support frame 10 except the first end. That is, the moving plate 20 can extend from both sides of the length direction of the support frame 10, so that the tote 1 on the shelves 100 on both sides of the support frame 10 can be accessed.
[0078] The claw assembly 40 for grabbing the tote 1 changes the relative position of the tote 1 and the support frame 10 under the drive of the first telescopic assembly 31 and / or the second telescopic assembly 32. The tote 1 is brought into the range of the support frame 10 and placed on the moving plate, specifically on the tote support plate 33 on the top of the moving plate 20.
[0079] Specifically, when the tote 1 is located at the edge of the shelf, that is, the distance between the handle of the tote 1 to be grabbed and the claw assembly 40 is less than or equal to the extension stroke of the first telescopic assembly 31 or the extension stroke of the second telescopic assembly 32, the relative position of the claw assembly 40 and the support frame 10 can be changed only under the drive of the first telescopic assembly 31 or the second telescopic assembly 32, so as to realize the grabbing and moving operation of the tote 1.
[0080] When the tote 1 is located at the deep part of the shelf, that is, the distance between the handle of the tote 1 to be grabbed and the claw assembly 40 is greater than the extension stroke of the first telescopic assembly 31 or the extension stroke of the second telescopic assembly 32, the relative position of the claw assembly 40 and the support frame 10 can be changed under the drive of the first telescopic assembly 31 and the second telescopic assembly 32, so as to realize the grabbing and moving operation of the tote 1, so that the tote can be taken and placed at the deep part of the shelf.
[0081] In this example, the first telescopic assembly (i.e. the first telescopic assembly 31) and the second telescopic assembly (i.e. the second telescopic assembly 32) realize the movement in the front and back directions to deliver the claw assembly 40 to the target position. The claw assembly 40 is an end motion mechanism, which is used to clamp and release the tote 1. The tote support plate 33 is fixed on the actuator 4 and supports the tote 1 as a carrier plate after the tote 1 is retrieved. Here, the movement in the front and back directions refers to the extension or retraction movement of the first telescopic assembly and the second telescopic assembly.
[0082] In the present example, the side of the bin 1 facing the actuator 4 has a handle, for example, which can be referred to as the front surface of the bin 1. Then the actuator 4 can achieve the action of taking out or placing the bin 1 into the shelf 100 by simply pulling or pushing the handle, and the actuator 4 is entirely within the range occupied by the bin 1 without the need to extend beyond the range of the bin 1. Correspondingly, when the bin 1 is stored on the shelf 100, the bin 1 can be stored in close contact without the need to provide operating space for the claw assembly 40 on both sides of the bin 1, thereby greatly saving storage space. That is, the moving part of the actuator 4 does not extend beyond the width of the bin 1, and the moving part is entirely located on the side of the front surface of the bin 1, and the space on both sides of the bin 1 does not need to be reserved. Since the existing conventional scheme needs to enter the moving part from both sides of the bin 1, a larger operating space needs to be reserved, and in the present application, the bin 1 can be stored in close contact on the shelf 100, which can greatly save storage space compared with the existing conventional scheme.
[0083] In the actuator 4, the claw assembly 40 is used to grab or release the handle of the bin 1 to achieve the connection between the actuator 4 and the bin 1. After grabbing the handle of the bin 1, the bin 1 is moved to the range of the support frame 10 by the extension and retraction movement of one or more of the first extension assembly 31 and the second extension assembly 32 to drive the bin 1 to move through the claw assembly 40. Specifically, the moving plate 20 is retracted to the range of the support frame 10, and the bin 1 is supported on the bin support plate 33 on the top of the moving plate 20. It can be understood that the actuator 4 can also perform the action of pushing the bin 1 supported on the bin support plate 33 on the top of the moving plate 20 into the shelf 100, and the two are opposite actions, which will not be described here.
[0084] The support frame 10 is fixed to the lifting slide rail 3 of the robot, and in a preferred example, the first end of the length direction of the support frame 10 is a support part, and the support frame 10 is entirely located on one side of the lifting slide rail 3. Alternatively, the middle position of the length direction of the support frame 10 can be used as a support part to achieve a balanced configuration of weight. That is, in a preferred embodiment, the side close to the lifting slide rail 3 of the length direction of the support frame 10 is the first end, and the side away from the lifting slide rail 3 is the second end.
[0085] The extension direction of the motion plate 20 relative to the support frame 10 can be from the second end of the length direction of the support frame 10 towards the first end, i.e. from the first end of the length direction of the support frame 10 extending out of the support frame 10. Similarly, when the hook assembly 40 is extended out of the support frame 10 under the driving of the second telescopic assembly 32, the extension direction of the hook assembly 40 when moved by the second telescopic assembly 32 is also from the second end of the length direction of the support frame 10 towards the first end. The combination of the first telescopic assembly 31 and the second telescopic assembly 32 can make the extension length of the hook assembly 40 approximately twice the length of the support frame 10. It can be understood that when the movement stroke of the second telescopic assembly 32 is similar to the movement stroke of the first telescopic assembly 31, and the movement stroke of the first telescopic assembly 31 is similar to the length of the support frame 10, the extension length of the hook assembly 40 can be approximately twice the length of the support frame 10.
[0086] Alternatively, the extension direction of the motion plate 20 relative to the support frame 10 can be from the first end of the length direction of the support frame 10 towards the second end, i.e. from the second end of the length direction of the support frame 10 extending out of the support frame 10. Similarly, when the hook assembly 40 is extended out of the support frame 10 under the driving of the second telescopic assembly 32, the extension direction of the hook assembly 40 when moved by the second telescopic assembly 32 is also from the first end of the length direction of the support frame 10 towards the second end.
[0087] The telescopic movement is achieved through the first and second telescopic assemblies. The first telescopic assembly mainly realizes bidirectional telescopic movement through a driving motor and chain transmission. At the end of the first telescopic assembly, the motion plate 20 is installed, and on the motion plate 20, a second telescopic motor (i.e. the second telescopic driving motor 322) and a matching gear and rack transmission are installed, thereby realizing forward and backward movement on the motion plate 20. On the basis of the first telescopic movement, the stroke of the telescopic movement is increased. In actual application, bidirectional telescopic movement can be achieved in the following way: a gear is installed on a driving motor, the driving motor drives the gear to rotate, and through a rack meshing with the gear, the telescopic assembly realizes bidirectional telescopic movement.
[0088] The configuration action of the robot to the bin 1 can include both taking and delivering actions. Among them, the taking action is that the robot extends the first telescopic assembly 31 and / or the second telescopic assembly 32, so that the claw assembly 40 grabs the target bin to be configured from the shelf 100, and moves the target bin into the actuator 4 by retracting the first telescopic assembly 31 and / or the second telescopic assembly 32, and specifically can be placed on the bin tray 33 of the movement flat plate 20 within the range of the support frame 10. The delivering action is that the robot extends the first telescopic assembly 31 and / or the second telescopic assembly 32 to push the bin 1 located in the actuator 4 to the target storage position on the shelf 100. Among them, the taking action and the delivering action can be switched between the taking position and the delivering position by the combined action of the moving platform 2 and the lifting slide rail 3.
[0089] Specifically, the claw assembly 40 includes a fixed claw 41 and a movable claw 42 which are spaced apart along the vertical direction, and the side surface of the bin 1 facing the actuator 4 has a handle, and the spacing between the movable claw 42 and the fixed claw 41 is adjustable to grab or release the handle.
[0090] Specifically, the claw assembly 40 includes:
[0091] A claw base 43 supported on the second telescopic assembly 32;
[0092] A fixed base 44 mounted on the claw base 43;
[0093] A first floating assembly 45 movably mounted on the fixed base 44 in the vertical direction,
[0094] Among them, the fixed claw 41 is fixedly mounted on the first floating assembly 45, and the movable claw 42 is movably mounted on the first floating assembly 45 in the vertical direction;
[0095] The movable claw 42 moves in the vertical direction under the drive of a claw drive motor 46 to adjust the spacing between the movable claw 42 and the fixed claw 41.
[0096] Preferably, the claw assembly 40 includes:
[0097] A positioning rod 422 extending in the vertical direction and connected between the fixed claw 41 and the movable claw 42, and the movable claw 42 moves along the positioning rod 422.
[0098] On the first floating assembly 45, the fixed claw 41 is fixed in position relative to the first floating assembly 45, while the mobile claw 42 is movable in position relative to the first floating assembly 45 in the vertical direction, so as to change the spacing between the mobile claw 42 and the fixed claw 41. Further, the first floating assembly 45 is movably mounted on the fixed base 44 in the vertical direction, so that when the position of the mobile claw 42 is adjusted, the gripping of the material box 1 is achieved by the first floating assembly 45 following the movement of the mobile claw 42.
[0099] The first floating assembly 45 comprises:
[0100] The first floating support plate 451 is movably mounted on the fixed base 44 in the vertical direction, and the fixed claw 41 is fixedly mounted on the first floating support plate 451.
[0101] The reset spring 452 is connected between the first floating support plate 451 and the fixed base 44, and the reset spring 452 drives the first floating support plate 451 to move relative to the fixed base 44 in response to the driving force of the claw driving motor 46, so as to adjust the spacing between the mobile claw 42 and the fixed claw 41.
[0102] The movable mounting of the first floating support plate 451 can be in the form of a slide rail and a slide block, i.e., the fixed base 44 is formed with protruding slide rails on the two side edges extending in the vertical direction, and the first floating support plate 451 is formed with slide blocks on the two side edges extending in the vertical direction, which are matched with the slide rails, so that the first floating support plate 451 can be movably mounted on the fixed base 44 in the vertical direction.
[0103] The driving force for the movement of the first floating support plate 451 relative to the fixed base 44 comes from the elastic deformation of the reset spring 452, and the elastic deformation of the reset spring 452 is in response to the change of the driving force of the claw driving motor 46.
[0104] With reference to FIGS. 4a, 4b and 5, when the actuator 4 is to grasp the bin 1, first the claw assembly 40 is moved to the vicinity of the bin 1 via the combination of the first telescopic assembly 31 and the second telescopic assembly 32, and as shown in FIG. 5, the fixed claw 41 is above the top surface of the bin 1, and the moving claw 42 is horizontally moved along the position below the handle towards the bin 1, so that the moving claw 42 is inserted into the handle (as shown in the left side of FIG. 5). Then, the moving claw 42 is lifted along the vertical direction under the drive of the claw drive motor 46 to hook the handle. In this process, the first floating support plate 451 does not move relative to the fixed base 44 until the moving claw 42 abuts against the handle, and under the gravity of the bin 1, the moving claw 42 cannot continue to be lifted along the vertical direction under the drive of the claw drive motor 46. At this time, the vertical position of the moving claw 42 cannot continue to change due to the gravity of the bin 1, and the reset spring 452 is compressed in response to the driving force of the claw drive motor 46, one end of the reset spring 452 is connected to the fixed base 44, and the other end is connected to the first floating support plate 451 as a whole. When the length of the reset spring 452 is compressed, based on the fixed position of the fixed base 44, the first floating support plate 451 moves relative to the fixed base 44 under the action of the reset spring 452, and the moving direction is along the vertical direction towards the moving claw 42, until the top surface of the bin 1 is clamped (as shown in the right side of FIG. 5); wherein the double-headed arrow in FIG. 5 represents that the claw assembly can change between the position states shown in the left and right sides. Thus, under the action of driving the moving claw 42 to move towards the fixed claw 41, the moving claw 42 and the fixed claw 41 are simultaneously moved towards each other via the first floating assembly 45, and finally the bin 1 is stably grasped.
[0105] When the claw assembly 40 is to release the handle of the bin 1, the moving claw 42 is moved away from the fixed claw 41 in response to the descending action of the moving claw 42 along the vertical direction under the drive of the claw drive motor 46, so as to release the handle. At the same time, the driving force of the claw drive motor 46 is removed to compress the reset spring 452, and the first floating support plate 451 moves relative to the fixed base 44 under the action of the rebound force of the reset spring 452, and the moving direction is along the vertical direction away from the moving claw 42, so as to release the pressing on the top surface of the bin 1. Then, the moving claw 42 is moved to the position below the handle, and then is horizontally moved away from the bin 1 under the combined action of the first telescopic assembly 31 and the second telescopic assembly 32, so as to release the bin 1.
[0106] In the present example, the first floating assembly 45 can not only be used for grasping the bin 1, but also can prevent the bin 1 from being unhooked when the bin 1 is dragged through the undulating plane and encounters bumpy conditions.
[0107] In a preferred example, the mobile claw 42 is located below the fixed claw 41.
[0108] The fixed claw 41 is formed in a flat shape that fits the top surface of the material box 1; the mobile claw 42 has a claw portion 421 extending in the vertical direction, for limiting the handle in the horizontal direction to prevent the material box 1 from being unhooked. Specifically, the claw portion 421 extends towards the direction of the fixed claw 41, so as to enclose the handle within the range of the mobile claw 42 in the pulling direction.
[0109] Further, the claw assembly 40 comprises a second floating assembly 47, the first floating assembly 45 is installed on the fixed base 44 via the second floating assembly 47;
[0110] The second floating assembly 47 comprises:
[0111] A second floating support plate 471 is movably installed on the fixed base 44 in the vertical direction;
[0112] The first floating support plate 451 is movably installed on the second floating support plate 471 in the vertical direction.
[0113] The movable installation of the second floating support plate 471 can be realized in the form of a sliding rail and a sliding block, that is, the fixed base 44 is formed with protruding sliding rails on the two side edges extending in the vertical direction, and the two side edges of the second floating support plate 471 extending in the vertical direction are provided with sliding blocks matched with the sliding rails, so that the second floating support plate 471 can be movably installed on the fixed base 44 in the vertical direction.
[0114] At the same time, the movable installation of the first floating support plate 451 can be realized in the form of a sliding rail and a sliding block, that is, the second floating support plate 471 is formed with protruding sliding rails on the two side edges extending in the vertical direction, and the two side edges of the first floating support plate 451 extending in the vertical direction are provided with sliding blocks matched with the sliding rails, so that the first floating support plate 451 can be movably installed on the second floating support plate 471 in the vertical direction.
[0115] The driving force for the movement of the second floating support plate 471 relative to the fixed base 44 comes from the gravity. The second floating assembly 47 is involved in the height adjustment of the claw assembly 40. It is particularly applicable to the process shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b.
[0116] When the execution mechanism 4 has a long stroke, the internal picking of the goods shelf 100 may occur, as shown in FIG. 6a, the hook assembly 40 of the execution mechanism 4 extends into the goods shelf 100 to grab the box 1, at this time, the box 1 and the box supporting plate 33 have a height difference, after the box 1 is pulled to the edge of the goods shelf 100, the height needs to be adjusted at the edge of the goods shelf 100, and then the box 1 can be pulled into the execution mechanism 4. At this time, the execution mechanism 4 as a whole is lowered, and the second floating assembly 47 compensates for the height difference between the hook assembly 40 and the box supporting plate 33 under the gravity of the box 1. Specifically, the second floating assembly 47 moves upward relative to the fixed base 44, and then the box 1 can be pulled into the execution mechanism 4 through the telescopic mechanism. When the box 1 is placed on the goods shelf, the execution mechanism 4 rises at the edge of the goods shelf 100, and under the action of its own gravity and the gravity of the box 1, the second floating support plate 471 resets. At this time, the box 1 can be pushed into the goods shelf 100 through the telescopic mechanism. That is, the box 1 is always on the goods shelf 100, but the execution mechanism 4 is adjusted in height relative to the box 1 (as a whole, it is lowered), at this time, the hook assembly 40 is connected with the box 1, and the second floating assembly 47 is lifted by the box 1, thereby compensating for the height difference between the hook assembly 40 and the box supporting plate 33.
[0117] Specifically, the first floating support plate 451 moves relative to the second floating assembly 47, and the second floating assembly 47 moves relative to the fixed base 44. The first floating support plate 451 and the second floating assembly 47 can be linked relative to the fixed base 44. One end of the reset spring 452 is fixed to the second floating assembly 47, and the other end is fixed to the first floating support plate 451. The hook driving motor 46, the fixed hook 41 and the first floating support plate 451 are relatively fixed and cannot move. The movable hook 42 is connected with the hook driving motor 46 and can be controlled by the hook driving motor 46 alone and can move up and down relative to the floating support plate 451. After the movable hook 42 contacts the box 1, the reset spring 452 participates in the movement, the movable hook 42 is limited by the box 1 and cannot rise, and the hook driving motor 46 continuously drives the movable hook 42. At this time, the driving force causes the first floating support plate 451, the hook driving motor 46 and the fixed hook 41 as a whole to move downward, the distance between the fixed hook 41 and the movable hook 42 continuously decreases, and the box 1 is clamped.
[0118] The leftmost downward arrow in FIG. 6b indicates that the execution mechanism 4 as a whole is lowered, the upward arrow in FIG. 6b indicates that the second floating support plate 471 of the second floating assembly 47 moves upward relative to the fixed base 44, the downward arrow in the middle of FIG. 6b indicates that the fixed hook 41 moves downward, and the leftward arrow in FIG. 6b indicates that the box 1 moves to the left to the edge of the goods shelf.
[0119] The movement of the first floating assembly 45 and the movement of the second floating assembly 47 are two separate movements, and the overall lowering of the actuator 4 can be understood as the movement of the second floating assembly 47 relative to the fixed base 44.
[0120] Further, in an embodiment, the second floating assembly 47 comprises a limiting plate, the limiting plate is arranged on the second floating support plate 471, and one end of the reset spring 452 is limited in the limiting plate, specifically, the reset spring 452 is limited in the vertical direction.
[0121] In an embodiment, the claw assembly 40 comprises:
[0122] The rotating drive bearing 481 is used to rotate the fixed base 44 supported on the claw base 43 in the vertical direction under the driving of the rotating drive motor 482.
[0123] The fixed base 44 and the first floating assembly 45, the second floating assembly 47, and the claw assembly 40 arranged thereon rotate together around the vertical direction under the driving of the rotating drive motor 482, so as to realize the alignment of the position of the bin 1.
[0124] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first telescopic assembly 31 comprises a first telescopic drive motor 311 and a first transmission chain 312 driven by the first telescopic drive motor 311, and the movement plate 20 is fixedly connected to the first transmission chain 312; wherein the first telescopic drive motor 311 is connected to the input end of a speed reducer, the output end of the speed reducer is connected to a sprocket, and the first transmission chain 312 is installed on the sprocket, so that the first transmission chain 312 driven by the first telescopic drive motor 311 can be realized.
[0125] The second telescopic assembly 32 comprises a second telescopic drive motor 322 and a rack 321 arranged on the movement plate 20 in the length direction, the second telescopic drive motor 322 moves relative to the rack 321 in the length direction, and the claw assembly 40 is fixedly connected to the second telescopic drive motor 322.
[0126] The present scheme uses a new form of robot actuator, and realizes bidirectional and large-stroke taking and placing of the bin 1 by using a two-stage telescopic mechanism, a rotating mechanism, and a floating claw mechanism. Since the claw directly interfaces with the bin 1 through the bin handle, compared with the conventional bin robot, the bin 1 does not need to reserve an operation space on both sides, and the storage rate of the bin 1 is improved. Compared with the conventional claw robot, the stroke is larger, and the bin 1 taking and placing action can be performed in the deep place of the shelf 100. The claw mechanism uses the upper and lower claw clamping scheme, and compared with the conventional single-sided claw taking scheme, the stability is better, and the bin 1 is not easy to be unhooked.
[0127] Referring to FIG. 7, another embodiment of the present application further provides a warehousing system, comprising:
[0128] The rack 100 comprises a plurality of storage locations for storing the bins 1;
[0129] The robot as shown in Fig. 1 is used to transport the bins 1 between the storage locations in the rack 100, to implement order picking between the racks 100.
[0130] The rack 100 can be located on either side of the robot in the length direction of the support frame 10, i.e. facing the first end or the second end of the support frame 10, and the extension direction of the moving plate 20 depends on the location of the target storage location.
[0131] In the present embodiment, the actuator 4 has a bidirectional stroke, i.e. the extension position of the claw assembly 40 relative to the support frame 10 can be on either side in the length direction of the support frame 10, so that in the case where the target bin is located on different sides of the robot, the orientation of the robot does not need to be adjusted, and only the adjustment of the moving direction of the first telescopic assembly 31 and the second telescopic assembly 32, and further the extension direction of the moving plate 20 and the claw assembly 40, needs to be implemented, for example by changing the rotation direction of the driving motor. This is particularly suitable for the case of a bin overhead track robot, where the moving direction in the horizontal direction is limited.
[0132] The above only describes the preferred embodiments of the present application and is not used to limit the present application, and any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. An actuator of a robot, characterized by, Comprise: A support frame (10) extending in a horizontal direction, supported by the robot; A moving platform (20) supported by the support frame (10) and driven by a first telescopic assembly (31) to extend or retract relative to the support frame (10) along the length direction of the support frame (10); A claw assembly (40) supported by the moving platform (20) and driven by a second telescopic assembly (32) to move within the range of the moving platform (20) along the length direction; Wherein the moving platform (20) extends from the first end or the second end of the length direction of the support frame (10), and the extension direction of the claw assembly (40) is the same as that of the moving platform (20); The claw assembly (40) is driven by the first telescopic assembly (31) and / or the second telescopic assembly (32) to move the bin (1) via the side of the bin (1) facing the claw assembly (40).
2. The robot's actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The claw assembly (40) comprises fixed claws (41) and movable claws (42) arranged in a vertical direction, and the side of the bin (1) facing the actuator has a handle, and the distance between the movable claws (42) and the fixed claws (41) is adjustable to grasp or release the handle.
3. The robot's effector according to claim 2, characterized in that, The claw assembly (40) comprises: A claw base (43) supported by the second telescopic assembly (32); A fixed base (44) mounted on the claw base (43); A first floating assembly (45) movably mounted on the fixed base (44) in a vertical direction, Wherein the fixed claws (41) are fixedly mounted on the first floating assembly (45), and the movable claws (42) are movably mounted on the first floating assembly (45) in a vertical direction; The movable claws (42) are driven by a claw driving motor (46) to move in a vertical direction to adjust the distance between the movable claws (42) and the fixed claws (41).
4. The robot actuator of claim 3, wherein, The first floating assembly (45) comprises: A first floating support plate (451) movably mounted on the fixed base (44) in a vertical direction, and the fixed claws (41) are fixedly mounted on the first floating support plate (451); A reset spring (452) connected between the first floating support plate (451) and the fixed base (44), and the reset spring (452) drives the first floating support plate (451) to move relative to the fixed base (44) in response to the driving force of the claw driving motor (46), so that the distance between the movable claws (42) and the fixed claws (41) is adjustable.
5. The robot actuator of claim 4, wherein, The claw assembly (40) comprises a second floating assembly (47), and the first floating assembly (45) is installed on the fixed base (44) via the second floating assembly (47); The second floating assembly (47) comprises: A second floating support plate (471) is movably installed on the fixed base (44) in the vertical direction; The first floating support plate (451) is movably installed on the second floating support plate (471) in the vertical direction.
6. The robot actuator of claim 5, wherein, The second floating assembly (47) comprises: A limiting plate is installed on the second floating support plate (471), and one end of the reset spring (452) is limited on the limiting plate.
7. The robot actuator of claim 3, wherein, The claw assembly (40) comprises: A rotary drive bearing (481), and the fixed base (44) is rotationally supported on the claw base (43) via the rotary drive bearing (481) to rotate around the vertical direction under the drive of a rotary drive motor (482).
8. The robot's effector according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein, The movable claw (42) is located below the fixed claw (41); The fixed claw (41) is formed in a flat shape abutting against the top surface of the material box (1); The movable claw (42) has a claw portion (421) extending in the vertical direction.
9. The robot's actuator according to claim 8, characterized in that, The claw assembly (40) comprises: A positioning rod (422) extending in the vertical direction and connected between the fixed claw (41) and the movable claw (42), and the movable claw (42) moves along the positioning rod (422).
10. The robot of claim 1, wherein, The first telescopic assembly (31) comprises a first telescopic drive motor (311) and a first transmission chain (312) driven by the first telescopic drive motor (311), and the movement plate (20) is fixedly connected to the first transmission chain (312); and / or The second telescopic assembly (32) comprises a second telescopic drive motor (322) and a rack (321) installed on the movement plate (20) in the length direction, the second telescopic drive motor (322) moves relative to the rack (321) in the length direction, and the claw assembly (40) is fixedly connected to the second telescopic drive motor (322).
11. A robot, characterized in that Comprise: A moving platform (2) having a degree of freedom of moving in the horizontal direction; A lifting slide rail (3) fixedly supported on the moving platform (2), the lifting slide rail (3) extending in the vertical direction; The support frame (10) is fixed to the lifting slide rail (3) to move up and down along the lifting slide rail (3) according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
12. The robot of claim 11, wherein, The moving platform (2) is supported on a moving rail (5) extending in the horizontal direction to move horizontally along the moving rail (5); or The moving platform (2) moves along a horizontal surface under the drive of a horizontal drive device.
13. A warehousing system characterized by Comprise: A shelf (100) having a plurality of storage spaces, and a material box (1) is stored in the storage space; The robot as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein the robot is used for transporting the magazine (1) ; wherein The shelves (100) are located on either side of the robot in the length direction of the support frame (10), and the extension direction of the moving plate (20) is the side of the execution mechanism facing the target storage location.
Citation Information
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