A tree-climbing robot capable of intelligently identifying and grasping fruits under weak atmospheric disturbance.

Abstract

This invention relates to a tree-climbing robot capable of intelligently identifying and grasping fruit under weak air disturbance conditions. Specifically, it is a tree-climbing robot suitable for harvesting fruit from trees, using a camera to track and film, and employing weak airflow to clear obstacles such as leaves that obstruct the view. It is remotely controlled to achieve intelligent fruit identification and grasping. The robot is characterized by comprising a trunk gripper, a scissor-lifting mechanism, a fruit gripper assembly, a telescopic rod, a controller, a rotating mechanism, a camera, and an air pump. The trunk gripper is connected to the scissor-lifting mechanism, the fruit gripper assembly is connected to the telescopic rod, and the telescopic rod is connected to the rotating mechanism. The controller, rotating mechanism, camera, and air pump are mounted on the scissor-lifting mechanism. Compared with existing technologies, this invention is suitable for harvesting fruit from trees. It uses a jet nozzle at the center of the fruit gripper to blow out a weak airflow to clear obstacles such as leaves, facilitating camera positioning of the fruit and enabling accurate fruit identification and grasping while reducing fruit damage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a tree-climbing robot capable of intelligently identifying and grasping fruit under weak air disturbance, and more particularly to a tree-climbing robot suitable for harvesting fruit from trees, which can be remotely controlled to achieve intelligent identification and grasping of fruit by tracking and filming with a camera, using weak air to blow away obstacles such as leaves that interfere with the view. Background Technology

[0002] Fruit harvesting, a crucial link in the fruit industry, is highly dependent on season and labor. For fruits with high quality requirements, failure to harvest in a timely manner can damage the fruit and cause economic losses for fruit farmers. Currently, the fruit industry still relies on manual harvesting and has not yet entered the stage of mechanization and industrialization. Due to the varying terrain and tree shapes in orchards, two main harvesting methods exist: manual harvesting and machine harvesting. Manual harvesting mainly relies on tools such as ladders, resulting in low harvesting efficiency and high labor intensity. Machine harvesting is mostly vibration-based, which has higher efficiency, but for taller trees, the vibration transmission effect is poor, making it difficult to improve the fruit removal rate. Harvesting robots can achieve precise fruit picking, while existing tree-climbing robots can only crawl along the trunk and cannot accurately identify and grab fruits when encountering obstacles. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a tree-climbing robot that is suitable for harvesting fruit from trees, and can be remotely controlled to intelligently identify and grab fruit by tracking and filming with a camera, using a weak airflow to blow away obstacles such as leaves that interfere with the view.

[0004] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0005] The present invention is characterized in that it includes a trunk gripper, a scissor lifting mechanism, a fruit gripper assembly, a telescopic rod, a controller, a rotating mechanism, a camera, and an air pump; the trunk gripper is connected to the scissor lifting mechanism, the fruit gripper assembly is connected to the telescopic rod, the telescopic rod is connected to the rotating mechanism, and the controller, rotating mechanism, camera, and air pump are mounted on the scissor lifting mechanism.

[0006] The aforementioned tree trunk gripper is mounted on a scissor-type lifting mechanism. The tree trunk gripper consists of a gripper head, a sensor plate, an electric telescopic rod, a gripper bracket, a gripper base, a gripper support, an electric push rod, a push rod motor, and a rotary motor. The gripper head is hinged to the gripper bracket. One end of the electric telescopic rod is connected to the gripper head, and the other end is connected to the gripper bracket. The gripper bracket is hinged to the gripper base. The sensor plate is located on the gripper head. The opening and closing of the tree trunk gripper is controlled by extending the electric telescopic rod. The tree trunk gripper is composed of a single gripper head. The robot consists of a head and six trunk gripper supports, each of which can be controlled independently to clamp the trunk according to its shape. The left and right gripper bases are hinged together by gripper supports. One end of the electric push rod is connected to the gripper base, and the other end is connected to the gripper support. The push rod motor is connected to the electric push rod through a coupling. By controlling the extension and retraction of the electric push rod, the trunk grippers can be moved up and down, allowing the tree-climbing robot to change direction. The rotary motor is located on the bottom support rod of the gripper support. The gripper support is hinged to the scissor lifting mechanism. By controlling the rotary motor, the trunk grippers can swing back and forth, enabling the tree-climbing robot to move from the trunk to the main branch.

[0007] The aforementioned fruit gripper assembly consists of a fruit gripper head, a fruit gripper sensor plate, a gripper electric push rod, a fruit gripper bracket, and an air nozzle. The fruit gripper bracket is mounted on the gripper base and is hinged to the gripper base. The bottom end of the gripper electric push rod is hinged to the fruit gripper bracket, and the top of the push rod is connected to the next gripper section. The fruit gripper sensor plate is mounted on the fruit gripper head. When the gripper picks up a brittle fruit, if the pressure between the gripper and the fruit exceeds the set pressure, the gripper electric push rod stops, and the rotation mechanism controls the fruit gripper assembly to rotate and pick the fruit. The air nozzle is mounted on the gripper base, and the air duct passes through the gripper base and is connected to an air pump. The weak airflow blown out by the air nozzle blows away obstructing leaves.

[0008] The aforementioned rotating mechanism consists of a rotating base, a power helical gear, a rotating bracket, and a rotating gear. The power helical gear is connected to a motor and fixed on the rotating base via a coupling. The power helical gear meshes with the gear connected to the rotating bracket. One end of the rotating bracket is rotatably connected to the rotating base. The rotating gear is connected to the rotating bracket via gear meshing. One end of the rotating gear is connected to a telescopic rod. The extension and retraction of the telescopic rod is controlled by the motor, causing the fruit gripper assembly to extend towards the fruit. The rotation of the motor drives the power helical gear to rotate, causing the rotating gear connected to the rotating bracket to swing, which in turn causes the fruit gripper assembly connected to the rotating gear via the telescopic rod to swing left and right. The rotating gear is located on the rotating bracket. When the motor is working, it drives the rotating gear to rotate, thereby controlling the rotation of the fruit assembly to pick the fruit. The rotating mechanism is connected to the fruit gripper assembly via the telescopic rod, which can control the gripper assembly to swing towards the target fruit and grasp the fruit for rotation.

[0009] The fruit gripper assembly described above consists of four independently controllable grippers. The grippers retract inward and fit snugly against the fruit according to its shape, increasing the contact area and reducing damage to the fruit.

[0010] The tree-climbing robot described above consists of three climbing grippers and two scissor lifting mechanisms. Each climbing gripper can be controlled independently, allowing the tree-climbing robot to move up and down, left and right, and forward and backward.

[0011] Compared with existing technologies, this invention is applicable to harvesting fruits from trees. It uses a camera to track and film the entire harvesting process, observe the position of the fruits, and uses a jet nozzle in the center of the fruit gripper to blow out a weak airflow to clear away obstacles such as leaves, making it easier for the camera to film. This allows for accurate identification and grasping of fruits, reduces fruit damage, and improves fruit harvesting efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0013] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the harvesting mechanism;

[0014] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the fruit gripper assembly;

[0015] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Top view of the tree trunk clamp;

[0016] Figure 5 for Figure 1 The main view of the tree trunk gripper;

[0017] Figure 6 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the left and right movement range of the tree trunk gripper;

[0018] Figure 7 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the forward and backward movement range of the tree trunk gripper;

[0019] Figure 8 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the tree-climbing robot structure;

[0020] Figure 9 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the forward and backward movement range of the tree-climbing robot.

[0021] In the diagram: 1 is the tree trunk gripper, 2 is the scissor lifting mechanism, 3 is the fruit gripper assembly, 4 is the telescopic rod, 5 is the controller, 6 is the rotating mechanism, 7 is the camera, 8 is the air pump, 101 is the tree trunk gripper head, 102 is the tree trunk gripper sensor, 103 is the electric telescopic rod, 104 is the tree trunk gripper bracket, 105 is the gripper base, 106 is the gripper support, 107 is the electric push rod, 108 is the push rod motor, 109 is the rotating motor, 301 is the fruit gripper head, 302 is the fruit gripper sensor, 303 is the gripper electric push rod, 304 is the fruit gripper bracket, 305 is the air nozzle, 601 is the rotating base, 602 is the power helical gear, 603 is the rotating bracket, and 604 is the rotating gear. Detailed Implementation

[0022] Example: Refer to Appendix Figures 1-9 This embodiment describes an intelligent fruit-grabbing tree-climbing robot operating under weak air disturbance conditions. It includes a trunk gripper 1, a scissor-lifting mechanism 2, a fruit gripper assembly 3, a telescopic rod 4, a controller 5, a rotating mechanism 6, a camera 7, and an air pump 8. The trunk gripper 1 is connected to the scissor-lifting mechanism 2, the fruit gripper assembly 3 is connected to the telescopic rod 4, and the telescopic rod 4 is connected to the rotating mechanism 6. The controller 5, rotating mechanism 6, camera 7, and air pump 8 are mounted on the scissor-lifting mechanism 2. The camera 7 monitors and locks onto the target fruit. The controller 5 issues a command to control the fruit gripper assembly 3 to extend towards the fruit. A weak airflow is blown out from the nozzle at the center of the gripper to clear obstacles such as leaves in front of the camera, facilitating remote control for intelligent fruit recognition and grasping.

[0023] The tree trunk gripper 1 is mounted on the scissor-type lifting mechanism 2. The tree trunk gripper 1 comprises a tree trunk gripper head 101, a tree trunk gripper sensor 102, an electric telescopic rod 103, a tree trunk gripper bracket 104, a gripper base 105, a gripper support 106, an electric push rod 107, a push rod motor 108, and a rotary motor 109. The tree trunk gripper head 101 is hinged to the tree trunk gripper bracket 104. One end of the electric telescopic rod 103 is connected to the tree trunk gripper head 101, and the other end is connected to the tree trunk gripper bracket 104. The tree trunk gripper bracket 104 is hinged to the gripper base 105. The tree trunk gripper sensor 102 is mounted on the tree trunk gripper head 101. The opening and closing of the trunk gripper 1 is controlled by controlling the extension length of the electric telescopic rod 103. The trunk gripper 1 consists of a trunk gripper head 101 and six trunk gripper supports 104. Each part can be controlled independently. It clamps the trunk according to its shape. The trunk gripper sensor 102 records the clamping force to avoid damage to the bark of the fruit tree due to excessive clamping force. The two left and right gripper bases 105 are hinged together by gripper supports 106. One end of the electric push rod 107 is connected to the gripper base 105, and the other end is connected to the gripper support 106. The push rod motor 108 is connected to the electric push rod 106 through a coupling. By controlling the extension and retraction of the electric push rod 107, the trunk gripper moves up and down, allowing the tree-climbing robot to change direction. The rotating motor 109 is mounted on the bottom support rod of the gripper support 106, which is hinged to the scissor lifting mechanism 2. By controlling the rotating motor 109 to swing the trunk gripper 1 back and forth, the tree-climbing robot can move from the trunk to the main branch. When the tree-climbing robot is climbing up the trunk and there are branches directly above it obstructing its progress, the robot can change direction by controlling the offset angle of the left and right trunk grippers. When the tree-climbing robot moves from the trunk to the main branch, the robot's transfer is completed by controlling the back-and-forth swing angle of the trunk gripper 1, making it easier for the fruit gripper to grasp the fruit.

[0024] The fruit gripper assembly 3 consists of a fruit gripper head 301, a fruit gripper sensor plate 302, a gripper electric push rod 303, a fruit gripper bracket 304, and an air nozzle 305. The fruit gripper support 304 is mounted on the gripper base and is hinged to the gripper base. The bottom end of the gripper electric push rod 303 is hinged to the fruit gripper support 304, and the top of the push rod is connected to the next gripper section. The fruit gripper sensor 302 is mounted on the fruit gripper head 301. When the gripper picks up a brittle fruit, if the pressure between the gripper and the fruit is greater than the set pressure, the gripper electric push rod 303 stops to avoid excessive pressure damaging the fruit peel. This achieves intelligent wrapping of the fruit according to its shape, precise control of the gripping force, and reduction of fruit damage rate. The rotating mechanism 6 controls the fruit gripper assembly 3 to rotate and pick the fruit. The air nozzle 305 is mounted on the gripper base, and the air duct passes through the gripper base and is connected to the air pump 8. The weak airflow blown out by the air nozzle 5 blows away the obstructing leaves, making it easier for the camera 7 to film the fruit picking process.

[0025] The rotating mechanism 6 consists of a rotating base 601, a power helical gear 602, a rotating bracket 603, and a rotating gear 604. The power helical gear 602 is connected to a motor and fixed to the rotating base 601 via a coupling. The power helical gear 602 is meshed with a gear connected to the rotating bracket 603. One end of the rotating bracket 603 is rotatably connected to the rotating base 601. The rotating gear 604 is connected to the rotating bracket 603 via gear meshing. One end of the rotating gear 604 is connected to a telescopic rod 4. The motor controls the extension and retraction of the telescopic rod 4, causing the fruit gripper assembly 3 to extend towards the fruit. The rotation of the motor drives the power helical gear 602 to rotate, causing the rotating gear 604 connected to the rotating bracket 603 to swing. This causes the fruit gripper assembly 3, connected to the telescopic rod 4 and the rotating gear 604, to swing left and right. The rotating gear 604 is mounted on the rotating bracket 603. When the motor operates, it drives the rotating gear 604 to rotate, thereby controlling the rotation of the fruit assembly 3 and picking the fruit. The rotating mechanism 6 is connected to the fruit gripper assembly 3 via the telescopic rod 4. It can control the gripper assembly 3 to swing to the direction of the target fruit, grab the fruit, rotate the gripper assembly 3, and complete the precise picking of the fruit.

[0026] The fruit gripper assembly 3 consists of four independently controllable grippers. The grippers retract inward to fit the fruit according to its shape, increasing the contact area of ​​the force-bearing 7 and reducing damage to the fruit.

[0027] The tree-climbing robot consists of three tree-climbing grippers 1 and two scissor-type lifting mechanisms 2. Each tree-climbing gripper can be controlled independently, allowing the tree-climbing robot to move up and down, left and right, and forward and backward.

Claims

1. A tree-climbing robot capable of intelligently identifying and grasping fruits under weak air disturbance, characterized in that: The system includes a trunk gripper, a scissor-lift mechanism, a fruit gripper assembly, a telescopic rod, a controller, a rotating mechanism, a camera, and an air pump. The trunk gripper is connected to the scissor-lift mechanism, the fruit gripper assembly is connected to the telescopic rod, and the telescopic rod is connected to the rotating mechanism. The controller, rotating mechanism, camera, and air pump are mounted on the scissor-lift mechanism. The trunk gripper consists of a gripper head, a gripper sensor, an electric telescopic rod, a gripper bracket, a gripper base, a gripper support, an electric push rod, a push rod motor, and a rotating motor. The gripper head is hinged to the gripper bracket. One end of the electric telescopic rod is connected to the trunk gripper head, and the other end is connected to the trunk gripper bracket. The trunk gripper bracket is hinged to the gripper base. The trunk gripper sensor is located on the trunk gripper head. The left and right gripper bases are hinged together by the gripper support. One end of the electric push rod is connected to the gripper base, and the other end is connected to the gripper support. The push rod motor is connected to the electric push rod through a coupling. The trunk gripper moves up and down by controlling the extension and retraction of the electric push rod. The rotary motor is located on the bottom support rod of the gripper support. The gripper support is hinged to the scissor lifting mechanism. The trunk gripper swings back and forth by controlling the rotary motor.

2. The tree-climbing robot for intelligent fruit recognition and grasping under weak air disturbance as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The fruit gripper assembly consists of a fruit gripper head, a fruit gripper sensor plate, a gripper electric push rod, a fruit gripper bracket, and an air nozzle. The fruit gripper bracket is mounted on the gripper base of the fruit gripper assembly, and the fruit gripper brackets are hinged together. The bottom end of the gripper electric push rod is hinged to the fruit gripper bracket, and the top end of the gripper electric push rod is connected to the next section of the fruit gripper bracket. The fruit gripper sensor plate is mounted on the fruit gripper head, and the air nozzle is mounted on the gripper base of the fruit gripper assembly. An air guide tube passes through the gripper base of the fruit gripper assembly and is connected to an air pump.

3. The tree-climbing robot for intelligent fruit recognition and grasping under weak air disturbance as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating mechanism consists of a rotating base, a power helical gear, a rotating bracket, and a rotating gear. The power helical gear is connected to the motor and fixed on the rotating base via a coupling. The power helical gear is meshed with the gear connected to the rotating bracket. One end of the rotating bracket is rotatably connected to the rotating base. The rotating gear is connected to the rotating bracket via gear meshing. One end of the rotating gear is connected to the telescopic rod. The rotating gear is mounted on the rotating bracket.

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