Vehicle for carrying containers

1. A vehicle for carrying a container, comprising:

a vehicle body on which a container is placed;

at least one locking mechanism provided on the vehicle body;

a microcontroller unit communicatively connected to each of the at least one locking mechanism and configured to control each of the at least one locking mechanism to switch between a locked state and an unlocked state; and

a pressure detection mechanism provided on the vehicle body and communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit, wherein:

the pressure detection mechanism is configured to detect a value of a pressure applied by the container on the vehicle body and input a signal indicating the detected value of the pressure to the microcontroller unit,

the microcontroller unit is further configured to control each of the at least one locking mechanism to act to switch from the unlocked state to the locked state, in response to the value of the pressure as detected by the pressure detection mechanism being larger than a predetermined value, and

each of the at least one locking mechanism is configured to:

fix the container to the vehicle body in response to the locking mechanism being in the locked state, and

allow the container, when having an external force acting thereon, to be moved with respect to the vehicle body in response to each of the at least one locking mechanism being in the unlocked state.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism comprises a housing mounted to the vehicle body, a lock protruding from a top of the housing, a lock lever connected fixedly to the lock and mounted to the housing in such a manner that the lock lever is rotatable about its axis, and a driving component for driving the lock lever to rotate, and

the driving component is communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit and configured to act based on an output signal received from the microcontroller unit to drive the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle such that the lock can lock and unlock the container.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism further comprises a first photoelectric switch and a second photoelectric switch each mounted to the housing, and a block sheet mounted to the lock lever, each of the first photoelectric switch and the second photoelectric switch being communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit and configured to input a switching signal to the microcontroller unit,

when the microcontroller unit controls the locking mechanism to switch from the unlocked state to the locked state, the driving component drives the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle in a first direction, such that the block sheet is at a position corresponding to the first photoelectric switch and the first photoelectric switch transmits a locking signal to the microcontroller unit, and

when the microcontroller unit controls the locking mechanism to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state, the driving component drives the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction, such that the block sheet is at a position corresponding to the second photoelectric switch and the second photoelectric switch transmits an unlocking signal to the microcontroller unit.

4. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism further comprises a transmission component connected transmissively between the driving component and the lock lever.

5. The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the transmission component comprises a worm-gear component, a gear transmission component or a threaded transmission component.

6. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the driving component comprises a stepper motor.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of guiding blocks mounted to the vehicle body and configured to locate the container such that the container is aligned with each of the at least one locking mechanism.

8. A vehicle for carrying a container, comprising:

a vehicle body on which a container is placed;

at least one locking mechanism provided on the vehicle body;

a microcontroller unit communicatively connected to each of the at least one locking mechanism and configured to control each of the at least one locking mechanism to switch between a locked state and an unlocked state;

a distance detection unit communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit; and

an electronic control unit communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit,

wherein:

the electronic control unit is configured to automatically control the vehicle to enable automated driving of the vehicle,

the distance detection unit is configured to detect a distance between the container and the vehicle body in a vertical direction and transmit a value of the detected distance to the microcontroller unit, the microcontroller unit is further configured to transmit a movement signal to the electronic control unit, in response to the value of the distance detected by the distance detection unit being larger than a predetermined distance,

the electronic control unit is further configured to control the vehicle to move based on the movement signal received from the microcontroller unit,

the at least one locking mechanism is configured to:

fix the container to the vehicle body in response to the locking mechanism being in the locked state, and

allow the container, when having an external force acting thereon, to be moved with respect to the vehicle body in response to each of the at least one locking mechanism being in the unlocked state.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the distance detection unit comprises an ultrasonic sensor.

10. A method for operating a vehicle for carrying a container, the vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body on which a container is placed;

at least one locking mechanism provided on the vehicle body;

a microcontroller unit communicatively connected to each of the at least one locking mechanism and configured to control each of the at least one locking mechanism to switch between a locked state and an unlocked state; and

a pressure detection mechanism provided on the vehicle body and communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit,

the at least one locking mechanism is configured to:

fix the container to the vehicle body in response to the locking mechanism being in the locked state, and

allow the container, when having an external force acting thereon, to be moved with respect to the vehicle body in response to each of the at least one locking mechanism being in the unlocked state,

the method comprising:

detecting, by the pressure detection mechanism, a value of a pressure applied by the container on the vehicle body,

transmitting, by the pressure detection mechanism, a signal indicating the detected value of the pressure to the microcontroller unit,

controlling, by the microcontroller unit, each of the at least one locking mechanism to act to switch from the unlocked state to the locked state, in response to the value of the pressure as detected by the pressure detection mechanism being larger than a predetermined value.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism comprises a housing mounted to the vehicle body, a lock protruding from a top of the housing, a lock lever connected fixedly to the lock and mounted to the housing in such a manner that the lock lever is rotatable about its axis, and a driving component for driving the lock lever to rotate, and

the driving component is communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit,

the method further comprising:

driving, by the driving component, the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle based on an output signal received from the microcontroller unit.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism further comprises a first photoelectric switch and a second photoelectric switch each mounted to the housing, and a block sheet mounted to the lock lever, each of the first photoelectric switch and the second photoelectric switch being communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit and configured to input a switching signal to the microcontroller unit,

the method further comprising:

driving, by the driving component, the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle in a first direction, in response to the microcontroller unit controlling the locking mechanism to switch from the unlocked state to the locked state,

transmitting, by the first photoelectric switch, a locking signal to the microcontroller unit, in response to the block sheet being rotated to a position corresponding to the first photoelectric switch, and

driving, by the driving component, the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction, in response to the microcontroller unit controlling the locking mechanism to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state,

transmitting, by the second photoelectric switch, an unlocking signal to the microcontroller unit, in response to the block sheet is rotated to a position corresponding to the second photoelectric switch.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism further comprises a transmission component connected transmissively between the driving component and the lock lever.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the transmission component comprises a worm-gear component, a gear transmission component or a threaded transmission component.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the driving component comprises a stepper motor.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the vehicle further comprises a plurality of guiding blocks mounted to the vehicle body and configured to locate the container such that the container is aligned with each of the at least one locking mechanism.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the vehicle further comprises a distance detection unit and an electronic control unit each communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to automatically control the vehicle to enable automated driving of the vehicle, the method further comprising:

detecting, by the distance detection unit, a distance between the container and the vehicle body in a vertical direction,

transmitting, by the distance detection unit, a value of the detected distance to the microcontroller unit,

transmitting, by the microcontroller unit, a movement signal to the electronic control unit in response to the value of the distance detected by the distance detection unit being larger than a predetermined distance,

controlling, by the electronic control unit, the vehicle to move based on the movement signal received from the microcontroller unit.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the distance detection unit comprises an ultrasonic sensor.