An aerial flying robot for integrated harvesting of string fruits

Abstract

The present application relates to a picking robot, more particularly to a flying robot for integrated picking of string fruits, comprising a UAV, a balance telescopic slide rail is arranged at the bottom of the UAV, a rotary motor is arranged at the telescopic end of one side of the balance telescopic slide rail, a flexible mechanical arm is connected to the output shaft of the rotary motor, a picking executor is arranged at the end of the flexible mechanical arm, a binocular camera is arranged at the end of the flexible mechanical arm, the binocular camera is located at the side of the picking executor, a fruit basket is connected to the fixed end of the other side of the balance telescopic slide rail, and the fruit basket and the flexible mechanical arm are arranged at the two sides of the UAV respectively; the present application can complete the picking of string fruits in high altitude and tree branch shielding environment, reduce the fruit breakage rate, save the labor cost, improve the safety and work efficiency, and realize the integrated picking with high efficiency and low loss.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a picking robot, more particularly to an aerial flying robot for integrated string-type fruit picking. BACKGROUND

[0002] Drones play an important role in many fields due to their flexibility, cost-effectiveness and versatility, and can complete various tasks that are difficult for humans to complete in complex environments. Visual detection mainly simulates human visual function through a computer to extract target information from pictures or videos presented in the field of view, processes data through different algorithms and understands them to achieve tasks such as detection, recognition, positioning, measurement, classification, etc. of target objects. The bionic design of flexible arms can maximize the simulation of human real arm work, and is flexible and variable, easy to integrate with other devices for integrated control, has good safety and human-computer interaction, and has a wide application in many engineering fields.

[0003] According to investigations and researches, the application of high-altitude string-type fruit picking robots in the current domestic and foreign market is still in the development stage. In the traditional planting mode of litchi and longan, mature litchi and longan and other string-shaped cluster fruits are located in the high-altitude tree crown, far from the ground and severely shaded by branches and leaves. The picking method is basically manual picking, and the fruit farmers need to climb above the tree crown with a ladder, judge the position of the fruit, and then break or cut the fruit stem with both hands or a pair of scissors, and then put the picked fruit into the fruit basket. This traditional picking method is dangerous, high in labor cost, low in efficiency, and poor in working environment, which to some extent limits the development of high-branch fruit industry.

[0004] Chinese Patent Application Publication CN219514661U discloses a drone picking device, the front end of the drone is equipped with a picking device and a collecting device, the end adopts a shearing type to separate the fruit from the fruit stem, and the fruit falls into the basket to complete the collection. The positioning accuracy of the picking drone for the fruit is poor, and it can only pick the fruits exposed outside the branches at a high place, and cannot pick the fruits growing in the fruit trees. Moreover, the front-end fruit basket is easy to scratch the branches, which may cause the drone to lose control; Chinese Invention Patent Application Publication CN115735561A discloses a digital-based fruit picking intelligent drone, the lower end of the picking drone is equipped with a rigid four-axis mechanical arm to pick the fruit, the design structure is relatively traditional, the flexibility of the mechanical arm is poor, the weight is relatively large, the load-carrying performance of the whole machine body is high, there is no fruit basket to collect the picked fruits, the integrated design of picking is poor, and the influence of wind resistance on high-altitude operation of the mechanical arm is not considered.

[0005] In order to overcome the interference out of control, poor flexibility of mechanical arm, difficulty in picking up fruits under branches and leaves, increase the adaptability of unmanned aerial vehicle picking to high altitude and complex growth environment of fruits, the application designs an aerial flying robot for integrated string fruit picking, which can pick up string fruits in high altitude and under branches, save labor, is safe and high in working efficiency, realizes efficient and low-loss picking and collecting integration. SUMMARY

[0006] The application aims to provide an aerial flying robot for integrated string fruit picking, which can pick up string fruits in high altitude and under branches, save labor, is safe and high in working efficiency, realizes efficient and low-loss picking and collecting integration.

[0007] The application achieves the above-mentioned purpose by the following technical scheme.

[0008] An aerial flying robot for integrated string fruit picking, comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle is provided with a balanced telescopic slide rail, a rotary motor is arranged on the telescopic end of one side of the balanced telescopic slide rail, a flexible mechanical arm is connected to the output shaft of the rotary motor, a picking executor is arranged at the tail end of the flexible mechanical arm, a bin is connected to the fixed end of the other side of the balanced telescopic slide rail, and the bin and the flexible mechanical arm are arranged on the two sides of the unmanned aerial vehicle respectively.

[0009] The flexible mechanical arm comprises a plurality of support discs arranged side by side, the plurality of support discs are connected through a support framework, one end of the support framework is fixedly connected to the support disc at the head, the other end of the support framework is fixedly connected to the support disc at the tail, and the support disc at the head is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the rotary motor; a plurality of rope-driven motors are fixedly connected to the support disc at the head, a reducer is mounted on each rope-driven motor, a steel wire rope is connected to each reducer, and a plurality of wire passing ports are arranged on each support disc, the steel wire rope passes through the wire passing ports and is fixedly connected to the support disc at the tail.

[0010] The four rope-driven motors are arranged in a circumferential array on the support disc; the rope-driven motor and the reducer constitute a driving device which pulls the steel wire rope to realize the movement of the entire flexible mechanical arm, so that the flexible mechanical arm presents a "snake shape" or an "elephant trunk shape".

[0011] The support framework is made of flexible material, the support framework has a through structure, and the support disc and the support framework have a low wind resistance geometric shape.

[0012] The picking executor is connected to the support disc at the tail end through a rotating mechanism, and each side of the picking executor is provided with a clamping device, and each clamping device is provided with a cutting blade;

[0013] The middle part of the balanced telescopic slide rail is a trapezoidal face, the left and right ends of the balanced telescopic slide rail are rectangular faces, the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle is provided with a notch, the trapezoidal face of the balanced telescopic slide rail is matched with the notch of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the balanced telescopic slide rail is used for adjusting the counterweight of the fruit baskets and the flexible mechanical arm on both sides of the unmanned aerial vehicle, so that the unmanned aerial vehicle is kept balanced.

[0014] The present application has the following advantages:

[0015] The flexible mechanical arm can reach high altitude through the unmanned aerial vehicle to pick fruits, which eliminates the dangerous operation of picking fruits at high altitude by using a ladder in the traditional method, especially in high altitude, shrubs and rugged working environment, the remote operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle can ensure the safety of workers. Secondly, the unmanned aerial vehicle can improve the work efficiency and work quality to a certain extent, and the binocular camera and the flexible mechanical arm provided by the unmanned aerial vehicle can achieve high-precision picking. The unmanned aerial vehicle high-altitude fruit picking is a new and potential technical application, with the continuous development of unmanned aerial vehicle technology, the unmanned aerial vehicle high-altitude operation will be applied more and more in the field of agriculture, and will become one of the tools for future agricultural high-altitude fruit picking;

[0016] The flexible mechanical arm is a redundant degree of freedom robot based on bionics principle, and the outer shape is similar to elephant nose, octopus tentacle and other biological structures. The flexible mechanical arm adopts a form similar to joint series to imitate the continuum structure of organisms, and uses a rope driving mode to simulate the tendon driving of organisms, so that the flexible mechanical arm has high degree of freedom, large working range and good man-machine interaction. In addition, the rope driving mode can make the joint connection of the mechanical arm not need to install a stepping motor and other power devices, and only one flexible material is used as the skeleton of the whole arm, so that the structure size and the weight of the moving part are greatly reduced, and the load energy consumption of the unmanned aerial vehicle high-altitude work is reduced. In addition, the working flexibility of the rope-driven redundant mechanical arm is high, and the fruit picking task can be successfully completed in the environment blocked by branches and leaves;

[0017] The joint of the flexible mechanical arm adopts a whole support skeleton, and the appearance shape is a long strip shape, and the support disc and the skeleton and other structures present a wing-shaped appearance. According to the air fluid mechanics, the wind resistance of an object close to a streamline type is smaller, and the shape of the joint and each mechanical arm directly affects the stability of the mechanical arm working in the high altitude. Compared with the traditional flexible rope-driven mechanical arm joint two-degree-of-freedom hooke joint, the left and right wind resistance of the support skeleton in the high altitude is smaller. Therefore, the stability of the flexible rope-driven mechanical arm in the high altitude is stronger than that of the general flexible rope-driven mechanical arm, and the stability during picking is improved;

[0018] The picking end effector adopts a clamping and shearing integrated end effector, the end effector is designed to be light and simple to operate, the complexity of control and the overall quality are reduced, the clamping and shearing actions can be completed at the same time, the picking efficiency is greatly improved, the design reduces the operation steps in the picking process, so that the picking robot can complete the picking task faster, and the picking time of each fruit is shortened. By adjusting the position of the micro switch and the relative position of the blade clamping body, it is suitable for shearing fruit stem picking of different types of string fruits, which makes the end effector have strong adaptability and can be used in different agricultural environments;

[0019] The binocular camera can not only accurately identify and locate the positions of fruits and fruit stems through stereo vision technology, but also provide high-precision depth information, so that the picking flying robot can control the movement of the mechanical arm more accurately, which is crucial for string fruit picking flying robots in the environment of branches and leaves, because they need to accurately find fruits and pick them in the environment. Secondly, in the planting environment where the fruit trees are densely arranged, the location is remote, the road is rugged, and the light conditions change frequently, the binocular camera can obtain three-dimensional information of the environment in real time, helping the picking flying robot to navigate and avoid obstacles in complex environments;

[0020] The balanced telescopic slide rail can slide forward and backward at the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle to adjust the picking position of the flexible mechanical arm, and can also balance the front-to-back weight ratio of the flexible mechanical arm and the fruit basket. The rotary motor in front of the balanced telescopic slide rail controls the rotation of the flexible mechanical arm, drives the end effector to place the picked string fruits in the fruit basket behind, and realizes the integration of picking and collecting of the whole machine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] The application will be further described in detail below in combination with the drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0022] Fig. 1 is a structure schematic diagram of the aerial flying robot for string fruit picking of the application;

[0023] Fig. 2 is a side view of the aerial flying robot for string fruit picking of the application;

[0024] Fig. 3 is a structure schematic diagram of the flexible mechanical arm of the application;

[0025] Fig. 4 is a side view of the flexible mechanical arm of the application;

[0026] Fig. 5 is a structure schematic diagram of the support framework of the application;

[0027] Fig. 6 is a structure schematic diagram of the picking effector of the application;

[0028] Fig. 7 is the flying robot picking process schematic diagram of the present application.

[0029] In the figure: rotary motor 1; flexible mechanical arm 2; rope drive motor 2-1; steel wire rope 2-2; support disc 2-3; reducer 2-4; support skeleton 2-5; binocular camera 3; picking executor 4; blade 4-1; unmanned aerial vehicle 5; balance telescopic slide 6; fruit basket 7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0031] As Figs. 1 to 7 shown, in order to achieve the technical effect of "can complete the picking of string fruit in high altitude and tree shelter environment, save labor, high safety and high work efficiency, realize the integration of picking", the structure and function of an aerial flying robot for string fruit harvesting integration are described in detail below;

[0032] An aerial flying robot for string fruit harvesting integration, comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle 5, the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 is provided with a balance telescopic slide 6, a rotary motor 1 is arranged on the telescopic end of one side of the balance telescopic slide 6, a flexible mechanical arm 2 is connected to the output shaft of the rotary motor 1, a picking executor 4 is arranged at the end of the flexible mechanical arm 2, a binocular camera 3 is arranged at the end of the flexible mechanical arm 2, the binocular camera 3 is located at the side of the picking executor 4, a fruit basket 7 is connected to the fixed end of the other side of the balance telescopic slide 6, and the fruit basket 7 and the flexible mechanical arm 2 are arranged on both sides of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 respectively;

[0033] The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 of the present embodiment is a four-rotor flying robot, which serves as a flight platform for carrying picking equipment to fly or hover in the air;

[0034] In use, as Fig. 1As shown, when the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 is used for high-altitude picking, the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 carrying the picking system flies or hovers in the high altitude or complex environment, the unmanned aerial vehicle 5, the control system of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 and the control system of the flexible mechanical arm 2 are all prior art, the fruit cluster is kept in the picking range of the flexible mechanical arm 2 by controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle 5, a certain bending deformation is generated by controlling the flexible mechanical arm 2, the picking executor 4 with the binocular camera 3 is realized into the leaves, the data is transmitted to the background system after the fruit and the fruit stem are recognized by the binocular camera 3, the coordinates of the fruit and the fruit stem are obtained, the distance between the flexible mechanical arm 2 and the fruit is adjusted to make the picking executor 4 reach the best picking position, the picking executor 4 realizes the picking of the fruit cluster by clamping and shearing the fruit stem, when the rotary motor 1 is started, the output shaft of the rotary motor 1 can drive the flexible mechanical arm 2 to rotate, so that the flexible mechanical arm 2 is rotated to a specified angle, and the fruit cluster on the picking executor 4 is put into the fruit basket 7 by rotating the rotary motor 1 and the flexible mechanical arm 2;

[0035] The structure and function of the flexible mechanical arm 2 will be described in detail below.

[0036] The flexible mechanical arm 2 comprises a plurality of support discs 2-3 arranged side by side, the plurality of support discs 2-3 are connected through a support framework 2-5, one end of the support framework 2-5 is fixedly connected to the support disc 2-3 at the head, the other end of the support framework 2-5 is fixedly connected to the support disc 2-3 at the tail, and the support disc 2-3 at the head is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the rotary motor 1; a plurality of rope-driven motors 2-1 are fixedly connected to the support disc 2-3 at the head, a reducer 2-4 is installed on each rope-driven motor 2-1, a steel wire rope 2-2 is connected to each reducer 2-4, and a plurality of wire passing openings are arranged on each support disc 2-3, the steel wire rope 2-2 passes through the wire passing openings and is fixedly connected to the support disc 2-3 at the tail.

[0037] The four rope-driven motors 2-1 are arranged in a circumferential array on the support disc 2-3; the rope-driven motor 2-1 and the reducer 2-4 constitute a driving device to pull the steel wire rope 2-2 to realize the movement of the entire flexible mechanical arm 2, so that the flexible mechanical arm 2 presents a "snake shape" or an "elephant trunk shape";

[0038] The support framework 2-5 is made of flexible material, the support framework 2-5 is a middle-through structure, the support disc 2-3 and the support framework 2-5 have a low wind resistance geometric shape, and preferably the support framework 2-5 is a wing-shaped middle-through structure.

[0039] As Figs. 3 to 5As shown, the steel wire 2-2 is driven to move by starting the rope drive motor 2-1, so that the steel wire 2-2 is elongated or shortened, and then the length change of the plurality of steel wires 2-2 causes the plurality of supporting discs 2-3 to deform, and under the support of the supporting framework 2-5, the flexible manipulator 2 as a whole deforms, so that the flexible manipulator 2 presents different shapes to meet different movement requirements;

[0040] The binocular camera 3 is fixed above the picking executor 4 and moves with the picking executor 4, detects and identifies the image of the cluster fruit and the fruit stem, and locates the image in the three-dimensional space, so that the picking flying robot can more accurately control the movement of the flexible manipulator 2, and provide the picking executor 4 with the best picking position, and the accurate positioning and high recognition rate significantly improve the success rate and picking efficiency of picking;

[0041] As shown in the figure, Fig. 6 The picking executor 4 is connected to the supporting disc 2-3 at the tail end through a rotating mechanism, and each side of the picking executor 4 has a clamping device, and the two clamping devices are provided with cutting blades 4-1;

[0042] The picking executor 4 is a clamping and shearing integrated picking end executor, which combines clamping and shearing of the fruit stem into one, realizes separation of the fruit and the fruit stem through opening and closing of the built-in blade 4-1 in the clamping device, finally clamps the separated fruit stem with the fruit, and has the ability to complete clamping and shearing of the fruit stem at the same time. This design reduces the operation steps in the picking process, so that the picking flying robot can complete the picking task faster and shorten the picking time of each cluster of fruits;

[0043] The middle part of the balance telescopic slide rail 6 is a trapezoidal face, and the cross sections of the left and right ends of the balance telescopic slide rail 6 are rectangular faces. The bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 is provided with a notch, and the trapezoidal cross section of the balance telescopic slide rail 6 is matched with the notch of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5. The balance telescopic slide rail 6 is used for adjusting the counterweight of the fruit basket 7 and the flexible manipulator 2 on both sides of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5, so that the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 keeps balance;

[0044] The balance telescopic slide rail 6 can drive the flexible manipulator 2 to move forward and backward, realize adjustable front and rear counterweight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5, make the front and rear counterweight ratio close to 1:1, and improve the stability of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 during flight and picking;

[0045] The rotary motor 1 and the rope drive motor 2-1 of the application can be brushless motors and light weight stepping motors respectively; the steel wire rope 2-2 is a 2mm stainless steel wire rope; the fixed rope disc 2-3 is made of light weight material (ABS) by 3D printing; the speed reducer 2-4 can be a 10:1 planetary gear reducer; the support framework 2-5 is made of flexible material mold, the flexible material can be polycarbonate (PC), which can be bent and shaped, has high hardness and certain bearing capacity; the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 frame is made of carbon fiber material; the balance telescopic slide rail 6 is made of alloy steel material; the fruit basket 7 is made of bamboo; the picking end effector 4 and the binocular camera 3 of the application are prior art.

[0046] Further, the geometric shape and structural size of the fruit basket 7 can be selected according to the working conditions of fruit trees, unmanned aerial vehicles and the like, and appropriate specification parameters can be selected accordingly;

[0047] The principles and implementation modes of the application are described by applying specific examples in this paper, and the above examples are only used to help understand the method of the application and its core idea; at the same time, for those skilled in the art, according to the idea of the application, the specific implementation mode and application range will be changed. In view of the above, the content of the specification should not be understood as a limitation of the application.

Claims

1. An aerial flying robot for integrated harvesting of clustered fruits, comprising a drone (5), characterized in that: The bottom of the drone (5) is provided with a balance telescopic slide rail (6). A rotary motor (1) is provided on the telescopic end of one side of the balance telescopic slide rail (6). A flexible robotic arm (2) is connected to the output shaft of the rotary motor (1). A picking actuator (4) is provided at the end of the flexible robotic arm (2). A binocular camera (3) is provided at the end of the flexible robotic arm (2). The binocular camera (3) is located on the side of the picking actuator (4). A fruit basket (7) is connected to the fixed end of the balance telescopic slide rail (6). The fruit basket (7) and the flexible robotic arm (2) are respectively provided on both sides of the drone (5). The flexible robotic arm (2) includes multiple support discs (2-3) arranged side by side. The multiple support discs (2-3) are connected by a support frame (2-5). One end of the support frame (2-5) is fixedly connected to the support disc (2-3) at the head end, and the other end of the support frame (2-5) is fixedly connected to the support disc (2-3) at the tail end. The support disc (2-3) at the head end is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the rotary motor (1). Multiple rope drive motors (2-1) are fixedly connected to the support disc (2-3) at the head end. Each rope drive motor (2-1) is equipped with a reducer (2-4). Each reducer (2-4) is connected with a steel wire rope (2-2). Each support disc (2-3) is provided with multiple wire passages. The steel wire rope (2-2) passes through the wire passages and passes through multiple support discs (2-3) to be fixedly connected to the support disc (2-3) at the tail end. Four rope drive motors (2-1) are provided, and the four rope drive motors (2-1) are arranged in a circular array on the support disk (2-3); The rope drive motor (2-1) and reducer (2-4) constitute a drive device that pulls the steel wire rope (2-2) to realize the movement of the entire flexible robotic arm (2), so that the flexible robotic arm (2) presents a "snake-like" or "elephant trunk-like" shape; The middle part of the balance telescopic slide rail (6) has a trapezoidal cross section, and the cross sections at the left and right ends of the balance telescopic slide rail (6) are rectangular. The bottom of the drone (5) is provided with a slot. The length of the trapezoidal cross section of the balance telescopic slide rail (6) is matched with the slot of the drone (5). The balance telescopic slide rail (6) is used to adjust the counterweight of the fruit baskets (7) on both sides of the drone (5) and the flexible robotic arm (2) so that the drone (5) can maintain balance.

2. The aerial flying robot for integrated harvesting of clustered fruits according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting frame (2-5) is made of flexible material.

3. The aerial flying robot for integrated harvesting of clustered fruits according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support frame (2-5) has a through-hole structure, and the support disc (2-3) and the support frame (2-5) have a low wind resistance geometry.

4. The aerial flying robot for integrated harvesting of clustered fruits according to claim 1, characterized in that: The picking actuator (4) is connected to the support disk (2-3) located at the tail end via a rotating mechanism.

5. The aerial flying robot for integrated harvesting of clustered fruits according to claim 4, characterized in that: The picking actuator (4) has a clamp on each of its left and right sides, and each clamp contains a cutting blade (4-1).

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