Flexible clamp holder for clamping plug seedlings

Abstract

The invention discloses a flexible clamp holder for clamping plug seedlings, and relates to the technical field of flexible robots. A clamp holder main body is made of a flexible material; the holder main body is divided into a driving end and a clamping end, and the driving end is provided with an air source connecting channel; the clamping end comprises two symmetrical V-shaped flexible clamping fingers, and the two flexible clamping fingers are communicated through the driving end; the flexible clamping finger comprises a cavity extension layer, a limiting layer and a fingertip part, the cavity extension layer comprises an air cavity and a second air channel which are arranged in the flexible clamping finger, and one end of the air cavity communicates with the second air channel; the limiting layer is attached to the cavity extension layer; and the fingertip parts are positioned at the tail ends of the flexible clamping fingers. According to the invention, plug seedlings at any position in a single plug can be clamped, and stems of the plug seedlings are not easy to damage due to the fact that the material is soft.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a terminal actuator of a plug tray seedling transplanter, in particular to a flexible clamper for clamping the plug tray seedlings. The soft characteristics of the flexible clamper are particularly suitable for the easily damaged plug tray seedlings which are not suitable for rigid clampers. Background Art

[0002] The seedling clamp is the core component of the vegetable seedling tray automatic transplanter. The structural parameters of the seedling clamp have a direct impact on the deformation and damage of the substrate, which in turn affects the transplanting quality of the transplanter. Traditional rigid clamps are difficult to control the force, making it difficult to achieve non-destructive grasping of seedlings in trays, which can easily cause damage to the seedlings. Currently available flexible clamps are mostly industrial flexible clamps that can only clamp targets with fixed positions. The position of the seedlings in trays varies within a certain range and is not fixed, making the current flexible clamps unsuitable for clamping seedlings in trays.

[0003] The efficiency of seedling retrieval directly determines the efficiency of automatic transplanting. Improving the seedling retrieval rate and accuracy and reducing the damage rate of pot seedlings are the key to the seedling retrieval operation of vegetable plug seedlings. Therefore, high-speed, accurate and low-damage seedling retrieval has always been a technical problem that this field is eager to solve. Summary of the invention

[0004] The invention aims at the defects existing in the prior art and provides a flexible clamp which is soft in texture, not easy to cause squeezing and damage to the stems of the plug tray seedlings and can clamp the plug tray seedlings at any position.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: A flexible clamp, wherein the clamp body is made of a flexible material; the clamp body is divided into a driving end and a clamping end, the driving end is provided with an air source connection channel; the clamping end comprises two symmetrical and V-shaped flexible clamping fingers, and the two flexible clamping fingers are connected through the driving end; the flexible clamping fingers comprise a cavity extension layer, a restriction layer and a fingertip portion, the cavity extension layer comprises an air cavity and a second air channel arranged inside the flexible clamping fingers, and one end of the air cavity is connected to the second air channel; the restriction layer is arranged in contact with the cavity extension layer, the side of the restriction layer in contact with the second air channel is a plane, and the working side of the restriction layer in contact with the seedling in the plug tray is an arc surface; the fingertip portion is located at the end of the flexible clamping finger, and the fingertip portion is connected to the cavity extension layer and the restriction layer as a whole.

[0006] Furthermore, a cylindrical cavity is provided inside the driving end as a gas source connection channel for filling and releasing gas.

[0007] Furthermore, a first air channel is provided inside the driving end, one end of the first air channel is communicated with the air source connection channel, and the other end of the first air channel is communicated with the second air channel.

[0008] Furthermore, there are multiple air cavities, which are evenly spaced to form a pneumatic cavity grid structure, the widths of the multiple air cavities decrease in an arithmetic progression, and the cross-sectional shape of a single air cavity is a trapezoid.

[0009] Furthermore, the end surface of one end of the air cavity communicating with the second air channel is an inclined surface.

[0010] Furthermore, the volumes of the plurality of air cavities decrease successively from the driving end to the fingertip.

[0011] Furthermore, the arc angle of the arc surface on the working side of the restriction layer needs to ensure that the working surfaces of the two flexible clamping fingers can be brought together after being deformed by inflation.

[0012] Furthermore, the thickness between the air cavity and the outer wall of the working side of the restriction layer is greater than the distance between the air cavity and the outer wall of the body.

[0013] Furthermore, the side where the fingertip portion is connected to the arc surface of the restriction layer is an arc surface, and the arc surface of the fingertip portion is tangent to the arc of the arc surface of the restriction layer.

[0014] Furthermore, a triangular protrusion is provided on the arc surface of the fingertip portion as an anti-slip structure.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial effects: 1. The initial state of the present invention is a large opening, which can realize the grabbing action of inflation bending. The final state after a certain air pressure is that the working surfaces of the two flexible clamping fingers are approximately parallel after closing, and the interval is about 1mm. Therefore, it can realize the grabbing of the target plug tray seedlings within a certain range.

[0016] 2. The main body of the present invention is made of flexible material silicone, which can make good soft contact with the plug tray seedlings when clamping the plug tray seedlings, and is not easy to cause damage to the plug tray seedlings.

[0017] 3. The present invention adopts pneumatic control, which is easy to operate and can be used by connecting it to an air guide hose.

[0018] 4. The working surface of the restriction layer of the present invention is set as an arc surface, and is tangent to the curvature of the fingertips, so that the clamping surface of the clamp after closing is a plane rather than a bracket shape. The distance between the two fingers after closing when not clamping the plug tray seedlings is less than the diameter of the plug tray seedlings, which can better allow the clamp to clamp the plug tray seedlings at any position in the plug tray when clamping the plug tray seedlings horizontally. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0020] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a front cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the present invention after inflation and deformation.

[0021] In the figure: 1. clamp body; 2. flexible clamping finger; 3. driving end; 4. clamping end; 5. air cavity; 601. first air channel; 602. second air channel; 7. cavity extension layer; 8. restriction layer; 9. fingertip; 10. protrusion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0023] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that descriptions involving orientation, such as "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0024] In the description of the present invention, “several” means one or more, “more” means more than two, “greater than”, “less than”, “exceed”, etc. are understood as not including the number itself, and “above”, “below”, “within”, etc. are understood as including the number itself.

[0025] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by specific circumstances.

[0026] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in conjunction with embodiments.

[0027] As shown in the figure, the present invention provides a flexible clamp, the clamp body 1 is made of a flexible material silicone; the clamp body 1 is divided into a driving end 3 and a clamping end 4, the driving end is provided with an air source connection channel; the clamping end includes two symmetrical and V-shaped flexible clamping fingers 2, and the two flexible clamping fingers are connected through the driving end; the flexible clamping finger includes a cavity extension layer 7, a restriction layer 8 and a fingertip portion 9, the cavity extension layer 7 includes an air cavity 5 and a second air channel 602 arranged inside the flexible clamping finger, and one end of the air cavity is connected to the second air channel; the restriction layer is arranged in contact with the cavity extension layer 7, the side of the restriction layer in contact with the second air channel is a plane, and the working side of the restriction layer in contact with the plug tray seedling is an arc surface, so that after inflation, the bottom surface of the restriction layer 8 will bend with the second air channel 602, so that the clamping side of the flexible clamping finger will be straightened to form a straight line, forming the gripping surface of the flexible clamping finger 2. The fingertip portion is located at the end of the flexible clamping finger, and the fingertip portion is connected to the cavity extension layer 7 and the restriction layer 8 as a whole.

[0028] A cylindrical cavity is arranged inside the driving end 3 as an air source connection channel. The cylindrical cavity can be connected to an external air source through an air duct, or connected to a connecting nozzle of an air intake connecting rod. The connecting nozzle is clamped at the top of the cylindrical cavity through a cylindrical head. The air source connection channel realizes the bending, closing and opening of the clamp based on filling and releasing gas.

[0029] Two first air channels 601 are further provided inside the driving end 3 . The two first air channels 601 are respectively located on both sides of the cylindrical cavity. One end of the two first air channels 601 is connected to the air source connection channel, and the other end is connected to the second air channel 602 .

[0030] There are eight air cavities 5, which are evenly spaced to form a pneumatic cavity grid structure. The widths of the eight air cavities decrease in an arithmetic progression, and the volumes of the eight air cavities decrease in sequence from the driving end 3 to the fingertip 9. This increases the bottom deformation and the clamping force, reduces the deformation of the flexible clamping finger end, and allows the fingertip to better fit the surface of the grasped object, achieving slow pressure application and avoiding stress concentration caused by sudden pressure changes to damage the clamped object such as the plug tray seedling.

[0031] The end face of the air cavity 5 connected to the second air channel 602 is an inclined surface, and the cross-sectional shape of a single air cavity is a trapezoid, which effectively reduces the force that the air cavity needs to overcome when closing toward the middle, and does not cause the outer walls on both sides to bulge outward, causing the clamp to exceed the range of a single hole plate in the lateral direction.

[0032] The arc degree of the arc surface on the working side of the restriction layer 8 needs to ensure that the working surfaces of the two flexible clamping fingers 2 can be close together after inflation and deformation. The arc radius range is preferably 80~120mm. If the radius is too small, the restriction layer will be too thick, and the arc surface will directly fit before the fingertips close; if the radius is too large, the thickness of the restriction layer will be too thin, which is not enough to make the distance between the working surfaces after closing smaller than the diameter of the stem of the plug tray seedling). The thickness between the air cavity 5 and the outer wall of the working side of the restriction layer is greater than the distance between the air cavity and the outer wall of the body, otherwise the two flexible clamping fingers 2 will bend in the opposite direction when the air is filled inward to lift.

[0033] When compressed gas is introduced, the gas will quickly fill each air cavity 5 through the first air channel 601 and the second air channel 602. According to Pascal's law, the pressure on the inner wall of each air cavity 5 is equal everywhere at this time. Each air cavity 5 will expand along the axial direction due to the pressure, so that the surface connected to the outer wall will drive the outer wall to stretch and deform, and the two clamping fingers will bend toward the side of the restriction layer 8; after releasing the compressed gas in the air cavity 5, the clamp body 1 will return to its original state. After inflation, the bottom surface of the restriction layer will bend along with the second air channel, so that the arc line of its clamping side will be straightened. The greater the pressure of the compressed gas introduced, the greater the deformation of the flexible clamping finger, and the smaller the distance between the ends of the two flexible clamping fingers. After releasing the compressed gas in each section of the air cavity inside each flexible clamping finger, the corresponding flexible clamping finger section returns to its original state.

[0034] The side where the finger tip 9 is connected to the arc surface of the restriction layer is an arc surface, and the arc surface of the finger tip is tangent to the arc of the arc surface of the restriction layer. A triangular protrusion 10 is provided on the arc surface of the finger tip as an anti-skid structure for anti-skid effect when grabbing the seedlings in the plug tray.

[0035] When in use, the top air inlet of the driving end is connected to the air compression device through the air guide tube, which is convenient to use. Alternatively, the air inlet is connected to the air guide tube through the air inlet connecting rod, which effectively improves the air tightness. The driving end 3 injects positive air pressure into the air cavity 5 through the cylindrical cavity, the first air channel 601, and the second air channel 602, so that the air cavity 5 expands after being inflated, and the restriction layer 8 is inextensible, so that the flexible clamping finger 2 bends toward the restriction layer 8, thereby achieving the grasping of the seedlings in the tray. On the contrary, when negative pressure is provided to extract air, the flexible clamp releases the clamped seedlings in the tray.

[0036] In order to enable the flexible clamp to better clamp the seedlings at any position in the plug tray when clamping the seedlings in the plug tray horizontally, it is required that the distance between the two flexible clamping fingers 2 after closing when not clamping the seedlings is less than the diameter of the seedlings. Therefore, the outer surface of the restriction layer 8 is improved from the common plane design to an arc surface, and is tangent to the arc of the fingertip, so that the clamping surface of the clamp body 1 after closing is a plane rather than a bracket shape.

[0037] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present application, so that those skilled in the art can understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest range consistent with the principles and novel features applied for herein.

Claims

1. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray, characterized in that: The clamp body (1) is made of a flexible material; the clamp body (1) is divided into a driving end (3) and a clamping end (4), the driving end (3) being provided with an air source connection channel; the clamping end (4) comprises two symmetrical and V-shaped flexible clamping fingers (2), the two flexible clamping fingers being connected via the driving end; the flexible clamping fingers comprise a cavity extension layer (7), a restriction layer (8) and a fingertip portion (9), the cavity extension layer (7) comprises an air cavity (5) and a second air channel (602) arranged inside the flexible clamping fingers, one end of the air cavity (5) being connected to the second air channel (602); the restriction layer (8) is arranged in contact with the cavity extension layer (7), the side of the restriction layer (8) in contact with the second air channel is a plane, and the working side of the restriction layer in contact with the seedling in the plug tray is an arc surface; the fingertip portion (9) is located at the end of the flexible clamping finger, and the fingertip portion is connected to the cavity extension layer (7) and the restriction layer (8) as a whole.

2. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray according to claim 1, characterized in that: A cylindrical cavity is provided inside the driving end (3) as a gas source connection channel for filling and releasing gas.

3. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A first air channel (601) is further provided inside the driving end (3), one end of the first air channel (601) is connected to the air source connection channel, and the other end of the first air channel is connected to the second air channel (602).

4. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of air cavities (5) are provided, and the plurality of air cavities are evenly spaced to form a pneumatic cavity grid structure, and the widths of the plurality of air cavities decrease in an arithmetic progression.

5. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray according to claim 4, characterized in that: The cross-sectional shape of the air cavity is a trapezoid, and the end surface of the air cavity communicating with the second air channel is an inclined surface.

6. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray according to claim 5, characterized in that: The volumes of the plurality of air cavities decrease in sequence from the driving end (3) to the fingertip.

7. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray according to claim 1, characterized in that: The arc radius of the arc surface on the working side of the restriction layer is 80-120 mm, which ensures that the working surfaces of the two flexible clamping fingers can be brought together after inflation and deformation.

8. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness between the air cavity and the outer wall of the working side of the restriction layer is greater than the distance between the air cavity and the outer wall of the body.

9. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray according to claim 1, characterized in that: The side where the fingertip part is connected to the arc surface of the restriction layer is an arc surface, and the arc surface of the fingertip part is tangent to the arc of the arc surface of the restriction layer.

10. A flexible clamp for clamping seedlings in a plug tray according to claim 9, characterized in that: The arc surface of the fingertip is provided with a triangular protrusion as an anti-slip structure.

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