Patent Publication Number: US-2022227432-A1

Title: Serving robot apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a bypass continuation of International Application No. PCT/KR2022/000739, filed on Jan. 14, 2022, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0006310, filed on Jan. 15, 2021, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0002275, filed on Jan. 6, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The disclosure relates to a serving robot apparatus, and more particularly, to a serving robot apparatus having a display which may move along a side surface of a main body so that the display faces a serving position for easy interaction with a customer. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     According to the development of the robot technology, a robot that carries an object to be served (e.g., food, food on a plate or dish, etc.,) to a designated location in a restaurant or the like has been developed. However, when tables in a restaurant are disposed with narrow spacing, i.e., with a narrow aisle, with limited space to a wall, etc., a robot moving between tables or next to a table may be limited in movement such as a rotational movement so as not to collide with a table. 
     In addition, there is a problem in that, in order to allow a robot arriving at a target table to interact with a customer through the display that is fixed to the robot, the entire robot must rotate within a narrow passage or space. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a serving robot apparatus which includes a display that moves along a side surface of a main body so as to be directed to a serving position to easily interact with a customer. 
     A serving robot apparatus according to an embodiment includes a main body; a shelf horizontally supported by the main body; a first driving device configured to move the main body; a display including a front surface to display an image and a rear surface disposed to face a side surface of the main body; a link member including one end connected to the main body and another end connected to a rear surface of the display; and a second driving device configured to move or pivot the link member so that the display moves along the side surface of the main body. 
     The serving robot apparatus may further include a guide rail disposed along the side surface of the main body, and the link member may include a block member connected to the rear surface of the display and movably provided along the guide rail. 
     The guide rail may have a U-shape. 
     The second driving device may include a rotation motor fixed to the main body, and the link member may include a first link including one end connected to the rotation motor and a second link including one end slidably connected to the first link and another end connected to the block member. 
     An upper surface of the first link may be disposed to face a lower surface of the second link. 
     The main body may include a first sidewall and a second sidewall disposed to face with each other and supporting the shelf horizontally; a first body supporting an upper end of the first sidewall and the second sidewall; and a second body supporting a lower end of the first sidewall and the second sidewall. 
     A rear surface of the display may be disposed to face a side surface of the first body. 
     The main body may include a slit formed along the side surface of the main body, and the serving robot apparatus may further include a cover member configured to close the slit, and be slidably supported by the main body, and the block member may be disposed through the cover member. 
     The main body may include a guide slot into which the upper end and the lower end of the cover member are inserted. 
     The serving robot apparatus may further include a third driving device configured to tilt the display in a vertical direction, and the third driving device may include a tilting motor fixed to the block member; a first tilting link including one end connected to the tilting motor and another end connected to a rear surface of the display and moving forward or backward by the tilting motor; and a second tilting link including one end connected to the block member and another end to which a rear surface of the display is tiltably connected. 
     The first tilting link may be disposed below the second tilting link. 
     The serving robot apparatus may further include a processor configured to control the tilting motor so that preload is applied to the first tilting link based on the main body moving by the first driving device. 
     The display may include a stopper protrusion formed in a rear surface and disposed between the first tilting link and the second tilting link, and the serving robot apparatus may further include an elastic member disposed on a lower surface of the first tilting link, wherein the stopper protrusion is operably in contact with the elastic member. 
     The serving robot apparatus may further include a cable member disposed along the link member and electrically connected to the display. 
     The serving robot apparatus may further include a processor configured to, based on receiving a serving command including a serving position by a user, control the first driving device so that the main body moves within a preset distance range from the serving position, and control the second driving device so that a front surface of the display faces to the serving position. 
     In an embodiment, there is a robot for transporting an object, the robot including: a display including a front surface and a rear surface; a main body; a shelf operable to support the object to be transported; a variable-length linkage arm connected a motor in the main body; a mount disposed at a distal end of the variable-length linkage arm and pivotably coupled to the rear surface of the display; a guide rail configured to slidably support the mount; and a processor configured to: based on receiving an instruction, control the robot to move to a predetermined position, and control the motor connected to the variable-length linkage arm, to move the display about the main body so that the front surface of the display faces a predetermined direction at the predetermined position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other aspects, and features of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a serving robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are diagrams illustrating a process of moving a display along a side surface of a main body; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram schematically illustrating a process of controlling a serving robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating that the serving robot apparatus performs a serving operation; 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  are cross-sectional views illustrating that a display tilts in a vertical direction; and 
         FIGS. 8 and 9  are diagrams illustrating a structure of a cover member closing a slit of a main body. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Examples described hereinafter are for easy understanding of the disclosure, and it should be understood that various changes can be made to examples described herein and the disclosure can be embodied in different forms. In addition, in the following description, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted since they would unnecessarily obscure the subject matters of the disclosure. In addition, it should be noted that the drawings as attached are just for easy understanding of the disclosure, and are not illustrated as really scaled, and dimensions of some elements may be exaggerated. 
     The terms used in the present specification and the claims are general terms identified in consideration of the functions of the various embodiments of the disclosure. However, these terms may vary depending on intention, technical interpretation, emergence of new technologies, and the like of those skilled in the related art. Some terms may be selected by an applicant arbitrarily, and the meaning thereof will be described in the detailed description. Unless there is a specific definition of a term, the term may be construed based on the overall contents and technological understanding of those skilled in the related art. 
     In this specification, the expressions “have,” “may have,” “include,” or “may include” or the like represent presence of a corresponding feature (for example: components such as numbers, functions, operations, or parts) and does not exclude the presence of additional feature. 
     Since the components required for the description of each embodiment of the disclosure have been described herein, the embodiment is not limited thereto. Thus, some components may be modified or omitted and other components may be added. In addition, the components may be distributed and arranged in different independent devices. 
     Furthermore, although the embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and the contents set forth in the accompanying drawings, the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments. 
     Hereinbelow, the disclosure will be described in greater detail with reference to the attached drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a serving robot apparatus  1  according to an embodiment of the disclosure;  FIGS. 2 and 3  are diagrams illustrating a process of moving a display along a side surface of a main body. Although the following describes the operation of the serving robot apparatus, the present disclosure also includes other robots or other types of robot, including delivery robots or any robots which transport any object from one location to another. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a serving robot apparatus  1  according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a main body  10 , a shelf  20 , a first driving device  30 , a display  100 , a link member  200 , and a second driving device  300 . In an embodiment, the shelf  20  may be a tray. 
     The main body  10  may include a first body  11 , a second body  12 , a first sidewall  13 , and a second sidewall  14 . 
     The first body  11  and the second body  12  may have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, but it is not limited thereto. The first body  11  may be disposed on an upper side of the second body  12 . The first body  11  and the second body  12  may accommodate therein a plurality of electronic components for the operation of the serving robot apparatus  1 . 
     The first sidewall  13  and the second sidewall  14  may be vertically disposed and may connect the first body  11  and the second body  12 . The first body  11  may support the upper ends of the first and second sidewalls  13  and  14 , and the second body  12  may support the lower ends of the first and second sidewalls  13  and  14 . 
     The first sidewall  13  and the second sidewall  14  may be disposed to face each other and may have the same height. The first and the second side walls  13 ,  14  may support a shelf  20  disposed therebetween. The second sidewall  14  may have a width smaller than the first sidewall  13 . That is, the width W 2  of the second sidewall  14  may be smaller than the width W 1  of the first sidewall  13 . 
     The first sidewall  13  may have a sufficiently long width W 1  so that the shelf  20  may be stably supported, and the second sidewall  14  may have a sufficiently small width W 2  to allow the shelf  20  to be exposed to the outside and be unobstructed as much as possible so that the object to be served can be easily placed and removed from the shelf  20 . 
     Accordingly, interference between the object to be served and first and second sidewall  13 ,  14  is minimized, and a user may place the object to be served on an upper surface of the shelf  20  or may easily pick up the object to be served that has been placed on the shelf  20 . The user may also place the object to be served on an upper surface  12 a of the second body  12 . 
     The shelf  20  may be supported by the main body  10  or may be disposed horizontally. The shelf  20  may be disposed between the first and second sidewalls  13 ,  14  or may have a shape of a plate having an approximate rectangular cross-section. The shelf  20  may be disposed horizontally without being tilted and thus may stably support the object to be served that has been placed on the upper surface. 
     The shelf  20  may include a first shelf  21  and a second shelf  22 . The first and second shelves  21  and  22  may be arranged in parallel with each other. However, the number of the shelves  20  is not limited to two, but three or more of the shelves  20  may be formed. 
     The first driving device  30  may move the serving robot apparatus  1 . The first driving device  30  may rotate the plurality of wheels  15  disposed on the lower surface of the second body  12  to move the serving robot apparatus  1  to a predetermined position. Accordingly, the serving robot apparatus  1  can carry an object to be served to a designated location. 
     The first driving device  30  may include a motor, a battery, an actuator, a gear, a bearing, or the like, and may be accommodated in the second body  12 . 
     The display  100  may include a front surface  110  for displaying an image and a rear surface  120  disposed to face a side surface of the main body  10 . The rear surface  120  of the display  100  may be disposed to face a side surface of the first body  11 . The display  100  may be supported by the first body  11 . The display  100  may be disposed outside the main body  10 . 
     The display  100  may provide an image including information related to the serving of the object. For example, the display  100  may display a target table to which the serving robot apparatus  1  is to move and information corresponding to the object to be served. 
     The display  100  may be a touch screen. The user may touch the display  100  to input information about the target table to the serving robot apparatus  1 . A customer may touch the display  100  to provide input to the serving robot apparatus  1  indicating that the object to be served has been received. 
     The serving robot apparatus  1  may further include a sensor (not shown), e.g., a camera, depth camera, etc., for capturing the surrounding environment of the serving robot apparatus  1 . The serving robot apparatus  1  may recognize the surrounding environment based on the information collected by the camera, is capable of autonomous driving, may collect information, and may transmit information to the user. The camera may also detect a pose of a customer or the location of certain physical attributes of the customer. 
     A link member  200  may include one end  201  connected to the main body  10  and another end  202  connected to the rear surface  120  of the display  100 . 
     The second driving device  300  may move the link member  200  so that the display  100  moves about the main body  10 . In an exemplary embodiment, the display  100  moves along with the side surface of the main body  10 . 
     As the link member  200  pivots about the one end  201 , the display  100  connected to the other end  202  of the link member  200  may move along the side surface of the main body  10 . In an exemplary embodiment, the link member  200  may rotate about the one end  201 . For example, when the serving robot apparatus  1  receives information from a user or a customer through the display  100  or provides information as an image, only the front surface  110  of the display  100  may move along the side surface of the main body  10  so that the front surface  110  of the display  100  faces the user or the customer, without rotating or turning the main body  10 . Accordingly, the serving robot apparatus  1  according to an embodiment of the disclosure may easily interact with a user or a customer while minimizing its movement. 
     The serving robot apparatus  1  may further include a guide rail R disposed along a side surface of the main body  10 . The guide rail may have a U-shape, but is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the guide rail may have any shape that allows unhindered movement of the display  100  so the rear surface  120  does not contact the side surface of the main body  10 . The guide rail R may form a non-circular path through which the block member  210  moves. In an embodiment, the guide rail R may have a closed loop shape, e.g., racetrack-shape, circular shape, oval shape, etc., whereby the link member  200  rotates about the one end  201  to move the block member  210  along such a guide rail, so that the display can be moved around the entire outer periphery of the main body  10 . 
     The guide rail R may be disposed along an edge of the main body  10 . 
     The link member  200  may include a block member  210  connected to the rear surface  120  of the display  100  and provided to be movable along the guide rail R. The lower surface of the block member  210  may be slidably supported on the guide rail R. The block member  210  may have a shape engaged with the guide rail R. 
     The display  100  may move integrally with the block member  210 . Since the guide rail R and the block member  210  are disposed adjacent to the side surface of the main body  10 , the display  100  disposed outside the main body  10  may be stably supported. Since the distance between the block member  210  having its lower surface supported by the main body  10 , e.g., the guide rail R, and the display  100  is sufficiently short, the moment according to the weight of the display  100  acting on the block member  210  may be sufficiently small. 
     The second driving device  300  may include a motor  310  fixed to the main body  10 . The link member  200  may include the first link  220  and the second link  230 . 
     The first link  220  may include one end  221  connected to the motor  310  and another end that is distal to the one end  221 . The one end  221  of the first link  220  may be a rotational center of the first link  220 . The first link  220  may pivot, e.g., partially rotate, with respect to a vertical axis (Z) defined by the motor  310 . In an embodiment, the first link  220  is a slotted link. 
     The second link  230  may include one end  231  slidably connected to the first link  220  and another end  232  connected to the block member  210 . An upper surface  220 a of the first link  220  may be disposed opposite to a lower surface  230 a of the second link  230 . In an embodiment, the one end  231  includes a pin or a protrusion which fits in a slot of the first link  220 . 
     The length of each of the first link  220  and the second link  230  may fixed, but the second link  230  may get closer or distant from the one end  221  of the first link  220 . 
     Accordingly, since the second link  230  slides relative to the first link  220  and the entire length of the first and second links  220  and  230  varies, the motion of the other end  232  may be non-circular. In other words, the first and the second links  220  and  230  operate to provide the link member  200  with a variable stroke length. Hence, the side surface of the main body  10  may be formed to be non-circular, and the guide rail R may provide a non-circular path so that the block member  210  and the display  100  may be easily moved along the non-circular path. 
     The display  100  may be movable along the side of the body  10  having various shapes, and the cross-sectional shape of the body  10  may have a rectangular shape without being limited to the circular shape, so that the shelf  20  may carry more objects to be served. 
     The serving robot apparatus  1  may further include a cable member  600  disposed along the link member  200  and electrically connected to the display  100 . The cable member  600  may provide power and an image signal to the display  100 . The cable member  600  may be routed via the one end  221  of the first link  220  which is the rotational center of the link member  200 . 
     Accordingly, even if the link member  200  is moved with a variable rotational radius, the length variation of the cable member  600  may be minimized. The slack in the cable member  600  may be minimized, and the cable member  600  may be prevented from being unintentionally twisted or damaged from contact with other components. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram schematically illustrating a process of controlling a serving robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure;  FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating that the serving robot apparatus performs a serving operation. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the serving robot apparatus  1  may further include a processor  700 . 
     The processor  700  may, based on receiving from a user, a serving command comprising a serving position, control the first driving device so that the serving robot apparatus  1  moves within a preset distance range from the serving position. The processor  700  may control the second driving device  300  so that a front surface  110  of the display  100  faces the serving position. The serving position may refer to a position of a customer to receive the object to be served. 
     For example, a plurality of tables (T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , T 4 ) may be arranged in two rows and two columns, and the serving robot apparatus  1  may move between first and third tables (T 1 , T 3 ) and second and fourth tables (T 2 , T 4 ). Thereafter, the main body  10  may not move, and only the display  100  may move along the side surface of the main body  10  so that the front surface  100  faces the third table (T 3 ) or the fourth table (T 4 ). 
     When the serving robot apparatus  1  receives information from a user or a customer through the display  100  or provides the information as an image, the front surface  110  of the display  100  may move along the side surface of the main body  10  so that the front surface  110  of the display  100  faces the user or the customer without the rotation of the main body  10 . Accordingly, the serving robot apparatus  1  according to an embodiment of the disclosure may easily interact with a user or a customer. 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  are cross-sectional views illustrating that a display tilts in a vertical direction. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the serving robot apparatus  1  according to an embodiment may further include a third driving device  400  to tilt the display  100  vertical direction. 
     The third driving device  400  may include a tilting motor  410 , a first tilting link  420 , and a second tilting link  430 . 
     The tilting motor  410  may be fixed to the block member  210 , may operate based on an input signal, and may integrally move with the block member  210 . 
     The first tilting link  420  may include one end  421  connected to the tilting motor  410  and another end  422  connected to a rear surface  120  of the display  100 . The first tilting link  420  may move forward or backward by the tilting motor  410  and may push forward or pull backward the display  100 . For example, the tilting link  420  may move the rotation link  411  clockwise, and the first tilting link  420  connected to the rotation link  411  may move forward. 
     The second tilting link  430  may include one end  431  connected to the block member  210  and another end  432  rotatably connected to the rear surface  120  of the display  100 . The second tilting link  430  is integrally moved with the block member  210 , and the other end  432  of the second tilting link  430  may define a pitch axis of the display  100 . The display  100  may tilt in a vertical direction about the other end  432  of the second tilting link  430 . 
     The first tilting link  420  may be disposed below the second tilting link  430 . 
     For example, when the first tilting link  420  moves forward, the front surface  110  of the display  100  may tilt upward, i.e., face toward the upward direction, and when the first tilting link  420  moves backward, the front surface  110  of the display  100  may tilt downward, i.e., be oriented toward the downward direction. 
     Accordingly, the display  100  may interact with a user or a customer sitting or standing in various situations. The pose or gaze of the customer or the location of various physical attributes of the customer, e.g., head, eyes, face, etc., may be determined from an image captured by the aforementioned camera. The amount of tilt of the display  100  may be based on the input signal provided to the tilting motor  410 . The input signal may be generated based on the determined pose or gaze of the customer or the location of various physical attributes of the customer, so that the display  100  is easily viewed by the customer. 
     The processor  700  may control the tilting motor  410  so that preload is applied to the first tilting link  420  based on the main body  10  moving by the first driving device  30 . 
     While the serving robot apparatus  1  is moving, the vibration of the first tilting link  420  and the display  100  that may be generated by the backlash of the tilting motor  410  may be minimized by applying a preload. 
     For example, when the front surface  110  of the display  100  faces forward (outward), as shown in  FIG. 6 , the tilting motor  410  may generate preload in a clockwise direction to allow the preload to be applied to the first tilting link  420  in a backward direction. When the front surface  110  of the display  100  faces upward, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the tilting motor  410  may generate a preload in a counterclockwise direction to allow the preload to be applied to the first tilting link  420  in a front (outward) direction. Accordingly, even while the main body  10  moves, vibration of the display  100  may be minimized. 
     The display  100  may include a stopper protrusion  130 . The stopper protrusion  130  may be formed in the rear surface  120  of the display  100  and may be disposed between the first tilting link  420  and the second tilting link  430 . 
     As a stopper protrusion  130  is operable to be in contact with the first tilting link  420  or the second tilting link  430 , the display  100  may tilt within a preset angle range in a vertical direction. 
     The serving robot apparatus  1  may further include an elastic member  500  disposed on a lower surface of the first tilting link  420  and operably in contact with the stopper protrusion  130 . The elastic member  500  may be made of elastomer, rubber, rubber-like material, or may be a spring, but a type is not limited thereto. 
     The elastic member  500  may of two members, and one of the elastic members may be disposed on an upper surface of the first tilting link  420  and the other one may be disposed on a lower surface of the second tilting link  430 . 
     The stopper protrusion  130  does not directly collide with the first and second tilting links  420 ,  430  but come into contact with the elastic member  500  and thus, damage of parts may be prevented and noise which may occur unintentionally due to collision may be prevented. 
       FIGS. 8 and 9  are diagrams illustrating a structure of a cover member closing a slit of a main body. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the main body  10  may include a slit  16  formed along a side surface of the main body  10 . The slit  16  may be disposed along a moving path of the display  100 . The main body  10  may accommodate the link member  200  and the second driving device  300  therein, and the slit  16  may connect the inside and the outside of the main body  10 , i.e., the slit  16  may provide an opening on the first body  11 . 
     The serving robot apparatus  1  may further include a cover member C. The cover member C may close a slit  16 , and may be slidably supported by the main body  10 , and the block member  210  may be disposed through the cover member C. The cover member C may be formed of a thin film and may have a ring shape. For example, the cover member C may be formed of a low-rigidity plastic, but the material is not limited thereto. 
     For example, when the link member  200  pivots, the block member  210  moving along the guide rail R may push the cover member C. Accordingly, the cover member C may slide along the side surface of the main body  10  and may still close the slit  16 . 
     By the cover member C, the link member  200  and the second driving device  300  may not be exposed to the outside, and the serving robot apparatus  1  may have a compact and clean appearance. 
     The main body  10  may include a guide slot  17  into which the upper end and the lower end of the cover member C are inserted. The guide slot  17  may provide a movement path of the cover member C. The guide slot  17  may have a section corresponding to the slit  16  and the remaining section accommodated in the main body  10 . The remaining section of the guide slot  17  may have a sufficiently large rotational radius so that the frictional force between the cover member C and the guide slot  17  may be minimized. 
     While the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure claimed in the claims.