Cotton topping module and operation method thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of agricultural operation technology, specifically a cotton topping module and an operation method thereof. The topping module includes a main body component, a visual component, a fill light component, and a plurality of topping arm components. The main body component is provided with a central controller. The camera of the visual component can downwardly capture images of cotton plants within a shooting range and can obtain topping target information through the central controller. The fill light component can illuminate the shooting range of the camera. Each topping arm component receives a control signal from the central controller and can realize the topping arm's movement in multiple degrees of freedom through a topping arm drive motor, thereby achieving precise topping action on the topping target in space. The cotton topping module and operation method provided by the present invention can accurately top the top of each cotton plant, with a higher topping accuracy rate, a low rate of missed or mis-topping, and a reduced yield reduction ratio while ensuring the topping effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of agricultural operations, in particular to a cotton topping module and an operation method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Existing cotton topping methods and equipment are relatively simple and crude, failing to meet the demands for automated and precise operations. Existing cotton topping methods primarily fall into chemical and physical methods. Among chemical methods, drone spraying, while highly efficient, lacks precision, making it prone to difficulty controlling the application area and resulting in yield losses. This is especially true when cotton growth falls short of expectations and standardized cotton rows fail to reach the top. Drone spraying can directly impact the bolls below the tops, or even the roots, resulting in significant yield losses. In such cases, drone topping becomes unsuitable. Among physical methods, traditional manual topping is costly and inefficient, requiring significant manpower and cost. Existing topping equipment often replicates the terrain and then cuts at a uniform height. Operating solely based on topography, it cannot precisely address the varying heights or other characteristics of each cotton plant's tops, leading to missed or inaccurate topping and significant yield losses. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In order to overcome the defects in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a cotton topping module and an operating method thereof that can achieve precise operation.

[0004] One of the objectives of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0005] A cotton topping module comprises a main body component, a visual component, a fill light component and several topping arm components. The topping arm component comprises a base, a multi-degree-of-freedom topping arm and a corresponding topping arm drive motor, and a topping cutter head installed at the end of the topping arm. Each topping arm component is fixedly connected to several mounting parts distributed at the bottom of the main body component through the base. The visual component and the fill light component are fixedly connected to the main body component. A central controller is provided in the main body component. A downward-facing camera is provided on the visual component. The camera can capture images of cotton plants within a shooting range and can obtain topping target information through the central controller. The fill light component can illuminate the shooting range of the camera. Each topping arm component receives a control signal from the central controller and can realize the movement of the topping arm in multiple degrees of freedom through the topping arm drive motor, thereby realizing precise topping action on the topping target in space.

[0006] As a preferred technical solution, the topping arm includes a rotating base and a swing arm, the upper end of the rotating base is rotatably connected to the lower end of the base, one end of the swing arm is rotatably connected to the rotating base, and the other end is connected to the topping cutter head, and the topping arm drive motor includes a first drive motor and a transmission mechanism arranged in the base and a second drive motor and a transmission mechanism arranged in the rotating base, the first drive motor can drive the rotating base to rotate and swing left and right around the Z axis relative to the base, and the second drive motor can drive the swing arm to rotate and swing up and down around the Y axis relative to the rotating base.

[0007] As a preferred technical solution, the cotton topping module further includes a traveling machine, and the main body component is fixedly connected to the traveling machine and can move along with the traveling machine.

[0008] As a preferred technical solution, the mounting portion is a mounting seat protruding downward from the bottom plate of the main body assembly, and the front side surface of the base of each topping arm assembly can be detachably connected to the rear side surface of each mounting seat through screw holes and bolts passing through the front and rear directions of the mounting seat. The lower surface and rear side surface of the rotating seat are provided with an avoidance groove for the swing arm to be inserted and rotated up and down therein.

[0009] As a preferred technical solution, at least two mounting parts are provided at the bottom of the main body component, which are divided into at least two horizontal rows along the front-to-back direction. The mounting parts of each horizontal row are spaced apart along the left-right direction, and the mounting parts of different horizontal rows are staggered. One of the topping arm components can be detachably installed on each mounting part, and the total number of topping wall components installed on the main body component is equal to or less than the total number of mounting parts.

[0010] As a preferred technical solution, the fill light assembly is fixedly connected to the front side of the main body assembly, and the front side of the fill light assembly is provided with a light-emitting surface inclined downward. The visual assembly is connected to the main body assembly through a positioning extension frame and extends to the front of the fill light assembly and is higher than the fill light assembly.

[0011] As a preferred technical solution, the cotton topping module further includes a shading component for shading external ambient light.

[0012] As an optimal technical solution, the topping cutter head includes a protective cover with an opening at the lower end, a blade arranged in the protective cover, a connecting seat arranged at the upper end of the protective cover and used to connect the swing arm, and a blade drive motor arranged in the connecting seat and used to drive the blade to rotate.

[0013] The second object of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0014] A cotton topping operation method is applied to the above-mentioned cotton topping module, comprising the following steps: calibrating the positional relationship between the camera, the main component and the topping arm component to establish a spatial coordinate system; transmitting the cotton plant image captured by the camera to the central processing unit of the main component for identification, and extracting the spatial coordinates of the cotton tops to be toppled; the central processing unit calculates and analyzes the spatial coordinates of each topping arm component and the spatial coordinates of each cotton top and outputs motion control instruction information, and each topping arm component moves according to the motion control instruction information to accurately top the cotton top of each cotton plant.

[0015] Compared with the existing technology, the cotton topping module and its operation method provided by this patent mainly have the following technical effects: 1. The image of the cotton plant taken by the camera is transmitted to the central processor of the main component for identification, and the cotton tops to be toppled and their spatial coordinates are extracted. The algorithm processes and outputs motion control information, and the topping arm moves according to the instructions to accurately top the top of each cotton plant. The topping accuracy is higher, the rate of missed or mis-topping is low, and the yield reduction ratio is reduced while ensuring the topping effect. 2. The topping arm assembly adopts a single-arm structure consisting of a base, a rotating seat and a swing arm. The structural design is simple and occupies little space. It can increase the number of topping arm assemblies that can be installed at the bottom of the main component, and the space in the base and the rotating seat is used to install the first drive motor, the second drive motor and the corresponding transmission mechanism. The space utilization rate is high and the protection is good. During operation, branches, leaves, dewdrops, rainwater and other debris are not easy to enter the drive motor and its transmission mechanism to cause malfunctions. 3. A downwardly protruding mounting seat is provided, and the topping arm assembly is fixedly installed by passing bolts through the mounting seat in the front and rear directions, which is convenient and reliable to install; each mounting seat is divided into two horizontal rows, and the mounting seats in each horizontal row are arranged at intervals, which can increase the number of topping arm assemblies installed on the main assembly without causing motion interference between the topping arm assemblies. 4. The cotton top recognition method is based on the growth characteristics of cotton itself. By identifying the distribution of the cotton trunk and stems and leaves, the growth position of the cotton top is inferred. This logic identifies the cotton trunk and stems and leaves in the image and converts them into vector images. By connecting the vector images, the starting point is obtained, which is the cotton top. Compared with the traditional direct target recognition of cotton tops, this logic is less affected by image quality and takes into account the structural characteristics of the plant itself, which can effectively improve the recognition rate.

[0016] The concept, specific structure and effects of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to fully understand the purpose, features and effects of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the cotton topping module in Example 1;

[0018] Figure 21 is a schematic structural diagram of the cotton topping module in Example 1 from another perspective;

[0019] Figure 3 1. It is a structural schematic diagram of the topping arm assembly;

[0020] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the topping arm assembly after the shell is partially hidden.

[0021] Among them: main body component 1, mounting part 11, visual component 2, camera 21, extension frame 22, fill light component 3, light emitting surface 31, topping arm component 4, base 41, rotating seat 42, avoidance groove 421, swing arm 43, topping cutter head 44, protective cover 441, blade 442, connecting seat 443, blade drive motor 444, first drive motor 45, second drive motor 46. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0023] Example 1:

[0024] like Figure 1-4As shown, this embodiment provides a cotton topping module, including a main body component 1, a visual component 2, a fill light component 3 and six topping arm components 4, the topping arm component 4 includes a base 41, a multi-degree-of-freedom topping arm and a corresponding topping arm drive motor, and a topping cutter head 44 installed at the end of the topping arm, each topping arm component 4 is fixedly connected to a plurality of mounting parts 11 distributed at the bottom of the main body component 1 through the base 41, the visual component 2 and the fill light component 3 are fixedly connected to the main body component 1, a central controller is provided in the main body component 1 (not shown in the accompanying drawings), a downward-facing camera 21 is provided on the visual component 2, the camera 21 can capture images of cotton plants within the shooting range downward and can obtain topping target information through the central controller, the fill light component 3 can illuminate the shooting range of the camera 21, and each topping arm component 4 receives a control signal from the central controller, and can realize the movement of the topping arm in multiple degrees of freedom through the topping arm drive motor, thereby realizing precise topping action on the topping target in space. Among them, the fill light assembly 3 is fixedly connected to the front side of the main body assembly 1, and the front side of the fill light assembly 3 is provided with a light-emitting surface 31 inclined downward. The visual assembly 2 is connected to the main body assembly 1 through a positioning extension frame 22 and extends to the front of the fill light assembly 3 and is higher than the fill light assembly 3. The topping arm includes a rotating seat 42 and a swing arm 43. The upper end of the rotating seat 42 can be rotatably connected to the lower end of the base 41. One end of the swing arm 43 can be rotatably connected to the rotating seat 42, and the other end is connected to the topping cutter head 44. The topping arm driving motor includes a first driving motor 45 and a transmission mechanism arranged in the base 41 and a second driving motor 46 and a transmission mechanism arranged in the rotating seat 42. The first driving motor 45 can drive the rotating seat 42 to rotate and swing left and right relative to the base 41 around the Z axis, and the second driving motor 46 can drive the swing arm 43 to rotate and swing up and down relative to the rotating seat 42 around the Y axis; the topping cutter head 44 includes a protective cover 441 with an opening at the lower end, a blade 442 arranged in the protective cover 441, a connecting seat 443 arranged at the upper end of the protective cover 441 and used to connect the swing arm 43, and a blade driving motor 444 arranged in the connecting seat 443 and used to drive the blade 442 to rotate.

[0025] Its working principle and beneficial effects are as follows: the camera 21 is fixed at the front end of the visual component 2, and obtains the image of the cotton plant from the top to obtain the topping target information; the fill light component 3 illuminates the shooting range of the camera 21 obliquely downward, and cooperates with the external shading component (omitted in the drawings, in other embodiments, the shading component can also be set on the main component 1) to create good imaging conditions for the camera 21; the six topping arm components 4 are controlled by the central processing unit, and have two rotational motion degrees of freedom in the Z axis and the Y axis. Cooperating with the external traveling equipment (omitted in the drawings, in other embodiments, the cotton topping module can also have its own traveling equipment) the third degree of freedom of movement enables the topping blade 44 at the end of the swing arm 43 to accurately top the top of each cotton plant in three-dimensional space, with a higher topping accuracy and a low rate of missed or mis-hitting, thereby reducing the yield reduction ratio while ensuring the topping effect. In addition, the topping arm assembly 4 adopts a single-arm structure consisting of a base 41, a rotating seat 42 and a swing arm 43. The structural design is simple and occupies a small space. It can increase the number of topping arm assemblies 4 that can be installed at the bottom of the main assembly 1, and utilize the space within the base and the rotating seat 42 to install the first drive motor 45, the second drive motor 46 and the corresponding transmission mechanism. The space utilization rate is high and the protection is good. During operation, branches, leaves, dewdrops, rainwater and other debris are not easy to enter the drive motor and its transmission mechanism and cause malfunctions.

[0026] As a preferred embodiment, the mounting portion 11 is a mounting seat protruding downward from the bottom plate of the main body component 1, and is divided into two horizontal rows along the front-to-back direction. The three mounting seats in each horizontal row are spaced apart along the left-to-right direction, and the mounting seats in different horizontal rows are staggered. The front side surface of the base 41 of each topping arm component 4 can be detachably connected to the rear side surface of the corresponding mounting seat through screw holes and bolts running through the front-to-back directions of the mounting seat. The lower surface and rear side surface of the rotating seat 42 are provided with an avoidance groove 421 for the swing arm 43 to be inserted and rotated up and down therein. A limiting mechanism is provided in the rotating seat 42 for limiting the swing range of the swing arm 43, so that each swing arm 43 can only rotate and swing up and down within the range directly behind or below the rotating seat 42. Since the mounting seats in each horizontal row are staggered, the swing arms 43 will not interfere with each other when moving; the remaining positions on the bottom plate of the main body component 1 are used to contact, support and fix with the mounting plane of the external equipment (such as traveling machinery). The technical effects of this design include: providing a downwardly protruding mounting seat, and fixing the topping arm assembly 4 by means of bolts passing through the mounting seat in the front and rear directions, which makes installation convenient and reliable; each mounting seat is divided into two horizontal rows and the mounting seats in each horizontal row are arranged at intervals, which can increase the number of topping arm assemblies 4 installed on the main body assembly 1 without causing motion interference between the topping arm assemblies 4.

[0027] Example 2:

[0028] This embodiment provides a cotton topping operation method, which can be applied to the cotton topping module in Example 1, including the following steps: calibrating the positional relationship between the camera 21, the main component 1 and the topping arm component 4 to establish a spatial coordinate system; transmitting the cotton plant image taken by the camera 21 to the central processor of the main component 1 for identification, and extracting the spatial coordinates of the cotton tops that need to be toppled; the central processor calculates and analyzes the spatial coordinates of each topping arm component 4 and the spatial coordinates of each cotton top and outputs motion control instruction information, and each topping arm component 4 acts according to the motion control instruction information to accurately top the cotton tops of each cotton plant.

[0029] Preferably, the identification of the cotton top comprises the following steps:

[0030] S1. Perform Gaussian filtering on the image to remove noise interference and improve image quality, perform background threshold segmentation on the cotton image, and extract a relatively complete cotton plant image;

[0031] S2, performing dimensionality reduction processing on the obtained colored cotton image, converting the image into a grayscale image, retaining the main trunk and stem and leaf shape distribution information of the cotton in the original image, performing edge detection with the Canny operator, obtaining the cotton edge and stem and leaf main trunk image, achieving effective separation of the cotton and background image, and retaining only the cotton edge and stem and leaf main trunk information;

[0032] S3. Process the obtained cotton edge binary image. Based on the growth characteristics of cotton, the edges of cotton leaves are relatively curved. Therefore, the curved image should be the leaf edge, and the remaining image is the stem and leaf trunk. Linear detection is performed on the cotton edge binary image. The straight line image is extracted as C1, and the remaining image is C2. The pixel values ​​in images C1 and C2 are the edge information of the cotton edge binary image.

[0033] S4. Let C1(x,y) and C2(x,y) be the pixel points at the coordinate positions in the line image C1 and the residual image C2, and judge C1(x,y) and C2(x,y). If C1(x,y)=C2(x,y), it means that (x,y) is the leaf tip coordinate. If C1(x,y)≠C2(x,y), it means that (x,y) is not the leaf tip coordinate. Save all leaf tip coordinates {(x,y)}.

[0034] S5. Convert the straight line image C1 into a vector, with the starting point being the leaf tip coordinate {(x,y)}. Obtain the intersection coordinates {(x',y')} of all vectors. Draw a circle with a radius of 5 pixels, and use each pixel in C1 as the center of the circle for judgment. If there are intersection coordinates (x',y') in the circle and there are more than n intersection coordinates, the intersections are considered to be clustered. Calculate the average coordinates of all intersections in the circle (Σx / n,Σy / n). These coordinates are the center coordinates of the cotton top; n is a natural number greater than 0, and this parameter can be set.

[0035] The cotton topping operation method provided in this embodiment mainly has the following technical effects: 1. The image of the cotton plant taken by the camera 21 is transmitted to the central processor of the main component 1 for identification, and the cotton tops to be torn off and their spatial coordinates are extracted. The algorithm processes and outputs motion control information, and the topping arm moves according to the instructions to accurately top the top of each cotton plant. The topping accuracy is higher, and the rate of missed or mis-topping is low, which reduces the yield reduction ratio while ensuring the topping effect. 2. The cotton top recognition method is based on the growth characteristics of cotton itself. By identifying the distribution of the cotton trunk and stems and leaves, the growth position of the cotton top is inferred. This logic identifies the cotton trunk and stems and leaves in the image and converts them into vector images. By connecting the vector images, the starting point is obtained, which is the cotton top. Compared with the traditional direct target recognition of cotton tops, this logic is less affected by image quality and takes into account the structural characteristics of the plant itself, which can effectively improve the recognition rate.

[0036] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present application and an illustration of the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of the invention involved in this application is not limited to the technical solutions formed by the specific combination of the above-mentioned technical features, but also encompasses other technical solutions formed by any combination of the above-mentioned technical features or their equivalents without departing from the inventive concept. For example, a technical solution formed by replacing the above-mentioned features with (but not limited to) technical features with similar functions disclosed in this application.

Claims

1. A cotton topping module, characterized in that: The topping arm assembly includes a main body component, a visual component, a fill light component and several topping arm components. The topping arm assembly includes a base, a multi-degree-of-freedom topping arm and a corresponding topping arm drive motor, and a topping cutter head installed at the end of the topping arm. Each topping arm assembly is detachably connected to several mounting parts distributed at the bottom of the main body component through the base. The visual component and the fill light component are detachably connected to the main body component. A central controller is provided in the main body component. A downward-facing camera is provided on the visual component. The camera can capture images of cotton plants within the shooting range and can obtain topping target information through the central controller. The fill light component can illuminate the shooting range of the camera. Each topping arm assembly receives a control signal from the central controller and can realize The topping arm moves in multiple degrees of freedom to achieve precise topping of the topping target in space. The cotton topping operation method of the cotton topping module includes the following steps: calibrating the positional relationship between the camera, the main component and the topping arm component to establish a spatial coordinate system; transmitting the cotton plant image captured by the camera to the central processor of the main component for recognition, and extracting the spatial coordinates of the cotton tops to be toppled; the central processor calculates and analyzes the spatial coordinates of each topping arm component and the spatial coordinates of each cotton top and outputs motion control instruction information, and each topping arm component moves according to the motion control instruction information to accurately top the cotton top of each cotton plant; wherein the recognition of the cotton top includes the following steps: S1. Perform Gaussian filtering on the image to remove noise interference and improve image quality, perform background threshold segmentation on the cotton image, and extract a relatively complete cotton plant image; S2, performing dimensionality reduction processing on the obtained colored cotton image, converting the image into a grayscale image, retaining the main trunk and stem and leaf shape distribution information of the cotton in the original image, performing edge detection with the Canny operator, obtaining the cotton leaf edge and stem and leaf main trunk image, achieving effective separation of the cotton and background image, and retaining only the cotton leaf edge and stem and leaf main trunk information; S3. Process the obtained binary image of the cotton leaf edge. According to the growth characteristics of cotton, the edge of the cotton leaf is relatively curved. Therefore, the curved image should be the leaf edge, and the remaining image is the stem and leaf trunk. Line detection is performed on the binary image of the cotton leaf edge. The straight line image is extracted as C1, and the remaining image is C2. The pixel values ​​in images C1 and C2 are the edge information of the binary image of the cotton leaf edge; S4. Let C1(x,y) and C2(x,y) be the pixel points at the coordinate positions in the line image C1 and the residual image C2, and judge C1(x,y) and C2(x,y). If C1(x,y) = C2(x,y), it means that (x,y) is the leaf tip coordinate. If C1(x,y)≠C2(x,y), it means that (x,y) is not the leaf tip coordinate. Save all leaf tip coordinates {(x,y)}. S5. Convert the straight line image C1 into a vector, starting at the leaf tip coordinates {(x,y)}. Obtain the intersection coordinates {(x',y')} of all vectors. Draw a circle with a radius of 5 pixels, using each pixel in C1 as the center. If there are more than n intersection coordinates (x',y') in the circle, the intersections are considered clustered. Calculate the average coordinates of all intersections in the circle (Σx / n,Σy / n). These coordinates are the center coordinates of the cotton top; where n is a natural number greater than 0.

2. The cotton topping module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The topping arm includes a rotating base and a swing arm. The upper end of the rotating base is rotatably connected to the lower end of the base. One end of the swing arm is rotatably connected to the rotating base, and the other end is connected to the topping cutter head. The topping arm driving motor includes a first driving motor and a transmission mechanism arranged in the base and a second driving motor and a transmission mechanism arranged in the rotating base. The first driving motor can drive the rotating base to rotate and swing left and right around the Z axis relative to the base, and the second driving motor can drive the swing arm to rotate and swing up and down around the Y axis relative to the rotating base.

3. The cotton topping module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cotton topping module also includes a traveling tool, and the main body component is fixedly connected to the traveling tool and can move along with the traveling tool.

4. The cotton topping module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The mounting portion is a mounting seat protruding downward from the bottom plate of the main body assembly. The front surface of the base of each topping arm assembly can be detachably connected to the rear surface of each mounting seat through screw holes and bolts passing through the front and rear directions of the mounting seat. The lower surface and rear surface of the rotating seat are provided with avoidance grooves for the swing arm to be inserted and rotated up and down therein.

5. The cotton topping module according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least two mounting portions are provided at the bottom of the main body component, which are divided into at least two horizontal rows along the front-to-back direction. The mounting portions in each horizontal row are spaced apart along the left-right direction, and the mounting portions in different horizontal rows are staggered. One of the topping arm components can be detachably mounted on each mounting portion, and the total number of topping wall components installed on the main body component is equal to or less than the total number of mounting portions.

6. The cotton topping module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fill light assembly is fixedly connected to the front side of the main body assembly, and the front side of the fill light assembly is provided with a light-emitting surface inclined downward. The visual assembly is connected to the main body assembly through a positioning extension frame and extends to the front of the fill light assembly and is higher than the fill light assembly.

7. The cotton topping module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cotton topping module also includes a shading component for shading external ambient light.

8. The cotton topping module according to claim 2, characterized in that: The topping cutter head includes a protective cover with an opening at the lower end, a blade arranged in the protective cover, a connecting seat arranged at the upper end of the protective cover and used to connect the swing arm, and a blade driving motor arranged in the connecting seat and used to drive the blade to rotate.

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