Tomato picking end effector

Abstract

The invention discloses a tomato picking end effector, and relates to the technical field of agricultural automation, the tomato picking end effector comprises a clamping module, a shearing module and a connecting module, the clamping module and the shearing module are both installed on the connecting module, the shearing module is located above the clamping module, and an upper end opening of the connecting module is used for allowing tomatoes to be picked to stretch in; the clamping module is used for clamping to-be-picked tomatoes stretching into the connecting module, the shearing module is used for cutting off stems of the to-be-picked tomatoes stretching into the connecting module, and the shearing end of the shearing module retracts to be in a recovery state before the to-be-picked tomatoes stretch into the connecting module; the shearing end of the shearing module can stretch out to be in a working state after the tomatoes to be picked are clamped by the clamping module. The tomato picking device can achieve automatic picking of tomatoes, improve the picking efficiency and save manpower.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of agricultural automation, and in particular to a tomato picking end effector. Background Art

[0002] Fruits and vegetables are essential foods for humans, and they are also very important cash crops. my country is one of the countries with the largest tomato cultivation area and the largest total production in the world, and the tomato picking process is one of the most labor-intensive work links in the process from planting to harvesting. Due to environmental factors, the picking of greenhouse tomatoes is basically done manually, which is labor-intensive and costly, and the manual picking of plant fruits can no longer meet the current market demand. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a tomato picking end effector to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art, realize automatic picking of tomatoes, improve picking efficiency and save manpower.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following solutions:

[0005] The present invention provides a tomato picking end effector, comprising a clamping module, a shearing module and a connecting module, wherein the clamping module and the shearing module are both installed on the connecting module, and the shearing module is located above the clamping module, the upper end opening of the connecting module is used for tomatoes to be picked to extend therein, the clamping module is used for clamping the tomatoes to be picked extending into the connecting module, and the shearing module is used for cutting off the stalks of the tomatoes to be picked extending into the connecting module, the shearing end of the shearing module retracts to a recovered state before the tomatoes to be picked extend into the connecting module, and the shearing end of the shearing module can extend to a working state after the tomatoes to be picked are clamped by the clamping module.

[0006] In one embodiment, the connecting module includes a base and a supporting tube, the supporting tube is installed at the upper end of the base and is arranged around the outer circumference of the base, the side wall of the supporting tube is provided with a plurality of hollow gaps, the shearing module is installed at the upper end of the supporting tube, the plurality of hollow gaps correspond one-to-one to the plurality of clamping units of the clamping module, and the lower end of the clamping unit is rotatably connected in the hollow gap, the driving end of the clamping unit is installed at the lower end of the base, and can drive the plurality of clamping units to rotate in a direction close to or away from each other.

[0007] In one embodiment, the base is circular and the support tube is cylindrical.

[0008] In one embodiment, the connecting module also includes a blade mounting seat, the blade mounting seat is mounted on the upper end of the supporting tube, and a through hole is provided in the middle of the blade mounting seat for the tomatoes to be picked to extend into; the shearing module includes a shearing drive motor, a shearing transmission member and a plurality of blades, and the plurality of blades constitute the shearing end of the shearing module, the shearing drive motor is mounted on the lower end of the blade mounting seat, the shearing transmission member is mounted on the upper end of the blade mounting seat, and the plurality of blades are all mounted on the upper end of the blade mounting seat and are respectively transmission-connected to the shearing transmission member.

[0009] In one embodiment, the shearing transmission member is an internal gear; the blade includes an engaging section and a shearing section, the engaging section is rotatably connected to the blade mounting seat via a pin, and the engaging section is connected to one end of the shearing section, the other end of the shearing section extends in a direction away from the engaging section, and the teeth on the outer periphery of the engaging section can engage with the inner ring of the internal gear, the shearing drive motor is connected to the engaging section of one of the blades, the internal gear and the shearing drive motor can drive each of the blades to rotate synchronously, and when the shearing section is completely located on the upper end surface of the blade mounting seat, the blade is in the recovery state, and when the shearing section rotates to be located above the through hole, the blade is in the working state.

[0010] In one embodiment, the plurality of blades are evenly arranged on the inner ring of the internal gear, and the upper edge of the inner ring of the internal gear is wrapped with a rubber layer.

[0011] In one embodiment, the clamping module includes a clamping drive motor, a clamping transmission member and a plurality of the clamping units, the plurality of the clamping units form a clamping claw, the clamping drive motor is installed at the lower end of the base, the input end of the clamping transmission member is connected to the output end of the clamping drive motor, the output end of the clamping transmission member is connected to each of the clamping units, the clamping drive motor can drive the clamping transmission member to move, and enable the clamping transmission member to drive the plurality of the clamping units to rotate in a direction of approaching or moving away.

[0012] In one embodiment, the clamping transmission member includes a screw, a nut, a sleeve and a plurality of connecting rod mechanisms, one end of the screw is coaxially connected to the output shaft of the clamping drive motor, the other end of the screw is rotatably connected to the lower end of the base, the nut is threadedly connected to the outer periphery of the screw, the sleeve is sleeved on the outer periphery of the nut and the screw, and the sleeve is installed under the base through a bracket, a bearing is provided between the inner wall of the sleeve and the non-threaded section of the screw, the connecting rod mechanism is connected between the nut and each of the clamping units, and can drive each of the clamping units to rotate around the base.

[0013] In one embodiment, a short boss is fixed to the outer periphery of the base at a position corresponding to each of the clamping units, and a long boss is fixed to the lower end of the base at a position corresponding to each of the clamping units; the connecting rod mechanism includes an oblique connecting rod, a long connecting rod, a short connecting rod and a connecting block, the first end of the oblique connecting rod is connected to the outer periphery of the nut, the second end of the oblique connecting rod is rotatably connected to the second end of the long connecting rod through a cylindrical pin, the second end of the short connecting rod is rotatably connected to the first corner of the connecting block, the middle part of the long connecting rod is also rotatably connected to the lower end of the long boss, the short boss is rotatably connected to the second corner of the connecting block, and the lower end of the clamping unit is connected to the upper end of the connecting block.

[0014] In one embodiment, the longitudinal section of the clamping unit is triangular, and a soft contact layer is provided on a side of the clamping unit for contacting the tomato.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has achieved the following technical effects:

[0016] The tomato picking end effector provided by the present invention has a clamping module and a shearing module which are both installed on the connecting module, and the shearing module is located above the clamping module. The upper end opening of the connecting module is used for the tomatoes to be picked to be inserted therein, the clamping module is used for clamping the tomatoes to be picked inserted into the connecting module, and the shearing module is used for cutting off the fruit stalks of the tomatoes to be picked inserted into the connecting module. Compared with the traditional picking method of twisting off the fruit stalks, the tomato picking end effector can perform picking in any position, reduce the picking time, and reduce the damage to tomatoes. At the same time, it can effectively reduce the workload of fruit and vegetable harvesting and improve productivity. The shearing end of the shearing module retracts to a recovery state before the tomatoes to be picked are inserted into the connecting module, thereby avoiding damage to the tomatoes by the shearing end when the tomatoes enter and exit the connecting module, thereby affecting the picking quality. The shearing end of the shearing module can be extended to a working state after the tomatoes to be picked are clamped by the clamping module, so as to achieve shearing of the fruit stalks of the tomatoes to be picked. After the shearing is completed, the picking end is reset, thereby making the picking end in a recovery state again. The automatic picking working method greatly saves manpower. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] 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 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.

[0018] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the tomato picking end effector in the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2This is a front view of the tomato picking end effector of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A is an enlarged schematic diagram;

[0021] Figure 4 for Figure 2 BB section view in;

[0022] Figure 5 A top view of the tomato picking end effector of the present invention;

[0023] In the figure: 1-internal gear, 2-blade mounting seat, 3-clamping unit, 4-connecting block, 5-short connecting rod, 6-long connecting rod, 7-sleeve, 8-clamping drive motor, 9-screw, 10-nut, 11-base, 12-support cylinder, 13-shearing drive motor, 14-shearing section, 15-meshing section, 16-pin, 17-cylindrical pin, 18-oblique connecting rod, 19-short boss, 20-long boss, 21-bearing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following will be combined with the drawings in 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.

[0025] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a tomato picking end effector to solve the problems existing in the prior art, realize automatic picking of tomatoes, improve picking efficiency and save manpower.

[0026] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0027] like Figure 1-Figure 5As shown, this embodiment provides a tomato picking end effector, including a clamping module, a shearing module and a connecting module. The clamping module and the shearing module are both installed on the connecting module, and the shearing module is located above the clamping module. The upper end opening of the connecting module is used for the tomatoes to be picked to be inserted into the connecting module. The clamping module is used to clamp the tomatoes to be picked inserted into the connecting module, and the shearing module is used to cut off the stalks of the tomatoes to be picked inserted into the connecting module. Compared with the traditional picking method of twisting off the stalks, the tomato picking end effector can perform picking in any position, reducing the picking time and reducing tomato damage At the same time, it can effectively reduce the workload of fruit and vegetable harvesting and improve productivity. The shearing end of the shearing module retracts to a recovery state before the tomato to be picked is extended into the connecting module, thereby avoiding damage to the tomato by the shearing end when the tomato enters and exits the connecting module, thereby affecting the picking quality. The shearing end of the shearing module can be extended to a working state after the tomato to be picked is clamped by the clamping module to achieve the shearing of the fruit stalk of the tomato to be picked. After the shearing is completed, the picking end is reset, thereby making the picking end in a recovery state again. The automatic picking working mode greatly saves manpower.

[0028] Specifically, the connecting module includes a base 11 and a supporting tube 12. The supporting tube 12 is installed at the upper end of the base 11 and is arranged around the outer circumference of the base 11, thereby forming a tomato accommodating space inside the supporting tube 12. The side wall of the supporting tube 12 is provided with a plurality of hollow gaps. The shearing module is installed at the upper end of the supporting tube 12. The plurality of hollow gaps correspond one-to-one to the plurality of clamping units 3 of the clamping module, and the lower end of the clamping unit 3 is rotatably connected to the hollow gap, thereby facilitating the clamping unit 3 to extend into the supporting tube 12 through the hollow gap for clamping tomatoes. The driving end of the clamping unit 3 is installed at the lower end of the base 11, and can drive the plurality of clamping units 3 to rotate in a direction close to or away from each other, thereby achieving the clamping and release of tomatoes.

[0029] The base 11 is circular, and the support tube 12 is cylindrical, which is adapted to the shape of a tomato.

[0030] The connecting module also includes a blade mounting seat 2, which is mounted on the upper end of the supporting tube 12, and a through hole is provided in the middle of the blade mounting seat 2 for the tomatoes to be picked to extend into, so that the fruit stems of the tomatoes to be picked can be sheared at the through hole through the shearing module; the shearing module includes a shearing drive motor 13, a shearing transmission member and a plurality of blades, and the plurality of blades constitute the shearing end of the shearing module, the shearing drive motor 13 is mounted on the lower end of the blade mounting seat 2, the shearing transmission member is mounted on the upper end of the blade mounting seat 2, and the plurality of blades are all mounted on the upper end of the blade mounting seat 2 and are respectively connected to the shearing transmission member for transmission, so that the synchronous rotation of the plurality of blades can be realized, ensuring that they cooperate to realize fruit stem shearing and blade recovery.

[0031] The shearing transmission member is an internal gear 1; the blade includes a meshing section 15 and a shearing section 14, the meshing section 15 is rotatably connected to the blade mounting seat 2 through a pin 16, and the meshing section 15 is connected to one end of the shearing section 14, and the other end of the shearing section 14 extends in a direction away from the meshing section 15, and the teeth on the outer periphery of the meshing section 15 can mesh with the inner ring of the internal gear 1, and the shearing drive motor 13 is connected to the meshing section 15 of one of the blades, thereby driving the blade to rotate. When the blade rotates, the internal gear 1 is rotated due to the meshing with the internal gear 1, and the rotation of the internal gear 1 can It drives other blades to rotate synchronously, and finally realizes that the cutting ends of multiple blades rotate in the direction of approaching or moving away from each other at the same time, which is convenient for cutting the stalks of tomatoes to be picked and recovering the blades. When the cutting section 14 is completely located on the upper end surface of the blade mounting seat 2, that is, the cutting section 14 does not extend to the through hole, the blade is in a recovered state, and will not cause damage to the tomatoes to be picked. When the cutting section 14 rotates to be located above the through hole, during this process, the cutting section 14 of the blade can act on the stalks of the tomatoes to be picked at the same time and cut off the stalks, so that the blade is in a working state.

[0032] The plurality of blades are evenly arranged on the inner ring of the inner gear 1, and the upper edge of the inner ring of the inner gear 1 is wrapped with a rubber layer, so that the tomatoes can be protected and prevented from being damaged when they enter and exit the support cylinder 12. The blades are preferably in three groups.

[0033] The clamping module includes a clamping drive motor 8, a clamping transmission member and multiple clamping units 3. The multiple clamping units 3 form a clamping claw, which can clamp tomatoes when they are close to each other. There are preferably three clamping units 3. The clamping drive motor 8 is installed at the lower end of the base 11. The input end of the clamping transmission member is connected to the output end of the clamping drive motor 8, and the output end of the clamping transmission member is connected to each clamping unit 3. The clamping drive motor 8 can drive the clamping transmission member to move, and make the clamping transmission member drive the multiple clamping units 3 to rotate in the direction of approaching or moving away, so as to achieve the clamping and of tomatoes.

[0034] The clamping transmission member includes a screw 9, a nut 10, a sleeve 7 and a plurality of connecting rod mechanisms. One end of the screw 9 is coaxially connected to the output shaft of the clamping drive motor 8, and the other end of the screw 9 is rotatably connected to the lower end of the base 11. The nut 10 is threadedly connected to the outer periphery of the screw 9. When the clamping drive motor 8 drives the screw 9 to rotate, the nut 10 is limited in the circumferential direction, so that the nut 10 can only be lifted and lowered along the length direction of the screw 9. The sleeve 7 is sleeved on the outer periphery of the nut 10 and the screw 9, and the sleeve 7 is installed under the base 11 through a bracket. A bearing 21 is provided between the inner wall of the sleeve 7 and the non-threaded section of the screw 9, thereby improving the rotation stability of the screw 9 and the stability of the overall structure. The connecting rod mechanism is connected between the nut 10 and each clamping unit 3. When the nut 10 is lifted or lowered, it can drive each clamping unit 3 to rotate around the base 11 through the transmission of the connecting rod mechanism to complete the clamping or releasing action.

[0035] A short boss 19 is fixed to the outer periphery of the base 11 at a position corresponding to each clamping unit 3, and a long boss 20 is fixed to the lower end of the base 11 at a position corresponding to each clamping unit 3; the connecting rod mechanism includes an oblique connecting rod 18, a long connecting rod 6, a short connecting rod 5 and a connecting block 4, the first end of the oblique connecting rod 18 is connected to the outer periphery of the nut 10, the second end of the oblique connecting rod 18 is rotatably connected to the first end of the long connecting rod 6 through a cylindrical pin 17, the second end of the long connecting rod 6 is rotatably connected to the first end of the short connecting rod 5, the second end of the short connecting rod 5 is rotatably connected to the first corner of the connecting block 4, the middle part of the long connecting rod 6 is also rotatably connected to the lower end of the long boss 20, so that the long connecting rod 6 is equivalent to a lever, the short boss 19 is rotatably connected to the second corner of the connecting block 4, and the lower end of the clamping unit 3 is connected to the upper end of the connecting block 4. When the nut 10 rises driven by the screw rod 9, the oblique link 18 is driven to rise, and the oblique link 18 drives the long link 6 to swing, that is, the first end of the long link 6 rotates upward, and the second end of the long link 6 swings downward, thereby driving the short link 5 to swing downward. At the same time, the short link 5 drives the connecting block 4 to rotate downward around the short boss 19, so that the connecting block 4 drives the clamping unit 3 to rotate outward until it is unfolded, thereby releasing the clamping of the tomato; conversely, when the nut 10 descends driven by the screw rod 9, the oblique link 18 is driven to descend, and the oblique link 18 drives the long link 6 to swing, that is, the first end of the long link 6 rotates downward, and the second end of the long link 6 swings upward, thereby driving the short link 5 to swing upward. At the same time, the short link 5 drives the connecting block 4 to rotate upward around the short boss 19, so that the connecting block 4 drives the clamping unit 3 to rotate inward until it is close, thereby completing the clamping of the tomato.

[0036] The longitudinal section of the clamping unit 3 is triangular, and a soft contact layer is provided on the side of the clamping unit 3 for contacting the tomato, so as to avoid damage to the surface of the tomato and affect the quality of the tomato during the process of clamping the tomato.

[0037] When the present embodiment is in use, when the target object (such as a tomato) enters the support tube 12, the clamping drive motor 8 is controlled to rotate forward to transmit power to the screw 9. Since the rotation pair of the nut 10 is restricted, it only has the freedom to move up and down. Therefore, the nut 10 can be regarded as a slider, and the up and down movement of the slider will drive the corresponding connecting rod mechanism to move, and finally drive the connecting block 4 to rotate around a fixed point. At the same time, the clamping unit 3 is connected to the connecting block 4, so that multiple clamping units 3 cooperate to complete the clamping action; then, the shearing drive motor 13 is controlled to rotate forward to transmit power to the meshing section 15 and the shearing section 14 connected by the pin 16, so as to realize the rotation of one of the blades. The meshing section 15 of this blade meshes with the internal gear 1, and then the other two blades rotate at the same time to complete the shearing action; finally, after the shearing action is completed, when the target object needs to be released, the shearing drive motor 13 is controlled to reverse, and the clamping drive motor 8 is controlled to reverse, so as to realize the resetting of the clamping unit 3 and the blade, and realize the release of the target.

[0038] Through the above-mentioned design, this embodiment can effectively improve the efficiency of fruit and vegetable picking, reduce the cost of picking, solve the problem of insufficient productivity, reduce the work intensity of workers, and enable workers to work in a more comfortable environment. At the same time, this embodiment picks fruits and vegetables with high quality and fast speed, which can effectively improve the method of agricultural production and enhance market competitiveness.

[0039] The present invention uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The above examples are only used to help understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, according to the ideas of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

Claims

1. A tomato picking end effector, characterized in that: It includes a clamping module, a cutting module and a connecting module, wherein the clamping module and the cutting module are both installed on the connecting module, and the cutting module is located above the clamping module, the upper end opening of the connecting module is used for tomatoes to be picked to be inserted, the clamping module is used for clamping the tomatoes to be picked inserted into the connecting module, and the cutting module is used for cutting off the stalks of the tomatoes to be picked inserted into the connecting module, the cutting end of the cutting module retracts to a recovered state before the tomatoes to be picked are inserted into the connecting module, and the cutting end of the cutting module can be extended to a working state after the tomatoes to be picked are clamped by the clamping module.

2. The tomato picking end effector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting module includes a base and a supporting tube, the supporting tube is installed at the upper end of the base and is arranged around the outer circumference of the base, the side wall of the supporting tube is provided with a plurality of hollow gaps, the shearing module is installed at the upper end of the supporting tube, the plurality of hollow gaps correspond one by one to the plurality of clamping units of the clamping module, and the lower end of the clamping unit is rotatably connected in the hollow gap, the driving end of the clamping unit is installed at the lower end of the base, and can drive the plurality of clamping units to rotate in a direction close to or away from each other.

3. The tomato picking end effector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The base is circular, and the support tube is cylindrical.

4. The tomato picking end effector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The connecting module also includes a blade mounting seat, which is mounted on the upper end of the supporting tube, and a through hole is provided in the middle of the blade mounting seat for the tomatoes to be picked to extend into; the shearing module includes a shearing drive motor, a shearing transmission member and a plurality of blades, and the plurality of blades constitute the shearing end of the shearing module, the shearing drive motor is mounted on the lower end of the blade mounting seat, the shearing transmission member is mounted on the upper end of the blade mounting seat, and the plurality of blades are all mounted on the upper end of the blade mounting seat and are respectively transmission-connected to the shearing transmission member.

5. The tomato picking end effector according to claim 4, characterized in that: The shearing transmission part is an internal gear; the blade includes a meshing section and a shearing section, the meshing section is rotatably connected to the blade mounting seat through a pin, and the meshing section is connected to one end of the shearing section, the other end of the shearing section extends in a direction away from the meshing section, and the teeth on the outer periphery of the meshing section can mesh with the inner ring of the internal gear, the shearing drive motor is connected to the meshing section of one of the blades, the internal gear and the shearing drive motor can drive each of the blades to rotate synchronously, and when the shearing section is completely located on the upper end surface of the blade mounting seat, the blade is in the recovery state, and when the shearing section rotates to be located above the through hole, the blade is in the working state.

6. The tomato picking end effector according to claim 5, characterized in that: The plurality of blades are evenly arranged on the inner ring of the internal gear, and the upper edge of the inner ring of the internal gear is wrapped with a rubber layer.

7. The tomato picking end effector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The clamping module includes a clamping drive motor, a clamping transmission member and a plurality of clamping units, wherein the plurality of clamping units form a clamping claw, the clamping drive motor is installed at the lower end of the base, the input end of the clamping transmission member is connected to the output end of the clamping drive motor, and the output end of the clamping transmission member is connected to each of the clamping units, the clamping drive motor can drive the clamping transmission member to move, and enable the clamping transmission member to drive the plurality of clamping units to rotate in a direction of approaching or moving away.

8. The tomato picking end effector according to claim 7, characterized in that: The clamping transmission member includes a screw, a nut, a sleeve and a plurality of connecting rod mechanisms, one end of the screw is coaxially connected to the output shaft of the clamping drive motor, the other end of the screw is rotatably connected to the lower end of the base, the nut is threadedly connected to the outer periphery of the screw, the sleeve is sleeved on the outer periphery of the nut and the screw, and the sleeve is installed under the base through a bracket, a bearing is provided between the inner wall of the sleeve and the non-threaded section of the screw, the connecting rod mechanism is connected between the nut and each of the clamping units, and can drive each of the clamping units to rotate around the base.

9. The tomato picking end effector according to claim 8, characterized in that: The outer periphery of the base is fixed with a short boss at a position corresponding to each of the clamping units, and the lower end of the base is fixed with a long boss at a position corresponding to each of the clamping units; the connecting rod mechanism includes an oblique connecting rod, a long connecting rod, a short connecting rod and a connecting block, the first end of the oblique connecting rod is connected to the outer periphery of the nut, the second end of the oblique connecting rod is rotatably connected to the first end of the long connecting rod through a cylindrical pin, the second end of the long connecting rod is rotatably connected to the first end of the short connecting rod, the second end of the short connecting rod is rotatably connected to the first corner of the connecting block, the middle part of the long connecting rod is also rotatably connected to the lower end of the long boss, the short boss is rotatably connected to the second corner of the connecting block, and the lower end of the clamping unit is connected to the upper end of the connecting block.

10. The tomato picking end effector according to claim 7, characterized in that: The longitudinal section of the clamping unit is triangular, and a soft contact layer is provided on a side of the clamping unit for contacting tomatoes.

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