Patent Publication Number: US-11638481-B2

Title: Smart cabinet

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/191,466, filed on Nov. 15, 2018, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by references in their entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The disclosure relates to the field of smart home technologies, and more particularly to a smart cabinet. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With the development of the internet and the improvement of people&#39;s living standards, traditional cabinets are inconvenient to use by manually placing or taking objects, which cannot satisfy the people&#39;s pursuit of smart homes. 
     SUMMARY 
     In the disclosure, a smart cabinet is provided. The smart cabinet comprises a cabinet body, a moving module, a controlling module and an assisting module. The moving module is positioned in the cabinet body, and the controlling module is connected to the moving module and configured for controlling a movement of the moving module. The moving module comprises a base, a guiding wheel group disposed on the base, a plurality of drivers pivotally connected with the guiding wheel group, and a manipulator disposed on the base. The controlling module comprises an input control unit, a guiding rope and a pulley group; the input control unit is electrically connected with the plurality of drivers and the manipulator, the pulley group comprises a plurality of pulleys respectively positioned at predetermined end points, and the plurality of pulleys cooperate to define a movement range for the moving module. The assisting module comprises a rope retractor and a sensor electrically connected with the rope retractor, and two ends of the guiding rope are coupled to the rope retractor. The input control unit is configured for generating displacement control signals correspondingly when obtains a displacement instruction, and controlling the plurality of drivers to drive the guiding wheel group to rotate and thereby drive the guiding rope according to the displacement control signals, so as to change a position of the moving module. The sensor is configured for detecting a tension of the guiding rope, and controlling the rope retractor to release or retract the guiding rope according to a result of the detecting and thereby maintain the tension of the guiding rope in a predetermined range, so as to make the moving module move to a target position in the movement range corresponding to the displacement instruction. 
     Moreover, the input control unit exemplarily comprises a processor and an image capturer electrically connected with the processor, and further comprises at least one of a touch display screen and a wireless communication module; the processor is electrically connected with the plurality of drivers and the manipulator, the image capturer is configured for capturing an image containing placement of objects in the cabinet body and transmitting the image to the processor, the touch display screen is electrically connected with the processor and configured for displaying the image and generating the displacement instruction, and the wireless communication module is electrically connected with the processor and configured for transmitting the image to an external electronic device and receiving the displacement instruction from the external electronic device. 
     Based on the cooperation of the moving module, the controlling module and the assisting module, through an optimized operation mode, the moving module can be easily moved to any position in the cabinet body; the manipulator of the moving module can automatically grasp or release a target object, thereby enabling the smart cabinet more efficient and intelligent. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Accompanying drawings are for providing further understanding of embodiments of the disclosure. The drawings form a part of the disclosure and are for illustrating the principle of the embodiments of the disclosure along with the literal description. Apparently, the drawings in the description below are merely some embodiments of the disclosure, a person skilled in the art can obtain other drawings according to these drawings without creative efforts. In the drawings: 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of a smart cabinet according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a module structure diagram of the smart cabinet of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of a moving module of the smart cabinet of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic structural diagram of the smart cabinet of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  5    is a schematic structural diagram of a controlling module of the smart cabinet of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic diagram of a manipulator of the smart cabinet of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic diagram of an input control unit of  FIG.  2    according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  8    is a schematic diagram of an input control unit of  FIG.  2    according to another embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  9    is a schematic diagram of an input control unit of  FIG.  2    according to still another embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In order to further illustrate the technical means and functions of the disclosure for achieving the intended purpose of the disclosure, the following describes the specific embodiments, structures, features, and effects of a smart cabinet in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   , an embodiment of the disclosure provides a smart cabinet  100 , including a cabinet body  101 , a moving module  10 , a controlling module  20 , and an assisting module  30 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  2    and  FIG.  3   , the moving module  10  is positioned in the cabinet body  101 . The controlling module  20  is connected to the moving module  10 , and is configured for controlling the movement of the moving module  10 . The moving module  10  includes a base  11 , a guiding wheel group  12  disposed on the base  11 , a plurality of drivers  13  pivotally connected to the guiding wheel group  12 , and a manipulator  14  disposed under the base  11 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  2    and  FIG.  4   , the controlling module  20  includes a pulley group  21 , a guiding rope  22 , and an input control unit  23 . The input control unit  23  is electrically connected to the drivers  13  and the manipulator  14 . The pulley group  21  has a number of pulleys respectively disposed at predetermined end points, and the pulleys cooperate with each other to define a movement range F for the moving module  10 . 
     The assisting module  30  includes a rope retractor  32  and a sensor  31  electrically connected with the rope retractor  32 . Two ends of the guiding rope  22  are coupled to the rope retractor  32 . 
     When the input control unit  23  receives a displacement instruction, displacement control signals corresponding to the displacement instruction will be generated. According to the displacement control signals, the drivers  13  are controlled to drive the guiding wheel group  12  to rotate and thereby the guiding rope  22  is driven, to change the location of the moving module  10 . The sensor  31  is capable of detecting the tension of the guiding rope  22 , and controls the rope retractor  32  to extend or retract the guiding rope  22  according to a result of detecting and thereby maintain the tension of the guiding rope  22  in a predetermined range, so that the moving module  10  is moved in the movement range F and moved to a target position corresponding to the displacement instruction. And then a clamping mechanism  142  of the manipulator  14  can be enabled to clamp or release a target object. 
     Referring to  FIG.  3    again, the base  11  can be circular or polygonal in shape. In this embodiment, the base  11  has a square shape, and the guiding wheel group  12  has a first guiding wheel  121 , a second guiding wheel  122 , a third guiding wheel  123 , and a fourth guiding wheel  124 , spaced apart from one another and respectively disposed at four corners of the base  11 . The first guiding wheel  121 , the second guiding wheel  122 , the third guiding wheel  123 , and the fourth guiding wheel  124  have the same radius. 
     The plurality of drivers  13  includes four drivers, which are disposed at four corners of the base  11  spaced apart from one another to drive the four guiding wheels  121 - 124  respectively. The one driving the first guiding wheel  121  is labeled as a first driver  131 , the one driving the second guiding wheel  122  is labeled as a second driver  132 , the one driving the third guiding wheel  123  is labeled as a third driver  133 , and the one driving the fourth guiding wheel  124  is labeled as a fourth driver  134 . 
     The input control unit  23  can include an image capturer, and a touch display screen and/or a voice control recognizer, but is not limited thereto. In particular, as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG.  7   , the input control unit  23  includes a processor  231 , the image capturer  233  and the touch display screen  235 ; the image capturer  233  and the touch display screen  235  are electrically connected with the processor individually. The processor  231  is electrically connected to the drivers  13  and the manipulator  14 , and may be a MCU or an ARM microprocessor. The image capturer  233  is configured (i.e., structured and arranged) for capturing an image containing a placement of objects in the cabinet body  101  and transmitting the image to the processor  231  for processing, and may be a camera. The touch display screen  235  is configured for displaying the image and inputting a displacement instruction by clicking. For example, the user can observe the position where a target object is placed through the image captured by the image capturer  233 , and then click a predetermined position of the touch display screen  235  according to a predetermined manner, as such, a displacement instruction can be generated to move the moving module  10  and enable the manipulator  14  to grasp the target object. In another embodiment, as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG.  8   , the input control unit  23  may further include the voice control recognizer  237  electrically connected with the processor  231 , so that a displacement instruction can be inputted by voice. In still another embodiment, as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG.  9   , the input control unit  23  may include the processor  231 , the image capturer  233  and a wireless communication module  239  instead. The wireless communication module  239  is electrically connected with the processor  231  and may be a Wi-Fi module or a Bluetooth module. Moreover, the wireless communication module  239  can be wireless connected to an external electronic device such as a mobile phone  40 , so as to transmit the image captured by the image capturer  233  to the mobile phone  40  for displaying and receive a displacement instruction from the mobile phone  40 . Herein, the displacement instruction can be generated by clicking a touch display screen of the mobile phone  40 . In addition, in other embodiment, the input control unit  23  may include the processor  231 , the image capturer  233 , the touch display screen  235  and the wireless communication module  239  and optionally include the voice control recognizer  237 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  4   , the pulley group  21  includes a first pulley  211 , a second pulley  212 , a third pulley  213 , and a fourth pulley  214  respectively disposed at four vertices of the cabinet body  101 . The first pulley  211  is vertically arranged, and the second pulley  212 , the third pulley  213 , and the fourth pulley  214  are horizontally arranged. The first pulley  211 , the second pulley  212 , the third pulley  213 , and the fourth pulley  214  may have the same radius, and cooperate together to define a rectangular movement range F for the moving module  10 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  5   , the guiding rope  22  extends between the guiding wheel group  12  and the pulley group  21  in a predetermined order, and two ends of the guiding rope  22  are coupled to the rope retractor  32 . In detail, the rope retractor  32  may be a winder having a roller, and the rope retractor  32  locates corresponding to the first pulley  211 . Two ends of the guiding rope  22  are respectively named as a fixed end  221  and an adjustment end  222  opposite to the fixed end  221 . The sensor  31  can be disposed in the roller of the rope retractor  32 , and the adjustment end  222  of the guiding rope  22  is connected to the sensor  31  and can be driven by the roller of the rope retractor  32 . The sensor  31  detects the tension of the guiding rope  22 , and controls the rotation of the roller of the rope retractor  32  according to the detecting result. When the roller of the rope retractor  32  rotates, the guiding rope  22  can be released or rolled up. 
     The guiding rope  22  includes a first segment D 1  between the fixed end  221  and the first guiding wheel  121 , a second segment D 2  extending from the first guiding wheel  121  to the second pulley  212 , a third segment D 3  extending from the second pulley  212  to the second guiding wheel  122 , a fourth segment D 4  extending from the second guiding wheel  122  to the third pulley  213 , a fifth segment D 5  extending from the third pulley  213  to the third guiding wheel  123 , a sixth segment D 6  extending from the third guiding wheel  123  to the fourth pulley  214 , a seventh segment D 7  extending from the fourth pulley  214  to the fourth guiding wheel  124 , and an eighth segment D 8  extending from the fourth guiding wheel  124  to the first pulley  211 . When the first guiding wheel  121 , the second guiding wheel  122 , the third guiding wheel  123 , or the fourth guiding wheel  124  rotates, the guiding rope  22  is driven, and when the guiding rope  22  is driven, then the first pulley  211 , the second pulley  212 , the third pulley  213  and the fourth pulley  214  are driven to rotate. In other words, the first pulley  211 , the second pulley  212 , the third pulley  213 , and the fourth pulley  214  are driven by the guiding rope  22 , and the guiding rope  22  is driven by the first guiding wheel  121 , the second guiding wheel  122 , the third guiding wheel  123 , and the fourth guiding wheel  124 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  6   , the manipulator  14  includes a telescopic mechanism  141  and the clamping mechanism  142 . The telescopic mechanism  141  is located between the base  11  and the clamping mechanism  142 . The telescopic mechanism  141  of the manipulator  14  may be an automatic telescopic mechanism. For example, the manipulator  14  may further include a driving cylinder (not shown) disposed at the base  11 , and the driving cylinder is connected to the processor  231  of the input control unit  23 . The driving cylinder can drive the telescopic mechanism  141  to be extended or shorted, according to a control instruction from the processor  231  of the input control unit  23 . The clamping mechanism  142  includes a frame  143 , an elastic element  144 , a supporting member  145 , and a number of cushions  146 . One end of the frame  143  that connected to the telescopic mechanism  141  defines a limited opening  1432 , and an opposite end of the frame  143  defines an adjustable opening  1434 . The elastic element  144  is disposed at the end of the frame  143  defining the adjustable opening  1434 . The supporting member  145  and the elastic element  144  are located in the adjustable opening  1434 , and the cushions  146  are located at an inner side of the supporting member  145 . The supporting member  145  can include a plurality of elastic sheets. The frame  143  can be an automatic structure capable of being opened and tightened, for example, when the driving cylinder applies a pushing force or a pressing force to the end of the frame  143  with the limited opening  1432 , the end of the frame  143  with the adjustable opening  1434  can be tightened and form a clamping force on a target object, so the target object can be grasped. It is understood that, the manipulator  14  may be other mechanical assembly such as robotic arm, as long as it can achieve the function of object carrying. 
     The manipulator  14  can automatically reach the target object. When the moving module  10  is moved to a designated position, the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  can automatically control the manipulator  14  to automatically grasp or release the target object. In particular, the frame  143 , the elastic element  144 , the supporting member  145 , and the cushions  146  together form a hollow cylindrical structure, which can protect the target object from being damaged when grasping or releasing a fragile or deformable object. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1 - 6   , using processes of the smart cabinet  100  are described as follows. First, a displacement instruction is input through the input control unit  23 ; the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  generates target coordinates according to the displacement instruction, the target coordinates represent a position where the moving module  10  is moved to reach in the movement range F; and based on initial coordinates, the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  calculates respective initial length (represented as C 1  to C 8  in  FIG.  5   ) of the first segment D 1  to the eighth segment D 8  before the moving module  10  moves, where the initial coordinates represent an initial position before the moving module  10  moves. 
     The initial lengths of the first segment D 1  to the eighth segment D 8  can be calculated as follows: defining an x-axis horizontally extending through the center of the moving range F and a y-axis longitudinally extending through the center of the moving range F, and then the center of the moving range F is defined to be an origin of coordinates (0,0) in a plane coordinate system; according to the following formulas (1) to (12), calculating the respective initial lengths (represented as C 1  to C 8 ) of the first segment D 1  to the eighth segment D 8  before the moving module  10  moves, through the processor  231  of the input control unit  23 .
 
 C 1 sin Φ1= C 2 sin Φ2  (1)
 
 C 3 sin Φ3= C 4 sin Φ4  (2)
 
 C 5 sin Φ5= C 6 sin Φ6  (3)
 
 C 7 sin Φ7= C 8 sin Φ8  (4)
 
Δ y−Oi− 2 S=C 1 cos Φ1+ C 2 cos Φ2  (5)
 
Δ x−Oi− 2 S=C 3 cos Φ3+ C 4 cos Φ4  (6)
 
Δ y−Oi− 2 S=C 5 cos Φ5+ C 6 cos Φ6  (7)
 
Δ x−Oi− 2 S=C 7 cos Φ7+ C 8 cos Φ8  (8)
 
( C 1 cos Φ1+ C 2 cos Φ2) 2   =C 1 2   +C 2 2 −2 C 1 C 2 cos(180−Φ1−Φ2)  (9)
 
( C 3 cos Φ3+ C 4 cos Φ4) 2   =C 3 2   +C 4 2 −2 C 3 C 4 cos(180−Φ5−Φ6)  (10)
 
( C 5 cos Φ5+ C 6 cos Φ6) 2   =C 5 2   +C 6 2 −2 C 5 C 6 cos(180−Φ5−Φ6)  (11)
 
( C 7 cos Φ7+ C 7 cos Φ8) 2   =C 7 2   +C 8 2 −2 C 7 C 8 cos(180−Φ7−Φ8)  (12)
 
     Where Δx refers to a width of the movement range F; Δy refers to a length of the movement range F; S refers to a distance between the intersection of the guiding rope  22  and the movement range F and a corresponding vertex, S may be equal to the diameter of the pulley in the pulley group  21 ; Oi refers to a distance between two intersections at which the guiding rope intersects the periphery of the base  11 , the two intersections are positioned at two opposite sides of the same guiding wheel, Oi may be equal to the diameter of the guiding wheel; C 1  to C 8  refer to the initial length of the first segment D 1  to the eighth segment D 8 , respectively; Φ 1  to Φ 8  refer to a minimum intersection angle between the periphery of the movement range F and the first segment D 1  to the eighth segment D 8 , respectively. 
     Next, according to the target coordinates, the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  calculates the respective target lengths (represented as C 1 ′ to C 8 ′) of the first segment D 1  to the eighth segment D 8  after the moving module  10  moves to the target coordinates, the target lengths are calculated in a similar way to that of the initial lengths. 
     Next, according to the calculated initial lengths and the target lengths, the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  calculates a first length variation corresponding to the first segment D 1 , a second length variation corresponding to the second segment D 2 , a third length variation corresponding to the third segment D 3 , a fourth length variation corresponding to the fourth segment D 4 , a fifth length variation corresponding to the fifth segment D 5 , a sixth length variation corresponding to the sixth segment D 6 , a seventh length variation corresponding to the seventh segment D 7 , and an eighth variation corresponding to the eighth segment D 8 . For example, the first length variation represents the length change of the first segment D 1  before and after the movement of the moving module  10 , that is, the difference between the initial length and the target length of the first segment D 1 . 
     The processor  231  of the input control unit  23  may generate displacement control data corresponding to the displacement instruction according to the calculated first length variation to the eighth length variation. The displacement control data may further include a first rotation direction, a second rotation direction, a third rotation direction, a fourth rotation direction, a first rotation angle, a second rotation angle, a third rotation angle, a fourth rotation angle, a first rotation speed, a second rotation speed, a third rotation speed, and a fourth rotation speed. The first rotation direction, the first rotation angle and the first rotation speed are corresponding to the first driver  131 , the second rotation direction, the second rotation angle and the second rotation speed are corresponding to the second driver  132 , and so on. 
     In detail, the manner in which the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  generates the displacement control data is described below. At first, a first driven length corresponding to the first guiding wheel  121 , a second driven length corresponding to the second guiding wheel  122 , a third driven length corresponding to the third guiding wheel  123 , and a fourth driven length corresponding to the fourth guiding wheel  124  are calculated according to the first length variation to the eight length variation. The first driven length to the fourth driven length respectively represent the length of the guiding rope  22  required to be driven by each of the first guiding wheel  121  to the fourth guiding wheel  124 . Next, the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  determines the first rotation direction to the fourth rotation direction according to the first through fourth driven lengths, and calculates the first through fourth rotation angles. Then, the first rotation speed to the fourth rotation speed are calculated according to the first rotation angle to the fourth rotation angle and a predetermined rotation time. 
     The method of calculating the first to fourth driving lengths is described below according to the following formulas (13)˜(17), and the first driven length to the fourth driven length are respectively defined as ΔCa, ΔCb, ΔCc, and ΔCd.
 
Δ Cn=Cn−Cn′   (13)
 
Δ Ca=ΔC 1= C 1− C 1′  (14)
 
Δ Cb=ΔC 2+Δ C 3+Δ Ca=C 2− C 2′+ C 3− C 3′+Δ Ca   (15)
 
Δ Cc=ΔC 4+Δ C 5+Δ Cb=C 4− C 4′+ C 5− C 5′+Δ Cb   (16)
 
Δ Cd=ΔC 6+Δ C 7+Δ Cc=C 4− C 4′+ C 5− C 5′+Δ Cb   (17)
 
     The first rotation direction to the fourth rotation direction are respectively related to whether the first to fourth driven lengths are positive or negative, and each may be a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction. For example, if the first driven length is a positive value, the initial length of the first segment D 1  is greater than the target length (C1&gt;C 1 ′). That is, when the moving module  10  moves from the initial coordinates to the target coordinates, the first segment D 1  needs to be gradually shortened. Referring to  FIG.  5   , the first rotation direction should be a counterclockwise direction, so that the first guiding wheel  121  rotates to transfer a portion of the first segment D 1  to the second segment D 2 . On the other hand, if the first driven length is a negative value, it means that the initial length of the first segment D 1  is smaller than the target length (C 1 &lt;C 1 ′). That is, when the moving module  10  moves from the initial coordinates to the target coordinates, the first segment D 1  needs to be gradually lengthened. Referring to  FIG.  5   , the first rotation direction should be a clockwise direction, so that the first guiding wheel  121  rotates to transfer a portion of the second segment D 2  to the first segment D 1 . 
     The first through fourth rotational angles are related to the first through fourth driven lengths and the circumferential lengths of the first through fourth guiding wheels  121  to  124 . Specifically, the first rotation angle is equal to the first driven length divided by the circumferential length of the first guiding wheel  121 , and then multiplied by 360 degrees; the second rotation angle is equal to the second driven length divided by the circumference length of the second guiding wheel  122 , and then multiplied by 360 degrees; the third rotation angle and the fourth rotation angle are similar to the above. Taking the first rotation angle as an example, assuming that the first driving length is 20 cm, and the circumference length of the first guiding wheel  121  is 10 cm, then the first guiding wheel  121  needs to rotate 2 times to drive the guiding rope  22  to move 20 cm. As such, the first rotation angle is 720 degrees, in terms of 360 degrees being one rotation. 
     The first rotation speed to the fourth rotation speed are obtained in such a manner that the first driven length to the fourth driven length divided by the predetermined rotation time, respectively. For example, the first driven length is 20 cm, the second driven length is 40 cm, and the predetermined rotation time is 4 seconds, then the first rotation speed is 5 cm/sec (20 cm divided by 4 seconds), and the second rotation speed is 10 cm/sec (40 cm divided by 4 seconds). In this way, the time taken by the first guiding wheel  121 , the second guiding wheel  122 , the third guiding wheel  123 , and the fourth guiding wheel  124  to respectively rotate the first rotation angle, the second rotation angle, the third rotation angle, and the fourth rotation angle, are the same with each other. So that the moving module  10  can be more smoothly operated. 
     Then, based on the displacement control data, the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  controls the first to fourth drivers  131  to  134  to drive the first to fourth guiding wheels  121  respectively, so as to drive the guiding rope  22  and to change the lengths of the first segment D 1  to the eighth segment D 8 . In detail, the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  controls the first driver  131  in the first rotation speed to rotate the first rotation angle toward the first rotation direction; and controls the second driver  132  in the second rotation speed to rotate the second rotation angle toward the second rotation direction; and so on. 
     Next, the sensor  31  detects the tension of the guiding rope  22 , and controls the rope retractor  32  to extend or retract the guiding rope  22  according to a result of detecting and thereby maintain the tension of the guiding rope  22  in a predetermined range. In the illustrated embodiment, the sensor  31  detects the tension of the eighth segment D 8  of the guiding rope  22 , and when the tension of the eighth segment D 8  is too high (i.e., too tight), the sensor  31  controls the rope retractor  32  to release the guiding rope  22  from the adjustment end  222 . On the other hand, when the tension of the eighth segment D 8  is too low (i.e., too loose), the sensor  31  controls the rope retractor  32  to roll up the guiding rope  22 . So and so, until the moving module  10  moves to the target position. 
     At this time, the processor  231  of the input control unit  23  can automatically control the manipulator  14  to automatically grasp or release the target object according to practical needs. 
     In general, based on the cooperation of the moving module  10 , the controlling module  20  and the assisting module  30 , through an optimized operation mode, the moving module  10  can be easily moved to any position in the cabinet body  101 ; the manipulator  14  of the moving module  10  can automatically grasp or release a target object, thereby enabling the smart cabinet  100  more efficient and intelligent. In addition, the clamping mechanism  142  of the moving module  10  forms a hollow cylindrical structure, which can protect the target object from being damaged when grasping or loosening a fragile or deformable object, so it can be applied to special industries. 
     The foregoing contents are detailed description of the disclosure in conjunction with specific preferred embodiments and concrete embodiments of the disclosure are not limited to these descriptions. For the person skilled in the art of the disclosure, without departing from the concept of the disclosure, simple deductions or substitutions can be made and should be included in the protection scope of the application.