Rotating fruit picker

Abstract

The present invention relates to agricultural machinery, and specifically to a rotary-cutting fruit picking machine. The existing technical problems are solved, and the defects of the existing fruit picking tools, such as the inability to automatically distinguish between fruits, thick branches and fruit stalks, causing accidental damage to thick branches and fruits, low efficiency, and inaccurate fruit reception, etc., are targeted. The technical solution of the present invention is: a fruit picking machine has flexible rotation, automatic identification of fruits, thick branches and fruit stalks, no damage to fruits and thick branches, and can pick multiple fruits at one time, with high speed, high efficiency, and time and labor saving. In addition, the present invention is equipped with a control box with built-in fruit shape recognition software and color recognition system in the memory plus a lifting and moving system. The mobile system is like a motor vehicle, and the whole is computer-controlled to become a fruit picking robot, which realizes automatic movement, lifting, automatic identification, automatic fruit picking, automatic entry of fruits into fruit baskets, automatic loading, etc.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to agricultural machinery, in particular to a rotary-cutting fruit picking machine. Background Art

[0002] In addition to general fruits, there are other fruits, such as oil tea fruit, medicinal fruit, seasoning fruit, etc. Basically, the fruits are mixed with branches and leaves, which are not easy to pick. At present, most of them are manual, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive and inefficient. There are also some fruit picking equipment, such as a long pole with scissors on the top and a cloth bag under the scissors, and a pull line is used to achieve the cutting action, but the scissors are easy to damage the fruit, and the cloth bag cannot completely catch the fallen fruit.

[0003] A fruit picker disclosed by the State Patent Office of China, with patent number: 2016106069349, is implemented in this way. It consists of a cylindrical grid surrounded by steel plates and a net bag installed at the bottom of the grid. The upper edge of the grid is provided with more than two opening slots. The shear plate is provided with a shearing notch corresponding to the opening slot of the grid, and the shearing action is achieved by connecting the handle with a pull line. Although there are some improvements, there are still some defects. This design must make the grid and the shear plate in close contact to achieve a better shearing effect, otherwise it is difficult to cut the fruit stalk. However, close contact will increase the friction, making it difficult to rotate and reset, and it is easy to get stuck, resulting in slow shearing speed and low efficiency. In addition, the shear plate is exposed, and it is easy to get injured by touching it, and it may also scratch the fruit skin. Moreover, the connecting rod is nearly vertical to the grid, and the fruit is easy to fall out of the net bag when picking the fruit vertically. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention will solve the existing technical problems and address the defects of existing fruit picking tools, such as the inability to automatically distinguish between fruits, thick branches and fruit stalks, resulting in accidental damage to thick branches and fruits, low efficiency, and inaccurate fruit acceptance.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is: a rotary fruit picking machine has the advantages of flexible rotation, automatic identification of fruits, thick branches and fruit stalks, no damage to fruits and thick branches, and can pick multiple fruits at one time, with high speed, high efficiency, and time and labor saving. In addition, the present invention is provided with a control box, the circuit memory of which has built-in fruit shape recognition software and color recognition system plus a lifting and moving system, the moving system is like a motor vehicle, and the whole is computer-controlled to become a fruit picking robot, realizing automatic movement, lifting, automatic identification, automatic fruit picking, automatic entry of fruits into fruit baskets, automatic loading, etc.

[0006] The rotary cutting fruit picking machine of the present invention comprises a cylindrical shell (including a cylindrical shell and a conical shell)

[0007] The picking head is provided with a cylindrical knife holder mounted on the outer shell, and a blade fixed on the upper end of the knife holder. The knife holder and the outer shell can rotate relatively. The end of the cylindrical outer shell of the picking head is provided with a plurality of curved teeth. There are gaps between the curved teeth. When picking fruits, the fruit stalks can enter the gaps. The width of the gaps is determined by the fruit stalks of the specific fruits to be picked. It is required to be wider than the fruit stalks of the picked fruits, so that the fruits themselves and thick branches cannot enter the gaps. When picking, only the fruit stalks and smaller branches and leaves can enter. With the control of people or the recognition of computers, basically only fruits are picked, which is equivalent to automatic The fruit stalk is distinguished; the initial position of the blade fixed on the knife holder is in the space inside the curved teeth and there is an appropriate gap for it to rotate freely. The blade can be in the curved teeth, so that the blade is not exposed and is protected by the curved teeth. When touched by human hands, it will not be injured, nor will the fruit. In addition, there is a gap in the space inside the curved teeth for the blade to move, so that the resistance is reduced and the rotation is flexible. When picking fruits, the fruit stalk is placed on the curved teeth and contacts the two sides of the curved teeth. The blade passes through it and easily cuts off the fruit stalk at a high speed; a driving mechanism for rotating the knife holder is provided on the outer shell of the fruit picking head.

[0008] There is an inner lining ring on the inner side of the shell, the position of which corresponds to the tool holder, and an arc is arranged on the outer side of the inner lining ring.

[0009] The outer groove is shaped like a circle, and the inner side of the tool holder is also provided with a corresponding arc-shaped inner groove. The corresponding position of the outer shell in the middle is provided with a number of cylindrical sleeve holes, which are built with spherical steel balls with a diameter smaller than the diameter of the sleeve holes. The exposed parts of the steel balls on both sides of the sleeve holes are respectively located in the outer groove and the inner groove. The steel balls correspond to the shapes and sizes of the outer groove, the sleeve holes and the inner groove, and the tool holder, the outer shell and the inner sleeve are movably connected together. The steel balls roll between the three, reducing the friction between them, so that the fruit picking efficiency is further improved.

[0010] In the preferred embodiment, a handle is provided on the side of the fruit picking head, and a bottom plate is provided at the bottom, which is connected to the outer

[0011] The shell forms the whole of the rotary-cutting fruit picker. In some cases, the fruit trees are not high and no long connecting rod is needed, such as peppers and tomatoes. At this time, just increase the diameter of the fruit picking head and add a bottom plate to turn it into a fruit picking basket or a whole fruit picking machine, and add a handle on the side for easy manual operation.

[0012] The angle formed by the curved teeth and the blade is consistent with the center line of the picking head, and is maintained at 0 to 90 degrees.

[0013] The blade is hidden in the curved teeth and its angle with the center line (or central axis) of the fruit picking head should be consistent. According to the specific situation of the fruit to be picked, it can be 0 degrees, that is, the fruit inlet is straight, the whole fruit picking head is straight, it can be inward curved with a certain angle, or it can be perpendicular to the central axis. At all angles, as long as the direction is correctly grasped during operation, the picked fruit can be guaranteed to fall into the basket.

[0014] The drive mechanism is composed of a driven gear on the outside of the tool holder and a driving gear coupled to the motor.

[0015] The motor is powered by a battery and controlled by a circuit in a control box. Driven by the motor, time and labor can be saved, and the fruit picking speed is greatly improved. The motor is powered by a rechargeable battery and controlled by a circuit in a control box. The driving gear on the motor drives the driven gear on the outer side of the knife holder to rotate. There are two ways of rotation: one is that the knife holder rotates unidirectionally around the shell, and the other is that the knife holder rotates back and forth around the shell. The latter is preferred. For a certain fruit stalk, two knives can be used to cut it back and forth.

[0016] There are cameras and corresponding lighting on the side of the fruit picking head.

[0017] The memory has built-in fruit shape recognition software and color recognition system. The bottom of the rotary fruit picker can be fixed on the lifting and moving system. The advantage of installing a lighting lamp on the fruit picking head is that some tree species have dense leaves, which makes it easier to see clearly. The purpose of installing a camera is that some tree trunks are too high and difficult to see with the naked eye. The state of the picked fruit can be clearly seen through the display screen installed at the lower end. The rotary fruit picker can be operated manually in a back-spanning manner, or it can be installed as a whole on the lifting and moving system. The existing lifting and moving system can be used with a slight improvement, such as a forklift. The forklift has a lifting device and is a vehicle that can move. The rotary fruit picker technology can be integrated with the forklift technology. In addition, the fruit shape recognition software and color recognition system can be installed, and the fruit or leaves can be identified by shape, and the maturity of the fruit can be identified by color. In this way, automatic fruit picking can be achieved, that is, using robots to pick.

[0018] The bottom of the fruit picking head is provided with an inverted cone tube, the bottom of the inverted cone tube is connected to the cylindrical rod, and the cylindrical rod

[0019] The end of the rod is connected to the fruit basket. This design is to use manual operation machine to pick fruits when it is inconvenient for large machines to enter the orchard. When the diameter of the picking head is large, the bottom is set as an inverted cone tube, and then connected to the cylindrical rod. This cylindrical rod serves as both an operating handle and a fruit flow channel. Its end is connected to the fruit basket, and the picked fruits can directly enter the fruit basket.

[0020] The driving mechanism is composed of a reset spring, a pull wire and a handle fixed on the cylindrical rod provided on the fruit picking head. One end of the pull wire is fixed on the protrusion of the knife holder, and is connected to the pull wire through the pulley of the fruit picking head shell, the inverted cone tube and the cylindrical rod. When the handle is pulled, the knife holder can be driven to rotate through the pull wire. When the handle is released, the reset spring resets the knife holder. Sometimes, picking can be done without electricity, and the picking task can be completed by the reset spring, pull wire and handle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the following drawings describe only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0022] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional appearance diagram of a rotary-cutting fruit picking machine provided in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional view of the appearance of a rotary fruit picking machine provided by removing the motor drive housing in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 In a preferred embodiment of the present invention Figure 2 A top-down perspective schematic diagram of

[0025] Figure 4 In a preferred embodiment of the present invention Figure 2 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of a section along the center line;

[0026] Figure 5 It is a partial cross-sectional enlarged view of the relationship between the curved teeth and the blade in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 6 In a preferred embodiment of the present invention Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the cross section cut along the center of all rolling steel balls;

[0028] Figure 7 In a preferred embodiment of the present invention Figure 2 A partial schematic diagram of a longitudinal section along the center of one of the rolling steel balls;

[0029] Figure 8 In a preferred embodiment of the present invention Figure 7 Schematic diagram of removing steel balls;

[0030] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of the position relationship among the tool holder, the blade and the steel ball in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a fruit picking head in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle formed by the curved teeth and the blade and the center line of the fruit picking head is 0 degrees;

[0032] Fig.11 It is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a fruit picking head in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle formed by the curved teeth and the blade and the center line of the fruit picking head is 90 degrees;

[0033] Fig.12 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the driving mechanism is composed of a return spring provided on the fruit picking head, a pull wire and a handle fixed on the cylindrical rod to form the whole machine;

[0034] Fig.13 In a preferred embodiment of the present invention Fig.12 An enlarged schematic diagram of the fruit picking head.

[0035] Component markings in the figure:

[0036] Fruit picking head 1, bottom plate 11, knife holder 2, blade 21, driven gear 22, inner groove 23, return spring 24, shell 3, curved teeth 31, vacancy 32, space inside curved teeth 33, wire wheel 34, sleeve hole 35, driving mechanism 4, driving mechanism shell 41, power switch 411, irradiation lamp 412, camera 413, battery 42, motor 43, driving gear 44, control box 45, pull wire 46, handle 47, inner lining ring 5, outer groove 51, handle 6, steel ball 7, inverted cone tube 8, cylindrical rod 9, fruit basket 10, shoulder strap buckle 12. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The description of illustrative embodiments according to the principles of the present invention is intended to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of the invention disclosed herein (including the claims), any reference or designation to the direction or orientation of parts is for convenience of description only and does not limit the scope of the invention. For example, relative terms such as up, down, left, right, inside, outside, far, near, etc. should be understood to refer to the directions in the above-described drawings.

[0038] A preferred embodiment includes a fruit picking head 1 with a cylindrical housing 3, a cylindrical knife holder 2 mounted on the housing 3, and a blade 21 fixed to the upper end of the knife holder 2. The knife holder 2 and the housing 3 can rotate relative to each other. The end of the cylindrical housing 3 of the fruit picking head 1 has a plurality of curved teeth 31, and there are gaps 32 between the curved teeth 31. When picking fruits, the fruit handle (not shown) can enter the gaps 32; the initial position of the blade 21 fixed to the knife holder 2 is in the space 33 in the curved teeth (see Figure 5 ) and there is an appropriate gap for it to rotate freely. The fruit picking head shell 3 has a driving mechanism 4 that allows the knife holder 2 to rotate around the center line O. Figures 1 to 5It can be seen that the fruit picking process is as follows: the fruit picking head 1 is brought close to the fruit of the fruit tree, the fruit is allowed to enter from the upper opening, and the edge is brought close to the fruit, so that the fruit stem will enter the gap 32, and the fruit stem is supported on the two sides of the curved teeth 31, while the fruit itself and the thick branches are too large to enter the gap 32, and at this time, multiple fruit stems may enter the gap 32, that is, multiple fruits can be picked at one time, which improves efficiency, and the driving mechanism 4 is started (such as pressing the switch 411), and the blade 21 will enter the gap 32 with the rotation of the knife holder 2 to cut off the fruit stem, and the fruit will fall into the shell 3 after the stem is cut off.

[0039] In the preferred embodiment, see Figures 4 to 9 In order to make the knife holder 2 on the fruit picking head 1 rotate more flexibly around the shell 3, an inner lining ring 5 is provided on the inner side of the shell 3, and its position corresponds to that of the knife holder 2. An arc-shaped outer groove 51 is provided on the outer side of the inner lining ring 5, and a corresponding arc-shaped inner groove 23 is also provided on the inner side of the knife holder 2. A plurality of cylindrical sleeve holes 35 are provided at the corresponding positions of the middle shell 3, and spherical steel balls 7 with a diameter smaller than that of the sleeve holes 35 are built therein. The exposed parts of the steel balls 7 on both sides of the sleeve holes 35 are respectively located in the outer groove 51 and the inner groove 23. The steel balls 7 correspond to the shapes and sizes of the outer groove 51, the sleeve holes 35 and the inner groove 23, and the knife holder 2, the shell 3 and the inner lining ring 5 are movably sleeved together.

[0040] Preferred examples, see Figures 1 to 2 The side of the fruit picking head 1 is provided with a handle 6, and the bottom is provided with a bottom plate 11. Figure 4 , and the housing 3 form a rotary fruit picker as a whole. In this example, the rotary fruit picker can be relatively large in size and become a fruit picking basket. The driving mechanism 4 can be electric or with an additional handle and return spring (not shown). It is suitable for shorter tree species, such as peppers, tomatoes, etc.

[0041] According to different requirements, the angle formed by the curved teeth 31 and the blade 21 and the center line O of the fruit picking head 1 is consistent and maintained within 0 to 90 degrees. Fig.10 , 90 degree state see Fig.11 The method of picking fruit is similar to the above.

[0042] When the driving mechanism 4 is electric, in the preferred embodiment, the driving mechanism 4 is coupled by a driven gear 22 provided on the outside of the blade holder 2 and a driving gear 44 connected to a motor 43, and the motor 43 is powered by a battery 42 and controlled by a circuit in a control box 45. The driven gear 22 here is a small section of a complete gear, or a full circle gear, and the driving gear is similar. In the preferred embodiment, a part of the gear is used, and the motor is controlled by the circuit to rotate back and forth, causing the blade 21 to move back and forth between the curved teeth 31 to cut off the fruit stem.

[0043] A camera 412 and a corresponding illumination lamp 413 are installed on the side of the fruit picking head 1. When the fruit tree is too high, the leaves are too dense, and the light is too dim, we can use the illumination lamp 413 and the camera 412 to assist us in picking the fruit. Figure 1 It is arranged at the top of the driving mechanism housing 41. The control box 45 outside the fruit picking head 1 has built-in fruit shape recognition software and color recognition system, and the combined effect of the camera 412 can distinguish fruits and judge the maturity of fruits, laying the foundation for automatic fruit picking. The bottom of the rotary fruit picking machine 1 can be fixed on the lifting and moving system. If the existing forklift technology is used, the above technology can be combined to complete automatic fruit picking.

[0044] The preferred embodiment is a manual operation back-span (or shoulder-carrying) operation, in which the bottom of the fruit picking head 1

[0045] An inverted cone tube 8 is provided, the bottom of the inverted cone tube 8 is connected to a cylindrical rod 9, and the end of the cylindrical rod 9 is connected to a fruit basket 10. The driving mechanism 4 is composed of a reset spring 24, a pull wire 46 and a handle 34 fixed on the cylindrical rod 9 provided on the fruit picking head 1. One end of the pull wire 46 is fixed to the protrusion of the tool holder 2, and is connected to the handle 47 through the pulley 34 of the shell 3 of the fruit picking head 1, the inverted cone tube 8 and the cylindrical rod 9. When the handle 47 is pulled, the tool holder 2 can be driven to rotate through the pull wire 46. When the handle 47 is released, the reset spring 24 resets the tool holder. The two ends of the belt are tied to the shoulder buckle 12, and the integral rotary cutting fruit picking machine can be carried on the shoulder, which is convenient and practical.

[0046] The accompanying drawings describe preferred embodiments of the present invention; however, the present invention is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present invention, a variety of simple modifications can be made to the technical solution of the present invention, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0047] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present invention will not further describe various possible combinations.

[0048] In addition, various embodiments of the present invention may be arbitrarily combined, and as long as they do not violate the concept of the present invention, they should also be regarded as the contents disclosed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A rotary fruit picking machine, comprising a fruit picking head with a cylindrical housing, a cylindrical knife holder mounted on the housing, and a blade fixed to the upper end of the knife holder, wherein the knife holder and the housing can rotate relative to each other, and characterized in that: A plurality of curved teeth are provided at the end of the cylindrical shell of the fruit picking head, and there are gaps between the curved teeth. When picking fruits, the fruit stalks can enter the gaps; the width of the gaps is determined by the stalks of the specific fruits to be picked; the initial position of the blade fixed on the tool holder is in the space inside the curved teeth and there is an appropriate gap for it to rotate freely; a driving mechanism for rotating the tool holder is provided on the shell of the fruit picking head; the angles formed by the curved teeth and the blades and the center line of the fruit picking head are consistent, and the inner curve with a certain angle is maintained within a range greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 90 degrees.

2. The rotary fruit picking machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: An inner lining ring is provided on the inner side of the outer shell, and its position corresponds to that of the tool holder. An arc-shaped outer groove is provided on the outer side of the inner lining ring, and a corresponding arc-shaped inner groove is also provided on the inner side of the tool holder. A plurality of cylindrical sleeve holes are provided at the corresponding positions of the middle outer shell, and spherical steel balls with a diameter smaller than that of the sleeve holes are built in them. The exposed parts of the steel balls on both sides of the sleeve holes are respectively located in the outer groove and the inner groove. The steel balls correspond to the shapes and sizes of the outer groove, the sleeve holes and the inner groove, and the tool holder, the outer shell and the inner sleeve are movably sleeved together.

3. The rotary fruit picking machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: A handle is provided on the side of the fruit picking head, and a bottom plate is provided on the bottom, which forms a whole fruit picking machine with the shell.

4. The rotary fruit picking machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving mechanism is coupled by a driven gear provided on the outside of the tool holder and a driving gear connected to a motor, and the motor is powered by a battery and controlled by a circuit in a control box.

5. The rotary fruit picking machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: A camera and a corresponding illumination lamp are arranged on the side of the fruit picking head.

6. The rotary fruit picking machine according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that: The control box outside the fruit picking head has built-in fruit shape recognition software and color recognition system in its circuit memory.

7. The rotary fruit picking machine according to claim 6, characterized in that: The entire bottom of the fruit picking machine is fixed on the lifting and moving system.

8. The rotary fruit picking machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: An inverted cone tube is arranged at the bottom of the fruit picking head, the bottom of the inverted cone tube is connected with a cylindrical rod, and the end of the cylindrical rod is connected with a fruit basket.

9. The rotary fruit picking machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving mechanism is composed of a reset spring, a pull wire and a handle fixed on the cylindrical rod provided on the fruit picking head. One end of the pull wire is fixed to the protrusion of the tool holder, and is connected to the pull wire through the fruit picking head shell, the inverted cone tube and the pulley of the cylindrical rod. When the handle is pulled, the tool holder can be driven to rotate through the pull wire. When the handle is released, the reset spring resets the tool holder.

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