Rotatable and diameter-variable tree climbing robot

Abstract

The invention discloses a tree climbing robot capable of rotating and reducing. The robot aims at solving the problems that an existing tree climbing robot cannot be automatically adjusted according to the diameter of a tree trunk and lacks the flexible steering capacity. The robot body frame is composed of telescopic transverse rod pieces composed of air cylinders, and the grasping arms are automatically adjusted through the air cylinders and can be flexibly adjusted and firmly grasped according to the thickness of a tree trunk. The robot realizes multidirectional movement and steering through the mounted Mecanum wheels, adapts to complex tree structures, and flexibly bypasses obstacles. In addition, the robot adopts a modular design, and the wheel sets can be quickly mounted and replaced so as to adapt to tree trunks of different sizes and task requirements. The position and angle of the robot are changed through the remote control system, and the robot is helped to adjust climbing strategies in real time. The robot is further provided with an operation device and suitable for tasks such as tree pruning and fruit picking. The device is flexible in structure, diversified in function and suitable for various tree operation scenes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of robots, and in particular to a fast tree-climbing, rotatable and variable-diameter robot platform. Background Art

[0002] Fruit picking, tree pruning, monitoring, and power maintenance may all require tree climbing operations. Based on this, tree-climbing robots came into being and have developed rapidly.

[0003] Tree climbing robots are mainly of embracing, tracked, winding and multi-legged types. The embracing and tracked tree climbing robots are evenly stressed, have strong load capacity, provide stable propulsion through continuous movement, and are suitable for rapid climbing, but most of them cannot rotate; the winding and multi-legged tree climbing robots are highly flexible and have strong obstacle crossing capabilities, but have low climbing efficiency. For example, CN107618584A discloses a bionic flexible tree climbing robot, whose upper and lower trunks are connected by a connecting rod and have a slow climbing speed.

[0004] There are two main problems with traditional tree-climbing robots in practical applications: one is that they cannot flexibly adjust their structure to adapt to different diameters of tree trunks; the other is that they lack steering capabilities, which makes it difficult to effectively avoid obstacles when facing complex tree structures, limiting their operating range. Existing tree-climbing robots mostly use fixed structures and cannot effectively solve the above problems. There is an urgent need for a robot that can flexibly adjust its structure and has steering capabilities. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve the problem that existing tree climbing robots cannot adapt to tree trunks of different diameters and cannot turn. The robot has variable diameter and turning functions, is suitable for climbing trees of different thicknesses and structures, and can perform a variety of tasks such as pruning, fruit picking, monitoring, etc.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a tree-climbing robot, wherein the tree-climbing robot comprises:

[0007] The overall mechanism of the invention is composed of a cylinder support mechanism, a tree climbing mechanism, and a cutting mechanism. The cylinder mechanism and the main support column are fixed together by a connecting device and a locking device to form a frame around the tree trunk. The cylinder is used to tighten the frame and keep the device stable on the tree trunk.

[0008] The tree climbing mechanism adopts Mecanum wheel technology, which consists of an upper drive cylinder, a lower drive cylinder and a support column, and can realize the longitudinal and spiral movement of the pruner on the tree trunk. The drive platform is controlled by a motor to drive the clamping arm to rotate and adjust the clamping force according to the trunk diameter. Four cylinder mechanisms are installed on both sides of the upper and lower support columns respectively, and are connected to the Mecanum wheels to ensure flexible movement in different directions.

[0009] The cutting mechanism of the invention is composed of a mechanical arm and a circular saw blade, wherein the mechanical arm support plate is fixed on the main support column. The mechanical arm drives the connecting rod to control the position of the saw blade through a multi-servo engine, and the high-speed rotation of the saw blade can accurately cut the branches to achieve the pruning effect.

[0010] In some embodiments, the number of wheel sets is 4.

[0011] In some embodiments, the fixing device is in the shape of a regular polygon.

[0012] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: (1) The entire robot body of the present invention adopts a lightweight modular design, is easy to carry, has its own driving power supply, and is green and environmentally friendly; (2) The present invention uses the center of gravity of the robot at the center of the pruned trunk, which is convenient for the robot to balance the force; (3) The robot of the present invention has a small weight, and the clamping force can be changed according to the environment, which can greatly reduce the damage of the machine to the bark; (4) The robot of the present invention uses Mecanum wheels as a climbing and steering device, which can achieve linear and rotational ascent on the trunk, and the structure is simpler; (5) The present invention has a high degree of automation, which improves the work efficiency of forestry production, reduces the labor intensity of workers, and improves the safety of forestry operations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 It is the overall structure diagram of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 It is a structural diagram of the power device of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 It is a rear view of the pre-tightening embracing device of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 4 A top view of the pre-tightening embracing device of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 5 It is the overall structural diagram of the cutting mechanism of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 6 It is a top view of the cutting mechanism structure of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 7 It is a diagram marking the overall structure of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 8 It is a diagram marking the cutting mechanism of the structure of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, but the content of the invention is not limited to the scope of the embodiments.

[0022] Various structural diagrams are used in this application to illustrate various variations of the embodiments of this application. It should be understood that the above or below structures are not intended to limit this application. The scope of protection of this application shall be subject to the claims.

[0023] like Figure 7 As shown, a rotatable and variable-diameter tree-climbing robot has a body 5 composed of a cylinder and a thin cylinder rod 9 of a pre-tightening embracing device. The pre-tightening embracing device 9 includes a primary motion unit and a secondary motion unit. The cylinder 5 and the main support 1 are connected by four small fixing columns on the upper and lower end faces of the support. The end rings of the cylinder 5 are nested with the small fixing columns of the support 1 and fixed by nuts to prevent the cylinder and the support column from falling off. Similarly, the telescopic rod 9 of the cylinder 5 is connected to the small fixing column of the support column through the end ring 12. The same is true for the connections between the remaining cylinders and the support columns.

[0024] Furthermore, the power device includes a DC motor 4, a driving wheel 18, a roller 19, a coupling 13 and a mounting bracket 4; the power output structure is that the DC motor 4 and the output shaft end coupling fix the driving wheel 18, and the DC motor 4 drives the driving wheel 18 to rotate, thereby driving the roller 19 to rotate; the power output mechanism is fixed by the motor mounting bracket 14 and the main pillar 1, and the fixing methods of the remaining DC motors, driving wheels, rollers, couplings, and mounting brackets are all the same.

[0025] Furthermore, the overall drive mechanism and the mechanical arm are connected together through the support plate 32. The motor 31 is fixedly mounted on the output shaft end of the steering gear 26 under the support plate 32 by a pin, and the gear is meshed with one end of the incomplete gear of the first active rod 24 in the pre-tightening embracing device, and the gear drives one end of the incomplete gear of the first active rod 24 in the pre-tightening embracing device to rotate, and the connection principle of the remaining rods is similar to this. The larger space on the support plate 32 can be used to install picking hands, pruning equipment, spraying equipment, etc., to achieve multiple functions.

[0026] The specific implementation modes of the present invention are described in detail above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above implementation modes, and various changes can be made within the knowledge scope of ordinary technicians in this field without departing from the purpose of the present invention.

Claims

1. A rotatable, variable diameter tree climbing robot, comprising a telescopic bracket, a wheel set, a support column and a mechanical arm, characterized in that: The telescopic bracket adopts a cylinder structure, and the overall diameter of the robot can be adjusted through the telescopic movement of the cylinder to adapt to tree trunks of different sizes; The wheel set adopts Mecanum wheels, which can enable the robot to move in any direction on the surface of the tree trunk, and can travel forward and backward, or move left and right, so as to facilitate the adjustment of the robot's position; The robotic arm is modular in design and can be replaced through a quick connection mechanism. The end of the robotic arm can be equipped with different tools according to needs, such as pruning knives, picking grippers or monitoring equipment.

2. A rotatable, variable-diameter tree-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The telescopic bracket is connected to the central support structure through multiple cylinders. The telescopic movement of the cylinders enables the bracket to wrap around the tree trunk and automatically adjust according to the change in the diameter of the tree trunk, thereby improving the adaptability of the robot in different tree environments. The cylinders can independently control their telescopic length, allowing the robot to achieve precise positioning and angle adjustment on the surface of the tree trunk, ensuring that the robot arm can accurately align with the operating target and improve operating accuracy.

3. The rotatable, variable-diameter tree-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The Mecanum wheels are driven by motors and have an independent control function. The rotation speed and direction of each Mecanum wheel can be independently controlled, thereby realizing free movement of the robot in any direction.

4. The rotatable, variable-diameter tree-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robotic arm is connected to the robot body via a quick connection mechanism, and the connection has a standardized interface, allowing the user to replace different end tools according to different work tasks, including but not limited to pruning tools, picking tools and camera monitoring devices.

5. The rotatable, variable-diameter tree-climbing robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The robotic arm has multi-degree-of-freedom motion capability, realizes joint rotation and extension through multiple motors or hydraulic cylinders, can adjust the working posture and range, and ensures accurate work at different angles. The end of the robotic arm is equipped with a sensor for detecting real-time information of the working environment, such as branch position, tree shape or fruit condition, so as to improve the working accuracy through feedback control.

6. The rotatable, variable-diameter tree-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot is equipped with an automated control system that can automatically adjust the telescopic length of the cylinder, the movement direction of the Mecanum wheel, and the operating angle of the robot arm according to the trunk diameter and the operating environment, thus realizing intelligent tree operation. The automated control system can also pre-set the operation task flow and perform tasks such as tree pruning, fruit picking, or environmental monitoring through remote control or automated programs.

7. The rotatable, variable-diameter tree-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The overall structure of the robot is modular in design, and the wheel set and the robotic arm can be quickly replaced according to the working requirements. In addition, Mecanum wheels and robotic arm modules of different sizes can be seamlessly connected to the robot body, thereby expanding the scope of application of the robot.

8. The rotatable, variable-diameter tree-climbing robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: Mecanum wheels of different sizes can adapt to different terrain conditions and tree trunk sizes. The quick replacement mechanism of wheels and robotic arms improves the robot's adaptability and efficiency in different operating scenarios.

9. The rotatable, variable-diameter tree-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot can be used for a variety of purposes, including but not limited to pruning tree branches, picking fruits, and monitoring and detecting the environment of trees and their surroundings, and is particularly suitable for orchards, gardens, and forest operations. The robot can carry a high-definition camera or other monitoring equipment to transmit environmental data in real time and assist in remote monitoring of the real-time status of the operating area.

10. The rotatable, variable-diameter tree-climbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot has a foldable or detachable design and can be folded or decomposed into multiple parts when not in use, which is convenient for transportation and storage.

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