A kiwifruit picking device, robot and method

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of agricultural picking, and particularly relates to a kiwi fruit picking device, a robot and a method, which comprises a mechanical arm, a mechanical hand and a collecting device; the mechanical arm comprises a plurality of sequentially connected bases, one universal joint is arranged at each end of the base, the universal joints between adjacent bases are hingedly connected to each other, and the adjacent bases are connected through a plurality of springs, and a plurality of tendons penetrate through the mechanical arm; the mechanical hand comprises a connecting piece, a fixed finger, a telescopic finger and a flexible separating finger, the fixed finger and the telescopic finger are used for fixing kiwi fruits, and the flexible separating finger is used for separating the kiwi fruits and fruit stems; the collecting device comprises a base and a collecting tube. Through the above arrangement, the present disclosure provides a simple mechanical arm structure, the control of the mechanical arm is completed through driving the tendons, the weight of the picking device is limited to improve the picking efficiency, and the fruit can be picked efficiently and non-destructively through the mechanical hand, so that the purpose of efficiently picking kiwi fruits is achieved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of agricultural picking, in particular to a kiwi picking device, robot and method. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the production process of kiwi, harvesting accounts for about 40% of the entire workload. The harvesting period is short, and the picking time cannot be too early or too late. Currently, kiwi picking is completed by manual labor, which is a labor-intensive work. There is a great demand for automatic kiwi picking solutions.

[0003] However, the existing kiwi picking mechanism has the following shortcomings:

[0004] (1) The existing picking mechanism can be divided into two fingers, three fingers and four fingers according to the different indexes. Generally, the more fingers, the more stable the grabbing, the more degrees of freedom, the more flexible the grabbing, and the better the effect. However, it will lead to an increase in the weight of the end effector, and the corresponding driving system will become more complex, resulting in a decrease in picking efficiency.

[0005] (2) The existing fruit separation methods for kiwi picking can be active separation and passive separation. The active separation method needs to use some external auxiliary devices such as scissors, saws and lasers for cutting, resulting in a large volume of the end effector, a complex structure and difficulty in control. The passive separation process uses methods such as pulling, breaking and twisting. Pulling will cause the tree to vibrate and the branches to shake, which will cause three additional problems: a, inaccurate detection and spatial positioning of the vision system; b, shaking of the branches causing other fruits to fall; c, directly causing the branches to separate from the tree, and the fruit with branches will cause damage to other fruits. The breaking separation method requires high flexibility of the end effector and the mechanical arm, and will squeeze the nearby trees, causing them to fall. Although twisting is simple to operate, research has found that the average number of rotations needs to reach 16.1 times to achieve fruit and stem separation, and the stem cannot be removed well. SUMMARY

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a kiwi picking device, robot and method.

[0007] The present disclosure provides a kiwi picking device, comprising a mechanical arm, a mechanical hand and a collecting device.

[0008] The mechanical arm comprises a plurality of bases connected in sequence, a universal joint is arranged at both ends of the base, the universal joints between adjacent bases are hingedly connected to each other, and the adjacent bases are connected by a plurality of springs. A plurality of tendons pass through the mechanical arm.

[0009] The mechanical hand comprises a connecting piece, a fixed finger, a telescopic finger and a flexible separating finger, the connecting piece is used for connecting with the mechanical arm, the fixed finger is arranged at one end of the connecting piece away from the mechanical arm, the telescopic finger is slidably arranged in the fixed finger, and the flexible separating finger is connected with the fixed finger; the fixed finger and the telescopic finger are used for fixing kiwifruits, and the flexible separating finger is used for separating kiwifruits and fruit stems.

[0010] The collecting device comprises a base and a collecting pipe, the base is arranged on the connecting piece, and a circular hole is arranged on the base.

[0011] Optionally, the collecting pipe is a flexible piece.

[0012] Optionally, a buffer piece is further arranged on the inner wall of the collecting pipe.

[0013] Optionally, the fixed finger, the telescopic finger and the flexible separating finger are provided in plurality, and the plurality of fixed fingers, the plurality of telescopic fingers and the plurality of flexible separating fingers are evenly distributed on the circumferential side of the connecting piece.

[0014] Optionally, a driving piece is arranged at the bottom of the mechanical arm, and the driving piece is connected with the tendon rope to control the movement of the mechanical arm.

[0015] Optionally, a flexible piece is arranged on the top of the flexible separating finger.

[0016] Optionally, the flexible piece is made of silica gel.

[0017] Optionally, the fixed finger is arranged to be curved towards the center of the connecting piece.

[0018] The present disclosure further provides a kiwifruit picking robot comprising one or more kiwifruit picking devices as described above, and further comprising a rack, a walking device, a navigation sensor, a fruit recognition and positioning sensor and a controller.

[0019] The navigation sensor, the fruit recognition and positioning sensor and the controller are arranged on the rack, the walking device is arranged at the bottom of the rack, the navigation sensor and the fruit recognition and positioning sensor are electrically connected with the controller, and the walking device and the kiwifruit picking device are electrically connected with the controller.

[0020] The present disclosure further provides a kiwifruit picking method using the kiwifruit picking robot as described above, comprising the following steps:

[0021] S1: The fruit recognition and positioning sensor recognizes the fruit, and if the fruit is recognized, the robot stops walking.

[0022] S2: The fruit recognition and positioning sensor scans a target area, and the controller divides the target area into multiple sub-target areas, determines a picking order according to a sequence from far to near, and the navigation sensor collects path planning information required by the robot;

[0023] S3: The fruit recognition and positioning sensor identifies the first sub-target area again, the controller numbers the fruits in the first sub-target area from far to near, and the fruits are picked according to the number;

[0024] S4: The controller controls the robot to walk to the vicinity of the target fruit in the first sub-target area, then controls the mechanical arm to approach the target fruit and pick it, and sequentially completes the picking of the first sub-target area;

[0025] S5: The robot sequentially completes the picking of the multiple sub-target areas according to the picking order.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure has the following advantages:

[0027] The present disclosure provides a kiwi fruit picking device, comprising a mechanical arm, a mechanical hand and a collecting device; the mechanical arm comprises a plurality of bases connected in sequence, a universal joint is arranged at each end of the base, the universal joints of adjacent bases are hingedly connected to each other, and the adjacent bases are connected by a plurality of springs; a plurality of tendons pass through the mechanical arm; the mechanical hand comprises a connecting piece, a fixed finger, a telescopic finger and a flexible separating finger; the connecting piece is used for connecting with the mechanical arm; the fixed finger is arranged at one end of the connecting piece away from the mechanical arm; the telescopic finger is slidably arranged in the fixed finger; the flexible separating finger is connected with the fixed finger; the fixed finger and the telescopic finger are used for fixing kiwi fruits; and the flexible separating finger is used for separating kiwi fruits and fruit stems; the collecting device comprises a base and a collecting tube; the base is arranged on the connecting piece; a circular hole is formed in the base; and the collecting tube is arranged on the circular hole. Through the above arrangement, the present disclosure provides a simple mechanical arm structure, the control of the mechanical arm is completed by driving the tendons, the weight of the picking device is limited to improve the picking efficiency, and the fruits can be picked efficiently and without damage by arranging the mechanical hand and the collecting tube, so that the purpose of efficiently picking kiwi fruits is achieved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] The drawings incorporated into the specification and forming a part thereof, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical schemes in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the prior art, the drawings required to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly introduced as follows, and obviously, other drawings can also be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0030] Figure 1 The overall structural diagram of the mechanical arm is shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 2 For Figure 1 The enlarged view at A in the middle.

[0032] 1, a mechanical arm; 11, a base; 12, a universal joint; 13, a spring; 14, a tendon; 2, a mechanical hand; 21, a connecting piece; 22, a fixed finger; 23, a telescopic finger; 24, a flexible separating finger; 3, a collecting device; 31, a collecting part; 32, a collecting tube. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] In order to enable the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present disclosure to be more clearly understood, the schemes of the present disclosure will be further described below. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0034] In the following description, many specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure can also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein; obviously, the embodiments in the description are only some of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all the embodiments.

[0035] The present disclosure provides a kiwi picking device, comprising a mechanical arm 1, a mechanical hand 2 and a collecting device 3;

[0036] The mechanical arm 1 comprises a plurality of bases 11 connected in sequence, a universal joint 12 is arranged at each end of the base 11, the universal joints 12 of adjacent bases 11 are hingedly connected to each other, and the adjacent bases 11 are connected by a plurality of springs 13, and a plurality of tendons 14 pass through the mechanical arm 1;

[0037] The mechanical hand 2 comprises a connecting piece 21, a fixed finger 22, a telescopic finger 23 and a flexible separating finger 24, the connecting piece 21 is used to connect with the mechanical arm 1, the fixed finger 22 is arranged at the end of the connecting piece 21 away from the mechanical arm 1, the telescopic finger 23 is slidably arranged in the fixed finger 22, and the flexible separating finger 24 is connected with the fixed finger 22, the fixed finger 22 and the telescopic finger 23 are used to fix the kiwi, and the flexible separating finger 24 is used to separate the kiwi and the fruit stem;

[0038] The collecting device 3 comprises a collecting part 31 and a collecting tube 32, the collecting part 31 is arranged on the connecting piece 21, a circular hole is formed on the collecting part 31, and the collecting tube 32 is arranged on the circular hole.

[0039] In the embodiment, a kiwi picking device is provided, comprising a mechanical arm 1, a mechanical hand 2 and a collecting device 3, wherein the mechanical arm 1 comprises a plurality of sequentially connected bases 11, the base 11 is in a circular structure, one universal joint 12 is arranged at each end of the base 11, the universal joints 12 between adjacent bases 11 are hingedly connected, and the adjacent bases 11 are connected through springs 13, one end of the spring 13 is arranged at the edge of the base 11, the other end of the spring 13 is arranged at the edge of the adjacent base 11, and the spring 13 is provided with a plurality of springs, specifically, the adjacent bases 11 can be connected through four to five springs 13, and a tendon 14 is further arranged between the bases 11. Through the above arrangement, the bending and restoring actions of the mechanical arm 1 can be realized.

[0040] The mechanical hand 2 comprises a connecting piece 21, a fixed finger 22, a telescopic finger 23 and a flexible separating finger 24, the connecting piece 21 is used to be connected with the mechanical arm 1, specifically, the connecting piece 21 is in a hexagonal structure, the bottom end of the connecting piece 21 is connected with the mechanical arm 1, the fixed finger 22 is arranged at the end of the connecting piece 21 away from the mechanical arm 1, the telescopic finger 23 is slidably arranged in the fixed finger 22, the flexible separating finger 24 is connected with the fixed finger 22, the fixed finger 22 and the telescopic finger 23 are used to fix the kiwi, and the flexible separating finger 24 is used to separate the kiwi and the fruit stem. In the use process, after the telescopic finger 23 is stretched out and the fruit stem is fixed, the flexible separating finger 24 is bent, and then the fruit and the fruit stem can be separated through the pulling force.

[0041] In the embodiment, a plurality of fixed fingers 22, telescopic fingers 23 and flexible separating fingers 24 are arranged, and the plurality of fixed fingers 22, telescopic fingers 23 and flexible separating fingers 24 are evenly distributed on the circumferential side of the connecting piece 21. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in the drawings, in the embodiment, the fixed finger 22, the telescopic finger 23 and the flexible separating finger 24 are preferably provided with two, and are arranged on the two sides of the connecting piece 21 respectively, so as to fix the kiwi fruit and separate the kiwi fruit.

[0042] Specifically to the collecting device 3, the collecting device 3 comprises a collecting part 31 and a collecting pipe 32 in the embodiment, the collecting part 31 is arranged on the connecting piece 21, a circular hole is formed on the collecting part 31, and the collecting pipe 32 is arranged on the circular hole. The collecting part 31 is protruded on the connecting piece 21, a circular hole is formed in the center of the collecting part 31, and the collecting pipe 32 is arranged on the inner wall of the circular hole. The specific connection mode can adopt the bonding mode or the screwing mode. After the mechanical hand 2 separates the kiwi fruit and the fruit stem, the kiwi fruit will directly fall into the collecting pipe 32.

[0043] Through the above arrangement, the embodiment provides a simple mechanical arm structure, the control of the mechanical arm 1 is completed through the driving of the tendon 14, the weight of the picking device is limited to improve the picking efficiency, and through the arrangement of the mechanical hand 2 and the collecting pipe 32, the fruits can be picked efficiently and without damage, and finally the purpose of efficiently picking the kiwi fruits is achieved.

[0044] Further, the collecting pipe 32 is a flexible member. In order to avoid damage to the kiwi fruits, the collecting pipe 32 in the embodiment is a flexible member, which can be a plastic material or other elastic material.

[0045] In addition, a buffer member is further included, which is arranged on the inner wall of the collecting pipe 32. The buffer member in the embodiment can be a valve-like structure or a semi-spherical protruding structure, and a plurality of buffer members are arranged to increase the resistance and reduce the movement speed of the fruits when the fruits slide, so as to reduce the collision damage of the fruits. Moreover, the buffer member in the embodiment is also a flexible structure.

[0046] Moreover, the bottom of the mechanical arm 1 is provided with a driving member connected with the tendon 14 to control the movement of the mechanical arm 1. The driving member in the embodiment is connected with one end of the tendon 14, and the other end of the tendon 14 is connected with the connecting member 21. The driving of the tendon 14 by the driving member can control the action of the mechanical arm 1.

[0047] In the embodiment, a flexible member is attached to the top of the flexible separating finger 24. Specifically, the main body part of the flexible separating finger 24 is a hard structure, and a flexible member is attached to the top end of the flexible separating finger 24, which can be cloth or silicone material, so as to increase the friction between the flexible separating finger 24 and the fruits, while avoiding damage to the fruits.

[0048] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the fixed finger 22 is curved towards the center of the connecting member 21. In order to facilitate the clamping and disengaging of the kiwi fruits, the fixed finger 22 in the embodiment is curved, and the curved direction is towards the center of the connecting member 21.

[0049] The present disclosure also provides a kiwi picking robot, which comprises one or more of the above-mentioned kiwi picking devices, and further comprises a rack, a walking device, a navigation sensor, a fruit recognition and positioning sensor, and a controller.

[0050] The navigation sensor, the fruit recognition and positioning sensor, and the controller are all arranged on the rack, the walking device is arranged at the bottom of the rack, the navigation sensor and the fruit recognition and positioning sensor are electrically connected with the controller, and the walking device and the kiwi picking device are electrically connected with the controller.

[0051] The kiwi picking robot provided by the present disclosure comprises one or more kiwi picking devices arranged on a rack, and multiple kiwi picking devices can work simultaneously to improve work efficiency. Moreover, a navigation sensor, a fruit recognition and positioning sensor, and a controller are arranged on the rack, the navigation sensor is used to collect path planning information around the robot, the fruit recognition and positioning sensor is used to collect spatial distribution information of fruits around the robot, and the navigation sensor and the fruit recognition and positioning sensor are electrically connected with the controller respectively, information collected by the two is transmitted to the controller, and the controller can obtain the path required for the robot to walk, motion parameters, and information such as spatial coordinates of fruits required for picking, path planning of the mechanical arm 1, and control of the mechanical hand 2 after processing.

[0052] The present disclosure also provides a kiwi picking method using the kiwi picking robot as described above, comprising the following steps:

[0053] S1: The fruit recognition and positioning sensor recognizes fruits, and if fruits are recognized, the robot stops walking;

[0054] S2: The fruit recognition and positioning sensor scans a target area, the controller divides the target area into multiple sub-target areas, determines the picking order according to the order from far to near, and the navigation sensor collects the path planning information required for the robot at the same time;

[0055] S3: The fruit recognition and positioning sensor recognizes the first sub-target area again, the controller numbers the fruits in the first sub-target area from far to near, and picks the fruits according to the numbers;

[0056] S4: The controller controls the robot to walk to the vicinity of the target fruit in the first sub-target area, then controls the mechanical arm 1 to approach the target fruit and pick it, and sequentially completes the picking of the first sub-target area;

[0057] In the above process, the controller numbers the fruits in the first sub-target area according to the order from far to near to determine the picking order. When the target fruit is recognized and picked, obstacles adjacent to the target fruit, such as steel wires and branches, are also recognized, and the remaining fruits separated from the target fruit by the obstacles are determined as un-pickable objects to avoid damaging the mechanical hand. However, for picking of the un-pickable objects, the target fruit can be recognized and judged again only after the target fruit is picked and the robot moves.

[0058] S5: The robot sequentially completes the picking of multiple sub-target areas according to the picking order.

[0059] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0060] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this disclosure, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement it. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not to be limited to the embodiments described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A kiwifruit harvesting device, characterized in that, It includes a robotic arm (1), a robotic hand (2), and a collection device (3); The robotic arm (1) includes several bases (11) connected vertically. A universal joint (12) is provided at each end of the base (11). The universal joints (12) are hinged to each other between adjacent bases (11), and adjacent bases (11) are connected by multiple springs (13). Multiple tendon ropes (14) pass through the robotic arm (1). The robotic arm (2) includes a connector (21), multiple fixed fingers (22), multiple telescopic fingers (23), and multiple flexible separating fingers (24). The connector (21) is used to connect with the robotic arm (1). The fixed fingers (22) are disposed at the end of the connector (21) away from the robotic arm (1). The telescopic fingers (23) are slidably disposed in the fixed fingers (22). The flexible separating fingers (24) are connected to the fixed fingers (22). The fixed fingers (22) and the telescopic fingers (23) are used to fix the kiwifruit. The flexible separating fingers (24) are used to separate the kiwifruit from the fruit stem. The collecting device (3) includes a collecting part (31) and a collecting tube (32). The collecting part (31) is disposed on the connector (21). A round hole is provided on the collecting part (31), and the collecting tube (32) is disposed on the round hole.

2. The kiwifruit harvesting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The collection tube (32) is a flexible component.

3. The kiwifruit harvesting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a buffer element disposed on the inner wall of the collection tube (32).

4. The kiwifruit harvesting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fixed fingers (22), the telescopic fingers (23) and the flexible separating fingers (24) are evenly distributed around the periphery of the connector (21).

5. The kiwifruit harvesting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the robotic arm (1) is provided with a drive unit, which is connected to the tendon rope (14) to control the movement of the robotic arm (1).

6. The kiwifruit harvesting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The top of the flexible separation finger (24) is covered with a flexible element.

7. The kiwifruit harvesting device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The flexible component is made of silicone.

8. The kiwifruit harvesting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fixing finger (22) is bent toward the center of the connector (21).

9. A kiwifruit harvesting robot, comprising one or more kiwifruit harvesting devices as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, It also includes the frame, walking device, navigation sensors, fruit recognition and positioning sensors, and controller; The navigation sensor, fruit identification and positioning sensor, and controller are all mounted on the frame. The walking device is located at the bottom of the frame. The navigation sensor and the fruit identification and positioning sensor are electrically connected to the controller. The walking device and the kiwi fruit picking device are also electrically connected to the controller.

10. A method for harvesting kiwifruit, using the kiwifruit harvesting robot as described in claim 9, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1: The fruit recognition and positioning sensor identifies the fruit. If a fruit is detected, the robot stops moving. S2: The fruit recognition and positioning sensor scans the target area, and the controller divides the target area into multiple sub-target areas. The picking order is determined according to the order from far to near, while the navigation sensor collects the path planning information required by the robot. S3: The fruit recognition and positioning sensor re-identifies the first sub-target area, and the controller numbers the fruits in the first sub-target area from far to near, and picks them according to the numbers; S4: The controller controls the robot to walk to the vicinity of the target fruit in the first sub-target area, and then controls the robotic arm (1) to approach the target fruit and pick it, and completes the picking of the first sub-target area in sequence; S5: The robot completes the harvesting of multiple sub-target areas in sequence according to the harvesting order.

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