A feeding robot

Abstract

The application relates to a feeding robot, belonging to the technical field of livestock feeding. The feeding robot comprises a walking device, a position sensor, a memory, a hopper, a feeding device and a control module; the walking device is movably arranged on a guide rail; the position sensor is used for detecting the position information of the feeding robot on the guide rail in real time; the memory stores the position information of a trough and a target feeding amount; the hopper and the feeding device are arranged on the walking device; the feeding device comprises a bowl, a weighing module and a first driving member; the hopper is provided with a discharge port and a discharging module; the discharging module is arranged on one side of the discharge port; the weighing module is used for measuring the weight of the feed contained in the bowl; the first driving member drives the bowl to rotate to face the discharge port or the trough; the control module controls the walking device to stop or move on the guide rail; and the control module further controls whether the discharging module works. The feeding robot provided by the application can reduce the equipment cost required for feeding.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of livestock feeding, in particular to a feeding robot. BACKGROUND

[0002] The domestic pig refers to a pig breed raised by humans for food, and in the process of feeding a pregnant sow, the feeding curve of the pregnant sow needs to be adjusted according to the body type of the sow, so that the body type of the pregnant sow approaches the standard body type, and the high risk of delivery or low survival rate of piglets caused by the sow being too fat or too thin is avoided.

[0003] In order to feed sows of different body types, the existing feeding operation needs to provide a feeding device for each sow in the limit stall in the barn, and the cost of the feeding device is high. In addition, in order to make the body type of the pregnant sow approach the standard body type, the amount of feed for each feeding of the sow needs to be controlled according to the feeding curve, and the conventional feeding device is prone to errors when feeding, resulting in a large difference between the amount of feed consumed by the sow and the feeding curve, and poor control effect on the body type of the sow. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application aims to solve the above problems, and provides a feeding robot which can reduce the cost of the feeding device and improve the above problems.

[0005] The present application is achieved by the following technical scheme:

[0006] The present application provides a feeding robot which walks on a guide rail and can feed feed to a trough in a limit stall. The feeding robot comprises a walking device, a position sensor, a memory, a hopper, a feeding device and a control module. The walking device is movably arranged on the guide rail. The position sensor is used to detect the position information of the feeding robot on the guide rail in real time. The memory stores the position information of the trough and a target feeding amount. The hopper and the feeding device are arranged on the walking device. The feeding device comprises a bowl, a weighing module and a first driving member. The hopper has a discharge port and a discharging module. The discharging module is arranged on one side of the discharge port. The weighing module is used to measure the weight of the feed in the bowl. The first driving member drives the bowl to rotate to face the discharge port or the trough. The control module controls the walking device to stop or move on the guide rail based on the position information of the feeding robot on the guide rail detected by the position sensor and the position information of the trough stored in the memory. The control module also controls whether the discharging module works based on the target feeding amount and the sensing data of the weighing sensor.

[0007] In the technical scheme of the embodiment of the application, the walking device is movably arranged on the guide rail; the feeding robot provided by the application walks along the guide rail to the position of the corresponding limiting fence through the walking device, the real-time position information of the feeding robot on the guide rail is obtained through the position sensor, the control module controls the walking device to stop moving on the guide rail when the position information of the walking device on the guide rail detected by the position sensor and the position information of the trough stored in the memory correspond to each other, so that the feeding robot provided by the application can feed in the position corresponding to the trough, the feeding device has a receiving state and a feeding state, when the feeding device is in the receiving state, the opening of the bowl is directly opposite the discharge port, the hopper feeds the feed into the bowl through the discharge port, the weighing module simultaneously weighs the weight of the feed contained in the bowl, when the weight of the feed in the bowl reaches the required weight, the hopper stops discharging, the feeding device is separated from the receiving state, the first driving member drives the bowl to overturn to be directly opposite the trough, the feeding device enters the feeding state, the feed in the bowl is fed into the trough directly opposite the bowl in the process of overturning of the bowl and when the feeding device is in the feeding state, the feeding device is repeatedly converted between the receiving state and the feeding state, and then the total weight of the feed fed into the trough by the feeding device is more accurately controlled through the detection result of the weighing module each time, so that the total weight of the feed in the trough after each feeding can reach the target feeding amount of the trough, the body shape of the pregnant sow is effectively controlled; after the feeding of the feed is completed, the feeding robot provided by the application walks along the guide rail to the limiting fence where the next feeding is required, and the above detection and feeding process is repeated, one feeding robot can sequentially feed the troughs in the multiple feeding fences, so that the feeding demand of the multiple sows is met, and the equipment cost of feeding the pregnant sows is reduced.

[0008] In some embodiments, a first vision sensor is further included, the first vision sensor is used to acquire an image of the trough and determine the residual amount of the feed in the trough based on an image detection algorithm; the control module determines whether to alarm based on the relationship between the residual amount of the feed in the trough and a first threshold, the first threshold is pre-set in the memory.

[0009] In the technical scheme of the embodiment of the application, the first visual sensor is arranged on the hopper and faces the trough, and is used to detect the remaining amount of the feed in the trough. The existing feeding equipment mostly uses a detection probe or a method of relying on the number of times that the sow touches the magnetic ring on the trough to determine the remaining amount of the feed in the trough. The surface of the detection probe is possibly contaminated by the feed, and the detection probe is repeatedly inserted into different troughs for detection, and thus the detection probe is in contact with the residual feed in the troughs, and the detection probe possibly contaminates the residual feed in the troughs and accelerates the rate of corruption of the feed in the troughs. The method of relying on the number of times that the sow touches the magnetic ring on the trough to determine the remaining amount of the feed in the trough has the hidden danger that the sow repeatedly plays with the magnetic ring, which causes the recorded data of the number of times that the sow touches the magnetic ring on the trough to be abnormal. When the recorded data of the number of times that the sow touches the magnetic ring on the trough is abnormal, the amount of the feed put into the existing feeding equipment is possibly too much or too little, which affects the health of the sow and loses the effect of controlling the body shape of the sow. The first visual sensor of the feeding robot provided in the application is used to detect the remaining amount of the feed in the trough, the remaining amount of the trough is determined by recognizing the picture information collected by the first visual sensor, the first visual sensor does not contact the feed in the trough, the risk of contamination of the feed is reduced, the detection result is more accurate, the condition that the remaining amount of the feed in the trough is too much is timely informed to the operator, the operator can timely find the abnormal condition of the sow corresponding to the trough and timely take treatment measures according to the abnormal condition, and in addition, the amount of the feed to be put in the next time is adjusted according to the amount of the remaining feed in the trough, so that the body shape of the sow is effectively controlled.

[0010] In some embodiments, a second visual sensor is further included, the second visual sensor is used to image the sow in the limiting fence, and the body shape of the sow in the limiting fence is determined based on an image detection algorithm; and the control module adjusts the target feeding amount of the sow in the limiting fence based on the body shape of the sow in the limiting fence.

[0011] In the technical scheme of the embodiment of the present application, the second visual sensor is arranged on the hopper, and the second visual sensor is opposite to the limiting fence and is used for detecting the body shape of the sow in the limiting fence. The picture of the body shape of the sow collected is compared with the preset standard body shape and scored, the feeding curve of the sow in the limiting fence is adjusted in time through the score, the amount of the feed that can be eaten by the sow in the limiting fence in the present feeding process is obtained, the trouble of manually observing the body shape of the sow or measuring the back fat of the sow to adjust the feeding curve of the sow is saved, and the labor cost in the feeding process of the sow is reduced. After the first visual sensor collects the image of the trough, the amount of the remaining feed in the trough (i.e. the weight of the remaining feed) can be obtained according to the distance between the remaining feed in the trough and the opening of the trough and the weight of the feed per unit volume, and the feeding curve of the sow in the limiting fence is determined according to the image of the body shape of the sow in the limiting fence collected by the second sensor, so that the amount of the feed to be fed this time (i.e. the amount of the feed in the trough after the present feeding is determined through the feeding curve, and the amount of the feed to be fed this time is obtained by subtracting the amount of the remaining feed in the trough at this time from the amount) is obtained. In this way, the total amount of the feed in the trough after feeding can tend to meet the requirement of the feeding curve, so that the body shape of the sow can be better adjusted.

[0012] In some embodiments, the discharging module comprises a fourth driving member and an auger, the auger is arranged on the inner side of the hopper, and the hopper is opposite to the discharge port, the auger is connected to the output end of the fourth driving member, and the fourth driving member drives the rotation of the auger to send the feed contained in the hopper out of the discharge port.

[0013] In the technical scheme of the embodiment of the present application, the fourth driving member drives the rotation of the auger to send the feed contained in the hopper out of the discharge port. The auger can timely send the feed in the hopper out of the discharge port, and can also inhibit the feed in the hopper from separating from the discharge port by stopping rotating. The auger can cooperate with the feeding device to accurately control the amount of the feed fed into the trough, so that the body shape control of the pregnant sow can be realized. After the feed at the bottom of the hopper is sent out of the discharge port by the auger, the feed at the top of the hopper may be agglomerated and blocked in the hopper, so that a cavity without feed is formed near the auger on the inner side of the hopper. On the one hand, during the movement of the feeding device on the guide rail, the hopper continuously shakes due to the movement, the shaking of the hopper drives the continuous movement of the feed in the hopper, thereby reducing the agglomeration and local accumulation and blockage of the feed in the hopper, and reducing the risk of the cavity at the bottom of the hopper. On the other hand, when the cavity is formed at the bottom of the hopper, the weighing module can measure that there is not enough amount of feed in the bowl, and then notify the worker of the abnormal situation to check and maintain the feeding robot, so as to avoid the situation that the feeding robot is empty and the worker cannot timely find out, thereby causing the sow to be hungry and injured.

[0014] In some embodiments, the control module controls whether the discharging module works based on the target feeding amount and the sensing data of the weighing module, specifically: the control module divides the target feeding amount into N portions, N≥2, and determines the feeding amount of each portion;

[0015] When the discharging module discharges the first, second, …, and N-1 portions of feed, the control module controls the auger to rotate at a first rotating speed, and the weighing module measures the actual discharging amount M1, M2, …, and M N-1 ;

[0016] When the discharging module discharges the Nth portion of feed, the control module corrects the discharging amount of the Nth time based on the target feeding amount and the actual discharging amounts of the first N-1 times to obtain a corrected discharging amount, controls the discharging module to discharge the feed at the corrected discharging amount, and controls the auger to rotate at a second rotating speed, where the first rotating speed is greater than the second rotating speed.

[0017] In the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application, when the discharging module discharges the first, second, …, and N-1 portions of feed, the auger rotates at a faster first rotating speed, and when the discharging module discharges the Nth portion of feed, the auger rotates at a slower second rotating speed, thereby reducing the risk that the amount of feed falling into the bowl continues to be large when the discharging amount is corrected due to the fast rotating speed of the auger, and the error between the final feeding amount of the feed discharged into the trough and the target feeding amount is large. Except for the discharging process of the Nth portion of feed, the auger rotates at a faster first rotating speed, thereby ensuring accurate feeding while improving the feeding rate.

[0018] In some embodiments, the guide rail is a rack, and the walking device comprises a first gear and a second driving member; the first gear is engaged with the teeth of the guide rail; and the second driving member drives the first gear to rotate to push the walking device to move along the guide rail.

[0019] In the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application, the second driving member drives the first gear to rotate to push the walking device to move along the guide rail, and the cooperation between the first gear and the guide rail is simple, the cooperation effect is stable, the stability is high, and the disassembly and maintenance process is relatively simple.

[0020] In some embodiments, the walking device further comprises a base, and the second driving member is arranged on the base; the base and the first gear are respectively located on opposite sides of the guide rail in a second direction; the guide rail supports the base; and the base and the guide rail are in sliding cooperation, and the second direction is perpendicular to the walking direction of the walking device.

[0021] In the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application, the base and the first gear are respectively located on opposite sides of the guide rail in a second direction, the guide rail supports the base, and the base and the guide rail are in sliding cooperation, so that the base and the first gear sandwich the opposite sides of the guide rail in the second direction, and the base and the first gear are not easy to fall off the guide rail, thereby improving the safety of the feeding robot during work.

[0022] In some embodiments, a third driving member is further included, the third driving member is arranged on the base, the third driving member is connected with the feeding device through the first arm, and the third driving member drives the feeding device to move towards or away from the hopper along the first direction, the first direction, the second direction and the moving direction of the walking device are perpendicular to each other.

[0023] In the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application, the third driving member is connected with the feeding device through the first arm, and the third driving member drives the feeding device to move towards or away from the hopper along the first direction. When the position of the trough in the limiting fence deviates from the original position or there is an obstacle between the trough and the bowl, the bowl can be driven by the third driving member to move along the first direction to face the trough or avoid the obstacle, so that the feed in the bowl can fall into the trough.

[0024] In some embodiments, the walking device further includes a brake assembly, a first guide wheel and a second guide wheel. The brake assembly is arranged on the base and is used to control the walking device to stop moving on the guide rail. The first guide wheel and the second guide wheel are rotatably arranged on the base, and the first guide wheel and the second guide wheel are in rotational contact with the two opposite sides of the guide rail along the second direction, respectively. The first guide wheel and the second guide wheel clamp the guide rail.

[0025] In the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application, the first guide wheel and the second guide wheel are in rotational contact with the two opposite sides of the guide rail along the second direction, respectively, and the first guide wheel and the second guide wheel clamp the guide rail. The first guide wheel and the second guide wheel can keep in contact with the guide rail and guide the whole walking device to move along the extension direction of the guide rail, thereby improving the stability of the walking device moving on the guide rail and reducing the risk of the walking device deviating from the guide rail.

[0026] In some embodiments, the feeding device further includes a second arm, one end of the second arm is connected with the output end of the first driving member, and the weighing module and the bowl are arranged on the other end of the second arm. The weighing module is connected with the bowl and the second arm.

[0027] In the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application, the weighing module and the bowl are arranged on the end of the second arm away from the first driving member. The weighing module is connected with the bowl and the second arm, so that when the feeding device is in the material receiving state, the weighing module can support the bowl, thereby measuring the weight of the feed in the bowl in time.

[0028] Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some of the embodiments of the present application, and therefore should not be regarded as a limitation to the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can also be obtained without creative labor.

[0030] Figure 1 An internal plan view of the barn provided for some embodiments of the present application;

[0031] Figure 2 A structural schematic diagram of the feeding robot provided for some embodiments of the present application;

[0032] Figure 3 A structural schematic diagram of the feeding robot provided for some embodiments of the present application;

[0033] Figure 4 A front view of the feeding robot provided for some embodiments of the present application;

[0034] Figure 5 A plan view of the feeding robot provided for some embodiments of the present application;

[0035] Figure 6 A Figure 5 A sectional view at A-A.

[0036] Figure legend: 1-barn; 10-guide rail; 2-limiting fence; 20-trough; 3-feeding robot; 30-traveling device; 300-first gear; 301-second driving member; 302-second gear; 303-base; 304-brake assembly; 305-first guide wheel; 306-second guide wheel; 31-hopper; 310-discharge port; 311-fourth driving member; 312-auger; 32-feeding device; 320-bowl; 321-weighing module; 322-first driving member; 323-second arm; 33-first vision sensor; 34-second vision sensor; 35-third driving member; 350-first arm; X-first direction; Y-second direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more clear, the following will combine the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0038] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs; the terminology used in the specification herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in disclosing the application, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. It will be further understood that terms used in the description of the present application and its

[0039] Reference throughout this application to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of the phrase "in an embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are they necessarily all directed to the same embodiment, nor are they necessarily all mutually exclusive embodiments.

[0040] In the description of the application, it is necessary to point out that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connecting", "attachment" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, can be fixedly connected, can be detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; can be internal communication of two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0041] The term "and / or" in the application is only a description of the association relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in the application generally represents that the front and rear associated objects have an "or" relationship.

[0042] "Multiple" appearing in the application means two or more (including two), and similarly, "multiple groups" means two or more groups (including two groups), and "multiple pieces" means two or more pieces (including two pieces).

[0043] The feeding curve refers to dividing the feeding process of pigs into stages according to the growth and development law of pigs, and formulating corresponding feeding requirements and feed formula for different stages. The adjustment of the feeding curve mentioned in the application specifically refers to the adjustment of the proportion of the feed (including the proportion of the dry feed and the proportion of the porridge feed)

[0044] According to some embodiments of the application, as Figures 1-3As shown, the application provides a feeding robot 3 walking on a guide rail 10, capable of feeding feed to a trough 20 in a limiting fence 2, the feeding robot 3 comprising a walking device 30, a position sensor, a memory, a hopper 31, a feeding device 32 and a control module; the walking device 30 is movably arranged on the guide rail 10; the position sensor is used to detect the position information of the feeding robot 3 on the guide rail 10 in real time; the memory stores the position information of the trough 20 and the target feeding amount; the hopper 31 and the feeding device 32 are arranged on the walking device 30, the feeding device 32 comprises a bowl 320, a weighing module 321 and a first driving member 322, the hopper 31 has a discharge port 310 and a discharging module, the discharging module is arranged on one side of the discharge port 310, the weighing module 321 is used to measure the weight of the feed contained in the bowl 320, and the first driving member 322 drives the bowl 320 to rotate to face the discharge port 310 or the trough 20; the control module controls the walking device 30 to stop or move on the guide rail 10 based on the position information of the feeding robot 3 on the guide rail 10 detected by the position sensor and the position information of the trough 20 stored in the memory; and the control module also controls whether the discharging module works based on the target feeding amount and the sensing data of the weighing sensor.

[0045] The feeding robot 3 provided by the application can be applied in the stall 1, a plurality of limiting fences 2 in the stall 1 are arranged in order, the guide rail 10 is suspended and arranged in the stall 1 and connected end to end, and the feeding robot 3 passes through each limiting fence 2 in turn after starting from the starting point of the guide rail 10 and then returns to the starting point.

[0046] The starting point of the guide rail 10 can be provided with a feeding device for adding feed to the hopper 31 of the feeding robot 3, and when the number of troughs 20 that need to be fed by the feeding robot 3 in one trip on the guide rail 10 is large, the feeding device can also be arranged in the middle of the guide rail 10.

[0047] The feeding robot 3 provided by the application can meet the feeding needs of 200 or fewer pregnant sows in the stall 1.

[0048] The top mentioned in the application is the side of the feeding robot 3 away from the guide rail 10, and the bottom mentioned in the application is the side of the feeding robot 3 close to the guide rail 10.

[0049] The walking device 30 is movably arranged on the guide rail 10; the feeding robot 3 provided by the application walks to the position corresponding to the limiting fence 2 along the guide rail 10 through the walking device 30, obtains the real-time position information of the feeding robot 3 on the guide rail 10 through the position sensor, and controls the walking device 30 to stop moving on the guide rail 10 when the position information of the feeding robot 3 on the guide rail 10 detected by the position sensor and the position information of the trough 20 stored in the memory correspond to each other, so that the feeding robot 3 provided by the application can perform feeding at the position corresponding to the trough 20;

[0050] The feeding device 32 has a receiving state and a feeding state; when the feeding device 32 is in the receiving state, the opening of the bowl 320 is opposite to the discharge port 310, and the hopper 31 feeds the feed into the bowl 320 through the discharge port 310; the feeding device 32 is configured to switch between the receiving state and the feeding state; the weighing module 321 weighs the weight of the feed contained in the bowl 320 when the feeding device 32 is in the receiving state; when the weight of the feed in the bowl 320 reaches the required weight, the hopper 31 stops discharging, the feeding device 32 is out of the receiving state, the first driving member 322 drives the bowl 320 to overturn to be opposite to the trough 20, and the feeding device 32 enters the feeding state; the feed in the bowl 320 is fed into the trough 20 opposite to the bowl 320 in the process of overturning of the bowl 320 and when the feeding device 32 is in the feeding state; the feeding device 32 is repeatedly switched between the receiving state and the feeding state, and then the total weight of the feed fed into the trough 20 by the feeding device 32 is more accurately controlled through the detection result of the weighing module 321 each time, so that the total weight of the feed in the trough 20 after each feeding can reach the target feeding amount of the trough 20, and the body shape of the pregnant sow is effectively controlled.

[0051] After the feeding of the feed is completed, the feeding robot 3 provided by the application walks to the next limiting fence 2 that needs to be fed along the guide rail 10, and the above detection and feeding process is repeated; one feeding robot 3 can sequentially feed the trough 20 in the feeding fence to meet the feeding demand of the multiple sows, and the equipment cost for feeding the pregnant sow is reduced.

[0052] According to some embodiments of the application, as shown in Figures 2-3 The first visual sensor 34 is used to obtain the image of the trough 20 and determine the remaining amount of the feed in the trough 20 based on an image detection algorithm; the control module determines whether to perform alarm based on the relationship between the remaining amount of the feed in the trough 20 and the first threshold value, and the first threshold value is pre-set in the memory.

[0053] The first visual sensor 33 is an instrument for acquiring external environment image information by using optical elements and imaging devices, and the performance of the visual sensor is usually described by image resolution. The first visual sensor 33 and the second visual sensor 34 can be a laser scanner, a linear array and a planar array CCD camera or a TV camera, and can also be a newly emerging digital camera and the like.

[0054] The first visual sensor 33 is arranged in the hopper 31 and faces the trough 20, and is used to detect the amount of feed in the trough 20. Most of the existing feeding equipment uses a detection probe or relies on the number of times that the sow touches the magnetic ring on the trough 20 to determine the amount of feed in the trough 20. The surface of the detection probe is likely to be contaminated with feed that may spoil and deteriorate. During repeated detection of different troughs 20, the detection probe may come into contact with the residual feed in these troughs 20, which may contaminate the residual feed in these troughs 20 and accelerate the rate of spoilage and deterioration of the feed in the trough 20. The method of relying on the number of times that the sow touches the magnetic ring on the trough 20 to determine the amount of feed in the trough 20 has the risk that the sow repeatedly plays with the magnetic ring, which may cause abnormal data of the number of times that the sow touches the magnetic ring on the trough 20 to be recorded. When the recorded data of the number of times that the sow touches the magnetic ring on the trough 20 is abnormal, the amount of feed fed by the existing feeding equipment may be too much or too little, which affects the health of the sow and loses the effect of controlling the body shape of the sow. The first visual sensor 33 of the feeding robot 3 provided in the present application is used to detect the amount of feed in the trough 20. The picture information collected by the first visual sensor 33 is identified to determine the amount of feed in the trough 20, which does not come into contact with the feed in the trough 20, reduces the risk of contamination of the feed, and the detection result is more accurate. The condition of the trough 20 with more residual feed is timely informed to the operator, which facilitates the operator to timely find abnormal conditions of the sow corresponding to the trough 20 and take treatment measures in a timely manner. In addition, the amount of feed to be fed subsequently is adjusted according to the amount of residual feed in the trough 20, thereby effectively controlling the body shape of the sow.

[0055] According to some embodiments of the present application, optionally, as shown in Figures 2-3 The second visual sensor 34 is used to image the sow in the limiting fence 2 and determine the body shape of the sow in the limiting fence 2 based on an image detection algorithm; and the control module adjusts the target feeding amount of the sow in the limiting fence 2 based on the body shape of the sow in the limiting fence 2.

[0056] The second visual sensor 34 is an instrument for acquiring external environment image information by using optical elements and imaging devices, and the performance of the visual sensor is usually described by image resolution. The first visual sensor 33 and the second visual sensor 34 can be a laser scanner, a linear array and a planar array CCD camera or a TV camera, and can also be a newly emerging digital camera and the like.

[0057] The second visual sensor 34 is arranged in the hopper 31 and faces the limit bar 2, and is used to detect the body shape of the sow in the limit bar 2. By comparing the collected sow body shape picture with the preset standard body shape and scoring, the sow feeding curve in the limit bar 2 is adjusted in time through the score, and the amount of feed that can be eaten by the sow in the limit bar 2 during this feeding process is obtained, which saves the trouble of manually measuring the sow body shape or measuring the sow back fat to adjust the sow feeding curve, and reduces the labor cost during the sow feeding process.

[0058] After the first visual sensor 33 collects the image of the trough 20, the amount of residual feed in the trough 20 (i.e. the weight of the residual feed) can be obtained according to the distance between the residual feed in the trough 20 and the opening of the trough 20 and the weight of the unit volume of feed. Combined with the sow feeding curve in the limit bar 2 determined after the second sensor collects the image of the sow body shape in the limit bar 2, the amount of feed to be fed this time (i.e. the amount of feed in the trough 20 after this feeding is determined by the feeding curve, and the amount of feed to be fed this time is obtained by subtracting the amount of residual feed in the trough 20 at this time from the amount) is obtained. In this way, the total amount of feed in the trough 20 after feeding can tend to meet the requirements of the feeding curve, so that the sow body shape can be better adjusted.

[0059] According to some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figure 3 and Figure 5 The hopper 31 is provided with a fourth driving member 311 and an auger 312. The auger 312 is arranged on the inner side of the hopper 31, and the hopper 31 faces the discharge port 310. The auger 312 is connected to the output end of the fourth driving member 311, and the fourth driving member 311 drives the rotation of the auger 312 to send the feed contained in the hopper 31 out of the discharge port 310.

[0060] The fourth driving member 311 can be arranged on the outer side of the hopper 31, and one end of the auger 312 extends out of the hopper 31 and is connected to the output end of the fourth driving member 311, so as to reduce the risk that the feed in the hopper 31 affects the normal operation of the fourth driving member 311.

[0061] The fourth driving member 311 drives the auger 312 to rotate to send the feed in the hopper 31 out of the discharge port 310. The auger 312 can timely send the feed in the hopper 31 out of the discharge port 310, and can also stop rotating to prevent the feed in the hopper 31 from separating from the discharge port 310, so as to accurately control the amount of feed fed into the trough 20 in cooperation with the feeding device 32, thereby achieving the control of the body size of the pregnant sow. After the feed at the bottom of the hopper 31 is sent out of the discharge port 310 by the auger 312, the feed at the top of the hopper 31 may be caked and blocked in the hopper 31, so that a cavity without feed is formed near the auger 312 on the inner side of the hopper 31. On the one hand, during the movement of the feeding device on the guide rail 10, the hopper 31 continuously shakes due to the movement, and the shaking of the hopper 31 drives the feed in the hopper 31 to continuously move, thereby reducing the caking and local accumulation and blockage of the feed in the hopper 31, and reducing the risk of forming a cavity at the bottom of the hopper 31. On the other hand, when the cavity is formed at the bottom of the hopper 31, the weighing module 321 can measure that there is not enough amount of feed in the feed bowl 320, and then notify the worker of the abnormal situation to check and maintain the feeding robot 3, so as to avoid the situation that the feeding robot 3 is empty and the worker cannot timely find out, thereby causing the sow to be hungry and injured.

[0062] According to some embodiments of the present application, optionally, the control module controls whether the feeding module works based on the target feeding amount and the sensing data of the weighing module, specifically: the control module divides the target feeding amount into N parts, N≥2, and determines the feeding amount of each part;

[0063] When the feeding module feeds the first, second, …, N-1 parts of feed, the control module controls the auger to rotate at a first rotating speed, and the weighing module measures the actual feeding amount M1, M2, …, M N-1 ;

[0064] When the feeding module feeds the Nth part of feed, the control module corrects the Nth feeding amount based on the target feeding amount and the actual feeding amount of the previous N-1 times to obtain a corrected feeding amount, controls the feeding module to feed with the corrected feeding amount, and controls the auger to rotate at a second rotating speed, wherein the first rotating speed is greater than the second rotating speed.

[0065] When the feeding module feeds the first, second, …, N-1 parts of feed, the auger 312 rotates at a faster first rotating speed, and when the feeding module feeds the Nth part of feed, the auger 312 rotates at a slower second rotating speed, thereby reducing the risk that the amount of feed falling into the feed bowl 320 continues to be too large when the corrected feeding amount is reached due to the faster rotating speed of the auger 312, and the error between the final feeding amount fed into the trough 20 and the target feeding amount is too large. Except for the feeding process of the Nth part, the auger 312 rotates at a faster first rotating speed, thereby improving the feeding rate while ensuring accurate feeding.

[0066] The discharging module further comprises a pushing stage and a shaking stage in the process of discharging the Nth feed. When the weight of the feed in the bowl 320 measured by the weighing module 321 is much less than the corrected discharging amount, the hopper 31 is in the pushing stage, and the auger 312 rotates at the second rotating speed under the driving of the fourth driving member 311. When the weight of the feed in the bowl 320 measured by the weighing module 321 is close to the corrected discharging amount, the hopper 31 is in the shaking stage. The rotating direction of the auger 312 when the auger 312 pushes the feed out of the hopper 31 is defined as the forward direction. The auger 312 rotates forward at a small angle (5°-45°), and then rotates reversely at a smaller angle (5°-40°). Through the cyclic forward rotation and reverse rotation of the auger 312, the feed at the discharge port 310 of the hopper 31 is shaken into the bowl 320 in a small amount and slowly, so that the weight of the feed in the bowl 320 measured by the weighing module 321 is close to the corrected discharging amount, and the accuracy of the feed discharging is improved.

[0067] According to some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figures 2-6 The guide rail 10 is a rack, and the walking device 30 comprises a first gear 300 and a second driving member 301. The first gear 300 is engaged with the teeth of the guide rail 10. The second driving member 301 drives the first gear 300 to rotate to push the walking device 30 to move along the guide rail 10.

[0068] The second driving member 301 can be a rotating motor.

[0069] The teeth of the guide rail 10 can be directed towards the bottom of the feeding robot 3.

[0070] The second driving member 301 drives the first gear 300 to rotate to push the walking device 30 to move along the guide rail 10. The first gear 300 is simple in structure and stable in cooperation effect with the guide rail 10, and is high in stability and simple in disassembly and maintenance process.

[0071] According to some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figures 2-6 The walking device 30 further comprises a base 303, and the second driving member 301 is arranged on the base 303. The base 303 and the first gear 300 are respectively arranged on two sides of the guide rail 10 along a second direction Y. The guide rail 10 supports the base 303, and the base 303 is in sliding cooperation with the guide rail 10. The second direction Y is perpendicular to the walking direction of the walking device 30.

[0072] The X direction shown in the figure is the first direction.

[0073] The Y direction shown in the figure is the second direction.

[0074] The ground of the base 303 can be provided with a sliding groove for cooperation with the guide rail 10, so that the base 303 can be in sliding cooperation with the guide rail 10 through the sliding groove, and the risk of deviation of the moving direction of the base 303 from the guide rail 10 is reduced.

[0075] The second driving member 301 can be a rechargeable motor, which can drive the feeding robot 3 to walk on the guide rail 10 for a long time after being charged, reduce the pipelines required for the feeding robot 3 to work, and reduce the risk of pipeline damage and leakage in the barn 1 where the pipelines are distributed.

[0076] The base 303 and the first gear 300 are respectively located on the two sides of the guide rail 10 in the second direction Y. The guide rail 10 supports the base 303. The base 303 and the guide rail 10 are in sliding fit. The base 303 and the first gear 300 clamp the two sides of the guide rail 10 in the second direction Y, so that the base 303 and the first gear 300 are not easy to fall off the guide rail 10, and the safety of the feeding robot 3 during work is improved.

[0077] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 3-6 The walking device 30 can further include a second gear 302, the second gear 302 is connected with the output end of the second driving member 301, the thickness size of the first gear 300 is greater than the thickness size of the second gear 302, in the thickness direction of the first size, a part of the first gear 300 is engaged with the guide rail 10, and another part of the first gear 300 is engaged with the second gear 302, the second driving member 301 is arranged at the top center of the base 303, and the risk of gravity center deviation of the feeding robot 3 is reduced.

[0078] According to some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figures 2-3 The third driving member 35 is arranged on the base 303, the third driving member 35 is connected with the feeding device 32 through the first arm 350, the third driving member 35 drives the feeding device 32 to move towards or away from the hopper 31 in the first direction X, and the first direction X, the second direction Y and the walking direction of the walking device 30 are perpendicular to each other.

[0079] One end of the first arm 350 can be connected with the first driving member 322, and the other end of the first arm 350 can be connected with the output end of the third driving member 35.

[0080] The third driving member 35 is connected with the feeding device 32 through the first arm 350, the third driving member 35 drives the feeding device 32 to move towards or away from the hopper 31 in the first direction X, when the position of the trough 20 in the limiting fence 2 deviates from the original position or there is an obstacle between the trough 20 and the bowl 320, the bowl 320 can be driven by the third driving member 35 to move in the first direction X to face the trough 20 or avoid the obstacle, so that the feed thrown by the bowl 320 can fall into the trough 20.

[0081] According to some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figures 2-4 and Figure 6As shown, the walking device 30 further comprises a brake assembly 304, a first guide wheel 305, and a second guide wheel 306; the brake assembly 304 is arranged on the base 303 and is used to control the walking device 30 to stop moving on the guide rail 10; the first guide wheel 305 and the second guide wheel 306 are rotatably arranged on the base 303, and the first guide wheel 305 and the second guide wheel 306 are respectively in rotational contact with the two sides of the guide rail 10 along the second direction Y, and the first guide wheel 305 and the second guide wheel 306 clamp the guide rail 10.

[0082] When the walking device 30 stops moving on the guide rail 10, a part of the brake assembly 304 can extend into the teeth of the guide rail 10 to limit the relative displacement of the walking device 30 and the guide rail 10.

[0083] The first guide wheel 305 and the second guide wheel 306 are respectively in rotational contact with the two sides of the guide rail 10 along the second direction Y, and the first guide wheel 305 and the second guide wheel 306 clamp the guide rail 10, so that the first guide wheel 305 and the second guide wheel 306 can keep in contact with the guide rail 10 and guide the whole walking device 30 to move along the extension direction of the guide rail 10, thereby improving the stability of the walking device 30 walking on the guide rail 10 and reducing the risk of the walking device 30 deviating from the guide rail 10.

[0084] According to some embodiments of the present application, optionally, the first driving member 322 drives the bowl 320 to rotate away from the hopper 31 around the walking direction of the walking device 30.

[0085] The first driving member 322 drives the bowl 320 to rotate away from the hopper 31 around the walking direction of the walking device 30, so that the feed contained in the bowl 320 falls towards the direction away from the hopper 31, avoiding the risk that the process of the feed falling into the trough 20 is blocked by other parts of the feeding robot 3, and enabling the feed to smoothly fall into the trough 20.

[0086] According to some embodiments of the present application, optionally, as Figure 2 As shown, the feeding device 32 further comprises a second arm 323, one end of the second arm 323 is connected with the output end of the first driving member 322, and the weighing module 321 and the bowl 320 are arranged on the other end of the second arm 323; the weighing module 321 is connected with the bowl 320 and the second arm 323.

[0087] The weighing module 321 and the bowl 320 are arranged on the end of the second arm 323 away from the first driving member 322, and the weighing module 321 is connected with the bowl 320 and the second arm 323, so that when the feeding device 32 is in a material receiving state, the weighing module 321 can support the bowl 320, thereby timely measuring the weight of the feed contained in the bowl 320.

[0088] In some embodiments, the feeding robot 3 can further comprise a wireless communication module, which can send the feeding condition of the feeding robot 3 each time, the abnormal condition collected by the first visual sensor 33 and the second visual sensor 34 to the receiving device (monitor, mobile controller, etc.) of the worker, so as to facilitate the worker to find the sow with abnormal condition in time and adjust the feeding strategy in time.

[0089] Although the present application has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, various modifications can be made to the application without departing from the scope of the application. In particular, the technical features mentioned in each embodiment can be combined in any manner as long as there is no structural conflict. The present application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A feeding robot that moves along a guide rail and is capable of feeding feed into a trough within a confinement enclosure, characterized in that, include: A walking device is movably mounted on the guide rail; A position sensor is used to detect the position information of the feeding robot on the guide rail in real time; The memory stores the location information and target dispensing amount of the material trough; Both the hopper and the feeding device are located on the walking device. The feeding device includes a feeding bowl, a weighing module and a first driving component. The hopper has a discharge port and a feeding module. The feeding module is located on one side of the discharge port. The weighing module is used to measure the weight of the feed contained in the feeding bowl. The first driving component drives the feeding bowl to rotate so that it faces the discharge port or the feed trough. The control module controls the walking device to stop or move on the guide rail based on the position information of the feeding robot detected by the position sensor and the position information of the feed trough stored in the memory; the control module also controls whether the feeding module works based on the target feeding amount and the sensing data of the weighing module. The feeding module includes a fourth driving component and an auger. The auger is located inside the hopper, and the hopper is directly opposite the discharge port. The auger is connected to the output end of the fourth driving component. The fourth driving component drives the auger to rotate and deliver the feed contained in the hopper to the discharge port. The control module controls whether the feeding module works based on the target feeding amount and the sensing data of the weighing module. Specifically, the control module divides the target feeding amount into N parts, where N≥2, and determines the feeding amount for each part. When the feeding module feeds the 1st, 2nd...N-1st batch of material, the control module controls the auger to rotate at a first speed, and the weighing module measures the actual feeding amount M1, M2...MN-1 for each feeding. When the feeding module feeds the Nth batch of material, the control module adjusts the feeding amount of the Nth batch based on the target feeding amount and the actual feeding amount of the previous N-1 batches to obtain the adjusted feeding amount. The control module then controls the feeding module to feed the material with the adjusted feeding amount and controls the auger to rotate at a second speed, wherein the first speed is greater than the second speed. The feeding module also includes a pushing stage and a shaking stage during the feeding of the Nth portion of feed. When the weighing module weighs the feed in the feeding bowl and the weight is much less than the corrected feeding amount, the hopper is in the pushing stage, and the auger rotates at the second speed under the drive of the fourth driving component. When the weighing module weighs the feed in the hopper and the weight is close to the corrected feeding amount, the hopper is in the shaking stage. The direction of rotation when the auger pushes the feed out of the hopper is taken as the positive direction. The auger rotates in a positive direction of 5°~45° and in a negative direction of 5°~40° in a cycle. The walking device includes a first gear and a second gear; The first gear meshes with the teeth of the guide rail; The second driving element drives the first gear to rotate, thereby pushing the walking device to move along the guide rail; The walking device also includes a base, the second driving member is disposed on the base, the base and the first gear are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the guide rail along the second direction, the guide rail supports the base, the base and the guide rail are slidably engaged, and the second direction is perpendicular to the walking direction of the walking device; It also includes a third driving component, which is disposed on the base and connected to the feeding device via a first arm. The third driving component drives the feeding device to move closer to or away from the hopper along a first direction. The first direction, the second direction, and the walking direction of the walking device are perpendicular to each other. The feeding device further includes a second arm, one end of which is connected to the output end of the first drive unit, and the weighing module and the material bowl are disposed at the other end of the second arm. The weighing module connects the material bowl and the second arm.

2. The feeding robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A first visual sensor is used to acquire an image of the feed trough and determine the amount of feed remaining in the feed trough based on an image detection algorithm; The control module determines whether to trigger an alarm based on the relationship between the amount of feed remaining in the trough and a first threshold, which is preset in the memory.

3. The feeding robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, Also includes: The second visual sensor is used to image the sows in the gestation stall and determine the body size of the sows in the gestation stall based on the image detection algorithm. The control module adjusts the target number of sows to be placed in the gestation stall based on the body size of the sows in the stall.

4. The feeding robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The walking device also includes: A braking assembly, disposed on the base, is used to control the walking device to stop moving on the guide rail; A first guide wheel and a second guide wheel are rotatably disposed on the base. The first guide wheel and the second guide wheel respectively make rotatable contact with the two opposite sides of the guide rail along the second direction, and the first guide wheel and the second guide wheel clamp the guide rail.

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