Material container carrying robot, control module, goods picking and placing method, and multi-layer shelving system

Abstract

A material container carrying robot (100), a control module (50), a goods picking and placing method, and a multi-layer shelving system (300), the material container carrying robot comprising a telescopic scaffold (10), a first-stage lifting assembly (20), a goods picking and placing assembly (30), a second-stage lifting assembly (40), and a control module. The telescopic scaffold comprises an inner scaffold (11) and an outer scaffold (12). The goods picking and placing assembly is arranged on the inner scaffold, and, on the basis of the first-stage lifting assembly, can move up and down in the height direction of the inner scaffold and pick up and place a material container (1000) on a shelf (310). The inner scaffold is arranged on the inside of the outer scaffold, and, on the basis of the second-stage lifting assembly, can move up and down in the height direction of the outer scaffold, so that the inner scaffold can extend from or retract into the outer scaffold when moving to a top end of the outer scaffold. The outer scaffold is hung on the shelf. The control module is communicatively connected to the first-stage lifting assembly, the second-stage lifting assembly, and the goods picking and placing assembly. In the material container carrying robot, when moving to the top end of the outer scaffold, the inner scaffold can extend from or retract into the outer scaffold, so as to increase the height of the material container carrying robot for picking goods.

Description

Tobacco handling robot, control module, picking and placing methods and multi-level racking system

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411533327.5, filed on October 30, 2024, entitled "Bag Handling Robot, Control Module, Picking and Placing Method and Multi-Layer Shelving System", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of material handling robot technology, and in particular to a bin handling robot, a control module, a picking and placing method, and a multi-layer racking system. Background Technology

[0003] Typically, logistics warehouses have multiple shelves arranged on a floor plan, each shelf having multiple layers, and each layer can be used to store material boxes.

[0004] To fully utilize the vertical space in logistics warehouses, the number of shelving layers needs to increase, and the shelving height also needs to increase accordingly. However, the current conventional bin handling robots have limited picking and placing heights, making it difficult to pick up bins from higher spaces. Therefore, this limits the height of the shelving, making it difficult to effectively utilize the upper space in logistics warehouses and affecting the inventory fill rate. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a bin-handling robot, a control module, a picking and placing method, and a multi-layer racking system to improve the picking height of the bin-handling robot. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0006] Firstly, the embodiment of this solution provides a bin handling robot, comprising:

[0007] Telescopic gantry, including inner gantry and outer gantry;

[0008] First-level promotion components;

[0009] The picking and placing component is installed on the inner mast and can move up and down along the height of the inner mast and pick up and place the material boxes on the shelf based on the first-stage lifting component.

[0010] Second-level upgrade components;

[0011] The inner gantry is located inside the outer gantry and can move up and down along the height direction of the outer gantry based on the second-stage lifting assembly, so that the inner gantry can extend or retract into the outer gantry when it moves to the top of the outer gantry, and / or so that the inner gantry can extend or retract into the outer gantry when it moves to the bottom of the outer gantry;

[0012] The outer mast is used to mount the bin handling robot on the shelf;

[0013] The control module is communicatively connected to the first-level lifting component, the second-level lifting component, and the picking and placing component. It controls the picking and placing component to perform picking and placing operations, and adjusts the height of the picking and placing component relative to the shelf by controlling the first-level lifting component and / or the second-level lifting component.

[0014] In some embodiments, it also includes:

[0015] The first connecting fork is slidably connected to the inner mast along the height direction of the inner mast. The picking and placing component is disposed on the first connecting fork. Based on the first-stage lifting component, the first connecting fork drives the picking and placing component to move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast.

[0016] The second connecting fork is slidably connected to the outer gantry along the height direction of the outer gantry. The inner gantry is set on the second connecting fork, and the second connecting fork drives the inner gantry to move up and down along the height direction of the outer gantry.

[0017] In some embodiments, the first-stage lifting assembly includes: a first drive motor and a first synchronous belt, the first synchronous belt being rotatably mounted on the inner mast, a first connecting fork connecting the loading / unloading assembly and the first synchronous belt, and the first drive motor being mounted on the inner mast to drive the rotation of the first synchronous belt, so that the first synchronous belt drives the loading / unloading assembly to move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast; or,

[0018] The first-stage lifting assembly includes a second drive motor, a first rack and a first gear. The first rack is located on the inner side of the inner mast, and the first gear and the first rack mesh. The second drive motor is located on the first connecting fork and is used to drive the rotation of the first gear so that, under the meshing force of the first gear and the first rack, the loading and unloading assembly moves up and down along the height direction of the inner mast.

[0019] The control module is communicatively connected to the first drive motor or the second drive motor of the first-stage lifting component, and is used to control the forward and reverse rotation of the first drive motor or the second drive motor.

[0020] In some embodiments, the second-stage lifting assembly includes: a third drive motor and a second synchronous belt, the second synchronous belt being rotatably disposed on the outer gantry, a second connecting fork connecting the inner gantry and the second synchronous belt, the third drive motor being disposed on the outer gantry for driving the rotation of the second synchronous belt so that the second synchronous belt drives the inner gantry to move up and down along the height direction of the outer gantry;

[0021] The control module is communicatively connected to the third drive motor of the second-stage lifting component and is used to control the forward and reverse rotation of the third drive motor.

[0022] In some embodiments, the inner mast includes a left inner mast and a right inner mast, with the loading and unloading assembly located between the left inner mast and the right inner mast.

[0023] The first connecting fork body consists of two parts, which are respectively located on both sides of the loading and unloading assembly;

[0024] There are two first-stage lifting components, which are respectively installed on the left inner door post and the right inner door post. The left and right sides of the loading and unloading components are respectively connected to the two first-stage lifting components through a first connecting fork.

[0025] In some embodiments, the outer gantry includes a left outer gantry and a right outer gantry, with the inner gantry located between the left and right outer gantry.

[0026] The second connecting fork has two parts, which are fixedly connected to the bottom of the left inner door post and the right inner door post respectively;

[0027] The second-stage lifting components consist of two parts, each connected to a second connecting fork, to move the inner gantry up and down along the height of the outer gantry.

[0028] In some embodiments, the control module is mounted on the side of the outer gantry.

[0029] Secondly, this embodiment of the solution provides a method for picking up and placing goods, applied to the control module of a bin handling robot. The control module is communicatively connected to a host computer. The bin handling robot includes a telescopic mast, a first-stage lifting component, a picking and placing component, a second-stage lifting component, and a control module. The telescopic mast includes an inner mast and an outer mast. The picking and placing component is mounted on the inner mast and can move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast based on the first-stage lifting component to pick up and place bins on the shelf. The inner mast is mounted inside the outer mast and can move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast based on the second-stage lifting component. The control module is communicatively connected to the first-stage lifting component, the second-stage lifting component, and the picking and placing component.

[0030] The methods include:

[0031] Receive pick-up and drop-off instructions sent by the host computer, which include the target location of the shelf;

[0032] Control at least one of the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component to drive the pick-up and place component to move to the target height corresponding to the target position, and control the pick-up and place component to perform pick-up and place operations for the target position;

[0033] Specifically, when the target height is higher than the outer gantry, the inner gantry is controlled to move to the top of the outer gantry and extend the outer gantry to drive the picking and placing component to the target height, and the picking and placing component is controlled to pick and place goods at the target height; and / or, when the target height is lower than the outer gantry, the inner gantry is controlled to move to the bottom of the outer gantry and extend the outer gantry to drive the picking and placing component to the target height, and the picking and placing component is controlled to pick and place goods at the target height.

[0034] In some embodiments, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component to drive the pick-up and place component to move to the target height corresponding to the target position includes:

[0035] Determine if the target height is higher than the outer gantry;

[0036] If the target height is higher than the outer gantry, control at least one of the first-stage lifting components and the second-stage lifting components to move the inner gantry to the top of the outer gantry and extend the outer gantry to drive the loading and unloading components to the target height;

[0037] If the target height is not higher than the outer mast, control at least one of the first-stage lifting components and the second-stage lifting components so that the inner mast does not extend out of the outer mast and drives the loading and unloading components to the target height;

[0038] And / or,

[0039] Determine if the target height is lower than the outer gantry;

[0040] If the target height is lower than the outer gantry, control at least one of the first-stage lifting components and the second-stage lifting components to move the inner gantry to the bottom of the outer gantry and extend the outer gantry to drive the loading and unloading components to the target height;

[0041] If the target height is not lower than the outer mast, control at least one of the first-stage lifting components and the second-stage lifting components so that the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast and drives the loading and unloading components to the target height.

[0042] In some embodiments, where the target height is higher than the outer gantry:

[0043] Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to move the inner mast to the top of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0044] Determine if the pickup / dispatch assembly is located at the top of the inner mast;

[0045] If the second-stage lifting component is controlled at the top of the inner mast, the inner mast will move on the outer mast, causing the inner mast to move to the top of the outer mast and extend out of the outer mast to drive the loading and unloading component to the target height;

[0046] If not at the top of the inner mast, simultaneously control the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component, so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, and the inner mast moves on the outer mast, so that the inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height;

[0047] And / or,

[0048] If the target height is not higher than the outer gantry:

[0049] Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly, ensuring the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and driving the loading / unloading assembly to the target height, includes:

[0050] Determine if the target location is within the height range of the inner gantry;

[0051] If the first-stage lifting component is controlled within the height range of the inner mast, the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, and the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and the picking and placing component is driven to the target height;

[0052] If the height is not within the inner mast, simultaneously control the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, the inner mast moves on the outer mast, and the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, thus driving the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0053] And / or,

[0054] If the target height is lower than the outer gantry:

[0055] Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to move the inner mast to the bottom of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0056] Determine if the picking and placing components are at the bottom of the inner mast;

[0057] If not at the bottom of the inner mast, simultaneously control the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast and the inner mast moves on the outer mast, so that the inner mast moves to the bottom of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height;

[0058] If the second-stage lifting component is controlled at the bottom of the inner mast, the inner mast will move on the outer mast, causing the inner mast to move to the bottom of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height;

[0059] And / or,

[0060] If the target height is not lower than the outer gantry:

[0061] Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to prevent the inner mast from extending beyond the outer mast and to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0062] If the height is not within the inner mast, simultaneously control the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, the inner mast moves on the outer mast, and the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, thus driving the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0063] If the first-stage lifting component is controlled within the height range of the inner mast, the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast without the inner mast extending beyond the outer mast, and the picking and placing component reaches the target height.

[0064] In some embodiments, where the target height is higher than the outer gantry:

[0065] Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to move the inner mast to the top of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0066] Determine if the pickup / dispatch assembly is located at the top of the inner mast;

[0067] If the second-stage lifting component is controlled at the top of the inner mast, the inner mast will move on the outer mast, causing the inner mast to move to the top of the outer mast and extend out of the outer mast to drive the loading and unloading component to the target height;

[0068] If not at the top of the inner mast, first control the first-stage lifting component to move the picking and placing component on the inner mast to the top of the inner mast, then control the second-stage lifting component to move the inner mast on the outer mast. The inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0069] And / or,

[0070] If the target height is not higher than the outer gantry:

[0071] Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly, ensuring the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and driving the loading / unloading assembly to the target height, includes:

[0072] Determine if the target location is within the height range of the inner gantry;

[0073] If the first-stage lifting component is controlled within the height range of the inner mast, the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, and the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and the picking and placing component is driven to the target height;

[0074] If the height is not within the inner mast, first control the first-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast to the top of the inner mast. Then control the second-stage lifting component so that the inner mast moves on the outer mast without extending out of the outer mast, and drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0075] And / or,

[0076] If the target height is lower than the outer gantry:

[0077] Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to move the inner mast to the bottom of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0078] Determine if the picking and placing components are at the bottom of the inner mast;

[0079] If not at the bottom of the inner mast, first control the first-stage lifting component to move the picking and placing component on the inner mast to the bottom of the inner mast, then control the second-stage lifting component to move the inner mast on the outer mast. The inner mast moves to the bottom of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0080] If the second-stage lifting component is controlled at the bottom of the inner mast, the inner mast will move on the outer mast, causing the inner mast to move to the bottom of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height;

[0081] And / or,

[0082] If the target height is not lower than the outer gantry:

[0083] Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to prevent the inner mast from extending beyond the outer mast and to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0084] Determine if the target location is within the height range of the inner gantry;

[0085] If the height is not within the inner mast, first control the first-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast to the bottom of the inner mast. Then control the second-stage lifting component so that the inner mast moves on the outer mast without extending out of the outer mast, and drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0086] If the first-stage lifting component is controlled within the height range of the inner mast, the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast without the inner mast extending beyond the outer mast, and the picking and placing component reaches the target height.

[0087] Thirdly, the control module of the bin handling robot provided in this embodiment includes a processor and a machine-readable memory. The machine-readable memory stores machine-executable instructions that can be executed by the processor. The processor is prompted by the machine-executable instructions to implement the above-mentioned picking and placing method.

[0088] Fourthly, the multi-layer racking system provided in this embodiment includes:

[0089] There are M shelves stacked sequentially along the height direction. Each shelf has a goods buffer space and multiple layers of goods storage space. The goods buffer space is located at the bottom of the multiple layers of goods storage space. M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0090] At least one of the aforementioned bin-handling robots is mounted on each shelf;

[0091] in,

[0092] The bin handling robot installed on the Nth shelf is used to perform pick-and-place operations on the goods buffer space of the N+1th shelf and the multi-layer goods storage space of the Nth shelf, and / or, the bin handling robot installed on the N+1th shelf is used to perform pick-and-place operations on the multi-layer goods storage space of the N+1th shelf and at least one layer of goods storage space at the top of the Nth shelf, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M-1;

[0093] The bin handling robot installed on the M-level shelf is used to perform picking and placing operations on the goods buffer space of the M-level shelf and the multi-level goods storage space of the M-level shelf.

[0094] In some embodiments, the multi-level shelving system is used to perform a first retrieval step of retrieving goods from the goods storage space of the Kth level shelf and moving them to the goods buffer space of the first level shelf, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The first retrieval step includes:

[0095] The bin handling robot installed on the K-level shelf retrieves goods from the goods storage space on the K-level shelf and places them in the goods buffer space on the K-level shelf.

[0096] The material handling robot on the next lower shelf of the shelf where the goods are located controls the inner mast to move to the top of the outer mast, and extends the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the goods buffer space of the shelf where the goods are located. After the picking and placing component picks up the goods from the goods buffer space of the shelf where the goods are located, it places them in the goods buffer space of the shelf below the shelf where the goods are located, until the goods are transported layer by layer to the goods buffer space of the first shelf.

[0097] And / or,

[0098] The tiered shelving system is used to perform a first placement step on goods stored in the buffer space of the first-tier shelving, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The first placement step includes:

[0099] After the goods are picked up by the bin handling robot of the shelf where the goods are located, the inner mast is controlled to move to the top of the outer mast, and the outer mast extends to drive the picking and placing components to the upper shelf and place them in the goods buffer space of the upper shelf, until the goods are transported layer by layer to the goods buffer space of the Kth shelf.

[0100] The bin handling robot installed on the K-level shelf retrieves goods from the goods buffer space of the K-level shelf and places them in the goods storage space of the K-level shelf.

[0101] In some embodiments, each shelf is provided with a top plate, and the N+1th shelf is provided on the top plate of the Nth shelf.

[0102] In some embodiments, the multi-level racking system is used to perform a second retrieval step of retrieving goods from the goods storage space of the (K-1)th level rack, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The second retrieval step includes:

[0103] The bin handling robot on the K-level shelf controls the inner mast to move to the bottom of the outer mast, and extends the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the shelf storage space on the K-1 level. After the picking and placing component picks up the goods from the shelf storage space on the K-1 level, the inner mast retracts to the bottom of the outer mast, driving the picking and placing component to the shelf storage space on the K level. The picking and placing component then places the goods in the shelf storage space on the K level.

[0104] And / or,

[0105] The tiered shelving system is used to perform a second placement step on the goods stored in the goods storage space of the Kth tier shelving, placing the goods in the goods storage space of the (K-1)th tier shelving, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The second placement step includes:

[0106] After the bin handling robot on the k-th shelf retrieves the goods from the storage space of the k-th shelf, it controls the inner mast to move to the bottom of the outer mast and extends the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the storage space of the (K-1)-th shelf. It then controls the picking and placing component to place the goods in the storage space of the (K-1)-th shelf.

[0107] Beneficial effects of the embodiments in this application:

[0108] The bin handling robot, control module, picking and placing method, and multi-layer racking system provided in this application include a telescopic mast, a first-stage lifting component, a picking and placing component, a second-stage lifting component, and a control module. The telescopic mast includes an inner mast and an outer mast. The picking and placing component is mounted on the inner mast and can move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast based on the first-stage lifting component to pick and place bins on the rack, thus realizing the first-stage telescopic movement of the picking and placing component. The inner mast is located inside the outer mast and can move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast based on the second-stage lifting component, so that when the inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast, it can extend or retract into the outer mast, thus realizing the second-stage telescopic movement of the picking and placing component. The outer mast is used to mount the bin handling robot on the shelf. The control module is communicatively connected to the first-stage lifting component, the second-stage lifting component, and the picking and placing component. It controls the picking and placing component to perform picking and placing operations, and adjusts the height of the picking and placing component relative to the shelf by controlling the first-stage lifting component and / or the second-stage lifting component. In this embodiment of the solution, the control module can control the two-stage extension and retraction of the picking and placing component of the bin handling robot, which can extend or retract to the outer mast to increase the picking height of the bin handling robot.

[0109] Of course, implementing any product or method of this application does not necessarily require achieving all of the above advantages at the same time. Attached Figure Description

[0110] The accompanying drawings, which are provided to further illustrate this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments of this application and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application.

[0111] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a bin handling robot provided in this application;

[0112] Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a bin handling robot provided in this application for handling bins;

[0113] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the electrical connection structure of a bin handling robot provided in this application;

[0114] Figure 4 is an enlarged view of A in Figure 2;

[0115] Figure 5 is an enlarged view of B in Figure 2;

[0116] Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the bin handling robot shown in Figure 2;

[0117] Figure 7 is an enlarged view of C in Figure 2;

[0118] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for picking up and placing goods provided in this application;

[0119] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating a specific method for picking up and placing goods provided in this application;

[0120] Figure 10 is a state diagram of the bin handling robot reaching the target position corresponding to a specific picking and placing method provided in this application;

[0121] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating another specific method for picking up and placing goods provided in this application;

[0122] Figure 12 is a state diagram of the bin handling robot reaching the target position corresponding to another specific picking and placing method provided in this application;

[0123] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the control module of a bin handling robot provided in this application;

[0124] Figure 14 is a structural schematic diagram of a multi-layer racking system provided in this application;

[0125] Figure 15 is an enlarged view of D in Figure 14;

[0126] Figure 16 is an enlarged view of E in Figure 14.

[0127] The attached figures are labeled as follows: 100, 100A, 100B; Telescopic gantry 10, Inner gantry 11, Left inner gantry 111, Right inner gantry 112, Outer gantry 12, Left outer gantry 121, Right outer gantry 122, First crossbeam 123, First-stage lifting assembly 20, Second drive motor 21, First rack 22, First gear 23, Pick-and-place assembly 30, Base 31, Pick-and-place mechanism 32, Second-stage lifting assembly 40, Third drive motor 41, Second synchronous belt 42, Control module 50, First connecting fork 60, Second connecting fork 70, Memory 210, Processor 220; Multi-layer racking system 300, rack 310, first rack 310A, first transverse guide rail 311A, second rack 310B, second transverse guide rail 311B, goods buffer space 311, goods storage space 312, top plate 313; material bin 1000. Detailed Implementation

[0128] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments in this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0129] In related technologies, the height for picking up and placing goods is limited due to the structural limitations of traditional handling robots.

[0130] Therefore, this application proposes a bin handling robot, a control module, a picking and placing method, and a multi-layer racking system to improve the picking height of the bin handling robot.

[0131] Specifically, the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, describes an embodiment of this application of a bin handling robot, a control module, a picking and placing method, and a multi-layer racking system.

[0132] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a bin handling robot provided in this application; Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a bin handling robot handling bins provided in this application; Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of the electrical connection of a bin handling robot provided in this application; Figure 4 is an enlarged view of A in Figure 2. As shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, this application provides a bin handling robot, including a telescopic gantry 10, a first-stage lifting assembly 20, a picking and placing assembly 30, a second-stage lifting assembly 40 and a control module 50.

[0133] The telescopic mast 10 includes an inner mast 11 and an outer mast 12. The picking and placing component 30 is mounted on the inner mast 11 and can move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast 11 based on the first-level lifting component 20 to pick up and place boxes on the shelf. The inner mast 11 is located inside the outer mast 12 and can move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast 12 based on the second-level lifting component 40, so that when the inner mast 11 moves to the top of the outer mast 12, it can extend or retract into the outer mast 12. The outer mast 12 is used to hang the box handling robot 100 on the shelf. The control module 50 is communicatively connected to the first-level lifting component 20, the second-level lifting component 40 and the picking and placing component 30, controls the picking and placing component 30 to perform picking and placing operations, and adjusts the height of the picking and placing component 30 relative to the shelf by controlling at least one of the first-level lifting component 20 and the second-level lifting component 40.

[0134] The bin handling robot 100 provided in this application embodiment has a picking and placing component 30 mounted on an inner mast 11. Based on a first-stage lifting component 20, it can move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast 11 to pick up and place bins on the shelf, achieving a first-stage extension and retraction of the picking and placing component 30. The inner mast 11 is located inside the outer mast 12 and can move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast 12 based on a second-stage lifting component 40, achieving a second-stage extension and retraction of the picking and placing component 30. The outer mast 12 is used to hang the bin handling robot 100 on the shelf. In this embodiment, the two-stage extension and retraction of the picking and placing component 30 of the bin handling robot 100 can be controlled by a control module 50, so that when the inner mast 11 moves to the top of the outer mast 12, it can extend or retract into the outer mast 12 to increase the picking height of the bin handling robot 100.

[0135] In some embodiments, the inner mast 11 can move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast 12 based on the second-stage lifting assembly 40, so that when the inner mast 11 moves to the bottom of the outer mast 12, it can extend or retract into the outer mast 12, so that the loading and unloading assembly 30 can load and unload the hopper below the outer mast 12.

[0136] The picking and placing assembly 30 includes a base 31 and a picking and placing mechanism 32. The picking and placing mechanism 32 is telescopically mounted on the base 31. The picking and placing mechanism 32 can extend out of the base 31 or retract into the base 31 to facilitate picking and placing of the material box 1000.

[0137] To improve the operational stability of the bin handling robot 100, the bin handling robot 100 further includes: a first connecting fork 60 and a second connecting fork 70. The first connecting fork 60 is slidably connected to the inner mast 11 along the height direction of the inner mast 11. The picking and placing component 30 is disposed on the first connecting fork 60. Based on the first-stage lifting component 20, the first connecting fork 60 drives the picking and placing component 30 to move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast 11. The second connecting fork 70 is slidably connected to the outer mast 12 along the height direction of the outer mast 12. The inner mast 11 is disposed on the second connecting fork 70. The second connecting fork 70 drives the inner mast 11 to move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast 12.

[0138] The first connecting fork 60 guides the vertical movement of the loading / unloading assembly 30 relative to the inner mast 11, and the first-stage lifting assembly 20 provides power for the vertical movement of the loading / unloading assembly 30, thereby enabling stable vertical movement of the loading / unloading assembly 30 relative to the inner mast 11. The second connecting fork 70 guides the vertical movement of the inner mast 11 relative to the outer mast 12, and the second-stage lifting assembly 40 provides power for the vertical movement of the inner mast 11, thereby enabling stable vertical movement of the inner mast 11 relative to the outer mast 12.

[0139] In the specific implementation, as shown in Figure 4, the inner mast 11 includes a left inner mast 111 and a right inner mast 112, and the loading and unloading assembly 30 is located between the left inner mast 111 and the right inner mast 112; there are two first connecting forks 60, which are respectively set on both sides of the loading and unloading assembly 30; there are two first-stage lifting assemblies 20, which are respectively set on the left inner mast 111 and the right inner mast 112, and the left and right sides of the loading and unloading assembly 30 are respectively connected to the two first-stage lifting assemblies 20 through a first connecting fork 60. Specifically, the outer mast 12 includes a left outer mast 121 and a right outer mast 122, with the inner mast 11 located between the left and right outer masts 121 and 122. Two second connecting forks 70 are fixedly connected to the bottom of the left and right inner masts 111 and 112, respectively. Two second-stage lifting components 40 are connected to the two second connecting forks 70, respectively, to drive the inner mast 11 to move up and down along the height of the outer mast 12. The first-stage lifting components 20 and the second-stage lifting components 40 are symmetrically arranged to further improve the stability of the bin handling robot 100 during operation.

[0140] Specifically, Figure 5 is an enlarged view of B in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 5, the outer gantry 12 also includes a first crossbeam 123, which connects the left outer gantry post 121 and the right outer gantry post 122 to form the outer gantry 12.

[0141] The first-stage lifting component 20 can be implemented using various structures. For example, in a first implementation (not shown), the first-stage lifting component 20 includes a first drive motor and a first synchronous belt. The first synchronous belt is rotatably mounted on the inner mast 11. A first connecting fork 60 connects the loading / unloading component 30 and the first synchronous belt. The first drive motor, mounted on the inner mast 11, drives the rotation of the first synchronous belt, causing the loading / unloading component 30 to move up and down along the height of the inner mast 11. The control module 50 is communicatively connected to the first drive motor of the first-stage lifting component 20 and controls its forward and reverse rotation. Driven by the first drive motor, the loading / unloading component 30 moves stably up and down relative to the inner mast 11, facilitating the first-stage extension and retraction of the loading / unloading component 30.

[0142] For example, in a second implementation of the first-stage lifting component 20, Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the bin handling robot shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 6, the first-stage lifting component 20 includes: a second drive motor 21, a first rack 22, and a first gear 23. The first rack 22 is located on the inner side of the inner mast 11, and the first gear 23 meshes with the first rack 22. The second drive motor 21 is located on the first connecting fork 60 and is used to drive the rotation of the first gear 23, so that under the meshing force of the first gear 23 and the first rack 22, the picking and placing component 30 moves up and down along the height direction of the inner mast 11. The control module 50 is communicatively connected to the second drive motor of the first-stage lifting component 20 and is used to control the forward and reverse rotation of the second drive motor. Under the drive of the second drive motor, the picking and placing component 30 moves stably up and down relative to the inner mast 11, so as to facilitate the first-stage extension and retraction of the picking and placing component 30.

[0143] The second-stage lifting component 40 can be implemented using various structures. For example, in one implementation of the first-stage lifting component 20, Figure 7 is an enlarged view of C in Figure 2. As shown in Figures 5 and 7, the second-stage lifting component 40 includes: a third drive motor 41 and a second synchronous belt 42. The second synchronous belt 42 is rotatably mounted on the outer gantry 12. A second connecting fork 70 connects the inner gantry 11 and the second synchronous belt 42. The third drive motor 41 is mounted on the outer gantry 12 and is used to drive the rotation of the second synchronous belt 42, so that the second synchronous belt 42 drives the inner gantry 11 to move up and down along the height direction of the outer gantry 12. The control module 50 is communicatively connected to the third drive motor 41 of the second-stage lifting component 40 and is used to control the forward and reverse rotation of the third drive motor 41. Under the drive of the third drive motor, the inner gantry 11 moves stably up and down relative to the outer gantry 12, facilitating the second-stage extension and retraction of the loading and unloading component 30.

[0144] In specific implementation, a roller can be installed on the top of the outer gantry 12, the third drive motor 41 is installed at the bottom of the outer gantry 12, the top of the second synchronous belt 42 is connected to the roller, and the bottom of the second synchronous belt 42 is connected to the output shaft of the third drive motor 41. Under the forward and reverse drive of the third drive motor 41, the second synchronous belt 42 rotates clockwise and counterclockwise, thereby driving the inner gantry 11 to move up and down relative to the outer gantry 12.

[0145] Specifically, the control module 50 can be installed on the side of the outer gantry 12, but is not limited to this.

[0146] This application provides a bin handling robot (not shown), including a telescopic gantry 10, a first-stage lifting assembly 20, a picking and placing assembly 30, a second-stage lifting assembly 40, and a control module 50.

[0147] The telescopic mast 10 includes an inner mast 11 and an outer mast 12. The picking and placing component 30 is mounted on the inner mast 11 and can move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast 11 based on the first-level lifting component 20 to pick up and place boxes on the shelf. The inner mast 11 is located inside the outer mast 12 and can move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast 12 based on the second-level lifting component 40, so that when the inner mast 11 moves to the bottom of the outer mast 12, it can extend or retract into the outer mast 12. The outer mast 12 is used to hang the box handling robot 100 on the shelf. The control module 50 is communicatively connected to the first-level lifting component 20, the second-level lifting component 40 and the picking and placing component 30, controls the picking and placing component 30 to perform picking and placing operations, and adjusts the height of the picking and placing component 30 relative to the shelf by controlling at least one of the first-level lifting component 20 and the second-level lifting component 40.

[0148] The bin handling robot 100 provided in this application embodiment has a picking and placing component 30 mounted on an inner mast 11. Based on a first-stage lifting component 20, it can move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast 11 to pick up and place bins on the shelf, achieving a first-stage extension and retraction of the picking and placing component 30. The inner mast 11 is located inside the outer mast 12 and can move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast 12 based on a second-stage lifting component 40, achieving a second-stage extension and retraction of the picking and placing component 30. The outer mast 12 is used to hang the bin handling robot 100 on the bottom of the shelf. In this embodiment, the two-stage extension and retraction of the picking and placing component 30 of the bin handling robot 100 can be controlled by a control module 50, so that when the inner mast 11 moves to the bottom of the outer mast 12, it can extend or retract into the outer mast 12, allowing the picking and placing component 30 to pick up and place bins at the bottom of the shelf 310, thereby increasing the picking height of the bin handling robot 100.

[0149] In specific implementation, the specific structures of the telescopic gantry 10, the first-stage lifting component 20, the picking and placing component 30, the second-stage lifting component 40, and the control module 50 in the embodiments of this solution can be referred to the above embodiment of the material box handling robot that realizes the inner gantry 11 moving to the top of the outer gantry 12, and the same structure is used.

[0150] In some embodiments, the bottom of the inner mast 11 is lower than the second connecting fork 70, so that the inner mast 11 can extend or retract into the outer mast 12 when it moves to the bottom of the outer mast 12.

[0151] In some embodiments, the middle part of the inner mast 11 is connected to the second connecting fork 70. The inner mast 11 can move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast 12 based on the second-stage lifting assembly 40, so that when the inner mast 11 moves to the top of the outer mast 12, it can extend or retract into the outer mast 12, and when the inner mast 11 moves to the bottom of the outer mast 12, it can also extend or retract into the outer mast 12.

[0152] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a picking and placing method provided in this application. As shown in Figure 8, this application embodiment also provides a picking and placing method that can be applied to the control module of the bin handling robot in the above embodiment. The control module is communicatively connected to a host computer, and the method includes:

[0153] S11. Receive the pick-up and drop-off instructions sent by the host computer. The pick-up and drop-off instructions include the target location of the shelf.

[0154] The target location is the location of the goods storage space where the bin handling robot needs to pick up or put down goods on the shelf. For example, the target location is the goods storage space on the Ath floor and in the Bth column of the shelf.

[0155] S12. Control at least one of the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component to drive the picking and placing component to move to the target height corresponding to the target position, and control the picking and placing component to perform picking and placing operations at the target position; wherein, when the target height is higher than the outer gantry, control the inner gantry to move to the top of the outer gantry, and extend the outer gantry to drive the picking and placing component to the target height, and control the picking and placing component to perform picking and placing operations at the target height.

[0156] Because the inner mast can extend or retract to the outer mast when it moves to the top of the outer mast, it can increase the picking height of the picking and placing components, thereby increasing the picking height of the bin handling robot.

[0157] In practice, in some embodiments, the target height may be higher than the outer gantry or lower than the outer gantry. Specifically, S12 includes:

[0158] Determine if the target height is higher than the outer gantry;

[0159] If the target height is higher than the outer gantry, control at least one of the first-stage lifting components and the second-stage lifting components to move the inner gantry to the top of the outer gantry and extend the outer gantry to drive the loading and unloading components to the target height;

[0160] If the target height is not higher than the outer gantry, control at least one of the first-stage lifting components and the second-stage lifting components so that the inner gantry does not extend beyond the outer gantry, and drive the loading and unloading components to the target height.

[0161] In practical applications, in embodiments where the picking and placing component and the inner mast are raised or lowered, both components can be driven to rise or fall simultaneously. This increases the lifting or lowering speed of the bin handling robot, thereby improving bin handling efficiency. Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating a specific picking and placing method provided in this application. As shown in Figure 9, in the above picking and placing method, after step S121A determines whether the target height is higher than the outer mast:

[0162] In some embodiments, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly, and ensuring that the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and driving the loading / unloading assembly to the target height, includes:

[0163] S122A. Determine whether the target location is within the height range of the inner gantry;

[0164] S1221A If the height is not within the range of the inner mast, simultaneously control the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, the inner mast moves on the outer mast, and the inner mast does not extend out of the outer mast, and drives the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0165] S1222A. If within the height range of the inner mast, the first-stage lifting component is controlled so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, and the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and the picking and placing component is driven to the target height.

[0166] In some embodiments, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to move the inner mast to the top of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0167] S123A. Determine whether the picking and placing component is at the top of the inner mast;

[0168] S1231A. If not at the top of the inner mast, simultaneously control the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast and the inner mast moves on the outer mast, so that the inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0169] In some embodiments, in step S1231A, if the target height is not at the top of the inner mast, it is determined whether the target height is the maximum height. If it is the maximum height, the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component are controlled simultaneously, so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, and the inner mast moves on the outer mast, so that the inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height. If it is not the maximum height, the second-stage lifting component is controlled, so that the inner mast moves on the outer mast, so that the inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0170] S1232A. If at the top of the inner mast, control the second-stage lifting component to move the inner mast on the outer mast, so that the inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0171] In practice, in the above embodiments, the picking and placing component moves upward on the inner gantry, and the inner gantry moves upward on the outer gantry.

[0172] Figure 10 is a state diagram of a bin handling robot reaching the target position corresponding to a specific picking and placing method provided in this application. Referring to Figure 10, the inner mast 11 moves to the top of the outer mast 12 and extends out of the outer mast 12, and the picking and placing component 30 moves to the middle of the inner mast 11 and reaches the target height.

[0173] S1232A If the picking and placing component is at the top of the inner mast, control the second-stage lifting component to move the inner mast upward on the outer mast. The inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast and drives the picking and placing component to extend out of the outer mast to the target height.

[0174] In the embodiments of this solution, in the steps of S1221A and S1231A above, the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component can be controlled simultaneously, so that the picking and placing component and the inner gantry can be lifted at the same time, thereby facilitating the improvement of the material box handling efficiency.

[0175] In practical applications, in embodiments where the picking and placing components and the inner mast are raised or lowered, the picking and placing components can be raised or lowered first, followed by the inner mast. This simplifies the control procedures for the first-stage and second-stage lifting components and improves the operational stability of the bin handling robot's raising or lowering. Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating another specific picking and placing method provided in this application. As shown in Figure 11, in the above picking and placing method, after step S121B determines whether the target height is higher than the outer mast:

[0176] In some embodiments, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly, and ensuring that the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and driving the loading / unloading assembly to the target height, includes:

[0177] S122B: Determine whether the target location is within the height range of the inner gantry;

[0178] S1221B If the height is not within the inner mast, first control the first-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast to the top of the inner mast, then control the second-stage lifting component so that the inner mast moves on the outer mast without the inner mast extending out of the outer mast, and drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0179] S1222B: If within the height range of the inner mast, control the first-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, and the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and drives the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0180] In some embodiments, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to move the inner mast to the top of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0181] S123B, Determine whether the pick-up and drop-off assembly is at the top of the inner mast;

[0182] S1231B If not at the top of the inner mast, first control the first-stage lifting component to move the picking and placing component on the inner mast to the top of the inner mast, then control the second-stage lifting component to move the inner mast on the outer mast. The inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0183] S1232B: If at the top of the inner mast, control the second-stage lifting component to move the inner mast on the outer mast, so that the inner mast moves to the top of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0184] Figure 12 is a state diagram of the bin handling robot reaching the target position corresponding to another specific picking and placing method provided in this application. Referring to Figure 12, the inner mast 11 moves to the top of the outer mast 12 and extends out of the outer mast 12 (for ease of viewing, the top crossbeam of the inner mast 11 is omitted in Figure 12), and the picking and placing component 30 moves to the top of the inner mast 11 and reaches the target height.

[0185] In the embodiments of this solution, in the steps of S1221B and S1231B above, the lifting and placing components can be driven first, and then the inner mast can be driven to lift, so as to simplify the control program of the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component, thereby improving the lifting operation stability of the bin handling robot.

[0186] It's easy to understand that steps S331 and S341 apply when the target position is higher than the inner mast. The descent operation also applies if the target position is lower than the inner mast. After controlling the first-stage lifting assembly to move the pick-and-place assembly down to the bottom of the inner mast, control the second-stage lifting assembly to bring the pick-and-place assembly to the target height.

[0187] This application embodiment also provides a method for picking up and placing goods, which can be applied to the control module of the bin handling robot in the above embodiment. The inner mast can move to the bottom of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height, and control the picking and placing component to pick up and place goods at the target height. The control module is communicatively connected to the host computer, and the method includes:

[0188] Receive pick-up and drop-off instructions sent by the host computer, which include the target location of the shelf;

[0189] Control at least one of the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component to drive the pick-and-place component to move to the target height corresponding to the target position, and control the pick-and-place component to perform pick-and-place operations at the target position; wherein, when the target height is lower than the outer gantry, control the inner gantry to move to the bottom of the outer gantry, and extend the outer gantry to drive the pick-and-place component to the target height, and control the pick-and-place component to perform pick-and-place operations at the target height.

[0190] In some embodiments, the target height may be lower than or not lower than the outer gantry. Specifically, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component to drive the pick-and-place component to move to the target height corresponding to the target position, and controlling the pick-and-place component to perform pick-and-place operations for the target position, includes:

[0191] Determine if the target height is lower than the outer gantry;

[0192] If the target height is lower than the outer gantry, control at least one of the first-stage lifting components and the second-stage lifting components to move the inner gantry to the bottom of the outer gantry and extend the outer gantry to drive the loading and unloading components to the target height;

[0193] If the target height is not lower than the outer mast, control at least one of the first-stage lifting components and the second-stage lifting components so that the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast and drives the loading and unloading components to the target height.

[0194] In the above method for picking up and placing goods, the step of determining whether the target height is lower than the outer gantry is as follows:

[0195] In some embodiments, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly, and ensuring that the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and driving the loading / unloading assembly to the target height, includes:

[0196] Determine if the target location is within the height range of the inner gantry;

[0197] If the height is not within the inner mast, simultaneously control the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast, the inner mast moves on the outer mast, and the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, thus driving the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0198] If the first-stage lifting component is controlled within the height range of the inner mast, the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast without the inner mast extending beyond the outer mast, and the picking and placing component reaches the target height.

[0199] In some embodiments, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to move the inner gantry to the bottom end of the outer gantry and extend the outer gantry to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0200] Determine if the picking and placing components are at the bottom of the inner mast;

[0201] If not at the bottom of the inner mast, simultaneously control the first-stage lifting component and the second-stage lifting component so that the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast and the inner mast moves on the outer mast, so that the inner mast moves to the bottom of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height;

[0202] If the second-stage lifting component is controlled at the bottom of the inner mast, the inner mast will move on the outer mast, causing the inner mast to move to the bottom of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height;

[0203] In the above method for picking up and placing goods, the step of determining whether the target height is lower than the outer gantry is as follows:

[0204] In some embodiments, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly, and ensuring that the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and driving the loading / unloading assembly to the target height, includes:

[0205] Determine if the target location is within the height range of the inner gantry;

[0206] If the height is not within the inner mast, first control the first-stage lifting component to move the pick-and-place component on the inner mast to the bottom of the inner mast, then control the second-stage lifting component to move the inner mast on the outer mast, ensuring that the inner mast does not extend beyond the outer mast, and drive the pick-and-place component to the target height.

[0207] If the first-stage lifting component is controlled within the height range of the inner mast, the picking and placing component moves on the inner mast without the inner mast extending beyond the outer mast, and the picking and placing component reaches the target height.

[0208] In some embodiments, controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly and the second-stage lifting assembly to move the inner gantry to the bottom end of the outer gantry and extend the outer gantry to drive the loading / unloading assembly to the target height includes:

[0209] Determine if the picking and placing components are at the bottom of the inner mast;

[0210] If not at the bottom of the inner mast, first control the first-stage lifting component to move the picking and placing component on the inner mast to the bottom of the inner mast, then control the second-stage lifting component to move the inner mast on the outer mast. The inner mast moves to the bottom of the outer mast and extends out of the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height.

[0211] If the second-stage lifting component is controlled at the bottom of the inner mast, the inner mast will move on the outer mast, causing the inner mast to move to the bottom of the outer mast and extend the outer mast to drive the picking and placing component to the target height;

[0212] Figure 13 is a structural schematic diagram of a control module for a bin handling robot provided in this application. As shown in Figure 13, this application embodiment also provides a control module for a bin handling robot, including:

[0213] Memory 210 is used to store computer programs;

[0214] When the processor 220 executes the program stored in the memory 210, it performs the following steps:

[0215] Receive pick-up and drop-off instructions sent by the host computer, which include the target location of the shelf;

[0216] Control at least one of the first-stage lifting component 20 and the second-stage lifting component 40 to drive the picking and placing component 30 to move to the target height corresponding to the target position, and control the picking and placing component 30 to perform picking and placing operations at the target position; wherein, when the target height is higher than the outer gantry 12, control the inner gantry 11 to move to the top of the outer gantry 12, and drive the picking and placing component to extend out of the outer gantry 12 to reach the target height, and control the picking and placing component 30 to perform picking and placing operations at the target height.

[0217] Furthermore, the control module of the aforementioned bin handling robot may also include a communication bus and / or a communication interface, with the processor 220, communication interface, and memory 210 communicating with each other via the communication bus.

[0218] The communication bus mentioned in the control module of the aforementioned bin handling robot can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This communication bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used to represent it in the diagram, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0219] The communication interface is used for communication between the control module of the aforementioned bin handling robot and other devices.

[0220] The memory 210 may include random access memory (RAM) or non-volatile memory (NVM), such as at least one disk storage device. Optionally, the memory 210 may also be at least one storage device located remotely from the aforementioned processor 220.

[0221] The processor 220 mentioned above can be a general-purpose processor 220, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), etc.; it can also be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components.

[0222] Figure 14 is a structural schematic diagram of a multi-layer shelving system 300 provided in this application. Figure 15 is an enlarged view of D in Figure 14, and Figure 16 is an enlarged view of E in Figure 14. As shown in Figures 14, 15, and 16, this application embodiment also provides a multi-layer shelving system 300, including: M shelves 310, which are stacked sequentially along the height direction. Each shelf 310 has a goods buffer space 311 and multiple layers of goods storage space 312. The goods buffer space 311 is located at the bottom of the multiple layers of goods storage space 312, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. At least one of the above-mentioned bin handling robots 100 is hung on each shelf 310. The bin handling robot 100 set on the Nth layer shelf 310 is used to perform picking and placing operations on the goods buffer space 311 of the N+1th layer shelf 310 and the multiple layers of goods storage space 312 of the Nth layer shelf 310, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M-1.

[0223] In an embodiment of this solution, the bin handling robot 100 installed on the Nth layer shelf 310 is used to perform picking and placing operations on the goods buffer space 311 of the N+1th layer shelf 310 and the multi-layer goods storage space 312 of the Nth layer shelf 310, so that the bins on the upper level are transported layer by layer to the goods buffer space 311 installed on the lower layer shelf 310 by the handling robots on different layers.

[0224] In some embodiments, the multi-layer shelving system is used to perform a first retrieval step of retrieving goods from the goods storage space 312 of the Kth layer shelf 310 and placing them in the goods buffer space 311 of the first layer shelf 310, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The first retrieval step includes: after the bin handling robot 100 set on the Kth layer shelf 310 retrieves the goods from the goods storage space 312 of the Kth layer shelf 310, it places them in the goods buffer space 311 of the Kth layer shelf 310.

[0225] The material handling robot 100 on the next lower shelf of the shelf 310 where the goods are located controls the inner mast 11 to move to the top of the outer mast 12, and extends the outer mast 12 to drive the picking and placing component 30 to the goods buffer space 311 of the shelf 310 where the goods are located. After the picking and placing component 30 picks up the goods from the goods buffer space 311 of the shelf 310 where the goods are located, it places them in the goods buffer space 311 of the shelf 310 below the shelf 310 where the goods are located, until the goods are transported layer by layer to the goods buffer space 311 of the first shelf 310.

[0226] In some embodiments, the multi-layer shelving system is used to perform a first delivery step of placing goods in the goods buffer space 311 of the first-layer shelving 310 into the goods storage space 312 of the Kth-layer shelving 310, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The first delivery step includes: after the bin handling robot 100 of the shelf 310 where the goods are located obtains the goods, controlling the inner mast 11 to move to the top of the outer mast 12, and extending the outer mast 12 to drive the picking and placing component 30 to the upper shelf 310, and placing it in the goods buffer space 311 of the upper shelf 310, until the goods are transported layer by layer to the goods buffer space 311 of the Kth-layer shelving 310;

[0227] The bin handling robot 100 installed on the shelf 310 of the Kth layer retrieves the goods from the goods buffer space 311 of the shelf 310 of the Kth layer and places them in the goods storage space 312 of the shelf 310 of the Kth layer.

[0228] For ease of understanding, let's take two shelves 310 as an example. The two shelves 310 are the first shelf 310A and the second shelf 310B, with the second shelf 310B stacked on top of the first shelf 310A. The first shelf 310A is equipped with the first bin handling robot 100A, and the second shelf 310B is equipped with the second bin handling robot 100B.

[0229] When it is necessary to place the bins on the second shelf 310B to the ground, the second bin handling robot 100B located on the second shelf 310B receives the first pick-up and place instruction. The second bin handling robot 100B moves the bins at the corresponding positions of the first pick-up and place instruction to the goods buffer space 311 of the second shelf 310B. The first bin handling robot 100A on the first shelf 310A receives the second motion instruction. According to the motion instruction, the first bin handling robot 100A drives the pick-up and place component 30 and the inner mast 11 to move upward. The upper part of the inner mast 11 exceeds the top of the outer mast 12. The pick-up and place component 30 of the first bin handling robot 100A reaches the goods buffer space 311 of the second shelf 310B and takes away the bins from the goods buffer space 311 of the second shelf 310B. After that, the first bin handling robot 100A receives the third motion instruction and drives the pick-up and place component 30 and the inner mast 11 to move downward in the opposite direction, moving the bins to the goods buffer space 311 of the first shelf 310A.

[0230] Specifically, the first shelf 310A is equipped with a first transverse guide rail 311A, and the first bin handling robot 100A on the first shelf 310A moves laterally along the first transverse guide rail 311A. The second shelf 310B is equipped with a second transverse guide rail 311B, and the second bin handling robot 100B on the second shelf 310B moves laterally along the second transverse guide rail 311B.

[0231] It is easy to understand that the bin handling robot 100 of the above embodiments can be applied to a multi-layer racking system 300 or a single-layer racking system.

[0232] In some embodiments, each shelf 310 is provided with a top plate 313, and the N+1th shelf 310 is disposed on the top plate 313 of the Nth shelf 310. Specifically, the bottom of the shelf 310 has legs, and the legs of the N+1th shelf 310 are disposed on the top plate 313 of the Nth shelf 310, so as to improve the stability of the multi-layer shelf system 300.

[0233] In some embodiments, the bin handling robot 100 provided on the N+1th layer shelf 310 is used to perform picking and placing operations on the multi-layer goods storage space 312 of the N+1th layer shelf 310 and at least one layer of goods storage space 312 at the top of the Nth layer shelf 310, so that the bins at the top of the lower layer are not transported to the goods storage space 312 of the upper layer shelf 310 by passing through the lower layer handling robot and the upper layer handling robot, but can be directly transported to the goods storage space 312 of the upper layer shelf 310 by the upper layer handling robot.

[0234] In some embodiments, the multi-layer racking system is used to perform a second picking step of retrieving goods from the goods storage space 312 of the rack 310 on the K-1 level, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The second picking step includes: the bin handling robot 100 of the rack 310 on the K-1 level controls the inner mast 11 to move to the bottom of the outer mast 12 and extends the outer mast 12 to drive the picking and placing component 30 to the goods storage space 312 of the rack 310 on the K-1 level; after the picking and placing component 30 retrieves the goods from the goods storage space 312 of the rack 310 on the K-1 level, the inner mast 11 is controlled to retract to the bottom of the outer mast 12, driving the picking and placing component 30 to the goods storage space 312 of the rack 310 on the K-1 level; and the picking and placing component 30 places the goods in the goods storage space 312 of the rack 310 on the K-1 level.

[0235] In some embodiments, the multi-layer shelving system is used to perform a second loading step of placing goods in the goods storage space 312 of the K-th layer shelf 310 into the goods storage space 312 of the (K-1)-th layer shelf 310, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The second loading step includes: after the bin handling robot 100 of the K-th layer shelf 310 obtains the goods in the goods storage space 312 of the K-th layer shelf 310, controlling the inner mast 11 to move to the bottom of the outer mast 12, and extending the outer mast 12 to drive the picking and placing component 30 to the goods storage space 312 of the (K-1)-th layer shelf 310, and controlling the picking and placing component 30 to place the goods in the goods storage space 312 of the (K-1)-th layer shelf 310.

[0236] In another embodiment provided in this application, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of any of the above-described picking and placing methods.

[0237] In another embodiment provided in this application, a computer program product containing instructions is also provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the picking and placing methods described in the above embodiments.

[0238] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or solid-state drives (SSDs), etc.

[0239] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0240] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a related manner. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments.

[0241] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A bin handling robot (100), characterized in that, include: Telescopic gantry (10), including inner gantry (11) and outer gantry (12); Level 1 boosting components (20); The picking and placing component (30) is installed on the inner mast (11) and can move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast (11) based on the first-stage lifting component (20) and pick up and place the material box (1000) on the shelf; Second-level enhancement components (40); The inner gantry (11) is disposed inside the outer gantry (12) and can move up and down along the height direction of the outer gantry (12) based on the second-stage lifting assembly (40) so that the inner gantry (11) can extend or retract into the outer gantry (12) when it moves to the top of the outer gantry (12), and / or so that the inner gantry (11) can extend or retract into the outer gantry (12) when it moves to the bottom of the outer gantry (12); The outer mast (12) is used to hang the bin handling robot (100) on the shelf; The control module (50) is communicatively connected to the first-level lifting component (20), the second-level lifting component (40) and the picking and placing component (30), controls the picking and placing component (30) to perform picking and placing operations, and adjusts the height of the picking and placing component (30) relative to the shelf by controlling the first-level lifting component (20) and / or the second-level lifting component (40).

2. The bin handling robot (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The first connecting fork (60) is slidably connected to the inner mast (11) along the height direction of the inner mast (11). The picking and placing component (30) is disposed on the first connecting fork (60). Based on the first lifting component (20), the first connecting fork (60) drives the picking and placing component (30) to move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast (11). The second connecting fork (70) is slidably connected to the outer gantry (12) along the height direction of the outer gantry (12). The inner gantry (11) is disposed on the second connecting fork (70). The second connecting fork (70) drives the inner gantry (11) to move up and down along the height direction of the outer gantry (12).

3. The bin handling robot (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first-stage lifting assembly (20) includes: a first drive motor and a first synchronous belt. The first synchronous belt is rotatably mounted on the inner mast (11). The first connecting fork (60) connects the loading / unloading assembly (30) and the first synchronous belt. The first drive motor is mounted on the inner mast (11) and is used to drive the rotation of the first synchronous belt so that the first synchronous belt drives the loading / unloading assembly (30) to move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast (11); or, The first-stage lifting assembly (20) includes: a second drive motor (21), a first rack (22) and a first gear (23). The first rack (22) is disposed on the inner side of the inner mast (11). The first gear (23) meshes with the first rack (22). The second drive motor (21) is disposed on the first connecting fork (60) and is used to drive the rotation of the first gear (23) so that under the meshing force of the first gear (23) and the first rack (22), the loading and unloading assembly (30) moves up and down along the height direction of the inner mast (11). The control module (50) is communicatively connected to the first drive motor or the second drive motor (21) of the first stage lifting component (20) and is used to control the forward and reverse rotation of the first drive motor or the second drive motor (21).

4. The bin handling robot (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that, The second-stage lifting assembly (40) includes: a third drive motor (41) and a second synchronous belt (42), the second synchronous belt (42) being rotatably disposed on the outer gantry (12), the second connecting fork (70) connecting the inner gantry (11) and the second synchronous belt (42), the third drive motor (41) being disposed on the outer gantry (12) for driving the rotation of the second synchronous belt (42) so that the second synchronous belt (42) drives the inner gantry (11) to move up and down along the height direction of the outer gantry (12); The control module (50) is communicatively connected to the third drive motor (41) of the second-stage lifting component (40) and is used to control the forward and reverse rotation of the third drive motor (41).

5. The bin handling robot (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that, The inner door frame (11) includes a left inner door post (111) and a right inner door post (112), and the loading and unloading assembly (30) is located between the left inner door post (111) and the right inner door post (112); There are two first connecting forks (60), which are respectively arranged on both sides of the loading and unloading assembly (30); There are two first-stage lifting components (20), which are respectively installed on the left inner door post (111) and the right inner door post (112). The left and right sides of the loading and unloading component (30) are respectively connected to the two first-stage lifting components (20) through a first connecting fork (60).

6. The bin handling robot (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that, The outer gantry (12) includes a left outer gantry (121) and a right outer gantry (122), and the inner gantry (11) is located between the left outer gantry (121) and the right outer gantry (122). The second connecting fork (70) consists of two parts, which are fixedly connected to the bottom of the left inner door post (111) and the right inner door post (112), respectively; There are two second-stage lifting components (40), which are connected to two second connecting forks (70) respectively, so as to drive the inner gantry (11) to move up and down along the height direction of the outer gantry (12).

7. The bin handling robot (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control module (50) is installed on the side of the outer gantry (12).

8. A method for picking up and placing goods, characterized in that, A control module (50) is applied to a bin handling robot (100). The control module (50) is communicatively connected to a host computer. The bin handling robot (100) includes a telescopic mast (10), a first-stage lifting component (20), a picking and placing component (30), a second-stage lifting component (40), and the control module (50). The telescopic mast (10) includes an inner mast (11) and an outer mast (12). The picking and placing component (30) is located on the inner mast (11) and can move up and down along the height direction of the inner mast (11) based on the first-stage lifting component (20) and pick up and place bins (1000) on the shelf. The inner mast (11) is located inside the outer mast (12) and can move up and down along the height direction of the outer mast (12) based on the second-stage lifting component (40). The control module (50) is communicatively connected to the first-stage lifting component (20), the second-stage lifting component (40), and the picking and placing component (30). The method includes: Receive picking and placing instructions sent by the host computer, wherein the picking and placing instructions include the target location of the shelf; Control at least one of the first-stage lifting component (20) and the second-stage lifting component (40) to drive the picking and placing component (30) to move to the target height corresponding to the target position, and control the picking and placing component (30) to perform picking and placing operations for the target position; Wherein, when the target height is higher than the outer gantry (12), the inner gantry (11) is controlled to move to the top of the outer gantry (12) and extend out of the outer gantry (12) to drive the picking and placing assembly (30) to the target height, and the picking and placing assembly (30) is controlled to pick and place goods at the target height; and / or, when the target height is lower than the outer gantry (12), the inner gantry (11) is controlled to move to the bottom of the outer gantry (12) and extend out of the outer gantry (12) to drive the picking and placing assembly (30) to the target height, and the picking and placing assembly (30) is controlled to pick and place goods at the target height.

9. The method for picking up and placing goods according to claim 8, characterized in that, Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting component (20) and the second-stage lifting component (40) to drive the picking and placing component (30) to move to the target height corresponding to the target position includes: Determine whether the target height is higher than the outer gantry (12); If the target height is higher than the outer gantry (12), control at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40) so that the inner gantry (11) moves to the top of the outer gantry (12) and extends out of the outer gantry (12) to drive the loading and unloading assembly (30) to the target height; If the target height is not higher than the outer gantry (12), control at least one of the first-stage lifting component (20) and the second-stage lifting component (40) so that the inner gantry (11) does not extend out of the outer gantry (12) and drives the loading and unloading component (30) to reach the target height; And / or, Determine whether the target height is lower than the outer gantry (12); If the target height is lower than the outer gantry (12), control at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40) so that the inner gantry (11) moves to the bottom of the outer gantry (12) and extends out of the outer gantry (12) to drive the loading and unloading assembly (30) to the target height; If the target height is not lower than the outer gantry (12), control at least one of the first-stage lifting component (20) and the second-stage lifting component (40) so that the inner gantry (11) does not extend out of the outer gantry (12) and drives the loading and unloading component (30) to reach the target height.

10. The method for picking up and placing goods according to claim 9, Its features are, in, If the target height is higher than the outer gantry (12): Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40) to move the inner gantry (11) to the top of the outer gantry (12) and extend the outer gantry (12) to drive the loading / unloading assembly (30) to the target height includes: Determine whether the loading and unloading assembly (30) is on top of the inner mast (11); If the second-stage lifting assembly (40) is controlled at the top of the inner mast (11) so that the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12) so that the inner mast (11) moves to the top of the outer mast (12) and extends out of the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing assembly (30) to the target height; If not at the top of the inner mast (11), simultaneously control the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40) so that the picking and placing assembly (30) moves on the inner mast (11), and the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12) so that the inner mast (11) moves to the top of the outer mast (12) and extends out of the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing assembly (30) to the target height; And / or, If the target height is not higher than the outer gantry (12): Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40), and ensuring that the inner mast (11) does not extend beyond the outer mast (12), and driving the loading / unloading assembly (30) to the target height, includes: Determine whether the target position is within the height range of the inner gantry (11); If the first-stage lifting component (20) is controlled within the height range of the inner mast (11), the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11), and the inner mast (11) does not extend beyond the outer mast (12), and the picking and placing component (30) is driven to the target height; If the height is not within the range of the inner mast (11), the first-stage lifting component (20) and the second-stage lifting component (40) are controlled simultaneously so that the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11), the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12), and the inner mast (11) does not extend out of the outer mast (12), and the picking and placing component (30) is driven to reach the target height; And / or, Where the target height is lower than the outer gantry (12): Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40) to move the inner gantry (11) to the bottom of the outer gantry (12) and extend the outer gantry (12) to drive the loading / unloading assembly (30) to the target height includes: Determine whether the loading and unloading assembly (30) is at the bottom of the inner gantry (11); If not at the bottom of the inner mast (11), simultaneously control the first-stage lifting component (20) and the second-stage lifting component (40) so that the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11), and the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12) so that the inner mast (11) moves to the bottom of the outer mast (12) and extends out of the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing component (30) to the target height; If the second-stage lifting assembly (40) is controlled at the bottom of the inner mast (11) so that the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12) so that the inner mast (11) moves to the bottom of the outer mast (12) and extends out of the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing assembly (30) to the target height; And / or, If the target height is not lower than the outer gantry (12): Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40) so that the inner mast (11) does not extend beyond the outer mast (12) and drives the loading / unloading assembly (30) to the target height includes: If the height is not within the range of the inner mast (11), the first-stage lifting component (20) and the second-stage lifting component (40) are controlled simultaneously so that the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11), the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12), and the inner mast (11) does not extend out of the outer mast (12), and the picking and placing component (30) is driven to reach the target height; If the first-stage lifting component (20) is controlled within the height range of the inner mast (11), the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11), and the inner mast (11) does not extend beyond the outer mast (12), and the picking and placing component (30) is driven to the target height.

11. The method for picking up and placing goods according to claim 9, Its features are, in, If the target height is higher than the outer gantry (12): Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40) to move the inner gantry (11) to the top of the outer gantry (12) and extend the outer gantry (12) to drive the loading / unloading assembly (30) to the target height includes: Determine whether the loading and unloading assembly (30) is on top of the inner mast (11); If the second-stage lifting assembly (40) is controlled at the top of the inner mast (11) so that the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12) so that the inner mast (11) moves to the top of the outer mast (12) and extends out of the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing assembly (30) to the target height; If not at the top of the inner mast (11), first control the first-stage lifting component (20) so that the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11) to the top of the inner mast (11), then control the second-stage lifting component (40) so that the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12), the inner mast (11) moves to the top of the outer mast (12), and extends out of the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing component (30) to the target height; And / or, If the target height is not higher than the outer gantry (12): Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40), and ensuring that the inner mast (11) does not extend beyond the outer mast (12), and driving the loading / unloading assembly (30) to the target height, includes: Determine whether the target position is within the height range of the inner gantry (11); If the first-stage lifting component (20) is controlled within the height range of the inner mast (11), the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11), and the inner mast (11) does not extend beyond the outer mast (12), and the picking and placing component (30) is driven to the target height; If the height is not within the range of the inner mast (11), first control the first-stage lifting component (20) so that the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11) to the top of the inner mast (11), and then control the second-stage lifting component (40) so that the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12) and the inner mast (11) does not extend out of the outer mast (12), and drives the picking and placing component (30) to the target height; And / or, Where the target height is lower than the outer gantry (12): Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40) to move the inner gantry (11) to the bottom of the outer gantry (12) and extend the outer gantry (12) to drive the loading / unloading assembly (30) to the target height includes: Determine whether the loading and unloading assembly (30) is at the bottom of the inner gantry (11); If not at the bottom of the inner mast (11), first control the first-stage lifting component (20) so that the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11) to the bottom of the inner mast (11), then control the second-stage lifting component (40) so that the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12), the inner mast (11) moves to the bottom of the outer mast (12), and extends out of the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing component (30) to the target height; If the second-stage lifting assembly (40) is controlled at the bottom of the inner mast (11) so that the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12) so that the inner mast (11) moves to the bottom of the outer mast (12) and extends out of the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing assembly (30) to the target height; And / or, If the target height is not lower than the outer gantry (12): Controlling at least one of the first-stage lifting assembly (20) and the second-stage lifting assembly (40) such that the inner mast (11) does not extend beyond the outer mast (12), and driving the loading / unloading assembly (30) to the target height, includes: Determine whether the target position is within the height range of the inner gantry (11); If the height is not within the range of the inner mast (11), first control the first-stage lifting component (20) so that the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11) to the bottom of the inner mast (11), and then control the second-stage lifting component (40) so that the inner mast (11) moves on the outer mast (12) and the inner mast (11) does not extend out of the outer mast (12), and drives the picking and placing component (30) to reach the target height; If the first-stage lifting component (20) is controlled within the height range of the inner mast (11), the picking and placing component (30) moves on the inner mast (11), and the inner mast (11) does not extend beyond the outer mast (12), and the picking and placing component (30) is driven to the target height.

12. A control module (50) for a bin handling robot (100), characterized in that, It includes a processor (220) and a machine-readable memory (210) storing machine-executable instructions that can be executed by the processor (220), which cause the processor (220) to implement the picking and placing method of any one of claims 8 to 11.

13. A multi-layer shelving system (300), characterized in that, include: M shelves (310) are stacked sequentially along the height direction. Each shelf (310) has a goods buffer space (311) and multiple layers of goods storage space (312). The goods buffer space (311) is located at the bottom of the multiple layers of goods storage space (312). M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. Each of the aforementioned shelves (310) shall have at least one bin-handling robot (100) as described in any one of claims 1 to 7 suspended on it; wherein, The bin handling robot (100) set on the Nth shelf (310) is used to perform pick-and-place operations on the goods buffer space (311) of the N+1th shelf (310) and the multi-layer goods storage space (312) of the Nth shelf (310), and / or, the bin handling robot (100) set on the N+1th shelf (310) is used to perform pick-and-place operations on the multi-layer goods storage space (312) of the N+1th shelf (310) and at least one layer of goods storage space (312) at the top of the Nth shelf (310), where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M-1; The bin handling robot (100) installed on the M-level shelf (310) is used to perform picking and placing operations on the goods buffer space (311) of the M-level shelf (310) and the multi-level goods storage space (312) of the M-level shelf (310).

14. The multi-layer shelving system (300) according to claim 13, characterized in that, Each shelf (310) has a top plate (313) on top, and the N+1th shelf (310) is located on the top plate (313) of the Nth shelf (310).

15. The multi-layer shelving system (300) according to claim 13, characterized in that, The multi-layer shelving system (300) is used to perform a first retrieval step of retrieving goods from the goods storage space (312) of the Kth-level shelf (310) and transferring them to the goods buffer space (311) of the first-level shelf (310), where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The first retrieval step includes: The bin handling robot (100) installed on the shelf (310) of the Kth layer picks up the goods from the goods storage space (312) of the shelf (310) of the Kth layer and places them in the goods buffer space (311) of the shelf (310); The inner mast (11) is moved to the top of the outer mast (12) by the material handling robot (100) on the next lower shelf of the shelf (310) where the goods are located. The outer mast (12) extends to drive the picking and placing component (30) to the goods buffer space (311) of the shelf (310) where the goods are located. The picking and placing component (30) picks up the goods from the goods buffer space (311) of the shelf (310) where the goods are located and places them in the goods buffer space (311) of the shelf (310) on the next lower shelf (310) until the goods are transported layer by layer to the goods buffer space (311) of the first shelf (310). And / or, The multi-layer shelving system (300) is used to perform a first delivery step of placing goods from the goods buffer space (311) of the first-layer shelving (310) into the goods storage space (312) of the Kth-layer shelving (310), where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The first delivery step includes: After the goods are picked up by the bin handling robot (100) of the shelf (310) where the goods are located, the inner mast (11) is controlled to move to the top of the outer mast (12), and the outer mast (12) extends to drive the picking and placing component (30) to the upper shelf (310) and place it in the goods buffer space (311) of the upper shelf (310) until the goods are transported layer by layer to the goods buffer space (311) of the shelf (310) of the Kth layer; The bin handling robot (100) installed on the K-level shelf (310) retrieves the goods from the goods buffer space (311) of the K-level shelf (310) and places them in the goods storage space (312) of the K-level shelf (310).

16. The multi-layer shelving system (300) according to claim 13, characterized in that, The multi-layer shelving system (300) is used to perform a second retrieval step of retrieving goods from the goods storage space (312) of the shelf (310) at the (K-1)th layer, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The second retrieval step includes: The bin handling robot (100) of the K-th shelf (310) controls the inner mast (11) to move to the bottom of the outer mast (12), and extends the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing component (30) to the goods storage space (312) of the K-1 shelf (310). After the picking and placing component (30) picks up the goods in the goods storage space (312) of the K-1 shelf (310), the inner mast (11) is controlled to retract to the bottom of the outer mast (12), and the picking and placing component (30) is driven to the goods storage space (312) of the K-th shelf (310). The picking and placing component (30) is controlled to place the goods in the goods storage space (312) of the K-th shelf (310). And / or, The multi-layer shelving system (300) is used to perform a second placement step of placing goods in the goods storage space (312) of the shelf (310) on the Kth layer to the goods storage space (312) of the shelf (310) on the (K-1)th layer, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The second placement step includes: After the bin handling robot (100) of the Kth layer shelf (310) obtains the goods in the goods storage space (312) of the Kth layer shelf (310), it controls the inner mast (11) to move to the bottom of the outer mast (12) and extends the outer mast (12) to drive the picking and placing component (30) to the goods storage space (312) of the K-1 layer shelf (310), and controls the picking and placing component (30) to place the goods in the goods storage space (312) of the K-1 layer shelf (310).

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