Granted Patent B2

US 12,202,144 · App. 17/361,476 · Granted Jan 21, 2025

Inventor: John Jungwoo Ha (Frisco, TX)

Assignee: Bear Robotics, Inc.

B25J9/1664B25J9/162B25J9/1661B25J9/1682B25J11/008

Abstract

Claims (33)

1. A method for controlling a robot, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a target robot to travel to a first loading station among a plurality of robots, on the basis of information on a location of the first loading station and information on a task situation of each of the plurality of robots, when a first transport target object is placed at the first loading station;

determining a travel route of the target robot with reference to the information on the location of the first loading station and information on a location of a first unloading station associated with the first transport target object; and

causing the target robot to autonomously travel to the first loading station and load the first transport target object, and to autonomously travel to the first unloading station and unload the first transport target object,

wherein the information on the task situation includes information on at least one of a location and a travel route of each of the plurality of robots, and information on a transport situation of each of the plurality of robots,

wherein a second loading station is a station where a second transport target object is to be loaded,

wherein in the step of determining the target robot, the information on the transport situation is determined as including information on whether each of the plurality of robots is capable of loading the first transport target object, such that loading of the first transport target object by one of the plurality of robots does not preclude loading of the second transport target object by the one of the plurality of robots when arriving at the second loading station after passing the first loading station, on the basis of information on the second transport target object,

wherein each of the plurality of robots includes a plurality of loading spaces for loading objects to be transported, and the first loading station includes a plurality of supports corresponding to the plurality of loading spaces,

wherein the plurality of loading spaces are disposed at different vertical locations and the plurality of supports are disposed at different vertical locations, and the vertical locations of the plurality of loading spaces correspond to the vertical locations of the plurality of supports on a one-to-one basis in height order,

wherein the information on the location of the first loading station includes information on a vertical location of a support where the first transport target object is placed among the plurality of supports, and

wherein the target robot to travel to the first loading station is determined among the plurality of robots further on the basis of information on whether a loading space of the target robot corresponding to the support where the first transport target object is placed is empty.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

causing the first transport target object to be transferred from the first loading station to the target robot when the target robot arrives at the first loading station.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

causing the first transport target object to be transferred from the target robot to the first unloading station when the target robot arrives at the first unloading station.

4. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored thereon a computer program for executing the method of claim 1 .

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein in the step of determining the target robot, the information on the transport situation is determined as further including information on whether each of the plurality of robots has an unloading station available to unload the first transport target object on a way from the first loading station to the second loading station.

6. A system for controlling a robot, the system comprising:

a target robot determination unit configured to determine a target robot to travel to a first loading station among a plurality of robots, on the basis of information on a location of the first loading station and information on a task situation of each of the plurality of robots, when a first transport target object is placed at the first loading station;

a travel route determination unit configured to determine a travel route of the target robot with reference to the information on the location of the first loading station and information on a location of a first unloading station associated with the first transport target object; and

a drive unit configured to cause the target robot to autonomously travel to the first loading station and load the first transport target object, and to autonomously travel to the first unloading station and unload the first transport target object,

wherein the information on the task situation includes information on at least one of a location and a travel route of each of the plurality of robots, and information on a transport situation of each of the plurality of robots,

wherein a second loading station is a station where a second transport target object is to be loaded,

wherein the target robot determination unit is configured to determine the information on the transport situation as including information on whether each of the plurality of robots is capable of loading the first transport target object, such that loading of the first transport target object by one of the plurality of robots does not preclude loading of the second transport target object by the one of the plurality of robots when arriving at the second loading station after passing the first loading station, on the basis of information on the second transport target object,

wherein each of the plurality of robots includes a plurality of loading spaces for loading objects to be transported, and the first loading station includes a plurality of supports corresponding to the plurality of loading spaces,

wherein the plurality of loading spaces are disposed at different vertical locations and the plurality of supports are disposed at different vertical locations, and the vertical locations of the plurality of loading spaces correspond to the vertical locations of the plurality of supports on a one-to-one basis in height order,

wherein the information on the location of the first loading station includes information on a vertical location of a support where the first transport target object is placed among the plurality of supports, and

wherein the target robot to travel to the first loading station is determined among the plurality of robots further on the basis of information on whether a loading space of the target robot corresponding to the support where the first transport target object is placed is empty.

7. The system of claim 6 , further comprising:

a transfer module control unit configured to cause the first transport target object to be transferred from the first loading station to the target robot when the target robot arrives at the first loading station.

8. The system of claim 6 , further comprising:

a transfer module control unit configured to cause the first transport target object to be transferred from the target robot to the first unloading station when the target robot arrives at the first unloading station.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the target robot determination unit is configured to determine the information on the transport situation as further including information on whether each of the plurality of robots has an unloading station available to unload the first transport target object on a way from the first loading station to the second loading station.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (13)