CN110340862B

CN110340862B - Autonomous mobile transfer robot

Info

Publication number: CN110340862B
Application number: CN201810313388.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 段炼; 赵罡
Original assignee: Wuhu Xiangrui Environmental Protection Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Wuhu Xiangrui Environmental Protection Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2018-04-08
Filing date: 2018-04-08
Publication date: 2023-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 2038-04-08
Also published as: WO2019196754A1; TWI701120B; CN110340862A; TW201943515A

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an autonomous mobile transfer robot, comprising: the main body comprises a base and a vertical plate fixed on the base and extending upwards along the vertical direction; the travelling mechanism comprises a driving wheel and a driven wheel which are arranged on the base; a working mechanism including a robot arm having a proximal end connected to the riser and a gripper pivotally connected to a distal end of the robot arm for gripping/releasing a target object, the robot arm being configured to be movable to bring the gripper to a desired position; the bearing mechanism comprises a plurality of plate-shaped bearing pieces for bearing the target object, and the plurality of bearing pieces are fixed on the vertical plates and are arranged at intervals along the vertical direction; and the control system is used for controlling the running/stopping and steering of the travelling mechanism, controlling the movement of the mechanical arm and controlling the grabbing/releasing of the target object by the grippers. The autonomous mobile transfer robot provided by the disclosure can automatically transfer target objects without manual loading and unloading, and effectively improves production beats and work efficiency.

Description

Autonomous mobile transfer robot

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of automated mobile transfer robots, and in particular, to an autonomous mobile transfer robot.

Background

The automatic guided vehicle or the unmanned carrier is characterized by wheeled movement, the movable area of the automatic guided vehicle or the unmanned carrier does not need to be paved with fixing devices such as a rail, a support frame and the like, is not limited by places, roads and spaces, has the characteristics of automaticity and flexibility, and is widely applied to an automatic logistics system to realize efficient, economic and flexible unmanned production.

For example, in semiconductor manufacturing systems, automated guided vehicles are typically used to transport foups (front opening unified pod, front opening standard boxes) containing silicon wafers, such as from machine to shelf, or from shelf to machine, or from one shelf to another.

However, the existing unmanned carrier is usually capable of carrying only one foup at a time, and needs manual loading and unloading, so that the efficiency is quite low.

Disclosure of Invention

The purpose of this disclosure is to provide an autonomous mobile transfer robot, and this autonomous mobile transfer robot can realize automatic transport target article, need not artifical loading and unloading, has improved takt time and work efficiency effectively.

In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides an autonomous mobile transfer robot, a main body including a base, a riser fixed to the base and extending upward in a vertical direction; the travelling mechanism comprises a driving wheel and a driven wheel which are arranged on the base; a working mechanism including a robot arm having a proximal end connected to the riser and a gripper pivotally connected to a distal end of the robot arm for gripping/releasing a target object, the robot arm being configured to be movable to bring the gripper to a desired position; the bearing mechanism comprises a plurality of plate-shaped bearing pieces for bearing the target object, and the plurality of bearing pieces are fixed on the vertical plates and are arranged at intervals along the vertical direction; and the control system is used for controlling the running/stopping and steering of the running mechanism, controlling the movement of the mechanical arm and controlling the gripper to grasp/release the target object.

Through the technical scheme, the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided by the disclosure can transfer a plurality of target objects at one time. The working process is specifically as follows: firstly, an empty autonomous mobile transfer robot walks to a first position for storing a target object through a control running mechanism of a control system; then, the gesture (the rotation angle around the pivot shaft of the control system) of the gripper and the movement of the mechanical arm are controlled by the control system, and the gripper is sent to a required position to grasp a target object; then, by controlling the movement of the robot arm, the grasped target object is placed on one of the carriers of the carrying mechanism, thereby completing "loading" of one target object. The above-described operation may then be repeated until all of the carriers have the target article placed thereon. Then, by controlling the travelling mechanism, the autonomous mobile transfer robot integrally travels to a second position to which the target object is transported, and the target object is sequentially clamped from the corresponding bearing piece by the manipulator and is sent to a corresponding placement position of the second position, so that the unloading of the target object is realized. In the process, the position of the autonomous mobile transfer robot can be changed by controlling the travelling mechanism so as to facilitate the operation of the manipulator. Through the description, the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided by the disclosure can automatically transfer target objects without manual loading and unloading, and can transfer a plurality of target objects in a single way, so that the production takt and the working efficiency are effectively improved. In addition, through arranging a plurality of bearing pieces in proper order along vertical, the upper space of base can be effectively utilized, the miniaturization of independently removing transfer robot is useful for realizing, has wider range of application and higher agility.

Additional features and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the detailed description which follows.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain, but do not limit the disclosure. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of a first aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a schematic front view of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic front view of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the skirt panels are not shown in order to show structural components within the base;

fig. 4 is a schematic side view of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a schematic side view of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the skirt panels are not shown in order to illustrate structural components within the base;

fig. 6 is a schematic rear view of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure;

Fig. 7 is a schematic top view of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a running gear provided in accordance with an embodiment of a second aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 is another schematic perspective view of a running gear provided in accordance with an embodiment of a second aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is another schematic perspective view of a running gear provided in accordance with an embodiment of a second aspect of the present disclosure, with the driven wheel not shown in this view;

fig. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a drive wheel in a running gear provided in accordance with an embodiment of a second aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a robotic arm provided in accordance with an embodiment of a third aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is another schematic perspective view of a robotic arm provided in accordance with an embodiment of a third aspect of the present disclosure, in which the arm segments can be seen hollow and the second and third drives can be seen;

fig. 14 is a perspective view of a jig for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 15 is a perspective view of another direction of a jig for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure;

Fig. 16 is another perspective view of a jig for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the sealing plate not being shown in the figure in order to show the internal structure;

fig. 17 is a schematic top view of the internal structure of a jig for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 18 is a perspective view of a support for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 19 is a schematic perspective view of a support for an autonomous mobile transfer robot according to another embodiment of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 20 is a perspective view of a support for an autonomous mobile transfer robot according to another embodiment of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, the cover plate being omitted for illustrating an internal structure;

fig. 21 is a schematic side view of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of a sixth aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 22 is a schematic perspective view of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of a seventh aspect of the present disclosure;

fig. 23 is a schematic perspective view of a gripper of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of a seventh aspect of the present disclosure;

Fig. 24 is another directional perspective view of a gripper of an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in accordance with an embodiment of the seventh aspect of the present disclosure.

Description of the reference numerals

100-single-side bearing two-arm type autonomous mobile transfer robot, 200-double-side bearing two-arm type autonomous mobile transfer robot, 300-single-arm type autonomous mobile transfer robot, 400-target object, 500 machine,

11-base, 110-hinge base, 111-base plate, 112-skirt plate, 113-distance detection device, 114 a-first obstacle avoidance sensor, 114 b-second obstacle avoidance sensor, 115-bumper strip, 116-bottom camera, 12-riser, 13-housing, 14-operation screen,

2-travelling mechanism, 21-driving wheel, 211-mounting bracket, 212-driving motor, 213-driving wheel roller, 214-pivot, 215-clamp, 22-spring plunger, 23-universal wheel,

3-mechanical arm, 31-telescopic arm, 32-rotating arm, 321-first arm section, 322-second arm section, 331-first driving device, 332-second driving device, 333-third driving device, 341-screw, 342-fixing base, 351-first fixing plate, 352-second fixing plate, 361-slide block, 362-guide rod,

4-clamp, 41-clamp body, 411-support table, 412-boss, 413-gutter-shaped slot, 421-first elastic clamp, 4211-first proximal end, 4212-second proximal end, 4213-end, 422-second elastic clamp, 4221-second proximal end, 4222-second distal end, 431-first cushion, 432-second cushion, 44-positioning member, 45-proximity sensor, 46-sealing plate, 47-first signal light source, 48-connection block, 491-photographing camera, 492-flash,

5-bearing piece, 51-plate-shaped main body, 511-main board, 512-sandwich board, 5121-opening, 513-cover board, 52-positioning structure, 53-RFID antenna, 54-target object detection device, 55-second signal light source, 56-emergency stop button; 57-binocular camera, 58-third obstacle avoidance sensor,

the 6-gripper, 61 gripper body, 62 fixed clamping piece, 621 fixed connection part, 622 fixed clamping part, 623 first intermediate connection part, 63 movable clamping piece, 631 movable connection part, 632 movable clamping part, 633 second intermediate connection part, 641 slide rail, 642 slide groove, 65 driving piece, 66 joint block.

Detailed Description

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating and illustrating the disclosure, are not intended to limit the disclosure.

In the present disclosure, for ease of understanding, autonomous mobile transfer robots are defined to have a length, a width, and a height corresponding to a longitudinal direction (X-direction), a transverse direction (Y-direction), and a vertical direction (Z-direction), respectively, wherein, unless otherwise stated, terms of orientation such as "up, down", "left, right", "front, back" are used to generally refer to "up, down" in the vertical direction, "left, right" in the transverse direction, and "front, back", "inside, outside" in the longitudinal direction refer to inside, outside with respect to the outline of the corresponding component, and "far, near" refer to far, near in distance with respect to a component or structure. In addition, the terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," etc. as used in this disclosure are merely intended to distinguish one element from another element and do not have order or importance.

Single-side bearing two-arm type autonomous mobile transfer robot

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a single-sided, two-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot is provided, one embodiment of which is shown in fig. 1-7. Referring to fig. 1, the autonomous mobile transfer robot 100 with one side carrying two arms includes: the main body comprises a base 11 and a vertical plate 12 which is fixed on the base 11 and extends upwards along the vertical direction; the travelling mechanism 2 comprises a driving wheel and a driven wheel which are arranged on the base 11; a working mechanism comprising two manipulators, each manipulator comprising a manipulator arm 3 having a proximal end connected to the riser 12 and a gripper 4 pivotally connected to a distal end of the manipulator arm 3, the manipulator arm 3 being arranged to enable the gripper 4 to reach a desired position, the two manipulators being arranged to move in cooperation with each other to grip/release a target object 400 by the two gripper arms 4; a carrying mechanism including a plurality of plate-shaped carrying members 5 for carrying the target object 400, wherein the plurality of carrying members 5 are fixed to the same side (front side, or rear side) of the riser 12, and the carrying members 5 are fixed to the front side of the riser 12 in the embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 7, but in other embodiments, the carrying members 5 may be fixed to the rear side of the riser 12, and are arranged at intervals along the vertical direction; and a control system for controlling the running/stopping and steering of the travelling mechanism and controlling the movement of the manipulator.

Through the above-described technical solution, the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the first aspect of the present disclosure can transfer a plurality of target articles 400 at a time. The working process is specifically as follows: firstly, an empty autonomous mobile transfer robot walks to a first position for storing a target object 400 by controlling a walking mechanism 2 of a control system; then, the control system controls the posture (the rotation angle around the pivot shaft) of the clamp 4 and the movement of the mechanical arm 3, so that the clamp 4 is sent to a required position, and the clamp 4 clamps the target object 40 through the movement of the mechanical arm 3; thereafter, by controlling the movement of the robot arm 3, the held target article 400 is placed on one carrier 5 of the carrier mechanism, thereby completing "loading" of one target article 400. Thereafter, the above-described operation may be repeated until the target article 400 is placed on all the carriers 5. Then, by controlling the travelling mechanism 2, the autonomous mobile transfer robot integrally travels to a second position to which the target article 400 is to be transported, and the target article 400 is sequentially clamped from the corresponding carrier 5 by the manipulator and is sent to a corresponding placement position of the second position, so as to realize "unloading" of the target article 400. In this process, the position of the autonomous mobile transfer robot can be changed by controlling the traveling mechanism 2 so as to facilitate the operation of the robot arm. Through the description, the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided by the disclosure can automatically transfer the target articles 400 without manual loading and unloading, and can transfer a plurality of target articles 400 in a single pass, thereby effectively improving the production takt and the working efficiency. In addition, by arranging the plurality of supporting members 5 in sequence in the vertical direction, the upper space of the base 11 can be effectively utilized, which is beneficial to realizing miniaturization of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, and has wider application range and higher agility.

The autonomous mobile transfer robot provided by the disclosure can be applied to an unmanned production workshop, for example, can be applied to a production workshop of a silicon wafer, a target object 400 is a foup box filled with the silicon wafer, and the foup box can be transferred among a goods shelf, a machine platform 500 and a storage position by issuing instructions to the autonomous mobile transfer robot through central control.

The base 11 may include a bottom plate 111 for mounting a traveling mechanism, and the lower end of the riser 12 may be fixed to the bottom plate 111. In addition, the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided by the present disclosure requires a self-powered source to be able to function for each powered component. Accordingly, the autonomous mobile transfer robot further includes a power source provided on the base plate 111, and the base 11 is further provided with a skirt plate 112 for aesthetic appearance, the skirt plate 122 extending in a vertical direction, surrounding an outer circumference of the base plate 111 to provide a placement space for power source and electric wires, etc. In addition, the main body may further include a housing 13 enclosing a closed space with the riser 12, and a man-machine interaction console, such as an operation panel 14 (shown in fig. 6), is provided on the housing 13, and the operation panel 14 is disposed obliquely (shown in fig. 4 and 6) so as to facilitate man-machine interaction operation, and the operation panel 14 belongs to a control system.

In a specific embodiment provided in the first aspect of the present disclosure, the base 11 may be provided with two distance detection devices 113 located at a front side (and/or a rear side) of the autonomous mobile transfer robot and spaced apart along a lateral direction of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, for detecting a distance between the autonomous mobile transfer robot and a shelf on which the target article 400 is placed at the time of "loading", as shown with reference to fig. 3. The distance detecting device 113 is electrically connected to the control system, so as to control the travelling mechanism 2 according to a distance signal of the distance detecting device 113, so that the autonomous mobile transfer robot is aligned with a shelf for storing the target object 400, where "alignment" may be understood as enabling a relative position of the autonomous mobile transfer robot and the shelf, allowing the target object 400 to be integrally translated onto the corresponding carrier 5, so that a positioning empty slot of the target object 400 can be matched with a positioning structure on the carrier 5 described below. The distance detection device 113 may be configured in any suitable manner, for example, as a laser sensor.

In order to ensure safe running of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, the front side and the rear side of the base 11 may be provided with first obstacle avoidance sensors 114a for detecting surrounding obstacles, the first obstacle avoidance sensors 114a are electrically connected with the control system, and the control system controls the travelling mechanism 2 to stop moving after receiving a danger signal sent by the first obstacle avoidance sensors 114a and send out an alarm, and the alarm may be an acoustic alarm or a light alarm, for example, an alarm is given out by a first signal light source described below.

Optionally, a second obstacle avoidance sensor 114b is disposed on the left side and/or the right side of the first obstacle avoidance sensor 114a, so as to assist the first obstacle avoidance sensor 114a to increase the detection range and sensitivity. In addition, a third obstacle avoidance sensor 58 is further provided on the topmost support 5, and detects surrounding obstacles at the upper part of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, thereby assisting the first obstacle avoidance sensor 114a, which is beneficial to increase the detection range and sensitivity. When the obstacle avoidance sensor detects an obstacle, a dangerous signal is sent out, and the control system immediately stops the walking action of the walking mechanism 2 and gives an alarm after receiving the signal.

Since the autonomous mobile transfer robot does not translate left and right, it is only necessary to detect the obstacle in the front-rear direction. Alternatively, referring to fig. 5, the first obstacle avoidance sensor 114a includes two infrared sensors respectively located at the front and rear sides of the autonomous mobile transfer robot to perform diffuse detection of a sector area in front of (in the direction of infrared ray propagation, infrared ray propagates from back to front).

In addition, the base 11 may be provided with two anti-collision bars 115 surrounding the outer side of the base 11, optionally, a collision sensor electrically connected with the control system is arranged in the anti-collision bars 115, and the control system controls the travelling mechanism 2 to stop moving and give an alarm after receiving a danger signal sent by the collision sensor, so as to prevent the autonomous mobile transfer robot from continuing travelling under the condition of emergency collision.

Furthermore, a bottom camera 116 (see fig. 7) electrically connected to the control system is provided on the lower surface of the base 11 for capturing ground characteristics in the unscented navigation, in cooperation with a binocular camera 57 (provided on the side of the uppermost support 5, corresponding to the front or rear of the traveling direction of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, for capturing surrounding characteristics) to position the autonomous mobile transfer robot itself and correct positional deviation by track compensation, which will be described later. The four corners of the base 11 are respectively provided with a ground distance detection device electrically connected with the control system, detected distance information is sent to the control system, and the control system judges whether the bottom surface in front of the running is flat or not according to the distance information and controls the running of the running mechanism according to the detected distance information.

Wherein the running gear may be configured in any suitable manner, alternatively configured as a running gear provided according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

Wherein the driven wheel may be configured in any suitable manner.

Wherein the manipulator may be configured in any suitable manner, alternatively, the manipulator of the manipulator may be configured as the manipulator for the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, and the jig of the manipulator may be configured as the jig for the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

Wherein the carrying mechanism may be configured in any suitable manner, alternatively the carrier in the carrying mechanism may be configured as a carrier for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Walking mechanism

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a travelling mechanism, as shown with reference to fig. 8 to 11, comprising two said driving wheels 21 and at least two said driven wheels, said driving wheels 21 having a central rotation axis (reverse rotation being a reverse rotation if the driving wheels 21 advance when rotating in a first direction about the central rotation axis, whereby when an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is provided with the travelling mechanism, the central rotation axis is parallel to the transversal direction of the autonomous mobile transfer robot described above), and said driving wheels 21 being hinged to said base 11, a resilient biasing member being provided between said base 11 and said driving wheels 21, a first end of which biases said base 11, a second end of which is opposite to said first end biases said driving wheels 21 such that said driving wheels 21 can rotate about a pivot axis parallel to said central rotation axis to move up and down with respect to said base 11.

When the existing four-wheel travelling mechanism walks on uneven ground, the situation that one driving wheel is suspended or the stress is uneven although the four wheels are grounded, namely the pressure to the ground is not equal can occur, under the situation, the friction force between each wheel and the ground is different, and the slipping phenomenon is easy to occur, so that the travelling track is influenced.

Through above-mentioned technical scheme, the running gear that this disclosure provided through setting up elastic biasing piece, can drive action wheel 21 and rotate and reciprocate for base 11 around its pivot axis, adjusts the earth pressure of action wheel 21 in real time, guarantees the frictional force between two action wheels 21 and the ground, avoids appearing slipping the phenomenon or guarantees that the degree of skidding between two action wheels 21 and the ground is roughly the same, guarantees actual moving amount to ensure the walking orbit.

In the particular embodiment provided in the present disclosure, the drive wheel 21 may be configured in any suitable manner. Alternatively, referring to fig. 11, the driving wheel 21 includes a mounting bracket 211, a driving motor 212 fixed to the mounting bracket 211, and a driving wheel roller 213 fixed to an output shaft of the driving motor 212, the driving motor 212 drives the driving wheel roller 213 to rotate around an axis of the output shaft of the driving motor 212, and the mounting bracket 211 is connected to a hinge base 110 fixed to the base 11 through a pivot shaft 214, wherein the pivot shaft 214 may be configured in any suitable manner, for example, may be configured as a pin, one end of which is stopped at the mounting bracket 211 by its own head, and the other end of which is stopped at the hinge base 110 by a stopper, for example, by a clip 215, as shown in fig. 11. The second end of the resilient biasing member biases the mounting bracket 211. Alternatively, the elastic biasing member may be configured as a spring plunger 22, the spring plunger 22 being fixed to the base 11, and the head of the spring plunger 22 being abutted against the mounting bracket 211 to serve as the second end. Furthermore, in order to provide a sufficient elastic biasing force, each drive wheel 21 may be provided with two spring plungers 22, respectively. Alternatively, the resilient biasing member may be configured as a disc spring or the like.

Alternatively, the driven wheel may be configured as a universal wheel 23 to allow the running gear 360 to turn. Alternatively, the central rotation axes of the two driving wheels 21 are collinear, and the driven wheel group includes two pairs of driven wheels, wherein one pair of driven wheels is located on one side of the driving wheel 21 and the other pair of driven wheels is located on the other side of the driving wheel 21 in the direction of the central rotation axis, and by this arrangement, the running mechanism is allowed to turn 360 ° when running forward or backward. Alternatively, the two pairs of driven wheels are symmetrically arranged about the central rotation axis so that the center of gravity of the running mechanism falls on the center of the line connecting the central rotation axes of the two driving wheels 21.

Wherein, in the running gear provided in the second aspect of the present disclosure, the above-described universal wheel may be configured in any suitable manner.

On the basis of the above-mentioned technical solutions, the second aspect of the present disclosure also provides an autonomous mobile transfer robot comprising the above-mentioned running gear 2, which thus also has the above-mentioned advantages.

Mechanical arm

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a robotic arm is provided, one embodiment of which is shown in fig. 12 and 13. Referring to fig. 12 and 13, the robot arm 3 includes a telescopic arm 31, a rotating arm 32, and a driving device. The rotating arm 32 comprises a plurality of arm segments hinged in sequence, the proximal end of the rotating arm 32 is hinged to the distal end of the telescopic arm 31, and the distal end of the rotating arm 32 is used for pivotally connecting a clamping device (such as a clamp 4 or a grip 6) to clamp/release the target object 400. The driving device includes: a first drive means 331 for driving the telescopic arm 31 to move in a transverse direction and a second drive means 332 for driving the arm segments to rotate about their own hinge axes, wherein the hinge axes of the arm segments themselves are mutually parallel and parallel to the transverse direction.

Through the above technical solution, the mechanical arm provided by the third aspect of the present disclosure has three degrees of freedom in mutually perpendicular directions (i.e., XYZ directions), the first driving device 331 drives the telescopic arm 31 to move in the transverse direction, so that the positions of the telescopic arm 31 and the clamping device in the transverse direction (i.e., X direction) can be adjusted, and the second driving device 332 drives the arm segments of the rotating arm 32 to rotate around their respective hinge axes, so that the position of the clamping device in a plane perpendicular to the transverse direction (i.e., XZ plane) can be adjusted. Since the coordinate X, Y, Z of the position of the target object 400 to be clamped in the three-dimensional space is determined with respect to the origin position of the mechanical arm, the clamping device can reach the position to be clamped by driving the first driving device 331 and the second driving device 332, so as to prepare for clamping the target object 400. Thereafter, by driving the movement of the telescopic arm 31 in the lateral direction or the rotation of the driving arm joint about its own hinge axis, the gripping device can be brought to the gripping position to grip the target object 400. While the target object 400 can be transported to the target position by driving the movement of the telescopic arm 31 in the lateral direction and/or the rotation of the driving arm joint around its own hinge axis, after which the gripping device can be caused to release the target object 400 or the gripping position after releasing the target object 400 can be caused to be away from the target object 400 for gripping of the next target object 400 by driving the movement of the telescopic arm 31 in the lateral direction and/or the rotation of the driving arm joint around its own hinge axis.

The robot arm 3 provided in the third aspect of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 12 and 13.

In the specific embodiments provided in the present disclosure, the first driving means 331 may be configured in any suitable manner, for example, may be configured as a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder. Alternatively, the first driving device 331 is configured as a motor, and the telescopic arm 31 is connected to an output shaft of the motor through a transmission device, so that a rotational motion of the output shaft of the motor can be converted into a linear motion of the telescopic arm 31 in the lateral direction.

The motor is a hollow shaft motor for realizing the purpose of miniaturization by optimally utilizing limited space. While the transmission may be configured in any suitable manner, for example, it may be configured as a rack and pinion transmission. Alternatively, the transmission device is configured as a screw transmission device, and includes a screw 341 and a nut that are mutually matched, as shown in fig. 12 and 13, where the screw 341 is fixed by a fixing base 342, for example, when the mechanical arm 3 is applied to the autonomous mobile transfer robot, the screw 341 is fixed to the main body (specifically, the riser 12) of the autonomous mobile transfer robot by the fixing base 342, and the nut is fixed to a hollow output shaft of the hollow shaft motor (of course, an internal thread may also be provided on the hollow output shaft), and the hollow shaft motor is fixedly connected to the telescopic arm 31. Thus, when the hollow output shaft rotates forward, the telescopic arm is driven to move towards a first direction, and when the hollow output shaft rotates backward, the telescopic arm is driven to move towards a second direction opposite to the first direction, so that the position of the clamping device in the transverse direction is adjusted.

In order to avoid that the weights of the hollow shaft motor, the telescopic arm 31, the rotating arm 32, the clamping device and even the target object 400 are borne by the screw rod 341, so that the screw rod 341 is deformed or even broken to affect normal operation, the hollow shaft motor can be fixed on the first fixing plate 351, the telescopic arm 31 can be fixed on the second fixing plate 352, the first fixing plate 351 and the second fixing plate 352 are both fixed on the sliding block 361, and the sliding block 361 is matched with the guide rod 362 extending along the transverse direction and arranged on the equipment provided with the mechanical arm 3, so that the telescopic arm 31, the rotating arm 32, the clamping device and even the target object 400 can move along the transverse direction along with the rotation of the hollow motor. In this case, the weight of the hollow shaft motor and the telescopic arm 31, the rotating arm 32, the clamping means and even the target object 400 is transferred to the apparatus through the cooperation of the first and second fixing plates 351 and 352 and the slider 361 and the guide bar 362, and is borne by the apparatus. In the specific embodiment shown in fig. 17 and 18, the guide bar 362 is provided on the riser 12 of the autonomous mobile transfer robot. Alternatively, the telescopic arm 31 extends in the lateral direction and is hollow to facilitate wiring.

In the particular embodiment provided in the present disclosure, the second drive 332 may be configured in any suitable manner, such as, for example, as a hydraulic ram or cylinder. Alternatively, the second driving device 332 may be a hollow shaft motor, and the rotating arm 32 includes a first arm section 321 and a second arm section 322, so as to obtain a bionic structure similar to an arm of a human body, and referring to fig. 12 and 13, the proximal end of the first arm section 321 is hinged to the telescopic arm 31 through the hollow shaft motor, and the distal end of the first arm section 321 is hinged to the proximal end of the second arm section 322 through the second driving device 332, and optionally, the arm section is hollow so as to facilitate wiring.

Optionally, the driving means further comprises third driving means 333 for driving the gripping means to rotate about its own pivot axis, wherein the pivot axis may be arranged parallel to the lateral direction, such that the gripping means can rotate about its own pivot axis to adjust its own attitude. In the particular embodiment provided in the present disclosure, the third drive 333 may be configured in any suitable manner, for example, as a hydraulic ram or cylinder. Alternatively, the third driving means 333 may be configured as a hollow shaft motor provided at the distal end of the rotating arm 32 (in the embodiment shown in fig. 17 and 18, a hollow shaft motor serving as the third driving means 333 is provided at the distal end of the second arm section 322), the hollow shaft of which is used for connection with the gripping means, it being understood that the gripping means is pivotally connected to the distal end of the rotating arm 32 by the hollow shaft motor.

On the basis of the above technical solution, a third aspect of the present disclosure also provides a working mechanism, which comprises the above mechanical arm 3 and a clamping device pivotally connected to a distal end of the mechanical arm 3. Further, a third aspect of the present disclosure also provides an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided with the work mechanism.

Clamp for autonomous mobile transfer robot

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a jig 4 for an autonomous mobile transfer robot, one embodiment of which is shown in fig. 14 to 17. The clamp 4 includes a clamp body 41 provided with a support table 411 for the target object 400 and a boss 412 higher than the support table 411, and an elastic clamp having a proximal end fixedly connected to the boss 412 and a distal end opposite to the proximal end for abutting against the target object 400 to releasably clamp the target object 400 in cooperation with the support table 411.

Through the above technical solution, the clamp 4 for an autonomous mobile transfer robot according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides the support table 411 for the target object 400 by providing the clamp body 41, and when the target object 400 is clamped, the target object 400 is supported by the support table 411, and the target object 400 is held on the support table 400 by abutting the distal end of the elastic clamping member against the target object 400, so that the clamping of the target object 400 is realized, and the target object 400 can be further driven to move. When it is desired to release the target object 400, the clamp 4 may be moved away from the target object 400 so that the target object 400 is moved away from the support table 411 and the resilient clamp is no longer in abutment with the target object 400, thereby effecting release of the target object 400.

In the specific embodiments provided in the present disclosure, the resilient clip may be configured in any suitable manner. Alternatively, the elastic clamping member includes a first elastic clamping member 421 having a first proximal end 4211 fixed to the boss 412 and a first distal end 4212 opposite to the first proximal end 4211, the first distal end 4212 extending above the support table 411 to form an elastic clamping portion defining a clamping space for the target object 400 with the support table 411, the elastic clamping portion providing an elastic clamping force to the target object 400 toward the support table 411. Wherein the end 4213 of the first distal end 4212 may be bent in a direction away from the support table 411 for guiding the target object 400 into the clamping space.

In order to avoid the target object 400 from being subjected to the stress concentrated by the support table 411, the support table 411 may be optionally provided with a first cushion 431 made of an elastic material. Alternatively, two first cushions 431 are provided, and the two first cushions 431 are spaced apart in the clamping space.

In the specific embodiment provided in the present disclosure, the elastic clamping member may further include a second elastic clamping member 422, and referring to fig. 16 and 17, the clamp body 41 is provided with a groove-shaped slot 413 between the support table 411 and the boss 412, the second elastic clamping member 422 is disposed in the groove-shaped slot 413, the second elastic clamping member 422 has a second proximal end 4221 fixed to a sidewall of the boss 412 and a second distal end 4222 opposite to the second proximal end 4221, and the second distal end 4222 is used to abut against the target object 400 so as to be capable of providing an outward elastic clamping force to the target object 400, and in use, two clamps 4 are required to be used in cooperation with each other, and the outward elastic clamping force provided by the second distal end 422 of the clamp 4 clamps the target object 400 located therebetween exactly. Wherein the end of the second distal end (4222) is folded and the bend is directed outwards to avoid concentrated stresses applied to the target object 400. Alternatively, in order to avoid concentrated stress of the boss 412 in the case where the target object 400 is clamped therebetween using the two clamps 4, the side wall of the boss 412 may be connected with a second cushion pad 432 made of an elastic material, and the second cushion pad 432 may be provided with two, the two second cushion pads 432 being provided on the side wall of the boss 412 at a spacing.

In the specific embodiment provided in the disclosure, the fixture 4 may include a positioning member 44 for aligning with a mark (such as a notch structure) on the target object 400, the positioning member 44 is telescopically connected to the boss 412, and an alignment sensor (such as a photoelectric sensor) is disposed at an end of the positioning member 44, and when the end of the positioning member 44 is aligned with the mark, the alignment sensor sends a confirmation signal, and otherwise sends an alarm signal; the boss 412 is provided with a proximity sensor 45 (e.g., a photoelectric sensor), and the proximity sensor 45 sends a confirmation signal when the positioning member 44 is retracted to approach the proximity sensor 45.

Optionally, the fixture 4 further comprises a sealing plate 46, the sealing plate 46 is fixedly connected with the boss 412 above the boss 412, the fixture 4 is provided with a first signal light source 47 for indicating that the target object 400 is in a clamping position, the first signal light source 47 is arranged in the sealing plate 46, the sealing plate 46 is made of a semitransparent material, and therefore, light emitted by the first signal light source 47 can be scattered into the environment through the sealing plate 46 so as to enable a user to observe the light remotely.

Optionally, the clamp 4 further comprises a connection block 48 for pivotally connecting with the robotic arm 3 of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, and the clamp body 41 is fixedly connected to the connection block 48. The first signal light source 47 may be fixed to the connection block 48, and the sealing plate 46 is provided with a corresponding receiving hole, and when the clamp body 41 is connected to the fixing block 48, the sealing plate 46 fixed to the boss 412 just positions the first signal light source 47 in the receiving hole.

On the basis of the above-described technical solution, a fourth aspect of the present disclosure also provides an operation mechanism for an autonomous mobile transfer robot, the operation mechanism including a pair of manipulators each including a manipulator and the above-described jig 4 for an autonomous mobile transfer robot, the jig 4 being connected to a distal end of the manipulator, two jigs 4 of each pair of manipulators cooperating with each other to clamp/release the target object 400.

In each pair of the robot arms 4, two jigs 4 are disposed opposite to each other, and as shown in fig. 1, are used to clamp the target object 400 when the two jigs 4 are close to each other, and to release the target object 400 when the two jigs 4 are away from each other.

In addition, in the autonomous mobile transfer robot working mechanism according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the manipulator may be configured in any suitable manner, for example, may be configured as the manipulator 3 according to the third aspect of the present disclosure.

Alternatively, a photographing camera 491 may be provided on the front side of one of the two jigs 4 of the two manipulators, and a flash 492 may be provided on the front side of the other of the two jigs 4 of the two manipulators for supplementing light to the photographing camera 491. Before gripping the target object 400, the front thereof may be photographed by the photographing camera 491 to grasp the visual feature points.

In addition, a fourth aspect of the present disclosure also provides an autonomous mobile transfer robot including the autonomous mobile transfer robot operating mechanism provided in the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

Carrier for autonomous mobile transfer robot

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a carrier 5 for an autonomous mobile transfer robot, one embodiment of which is shown in fig. 18 to 20. Referring to fig. 18 to 20, the carrier 5 includes: a plate-like body 51 having a bearing surface for bearing the target object 400; a positioning structure 52, the positioning structure 52 being fixed to the bearing surface for cooperating with a positioning hole groove of the target object 400 to limit the movement of the target object 400 on the plate-shaped main body 51; an RFID antenna 53, the RFID antenna 53 being fixed to the plate-like body 51 for reading the number of the target object 400; and a target object detection device 54 fixed to the plate-like body 51 for detecting whether or not the target object 400 is placed on the carrier 5.

Through the above technical solution, the carrier 5 provided in the fifth aspect of the present disclosure can carry the target object 400, and meanwhile, the number of the carried target object 400 can also be known, so that the user can grasp the information of the target object 400 carried by the carrier 5. When the target object 400 is placed on the bearing surface, the positioning structure 52 can prevent the target object 400 from sliding or even falling on the bearing surface under the action of external force, and can make the position of any target object 400 placed on the bearing surface unique, which is beneficial to the automatic unloading of the target object 400. In addition, by the target object detection device 454, it is possible to confirm whether or not the target object 400 is present on the carrier 5, on the one hand, repeated placement of the target object 400 can be avoided, and on the other hand, it is possible to know whether or not the carrier 5 is idle.

In the particular embodiment provided by the present disclosure, the positioning structure 52 may be configured in any suitable manner. Alternatively, the positioning structure 52 is provided with three positioning posts, and the three positioning posts are arranged in a triangular shape in a connecting line, as shown in fig. 18 to 20. The target detecting means 54 includes a detecting portion protruding from the bearing surface, which is retractable into the plate-like body 51 by the gravity of the target object 400 when the positioning hole groove of the target object 400 is engaged with the positioning frame 52, and the target detecting means 54 issues a confirmation signal to indicate that the target object 400 is placed on the bearing surface.

In the particular embodiment provided by the present disclosure, RFID antenna 53 may be configured in any suitable manner. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 18 to 20, the RFID antenna 53 is disposed adjacent to the target object detection device 54 so as to facilitate wiring.

In the particular embodiment provided in the present disclosure, the target object detection device 54 may be configured in any suitable manner. Alternatively, the target object detecting device 54 is configured as a photoelectric sensor, and the working principle thereof may be: when it is reached that a target object 400 is placed on the carrier 5, the target object 400 covers the photoelectric sensor, which emits a determination signal.

In the particular embodiment provided in the present disclosure, the plate-like body 51 may be configured in any suitable manner. Alternatively, referring to fig. 19 and 20, the plate-shaped main body 51 includes a main plate 511, a sandwich plate 512 and a cover plate 513 which are sequentially overlapped, the sandwich plate 512 is provided with an opening 5121, and a second signal light source 55 is provided in the opening 5121, and the second signal light source 55 can emit light of various colors, and each color light indicates a working condition, for example, the second signal light source 55 can emit red light indicating an alarm, green light indicating normal, blue light indicating insufficient power, and the like. The cover 513 and the side wall are made of a translucent or transparent material to scatter light from the second signal light source 55 to the surrounding environment for viewing from multiple angles and multiple positions by the user. In addition, an emergency stop button 56 is provided on the cover 513 to stop the operation of the autonomous mobile transfer robot in case of emergency.

In order to enable the user to observe the light emitted from the second signal light source 55 from various angles and directions, the second signal light source 55 may be configured in a strip shape, and four second signal light sources 55 are disposed in the opening 5121 to emit light toward the front, rear, left and right directions, respectively, so that the light emitted from the second signal light source 55 irradiates each direction and corner.

In the embodiments provided in the present disclosure, the cover plate 513 and the sandwich plate 512 may be made of plexiglass material to have the advantages of easy processing, high light transmittance, impact resistance, durability, etc.

In the specific embodiment provided in the present disclosure, the carrier 5 is provided with a binocular camera 57, for example, a 150 ° stereoscopic depth of field can be obtained. The binocular camera 57 may be fixed to the plate-shaped body 51, for example, may be fixed to a side surface of the plate-shaped body 5.

Alternatively, the carrier 5 is provided with a third obstacle avoidance sensor 58, the third obstacle avoidance sensor 58 is fixed to the plate-like body 51 at the front side, the third obstacle avoidance sensor 58 is provided with two, and the binocular camera 57 is located between the two obstacle avoidance sensors 58.

On the basis of the technical solution, a fifth aspect of the present disclosure further provides an autonomous mobile transfer robot, including the fixture for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

In summary, a single-sided two-arm-carrying autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the first aspect of the present disclosure can be obtained, which comprises the running gear provided according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, the robotic arm 3 provided according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, the clamp 4 for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, and the carrier 5 for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure. For the running mechanism, the driving motor 212 is electrically connected to a control system, so that the control system controls the rotation of the driving motor 212. For the robot arm 3, the fixing base 342 and the guide rod 362 may be provided in the housing 13 to be fixed at one side of the riser 12, and the screw 341 of the two robot arms 3 may be combined into one, i.e., the fixing base 342 is fixed at an intermediate position of the screw, the screw portion of the left side is used for the left side, and the screw portion of the right side is used for the right side. The first drive 331, the second drive 332 and the third drive 333, which are configured as hollow shaft motors, are electrically connected to a control system, and the clamp 4 is fixed to the hollow shaft of the hollow shaft motor serving as the third drive 333. The alignment sensor, the proximity sensor 45, the first signal light source 47, the photographing camera 491 and the flash 492 in the fixture 4 are all electrically connected to the control system. The RFID antenna 53, the target object detection device 54, the second signal light source 55, the scram button 56, the binocular camera 57, and the third obstacle avoidance sensor 58 in the carrier 5 are all electrically connected with the control system. In the autonomous mobile transfer robot, two robot arm hands are provided, which are symmetrically arranged with respect to a longitudinal direction of the autonomous mobile transfer robot. The autonomous mobile transfer robot is provided with three carriers 5, the side of the riser 12, on which the carriers 5 are provided, being defined as front and the other side as rear. The uppermost carrier 5 is configured in the embodiment shown in fig. 19 and 20, and the lower two carriers 5 are configured in the embodiment shown in fig. 18, that is, only the uppermost carrier 5 is provided with the second signal light source 55, the emergency stop button 56, the binocular camera 57, and the third obstacle avoidance sensor 58, and only the plate-shaped main body 51 of the uppermost carrier 5 is configured with the main plate 511, the sandwich plate 512, and the cover plate 513. The following will describe the operation of the autonomous mobile transfer robot in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, using an unmanned shop of a semiconductor factory as an operating environment to transport a foup box as a target object 400 between a rack and a machine as an operating content.

Firstly, after receiving an instruction, the empty autonomous mobile transfer robot drives the travelling mechanism to run in front of the goods shelf, at this time, the autonomous mobile transfer robot faces the goods shelf to stop at a fixed position, the distance between the two distances is detected by the distance detection devices 113 on the left side and the right side, the two distances are compared, if the distances are equal, the autonomous mobile transfer robot is indicated to be opposite to the goods shelf, otherwise, the control system controls the rotation of one or two driving wheels 21 so as to adjust the autonomous mobile transfer robot to be aligned with the goods shelf. Then, the second driving device 332 operates to send the clamp 4 to the front of the foup box to be clamped on the shelf, at this time, the photographing camera 491 on the clamp 4 photographs the front, the control system determines whether the position of the clamp 4 is at the alignment position, if yes, the second driving devices 332 of the two manipulators synchronously drive the rotating arm 32 to rotate around the hinge shaft thereof, so as to synchronously move the two clamps 4 forward to the position to be clamped, namely, respectively located at two sides of the foup box. If not, the first driving device 331 may be controlled to rotate to simultaneously move the two telescopic arms 31 to the left or right, so that the jig 4 reaches the aligned position. Thereafter, the first driving means 331 controlling the two manipulators drives the two telescopic arms 31 to move relatively so that the two jigs 4 are brought close to each other, so that the clamped portions of the foup box enter the clamping spaces of the jigs 4, respectively held on the support table 411 by the first elastic clamping pieces 421. When the clamp 4 contacts the foup box, if the end of the positioning piece 44 is aligned with the mark on the foup box, a confirmation signal is sent to the control system, the clamp 4 is controlled to move relatively, the second elastic clamping pieces 422 of the two clamps 4 are elastically deformed, relative clamping force is provided from two sides of the foup box, the positioning piece 44 receives pushing force of the foup box to retract, when approaching the proximity sensor 45, the proximity sensor 45 sends the confirmation signal to the control system, the control system controls the mechanical arm 3 to stop moving, the clamp 4 stops, and the first signal light source 47 on the clamp 4 sends green light to indicate that the clamping of the foup box is completed. If the end of the positioning element 44 is not aligned with the mark on the foup box, an alarm signal is sent to the control system, the control system stops the movement of the mechanical arm 3, and controls the first signal light source 47 to send out red light and/or sound signals to inform a user to adjust the position of the foup box so that the clamp 4 can clamp correctly.

After clamping the clamp 4 to the foup box, the control system controls the robotic arm 3 to move to place the clamped foup box on one of the carriers 5, e.g., the lowermost carrier 5. When the Foup box is placed on the carrier 5, if the positioning hole slot of the Foup box is matched with the positioning structure 52, the target detection device 54 sends a confirmation signal to the control system to indicate that the Foup box is placed on the carrier 5. The FID code of the foup box can be read by the RFID antenna 53 on the carrier 5, so that the information of the foup box placed on the carrier 5 is known.

From this, loading of one foup box is completed.

Similarly, after loading of the previous foup box is completed, the control system controls the travelling mechanism so that the autonomous mobile transfer robot travels to the next foup box to be loaded on the goods shelf, and loading of the foup box is performed.

After full load, the control system controls the autonomous mobile transfer robot to walk to the machine platform for unloading. In the walking process, the bottom plate image is shot through the bottom camera 116, the bottom plate characteristics are obtained, so that the current position of the autonomous mobile transfer robot is determined, and when the position is deviated, track compensation is performed. When the characteristics of the bottom plate cannot be confirmed, the current position of the autonomous mobile transfer robot can be determined by the environment image shot by the binocular camera 57 through the slam algorithm. In the traveling process, since the traveling mechanism provided in the second aspect of the present disclosure is used, the ground pressure of the two driving wheels 21 can be ensured, and the traveling direction of the autonomous mobile transfer robot can be ensured. The road conditions in front are sensed through the ground distance detection device, and once a pit or an obstacle is found, the control system controls the autonomous mobile transfer robot to stop walking and give an alarm. Meanwhile, if an obstacle is detected in the moving direction of the autonomous mobile transfer robot by the first obstacle avoidance sensor 114a and/or the second obstacle avoidance sensor 114b and/or the third obstacle avoidance sensor 58 and/or the collision sensor, the control system controls the autonomous mobile transfer robot to immediately stop moving and give an alarm. Further, if the foup box on the carrier 5 is taken away by a person, the control system controls the autonomous mobile transfer robot to stop walking and alarm immediately after the signal sent from the target object detection device 54.

Double-sided bearing two-arm type autonomous mobile transfer robot:

according to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a double-sided load-bearing autonomous mobile transfer robot 200, which is distinguished from the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in the first aspect of the present disclosure in that: according to the double-sided carrying type autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, two risers 12 are provided, a housing 13 is located between the two risers 12, and a closed space is enclosed by the two sides of the two risers 12 facing each other, and the first driving device 331 of the mechanical arm 3, the screw 341, the fixing base 342, and other structures are provided in the closed space. And both sides of the two risers 12 facing outward are fixed with the carriers 5, the carriers 5 on the same side are arranged at regular intervals in the vertical direction, as shown with reference to fig. 21. In view of the spatial arrangement, an operation screen, that is, a man-machine interaction interface, is not provided in the double-sided carrying type autonomous mobile transfer robot provided in the sixth aspect of the present disclosure.

The autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure is capable of transferring a plurality of target articles 400 at once. The working process is specifically as follows: firstly, an empty autonomous mobile transfer robot walks to a first position for storing a target object 400 by controlling a walking mechanism 2 of a control system; then, the control system controls the posture (the rotation angle around the pivot shaft) of the clamp 4 and the movement of the mechanical arm 3, so that the clamp 4 is sent to a required position, and the clamp 4 clamps the target object 40 through the movement of the mechanical arm 3; thereafter, by controlling the movement of the robot arm 3, the held target article 400 is placed on one carrier 5 of the carrier mechanism, thereby completing "loading" of one target article 400. Thereafter, the above-described operation may be repeated until the target article 400 is placed on all the carriers 5. Then, by controlling the travelling mechanism 2, the autonomous mobile transfer robot integrally travels to a second position to which the target article 400 is to be transported, and the target article 400 is sequentially clamped from the corresponding carrier 5 by the manipulator and is sent to a corresponding placement position of the second position, so as to realize "unloading" of the target article 400. In this process, the position of the autonomous mobile transfer robot can be changed by controlling the traveling mechanism 2 so as to facilitate the operation of the robot arm. Through the description, the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided by the disclosure can automatically transfer the target articles 400 without manual loading and unloading, and can transfer a plurality of target articles 400 in a single pass, thereby effectively improving the production takt and the working efficiency. In addition, by arranging the plurality of supporting members 5 in sequence in the vertical direction, the upper space of the base 11 can be effectively utilized, which is beneficial to realizing miniaturization of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, and has wider application range and higher agility.

Based on the above, it is also possible to obtain a double-sided carrying two-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, which includes the running gear provided according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, the robot arm 3 provided according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, the clamp 4 for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, and the carrier 5 for an autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

Due to the above-mentioned distinguishing features between the double-sided two-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot and the single-sided two-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, there is also only a difference in the working process thereof, i.e. when the foup box (target object 400) is loaded, when the foup box has been correspondingly filled with the carrier 5 on one side, it is necessary to continue to fill the carrier 5 on the other side as well, and vice versa. In addition, such a double-sided two-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot may be defined such that any one of the directions in the longitudinal direction is defined as the front.

Single-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot

According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a single-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot 300, which may be characterized differently from the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided by the first aspect of the present disclosure: only one robot arm is provided in the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure, and referring to fig. 22, the robot arm includes a robot arm 3 (the robot arm 3 may be the same as the robot arm 3 in the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the first aspect of the present disclosure) and a gripper 6 (instead of the gripper 4) pivotally connected to a distal end of the robot arm 3 for gripping/releasing the target object 400, the robot arm 3 being provided to be movable so that the gripper 6 reaches a desired position.

In addition to the above-described distinguishing features, there may be another distinguishing feature between the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure and the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, which may be the same as the distinguishing feature between the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure and the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, i.e., in the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure, two risers 12 are provided, the housing 13 is located between the two risers 12, an enclosed space is enclosed with mutually facing sides of the two risers 12, and the first driving device 331 of the robot arm 3, the screw 341, the fixing base 342, and the like are structured in the enclosed space. And both sides of the two risers 12 facing outward are fixed with the carriers 5, the carriers 5 on the same side are arranged at regular intervals in the vertical direction, as shown with reference to fig. 21. In consideration of space arrangement, an operation screen, that is, a human-computer interaction interface is not set.

By the above-described technical means, the autonomous mobile transfer robot according to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure is capable of transferring a plurality of target articles 400 at a time. The working process is specifically as follows: firstly, an empty autonomous mobile transfer robot walks to a first position for storing a target object 400 by controlling a walking mechanism 2 of a control system; thereafter, the hand grip 6 is sent to a desired position to grip the target object 40 by controlling the posture (rotation angle about its own pivot axis) of the hand grip 6 and the movement of the robot arm 3 by the control system; thereafter, by controlling the movement of the robot arm 3, the grasped target article 400 is placed on one carrier 5 of the carrier mechanism, thereby completing "loading" of one target article 400. Thereafter, the above-described operation may be repeated until the target article 400 is placed on all the carriers 5. Then, by controlling the travelling mechanism 2, the autonomous mobile transfer robot integrally travels to a second position to which the target article 400 is to be transported, and the target article 400 is sequentially clamped from the corresponding carrier 5 by the manipulator and is sent to a corresponding placement position of the second position, so as to realize "unloading" of the target article 400. In this process, the position of the autonomous mobile transfer robot can be changed by controlling the traveling mechanism 2 so as to facilitate the operation of the robot arm. Through the description, the autonomous mobile transfer robot provided by the disclosure can automatically transfer the target articles 400 without manual loading and unloading, and can transfer a plurality of target articles 400 in a single pass, thereby effectively improving the production takt and the working efficiency. In addition, by arranging the plurality of supporting members 5 in sequence in the vertical direction, the upper space of the base 11 can be effectively utilized, which is beneficial to realizing miniaturization of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, and has wider application range and higher agility.

Wherein the grip 6 may be configured in any suitable manner. Alternatively, referring to fig. 23 and 24, the gripper 6 includes a gripper body 61, a fixed gripper 62, and a movable gripper 63, the fixed gripper 62 being fixed to the gripper body 61, the movable gripper 63 being movably connected to the gripper body 61 so as to be able to approach and separate from the fixed gripper 62, and gripping and releasing of the target object 400 being achieved in cooperation with the fixed gripper 62.

Alternatively, the movable grip 63 is connected to the grip main body 61 by a sliding connection structure so as to be close to and apart from the fixed grip 62. In the specific embodiments provided in this disclosure, the sliding connection may be configured in any suitable manner. Optionally, the sliding connection structure includes a sliding rail 641 and a sliding groove 642 that are matched with each other, one of the sliding rail 641 and the sliding groove 642 is disposed on the grip main body 61, and the other of the sliding rail 641 and the sliding groove 642 is disposed on the movable clamping member 63. For example, the slide rail 641 is provided to the grip main body 61. And to avoid the sliding chute 642 from being disengaged from the sliding rail 641, the sliding chute 642 may be configured as a dovetail groove.

In the embodiment provided in the present disclosure, a driving member 65 may be disposed between the movable grip 63 and the grip main body 61, and the driving member 65 is used to drive the movable grip 63 to move toward or away from the fixed grip 62. Wherein the driving member 65 may be constructed in any suitable manner, alternatively, the driving member 65 is constructed as a cylinder having a cylinder body fixed to the grip main body 61 and a piston rod end fixed to the movable grip 63. When the piston rod is extended from the cylinder, the movable clamp 63 is driven away from the fixed clamp 62 to release the target object 400. When the piston rod is retracted into the cylinder, the movable clamp 63 is driven to approach the fixed clamp 62 to grasp the target object 400.

In the particular embodiment provided by the present disclosure, the fixed clamp 62 may be configured in any suitable manner. Alternatively, the fixed clamp 62 includes a fixed connection portion 621 connected with the grip main body 61, a fixed clamp portion 622, and a first intermediate connection portion 623 connected between the fixed connection portion 621 and the fixed clamp portion 622, the movable clamp 63 includes a movable connection portion 631 connected with the grip main body 61, a movable clamp portion 632, and a second intermediate connection portion 633 connected between the movable connection portion 631 and the movable clamp portion 632, and the first intermediate connection portion 623 and the second intermediate connection portion 633 have a clamp space for the target object 400 between the fixed connection portion 621 and the movable connection portion 631 and the grip main body 61, and the fixed clamp portion 622 and the movable clamp portion 632 extend opposite to each other for supporting the target object 400.

In addition, the gripper 6 further includes a joint block 66 pivotally connected to the distal end of the robot arm 3, and the gripper body 61 is fixed to the joint block 66. When the robot arm 3 is the robot arm provided according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, the joint block 66 is fixed to a hollow output shaft of a hollow shaft motor serving as the third driving means.

In addition, in the specific embodiment provided in the present disclosure, the grip 6 may also have therein a positioning member, an alignment sensor, a proximity sensor, and the like, as in the jig 4 provided in the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

Based on the above, it is also possible to obtain a single-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure, which includes the running gear provided according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, the robot arm 3 provided according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, the carrier 5 for autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

Because of the above-described distinguishing features between the double-sided two-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot and the single-sided two-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot provided according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, there is also only a difference in the operation process thereof, i.e., a single manipulator is used during the entire loading and unloading of the foup box (target object 400), and the above-described grippers 6 are used to grasp and release the foup box. In addition, when loading, when one side carrier 5 has been correspondingly filled with a foup box, it is necessary to continue to fill the other side carrier 5 as well, and unloading is vice versa. In addition, such a double-sided single-arm autonomous mobile transfer robot may be defined such that any one of the directions in the longitudinal direction is defined as the front direction.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure is not intended to limit the disclosure, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, improvements and alternatives falling within the spirit and principles of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An autonomous mobile transfer robot, comprising:

the main body comprises a base (11) and a vertical plate (12) which is fixed on the base (11) and extends upwards along the vertical direction;

the travelling mechanism (2) comprises a driving wheel and a driven wheel which are arranged on the base (11);

a working mechanism comprising a manipulator including a manipulator arm (3) having a proximal end connected to the riser (12) and a gripper (4) pivotally connected to a distal end of the manipulator arm (3) for gripping/releasing a target object (400), the manipulator arm (3) being arranged to be movable to bring the gripper (4) to a desired position;

the bearing mechanism comprises a plurality of plate-shaped bearing pieces (5) for bearing the target object (400), and the plurality of bearing pieces (5) are fixed on the vertical plates (12) and are arranged at intervals along the vertical direction; and

the control system is used for controlling the running/stopping and steering of the running mechanism, controlling the movement of the mechanical arm (3) and controlling the clamp (4) to grasp/release the target object (400);

The clamp (4) includes a clamp body (41), the clamp body (41) being provided with a support table (411) for a target object (400) and a boss (412) higher than the support table (411), and an elastic clamp having a proximal end fixedly connected to the boss (412) and a distal end opposite to the proximal end for abutting against the target object (400) to cooperate with the support table (411) to releasably clamp the target object (400),

the elastic clamping member includes a first elastic clamping member (421), the first elastic clamping member (421) having a first proximal end (4211) fixed to the boss (412) and a first distal end (4212) opposite to the first proximal end (4211), the first distal end extending above the support table (411) to form an elastic clamping portion defining a clamping space for the target object (400) with the support table (411), the elastic clamping portion providing an elastic clamping force to the target object (400) toward the support table (411),

the elastic clamping member comprises a second elastic clamping member (422), the clamp body (41) is provided with a groove-shaped groove (413) between the supporting table (411) and the boss (412), the second elastic clamping member (422) is arranged in the groove-shaped groove (413), the second elastic clamping member (422) is provided with a second proximal end (4221) fixed to the side wall of the boss (412) and a second distal end (4222) opposite to the second proximal end (4221), and the second distal end (4222) is used for abutting with the target object (400) so as to provide an outward elastic clamping force for the target object (400);

The front side and the rear side of the base (11) are both provided with a first obstacle avoidance sensor (114 a) for detecting surrounding obstacles, the first obstacle avoidance sensor (114 a) is electrically connected with the control system, and the control system controls the travelling mechanism (2) to stop moving and give out an alarm after receiving a dangerous signal sent by the first obstacle avoidance sensor (114 a).

2. Autonomous mobile transfer robot according to claim 1, characterized by comprising a base (11) and two driving wheels (21) and at least two driven wheels mounted to the base (11), the driving wheels (21) having a central rotation axis, and the driving wheels (21) being hinged to the base (11), a resilient biasing member being provided between the base (11) and the driving wheels (21), a first end of the resilient biasing member biasing the base (11), a second end of the resilient biasing member opposite the first end biasing the driving wheels (21) such that the driving wheels (21) are rotatable about a pivot axis parallel to the central rotation axis to move up and down with respect to the base (11);

the driving wheel (21) comprises a mounting bracket (211), a driving motor (212) fixed on the mounting bracket (211), and a driving wheel roller (213) fixed on an output shaft of the driving motor (212), wherein the driving motor (212) is electrically connected with the control system and is used for driving the driving wheel roller (213) to rotate around an axis of the output shaft of the driving motor (212), the mounting bracket (211) is connected with a hinging seat (110) fixed on the base (11) through a pivoting shaft (214), the second end of the elastic biasing member biases the mounting bracket (211), the elastic biasing member is configured as a spring plunger (22), the spring plunger (22) is fixed on the base (11), and the head of the spring plunger (22) is abutted against the mounting bracket (211) to serve as the second end; each driving wheel (21) is correspondingly provided with two spring plungers (22);

The pivot shaft (214) is configured as a pin shaft, one end of the pivot shaft is stopped on the mounting bracket (211) through the head of the pivot shaft, the other end of the pivot shaft is stopped on the hinging seat (110) through a stopping piece, and the stopping piece is configured as a clamp (215);

the central rotation axes of the two driving wheels (21) are collinear, and the driven wheel group comprises two pairs of driven wheels, wherein one pair of driven wheels is positioned on one side of the driving wheel (21) along the direction of the central rotation axis, and the other pair of driven wheels is positioned on the other side of the driving wheel (21); the two pairs of driven wheels are symmetrically arranged about the central rotational axis.

3. Autonomous mobile transfer robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the driven wheel is configured as a universal wheel (23).

4. Autonomous mobile transfer robot according to claim 1, characterized in that said robotic arm (3) comprises a telescopic arm (31), a rotary arm (32) and driving means electrically connected to said control system, said rotary arm (32) comprising a plurality of arm segments hinged in sequence, a proximal end of said rotary arm (32) being hinged to a distal end of said telescopic arm (31), a distal end of said rotary arm (32) being adapted to pivotally connect said clamp (4), said driving means comprising: a first driving device (331) for driving the telescopic arm (31) to move in a transverse direction and a second driving device (332) for driving the arm section to rotate around its own hinge axis, wherein the hinge axes of the arm section are mutually parallel and parallel to the transverse direction;

The first driving device (331) is configured as a motor, the telescopic arm (31) is connected with an output shaft of the motor through a transmission device, so that the rotary motion of the output shaft can be converted into linear motion of the telescopic arm (31) in the transverse direction, the motor is a hollow shaft motor, the transmission device is configured as a screw transmission device, the transmission device comprises a screw rod (341) and a nut which are matched with each other, the screw rod (341) is fixed through a fixed seat (342), the nut is fixed on a hollow output shaft of the hollow shaft motor, the hollow shaft motor is fixedly connected with the telescopic arm (31), the hollow shaft motor is fixed on a first fixed plate (351), the telescopic arm (31) is fixed on a second fixed plate (352), the first fixed plate (351) and the second fixed plate (352) are both fixed on a sliding block (361), and the sliding block (361) is matched with a guide rod (362) which is arranged on equipment provided with the mechanical arm (3) and extends along the transverse direction;

the second driving device (332) is a hollow shaft motor, the rotating arm (32) comprises a first arm section (321) and a second arm section (322), the proximal end of the first arm section (321) is hinged with the telescopic arm (31) through the hollow shaft motor, and the distal end of the first arm section (321) is hinged with the proximal end of the second arm section (322) through the second driving device (332);

The extending direction of the arm section is perpendicular to the transverse direction, and the arm section is hollow; -said telescopic arm (31) extending in said transversal direction and being hollow;

the driving device further comprises a third driving device (333) for driving the clamp (4) to rotate around a pivot shaft of the clamp, wherein the pivot shaft is parallel to the transverse direction, the third driving device (333) is a hollow shaft motor, the hollow shaft motor is arranged at the far end of the rotating arm (32), and a hollow shaft of the hollow shaft motor is used for being connected with the clamp (4).

5. Autonomous mobile transfer robot according to claim 1, characterized in that said carrier (5) comprises:

a plate-like body (51) having a carrying surface for carrying the target object (400),

a positioning structure (52), the positioning structure (52) being fixed to the bearing surface for cooperating with a positioning hole groove of the target object (400) to limit the movement of the target object (400) on the plate-shaped main body (51),

an RFID antenna (53), the RFID antenna (53) being electrically connected to the control system and being fixed to the plate-like body (51) for reading the number of the target object (400), and

A target object detection device (54), the target object detection device (54) being electrically connected to the control system and being fixed to the plate-like body (51) for detecting whether a target object (400) is placed on the carrier (5);

the positioning structure (52) is provided with three positioning columns, the three positioning columns are arranged in a triangular shape in a connecting line, the target object detection device (54) comprises a detection part protruding from a bearing surface, when a positioning hole groove of the target object (400) is matched with the positioning structure (52), the detection part can retract into the plate-shaped main body 51 under the action of gravity of the target object (400), and the target object detection device (54) sends out a confirmation signal to indicate that the target object (400) is placed on the bearing surface;

the RFID antenna (53) is disposed adjacent to the target object detection device (54) to facilitate wiring;

the target object detection device (54) is configured as a photoelectric sensor;

the plate-shaped main body (51) comprises a main plate (511), a sandwich plate (512) and a cover plate (513) which are sequentially connected in an overlapping mode, the sandwich plate (512) is provided with an opening (5121),

A second signal light source (55) electrically connected with the control system is arranged in the opening (5121), the second signal light source (55) can emit light rays with multiple colors, and the light rays with each color indicate a working condition; the cover plate (513) and the side surrounding board are made of semitransparent or transparent materials so as to transmit light; the cover plate (513) is provided with an emergency stop button (56) electrically connected with the control system; the second signal light source (55) is in a strip shape, and four second signal light sources (55) are arranged in the opening (5121) and emit light rays towards the front, the back, the left and the right respectively; -the cover plate (513) and the sandwich plate (512) are both made of an organic glass material;

the carrier (5) is provided with a binocular camera (57) electrically connected with the control system, the binocular camera (57) being fixed to the plate-shaped body (51); the bearing piece (5) is provided with a third obstacle avoidance sensor (58) electrically connected with the control system, the third obstacle avoidance sensor (58) is fixed on the plate-shaped main body (51), the third obstacle avoidance sensor (58) is provided with two, and the binocular camera (57) is located between the two obstacle avoidance sensors (58).

6. Autonomous mobile transfer robot according to claim 1, characterized in that the base (11) is provided with two distance detection means (113) at the front side and/or the rear side of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, arranged at intervals in the lateral direction of the autonomous mobile transfer robot, for detecting the distance between the autonomous mobile transfer robot and a pallet, the distance detection means (113) being electrically connected to the control system for controlling the travelling mechanism (2) in dependence of the distance signal of the distance detection means (113) such that the autonomous mobile transfer robot is aligned with a pallet for storing the target object (400),

the distance detection device (113) is configured as an infrared sensor.

7. The autonomous mobile transfer robot of claim 1, wherein,

a second obstacle avoidance sensor (114 b) is arranged on the left side and/or the right side of the first obstacle avoidance sensor (114 a),

the first obstacle avoidance sensor (114 a) comprises two infrared sensors respectively positioned at the front side and the rear side of the autonomous mobile transfer robot,

the base (11) is provided with two anti-collision strips (115) which are wound on the outer side of the base (11),

The anti-collision strip (115) is internally provided with a collision sensor electrically connected with the control system, and the control system controls the travelling mechanism (2) to stop moving and give out an alarm after receiving a dangerous signal sent by the collision sensor.

8. Autonomous mobile transfer robot according to claim 1, characterized in that the body comprises a housing (13) enclosing an enclosed space with the riser (12), on which housing an operating screen (14) is arranged, which operating screen (14) is arranged obliquely for facilitating man-machine interaction, the control system comprising the operating screen (14).

9. Autonomous mobile transfer robot according to claim 1, characterized in that a bottom camera (116) electrically connected to the control system is provided on the lower surface of the base (11), and that ground distance detection means electrically connected to the control system are provided at each of the four corners of the base (11).