Semi-automatic forklift system

Semi-automatic forklift system technology field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of forklifts, in particular to a semi-automatic forklift system.

Background technique

[0002] Forklifts are one of the main equipment in the logistics industry. The traditional method for forklifts to pick and place goods is that the driver observes through his eyes and manually adjusts the height of the fork to align the goods for picking and unloading. There is an advantage when placing low-height goods. When the goods are in a high position (for example, more than 5 meters), the drivers sight will be blocked by the shelf level. At this time, manually adjust the height of the fork to align the pallet to pick up the goods or The efficiency of aligning the delivery of goods at the level is extremely low. In addition, the industry uses AGV forklifts to achieve fully automatic picking and unloading. AGV forklifts are expensive; in addition, all instructions and actions of AGV forklifts are controlled and executed by the controller, which is limited by the processing power and processing speed of the current processor. Another fatal flaw is the low speed and low efficiency in completing picking and placing of materials.

Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a semi-automatic forklift system that realizes lower cost automatic forklift control and improves the efficiency of forklift picking and placing materials, especially the efficiency advantage of picking and placing high-rise materials is more obvious.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a semi-automatic forklift system, including:

[0005] The human-computer interaction interface is configured to set the target level of the fork in the automatic mode;

[0006] The host controller is connected to the man-machine interaction interface, and is configured to control the driving component of the fork according to the target layer instruction of the man-machine interaction interface to realize the automatic lifting and lowering of the target layer of the fork .

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it further includes that the human-computer interaction interface supports manual mode and automatic mode switching.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it further includes that the activation priority of the automatic mode is lower than that of the manual mode.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the host controller further includes:

[0010] The storage unit is configured to store a layer ordinal number-height list;

[0011] The comparison unit is configured to obtain the target height of the fork by looking up the sequence number-height list, and output a lifting instruction by comparing the current height of the fork with the target height;

[0012] The control unit is configured to control the driving component of the fork according to the lifting instruction to realize the automatic lifting of the target layer by the fork.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the host controller further includes a protection unit configured to urgently stop the forklift when the brake pedal of the forklift is depressed or the manual switch is touched. The fork moves and automatically enters the manual mode.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it further includes that the layer sequence number-height list in the storage unit supports custom update.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system further includes a rope encoder, the rope encoder communicates with the host controller via the CanBus bus, and the host controller Rope encoder feedback

The data calculates the real-time height of the fork.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drive component further includes a motor controller, a motor, and a motor encoder, the motor controller communicates with the host controller via the CanBus bus, and the motor controller The motor is controlled according to the output instruction of the host controller to drive the fork to automatically lift to the target layer, and the motor encoder is used to obtain the rotation angle and the rotation speed of the motor.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it further includes the motor controller setting a speed limit mode, the speed limit mode being configured to reduce the speed of the fork when the fork enters the speed limit zone, The speed limit interval is an area separated by a certain distance from the target height, and the speed limit interval supports self-defined update.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it further includes that the speed of the fork in the speed limit range supports a custom update.

[0019] The beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0020] In the semi-automatic forklift system of the present invention, the target layer of the fork is input through the human-computer interaction interface, and the host controller controls the driving components of the fork according to the target layer instruction output by the human-computer interaction interface to realize the automatic lifting of the fork to the target Floor. The automatic tiered, fixed-height, and lifted forks applied in the present invention can save the time of positioning the forks during manual operation, especially when picking and placing high-rise materials. The manual operation requires multiple positioning and adjustment of the forks due to the obstruction of the line of sight, based on The efficiency advantage of the application of the present invention for picking and placing high-rise materials is more obvious. In addition, the semi-automatic way of man-machine coordination is lower in cost and faster than AGV forklifts.

Description of the drawings

[0021] FIG. 1 is a structural block diagram of a semi-automatic forklift system in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the internal structure of the host controller in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an interface of a human-computer interaction interface in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Explanation of reference numerals in the figure:

[0025] 10-Man-machine interactive interface;

[0026] 20-host controller, 21-storage unit, 22-comparison unit, 23-control unit, 24-protection unit;

[0027] 30-Draw cord encoder;

[0028] 40-Motor controller;

[0029] 50-Motor;

[0030] 60-Motor encoder.

Detailed ways

[0031] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can better understand and implement the present invention, but the examples cited are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0032] Embodiment

[0033] The embodiment of the present invention discloses a semi-automatic forklift system. As shown in FIG. 1, the forklift system includes a human-machine interface 10 and a host controller 20. The display screen of the human-machine interface 10 selects a touch-sensitive LCD high-definition color display The display effect is clear, and the parameters can be set by touch control, which greatly facilitates the operation of the driver. The human-machine interface 10 integrates layered touch buttons and setting buttons. As shown in Figure 3, the human-machine interface 10 displays 8 layers of touch buttons "1" to "8", and the operator inputs the forks through the layered touch buttons The target layer of the human-machine interface 10 correspondingly displays the status information of the forklift on the display screen, including

Lifting speed, current height of the fork, target floor and current floor. The operator customizes and updates the system parameters by setting the button. The human-machine interface 10 supports manual mode and automatic mode switching, and integrates mode switching touch buttons. The operator switches between automatic mode and manual mode through the mode switching touch buttons. In the automatic mode, the host controller 20 controls the driving components of the fork In order to realize the fork lifts to the target level automatically, the fork lifts are controlled manually in manual mode.

[0034] Specifically, referring to FIG. 2, the host controller 20 includes a storage unit 21, a comparison unit 22, a control unit 23, and a protection unit 24. The storage unit 21 stores an ordinal number-height list, that is, each layer The corresponding height value list, for example, a layer sequence number of 1 corresponds to a height of 100mm, and a layer sequence number of 2 corresponds to a height of 160mm. The above-mentioned comparison unit is configured to obtain the target height of the fork by searching the above-mentioned layer sequence number-height list, where the target layer of the obtained target height is input by the operator through the human-computer interaction interface 10; the above-mentioned comparison unit compares the current height of the fork And the target height output lift command. Here, the current height of the fork can be manually input through the human-machine interface 10, or it can be obtained in real time by the host controller 20. In the embodiment of the present invention, it is preferably obtained in real time by the host controller 20. The implementation process is as follows: The system also includes a rope encoder 30. The rope encoder 30 is fixed on the base of the forklift mast, and the rope end is fixed on the inner carriage of the forklift. The rope rises and lowers together with the inner carriage. 30 communicates with the host controller 20 through the CanBus bus. The rope encoder 30 can be set to send data to the host controller 20 every 20 ms. The host controller 20 calculates the aforementioned data based on the data fed back from the rope encoder 30. The real-time height of the fork. The current height of the fork When the target height is low, the comparison unit 22 outputs an ascending instruction; conversely, when the current height of the fork is higher than the target height, the comparison unit 22 outputs a descending instruction. In addition, the height of the fork is detected by the rope encoder 30, which is more convenient to install than the bearing encoder. It can be fixed by welding the base directly beside the main frame. At the same time, the accuracy of the rope encoder is higher, and its repeatability can be controlled within 1mm. Compared with the laser ranging sensor, the rope encoder will not be affected by light and has strong anti-interference.

[0035] The control unit 23 controls the driving part of the fork according to the lifting instruction of the comparison unit 22 to realize the automatic lifting of the fork to the target floor. And, the above-mentioned control unit 23 also calculates the driving parameters of the delivery fork driving component according to the height difference between the current height of the fork and the target height. Specifically, referring to FIG. 1, the above-mentioned driving components include a motor controller 40, a motor 50 and a motor encoder 60. The above-mentioned motor controller 40 communicates with the above-mentioned host controller 20 through a CanBus bus. The above-mentioned motor controller 40 controls The output command of the device 20 controls the motor 50 to drive the fork to automatically lift to the target layer, and the motor encoder 60 is used to obtain the rotation angle and the rotation speed of the motor 50. The above-mentioned motor controller 40 controls the rotation speed, the rotation angle, and the rotation time of the motor 50 according to the driving parameters calculated by the control unit 23. The above-mentioned motor 50 is a pump motor or an electric motor, which can be adjusted according to actual needs.

[0036] Further, in the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention, the host controller 20 sets a speed limit mode, and the speed limit mode is configured to reduce the speed of the fork when the fork enters the speed limit zone, and the speed limit The interval is the area separated by a certain distance from the target height. For example, starting from the distance of 50mm from the target height, until reaching the lifting area of the target height. The host controller 20 with a speed limit mode controls the fork lift accuracy to be within ±4 mm.

[0037] Further, the forklift system in the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention has extremely high safety, and its design is as follows:

[0038] The start priority of the above-mentioned automatic mode is lower than that of the above-mentioned manual mode.

[0039] (2) The host controller 20 includes a protection unit 24, and the protection unit 24 is configured to emergency stop the fork operation when the brake pedal of the forklift is depressed or the manual switch is touched, and automatically enters the manual mode .

[0040] (3) The above host controller supports the wire-pulling encoder disconnection detection function. In the automatic mode, when the wire-pulling encoder is detected to be disconnected, it controls the emergency stop of the fork movement and automatically enters the manual mode.

[0041] Further, the forklift system in the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention supports the custom update of various parameters, which can be passed through

The setting button of the human-machine interface 10 is customized and updated. The parameters of the customized update include the above-mentioned layer sequence number-height list in the storage unit, the speed limit zone, and the speed of the fork in the above speed limit zone. It is compatible with a variety of uses The application requirements of the scene. [0042] In addition, the forklift system in the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is compatible with manual mode, the man-machine interaction interface 10 matches the manual mode integrated thumb button, and the host controller 20 obtains the voltage signal issued by the thumb button, and converts the voltage signal (0 ~5V) is converted to a value of 0-1000. When the thumb button is in the neutral position, the value received by the host controller is 500. This is the neutral voltage, and the fork has no action at this time. Touch the thumb button, when the value received by the host controller is less than 500, the fork is controlled to rise; when the value received by the host controller is greater than 500, the fork is controlled to fall.

[0043] The above-mentioned embodiments are only preferred embodiments for fully illustrating the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Equivalent substitutions or alterations made by those skilled in the art on the basis of the present invention are all within the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is subject to the claims.