End effector of cucumber continuous picking robot

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of agricultural mechanization, and discloses an end effector of a cucumber continuous picking robot, the end effector comprises a support frame, a clamping mechanism, a shearing mechanism and a collecting mechanism, the clamping mechanism is formed by combining a pair of asymmetric V-shaped fingers and plane fingers, and is covered with a flexible material to accurately simulate human hand actions, the picking success rate is improved, and meanwhile, the shearing mechanism is used for shearing and collecting the cucumber continuous picking robot. The fruit damage rate is greatly reduced. The shearing mechanism is designed through a mechanical linkage structure, and it is ensured that the fruit stem shearing action is accurate and smooth. The collecting height of the collecting mechanism can be flexibly adjusted according to the growth height and the picking position of cucumbers, meanwhile, a telescopic rod and a circular ring are used for connecting a pipeline, picked cucumber fruits can directly abut against a collecting box, the reciprocating movement distance of a mechanical arm between target fruits and the collecting box for multiple times is greatly reduced, and the picking efficiency is remarkably improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of agricultural mechanization, in particular to a robot end effector for cucumber picking, and specifically to a robot end effector capable of efficiently and continuously picking cucumbers. Background Art

[0002] Cucumber is one of the important vegetable crops and is widely grown in greenhouses and greenhouses. With the increase in consumer demand and the development of agricultural industrialization, the scale of cucumber cultivation has expanded year by year, especially the planting area of ​​cucumbers in automated greenhouses has gradually increased. However, the current cucumber picking process requires high-intensity physical labor such as bending over and climbing, especially in greenhouses. The working environment is small during picking, and the cucumbers have a short maturity period, which requires high-frequency picking, which brings huge labor pressure to agricultural production.

[0003] The document with the prior art publication number CN106363653B provides an end effector of a cucumber picking robot. Although a part for pushing away cucumber obstructions is designed to improve the picking rate of cucumbers under obstruction, there are still many problems. The clamping unit adopts airbag fingers. Although it can realize the clamping function to a certain extent, the inflation and deflation control accuracy of the airbag is limited. When facing cucumbers of different shapes and sizes, it is difficult to ensure a stable and appropriate clamping force, and the cucumbers are prone to slipping or excessive squeezing and damaging the fruits. The overall solution adopts a simple one-grab-one-release method for picking. The robot arm needs to frequently repeat the process of picking, putting cucumbers into a collection box, and then picking again, which greatly increases the distance and time of the robot arm's movement, and increases the time cost of picking a single cucumber.

[0004] In view of this, a new end effector is urgently needed to realize the continuous picking and collection functions of cucumbers and improve the picking efficiency and success rate. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to overcome the defects of the prior art such as high damage rate during cucumber picking and high time cost of picking a single cucumber, the present invention provides an end effector of a cucumber continuous picking robot, which realizes continuous picking and collection of cucumbers through the new end effector.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is: An end effector of a cucumber continuous picking robot, characterized by comprising: Support frame; A clamping mechanism, the clamping mechanism comprising a V-shaped finger, a flat finger, a pair of coupled-drive crank-rocker mechanisms, and a first stepping motor, wherein the pair of coupled-drive crank-rocker mechanisms are mounted on the support frame, the V-shaped finger and the flat finger are respectively mounted on the execution ends of the two crank-rocker mechanisms, and the first stepping motor drives one of the crank-rocker mechanisms to move, so as to achieve the V-shaped finger and the flat finger approaching or moving away from each other; A shearing mechanism, the shearing mechanism comprises a first blade, a second blade, a second connecting rod, a swing rod, a disc cam, a front bracket, and a second stepping motor, the disc cam is rotatably connected to the support frame, one end of the swing rod is in contact with the disc cam, the middle part is pivotally connected to the support frame, and the other end is pivotally connected to one end of the second connecting rod, the front bracket is fixed to the support frame, the first blade is fixed to the front bracket, one end of the second blade is pivotally connected to the front bracket, and the middle part of the second blade is pivotally connected to the other end of the second connecting rod; The collecting mechanism is installed at the bottom of the supporting frame and is used for collecting the picked cucumbers.

[0007] Furthermore, the support frame includes a lower flat plate and an upper flat plate that are fixedly connected, the front bracket is connected between the lower flat plate and the upper flat plate, the clamping mechanism is located on the lower flat plate, and the shearing mechanism is located on the upper flat plate.

[0008] Furthermore, it also includes a rear side connecting member, and the rear side connecting member is fixed on the upper side plate.

[0009] Furthermore, it also includes a telescopic rod, which is connected to the supporting frame, and the collecting mechanism is installed on the telescopic rod.

[0010] Furthermore, the crank rocker mechanism includes a first connecting rod, a gear connecting rod and a rocker, one end of the gear connecting rod and one end of the rocker are pivoted to the support frame, and the other end is pivoted to one end of the first connecting rod, the other end of the rocker is pivoted to the middle part of the first connecting rod, and the other end of the first connecting rod is installed with a V-shaped finger or a flat finger, and the first stepper motor drives the gear connecting rod to rotate.

[0011] Furthermore, the collecting mechanism comprises an extended bracket, a circular ring and a collecting channel, one end of the extended bracket is fixed to the lower end of the telescopic rod, the other end of the extended bracket is fixedly connected to the circular ring, and the circular ring is connected to the collecting channel.

[0012] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: The clamping mechanism uses a pair of asymmetric V-shaped fingers and flat fingers, and is covered with flexible materials to accurately simulate human hand movements, greatly reducing the fruit damage rate while increasing the success rate of picking. The shearing mechanism is designed with a mechanical linkage structure to ensure accurate and smooth fruit stem shearing. The collection mechanism can flexibly adjust the collection height according to the growth height and picking position of the cucumber. At the same time, the telescopic rod and the ring connecting pipe can make the picked cucumber fruits reach the collection box directly, greatly reducing the distance that the robotic arm has to move back and forth between the target fruit and the collection box, significantly improving the picking efficiency.

[0013] The collecting mechanism can deliver the picked cucumber fruits directly to the collecting box through a pipe, so that the robotic arm does not need to repeat the process of picking, putting the cucumbers into the collecting box, and picking again. This greatly reduces the distance and time the robotic arm moves and improves the picking efficiency.

[0014] It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0016] Figure 1 The figure is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an end effector of a cucumber continuous picking robot provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a clamping mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a shearing mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] The reference numerals in the figures are: 1. Support frame; 11. Lower side plate; 12. Upper side plate; 13. Rear side connecting piece; 2. Clamping mechanism; 21. V-shaped finger; 22. Flat finger; 23. First stepper motor; 24. First connecting rod; 25. Gear connecting rod; 26. Rocker; 3. Shearing mechanism; 31. First blade; 32. Second blade; 33. Second connecting rod; 34. Swing rod; 35. Disc cam; 36. Front bracket; 37. Second stepping motor; 4. Collection mechanism; 41. Telescopic rod; 42. Extension bracket; 43. Ring; 44. Collection channel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present application. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0021] The terms used in this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this application. The singular forms of "a", "said" and "the" used in this application and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates other meanings. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0022] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in the present application to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the present application, the first information may also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining".

[0023] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides an end effector of a cucumber continuous picking robot, comprising: a support frame 1, a clamping mechanism 2, a shearing mechanism 3, and a collecting mechanism 4, wherein: In one embodiment, the support frame 1 includes a lower flat plate 11 and an upper flat plate 12 that are fixedly connected, the front bracket 36 is connected between the lower flat plate 11 and the upper flat plate 12, the clamping mechanism 2 is located on the lower flat plate 11, and the shearing mechanism 3 is located on the upper flat plate 12.

[0024] Furthermore, it also includes a rear connecting member 13, which is fixed on the upper flat plate 12 and is used to connect the mechanical arm of the picking robot.

[0025] In one embodiment, if Figure 2The clamping mechanism 2 comprises a V-shaped finger 21, a flat finger 22, a pair of coupled transmission crank rocker 26 mechanisms, and a first stepper motor 23. The pair of coupled transmission crank rocker 26 mechanisms are installed on the support frame 1. The V-shaped finger 21 and the flat finger 22 are respectively installed at the execution ends of the two crank rocker 26 mechanisms, wherein the two clamping surfaces of the V-shaped finger 21 can be 120°. The first stepper motor 23 drives one of the crank rocker 26 mechanisms to move, so as to achieve the V-shaped finger 21 and the flat finger 22 to move closer to or away from each other. The surfaces of the V-shaped finger 21 and the flat finger 22 are made of flexible materials (such as silicone, etc.), simulating the thumb and index finger of a human hand, which can better fit the surface shape of the cucumber, evenly disperse the pressure, and prevent the fruit from being sunken or damaged due to excessive local pressure.

[0026] Furthermore, the crank rocker 26 mechanism includes a first connecting rod 24, a gear connecting rod 25 and a rocker 26, one end of the gear connecting rod 25 and one end of the rocker 26 are both pivoted on the support frame 1, and the other end is pivoted to one end of the first connecting rod 24, the other end of the rocker 26 is pivoted to the middle of the first connecting rod 24, the other end of the first connecting rod 24 is installed with a V-shaped finger 21 or a flat finger 22, and the output end of the first stepper motor 23 is connected to the gear connecting rod 25 through the lower plate 11. This transmission method is relatively stable and accurate, and can effectively control the clamping action to ensure reliable clamping of cucumbers.

[0027] In one embodiment, if Figure 3 As shown, the shearing mechanism 3 includes a first blade 31, a second blade 32, a second connecting rod 33, a swing rod 34, a disc cam 35, a front bracket 36, and a second stepping motor 37, wherein the disc cam 35 has a hole in the middle and a cross at the bottom. The disc cam 35 is rotatably connected to the support frame 1, and the part where one end of the swing rod 34 is connected to the disc cam 35 can be a downwardly protruding cylinder, one end of the swing rod 34 abuts against the disc cam 35, the middle part is pivoted to the support frame 1, and the other end is pivoted to one end of the second connecting rod 33, the front bracket 36 is fixed to the support frame 1, the first blade 31 is fixed to the front bracket 36, one end of the second blade 32 is pivoted to the front bracket 36, and the middle part of the second blade 32 is pivoted to the other end of the second connecting rod 33; the output end of the second stepping motor 37 passes through the disc cam 35 and is connected to the upper plate 12. The connection and motion transmission methods between the various components have been optimized, making the entire mechanism smoother during operation, reducing the probability of jamming and failure, facilitating long-term and stable cutting of cucumber stems, and ensuring the continuity of picking operations.

[0028] In one embodiment, the collecting mechanism 4 is installed at the bottom of the supporting frame 1 to collect the picked cucumbers.

[0029] Furthermore, it also includes a telescopic rod 41, which is connected to the support frame 1, and the collecting mechanism 4 is installed on the telescopic rod 41. The collecting height can be flexibly adjusted according to the growth height and picking position of the cucumbers.

[0030] Furthermore, the collecting mechanism 4 includes an extension bracket 42, a ring 43 and a collecting channel 44, one end of the extension bracket 42 is fixed to the lower end of the telescopic rod 41, the other end of the extension bracket 42 is fixedly connected to the ring 43, and the ring 43 is connected to the collecting channel 44. The picked cucumber fruits can be delivered to the collecting box through the collecting channel, saving the distance and time of the mechanical arm moving back and forth between the target fruit and the collecting box.

[0031] The working process of the end effector of the cucumber continuous picking robot is as follows: When in use, the end effector of the present application can be installed on the mechanical arm of the cucumber continuous picking robot. When the robot finds the target fruit, the mechanical arm moves the end effector to a suitable position in front of the cucumber fruit. At this time, the output end of the first stepper motor 23 in the clamping mechanism 2 rotates forward, driving the gear connecting rod 25 to rotate, so that the flat finger 22 and the V-shaped finger 21 approach each other, move to both sides of the cucumber, and clamp and fix the cucumber.

[0032] After the cucumber is fixed, the output end of the second stepper motor 37 of the shearing mechanism 3 starts to rotate, causing the disc cam 35 to rotate left and right, driving the swing rod 34 to rotate, so that the blade closes and the cucumber stem is cut off. Specifically, the blade closes once and resets every time the output end of the second stepper motor 37 rotates one circle.

[0033] After the cucumber stalk is cut, the output end of the first stepper motor 23 is reversed, driving the gear connecting rod 25 to rotate, so that the flat finger 22 and the V-shaped finger 21 move away from each other, and the cucumber is released from the clamped state and falls into the plastic pipe connected to the ring 43 and directly enters the collection box without the need for a robotic arm to move and release the fruit.

[0034] After the operation is completed, if there are still cucumber fruits in the field of view, the picking robot arm can move directly to the next fruit without repeating the fruit placement operation, which greatly reduces the movement time and distance of the robot arm and improves the picking efficiency. If there are no fruits that can be picked in the field of view, the robot will continue to move forward until there are fruits that can be picked in the field of view and then perform the picking operation.

[0035] The present invention has strong stability and reliability, and specifically has the following advantages: 1) The collecting mechanism 4 can directly deliver the picked cucumber fruits to the collecting box through the pipeline, so that the robot arm does not need to repeat the process of picking, putting into the collecting box, and picking again, which greatly reduces the distance and time of the robot arm's movement and improves the picking efficiency 2) The clamping mechanism 2 adopts a pair of asymmetric V-shaped fingers 21 and flat fingers 22 to simulate the thumb and index finger of a human hand to improve the success rate of picking. The surface is made of flexible material to reduce the damage to the fruit during picking. 3) The telescopic rod 41 can adjust the height of the ring 43 according to the length of the target fruit, and has good adaptability.

[0036] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present application after considering the description and practicing the contents disclosed herein. The present application is intended to cover any modification, use or adaptation of the present application, which follows the general principles of the present application and includes common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present application. The description and examples are intended to be exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present application are indicated by the claims.

[0037] It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the precise structures that have been described above and shown in the drawings, and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present application is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An end effector of a cucumber continuous picking robot, characterized in that: include: Support frame; A clamping mechanism, the clamping mechanism comprising a V-shaped finger, a flat finger, a pair of coupled-drive crank-rocker mechanisms, and a first stepping motor, wherein the pair of coupled-drive crank-rocker mechanisms are mounted on the support frame, the V-shaped finger and the flat finger are respectively mounted on the execution ends of the two crank-rocker mechanisms, and the first stepping motor drives one of the crank-rocker mechanisms to move, so as to achieve the V-shaped finger and the flat finger approaching or moving away from each other; A shearing mechanism, the shearing mechanism comprises a first blade, a second blade, a second connecting rod, a swing rod, a disc cam, a front bracket, and a second stepping motor, the disc cam is rotatably connected to the support frame, one end of the swing rod is in contact with the disc cam, the middle part is pivotally connected to the support frame, and the other end is pivotally connected to one end of the second connecting rod, the front bracket is fixed to the support frame, the first blade is fixed to the front bracket, one end of the second blade is pivotally connected to the front bracket, and the middle part of the second blade is pivotally connected to the other end of the second connecting rod; The collecting mechanism is installed at the bottom of the supporting frame and is used for collecting the picked cucumbers.

2. The end effector of the cucumber continuous picking robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support frame comprises a lower flat plate and an upper flat plate which are fixedly connected, the front bracket is connected between the lower flat plate and the upper flat plate, the clamping mechanism is located on the lower flat plate, and the shearing mechanism is located on the upper flat plate.

3. The end effector of the cucumber continuous picking robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a rear connecting piece, which is fixed on the upper flat plate.

4. The end effector of the cucumber continuous picking robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a telescopic rod, which is connected to the support frame and the collecting mechanism is installed on the telescopic rod.

5. The end effector of the cucumber continuous picking robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The crank rocker mechanism includes a first connecting rod, a gear connecting rod and a rocker, one end of the gear connecting rod and one end of the rocker are pivoted to the support frame, and the other end is pivoted to one end of the first connecting rod, the other end of the rocker is pivoted to the middle part of the first connecting rod, and the other end of the first connecting rod is installed with a V-shaped finger or a flat finger, and the first stepper motor drives the gear connecting rod to rotate.

6. The end effector of the cucumber continuous picking robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The collecting mechanism comprises an extended bracket, a circular ring and a collecting channel, one end of the extended bracket is fixed to the lower end of the telescopic rod, the other end of the extended bracket is fixedly connected to the circular ring, and the circular ring is connected to the collecting channel.

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