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KR-20260063567-A - Serving Robot System connected with Small Mobile Robot

KR20260063567AKR 20260063567 AKR20260063567 AKR 20260063567AKR-20260063567-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a serving robot system used to deliver tableware (or tableware containing food) or items necessary for a meal to a guest, and more specifically, to a small unmanned mobile robot-linked serving robot system comprising a small mobile robot capable of carrying food and boarding or disembarking from the serving robot.

Inventors

  • 이상민
  • 최남호

Assignees

  • 이상민

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241030

Claims (6)

  1. A small unmanned mobile interlocking serving robot system comprising a serving robot (100); and a small mobile robot (200) that gets on and off the serving robot, wherein The above serving robot includes at least one tray (110) for loading tableware and at least one movable plate (120) that provides a flat surface on which a small mobile robot can ride on the serving robot and move. The above tray has one or more incisions (111) that are continuously vertically penetrating from the outer end to the inner direction. The above small mobile robot includes a mobile drive unit (210) for movement, an upper plate (220) for loading tableware containing food, and a coupling unit (230) for mechanically connecting the drive unit and the upper plate. A small unmanned mobile vehicle-linked serving robot system characterized in that at least a portion of the above-mentioned joint has an outer diameter shorter than the minimum width of the cut portion, so that the joint portion of the small mobile robot can board and disembark from the serving robot along the cut portion.
  2. In paragraph 1, A small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system characterized in that at least a portion of the above tray has a multi-stage structure with varying thickness and/or height.
  3. In paragraph 2, A small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system characterized in that at least a portion of the last tier of the tray abutting the above-mentioned cut section has a thickness and/or height that increases from the outer end towards the center.
  4. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 4, A small unmanned mobile interlocking serving robot system characterized by the above-mentioned small mobile robot additionally including a coupling driving unit (240) that moves the coupling unit up and down.
  5. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 4, A small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system characterized by the above serving robot additionally including a tray drive unit that moves the tray and/or movable plate up and down.
  6. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 4, A small unmanned mobile interlocking serving robot system characterized in that one or more of the above trays also serve as a movable plate

Description

Serving Robot System connected with Small Mobile Robot The present invention relates to a serving robot system used to deliver tableware (or tableware containing food) or items necessary for a meal to a guest, and more specifically, to a small unmanned mobile robot-linked serving robot system comprising a small mobile robot capable of carrying food and boarding or disembarking from the serving robot. A serving robot is a type of food tech robot that utilizes autonomous driving technology to recognize objects, including people, in spaces such as restaurants, and performs the role of delivering and retrieving food or items necessary for a meal to the place (table) where the orderer is located. Serving robots of various sizes, shapes, and functions have been developed and released both domestically and internationally, and in Korea, not only small and medium-sized enterprises but also major corporations in the home appliance and telecommunications sectors have been competing to launch diverse types of serving robots and related services. For example, LG Electronics’ CLOi ServeBot recognizes space using a LiDAR sensor and a 3D camera, expands the driving range, and enables communication between robots without an AP, allowing more than 10 robots to be operated stably in the same space. Although the adoption of serving robots is rapidly increasing due to social factors such as the development of artificial intelligence and communication technologies related to serving robots, represented by autonomous driving, the spread of contactless culture triggered by COVID-19, and increased labor costs, the function of loading and unloading tableware (or tableware containing food) or items necessary for meals onto and off serving robots has not yet been implemented. However, although serving robots equipped with one or more robot arms or serving robots that operate in conjunction with separately installed robot arms have been presented through research and development reports and patent literature, it is known that they have not yet reached full-scale commercialization due to the need for high-spec robot arms to load and unload tableware of various shapes and various items required for meals onto the serving robot. Such functional limitations of serving robots are acting as one of the major factors hindering their widespread adoption, despite the popularization of contactless culture and the continuous increase in labor costs. Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram of a small mobile robot-integrated serving robot system. The present invention will be described in detail as follows with reference to the attached drawings, FIG. 1, claims, etc. The present invention relates to a small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system comprising a serving robot and a small mobile robot that boards and disembarks from the serving robot, wherein the serving robot comprises at least one tray for loading tableware and at least one movable plate that provides a flat surface on which the small mobile robot can board and move on the serving robot, the tray has one or more cut sections that are continuously vertically penetrating from an outer end to an inner direction, and the small mobile robot comprises a mobile drive unit for movement, an upper plate for loading tableware containing food, and a coupling unit that mechanically connects the drive unit and the upper plate, wherein at least a portion of the coupling unit has an outer diameter shorter than the minimum width of the cut section, so that the coupling unit of the small mobile robot can board and disembark from the serving robot along the cut section. Here, the serving robot is a serving robot with autonomous driving capabilities that is developed, manufactured, and currently on the market by numerous domestic and international manufacturers. The small mobile robot is configured to include a drive unit, a top plate, and a coupling unit as described above. The drive unit may be configured using a wheel and power generation device of a structure applied to general mobile vehicles, such as one or more wheels or crawler tracks. The top plate may be configured in various shapes, such as a flat plate, a plate, or a tray, taking into consideration the type, shape, and size of the tableware or items to be loaded. It may also have a groove of a corresponding shape when storing cups or water bottles. In addition, the present invention relates to a small mobile robot-linked serving robot system characterized in that at least a portion of the tray has a multi-stage structure with varying thickness and/or height, and a small unmanned mobile vehicle-linked serving robot system characterized in that at least a portion of the last stage of the tray in contact with the cut portion has a thickness and/or height that increases from the outer end portion toward the center portion. Here, the multi-tiered structure with varying thickness and/or height is designed to stably support tableware or items, and the