CN111232524B

CN111232524B - Method and device for controlling transfer robot and transfer robot

Info

Publication number: CN111232524B
Application number: CN202010158838.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 高明; 孔哲; 李再金
Original assignee: Hai Robotics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hai Robotics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-03-09
Filing date: 2020-03-09
Publication date: 2023-06-13
Anticipated expiration: 2040-03-09
Also published as: TWI799808B; CN111232524A; TW202134148A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to the field of intelligent storage, in particular to a method and a device for controlling a transfer robot and the transfer robot, wherein the transfer robot comprises a vertical support and a transfer device, the vertical support comprises a fixed upright post frame and a movable upright post frame, the transfer device is movably arranged on the movable upright post frame, the movable upright post frame is movably arranged on the fixed upright post frame, the transfer device is used for transferring goods, and the method for controlling the transfer robot comprises the following steps: receiving a motion instruction; and driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand and/or the movable stand relative to the fixed stand according to the movement instruction. Therefore, the carrying robot can not only control the carrying device to move relative to the fixed upright post frame to lift the height, but also control the movable upright post frame to lift relative to the fixed upright post frame to lift the height, so that the lifting height of the carrying device is equal to the sum of the stroke of the fixed upright post frame and the stroke of the movable upright post frame, the lifting height range of the carrying device is wider, and the application range is wider.

Description

Method and device for controlling transfer robot and transfer robot

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of radars, in particular to a method and a device for controlling a transfer robot and the transfer robot.

Background

The intelligent storage is one link of the logistics process, and the application of the intelligent storage ensures the speed and accuracy of data input of each link of the goods warehouse management, ensures that enterprises timely and accurately master real data of the inventory, and reasonably maintains and controls the enterprise inventory. The batch, the quality guarantee period and the like of the stock goods can be conveniently managed through scientific codes. By utilizing the library position management function of the SNHGES system, the current positions of all the stock cargoes can be mastered in time, and the work efficiency of warehouse management can be improved. The transfer robot plays an important role in intelligent storage, can accept instructions to the designated positions to pick and place and transfer goods, and improves transfer efficiency in the warehouse.

At present, the height of a fixed upright post of a carrying robot is fixed, a carrying device can only lift in a stroke set by the fixed upright post, and when the goods to be carried are higher than the height of the fixed upright post, the carrying device cannot carry the goods, so that the carrying device is inconvenient to use; and the transfer robot cannot be adjusted in height, which is very difficult to transport and shuttle to different spaces.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the foregoing, embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for controlling a transfer robot, and a transfer robot, which overcome or at least partially solve the foregoing problems.

According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a transfer robot including a vertical stand including a fixed column frame and a movable column frame, and a transfer device movably provided to the movable column frame, the movable column frame being movably provided to the fixed column frame, the transfer device being for transferring goods, the method including: receiving a motion instruction; and driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand according to the movement instruction, and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand.

In an alternative, the motion instruction comprises a first up instruction; the step of driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand according to the movement instruction and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand comprises the following steps: acquiring a first designated lifting height according to the first lifting instruction; driving the carrying device to move upwards relative to the movable upright post frame; and before the carrying device moves to the top of the movable upright post frame, stopping lifting the carrying device when the carrying device moves to the first appointed lifting height.

In an alternative, after the handling device has moved to the top of the movable mast, the handling device has not moved to the first specified elevation, the handling device and movable mast are driven to move upwardly relative to the fixed mast simultaneously until the handling device reaches the first specified elevation.

In an alternative, the motion command includes a second up command; the step of driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand according to the movement instruction and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand comprises the following steps: acquiring a second appointed lifting height according to the second lifting instruction; and driving the movable upright frame to move upwards relative to the fixed upright frame until the top of the movable upright frame exceeds the second appointed lifting height, and then driving the carrying device to move upwards relative to the movable upright frame until the carrying device reaches the second appointed lifting height.

In an alternative, the motion command includes a third up command;

the step of driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand according to the movement instruction and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand comprises the following steps: acquiring a third appointed lifting height according to the third lifting instruction; and driving the movable upright post frame and the carrying device to move upwards at the same time until the carrying device reaches the third appointed lifting height.

In an alternative, the motion instruction comprises a first descent instruction;

the step of driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand according to the movement instruction and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand further comprises the following steps:

acquiring a first designated descending height according to the first descending instruction;

driving the carrying device and the movable upright post frame to move downwards relative to the fixed upright post frame at the same time;

and before the movable stand moves to the bottom of the fixed stand, when the carrying device descends to the first appointed descending height, controlling the movable stand and the carrying device to stop moving.

In an alternative, the method further comprises: and after the movable stand moves to the bottom of the fixed stand, when the carrying device is not lowered to the first appointed lowering height, controlling the carrying device to move downwards relative to the movable stand until the carrying device moves to the first appointed lowering height.

In an alternative, the motion command includes a second descent command; the step of driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand according to the movement instruction and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand further comprises the following steps: acquiring a second designated descending height according to the second descending instruction; driving the carrying device to move downwards relative to the movable upright post frame, and then driving the movable upright post frame to move downwards relative to the fixed upright post frame, wherein the carrying device stops descending when moving to the second designated descending height before moving to the bottom of the movable upright post frame; or after the carrying device moves to the bottom of the movable upright post, the carrying device does not move to the second designated descending height, and the movable upright post and the carrying device are driven to synchronously descend until the carrying device reaches the second descending height.

In an alternative, the motion command includes a third descent command; the step of driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand according to the movement instruction and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand further comprises the following steps: acquiring a third designated descending height according to the third descending instruction; driving the movable stand to move downwards relative to the fixed stand, and then driving the carrying device to move downwards relative to the movable stand, wherein the carrying device stops descending when moving to the third appointed descending height before moving to the bottom of the movable stand; or after the carrying device moves to the bottom of the movable upright post, the carrying device does not move to the third designated descending height, and the movable upright post and the carrying device are driven to synchronously descend until the carrying device reaches the third descending height.

In an alternative mode, the carrying device comprises a supporting plate and a carrying assembly, and the carrying robot further comprises a storage device arranged on a fixed upright post frame; the method further comprises the steps of: and controlling the carrying assembly to carry the goods.

In an alternative manner, the step of controlling the handling assembly to handle the goods further comprises: and controlling the carrying assembly to push out the goods on the supporting plate.

In an alternative manner, the step of controlling the handling assembly to handle the goods further comprises: controlling the carrying assembly to pull the goods on the storage device to the supporting plate.

In an alternative, the transfer robot further comprises a movable chassis, the fixed upright being mounted to the movable chassis; the method further comprises the steps of: receiving a movement command, wherein the movement command carries a target position to be treated; and driving the mobile chassis to move to the target position.

In an alternative manner, during the movement of the transfer robot, whether an obstacle exists in the traveling direction of the transfer robot in the traveling path is determined; if so, acquiring a first height of the obstacle from the ground; acquiring a second height of the top of the transfer robot from the ground at present, and acquiring a third height of the top of the transfer robot from the ground when the movable stand is fully retracted; judging whether the second height is larger than the first height; if the third height is larger than the first height, judging whether the third height is smaller than the first height or not; if the third height is smaller than the first height, the height of the carrying robot from the ground is reduced until the third height is smaller than the first height; the transfer robot passes through the obstacle.

In an alternative way, the obstacle and the ground clearance of the obstacle are obtained from a pre-stored three-dimensional map.

In an alternative, the handling robot further comprises a sensing device mounted on the handling robot;

the step of judging whether an obstacle exists in front of the transfer robot during the movement of the transfer robot further includes: in the moving process of the carrying robot, the carrying robot senses whether an obstacle exists in front of the carrying robot through the sensing device.

According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for controlling a transfer robot including a vertical stand including a fixed column frame and a movable column frame, and a transfer device movably provided to the movable column frame, the movable column frame being movably provided to the fixed column frame, the transfer device being fixed to the movable column frame, and the transfer device being for transferring a load, the apparatus comprising: the motion instruction receiving module is used for receiving motion instructions; and the driving module is used for driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand.

According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a transfer robot including: the vertical support comprises a fixed upright post frame and a movable upright post frame, and the movable upright post frame is movably arranged on the fixed upright post frame; the carrying device is movably arranged on the movable upright post frame; a drive assembly for driving the handling device to move relative to the movable stand and/or for driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand; at least one processor; and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the method described above.

Further, the transfer robot further comprises a moving chassis, and the vertical support is mounted on the moving chassis;

the driving assembly comprises a winding and unwinding assembly, a traction rope and a guide wheel set, wherein the guide wheel set comprises a top pulley, a bottom pulley and a main pulley;

the top pulley is arranged at one end of the movable upright post frame far away from the movable chassis, the bottom pulley is arranged at the other end of the movable upright post frame, the main pulley is arranged at one end of the fixed upright post frame far away from the movable chassis, one end of the traction rope sequentially bypasses the top pulley, the bottom pulley and the main pulley and then is tied to the retraction assembly, and the retraction assembly is retracted or released with the traction rope so as to drive the carrying device to move relative to the movable upright post frame and/or drive the carrying device and the movable upright post frame to move relative to the fixed upright post frame.

Further, the transfer robot further comprises a first detector mounted at one end of the movable stand far from the movable chassis, the first detector is connected with the driving assembly, and the first detector is used for detecting the distance between the movable stand and a building object above the movable stand.

Further, the transfer robot further comprises a braking device for braking the movable stand, so that the movable stand stops moving relative to the fixed stand.

Further, the braking device comprises a brake disc, a guide base and a stopper;

the brake disc is connected with the driving assembly, the output end of the driving assembly can drive the brake disc to rotate, the brake disc can brake the output end of the driving assembly, the brake disc is provided with at least one pin hole, the guide base is installed on the fixed upright post frame and is provided with a slot, the stop piece is movably inserted into the slot, the stop piece can move along the slot, so that one end of the stop piece is inserted into or separated from the pin hole, and the rotation of the brake disc is prevented or the limitation of the brake disc is relieved.

Further, the transfer robot further includes a main shock absorber;

the main damping piece is arranged at one end of the fixed upright post frame, which is close to the movable chassis, and is positioned below the movable upright post frame;

when the movable upright post frame descends to the lowest point of the preset lifting travel, the movable upright post frame is abutted with the main damping piece.

In the embodiment of the invention, the carrying device can be lifted by the movable upright post, and when the carrying position appointed by a user is higher than the top of the movable upright post, the driving assembly can drive the carrying device and the movable upright post to lift relative to the fixed upright post, so that the carrying device reaches the carrying position appointed by the user, and meanwhile, the carrying device is matched with different lifting modes of the carrying device, so that the use range of the carrying robot is wider.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a transfer robot according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of another angle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the structure of the fixed upright of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the structure of the movable stand of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the fork mounting assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 1;

fig. 9 is a partial enlarged view of a portion a of fig. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of another portion of FIG. 10;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural view of a portion B of fig. 8;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the brake apparatus of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the brake device of FIG. 14;

fig. 16 is a flow chart of a first embodiment of the method of controlling a transfer robot of the present invention;

fig. 17 is a detailed flowchart of the ascending portion of step S2 of the first embodiment of the method of controlling a transfer robot of the present invention;

fig. 18 is a further detailed flow chart of the rising part of step S2 of the first embodiment of the method of controlling a transfer robot according to the invention;

fig. 19 is a further detailed flowchart of the rising part of step S2 of the first embodiment of the method of controlling a transfer robot according to the invention;

fig. 20 is a detailed flowchart of the descending part of step S2 of the first embodiment of the method of controlling a transfer robot of the present invention;

fig. 21 is a further detailed flow chart of the descending part of step S2 of the first embodiment of the method of controlling a transfer robot according to the present invention;

Fig. 22 is a further detailed flowchart of the descending part of step S2 of the first embodiment of the method of controlling a transfer robot according to the present invention;

fig. 23 is a flow chart of a second embodiment of the method of controlling a transfer robot of the present invention;

fig. 24 is a flow chart of a third embodiment of the method of controlling a transfer robot of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a schematic view of an embodiment of an apparatus for controlling a transfer robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a detailed schematic of a portion of the module of FIG. 25;

fig. 27 is a schematic structural view of an embodiment of the transfer robot of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order that the invention may be readily understood, a more particular description thereof will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "fixed" to another element, it can be directly on the other element or one or more intervening elements may be present therebetween. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or one or more intervening elements may be present therebetween. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," "inner," "outer," and the like are used in this specification for purposes of illustration only.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The term "and/or" as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, a transfer robot 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a moving chassis (not shown), a vertical support (not shown), a transfer device (not shown), and a driving assembly (not shown), wherein the vertical support includes a fixed upright frame 10 and a movable upright frame 20, one end of the fixed upright frame 10 is mounted on the moving chassis, the movable upright frame 20 is movably mounted on the fixed upright frame 10, and the movable upright frame 20 can move relative to the fixed upright frame 10 along a length direction of the fixed upright frame 10, wherein the movable upright frame 20 can be lifted in a preset stroke. The carrying device is connected to the movable column frame 20, and the carrying device is movable relative to the movable column frame along a length direction of the movable column frame 20. The driving assembly is connected with the carrying device, and is used for driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable upright frame 20 and/or driving the movable upright frame 20 to move relative to the fixed upright frame 10. The movable chassis carries the fixed upright post frame 10, the movable upright post frame 20, a carrying device (not shown) and a driving assembly, the movable chassis is used for enabling the carrying robot 100 to move on the ground, and the carrying device is used for enabling the carrying robot 100 to pick up and place cargoes.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, for the fixed upright post frame 10, it includes a first fixed post 11, a second fixed post 12 and a fixed cross beam 13, one ends of the first fixed post 11 and the second fixed post 12 are used for being connected with the mobile chassis, the first fixed post 11 and the second fixed post 12 are arranged at a preset interval, two ends of the fixed cross beam 13 are respectively connected with the other ends of the first fixed post 11 and the second fixed post 12, wherein the first fixed post 11 and the second fixed post 12 are respectively provided with a first accommodating groove 111 and a second accommodating groove 121. The movable stand 20 is movably installed between the first fixed column 11 and the second fixed column 12, and the movable stand 20 moves along the first fixed column 11 and the second fixed column 12.

It is to be understood that the specific value of the preset distance is not limited, but the distance between the central axes of the first fixing post 11 and the second fixing post 12 may be adjusted according to actual needs.

Referring to fig. 5-6, for the movable stand 20, it includes a first movable column 21, a second movable column 22 and a movable beam group 23, where the first movable column 21 is accommodated in the first accommodating groove 111, the first movable column 21 can move along the first accommodating groove 111, the second movable column 22 is accommodated in the second accommodating groove 121, the second movable column 22 can move along the second accommodating groove, and two ends of the movable beam group 23 are respectively connected with the first movable column 21 and the second movable column 22, so that the first movable column 21 and the second movable column 22 move synchronously. The first movable column 21 and the second movable column 22 are also symmetrically arranged at another preset distance, and the distance between the first movable column 21 and the second movable column 22 is smaller than the distance between the first fixed column 11 and the second fixed column 12.

The movable beam group 23 includes a top beam 231 and a bottom beam 232, where the top beam 231 and the bottom beam 232 are respectively located at two ends of the movable upright post frame 20, specifically, two ends of the top beam 231 are respectively connected with one ends of the first movable post 21 and the second movable upright post 22, and two ends of the bottom beam 232 are respectively connected with the other ends of the first movable post 21 and the second movable upright post 22. The bottom beam 232 is formed by a first bending plate 2321, a second bending plate 2322 and a beam bar 2323, two ends of the beam bar 2323 are respectively connected with one ends of the first bending plate 2321 and the second bending plate 2322, and the other ends of the first bending plate 2321 and the second bending plate 2322 are respectively connected with one ends of the first movable column 21 and the second movable column 22.

Referring to fig. 3 and 5, in some embodiments, the handling robot further comprises a guide assembly 30, the guide assembly 30 comprises a guide block 31 and a guide rail 32, the guide block 31 comprises a first guide block 311 and a second guide block 312, and the guide rail 32 comprises a first guide rail 321 and a second guide rail 322. The first guide block 311 and the second guide block 312 are respectively mounted at bottoms of the first accommodating groove 111 and the second accommodating groove 121, the first guide rail 321 and the second guide rail 322 are respectively disposed on side walls of the first movable column 21 and the second movable column 22, and the guide block 31 and the guide rail 32 slide relatively, so that the movable column frame 20 can be lifted and lowered in a preset stroke relative to the fixed column frame 10. Thereby, the movable column frame 20 can be extended and contracted with respect to the fixed column frame 10 within a preset stroke set by the guide rail 32.

Here, the above-mentioned preset stroke is determined by the guide rail 32, and in this embodiment, the guide block 31 is located at an end of the fixed upright 20 away from the moving chassis and near the top end of the fixed upright 20 to prevent the guide block 31 from being separated from the guide rail 32 when the movable upright 20 is not extended to the highest position.

In some embodiments, the first guide block 311 and the second guide block 312 are respectively mounted on the side walls of the first movable column 21 and the second movable column 22, the first guide rail 321 and the second guide rail 322 are respectively disposed at the bottoms of the first accommodating groove 111 and the second accommodating groove 121, and the guide block 31 and the guide rail 32 slide relatively, so that the movable column frame 20 can be lifted and lowered in a preset stroke relative to the fixed column frame 10. In this embodiment, the first guide block 311 and the second guide block 312 are respectively disposed at one end of the first movable column 21 and the second movable column 22 near the movable chassis, so that the guide block 31 is always engaged with the guide rail 32 without being separated when the movable column frame 20 is not moved to the highest position of the preset stroke.

Referring to fig. 4, the transfer robot 100 further includes a main shock absorber 40. The main shock absorbing member 40 is mounted at one end of the fixed upright post 10 close to the movable chassis and below the movable upright post 20, and when the movable upright post 20 descends to the lowest point of the preset lifting stroke, the movable upright post 20 abuts against the main shock absorbing member 40. The main damper 40 is used to buffer impact force generated when the movable column frame 20 descends.

In some embodiments, the fixed upright post 10 further includes a limit baffle 113, the limit baffle 113 includes a first limit baffle 1131 and a second limit baffle 1132, the first limit baffle 1131 and the second limit baffle 1132 are respectively installed at one ends of the first fixed post 11 and the second fixed post 12, and the first limit baffle 1131 and the second limit baffle 1132 are detachably installed with the main damper 40. When one end of the movable stand 20 is abutted against the main damper 40, the movable stand 20 is lowered to the lowest point of the preset stroke. It will be appreciated that the main damper 40 may be a spring, a shock absorber, or even a silicone cushion, and preferably, the main damper 40 is a shock absorber. Specifically, in use, the first limit baffle 1131 and the second limit baffle 1132 are provided with through holes (not labeled), and the telescopic ends of the shock absorber extend out of the through holes and are used for being abutted against the movable upright post frame 20. When the movable stand 20 descends and abuts against the telescopic end of the shock absorber, the telescopic end is pressed and gradually contracted inwards, so that the impact force generated when the movable stand 20 descends is gradually reduced, and the movable stand 20 and the fixed stand 10 are prevented from directly and rigidly colliding.

Referring to fig. 6 and 7, in some embodiments, the transfer robot 100 further includes a fork installation assembly 50, the fork installation assembly 50 includes a first slider 51, a second slider 52, and a connection block 53, a first sliding rail 211 is disposed on a side of the first movable column 21 away from the first fixed column 11, a second sliding rail 221 is disposed on a side of the second movable column 22 away from the second fixed column 12, the first slider 51 is movably mounted on the first sliding rail 211, the second slider 52 is movably mounted on the second sliding rail 221, two ends of the connection block 53 are detachably connected with the first slider 51 and the second slider 52, and a blocking piece 531 is disposed on the connection block 53. Specifically, when the fork mounting assembly 50 receives a tensile force along the axial direction of the fixed upright post 10, the first slider 51 and the second slider 52 slide along the first sliding rail 211 and the second sliding rail 221 respectively, so that the fork mounting assembly 50 ascends or descends within a preset lifting stroke. In this embodiment, the handling device is mounted on the fork mounting assembly 50, and the handling device may be lifted or lowered synchronously by the fork mounting assembly 50, so that the handling robot can handle the goods.

As shown in fig. 8 and 9, in some embodiments, the transfer robot 100 further includes a secondary shock absorber 60, and the secondary shock absorber 60 is mounted at an end of the movable column frame 20 away from the movable chassis to prevent a violent collision between the fork mounting assembly 50 and the movable column frame 20. Also, the auxiliary shock absorbing member 60 may be a spring, a shock absorber, or even a silicone cushion, and preferably, the auxiliary shock absorbing member 60 employs a shock absorber.

When in use, the first movable column 21 and the second movable column 22 are provided with an opening cover 24 at one end far away from the movable chassis, specifically, the opening cover 24 is provided with a first sliding rail 211 and one end of a second sliding rail 221, the opening cover 24 faces to one end of the movable chassis and is provided with a through opening, the shock absorber is mounted in the opening cover 24, and the telescopic end of the shock absorber passes through the through opening and is used for being abutted against the fork mounting assembly 50. When the first slider 51 and the second slider 52 rise to the highest positions along the first slide rail 211 and the second slide rail 221, respectively, the first slider 211 and the second slider 221 abut against the auxiliary damper 60, respectively, so as to prevent the first slider 211 and the second slider 221 from rigidly colliding with the movable stand 20.

In some embodiments, the transfer robot 100 further includes a travel switch (not shown), which is mounted on an end of the movable upright frame 20 near the movable chassis, when the fork mounting assembly 50 descends to the lowest position of the movable upright frame 20, the blocking piece 531 abuts against the travel switch, and at this time, the fork mounting assembly 50 descends to the lower limit of the preset lifting travel, that is, the lowest position to which the fork mounting assembly 50 can descend.

Referring to fig. 2, 8 and 10-13, in some embodiments, for the above-mentioned driving assembly (not shown), it includes a traction assembly 70 and a retraction assembly 80, wherein the traction assembly 70 includes a traction rope 71 and a guide wheel set 72, one end of the traction rope 71 is wound around the guide wheel set 72 and tied to the retraction assembly 80, and the retraction assembly 80 retracts or releases the traction rope 71 to lift the movable stand 20 relative to the fixed stand 10. It will be appreciated that, in order to enable the movable stand 20 to be lifted and lowered relative to the fixed stand 10, the other end of the traction rope 71 is directly or indirectly tied to the movable stand 20, so that the movable stand 20 is subjected to the traction force of the traction rope 71 to be lifted and lowered. In this embodiment, the other end of the pulling rope 71 is tied to the fork installation assembly 50, and when the fork installation assembly 50 is lifted to the top end of the movable post frame 20, the retraction assembly 80 continues to retract the pulling rope 71, and at this time, the fork installation assembly 50 is lifted synchronously against the movable post frame 20, so that the pulling rope 71 indirectly completes the pulling of the movable post frame 20.

The pulling rope 71 may be a wire rope made of steel wires or a nylon rope, and preferably, the pulling rope 71 is a wire rope, so as to ensure that the pulling rope 71 is not broken due to excessive weight of the cargo carried by the fork when the fork mounting assembly 50 is lifted or lowered.

For the guide pulley set 72, it includes a top pulley 721, a bottom pulley 722, and a main pulley 723, the top pulley 721 is detachably mounted at an end of the movable post 20 away from the movable chassis, the bottom pulley 722 is detachably mounted at the other end of the movable post 20, and the main pulley 723 is mounted at an end of the fixed post 10 away from the movable chassis. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the top pulley 721 is mounted on the top beam 231, the bottom pulley 722 is mounted on the bottom beam 232, the main pulley 723 is mounted on the fixed beam 13, one end of the pulling rope 71 sequentially passes around the top pulley 721, the bottom pulley 722 and the main pulley 723 and is then tied to the retraction assembly 80, and the other end of the pulling rope 71 is tied to the fork mounting assembly 50. Thus, when the retraction assembly 80 retracts the pull cord 71, the pull cord 71 may directly pull the fork attachment assembly 50 up and down.

In some embodiments, the idler set 72 further includes a tensioning wheel 724, the tensioning wheel 724 is detachably mounted to an end of the movable post 20 remote from the moving chassis, and the tensioning wheel 724 is located between the top sheave 721 and the bottom sheave 722. Specifically, the tensioning wheel 724 is abutted against the traction rope 71, that is, one end of the traction rope 71 passes around the top pulley 721, passes through the tensioning wheel 724, and then passes around the bottom pulley 722, so as to prevent the traction rope 71 from being excessively tightened to be directly broken.

Referring to fig. 13, in some embodiments, the retraction assembly 80 includes a winding reel 81, a transmission shaft 82, a speed adjusting box 83, and a motor 84, wherein the winding reel 81 is used for winding the traction rope 71, an output shaft of the motor 84 is connected with an input end of the speed adjusting box 83, an output end of the speed adjusting box 83 is connected with the transmission shaft 82, the speed adjusting box 83 is used for adjusting a rotation speed of the transmission shaft 82, and one end of the transmission shaft 82 is connected with the winding reel 81. Specifically, in use, the motor 84 is operated to rotate the transmission shaft 82 to rotate the winding reel 81 clockwise or counterclockwise to release or retract the pulling rope 71, thereby controlling the fork mounting assembly 50 to lift and the movable column frame 20 to retract relative to the fixed column frame 10.

During specific use, the fork mounting assembly 50 and the movable post 20 are in an initial position, i.e., at the lowest position of a predetermined stroke. When the motor is started, the winding reel starts to furl the traction rope 71, the fork mounting assembly tied at one end of the traction rope 71 gradually rises, and when the fork mounting assembly 50 rises to the highest position of the preset lifting stroke, the auxiliary shock absorbing member 60 is abutted with the fork mounting assembly 50, and at the moment, the fork mounting assembly 50 is lifted up. When the motor continues to operate and the winding reel continues to wind, the fork mounting assembly 50 is lifted up against the movable upright frame 20 relative to the fixed upright frame 10, and when the guide block is about to be separated from the guide rail, the movable upright frame 20 is lifted up to the highest point. On the other hand, when the motor is reversed, the winding reel releases the traction rope, the movable column frame 20 gradually descends along the axial direction of the fixed column frame 10, when the movable column frame 20 is abutted against the main shock absorbing member 40, the movable column frame 20 stops descending, the winding reel continues to release the traction wire 61, the fork mounting assembly 50 starts descending, and when the fork mounting assembly 50 touches the travel switch, the fork mounting assembly 50 descends to the lowest point, and at this time, the motor is controlled to stop rotating.

In some embodiments, the handling robot 100 further includes a storage device (not shown) mounted on the fixed upright 10, specifically, the fixed upright 10 is provided with a plurality of mounting beams (not shown) at a preset interval distance, and the storage device is mounted on the mounting beams and is used for storing the goods handled by the handling device.

In some embodiments, the handling device includes a pallet for storing the cargo and a handling assembly for pushing out the cargo stored on the storage device or pulling the cargo on the storage device onto the pallet so that the handling device handles the cargo to storage devices at different height positions.

Referring back to fig. 1, in some embodiments, the handling robot 100 further includes a first detector 101, where the first detector 101 is mounted at an end of the movable stand 20 away from the moving chassis, the first detector 101 is connected to the driving assembly, and the first detector 101 is configured to detect a distance between the movable stand 20 and a building object above the movable stand. Specifically, the first detector 101 is mounted on the top beam 231 of the movable upright post 20, the first detector 101 is connected with the motor 84 of the driving assembly, the first detector 101 can move along with the movable upright post 20 and detect the distance between the top end of the movable upright post 20 and a building object above the movable upright post in real time, and when the real-time distance detected by the first detector 101 is smaller than a preset value, the first detector 101 controls the motor 84 to stop working so as to prevent the movable upright post 20 from continuing to move towards the building above the movable upright post and colliding, thereby avoiding damage and safety accidents caused by the transfer robot 100.

In some embodiments, the transfer robot further includes a second detector (not shown) coupled to the motor 84 of the drive assembly, the second detector being configured to detect two extreme positions of the movable column frame 20 relative to movement along the length of the fixed column frame 10 to control the motor 84 to stop. The two limit positions are respectively an upper limit position where the movable stand 20 moves away from the movable chassis along the length direction of the fixed stand 10, and a lower limit position where the movable stand 20 moves toward the movable chassis along the length direction of the fixed stand 10. In a specific implementation process, the second detector may be a ranging sensor, which may be directly mounted at one end of the fixed upright frame 10 near the moving chassis and opposite to the bottom surface of the movable upright frame 20, or the second detector may be a travel switch group including a first travel switch mounted at one end of the fixed upright frame 10 near the moving chassis and a second travel switch mounted at one end of the fixed upright frame 10 far from the moving chassis, and the movable upright frame 20 is provided with a bump at one end corresponding to the first travel switch, and when the movable upright frame 20 moves to the lower limit position, the bump triggers the first travel switch, and when the movable upright frame 20 moves to the upper limit position, the bump triggers the second travel switch.

In some embodiments, the handling robot 100 further includes a sensing device (not shown), where the sensing device is used to sense whether an obstacle exists in front of the handling robot 100, and the sensing device may be a sensor such as a photoelectric sensor, a camera detection sensor, or a combination of the two. It is understood that the sensing device may be mounted on a vertical support of the transfer robot, or may be mounted on a moving chassis of the transfer robot, or may be mounted on another position of the transfer robot, so long as the lifting of the movable stand and the transfer device for transferring goods are not affected.

Referring to fig. 13-15, in some embodiments, the transfer robot 100 further includes a braking device 90, where the braking device 90 is configured to brake the movable stand 20 such that the movable stand 20 stops moving relative to the fixed stand 10. By providing the brake device 90, on the one hand, emergency braking can be achieved during the carrying operation of the carrying robot 100, and on the other hand, erroneous actuation of the drive unit of the carrying robot 100 can be prevented.

The brake 90 includes a brake disc 91, a guide base 92, and a stopper 93.

The brake disc 91 is connected with the driving assembly, the output end of the driving assembly can drive the brake disc 91 to rotate, the brake disc 91 can brake the output end of the driving assembly, the brake disc 91 is provided with at least one pin hole 9101, the guide base 92 is mounted on the fixed upright post frame 10, the guide base 92 is provided with a slot 9201, the stop piece 93 is movably inserted into the slot 9201, and the stop piece 93 can move along the slot 9201, so that one end of the stop piece 93 is inserted into or separated from the pin hole 9101, and the brake disc 91 is prevented from rotating or being free from limitation of the brake disc 91. Wherein, when one end of the stopper 93 is inserted into the pin hole 9101, the brake disc 91 brakes the output end of the driving assembly, so that the driving assembly stops driving.

In the present embodiment, the brake disc 91 is connected to the bobbin 81 and is disposed coaxially with the bobbin 81, the brake disc 91 is rotatable with the bobbin 221, and at least one pin hole 9101 is provided along a circumferential side wall of the brake disc 91, that is, the pin hole 9101 is radially provided to the brake disc 91, a stopper 93 is provided at one side of the circumferential side wall of the brake disc 91, and one end of the stopper 93 is aligned with any one of the pin holes 9101 on the side wall of the brake disc 91 and inserted into the pin hole 9101 when the brake disc 91 rotates.

The braking device 90 further includes a cam 94, the cam 94 is located on a side of the guide base 92 away from the brake disc 91, one end of the stop member 93 away from the brake disc 91 is rotationally connected with the cam 94, and a wheel surface of the cam 94 abuts against a surface of the guide base 92 away from the brake disc 91, so that the stop member 93 is driven to move along the slot 9201 when the cam 94 rotates.

The braking device 90 further includes an elastic member 95, one end of the elastic member 95 is connected to the stopper 93, the other end of the elastic member 95 is connected to the guide base 92 or the fixed upright post frame 10, and the elastic member 95 is used for providing an elastic force for making the cam 94 abut against the guide base 92 and keeping the stopper 93 stationary. The elastic member 95 is a compression spring, and of course, the elastic member 95 may be other elastic members, such as a leaf spring.

In the present embodiment, the stopper 93 includes a first latch 931, a connection rod 932, and a second latch 933. The first plug 931 is movably inserted into the slot 9201, one end of the first plug 931, which is far away from the brake disc 91, is connected with the cam 94, one end of the connecting rod 932 is connected with the other end of the first plug 931, a retaining ring 931 is convexly arranged in the middle between the two ends of the first plug 931, an abutting portion 9202 is convexly arranged on the slot wall of the slot 9201, the abutting portion 9202 is located between the retaining ring 931 and the cam 94, the elastic piece 95 is sleeved on the first plug 931, the elastic piece 95 abuts between the retaining ring 931 and the abutting portion 9202, namely, the elastic piece 95 is elastically compressed between the retaining ring 931 and the abutting portion 9202, and the elastic piece 95 always maintains an elastic compression state. The other end of the connecting rod 932 is connected to one end of the second latch 933, and the first latch 931 is movable along the slot 9201 such that the other end of the second latch 933 is inserted into or separated from the pin hole 9101. Preferably, the first and

second pins

931 and 933 are each disposed perpendicularly to the connection rod 932.

The braking device 90 further includes a guide 96, the guide 96 is mounted on the fixed upright frame 10, the guide 96 is provided with a guide groove 9601, the connecting rod 932 passes through the guide groove 9601, and the connecting rod 932 can slide along the guide groove 9601 to prevent the first latch 931 from rotating when the first latch 931 moves along the slot 9201.

In some embodiments, the stop 93 may have other shapes, such as a straight pin.

The cam 94 is provided with a wrench 941, and the wrench 941 can be pulled to drive the cam 94 to rotate, so that the driving assembly stops working. It will be appreciated that, depending on the circumstances, the cam 94 may be provided to drive the motor to rotate the cam 94 to effect braking of the movable mast 20.

The brake device 90 further includes a third detector 97, wherein the third detector 97 is used for detecting whether one end of the stop member 93 is inserted into the pin hole 9101, and the third detector 97 is connected with the motor 84 of the driving assembly to control the start and stop of the motor 84.

Specifically, the third detector 97 is a travel switch, the travel switch is mounted on the guide base 92, a projection of the travel switch is disposed toward one side of the wrench 941, when the wrench 941 is rotated to disengage the second latch 933 from the pin hole 9101, the wrench 941 is in contact with the projection of the travel switch, and when the wrench 941 is rotated to insert the second latch 933 into the pin hole 9101, the wrench 941 is separated from the projection of the travel switch.

Example 1

The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling a handling robot, the structure and function of the handling robot are the same as those of the handling robot, and the structure and function of the handling robot can be referred to the above embodiment, which is not described in detail herein, and in detail, referring to fig. 16, the method includes:

step S1: receiving a motion instruction;

the movement command refers to a control command of a series of movements performed by the transfer robot to transfer the cargo, for example: and controlling the carrying device to ascend or descend relative to the movable stand, or controlling the movable stand to ascend or descend relative to the fixed stand, or simultaneously controlling the carrying device and the movable stand to ascend or descend.

Step S2: and driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand according to the movement instruction, and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand.

The motion instruction carries a motion direction and a motion height, and the carrying robot drives the carrying device and/or the movable upright post to move according to the motion direction after receiving the motion instruction until the carrying device reaches the motion height.

In some embodiments, the movement instruction may be an instruction carrying a final reaching height, and after receiving the movement instruction, the carrying robot may identify the current height of the carrying device, determine the movement direction and the movement distance according to the current height and the height required to reach indicated by the movement instruction, and then control the movement of the carrying device. It can be appreciated that according to the movement instruction, the carrying device and/or the movable stand are driven to move, and the movement sequence is not limited, namely, the carrying device is driven to move relative to the movable stand first, and then the movable stand is driven to move relative to the fixed stand; or the movable stand column frame is driven to move relative to the fixed stand column frame, and then the carrying device is driven to move relative to the movable stand column frame; the carrying device and the movable upright post frame can move simultaneously.

In some embodiments, the motion instruction includes a first up instruction, as shown in FIG. 17, step S2 includes

Step S21a: acquiring a first designated lifting height according to the first lifting instruction;

the first designated lifting height refers to a height difference between a designated conveying position and a current position of the conveying device after a user designates the conveying device to lift to the designated conveying position according to own needs. The transfer robot can calculate the required ascending height of the transfer device from the designated position through the server, then the server converts the required ascending height into corresponding control signals and feeds the corresponding control signals back to the transfer robot, and the transfer robot ascends according to the corresponding parameters in the obtained control signals, so that the designated ascending height is achieved.

Step S22a: driving the carrying device to move upwards relative to the movable upright post frame;

step S23a: and before the carrying device moves to the top of the movable upright post frame, stopping lifting the carrying device when the carrying device moves to the first appointed lifting height.

Step S24a: and after the carrying device moves to the top of the movable upright post frame, the carrying device does not move to the first appointed ascending height, and the carrying device and the movable upright post frame are driven to move upwards relative to the fixed upright post frame at the same time until the carrying device reaches the first appointed ascending height.

When the appointed carrying position is not higher than the top of the movable stand, the appointed carrying position is in a movable travel range of the carrying device relative to the movable stand, the carrying device can be directly controlled to ascend relative to the movable stand until the carrying device moves by the first appointed ascending height, and the carrying device stops being lifted.

When the specified carrying position is higher than the top of the movable stand, the specified carrying position exceeds the highest position of the carrying device which can move in the movable stand, and the required carrying position of a user cannot be reached only by moving the carrying device, so that the movable stand is controlled to be lifted relative to the fixed stand after the carrying device moves to the highest position of the movable stand, and when the carrying device is lifted to the specified carrying position, namely the first specified lifting height is lifted, the movable stand stops lifting.

In some embodiments, the motion instruction further includes a second up instruction, as shown in fig. 18, S2 includes:

step S21b: acquiring a second appointed lifting height according to the second lifting instruction;

step S22b: and driving the movable upright frame to move upwards relative to the fixed upright frame until the top of the movable upright frame exceeds the second appointed lifting height, and then driving the carrying device to move upwards relative to the movable upright frame until the carrying device reaches the second appointed lifting height.

The present embodiment is different from the above embodiment in that: in the embodiment, the movable upright post frame is driven to move, and the carrying device is driven to move. Of course, when the movable stand is driven to move, the carrying device may be stationary with respect to the movable stand or may move along with the movable stand. Of course, in order to realize that the carrying device can be fixed relative to the movable stand or can move along with the movable stand when the movable stand is driven to move. The manner of setting the driving unit by the carrier robot may be different, for example: the carrying robot is provided with two mutually independent driving components, one driving component is used for driving the movable upright post to ascend relative to the fixed upright post, the driving component can be driven by combining the components such as the traction rope, the winding drum and the motor in the embodiment, the other driving component is used for driving the carrying device to ascend relative to the movable upright post, a mode such as a cylinder driving mode can be adopted, at the moment, a cylinder is mounted on the movable upright post, and the extending end of the cylinder is connected with the carrying device. Two independent drive assemblies are used for independent control, and the two independent drive assemblies are not mutually influenced.

In some embodiments, the movement command further includes a third lifting command, as shown in fig. 19, the third lifting mode of the handling device is as follows:

step S21c: acquiring a third appointed lifting height according to the third lifting instruction;

step S22c: and driving the movable upright post frame and the carrying device to move upwards at the same time until the carrying device reaches the third appointed lifting height.

It is understood that the movable column frame of the transfer robot and the transfer device move upward at the same time until the transfer device reaches the third specified elevation. The movable upright post and the carrying device can ascend at different speeds or synchronously ascend at the same speed, and when the carrying device reaches the third appointed ascending height, the driving component stops driving so that the carrying device is positioned at the carrying position appointed by a user.

In some embodiments, the motion command includes a first lowering command, as shown in fig. 20, the first lowering mode of the handling device is as follows:

step S21d: acquiring a first designated descending height according to the first descending instruction;

The designated descending height refers to a difference in height between a designated conveying position and a current position of the conveying device when a user designates the conveying device to descend to the designated conveying position according to own needs. The transfer robot can calculate the required descending height of the transfer device from the designated position through the server, then the server converts the required descending height into a corresponding control signal and feeds the corresponding control signal back to the transfer robot, and the transfer robot descends according to the corresponding parameters in the obtained control signal, so that the designated descending height is achieved.

Step S22d: driving the carrying device and the movable upright post frame to move downwards relative to the fixed upright post frame at the same time;

step S23d: and before the movable stand moves to the bottom of the fixed stand, when the carrying device descends to the first appointed descending height, controlling the movable stand and the carrying device to stop moving.

It is understood that when the user-specified carrying position is in the stroke in which the movable stand is further capable of being lowered relative to the fixed stand, the carrying device and the movable stand are still in a state of being rotated in synchronization with each other, and when the carrying device is lowered to the specified carrying position, that is, the carrying device is lowered to the first specified lowering height, the driving unit stops driving so that the carrying device and the movable stand stop being lowered.

Step S24d: and after the movable stand moves to the bottom of the fixed stand, when the carrying device is not lowered to the first appointed lowering height, controlling the carrying device to move downwards relative to the movable stand until the carrying device moves to the first appointed lowering height.

It will be appreciated that after the movable stand has moved to the bottom of the fixed stand, the bottom of the movable stand is resisted by the bottom of the fixed stand, and the movable stand cannot be lowered relative to the fixed stand, i.e. the movable stand is lowered to the lowermost position, when the handling device is in the top position of the movable stand. When the carrying position appointed by the user is lower than the top of the movable upright post frame, the carrying device is not lowered to the appointed carrying position, namely is not moved to the first appointed lowering height, and the carrying device is required to be lowered until the carrying device moves to the first appointed lowering height.

In some embodiments, the motion command further includes a second lowering command, as shown in fig. 21, in which the second lowering mode of the handling device is as follows:

Step S21e: acquiring a second designated descending height according to the second descending instruction;

step S22e: and driving the carrying device to move downwards relative to the movable stand, and then driving the movable stand to move downwards relative to the fixed stand, wherein when the carrying device moves to the second designated descending height before moving to the bottom of the movable stand, the carrying device stops descending.

By adopting the descending mode, the carrying robot is required to be provided with two mutually independent driving components, so that the carrying device and the movable stand can simultaneously move relative to the fixed stand, the structure of the two mutually independent driving components is the same as that of the second ascending mode of the carrying device, and the difference is that the two groups of driving components are respectively used for controlling the carrying device and the movable stand to descend, so that repeated description is omitted.

Step S23e: when the carrying device moves to the bottom of the movable upright post, the carrying device does not move to the second designated descending height, and then the movable upright post and the carrying device are driven to synchronously descend until the carrying device reaches the second descending height.

In some embodiments, the motion command further includes a third lowering command, as shown in fig. 22, in which the third lowering mode of the handling device is as follows:

step S21f: acquiring a third designated descending height according to the third descending instruction;

step S22f: driving the movable stand to move downwards relative to the fixed stand, and then driving the carrying device to move downwards relative to the movable stand, wherein the carrying device stops descending when moving to the third appointed descending height before moving to the bottom of the movable stand;

step S23f: and after the carrying device moves to the bottom of the movable upright post frame, the carrying device does not move to the third appointed descending height, and the movable upright post frame and the carrying device are driven to synchronously descend until the carrying device reaches the third descending height.

In this embodiment, the carrying device may be lifted by the movable upright stand, and when the carrying position specified by the user is higher than the top of the movable upright stand, the driving assembly may drive the carrying device and the movable upright stand to lift relative to the fixed upright stand, so that the carrying device reaches the carrying position specified by the user, and meanwhile, the carrying device is matched with different lifting modes of the carrying device, so that the use range of the carrying robot is wider.

Example two

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for controlling a transfer robot, referring to fig. 23, the structure and function of the transfer robot can be referred to the above embodiment, and will not be described herein, where the difference between the present embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the method further includes the following steps:

step S3: and controlling the carrying assembly to carry the goods.

When the carrying device reaches the designated carrying position by the method of the above embodiment, the server sends a carrying signal to the carrying device, the carrying device receives the carrying signal, and then the carrying assembly carries the goods.

In some embodiments, step S3 is specifically: and controlling the carrying assembly to push out the goods on the supporting plate.

When the user controls the carrying device to execute shipment operation, the carrying assembly pushes out the goods on the supporting plate, and the goods can be pushed onto the storage device or onto an external storage shelf.

In some embodiments, step S3 is specifically: controlling the carrying assembly to pull the goods on the storage device to the supporting plate.

When a user controls the carrying device to perform a goods taking operation, the carrying assembly pulls goods on the storage device to the supporting plate, so that the carrying device carries the goods to carrying positions with different heights.

In this embodiment, the carrying device may be lifted by the movable upright post, and when the carrying position specified by the user is higher than the top of the movable upright post, the driving assembly may drive the carrying device and the movable upright post to lift relative to the fixed upright post, so that the carrying device reaches the carrying position specified by the user, and meanwhile, the carrying device is matched to carry the goods, so that automatic and efficient carrying of the goods is convenient to achieve, and the use is more convenient.

Example III

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for controlling a handling robot, referring to fig. 24, the structure and the function of the handling robot may refer to the above embodiment, and the method will not be described herein, and the method includes:

step S1: receiving a motion instruction;

step S2: according to the movement instruction, driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand;

step S4: receiving a movement command, wherein the movement command carries a target position to be treated;

when a user needs to move the transfer robot to a designated place to transfer goods, a moving instruction can be sent to a moving chassis of the transfer robot through a server, and the moving chassis moves to the designated place according to the received moving instruction, wherein the moving instruction comprises a target position and a driving path for the transfer robot to drive to the target position, and the transfer robot can communicate with the server through a wireless network or can communicate with the server through a wired network.

Step S5: the movable chassis is driven to move to the target position.

It should be noted that, in the moving process of the transfer robot, the transfer robot may perform the obstacle avoidance operation, specifically: firstly, judging whether an obstacle exists in the travelling direction of the carrying robot in a travelling path in the moving process of the carrying robot; if so, acquiring a first height of the obstacle from the ground; secondly, obtaining a second height of the top of the transfer robot from the ground at present, and obtaining a third height of the top of the transfer robot from the ground when the movable stand is fully retracted; thirdly, judging whether the method can pass: judging whether the second height is larger than the first height; if the third height is larger than the first height, judging whether the third height is smaller than the ground clearance height or not; if the third height is smaller than the first height, reducing the height of the top of the carrying robot from the ground until the third height is smaller than the first height; fourth, the transfer robot passes through the obstacle. Of course, if the third height is greater than or equal to the first height, the transfer robot is controlled to bypass the obstacle, i.e. to re-plan a new route to the target position, and move.

It is to be understood that the obstacle and the ground clearance of the obstacle obtained by the transfer robot may be obtained from a three-dimensional map stored in advance, or may be obtained by providing an induction device such as a sensor or a camera on the transfer robot. The three-dimensional map may be acquired by a server, or data of the relevant map may be stored in advance in a storage medium of the transfer robot.

In some embodiments, step S4 and step S5 may be before said step S1.

In this embodiment, the transfer robot may move to the target position after receiving the movement instruction, and transfer the goods, so that the goods may be transferred in multiple positions, and the use is more intelligent.

Example IV

Referring to fig. 25-26, a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus for controlling a transfer robot according to the present invention, an apparatus 100a for controlling a transfer robot is applied to a transfer robot, the transfer robot includes a vertical support and a transfer apparatus, the vertical support includes a fixed upright 10 and a movable upright 20, the transfer apparatus is movably disposed on the movable upright 20, the movable upright 20 is movably disposed on the fixed upright 10, the transfer apparatus is fixed on the movable upright 20, and the transfer apparatus is used for transferring goods, the apparatus includes:

A motion instruction receiving module 101a for receiving a motion instruction;

a driving module 102a for driving the handling device to move relative to the movable stand 20 and/or driving the movable stand 20 to move relative to the fixed stand 10.

In some embodiments, the motion instruction receiving module 101a includes a first rising instruction receiving unit 1011a, where the first rising instruction receiving unit 1011a is configured to receive a first rising instruction.

The device further comprises a first designated lifting height obtaining module 103a, configured to obtain a first designated lifting height according to the first lifting instruction;

the driving module 102a is further configured to drive the carrying device to move upwards relative to the movable upright frame 20; stopping lifting the handling device when the handling device is moved to the first specified elevation before the handling device is moved to the top of the movable column frame 20; after the handling device has moved to the top of the movable mast 20, the handling device has not moved to the first prescribed elevation, the handling device and movable mast 20 are driven to move upwardly relative to the fixed mast 10 simultaneously until the handling device reaches the first prescribed elevation.

In some embodiments, the motion instruction receiving module 101a further includes a second rising instruction receiving unit 1012a, where the second rising instruction receiving unit 1012a is configured to receive a second rising instruction.

The device further comprises a second designated lifting height obtaining module 104a, configured to obtain a second designated lifting height according to the second lifting instruction;

the drive module 102a is also configured to move the movable mast 20 upwardly relative to the fixed mast 10 until its top stops beyond the second prescribed elevation, and then to drive the handling device upwardly relative to the movable mast 20 until the handling device reaches the second prescribed elevation.

In some embodiments, the motion instruction receiving module 101a further includes a third ascending instruction receiving unit 1013a, where the third ascending instruction receiving unit 1013a is configured to receive the third ascending instruction.

The device further comprises a third designated elevation acquiring module 105a, configured to acquire a third designated elevation according to the third elevation instruction;

the driving module 102a is further configured to drive the movable upright frame 20 and the carrying device to move upwards simultaneously until the carrying device reaches the third specified lifting height.

In some embodiments, the motion instruction receiving module 101a further comprises a first lowering instruction receiving unit 1014a, the first lowering instruction receiving unit 1014a being configured to receive the first lowering instruction.

The device further comprises a first designated descending height obtaining module 106a, configured to obtain a first designated descending height according to the first descending instruction;

the driving module 102a is further used for driving the carrying device and the movable upright frame 20 to move downwards relative to the fixed upright frame 10 at the same time; before the movable stand 20 moves to the bottom of the fixed stand 10, when the carrying device descends to the first designated descending height, controlling the movable stand 20 and the carrying device to stop moving; after the movable stand 20 moves to the bottom of the fixed stand 10, when the carrying device has not been lowered to the first designated lowering height, the carrying device is controlled to move downward relative to the movable stand 20 until the carrying device moves to the first designated lowering height.

In some embodiments, the motion command receiving module 101a further includes a second descending command receiving unit 1015a, where the second descending command receiving unit 1015a is configured to receive the second descending command.

The device further comprises a second designated descending height acquisition module 107a, configured to acquire a second designated descending height according to the second descending instruction;

the driving module 102a is further configured to drive the carrying device to move downward relative to the movable upright frame 20, and then drive the movable upright frame 20 to move downward relative to the fixed upright frame 10, where the carrying device stops descending when the carrying device moves to the second designated descending height before the carrying device moves to the bottom of the movable upright frame 20; and is further configured to drive the movable column frame 20 and the handling device to descend synchronously until the handling device reaches the second descent height when the handling device has not moved to the second designated descent height after the handling device has moved to the bottom of the movable column frame 20.

In some embodiments, the motion instruction receiving module 101a further includes a third descent instruction receiving unit 1016a, where the third descent instruction receiving unit 1016a is configured to receive the third descent instruction.

The device further includes a third designated descent height obtaining module 108a configured to obtain a third designated descent height according to the third descent instruction;

The driving module 102a is further configured to drive the movable upright frame 20 to move downward relative to the fixed upright frame 10, and then drive the carrying device to move downward relative to the movable upright frame 20, where the carrying device stops descending when the carrying device moves to the third designated descending height before the carrying device moves to the bottom of the movable upright frame 20; and is further configured to drive the movable column frame 20 and the handling device to descend synchronously until the handling device reaches the third descent height when the handling device has not moved to the third descent height after the handling device has moved to the bottom of the movable column frame 20.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a cargo handling control module 109a, the cargo handling control module 109a for controlling the handling assembly to handle cargo.

Further, the cargo handling control module 109a includes a cargo pushing-out unit for controlling the handling assembly to push out the cargo located on the pallet.

Further, the cargo handling control module 109a includes a cargo pull-back unit for controlling the handling assembly to pull cargo located on the storage device to the pallet.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a movement command receiving module 110a for receiving a movement command, wherein the movement command comprises a target position, and of course the movement command further comprises a travel path for the transfer robot to move to the target position.

And the mobile driving module 111a is used for driving the mobile chassis to move to the target position.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes an obstacle surmounting module 112a, where the obstacle surmounting module 112a is configured to determine whether an obstacle exists in a traveling direction in a traveling path of the transfer robot 100 during the moving process of the transfer robot 100; if so, acquiring a first height of the obstacle from the ground; acquiring a second height of the top of the transfer robot 100 from the ground at present, and a third height of the top of the transfer robot 100 from the ground when the movable column frame 20 is fully retracted; judging whether the second height is larger than the first height; if the third height is larger than the first height, judging whether the third height is smaller than the first height or not; if the third height is smaller than the first height, the height of the carrying robot from the ground is reduced until the third height is smaller than the first height; the transfer robot passes through the obstacle.

In some embodiments, the obstacle surmounting module 112a is further configured to control the transfer robot to bypass the obstacle, i.e., re-plan a new route to the target location, and move when the third height from the ground of the top of the transfer robot 100 is greater than or equal to the first height from the ground of the obstacle when the movable stand 20 is fully retracted.

It is to be understood that the obstacle detouring module 112a may take other planes as reference planes besides the ground, and is not limited to the above description.

Example five

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a transfer robot 100, referring to fig. 27, which includes at least one processor 200 in addition to the mechanical structure described above; and a memory 300 communicatively coupled to the at least one processor 200, an example of which is illustrated in fig. 27 as one processor 200. The memory 300 stores instructions executable by the at least one processor 200 to enable the at least one processor 200 to perform the method of controlling a handling robot described above with reference to fig. 16-24. The processor 200 and the memory 300 may be connected by a bus or otherwise, for example in fig. 27.

The memory 300 is a non-volatile computer readable storage medium, and may be used to store a non-volatile software program, a non-volatile computer executable program, and modules, such as program instructions/modules corresponding to the program distribution method in the embodiment of the present application, for example, each of the modules shown in fig. 25 and 26. The processor 200 executes various functional applications of the server and data processing, i.e., implements the program distribution method of the above-described method embodiment, by running nonvolatile software programs, instructions, and modules stored in the memory 300.

Memory 300 may include a storage program area that may store an operating system, at least one application program required for functions, and a storage data area; the storage data area may store data created according to the use of the program distribution apparatus, and the like. In addition, memory 300 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-volatile solid-state storage device. In some embodiments, memory 300 optionally includes memory remotely located relative to processor 200, which may be connected to the program distribution device via a network. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, the internet, intranets, local area networks, mobile communication networks, and combinations thereof.

The one or more modules are stored in the memory 300 and when executed by the one or more processors 200 perform the program distribution method in any of the method embodiments described above, for example, perform the method steps of fig. 16-24 described above, implementing the functions of the modules and units in fig. 25-26.

The product can execute the method provided by the embodiment of the application, and has the corresponding functional modules and beneficial effects of the execution method. Technical details not described in detail in this embodiment may be found in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions which are executed by one or more processors, e.g., perform the method steps of fig. 16-24 described above, implementing the functions of the modules in fig. 25-26.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, including a computer program stored on a non-volatile computer readable storage medium, the computer program including program instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the program distribution method in any of the method embodiments described above, for example, to perform the method steps of fig. 16 to 24 described above, and implement the functions of the modules in fig. 25 to 26.

It should be noted that the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and the units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed over a plurality of network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

From the above description of embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments may be implemented by means of software plus a general purpose hardware platform, or may be implemented by hardware. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the processes implementing the methods of the above embodiments may be implemented by a computer program for instructing relevant hardware, where the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and where the program may include processes implementing the embodiments of the methods described above. The storage medium may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), or the like.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present invention, and are not limiting; the technical features of the above embodiments or in the different embodiments may also be combined within the idea of the invention, the steps may be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of the different aspects of the invention as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity; although the invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. The method for controlling the transfer robot is characterized in that the transfer robot comprises a vertical support, a driving assembly, a storage device and a transfer device, wherein the vertical support comprises a fixed upright post and a movable upright post, the transfer device is movably arranged on the movable upright post, the movable upright post is movably arranged on the fixed upright post, the transfer device is used for transferring goods, the storage device is used for storing goods transferred by the transfer device, the driving assembly comprises a traction assembly and a retraction assembly connected with the traction assembly, the traction assembly is connected with the transfer device, the retraction assembly is arranged at the lower part of the fixed upright post, the retraction assembly and the transfer device are respectively positioned at two opposite sides of the fixed upright post, and the retraction assembly and the storage device are positioned at the same side of the fixed upright post; the retraction assembly drives the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand through the traction assembly and/or drives the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand;

The number of the driving assemblies is two, the two driving assemblies are arranged in parallel, and the two driving assemblies are respectively connected with two opposite sides of the carrying device and are used for synchronously driving the carrying device to lift;

the method comprises the following steps:

receiving a motion instruction;

according to the movement instruction, driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand;

the motion instruction comprises a first ascending instruction, a second ascending instruction or a third ascending instruction;

the step of driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand according to the movement instruction and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand comprises the following steps:

acquiring a first designated lifting height according to the first lifting instruction;

driving the carrying device to move upwards relative to the movable upright post frame;

stopping lifting the carrying device when the carrying device moves to the first designated lifting height before the carrying device moves to the top of the movable upright post frame;

or,

acquiring a second appointed lifting height according to the second lifting instruction;

Driving the movable stand to move upwards relative to the fixed stand until the top of the movable stand exceeds the second appointed lifting height, and then driving the carrying device to move upwards relative to the movable stand until the carrying device reaches the second appointed lifting height;

or,

acquiring a third appointed lifting height according to the third lifting instruction;

and driving the movable upright post frame and the carrying device to move upwards at the same time until the carrying device reaches the third appointed lifting height.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

and after the carrying device moves to the top of the movable upright post frame, the carrying device does not move to the first appointed ascending height, and the carrying device and the movable upright post frame are driven to move upwards relative to the fixed upright post frame at the same time until the carrying device reaches the first appointed ascending height.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the motion command comprises a first lowering command;

4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and after the movable stand moves to the bottom of the fixed stand, when the carrying device is not lowered to the first appointed lowering height, controlling the carrying device to move downwards relative to the movable stand until the carrying device moves to the first appointed lowering height.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the motion command comprises a second descent command;

acquiring a second designated descending height according to the second descending instruction;

Driving the carrying device to move downwards relative to the movable upright post frame, and then driving the movable upright post frame to move downwards relative to the fixed upright post frame, wherein the carrying device stops descending when moving to the second designated descending height before moving to the bottom of the movable upright post frame;

or after the carrying device moves to the bottom of the movable upright post, the carrying device is not moved to the second designated descending height, and the movable upright post and the carrying device are driven to synchronously descend until the carrying device reaches the second designated descending height.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the motion command comprises a third descent command;

acquiring a third designated descending height according to the third descending instruction;

driving the movable stand to move downwards relative to the fixed stand, and then driving the carrying device to move downwards relative to the movable stand, wherein the carrying device stops descending when moving to the third appointed descending height before moving to the bottom of the movable stand;

Or after the carrying device moves to the bottom of the movable upright post, the carrying device does not move to the third appointed descending height, and the movable upright post and the carrying device are driven to synchronously descend until the carrying device reaches the third appointed descending height.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the handling device comprises a pallet and a handling assembly, the handling robot further comprising a storage device provided to a fixed upright;

the method further comprises the steps of: and controlling the carrying assembly to carry the goods.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of controlling the handling assembly to handle the cargo further comprises:

and controlling the carrying assembly to push out the goods on the supporting plate.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of controlling the handling assembly to handle the cargo further comprises:

controlling the carrying assembly to pull the goods on the storage device to the supporting plate.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the transfer robot further comprises a movable chassis to which the fixed upright is mounted;

The method further comprises the steps of:

receiving a movement command, wherein the movement command comprises a target position;

and driving the mobile chassis to move to the target position.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

judging whether an obstacle exists in the travelling direction of the carrying robot in a travelling path in the moving process of the carrying robot;

if so, acquiring a first height of the obstacle from the ground;

acquiring a second height of the top of the transfer robot from the ground at present, and acquiring a third height of the top of the transfer robot from the ground when the movable stand is fully retracted;

judging whether the second height is larger than the first height;

if the third height is larger than the first height, judging whether the third height is smaller than the first height or not;

if the third height is smaller than the first height, the height of the carrying robot from the ground is reduced until the third height is smaller than the first height;

the transfer robot passes through the obstacle.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the obstacle and the first height of the obstacle from the ground are obtained from a pre-stored three-dimensional map.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the transfer robot further comprises a sensing device mounted on the transfer robot;

the step of judging whether an obstacle exists in the traveling direction of the carrying robot in the traveling path during the moving process of the carrying robot further comprises the following steps: in the moving process of the carrying robot, the carrying robot senses whether an obstacle exists in front of the carrying robot through the sensing device.

14. The device for controlling the transfer robot is characterized by comprising a vertical support, a driving assembly, a storage device and a transfer device, wherein the vertical support comprises a fixed upright post and a movable upright post, the transfer device is movably arranged on the movable upright post, the movable upright post is movably arranged on the fixed upright post, the transfer device is fixed on the movable upright post and is used for transferring goods, the storage device is used for storing the goods transferred by the transfer device, the driving assembly comprises a traction assembly and a retraction assembly connected with the traction assembly, the traction assembly is connected with the transfer device, the retraction assembly is arranged at the lower part of the fixed upright post, the retraction assembly and the transfer device are respectively positioned on two opposite sides of the fixed upright post, and the retraction assembly and the storage device are positioned on the same side of the fixed upright post; the retraction assembly drives the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand through the traction assembly and/or drives the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand; the number of the driving assemblies is two, the two driving assemblies are arranged in parallel, and the two driving assemblies are respectively connected with two opposite sides of the carrying device and are used for synchronously driving the carrying device to lift;

The device comprises:

the motion instruction receiving module is used for receiving motion instructions; the motion instruction comprises a first ascending instruction, a second ascending instruction or a third ascending instruction;

the driving module is used for driving the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand and/or driving the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand;

the driving module is specifically configured to obtain a first specified lifting height according to the first lifting instruction; driving the carrying device to move upwards relative to the movable upright post frame; stopping lifting the carrying device when the carrying device moves to the first designated lifting height before the carrying device moves to the top of the movable upright post frame;

or,

acquiring a second appointed lifting height according to the second lifting instruction; driving the movable stand to move upwards relative to the fixed stand until the top of the movable stand exceeds the second appointed lifting height, and then driving the carrying device to move upwards relative to the movable stand until the carrying device reaches the second appointed lifting height;

or,

acquiring a third appointed lifting height according to the third lifting instruction; and driving the movable upright post frame and the carrying device to move upwards at the same time until the carrying device reaches the third appointed lifting height.

15. A transfer robot comprising:

the vertical support comprises a fixed upright post frame and a movable upright post frame, and the movable upright post frame is movably arranged on the fixed upright post frame;

the carrying device is movably arranged on the movable upright post frame;

a storage device for storing the goods carried by the carrying device;

the driving assembly comprises a traction assembly and a retraction assembly connected with the traction assembly, the traction assembly is connected with the carrying device, the retraction assembly is arranged at the lower part of the fixed upright post frame, and the retraction assembly and the carrying device are respectively positioned at two opposite sides of the fixed upright post frame; the retraction assembly drives the carrying device to move relative to the movable stand by the traction assembly and/or drives the movable stand to move relative to the fixed stand;

at least one processor; and

a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1-13.

16. The transfer robot of claim 15, further comprising a mobile chassis, the upright support being mounted to the mobile chassis;

the traction assembly comprises a traction rope and a guide wheel set, wherein the guide wheel set comprises a top pulley, a bottom pulley and a main pulley;

17. The transfer robot of claim 16, further comprising a first detector mounted to an end of the movable column frame remote from the mobile chassis, the first detector coupled to the drive assembly, the first detector configured to detect a distance of the movable column frame from a building object above the movable column frame.

18. The transfer robot of claim 17, further comprising a brake device for braking the movable column frame such that the movable column frame stops moving relative to the fixed column frame.

19. The transfer robot of claim 18, wherein the transfer robot,

the braking device comprises a braking disc, a guide base and a stop piece;

20. The transfer robot of claim 16, further comprising a primary shock absorber;

When the movable upright post frame descends to the lowest point of a preset lifting stroke, the movable upright post frame is abutted with the main damping piece.