Tolerance type lotus seedpod picking end effector

Abstract

The invention discloses a tolerance type lotus seedpod picking end effector which comprises a base, a linear driving assembly, a lotus petiole capturing assembly, a lotus petiole guiding assembly, a lotus petiole clamping assembly, a lotus petiole cutting-off assembly and a limiting sensor, and active capturing and picking operation can be executed on lotus seedpods in position change. The Y-shaped divergent lotus petiole guiding area is arranged, so that the control range of the picking end effector on the lotus seedpods deviating from the preset position is expanded; the lotus petiole capturing assembly is arranged to capture lotus petioles in a lotus petiole guiding area, so that the lotus petioles are forced to enter a final clamping and cutting position, and fruit-petiole separation is completed. Therefore, the action range of the lotus seedpod picking end effector is enlarged, so that the picking requirement of the waggling lotus seedpod is met; in addition, the requirements for the positioning precision of the lotus seedpod target and the motion precision of the mechanical arm in the picking execution process are reduced, and the calculated amount of a picking execution control algorithm and the overall picking cost are reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0003] The invention relates to the field of fruit picking end effectors, in particular to a tolerance type lotus picking end effector. Background Art

[0005] Lotus seeds have high nutritional and medicinal value, are often used as food and medicine, and are widely planted in many provinces in my country. Lotus seeds grow inside lotus pods. Picking lotus pods is the initial step in the lotus seed production process and has long been a manual operation. In recent years, in response to the shortage of surplus labor in rural areas and the low efficiency of manual picking, robot picking technology has become the development direction of automatic picking of fruits and vegetables, including lotus pods.

[0006] The picking end effector is an important device for the picking robot to complete the picking task. In the prior art, it is usually installed at the end of the picking robot arm and moves with the robot arm to the pre-measured picking point to perform the fruit-stalk separation operation. This process has high requirements on the positioning accuracy and position stability of the target fruit.

[0007] Lotus pods have the characteristic of growing against gravity, with a high center of gravity and growing in open environments such as lakes and paddy fields. They are easily disturbed by airflow and animals and shake. Therefore, the spatial position of lotus pods is often in local dynamic changes. Existing picking end effectors are mostly used for static or quasi-static fruits, and the range of clamping, shearing and grabbing is limited. If used for picking lotus pods, when they move to the predetermined picking point, the lotus pods may have left the range of the picking end effector, resulting in picking failure, which in turn affects the work efficiency and quality of the lotus pod picking robot. Summary of the invention

[0009] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a tolerance-type lotus pod picking end effector, which can capture the lotus stem picking section of the lotus pod that is in a position change, and then forcibly guide it and bring it to the final clamping and cutting position, thereby improving the success rate of picking disturbed lotus pods that deviate from the predetermined position.

[0010] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a tolerance type lotus pod picking end effector, comprising a base, a linear drive component, a lotus stem capturing component, a lotus stem guiding component, a lotus stem clamping component, a lotus stem cutting component, and a limit sensor;

[0011] A mounting plate connected to the picking robot arm is fixed at the rear end of the base; the linear drive assembly is located on one side of the base, and includes a linear electric cylinder body and a telescopic push rod, and the linear electric cylinder body is mounted on the base through a connecting piece;

[0012] The lotus stem catching component is located at the front end of the telescopic push rod of the linear drive component and moves with the telescopic push rod, and is used to drive the lotus stems to be picked to move, and includes a steering gear and a lotus stem catching rod. One end of the lotus stem catching rod is connected to the steering gear shaft and can rotate under the drive of the steering gear.

[0013] The lotus stem guiding assembly is located at the front end of the base, and is used to limit the spatial position of the lotus stem, including two guiding rods arranged symmetrically on the left and right, and a divergent lotus stem guiding area and a lotus stem positioning area are formed between the two guiding rods, and the end area of ​​the lotus stem positioning area close to the base side is the final clamping and cutting position; when picking, the tolerance-type lotus pod picking end actuator approaches the lotus stem to be picked, so that it is located in the lotus stem guiding area; the telescopic push rod is extended, the lotus stem catching rod rotates and closes the divergent lotus stem guiding area, so that the lotus stem is confined to the area jointly contained by the lotus stem catching rod and the two guiding rods; the telescopic push rod is retracted, and the lotus stem catching rod brings the lotus stem into the lotus stem positioning channel and the final clamping and cutting position in turn;

[0014] The stem clamping assembly is installed above the base, and includes an electric clamp and clamping fingers; the clamping fingers are installed at the end of the electric clamp and are used to clamp the stem;

[0015] The lotus stem cutting component is installed under the base, and includes an electric clamp and a cutting blade; the cutting blade is installed at the end of the electric clamp and is used to cut the lotus stems; the limit sensor is located at the front end surface of the base and between the electric clamps in the lotus stem positioning area, and is used to sense whether the lotus stems have entered the final clamping and cutting position; for the lotus stems in the final clamping and cutting position, the lotus stem clamping component clamps the lotus stems, the lotus stem cutting component cuts the lotus stems, and the lotus stem capturing component is reset to complete the picking.

[0016] As a further optimization of the present solution, the above-mentioned stem guiding area is Y-shaped and divergent, and converges along the direction of the stem clamping assembly; the stem positioning area is rectangular.

[0017] As a further optimization of this solution, the above-mentioned limit sensor is one of a photoelectric limit sensor and a mechanical limit sensor.

[0018] As a further optimization of this solution, the rotation angle of the lotus stem catching rod is plus or minus 270 degrees.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the present invention expands the control range of the picking end effector on the lotus pods that deviate from the predetermined position by setting up a divergent stem guide area; the lotus pod stems in the stem guide area are captured by setting up a stem capture component to force them to enter the final clamping and cutting position and complete the fruit-stem separation. This increases the action range of the picking end effector to meet the requirements for picking lotus pods that are shaking; in addition, it also reduces the requirements for the lotus pod target positioning accuracy and the robot arm movement accuracy during the picking execution process, reducing the calculation amount of the picking execution control algorithm and the overall picking cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional diagram of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 It is a top view of the initial working state of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 is a bottom view of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 It is the A-direction view of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the main working steps of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 6 It is a three-dimensional principle diagram of the main working steps of the present invention.

[0027] The main components in the figure include: 1 base; 1-1 mounting plate; 2 linear drive assembly; 2-1 linear electric cylinder body; 2-2 telescopic push rod; 2-3 connecting piece; 3 lotus stem capture assembly; 3-1 servo; 3-2 lotus stem capture rod; 4 lotus stem guide assembly; 4-1 guide rod; 4-2a lotus stem guide area; 4-2b lotus stem positioning area; 4-2c final clamping and cutting position; 5 lotus stem clamping assembly; 5-1 electric gripper; 5-2 clamping fingers; 6 lotus stem cutting assembly; 6-1 electric gripper; 6-2 cutting blade; 7 limit sensor; 8 lotus pod; 8-1 lotus stem. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more fully below with reference to the relevant drawings.

[0030] like Figure 1-Figure 4 As shown, the present invention includes a base 1, a linear drive component 2, a stem capture component 3, a stem guide component 4, a stem clamping component 5, a stem cutting component 6, a limit sensor 7 and other parts;

[0031] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, a mounting plate 1-1 connected to the picking robot arm is fixed at the rear end of the base 1; the linear drive assembly 2 is located on one side of the base 1, and includes a linear electric cylinder body 2-1 and a telescopic push rod 2-2, and the linear electric cylinder body 2-1 is installed on the base 1 through a connecting piece 2-3;

[0032] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 As shown, the lotus stem catching component 3 is located at the front end of the telescopic push rod 2-2 of the linear drive component 2 and moves with the telescopic push rod 2-2, and is used to drive the lotus stem 8-1 to be picked to move, including a steering gear 3-1 and a lotus stem catching rod 3-2, one end of the lotus stem catching rod 3-2 is connected to the shaft of the steering gear 3-1, and can rotate under the drive of the steering gear 3-1;

[0033] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 As shown, the lotus stem guiding assembly 4 is located at the front end of the base 1, and is used to limit the spatial position of the lotus stem, including two guiding rods 4-1 arranged symmetrically on the left and right, and a divergent lotus stem guiding area 4-2a and a lotus stem positioning area 4-2b are formed between the two guiding rods 4-1, and the end area of ​​the lotus stem positioning area 4-2b close to the side of the base 1 is the final clamping and cutting position 4-2c; when picking, the tolerance type lotus pod picking end effector is close to the lotus stem 8-1 to be picked, so that it is located in the lotus stem guiding area 4-2a ( Figure 5 a); the telescopic push rod 2-2 extends ( Figure 5 b), the lotus stem catching rod 3-2 rotates clockwise and closes the divergent lotus stem guiding area 4-2a ( Figure 5 c), so that the lotus stem 8-1 is confined within the area contained by the lotus stem catching rod 3-2 and the two guide rods 4-1 ( Figure 5 c, Figure 6 a); Telescopic push rod 2-2 back ( Figure 5 d, Figure 6 b), the stem catching rod 3-2 brings the stem 8-1 into the stem positioning channel 4-2b and the final clamping and cutting position 4-2c in turn ( Figure 5 e);

[0034] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 As shown, the stem clamping assembly 5 is installed above the base 1, and includes an electric clamping jaw 5-1 and a clamping finger 5-2; the clamping finger 5-2 is installed at the end of the electric clamping jaw 5-1, and is used to clamp the stem;

[0035] like Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 As shown, the stem cutting assembly 6 is installed under the base 1, and includes an electric clamp 6-1 and a cutting blade 6-2; the cutting blade 6-2 is installed at the end of the electric clamp 6-1, and is used to cut the stem; the limit sensor 7 is located between the front end surface of the base 1 in the stem positioning area 4-2b, the electric clamp 5-1 and the electric clamp 6-1, and is used to sense whether the stem enters the final clamping and cutting position 4-2c; for the stem 8-1 in the final clamping and cutting position 4-2c, the stem clamping assembly 5 clamps the stem 8-1 ( Figure 6 c), the lotus stem cutting component 6 cuts off the lotus stem 8-1 and then resets it, the lotus stem capturing component 3 resets, and the lotus pods together with the remaining lotus stem segments are taken away by the tolerance type lotus pod picking end effector, and the picking is completed ( Figure 6 d).

[0036] like Figure 2 As shown, the stem guiding area 4-2a is Y-shaped and divergent, and converges along the direction of the stem clamping assembly 5; the stem positioning area 4-2b is rectangular.

[0037] like Figure 5 As shown, the rotation angle of the lotus stem catching rod 3-2 is plus or minus 270 degrees.

[0038] The working process of the present invention is as follows: when picking, the tolerance type lotus pod picking end effector approaches the lotus stem 8-1 to be picked, so that it is located in the divergent lotus stem guide area 4-2a. The telescopic push rod 2-2 extends a distance, and then the lotus stem catching rod 3-2 rotates and closes the divergent lotus stem guide area 4-2a, so that the lotus stem 8-1 is confined in the area jointly contained by the lotus stem catching rod 3-2 and the two guide rods 4-1. Subsequently, the telescopic push rod 2-2 retreats, and the lotus stem capturing rod 3-2 brings the lotus stem 8-1 into the lotus stem positioning channel 4-2b and the final clamping and cutting position 4-2c in turn; the limit sensor 7 senses that the lotus stem 8-1 enters the final clamping and cutting position 4-2c; the lotus stem clamping assembly 5 clamps the lotus stem 8-1, and the lotus stem cutting assembly 6 cuts off the lotus stem 8-1 and then resets it. Finally, the lotus stem capturing assembly 3 is reset, and the lotus pod together with the remaining lotus stem segment is taken away by the tolerance-type lotus pod picking end effector, and the picking is completed.

Claims

1. A tolerance type lotus picking end effector, characterized in that: It comprises a base (1), a linear drive component (2), a lotus stem capturing component (3), a lotus stem guiding component (4), a lotus stem clamping component (5), a lotus stem cutting component (6), and a limit sensor (7); A mounting plate (1-1) connected to the picking robot arm is fixed at the rear end of the base (1); the linear drive assembly (2) is located on one side of the base (1), and comprises a linear electric cylinder body (2-1) and a telescopic push rod (2-2); the linear electric cylinder body (2-1) is mounted on the base (1) via a connecting piece (2-3); The lotus stem catching component (3) is located at the front end of the telescopic push rod (2-2) of the linear drive component (2) and moves with the telescopic push rod (2-2), and is used to drive the lotus stem (8-1) to be picked to move, and comprises a steering gear (3-1) and a lotus stem catching rod (3-2); one end of the lotus stem catching rod (3-2) is connected to the shaft of the steering gear (3-1) and can rotate under the drive of the steering gear (3-1); The lotus stem guiding assembly (4) is located at the front end of the base (1) and is used to limit the spatial position of the lotus stem. It includes two guiding rods (4-1) arranged symmetrically on the left and right. A divergent lotus stem guiding area (4-2a) and a lotus stem positioning area (4-2b) are formed between the two guiding rods (4-1). The end area of ​​the lotus stem positioning area (4-2b) close to the base (1) is the final clamping and cutting position (4-2c). When picking, the tolerance-type lotus pod picking end effector is close to the lotus stem ( 8-1), so that it is located in the stem guiding area (4-2a); the telescopic push rod (2-2) is extended, the stem catching rod (3-2) rotates and closes the stem guiding area (4-2a), so that the stem (8-1) is confined in the area jointly contained by the stem catching rod (3-2) and the two guiding rods (4-1); the telescopic push rod (2-2) is retracted, and the stem catching rod (3-2) brings the stem (8-1) into the stem positioning channel (4-2b) and the final clamping and cutting position (4-2c) in turn; The lotus stem clamping assembly (5) is installed above the base (1), and comprises an electric clamping jaw (5-1) and a clamping finger (5-2); the clamping finger (5-2) is installed at the end of the electric clamping jaw (5-1) and is used to clamp the lotus stem; The lotus stem cutting component (6) is installed below the base (1), and comprises an electric clamp (6-1) and a cutting blade (6-2); the cutting blade (6-2) is installed at the end of the electric clamp (6-1) and is used to cut the lotus stem; the limit sensor (7) is located between the front end surface of the base (1) in the lotus stem positioning area (4-2b), the electric clamp (5-1) and the electric clamp (6-1), and is used to sense whether the lotus stem has entered the final clamping and cutting position (4-2c); for the lotus stem (8-1) in the final clamping and cutting position (4-2c), the lotus stem clamping component (5) clamps the lotus stem (8-1), the lotus stem cutting component (6) cuts the lotus stem (8-1), and the lotus stem capturing component (3) is reset, thereby completing the picking.

2. The tolerance type lotus picking end effector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The stem guiding area (4-2a) is Y-shaped and divergent, and converges in the direction of the stem clamping component (5); and the stem positioning area (4-2b) is rectangular.

3. The tolerance type lotus picking end effector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The limit sensor (7) is a photoelectric limit sensor or a mechanical limit sensor.

4. The tolerance type lotus pod picking end effector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotation angle of the lotus stem catching rod (3-2) is plus or minus 270 degrees.

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