Robotic Shuttle System for Logistics and Control Method Thereof

Abstract

A robotic shuttle system for logistics and a control method thereof are disclosed. The novel robotic shuttle system for logistics is compact in structure, convenient for disassembly and maintenance, and integrated intelligently, and may precisely realize the functions such as moving, lifting, carrying, fault warning, etc. The novel robotic shuttle system for logistics includes a novel logistics shuttle robot and a WCS automatic storage system; the novel logistics shuttle robot includes a vehicle body, a straight motor, a straight wheel, a transverse motor, a transverse wheel, a position sensor, a lifting motor, an encoder, a PLC controller, a lifting position sensor, a telescopic fork, a finger, a telescopic fork position sensor, a telescopic fork motor, and an antenna; and the bottom of the vehicle body- is respectively provided with the straight wheel and the transverse wheel.

Claims

1. A robotic shuttle system for logistics, comprising a logistics shuttle robot and a WCS automatic storage system; wherein the logistics shuttle robot comprises a vehicle body, a straight motor, a straight wheel, a transverse motor, a transverse wheel, a position sensor, a lifting motor, an encoder, a PLC controller, a lifting position sensor, a telescopic fork, a finger, a telescopic fork position sensor, a telescopic fork motor, and an antenna; a bottom of the vehicle body is respectively provided with the straight wheel and the transverse wheel, and a level of the straight wheel is lower than a level of the transverse wheel. the straight motor and the transverse motor are arranged on the vehicle body, respectively, the straight motor is linked to the straight wheel, and the transverse motor is linked to the transverse wheel; the straight wheel and the traverse wheel are respectively provided with the encoder; the position sensor, the lifting motor, the PLC controller and the lifting position sensor are arranged on the vehicle body; the telescopic fork is arranged on the vehicle body, and the telescopic fork is in a sliding fit with the vehicle body and the finger is driven by the telescopic fork motor, the finger fits with and the telescopic fork, the telescopic fork position sensor is arranged on the vehicle body; the logistics shuttle robot further comprises a super capacitor, a lithium battery, and a charging contact, the supercapacitor is electrically connected to the lithium battery, and the charging contact is arranged on the vehicle body and electrically connected to the supercapacitor; the straight motor, the traverse motor, the lifting motor and the telescopic fork motor are electrically connected to the PLC controller through a controller in sequence; the position sensor, the lifting position sensor, the telescopic fork position sensor, and the encoder are electrically connected to the PLC controller; and the PLC controller performs a wireless local area network transmission through the antenna, and the a signal of the PLC controller is connected to the WCS automatic storage system through the antenna.

2. The robotic shuttle system for logistics of claim 1, wherein a second telescopic fork rail sensor is further included, and the a second telescopic fork rail sensor is arranged on a sidewall of the vehicle body.

3. A control method of a robotic shuttle system for logistics, comprising the following steps step 1: constructing a storage model by a WCS automatic storage system according to an actual warehouse route; step 2: performing a wireless local area network transmission and sending a first movement instruction to a PLC controller by the WCS automatic storage system through an antenna, sending a first specific position of the a first movement of a vehicle body of a logistics shuttle robot to a straight motor and an encoder of the logistics shuttle robot by the PLC controller to perform the first movement of the vehicle body, feeding back the a first travel distance of the vehicle body to the PLC controller through the encoder, feeding back a first position signal of the vehicle body when reaching the first specific position to the PLC controller by a position sensor, and feeding back the first position signal of the vehicle body to the WCS automatic storage system by the PLC controller through the antenna. step 3: sending information of picking up goods to the PLC controller by the WCS automatic storage system through the antenna, sending information of moving in and out to a telescopic fork of the logistics shuttle robot by the PLC controller to make the telescopic fork move out from a side of the vehicle body, when feeding back a first signal to the PLC controller by a telescopic fork sensor, the first signal indicates the telescopic fork reaches the a specific position to the PLC controller by the telescopic fork sensor, feeding back the first signal to the WCS automatic storage system by the PLC controller: step 4: sending information of picking up goods to the PLC controller by the WCS automatic storage system through the antenna, at this moment, sending information of picking up goods to the a finger by the PLC controller to rotate the finger, so that the goods are picked up, feeding back the picked-up information to the WCS automatic storage system by the PLC controller through the antenna; step 5: sending information of moving goods to the vehicle body to the PLC controller by the WCS automatic storage system through the antenna, processing and then sending the information of moving goods to the telescopic fork by the PLC controller, the telescopic fork retracting and receiving first information by the PLC controller through the telescopic fork sensor, the first information indicates the telescopic fork is retracted, feeding back position information to the WCS automatic storage system by the PLC controller: step 6: sending a second movement instruction of the vehicle body to the PLC controller by the WCS automatic storage system through the antenna, sending a second specific position of a second movement to the straight motor and the encoder by the PLC controller to perform the second movement of the vehicle body, feeding back the a second travel distance of the vehicle body to the PLC controller through the encoder, feeding back a second position signal of the vehicle body when reaching the second specific position to the PLC controller by the position sensor, and feeding back the second position signal of the vehicle body to the WCS automatic storage system by the PLC controller through the antenna.

4. The control method of the-novel robotic shuttle system for logistics of claim 3, wherein when the WCS automatic storage system performs a wireless local area network transmission to send a third movement instruction to the PLC controller through the antenna, the third movement instruction indicates that a traverse movement is required the WCS automatic storage system sends a third movement instruction of the vehicle body to the PLC controller through the antenna, the PLC controller sends a third specific position of the third movement of the vehicle body to a lifting motor, and the lifting motor lifts the traverse wheel; when a lifting position sensor receives a second signal, the second signal indicates that the traverse wheel is lifted to the third specific position, the PLC controller feeds back the second signal to the WCS automatic storage system through the antenna, and then the WCS automatic storage system sends a traverse movement signal to the PLC controller through the antenna, the PLC controller sends a specific position of the traverse movement to a traverse motor and the encoder to perform the traverse movement of the vehicle body after receiving the traverse movement signal, and the PLC controller feeds back a third travel distance of the vehicle body to the PLC controller through the encoder, the position sensor feeds back the a third position signal of reaching the specific position of the traverse movement to the PLC controller, the PLC controller feeds back the position signal of reaching the specific position of the traverse movement to the WCS automatic storage system through the antenna

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the system structure of the robotic shuttle system for logistics of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of the shuttle for logistics of the present invention from one side;

[0018] FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of the shuttle for logistics of the present invention from another side;

[0019] FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of the interior of the shuttle for logistics of the present invention from one side;

[0020] FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of the interior of the shuttle for logistics of the present invention from another side;

[0021] FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of the shuttle for logistics in the state of cargo canvassing of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 7 is a side view of the shuttle for logistics of the present invention; and

[0023] FIG. 8 is a top view of the shuttle for logistics of the present invention.

[0024] In the drawings, a logistics shuttle robot, b. WCS automatic storage system, 1. vehicle body, 2. straight motor, 3. straight wheel, 4. transverse motor, 5. transverse wheel, 6. position sensor, 7. lifting motor, 8. encoder, 9. PLC controller, 10. lifting position sensor, 11. telescopic fork, 12. finger, 13. telescopic fork position sensor, 14. telescopic fork motor, 15. antenna, 16. supercapacitor, 17. lithium battery, 18. second telescopic fork rail sensor, 19. controller, 20. charging contact.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0025] The present invention is further described in detail with reference to the drawings. The drawings are merely simplified schematic diagrams, and are only used to explain the basic structure of the present invention in an exemplified way. Therefore, only components related to the present invention are shown.

[0026] As shown in the figures, a robotic shuttle system for logistics includes logistics shuttle robot a and WCS automatic storage system b; the logistics shuttle robot a includes vehicle body 1, straight motor 2, straight wheel 3, transverse motor 4, transverse wheel 5, position sensor 6, lifting motor 7, encoder 8, PLC controller 9, lifting position sensor 10, telescopic fork 11, finger 12, telescopic fork position sensor 13, telescopic fork motor 14, and antenna 15. The bottom of the vehicle body 1 is respectively provided with the straight wheel 3 and the transverse wheel 5, and a level of the straight wheel 3 is lower than a level of the transverse wheel 5. The straight motor 2 and the transverse motor 4 are arranged on the vehicle body 1, respectively. The straight motor 2 is linked to the straight wheel 3, and the transverse motor 4 is linked to the transverse wheel 5. The straight wheel 3 and the traverse wheel 5 are respectively provided with the encoder 8. The position sensor 6, the lifting motor 7, the PLC controller 9 and the lifting position sensor 10 are arranged on the vehicle body 1. The telescopic fork 11 is arranged on the vehicle body 1, and the telescopic fork 11 is in sliding fit with the vehicle body 1 and driven by the telescopic fork motor 14. The finger 12 fits with the telescopic fork 11, and the telescopic fork position sensor 13 is arranged on the vehicle body 1. The logistics shuttle robot further includes supercapacitor 16, lithium battery 17, and charging contact 20. The supercapacitor 16 is electrically connected to the lithium battery 17, and the charging contact 20 is arranged on the vehicle body 1 and electrically connected to the supercapacitor 16. The straight motor 2, the traverse motor 4, the lifting motor 7 and the telescopic fork motor 14 are electrically connected to the PLC controller 9 through controller 19 in sequence. The position sensor 6, the lifting position sensor 10, the telescopic fork position sensor 13, and the encoder 8 are electrically connected to the PLC controller 9. The signal of the PLC controller 9 is connected to the WCS automatic storage system b through the antenna 15.

[0027] The logistics shuttle robot further includes the second telescopic fork rail sensor 18. The second telescopic fork rail sensor 18 is arranged on a sidewall of the vehicle body 1.

[0028] A control method of a robotic shuttle system for logistics, includes the following steps:

[0029] step 1: a storage model is constructed by the WCS automatic storage system b according to an actual warehouse route;

[0030] step 2: a movement instruction is sent to the PLC controller 9 by the WCS automatic storage system b through the antenna 15, a specific position of the movement is sent to the straight motor 2 and the encoder 8 by the PLC controller 9 to perform the movement of the vehicle body 1, the travel distance of the vehicle body 1 is fed back to the PLC controller 9 through the encoder 8, a position signal of the vehicle body when reaching the specific position is fed back to the PLC controller 9 by the position sensor 6, and the position signal of the vehicle body is fed back to the WCS automatic storage system b by the PLC controller through the antenna;

[0031] step 3: an information of picking up goods is sent to the PLC controller by the WCS automatic storage system b through the antenna, the information of moving in and out is sent to the telescopic fork by the PLC controller to make the telescopic fork move out from the side of the vehicle body, when a signal that the telescopic fork reaches the specific position is fed back to the PLC controller by the telescopic fork sensor, the signal that the telescopic fork reaches the specific position is fed hack to the WCS automatic storage system b by the PLC controller;

[0032] step 4: the information of picking up goods is sent to the PLC controller by the WCS automatic storage system b through the antenna, at this moment, the information is sent to the finger by the PLC controller to rotate the finger, so that the goods are picked up, the picked-up information is fed back to the WCS automatic storage system b by the PLC controller through the antenna;

[0033] step 5: the information of moving goods to the vehicle body is sent to the PLC controller by the WCS automatic storage system b through the antenna, the information is processed and then sent to the telescopic fork by the PLC controller, the telescopic fork retracts and the PLC controller receives information that the telescopic fork is retracted through the telescopic fork sensor, the position information is fed back to the WCS automatic storage system b by the PLC controller;

[0034] step 6: a movement instruction of the vehicle body is sent to the PLC controller by the WCS automatic storage system b through the antenna, a specific position of the movement is sent to the straight motor 2 and the encoder 8 by the PLC controller 9 to perform the movement of the vehicle body 1, the travel distance of the vehicle body 1 is fed back to the PLC controller 9 through the encoder 8, a position signal of the vehicle body when reaching the specific position is fed back to the PLC controller 9 by the position sensor 6, and the position signal of the vehicle body is fed back to the WCS automatic storage system b by the PLC controller through the antenna.

[0035] When the WCS automatic storage system b sends the movement instruction that traverse movement is required to the PLC controller 9 through the antenna 15, the WCS automatic storage system b sends the movement instruction of the vehicle body to the PLC controller through the antenna, the PLC controller 9 sends the specific position of the movement to the lifting motor, and the lifting motor lifts the traverse wheel; when the lifting position sensor receives the signal that the traverse wheel is lifted to the specific position, the PLC controller 9 feeds back the signal to the WCS automatic storage system b through the antenna., and then the WCS automatic storage system b sends a movement signal to the PLC controller through the antenna, the PLC controller sends a specific position of the movement to the traverse motor 4 and the encoder 8 to perform the movement of the vehicle body 1 after receiving the movement signal, and feeds back the travel distance of the vehicle body 1 to the PLC controller 9 through the encoder 8, the position sensor 6 feeds back the position signal of reaching the specific position to the PLC controller 9, the PLC controller feeds back the position signal to the WCS automatic storage system b through the antenna.

[0036] According to the above-mentioned ideal embodiment of the present invention, through the above description, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the technical thoughts of the present invention by those skilled in the art. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the content of the specification, and must be determined according to the scope of the claims.