Parking robot for a transportation vehicle with at least two axles and method for operating a parking robot

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11312415-B2
Application number	US-201916703259-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 4, 2019
Priority date	Dec 6, 2018
Publication date	Apr 26, 2022
Grant date	Apr 26, 2022

Abstract

A parking robot for a transportation vehicle having at least two wheel axles and a method for operating a parking robot. The parking robot includes a main robot part and a secondary robot part which each have a pair of wheel support arms on two opposite sides. The two-part parking robot then moves under the transportation vehicle with respective folded-in wheel support arms and disconnects the secondary robot part from the main robot part to position the main robot part and the secondary robot part each in a region of one of the wheel axles beneath the transportation vehicle and to lift up respective wheels of the respective wheel axle of the transportation vehicle by folding out the respective pairs of wheel support arms.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A parking robot for a transportation vehicle having at least two wheel axles, wherein the parking robot comprises:
a main robot part; and
a secondary robot part,
wherein the main robot part includes a sensor device configured and positioned to sense the surroundings of the parking robot and determine the location of obstacles for the parking robot with the lifted-up transportation vehicle in the sensed surroundings, and a control device configured to determine respective travel trajectories for both the main robot part and the secondary robot part,
wherein a first side of the secondary robot part is initially attached to a first side of the main robot part, wherein the secondary robot part is controlled based on the travel trajectory determined by the main robot part,
wherein the main robot and the secondary robot each have a pair of wheel support arms on two opposite sides, and
wherein the main robot part and the secondary robot part are controlled and configured to move under the transportation vehicle while the secondary robot part is attached to the main robot part with the wheel support arms being completely folded-in and is further configured to disconnect the secondary robot part from the main robot part after the main robot part and the secondary robot part are moved into a position under the transportation vehicle so as to position the main robot part and the secondary robot part each in a region of one of the wheel axles beneath the transportation vehicle and to lift up respective wheels of the respective wheel axle of the transportation vehicle by folding out the respective pairs of wheel support arms.

2. The parking robot of claim 1 , wherein, in a flat partial region in which the respective pair of wheel support arms is arranged on two opposite sides, the main robot part has a flat surface and is movably mounted on at least one roller.

3. The parking robot of claim 1 , wherein the main robot part has a raised partial region which comprises an electric main drive machine, a battery for supplying the electric main drive machine with electrical energy and at least one drive wheel for propelling the main robot part and the secondary robot part connected to the main robot part, and a communication interface for a communication link to the disconnected secondary robot part.

4. The parking robot of claim 3 , wherein the raised partial region of the main robot part comprises the sensor device.

5. The parking robot of claim 4 , wherein the raised partial region of the main robot part comprises the control device, the control device configured to determine the respective travel trajectory for the main robot part and the secondary robot part to a predefined target position taking into account map data which is made available by the control device, the sensed transportation vehicle surroundings and the obstacles whose location has been determined.

6. The parking robot of claim 5 , wherein the control device actuates the main robot part in accordance with the travel trajectory for the main robot part by the electric main drive machine and makes available the travel trajectory for the secondary robot part to the secondary robot part via the communication link.

7. The parking robot of claim 1 , wherein the secondary robot part has a flat surface mounted on at least one roller which is actuated, and an electric secondary drive machine configured at least to move the secondary robot part from the main robot part as far as one of the wheel axles of the transportation vehicle and back again to the main robot part, a battery for supplying the electric secondary drive machine with electrical energy, and a communication interface for a communication link to the main robot part.

8. The parking robot of claim 1 , wherein the respective wheel support arms have respective sliding rollers which, in a folded-out position of the respective wheel support arms, are arranged in a longitudinal direction of the respective sliding rollers, parallel to the wheel axles of the transportation vehicle.

9. A method for operating a parking robot in which the transportation vehicle is raised by the parking robot, the method comprising:
providing a main robot part including a sensor device configured and positioned to sense the surroundings of the parking robot and determine the location of obstacles for the parking robot with the lifted-up transportation vehicle in the sensed surroundings, and a control device to determine respective travel trajectories for both the main robot part and the secondary robot part;
attaching the secondary robot part to the main robot part, wherein the main robot and the secondary robot each have a pair of wheel support arms on two opposite sides, wherein the secondary robot part is controlled based on the travel trajectory determined by the main robot part;
moving the main robot part and the secondary robot part under the transportation vehicle while the secondary robot part is attached to the main robot part with the wheel support arms completely folded in;
disconnecting the secondary robot part from the main robot part after the main robot part and the secondary robot part are moved into a position under the transportation vehicle;
positioning the main robot part and the secondary robot part each in a region of one of the wheel axles beneath the transportation vehicle; and
lifting up respective wheels of the respective wheel axle of the transportation vehicle by folding out the respective pairs of the wheel support arms.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
determining a respective travel trajectory for the main robot part and the secondary robot part to a predefined target position by a control device of the main robot part;
making the travel trajectory for the secondary robot part to the secondary robot part via the communication link; and
moving the main robot part and the secondary robot part which support the lifted-up transportation vehicles to the predefined target position in accordance with the respective travel trajectory and setting the transportation vehicle down at the target position.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein, in a flat partial region in which the respective pair of wheel support arms is arranged on two opposite sides, the main robot part has a flat surface and is movably mounted on at least one roller.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the main robot part has a raised partial region which comprises an electric main drive machine, a battery for supplying the electric main drive machine with electrical energy and at least one drive wheel for propelling the main robot part and the secondary robot part connected to the main robot part, and a communication interface for a communication link to the disconnected secondary robot part.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
sensing the surroundings of the parking robot via the sensor device of the raised partial region of the main robot part; and
determining the location of obstacles for the parking robot with the lifted-up transportation vehicle in the sensed surroundings via the sensor device.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
determining a respective travel trajectory for the main robot part and the secondary robot part to a predefined target position via the control device of the raised partial region of the main robot part, taking into account map data which is made available by the control device, the sensed transportation vehicle surroundings and the obstacles whose location has been determined.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
actuating the main ro

Assignees

• Volkswagen Ag

Inventors

• Tzivanopoulos Theodoros
• Herold Stephan
• Ramos Juan Mauricio Toro
• Schütz Daniel

Classifications

• E04H6/34

  characterised by use of movable platforms · CPC title

• B62D15/0285 Primary

  Parking performed automatically · CPC title

• E04H6/36 Primary

  characterised by use of freely-movable dollies · CPC title

• E04H6/422

  Automatically operated car-parks · CPC title

• B60W10/20

  including control of steering systems · CPC title