Loading and unloading for automatic guided vehicle
AssigneeABB Schweiz AG
InventorsFuning Hu, Dong Wu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of present disclosure relate to a receiving station, an automatic guided vehicle (AGV), a pallet for use therewith, a conveying system, and a method for conveyance control. The receiving station comprises a carriage adapted to hook a pallet. The receiving station further comprises linear drive equipment operable to move the carriage in a first direction away from an AGV to load the pallet from the AGV or move the carriage in a second direction opposite to the first direction towards the AGV to unload the pallet onto the AGV, wherein the AGV stops near the receiving station, and wherein the carriage hooks the pallet during the movement of the carriage such that the pallet is moved along with the carriage.
Claims20
A receiving station, comprising:
- a carriage adapted to hook a pallet;
- and
- a linear drive equipment configured to be operable to
- move the carriage in a first direction away from an automatic guided vehicle to load the pallet from the automatic guided vehicle or move the carriage in a second direction opposite to the first direction towards the automatic guided vehicle to unload the pallet onto the automatic guided vehicle, wherein the automatic guided vehicle stops near the receiving station, and wherein the carriage hooks the pallet during the movement of the carriage such that the pallet is moved along with the carriage.
An automatic guided vehicle, comprising:
- drive equipment operable to drive the automatic guided vehicle to travel and stop along a guiding line;
- and
- at least one retractable engagement member operable to be in a retracted status when the automatic guided vehicle stops near a receiving station and in an extended status to engage with a pallet when the pallet is carried on the automatic guided vehicle, and
- wherein in the retracted status of the at least one retractable engagement member,
- the pallet is moved by the receiving station away from the automatic guided vehicle in a first direction to be loaded onto the receiving station, or
- the pallet is moved by the receiving station towards the automatic guided vehicle in a second direction to be unloaded onto the automatic guided station, the second direction being opposite to the first direction.
A method for conveyance control comprising:
- causing drive equipment of an automatic guided vehicle to stop near a receiving station;
- causing at least one retractable engagement member of the automatic guided vehicle to be in a retracted status when the automatic guided vehicle stops near the receiving station;
- and
- causing linear drive equipment of the receiving station to move a carriage that hooks a pallet in a first direction away from the automatic guided vehicle to load the pallet from the automatic guided vehicle or move the carriage in a second direction opposite to the first direction towards the automatic guided vehicle to unload the pallet onto the automatic guided vehicle, wherein the carriage hooks the pallet during the movement of the carriage such that the pallet is moved along with the carriage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.