Turntable lifting device and robot comprising same

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a turntable lifting device may comprise: a device housing in which a driving unit is mounted; and a table lifting and descending control unit provided at the device housing to receive driving force from the driving unit and having a slope-shaped lifting and descending slope to control lifting and descending of a turntable positioned on an upper portion thereof. Linear movement of the table lifting and descending control unit in a horizontal direction by the driving unit can be converted into lifting and descending movement of the turntable in a vertical direction by the lifting and descending slope.

Description

Turntable lifting device and robot including the same

[0001] The present invention relates to a turn table lifting device, and more particularly, to a turn table lifting device in which a horizontal linear movement of a table elevation control unit by a driving unit can be converted into a vertical elevation movement of the turn table by an elevation slope through a simple operating structure, thereby reducing the overall thickness.

[0002] Mobile robots are robots that can move under their own control, and are utilized in various forms and functions, such as robot vacuum cleaners, AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles), AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots), airport guide robots, and restaurant serving robots.

[0003] Recently, the provision of services using robots has become widespread, and development is actively underway on delivery robots that drive along a set route outdoors in place of humans or recognize obstacles along the route to load items and deliver them to their destinations.

[0004] In particular, low-floor autonomous driving robots are being developed and used, and as one example of a conventional structure of such low-floor autonomous driving robots, a freely moving robot including a driving body equipped with a sensing unit and a turntable that is mounted on the driving body so as to be able to be lifted has been disclosed.

[0005] However, in the case of these conventional autonomous driving robots, the structure for raising and lowering the turntable is somewhat complex, which may result in some cost and time required for manufacturing the device.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need to develop an autonomous driving robot equipped with a new turntable lifting structure that can accurately perform the lifting and lowering movements of the turntable while simplifying its structure.

[0007] An embodiment of the present invention provides a turntable lifting device in which a horizontal linear movement of a table elevation control unit by a driving unit can be converted into a vertical elevation movement of a turntable by a elevation slope through a simple operating structure, thereby reducing the overall thickness.

[0008] The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the problem(s) mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

[0009] A turntable lifting device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a device housing in which a driving unit is mounted, and a table elevation control unit that is provided to receive driving force from the driving unit in the device housing and has a slope-shaped elevation slope to control elevation of a turntable positioned above, and a horizontal linear movement of the table elevation control unit by the driving unit can be converted into a vertical elevation movement of the turntable by the elevation slope.

[0010] According to one side, the table elevation control unit includes an elevation body that moves linearly in a horizontal direction by a driving force of the driving unit and an elevation slope in a slope shape provided on the elevation body, and when a part of the turn table is loaded onto the elevation slope and the elevation body moves linearly in a horizontal direction, a part of the turn table is vertically elevated along the elevation slope, thereby allowing the elevation of the turn table to be controlled.

[0011] According to one side, a part of the turntable is a roller-type roller member that rotates and moves along the elevation slope when the elevation body moves linearly, so that the entire turntable can be elevated in a vertical direction with respect to the table elevation control unit.

[0012] According to one side, the elevating body includes a fixed member connected by the driving member and the driving force transmission member, a pair of parallel members provided in a horizontal direction parallel to one side of the fixed member to provide a space for movement of the roller member, and a connecting member connecting the middle portions of the pair of parallel members, and the elevating slopes may be provided at each of the inner ends of the pair of parallel members, so that a total of four elevating slopes may be provided.

[0013] According to one side, the lower part of the turntable may be provided with a total of four roller members, and may be provided to correspond to the positions of the four lifting slopes.

[0014] According to one side, the above-mentioned elevator slope can be provided as a diagonal section in which the lower and upper parts are diagonally connected.

[0015] According to one side, the above-mentioned elevation slope is composed of a plurality of slope sections connecting the lower and upper sections, and may be composed of at least one diagonal section in a diagonal direction and at least one straight section in a horizontal direction.

[0016] According to one side, the slope angle of the section provided diagonally on the above-mentioned elevator slope may be provided to be the same or different.

[0017] According to one side, the lower part of the above-mentioned lifting slope may be provided with a lower horizontal section extending in a horizontal direction, and the upper part of the above-mentioned lifting slope may be provided with an upper horizontal section extending in a horizontal direction.

[0018] According to one aspect, the turntable may include a table frame on which the roller member is rotatably mounted, a table rotation member provided on an upper surface of the table frame, and a table plate provided on an upper surface of a portion of the table rotation member.

[0019] According to one aspect, the table rotation member includes a driving motor having a driving gear coupled to a shaft and a driven gear having teeth engaged with the driving gear and mounted on the table frame, and the table plate can be mounted on an upper portion of the driven gear.

[0020] According to one side, the driving unit and the table lifting control unit are connected by a driving force transmission member, the driving unit may be a driving motor, and the driving force transmission member may be a ball screw.

[0021] According to one side, the table lifting control unit may further include a lifting guide unit that guides the vertical lifting of the turn table so that the turn table is lifted vertically when the turn table is lifted by linear movement of the table lifting control unit.

[0022] According to one side, the device housing may further include a guide rail that guides linear movement of the table lifting drive unit by the driving unit.

[0023] According to one aspect, the turntable lifting device may be included in a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, for example, a low-floor autonomous mobile robot (AMR).

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a horizontal linear movement of a table elevation control unit by a driving unit can be converted into a vertical elevation movement of a turntable by a elevation slope through a simple operating structure, thereby reducing the overall thickness.

[0025] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a turntable lifting device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Fig. 2 is a cutaway perspective view illustrating the configuration of the lifting device illustrated in Fig. 1.

[0027] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the table lifting control unit illustrated in Fig. 2.

[0028] Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the roller member of the turntable illustrated in Fig. 2 is mounted on the table elevation control unit.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a drawing for sequentially explaining the process of raising and lowering the turntable with respect to the table raising and lowering control unit illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0030] FIG. 6 is a cutaway perspective view of a turntable lifting device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] The advantages and / or features of the present invention, and the methods for achieving them, will become clearer with reference to the embodiments described in detail below together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided only to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

[0032] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0033] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a turntable lifting device according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cut-away perspective view for explaining the configuration of the lifting device illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a table elevation control unit illustrated in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a roller member of the turntable illustrated in FIG. 2 is seated on the table elevation control unit, and FIG. 5 is a drawing for sequentially explaining a process in which a turntable is elevated with respect to the table elevation control unit illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 1, a turntable lifting device (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention is, for example, a low-floor autonomous mobile robot (AMR) that can load a heavy object on a turntable and transport it autonomously, and may include a device housing (110) equipped with a driving unit (170), a turntable (130), and a table lifting control unit (150) that is connected to the driving unit (170) in the device housing and vertically lifts and lowers the turntable (130) that is installed on the upper portion.

[0035] In addition, although not shown in detail, when the turn table (130) is raised or lowered by the table raising / lowering control unit (150), a lifting guide unit (not shown) may be included to guide the vertical movement of the turn table (130) so that the raising / lowering is performed in the vertical direction.

[0036] By this configuration, the elevation movement of the turntable (130) can be performed accurately and smoothly by the linear movement of the table elevation control unit (150) having a simple configuration.

[0037] When explaining each configuration, first, the device housing (110) of the present embodiment is a basic plate on which a plurality of configurations forming the lifting device (100) according to the present embodiment are mounted, and as shown in FIG. 1, it can be provided in an overall rectangular plate shape.

[0038] A drive bracket (175) for fixing a drive unit (170) to the upper surface of the device housing (110) and a guide rail (not shown) for guiding horizontal movement of the table elevation control unit (150) may be provided.

[0039] In addition, although not shown, a wheel or the like may be mounted on the lower part of the device housing (110), through which the wheel is operated by the control unit based on detection information of the detection unit mounted on the device housing (110), thereby allowing the lifting device (100) of the present embodiment to move to a commanded position.

[0040] Meanwhile, the turntable (130) of the present embodiment may include, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a table frame (132) forming a basic frame, a table rotation member (133) provided on the upper surface and side surface of the table frame (132), a table plate (131) provided on the upper surface of a driven gear (136) among the table rotation members (133), and a roller member (137) provided on the lower portion of the table frame (132).

[0041] By this configuration, the table plate (131) on which the object is loaded can be rotated in place.

[0042] The table frame (132) may be formed of a rectangular plate, although not shown in detail, and as will be described later, roller members are provided at the front and rear ends of both sides of the table frame (132), so that the entire turntable (130) can be raised and lowered by interaction with the table elevation control unit (150).

[0043] A table rotation member (133) for rotating the table plate (131) in place may be provided on the upper surface and side of the table frame (132).

[0044] The table rotation member (133) of the present embodiment may include, as partially illustrated in FIG. 2, a driving motor (134) that generates driving force, a driving gear (not shown) coupled to a shaft of the driving motor (134), and a driven gear (136) that is engaged with the driving gear and rotates in the opposite direction when the driving gear rotates, and has a table plate mounted on its upper end.

[0045] Here, the driven gear (136) can be rotatably coupled to the upper surface of the table frame (132), and through this, the table plate (131) can be rotated in place by transmission of driving force between the driving gear and the driven gear (136) when the driving motor (134) is driven.

[0046] Meanwhile, the turn table (130) can be raised or lowered vertically by the table elevation control unit (150). The vertical elevation mentioned here refers to the elevation or lowering in the vertical direction without causing a horizontal displacement when the turn table (130) is raised or lowered.

[0047] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the table elevation control unit (150) of the present embodiment has a turn table (130) mounted on its upper portion, and can vertically raise and lower the turn table (130) by moving it linearly in the horizontal direction by a driving force provided from a driving unit (170).

[0048] First, the driving unit (170) of the present embodiment may be provided with a driving motor that rotates an axis, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and a driving force transmission member (180) for transmitting driving force to the axis of the driving unit (170) may be provided.

[0049] The driving force transmission member (180) can be provided as, for example, a ball screw, so that the rotational motion of the shaft of the driving unit (170) is converted into linear motion in the driving force transmission member (180), and the table elevation control member (150) coupled to the driving force transmission member (180) can be linearly moved in the horizontal direction.

[0050] As described above, a guide rail (not shown) for guiding the linear movement of the table elevation control unit (150) may be provided on the upper surface of the device housing (110), so that when the driving unit (170) is driven, the linear movement of the driving force transmission member (180) is directly transmitted to the table elevation control unit (150), so that the table elevation control unit (150) can move accurately along the linear path of the guide rail.

[0051] This table elevation control unit (150) may include an elevation body (151) having a driving force transmission member (180) coupled to one side thereof and providing a space for movement of the roller member (137) of the aforementioned turntable (130), as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, and particularly as illustrated in FIG. 3, and an elevation slope (155) in the shape of a slope provided on the elevation body (151).

[0052] Referring to FIG. 3, the lifting body (151) of the present embodiment may include a fixed member (152) to which one end of the driving force transmission member (180) is fixed, a pair of parallel members (153) that are provided horizontally parallel from both ends of one side of the fixed member (152) to provide a space for movement of the roller member (137), and a connecting member (154) that connects the middle portions thereof. Through this, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the entire body may be provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

[0053] And, an elevation slope (155) may be provided at the four corner areas of the elevating body (151), that is, at each of the inner ends of a pair of parallel members. That is, as illustrated in Fig. 4, a total of four elevation slopes (155) may be provided on the elevating body (151) so as to have an imaginary rectangular arrangement.

[0054] This elevation slope (155) may have a slope structure that gradually increases from one side to the other. With reference to FIG. 3, the elevation slope (155) may have a slope structure that linearly increases from the right side to the left side, and the roller member (137) of the aforementioned turntable (130) may be installed on this elevation slope (155) (see FIG. 4).

[0055] In addition, as illustrated in the partially enlarged view of Fig. 5, a lower horizontal section (155b) extending in the horizontal direction may be provided at the bottom of the inclined section (155a) of the lifting slope (155), and an upper horizontal section (155c) extending in the horizontal direction may also be provided at the top of the lifting slope (155). Accordingly, a stable state can be maintained when the roller member (137) of the turntable (130) is positioned at the lower horizontal section (155b) or the upper horizontal section (155c).

[0056] Referring to Fig. 4, a total of four roller members (137) are provided at the lower end of the turn table (130), and the arrangement of the roller members (137) also corresponds to the arrangement of the elevation slope (155). Accordingly, the load of the turn table (130) can be evenly distributed.

[0057] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5, the operating principle of the turn table (130) being raised and lowered when the table lifting control unit (150) is linearly moved will be described.

[0058] As illustrated in the upper drawing of Fig. 5, when the driving unit (170) is not driven, the turn table (130) can basically maintain a lowered basic state. In this state, the roller member (137) of the turn table (130) is positioned at the lower horizontal section (155b) of the elevation slope (155) of the table elevation control unit (150).

[0059] However, when the turntable (130) needs to be raised, the driving unit (170) can be operated so that the driving force can be transmitted to the table elevation control unit (150) through the driving force transmission unit (180), and through this, the table elevation control unit (150) can be linearly moved in the horizontal direction as a whole, as shown in the middle drawing of FIG. 5. Then, the roller member (137) can be raised while rotating along the inclined section (155a) of the elevation slope (155).

[0060] However, when the turn table (130) is raised or lowered by linear movement of the table elevation control unit (150), a vertical elevation guide (not shown) may be provided to guide the vertical elevation of the turn table (130) so that the elevation of the turn table (130) is only vertical.

[0061] Accordingly, referring to the middle drawing of FIG. 5, even if the table elevation control unit (150) moves linearly to the right, the roller member (137) of the turn table (130) does not move to the right as well, but rather the roller member (137) rotates in place on the elevation slope (155), thereby allowing it to be elevated only in the vertical direction.

[0062] When the linear movement of the table elevation control unit (150) is completed to the set section, as shown in the lower drawing of FIG. 5, the roller member (137) is settled on the upper horizontal section (155c) of the elevation slope (155), and thus the elevation of the turn table (130) can be completed.

[0063] Meanwhile, the elevation speed of the turn table (130) can be controlled depending on the degree of driving force generated by the driving unit (170). If a heavy object is loaded onto the turn table (130) and the object is raised rapidly, adverse effects may occur. Therefore, it is natural that the elevation speed of the turn table (130) can be controlled by controlling the degree of driving force generated by the driving unit (170) depending on the weight of the object being loaded.

[0064] In this way, according to the present embodiment, the horizontal linear movement of the table elevation control unit (150) by the driving unit (170) can be converted into the vertical elevation movement of the turntable (130) by the slope-shaped elevation slope (155) through a simple operating structure, thereby reducing the overall thickness.

[0065] Meanwhile, below, a turntable lifting device according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but a description of a configuration substantially the same as the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

[0066] FIG. 6 is a cutaway perspective view of a turntable lifting device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] As illustrated here, a turntable lifting device (200) according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a table lifting control unit (250) having a lifting slope (255), which is different from the lifting slope (155, see FIG. 2) of the aforementioned embodiment in terms of shape and structure of the lifting slope (255).

[0068] The elevation slope (255) of the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 6, includes a plurality of slope sections connecting the lower and upper sections, and may include at least one diagonal section having a diagonal direction and at least one diagonal section having a horizontal direction.

[0069] Referring to FIG. 6, it may include a first diagonal section (255b) inclined upwardly to the left from a lower horizontal section (255a) at the bottom, a first central horizontal section (255c) extending horizontally from the upper end of the first diagonal section (255b), a second diagonal section (255d) inclined upwardly to the left from the left end of the first central horizontal section (255c), a second central horizontal section (255e) extending horizontally from the upper end of the second diagonal section (255d), a third diagonal section (255f) inclined upwardly to the left from the left end of the second central horizontal section (255e), and an upper horizontal section (255g) extending horizontally from the third diagonal section (255f).

[0070] According to the present embodiment, a total of three diagonal sections (255b, 255d, 255f) are included, and two horizontal sections (255c, 255e) may be provided between the diagonal sections (255b, 255d, 255f). Through this, the roller member (137) that is elevated along the elevation slope (155) can ascend along the diagonal sections (255b, 255d, 255f) and then settle on the horizontal sections (255c, 255e). In this case, since the roller member (137) is in the horizontal section, it can better support the load.

[0071] However, in this embodiment, the slope structure of the lift slope (155) having a total of three diagonal sections (255b, 255d, 255f) and two horizontal sections (255c, 255e) provided between them has been described, but it is not limited thereto, and it is obvious that the lift slope (155) can be provided to have other inclination angles or sections.

[0072] Additionally, the incline angles of the three diagonal sections (255b, 255d, 255f) can be set to be the same, but of course, they can be set to be different. By varying the incline angles and lengths of the sections, the elevation speed of the turntable (230) for each section can be adjusted even if the same driving force is provided.

[0073] The turntable lifting device as described above may be included in a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the robot according to one embodiment of the present invention may be an autonomous mobile robot (AMR), but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0074] While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, it is clear that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the scope of the claims set forth below, but also by equivalents thereof.

[0075] Although the present invention has been described with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, it is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations are possible based on this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be understood solely by the scope of the claims set forth below, and all equivalent or equivalent modifications thereof are deemed to fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device housing in which a driving unit is mounted; and A table elevation control unit that is provided to receive driving force from the driving unit in the device housing and has a slope-shaped elevation slope to control the elevation of a turntable located at the top; Includes, A turntable lifting device characterized in that the horizontal linear movement of the table elevation control unit by the driving unit is converted into vertical elevation movement of the turntable by the elevation slope.

2. In paragraph 1, The above table lifting control unit is, An elevating body that moves linearly in a horizontal direction by the driving force of the above driving unit; and Includes a slope-shaped elevation slope provided on the above elevation body, A turn table lifting device characterized in that a part of the turn table is loaded onto the lifting slope and, when the lifting body moves linearly in the horizontal direction, a part of the turn table is lifted vertically along the lifting slope, thereby controlling the lifting of the turn table.

3. In paragraph 2, A turn table lifting device characterized in that a portion of the turn table is a roller-type roller member that rotates and moves along the lifting slope when the lifting body moves linearly, thereby vertically lifting the entire turn table relative to the table lifting control unit.

4. In paragraph 3, The above lifting body is, A fixed member connected by the above driving unit and the driving force transmission member; A pair of parallel members provided in a horizontal direction parallel to one side of the fixed member to provide space for movement of the roller member; and It includes a connecting member connecting the middle portion of the above pair of parallel members, A turntable lifting device characterized in that the lifting slopes are respectively mounted on both ends of the inner side of the pair of parallel members, so that a total of four lifting slopes are provided.

5. In paragraph 4, A turntable lifting device characterized in that a total of four roller members are provided at the bottom of the turntable, and are provided so as to correspond to the positions of the four lifting slopes.

6. In paragraph 2, A turntable lifting device characterized in that the above-mentioned lifting slope is provided as a diagonal section in which the lower and upper parts are diagonally connected.

7. In paragraph 2, A turntable lifting device characterized in that the above-mentioned lifting slope is composed of a plurality of slope sections connecting the lower and upper sections, and is composed of at least one diagonal section having a diagonal direction and at least one straight section having a horizontal direction.

8. In paragraph 7, A turntable lifting device characterized in that the slope angles of the sections provided diagonally in the above-mentioned lifting slope are provided to be the same or different.

9. In either of paragraphs 6 and 7, A turntable lifting device characterized in that the lower portion of the above-mentioned lifting slope is provided with a lower horizontal section extending in a horizontal direction, and the upper portion of the above-mentioned lifting slope is provided with an upper horizontal section extending in a horizontal direction.

10. In paragraph 3, The above turntable, A table frame on which the above roller member is rotatably mounted; A table rotation member provided on the upper surface of the table frame; and A turn table lifting device characterized by including a table plate provided on the upper surface of a portion of the table rotation member.

11. In paragraph 10, The above table rotation member is, a drive motor having a drive gear coupled to the shaft; and A driven gear having teeth engaged with the above driving gear and mounted on the table frame, A turntable lifting device characterized in that the table plate is mounted on the upper part of the driven gear.

12. In paragraph 1, The above driving unit and the table elevation control unit are connected by a driving force transmission member, A turntable lifting device characterized in that the above driving unit is a driving motor and the above driving force transmission member is a ball screw.

13. In paragraph 1, A turn table lifting device further comprising a lifting guide unit that guides the vertical lifting of the turn table so that the lifting of the turn table is vertical when the turn table is lifted by linear movement of the table lifting control unit.

14. In paragraph 1, A turntable lifting device characterized in that it further includes a guide rail provided in the device housing and guiding linear movement of the table lifting drive unit by the drive unit.

15. A robot comprising a turntable lifting device according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

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