Lettuce harvester

Abstract

The present invention proposes a lettuce harvester, including a frame, a leaf scraping assembly, a cutting assembly and a transport assembly; the frame can move in a planting field, and is provided with two oppositely arranged side panels, and a avoidance area is provided in the middle of the side panels; the leaf scraping assembly includes two lifting units, two connecting assemblies, two tool holders, two flexible rope knife units and two rope knife adjustment mechanisms; the transport assembly includes a clamping and conveying mechanism and a supporting and falling mechanism. The leaves of the lettuce are removed by the flexible rope knife unit, which has a certain strength and elasticity, and can complete the leaf scraping action by cutting off the root of the leaves in a taut state, thereby ensuring the quality of the lettuce and reducing the damage rate, and at the same time, its own shape can be appropriately adjusted according to the change of the stem diameter of the lettuce; and the clamping and conveying mechanism is used to transport the lettuce, and the supporting and falling mechanism is used to make the lettuce "handled with care" in the whole work process, so as to minimize the damage to the lettuce during the transportation process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of agricultural equipment, and in particular to a lettuce harvester. Background Art

[0002] Lettuce is a common vegetable, widely grown in China with a long history of cultivation. The industrial layout of the lettuce industry shows that China's climate and soil conditions are suitable for the growth of lettuce, and China is also one of the world's largest lettuce consumption markets. Lettuce is 25-100 cm tall; the roots extend vertically, the stems are erect, solitary, and the diameter of a single root is about 60 mm. Lettuce is usually harvested by manual knife cutting, which is labor-intensive and has low production efficiency, which is not conducive to the development of the lettuce planting industry.

[0003] In the prior art, a utility model patent with patent announcement number CN212753328U discloses a lettuce harvesting device that relies on manpower to perform semi-automatic harvesting. However, the device has weak terrain adaptability, and the harvested lettuce is disorderly and has a high damage rate, which cannot effectively reduce the waste of manpower and material resources.

[0004] In the prior art, in order to realize the complete automation of lettuce harvesting, someone proposed an invention of a "single-row side-mounted lettuce harvester". This device is pulled forward by a tractor, is huge in size and difficult to turn. However, a large number of small individual households in my country plant lettuce in a scattered manner, resulting in a small planting area of ​​a single lettuce field and uneven planting terrain. This device is not suitable for lettuce harvesting in my country. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention proposes a lettuce harvester to solve the technical problems proposed in the above background technology, such as weak terrain adaptability, disorderly harvested lettuces and high damage rate, inability to effectively reduce the waste of manpower and material resources, huge size and difficulty in turning.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is achieved in this way:

[0007] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a lettuce harvester, comprising a frame, a leaf scraping assembly, a cutting assembly and a transport assembly, wherein:

[0008] The frame can move in the planting field, and is provided with two side panels arranged opposite to each other, and a avoidance area is provided in the middle of the side panels;

[0009] The blade scraping assembly includes two lifting units, two connecting assemblies, two tool holders, two flexible rope knife units and two rope knife adjusting mechanisms. The lifting unit is installed on the frame and connected to the connecting assembly, and is used to drive the connecting assembly to move in a vertical direction; the connecting assembly is slidably installed on the side plate, and the two connecting assemblies are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the avoidance area; the tool holder is rotatably installed on the connecting assembly; the flexible rope knife unit is penetrated on the tool holder; the rope knife adjusting mechanism is respectively connected to the tool holder and the connecting assembly, and is used to drive the two tool holders to rotate towards each other around the corresponding connecting assembly during the sliding of the connecting assembly along the side plate, so that the flexible rope knife unit contacts the lettuce to be harvested;

[0010] The cutting assembly is mounted on the frame and is used to cut off the roots of the lettuce;

[0011] The transport component includes a clamping and conveying mechanism and a tilting mechanism. The clamping and conveying mechanism is installed on the frame and located above the cutting component, and is used to clamp the harvested lettuce and convey it to the tilting mechanism; the tilting mechanism is used to receive the lettuce delivered by the clamping and conveying mechanism, and convert the lettuce from a vertical state to a horizontal state, and provide it to a collection frame for storage.

[0012] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the side plate is symmetrically provided with a first slide groove and a second slide groove on both sides of the avoidance area; the first slide groove includes a first transition section and a first working section, the first transition section is tilted and one end away from the first working section is tilted toward the avoidance area, and the first working section is vertically arranged and located below the first transition section; the second slide groove includes a second transition section and a second working section, the second transition section is tilted and one end away from the second working section is tilted toward the avoidance area, and the second working section is vertically arranged and located below the second transition section;

[0013] The connecting assembly includes a connecting seat and a first sliding shaft; a horizontal limiting groove is provided on the connecting seat, the first sliding shaft passes through the limiting groove, and two first sliding shafts are slidably installed in the first sliding groove and the second sliding groove respectively.

[0014] On the basis of the above technical scheme, preferably, the rope knife adjustment mechanism includes two connecting rods, two rocker arms, a support shaft and a connecting shaft, the two connecting rods are respectively rotatably connected to the two ends of the first sliding shaft, and the end of the connecting rod away from the first sliding shaft is rotatably connected to the rocker arm; the middle part of the rocker arm is rotatably connected to the support shaft; the support shaft is fixedly installed on the two connecting seats; the two ends of the connecting shaft are respectively fixedly connected to the ends of the two rocker arms away from the connecting rod, and are used to drive the rocker arm to rotate around the support shaft under the drive of the connecting rod; the tool holder is fixedly installed on the connecting shaft.

[0015] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the rope knife adjustment mechanism also includes a first stop ring, a second stop ring and a third stop ring, the first stop ring is installed at the connection between the connecting rod and the first sliding shaft, the second stop ring is installed at the connection between the connecting rod and the rocker arm, and the third stop ring is installed at the connection between the rocker arm and the support shaft.

[0016] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the tool support comprises a first mounting plate, a second mounting plate and a third mounting plate fixedly mounted on the connecting shaft, the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate are both rotatably mounted on the supporting shaft, and the third mounting plate is fixedly connected to the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate and is located between the two;

[0017] The flexible rope knife unit includes a first knife rope and a second knife rope; the two ends of the first knife rope are respectively connected to the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate, the two ends of the second knife rope are respectively connected to the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate and the middle part is connected to the third mounting plate, and the first knife rope and the second knife rope are intersecting.

[0018] On the basis of the above technical scheme, preferably, the cutting assembly includes a tool base plate, two driving rods, two cutting tools, two rotating shafts, two guide shafts and a tool driving mechanism, the tool base plate is provided with two arc-shaped guide grooves, and the guide shaft is slidably installed in the guide grooves; the two rotating shafts are symmetrically installed on the tool base plate with the tool driving mechanism as the center; the cutting tool is fixedly connected to the guide shaft and rotatably connected to the rotating shaft; one end of the driving rod is rotatably connected to the guide shaft, and the other end is hinged to the tool driving mechanism; the tool driving mechanism is used to drive the two driving rods to make linear reciprocating motion at one end connected to it, thereby driving the guide shaft to slide along the guide groove to drive the cutting tool to rotate around the rotating shaft, and realize the cutting of the lettuce root in the process of the two cutting tools approaching each other.

[0019] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the tool driving mechanism includes a first driving motor, a screw and a tool base, the first driving motor is installed on the tool base plate and is drivingly connected to the screw, the tool base is provided with a driving internal thread, the driving internal thread is connected to the screw, and the two ends of the tool base are respectively connected to the two driving rods.

[0020] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, the clamping and conveying mechanism includes a conveying base, two conveyor belt units and two second driving motors;

[0021] The conveying base is installed on the frame;

[0022] The conveyor belt unit includes a conveyor belt, a driving wheel, a driven wheel, multiple tensioning wheels, multiple intermediate rods, a second sliding shaft, multiple fixed shafts and multiple reset springs. The two conveyor belts are used to clamp the harvested lettuce. The second driving motor is drivingly connected to the driving wheel, and the driven wheel is rotatably installed on the conveying base. The conveyor belt is connected between the driving wheel and the driven wheel, and multiple tensioning wheels are tensioned on the conveyor belt; the two ends of the intermediate rod are respectively hinged to the two tensioning wheels, and the tensioning wheel connected to one end of the intermediate rod is rotatably installed on the conveying base, and the middle part of the intermediate rod is hinged to the second sliding shaft; the conveying base is provided with multiple third sliding grooves, and the second sliding shaft is slidably installed in the third sliding grooves; the multiple fixed shafts are fixedly installed on the conveying base; the two ends of the reset spring are respectively connected to the fixed shaft and the second sliding shaft.

[0023] On the basis of the above technical scheme, preferably, the supporting mechanism includes a driving shaft, a supporting seat, an electric push rod, two first bevel gears, two second bevel gears, two mounting shafts and two supporting baffles, the driving shaft is rotatably mounted on the frame, and the supporting seat is fixedly connected to the driving shaft; one end of the electric push rod is hinged to the frame, and the other end is hinged to the supporting seat; the two first bevel gears are respectively fixedly mounted on the two ends of the driving shaft; the two mounting shafts are respectively rotatably mounted on the opposite side surfaces of the supporting seat, and the mounting shaft is perpendicular to the driving shaft; the second bevel gear is mounted on the mounting shaft and meshes with the first bevel gear for transmission; the supporting baffle is fixedly mounted on the mounting shaft.

[0024] On the basis of the above technical solution, preferably, two front wheels and two rear wheels are provided at the bottom of the frame, and two wheel drive assemblies are also included, and the wheel drive assembly includes a third drive motor, a third bevel gear, and a fourth bevel gear. The third drive motor is drivingly connected to the third bevel gear, and the two fourth bevel gears are coaxially connected to the two front wheels respectively, and the fourth bevel gear is meshingly transmitted with the third bevel gear.

[0025] The lettuce harvester of the present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0026] (1) The rope knife adjustment mechanism is respectively connected to the knife bracket and the connecting component, and is used to drive the two knife brackets to rotate around the corresponding connecting components respectively during the sliding of the connecting component along the side plate, so that the flexible rope knife unit contacts the lettuce to be harvested. During the continuous sliding of the connecting component, the leaves of the lettuce are removed by the flexible rope knife unit. The flexible rope knife unit has a certain strength and elasticity, and can complete the leaf scraping action by cutting off the root of the leaves in a taut state. At the same time, its own shape can be appropriately adjusted according to the change of the stem diameter of the lettuce, and a certain rebound is allowed when the resistance of the rope is too large, so as to ensure the quality of the lettuce and reduce the damage rate; and the clamping conveying mechanism is used to transport the lettuce, and the supporting mechanism is used to flip the lettuce from a vertical state to a horizontal state and drop it into the collection box, so that the lettuce can be "handled with care" in the whole work process, minimizing the damage to the lettuce during transportation;

[0027] (2) The first transition section is tilted and one end away from the first working section is tilted toward the avoidance area, and the second transition section is tilted and one end away from the second working section is tilted toward the avoidance area. A horizontal limit groove is provided on the connecting seat, and the first sliding shaft passes through the limit groove. The two first sliding shafts are slidably installed in the first sliding groove and the second sliding groove respectively; when the first sliding shaft slides along the first sliding groove and the second sliding groove, the first sliding shaft moves horizontally along the limit groove, thereby providing a driving force to the rope knife adjustment mechanism, and the two knife brackets are simultaneously rotated toward each other during the sliding process, so that the two flexible knife rope units are close to each other to surround the lettuce;

[0028] (3) The two ends of the first sliding shaft are rotatably connected by the two connecting rods, and the end of the connecting rod away from the first sliding shaft is rotatably connected to the swing rod; the middle part of the swing rod is rotatably connected to the support shaft; the support shaft is fixedly installed on the two connecting seats; the two ends of the connecting shaft are respectively fixedly connected to the ends of the two swing rods away from the connecting rod, and when the first sliding shaft moves horizontally along the limiting groove, the connecting rod is driven to rotate, and the swing rod is driven to rotate around the support shaft, thereby driving the tool holder and the connecting shaft to rotate around the support shaft together, so as to realize the two tool holders rotating towards each other;

[0029] (4) The two drive rods are driven by the knife driving mechanism to make linear reciprocating motion at one end connected to the two drive rods, thereby driving the guide shaft to slide along the guide groove to drive the cutting knife to rotate around the rotating shaft. The root of the lettuce is cut off in the process of the two cutting knives approaching each other. The cutting can be completed in one time. Compared with the traditional high-speed rotating harvesting method of the disc cutter, the number of cycle cutting can be reduced, ensuring the flatness and integrity of the cutting surface, thereby reducing the chance of water loss and pathogen invasion;

[0030] In the initial state, the distance between the two conveyor belts is small. When the lettuce reaches the bottom between the two conveyor belts, during the operation of the conveyor belts, the lettuce squeezes the two conveyor belts to both sides, so that the reset spring stretches, and the second sliding shaft slides along the third sliding groove, driving the two connecting rods to rotate in the direction away from each other, thereby widening the distance between the two conveyor belts. The two conveyor belts clamp the harvested lettuce, and after being transported to the supporting mechanism, the reset spring pulls the two conveyor belts to reset, which can better realize the flexible clamping and transportation of the lettuce, and minimize the damage to the lettuce during the transportation process;

[0031] The electric push rod is retracted to drive the supporting seat to rotate clockwise around the driving shaft, so that the supporting seat is transformed from a vertical state to a horizontal state. When the driving shaft rotates, the first bevel gear drives the second bevel gear to rotate, driving the mounting shaft to rotate, thereby causing the two supporting baffles to rotate in opposite directions. The supporting baffles are opened, allowing the lettuce to fall into the collection frame, where it can be collected and sorted. No manual sorting is required later, reducing the waste of manpower and material resources. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0033] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of a lettuce harvester in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 is an exploded view of a lettuce harvester in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a frame in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 4 is a top view of a scraper assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 5is a three-dimensional diagram of a scraper assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of the scraper assembly (excluding the lifting unit) in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a wheel drive assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 8 is a stereoscopic diagram of a cutting assembly and a transport assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Fig. 9 is a three-dimensional diagram of a cutting assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Fig.10 is a three-dimensional diagram of a cutting assembly (without the tool base plate) in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Fig.11 is a three-dimensional diagram of a clamping and conveying mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Fig.12 is a three-dimensional diagram of a conveyor belt unit in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Fig.13 It is a three-dimensional diagram of the leaning mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] Description of reference numerals: 1-frame, 2-leaf scraping assembly, 3-cutting assembly, 4-transportation assembly, 5-wheel driving assembly; 100-lettuce; 200-collection frame;

[0047] 11-side plate, 111-avoidance area, 112-first chute, 1121-first transition section, 1122-first working section, 113-second chute, 1131-second transition section, 1132-second working section, 12-front wheel, 13-rear wheel;

[0048] 21-lifting unit, 211-lifting motor, 212-driving spur gear, 213-driven spur gear, 214-rack, 215-guide rail, 22-connecting assembly, 221-connecting seat, 2211-limiting groove, 222-first sliding shaft, 23-tool bracket, 231-first mounting plate, 232-second mounting plate, 233-third mounting plate, 24-flexible rope knife unit, 241-first knife rope, 242-second knife rope, 25-rope knife adjustment mechanism, 251-connecting rod, 252-swing rod, 253-support shaft, 254-connecting shaft, 255-first stop ring, 256-second stop ring, 257-third stop ring;

[0049] 31-tool base plate, 311-guide groove, 32-driving rod, 33-cutting tool, 34-rotating shaft, 35-guide shaft, 36-tool driving mechanism, 361-first driving motor, 362-screw rod, 363-tool base, 364-guide rail, 365-slider;

[0050] 41-clamping conveying mechanism, 411-conveyor base, 4111-third slide slot, 412-conveyor belt unit, 4121-conveyor belt, 4122-driving wheel, 4123-driven wheel, 4124-tensioning wheel, 4125-middle rod, 4126-second sliding shaft, 4127-fixed shaft, 4128-reset spring, 413-second driving motor; 42-helping and falling mechanism, 421-driving shaft, 422-helping and falling seat, 423-electric push rod, 424-first bevel gear, 425-second bevel gear, 426-installation shaft, 427-helping and falling baffle;

[0051] 51 - third driving motor, 52 - third bevel gear, 53 - fourth bevel gear 53 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] The following will be combined with the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0053] Reference Figure 1-13 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a lettuce harvester, comprising a frame 1, a leaf scraping assembly 2, a cutting assembly 3 and a transport assembly 4, wherein:

[0054] The frame 1 can move in the planting field. The frame 1 is provided with two side panels 11 arranged opposite to each other. The middle of the side panels 11 is provided with an avoidance area 111, and the avoidance area 111 is used for a row of lettuces 100 to pass through. The side panels 11 and the frame 1 can be connected by movable buckles. The side panels 11 can use side panels 11 with first slide grooves 112 and second slide grooves 113 of different lengths according to different scraping height requirements to achieve adjustable scraping.

[0055] The scraper assembly 2 includes two lifting units 21, two connecting assemblies 22, two tool holders 23, two flexible rope knife units 24 and two rope knife adjustment mechanisms 25. The lifting unit 21 is installed on the frame 1 and connected to the connecting assembly 22, and is used to drive the connecting assembly 22 to move in the vertical direction; the connecting assembly 22 is slidably installed on the side plate 11, and the two connecting assemblies 22 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the avoidance area 111; the tool holder 23 is rotatably installed on the connecting assembly 22; the flexible rope knife unit 24 is penetrated on the tool holder 23; the rope knife adjustment mechanism 25 is respectively connected to the tool holder 23 and the connecting assembly 22, and is used to drive the two tool holders 23 to rotate around the corresponding connecting assembly 22 in the process of the connecting assembly 22 sliding along the side plate 11, so that the flexible rope knife unit 24 is in contact with the lettuce 100 to be harvested;

[0056] The cutting assembly 3 is mounted on the frame 1 and is used to cut off the root of the lettuce 100;

[0057] The transport component 4 includes a clamping and conveying mechanism 41 and a tilting mechanism 42. The clamping and conveying mechanism 41 is installed on the frame 1 and is located above the cutting component 3. It is used to clamp the harvested lettuce 100 and convey it to the tilting mechanism 42; the tilting mechanism 42 is used to receive the lettuce 100 delivered by the clamping and conveying mechanism 41, and convert the lettuce 100 from a vertical state to a horizontal state, and provide it to the collection frame 200 for storage.

[0058] It should be noted that in the scraper assembly 2, the two knife brackets 23 are initially away from each other and approach the edge of the avoidance area 111. When the two rope knife adjustment mechanisms 25 are adjusted, one knife bracket 23 rotates clockwise and the other knife bracket 23 rotates counterclockwise, so that the two flexible rope knife units 24 are close to each other and contact the lettuce 100 to be harvested. The scraper assembly 2, the cutting assembly 3 and the transport assembly 4 adopt a modular design and can be quickly disconnected from the frame 1.

[0059] The lettuce harvester proposed in the embodiment of the present invention is connected to the knife bracket 23 and the connecting assembly 22 respectively through the rope knife adjustment mechanism 25, which is used to drive the two knife brackets 23 to rotate around the corresponding connecting assembly 22 respectively during the sliding of the connecting assembly 22 along the side plate 11, so that the flexible rope knife unit 24 contacts the lettuce 100 to be harvested. When the connecting assembly 22 continues to slide, the leaves of the lettuce 100 are removed by the flexible rope knife unit 24. The flexible rope knife unit 24 has a certain strength and elasticity. The leaf scraping action can be completed by cutting off the root of the leaves in a taut state. At the same time, its own shape can be appropriately adjusted according to the change of the stem diameter of the lettuce 100, and a certain rebound is allowed to occur when the resistance encountered by the rope is too large, thereby ensuring the quality of the lettuce 100 and reducing the damage rate; and the clamping and conveying mechanism 41 is used to transport the lettuce 100, and the supporting mechanism 42 is used to flip the lettuce 100 from a vertical state to a horizontal state and drop it into a collection box, so that the lettuce 100 can be "handled with care" in the whole work process, minimizing the damage to the lettuce 100 during the transportation process.

[0060] In some embodiments, the side panel 11 is symmetrically provided with a first slide groove 112 and a second slide groove 113 on both sides of the avoidance area 111; the first slide groove 112 includes a first transition section 1121 and a first working section 1122, the first transition section 1121 is tilted and one end away from the first working section 1122 is tilted toward the avoidance area 111, the first working section 1122 is vertically provided and located below the first transition section 1121; the second slide groove 113 includes a second transition section 1131 and a second working section 1132, The second transition section 1131 is tilted and one end away from the second working section 1132 is tilted toward the avoidance area 111, and the second working section 1132 is vertically arranged and located below the second transition section 1131; the connection assembly 22 includes a connection seat 221 and a first sliding shaft 222; a horizontal limiting groove 2211 is provided on the connection seat 221, and the first sliding shaft 222 passes through the limiting groove 2211, and two first sliding shafts 222 are slidably installed in the first sliding groove 112 and the second sliding groove 113 respectively. In the process of the first sliding shaft 222 sliding along the first sliding groove 112 and the second sliding groove 113, the first sliding shaft 222 moves horizontally along the limiting groove 2211, thereby providing driving force to the rope knife adjustment mechanism 25, and realizing the two knife brackets 23 rotating toward each other during the sliding process, so that the two flexible knife rope units are close to each other to surround the lettuce 100, and the lettuce 100 stems will not be damaged while scraping the leaves.

[0061] In some embodiments, the lifting unit 21 includes a lifting motor 211, a driving spur gear 212, two driven spur gears 213, two racks 214 and two guide rails 215. The lifting motor 211 is installed on the frame 1 and is drivingly connected to the driving spur gear 212. The two driven spur gears 213 are rotatably installed on the frame 1 and are located on both sides of the driving spur gear 212. The two driven spur gears 213 are both meshed with the driving spur gear 212 for transmission. The two racks 214 are respectively meshed with the two driven spur gears 213 for transmission and are respectively connected to the two connecting seats 221. The two guide rails 215 are vertically installed on the side panel 11, and the racks 214 are slidably installed on the guide rails 215.

[0062] In some embodiments, the rope knife adjustment mechanism 25 includes two connecting rods 251, two rocker arms 252, a support shaft 253 and a connecting shaft 254, the two connecting rods 251 are respectively rotatably connected to the two ends of the first sliding shaft 222, and the end of the connecting rod 251 away from the first sliding shaft 222 is rotatably connected to the rocker arm 252; the middle part of the rocker arm 252 is rotatably connected to the support shaft 253; the support shaft 253 is fixedly installed on the two connecting seats 221; the two ends of the connecting shaft 254 are respectively fixedly connected to the ends of the two rocker arms 252 away from the connecting rod 251, and are used to drive the rocker arm 252 to rotate around the support shaft 253 under the drive of the connecting rod 251; the tool bracket 23 is fixedly installed on the connecting shaft 254. When the first sliding shaft 222 moves horizontally along the limiting groove 2211, it drives the connecting rod 251 to rotate, drives the swing rod 252 to rotate around the supporting shaft 253, and thus drives the tool holder 23 and the connecting shaft 254 to rotate around the supporting shaft together, thereby realizing the two tool holders 23 rotating towards each other.

[0063] In some embodiments, the rope knife adjustment mechanism 25 further includes a first stop ring 255, a second stop ring 256 and a third stop ring 257, wherein the first stop ring 255 is installed at the connection between the connecting rod 251 and the first sliding shaft 222, the second stop ring 256 is installed at the connection between the connecting rod 251 and the swing rod 252, and the third stop ring 257 is installed at the connection between the swing rod 252 and the support shaft 253. By providing the first stop ring 255, the second stop ring 256 and the third stop ring 257, the connecting rod 251 and the swing rod 252 will not rotate when they rotate to the corresponding positions, thereby improving the reliability and stability of the device.

[0064] In some embodiments, the tool support 23 includes a first mounting plate 231, a second mounting plate 232 and a third mounting plate 233 fixedly mounted on the connecting shaft 254, the first mounting plate 231 and the second mounting plate 232 are both rotatably mounted on the support shaft 253, and the third mounting plate 233 is fixedly connected to the first mounting plate 231 and the second mounting plate 232 and is located between the two; the flexible rope knife unit 24 includes a first knife rope 241 and a second knife rope 242; the first knife rope 241 is connected to the first mounting plate 231 and the second mounting plate 232 at both ends, and the first knife rope 241 is a straight line, the second knife rope 242 is connected to the first mounting plate 231 and the second mounting plate 232 at both ends and the middle part is connected to the third mounting plate 233, the second knife rope 242 is V-shaped, and the first knife rope 241 and the second knife rope 242 are intersecting. The two flexible knife rope units are coordinated in space so that the projection on the horizontal plane is a hexagonal star, and an approximately hexagonal area is formed in the middle to surround the lettuce 100, and the diameter of the inscribed circle is slightly smaller than the minimum stem diameter of the lettuce 100. The first knife rope 241 and the second knife rope 242 are made of hard steel wire (diameter 0.8mm) as a material, which has a certain strength and elasticity. They can complete the leaf scraping action by cutting the root of the leaf in a taut state. At the same time, their own shape can be appropriately adjusted according to the change of the stem diameter of the lettuce 100, and a certain rebound is allowed when the resistance of the rope is too large, thereby ensuring the quality of the lettuce 100 and reducing the damage rate.

[0065] In some embodiments, the cutting assembly 3 includes a tool base plate 31, two driving rods 32, two cutting tools 33, two rotating shafts 34, two guide shafts 35 and a tool driving mechanism 36. The tool base plate 31 is provided with two arc-shaped guide grooves 311, and the guide shaft 35 is slidably installed in the guide grooves 311; the two rotating shafts 34 are symmetrically installed on the tool base plate 31 with the tool driving mechanism 36 as the center; the cutting tool 33 is fixedly connected to the guide shaft 35 and is rotationally connected to the rotating shaft 34; one end of the driving rod 32 is rotationally connected to the guide shaft 35, and the other end is hinged to the tool driving mechanism 36; the tool driving mechanism 36 is used to drive the two driving rods 32 to make a linear reciprocating motion at one end connected to it, thereby driving the guide shaft 35 to slide along the guide groove 311 to drive the cutting tool 33 to rotate around the rotating shaft 34, and the root of the lettuce 100 is cut off in the process of the two cutting tools 33 approaching each other. The two driving rods 32 are driven by the tool driving mechanism 36 to make linear reciprocating motion with one end connected to them, thereby driving the guide shaft 35 to slide along the guide groove 311 to drive the cutting tool 33 to rotate around the rotating shaft 34. In the process of the two cutting tools 33 approaching each other, the root of the lettuce 100 is cut off, and the cutting can be completed in one time. Compared with the traditional high-speed rotating harvesting method of the disc cutter, the number of cyclic cutting times can be reduced, ensuring the flatness and integrity of the cutting surface, so as to reduce the chance of water loss and invasion of pathogens.

[0066] In some embodiments, the tool drive mechanism 36 includes a first drive motor 361, a screw rod 362 and a tool base 363. The first drive motor 361 is mounted on the tool base plate 31 and is drivingly connected to the screw rod 362. The tool base 363 is provided with a driving internal thread, which is connected to the screw rod 362. Both ends of the tool base 363 are respectively connected to the two driving rods 32. The screw rod 362 is driven to rotate by the first drive motor 361. Since both ends of the tool base 363 are connected by the two driving rods 32, the tool base 363 cannot rotate. Therefore, the tool base 363 slides along the screw rod 362 under the drive of the driving internal thread, thereby driving the two driving rods 32 to drive the guide shaft 35 to slide along the guide groove 311.

[0067] In a further embodiment, in order to ensure smooth operation, the tool drive mechanism 36 also includes a guide rail 364 and a slider 365. The guide rail 364 is installed on the tool base plate 31, and the slider 365 is slidably installed on the guide rail 364 and connected to the tool base 363 to guide the movement of the tool base 363 to achieve a straight-forward effect, thereby improving stability and reliability.

[0068] In some embodiments, the clamping conveying mechanism 41 includes a conveying base 411, two conveyor belt units 412 and two second driving motors 413; the conveying base 411 is installed on the frame 1; the conveyor belt unit 412 includes a conveyor belt 4121, a driving wheel 4122, a driven wheel 4123, a plurality of tensioning wheels 4124, a plurality of intermediate rods 4125, a second sliding shaft 4126, a plurality of fixed shafts 4127 and a plurality of reset springs 4128, the two conveyor belts 4121 are used to clamp the harvested lettuce 100, the second driving motor 413 is drivingly connected to the driving wheel 4122, the driven wheel 4123 is rotatably installed on the conveying base 411, and the conveyor belt 4121 is connected to the driving wheel 4122. Between the wheel 4122 and the driven wheel 4123, multiple tensioning wheels 4124 are tensioned on the conveyor belt 4121; the two ends of the intermediate rod 4125 are respectively hinged to the two tensioning wheels 4124, the tensioning wheel 4124 connected to one end of the intermediate rod 4125 is rotatably installed on the conveying base 411, and the middle part of the intermediate rod 4125 is hinged to the second sliding shaft 4126; a plurality of third sliding grooves 4111 are provided on the conveying base 411, and the second sliding shaft 4126 is slidably installed in the third sliding grooves 4111; a plurality of fixed shafts 4127 are fixedly installed on the conveying base 411; the two ends of the reset spring 4128 are respectively connected to the fixed shaft 4127 and the second sliding shaft 4126. In the initial state, the distance between the two conveyor belts 4121 is small. When the lettuce 100 reaches the bottom between the two conveyor belts 4121, during the operation of the conveyor belts 4121, the lettuce 100 squeezes the two conveyor belts 4121 to both sides, so that the reset spring 4128 is stretched, and the second sliding shaft 4126 slides along the third slide groove 4111, driving the two connecting rods 251 to rotate away from each other, thereby widening the distance between the two conveyor belts 4121. The two conveyor belts 4121 clamp the harvested lettuce 100, and after being transported to the supporting mechanism 42, the reset spring 4128 pulls the two conveyor belts 4121 to reset, which can better realize the flexible clamping and transportation of the lettuce 100 and minimize the damage to the lettuce 100 during the transportation process.

[0069] In some embodiments, the supporting mechanism 42 includes a drive shaft 421, a supporting seat 422, an electric push rod 423, two first bevel gears 424, two second bevel gears 425, two mounting shafts 426 and two supporting baffles 427, wherein the drive shaft 421 is rotatably mounted on the frame 1, the lettuce 100 is placed in a vertical state in the supporting seat 422, and the supporting seat 422 is fixedly connected to the drive shaft 421; one end of the electric push rod 423 is hinged to the frame 1, and the other end is hinged to the supporting seat 422; the two first bevel gears 424 are respectively fixedly mounted on the two ends of the drive shaft 421; the two mounting shafts 426 are respectively rotatably mounted on the opposite side surfaces of the supporting seat 422, and the mounting shaft 426 is perpendicular to the drive shaft 421; the second bevel gear 425 is mounted on the mounting shaft 426 and meshes with the first bevel gear 424 for transmission; the supporting baffle 427 is fixedly mounted on the mounting shaft 426. By retracting the electric push rod 423, the support seat 422 is driven to rotate clockwise around the driving shaft 421, so that the support seat 422 is turned from a vertical state to a horizontal state. When the driving shaft 421 rotates, the first bevel gear 424 drives the second bevel gear 425 to rotate, driving the mounting shaft 426 to rotate, so that the two support baffles 427 rotate in opposite directions. The support baffles 427 are opened, so that the lettuce 100 can fall into the collection frame 200, and the lettuce 100 is collected and sorted. No manual sorting is required later, thereby reducing the waste of manpower and material resources.

[0070] In some embodiments, two front wheels 12 and two rear wheels 13 are provided at the bottom of the frame 1, and the lettuce harvester further comprises two wheel drive assemblies 5, the wheel drive assemblies 5 comprising a third drive motor 51, a third bevel gear 52, and a fourth bevel gear 53, the third drive motor 51 is drivingly connected to the third bevel gear 52, the two fourth bevel gears 53 are coaxially connected to the two front wheels 12, and the fourth bevel gear 53 is meshed with the third bevel gear 52 for transmission. The third drive motor 51 drives the third bevel gear 52 to rotate, thereby driving the fourth bevel gear 53 to rotate, realizing the rotation of the front wheel 12, and completing the movement of the frame 1 in the planting field; the two third drive motors 51 respectively drive the two front wheels 12 to rotate, which can realize the differential of the two front wheels 12 and realize the steering of the frame 1.

[0071] The working principle of the lettuce harvester proposed in this embodiment is:

[0072] When the first sliding shaft 222 slides along the first sliding groove 112 and the second sliding groove 113, the first sliding shaft 222 moves horizontally along the limiting groove 2211, thereby providing a driving force to the rope knife adjustment mechanism 25. While sliding, one knife bracket 23 rotates clockwise and the other knife bracket 23 rotates counterclockwise, so that the two flexible rope knife units 24 are close to each other and contact the lettuce 100 to be harvested. When the connecting component 22 continues to slide, the leaves of the lettuce 100 are removed by the flexible rope knife unit 24.

[0073] The two drive rods 32 are driven by the tool drive mechanism 36 to make linear reciprocating motion at one end connected to the two drive rods 32, thereby driving the guide shaft 35 to slide along the guide groove 311, so as to drive the cutting tool 33 to rotate around the rotating shaft 34, and the root of the lettuce 100 is cut off in the process of the two cutting tools 33 approaching each other, and the cut lettuce 100 reaches the clamping and conveying mechanism 41 in the process of the frame 1 moving;

[0074] In the initial state, the distance between the two conveyor belts 4121 is small. When the lettuce 100 is between the two conveyor belts 4121, during the operation of the conveyor belts 4121, the lettuce 100 squeezes the two conveyor belts 4121 to both sides, so that the reset spring 4128 is stretched, and the second sliding shaft 4126 slides along the third sliding groove 4111, driving the two connecting rods 251 to rotate away from each other, thereby widening the distance between the two conveyor belts 4121. The two conveyor belts 4121 clamp the harvested lettuce 100, and after being transported to the supporting mechanism 42, the reset spring 4128 pulls the two conveyor belts 4121 to reset;

[0075] By retracting the electric push rod 423, the support seat 422 is driven to rotate clockwise around the driving shaft 421, so that the support seat 422 and the lettuce 100 are turned from a vertical state to a horizontal state. When the driving shaft 421 rotates, the first bevel gear 424 drives the second bevel gear 425 to rotate, driving the installation shaft 426 to rotate, so that the two support baffles 427 rotate in opposite directions, and the support baffles 427 are opened, so that the lettuce 100 can fall into the collection frame 200.

[0076] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lettuce harvester, characterized in that: It includes a frame, a scraper assembly, a cutting assembly and a transport assembly, wherein: The frame is capable of moving in a planting field, and the frame is provided with two side panels arranged opposite to each other, and a avoidance area is provided in the middle of the side panels; a first slide groove and a second slide groove are symmetrically arranged on the side panels on both sides of the avoidance area; the first slide groove includes a first transition section and a first working section, the first transition section is inclined and one end away from the first working section is inclined toward the avoidance area, and the first working section is vertically arranged and located below the first transition section; the second slide groove includes a second transition section and a second working section, the second transition section is inclined and one end away from the second working section is inclined toward the avoidance area, and the second working section is vertically arranged and located below the second transition section; The scraper assembly includes two lifting units, two connecting assemblies, two tool holders, two flexible rope knife units and two rope knife adjustment mechanisms, the lifting unit is installed on the frame and connected to the connecting assembly for driving the connecting assembly to move in a vertical direction; the connecting assembly is slidably installed on the side plate, and the two connecting assemblies are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the avoidance area; the connecting assembly includes a connecting seat and a first sliding shaft; a horizontal limiting groove is provided on the connecting seat, the first sliding shaft passes through the limiting groove, and the two first sliding shafts are slidably installed in the first sliding groove and the second sliding groove respectively; the tool holder is rotatably installed on the connecting assembly; the flexible rope knife unit is penetrated on the tool holder; the rope knife adjustment mechanism is respectively connected to the tool holder and the connecting assembly The connecting assembly is connected, and is used for driving the two tool brackets to rotate around the corresponding connecting assembly respectively during the sliding of the connecting assembly along the side plate, so that the flexible rope knife unit contacts the lettuce to be harvested; the rope knife adjustment mechanism comprises two connecting rods, two swing rods, a support shaft and a connecting shaft, the two connecting rods are respectively rotatably connected to the two ends of the first sliding shaft, and the end of the connecting rod away from the first sliding shaft is rotatably connected to the swing rod; the middle part of the swing rod is rotatably connected to the support shaft; the support shaft is fixedly installed on the two connecting seats; the two ends of the connecting shaft are respectively fixedly connected to the ends of the two swing rods away from the connecting rod, and are used for driving the swing rod to rotate around the support shaft under the drive of the connecting rod; the tool bracket is fixedly installed on the connecting shaft; The cutting assembly is mounted on the frame and is used to cut off the roots of the lettuce; The transport component includes a clamping and conveying mechanism and a tilting mechanism. The clamping and conveying mechanism is installed on the frame and located above the cutting component, and is used to clamp the harvested lettuce and convey it to the tilting mechanism; the tilting mechanism is used to receive the lettuce delivered by the clamping and conveying mechanism, and convert the lettuce from a vertical state to a horizontal state, and provide it to a collection frame for storage.

2. The lettuce harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rope knife adjustment mechanism also includes a first stop ring, a second stop ring and a third stop ring. The first stop ring is installed at the connection between the connecting rod and the first sliding shaft, the second stop ring is installed at the connection between the connecting rod and the rocker arm, and the third stop ring is installed at the connection between the rocker arm and the support shaft.

3. The lettuce harvester according to claim 2, characterized in that: The tool support comprises a first mounting plate, a second mounting plate and a third mounting plate fixedly mounted on the connecting shaft, the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate are both rotatably mounted on the supporting shaft, and the third mounting plate is fixedly connected to the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate and is located between the two; The flexible rope knife unit includes a first knife rope and a second knife rope; the two ends of the first knife rope are respectively connected to the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate, the two ends of the second knife rope are respectively connected to the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate and the middle part is connected to the third mounting plate, and the first knife rope and the second knife rope are intersecting.

4. The lettuce harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cutting assembly includes a tool base plate, two driving rods, two cutting tools, two rotating shafts, two guide shafts and a tool driving mechanism. The tool base plate is provided with two arc-shaped guide grooves, and the guide shaft is slidably installed in the guide grooves; the two rotating shafts are symmetrically installed on the tool base plate with the tool driving mechanism as the center; the cutting tool is fixedly connected to the guide shaft and rotatably connected to the rotating shaft; one end of the driving rod is rotatably connected to the guide shaft, and the other end is hinged to the tool driving mechanism; the tool driving mechanism is used to drive the two driving rods to make linear reciprocating motion at one end connected to the two driving rods, thereby driving the guide shaft to slide along the guide groove to drive the cutting tool to rotate around the rotating shaft, so as to cut off the root of the lettuce when the two cutting tools approach each other.

5. The lettuce harvester according to claim 4, characterized in that: The tool driving mechanism includes a first driving motor, a screw and a tool base. The first driving motor is installed on the tool base plate and is drivingly connected to the screw. The tool base is provided with a driving internal thread, and the driving internal thread is connected to the screw. The two ends of the tool base are respectively connected to the two driving rods.

6. The lettuce harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamping and conveying mechanism comprises a conveying base, two conveyor belt units and two second driving motors; The conveying base is mounted on the frame; The conveyor belt unit includes a conveyor belt, a driving wheel, a driven wheel, multiple tensioning wheels, multiple intermediate rods, a second sliding shaft, multiple fixed shafts and multiple reset springs. The two conveyor belts are used to clamp the harvested lettuce. The second driving motor is drivingly connected to the driving wheel, and the driven wheel is rotatably installed on the conveying base. The conveyor belt is connected between the driving wheel and the driven wheel, and multiple tensioning wheels are tensioned on the conveyor belt; the two ends of the intermediate rod are respectively hinged to the two tensioning wheels, and the tensioning wheel connected to one end of the intermediate rod is rotatably installed on the conveying base, and the middle part of the intermediate rod is hinged to the second sliding shaft; the conveying base is provided with multiple third sliding grooves, and the second sliding shaft is slidably installed in the third sliding grooves; the multiple fixed shafts are fixedly installed on the conveying base; the two ends of the reset spring are respectively connected to the fixed shaft and the second sliding shaft.

7. The lettuce harvester according to claim 6, characterized in that: The supporting mechanism includes a driving shaft, a supporting seat, an electric push rod, two first bevel gears, two second bevel gears, two mounting shafts and two supporting baffles. The driving shaft is rotatably mounted on the frame, and the supporting seat is fixedly connected to the driving shaft; one end of the electric push rod is hinged to the frame, and the other end is hinged to the supporting seat; the two first bevel gears are respectively fixedly mounted on the two ends of the driving shaft; the two mounting shafts are respectively rotatably mounted on the opposite side surfaces of the supporting seat, and the mounting shaft is perpendicular to the driving shaft; the second bevel gear is mounted on the mounting shaft and meshes with the first bevel gear for transmission; the supporting baffle is fixedly mounted on the mounting shaft.

8. The lettuce harvester according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: Two front wheels and two rear wheels are provided at the bottom of the frame, and also include two wheel drive assemblies, the wheel drive assembly includes a third drive motor, a third bevel gear, and a fourth bevel gear, the third drive motor is drivingly connected to the third bevel gear, the two fourth bevel gears are coaxially connected to the two front wheels respectively, and the fourth bevel gear is meshed with the third bevel gear for transmission.

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