Autonomous golf ball collecting robot

Abstract

The invention discloses an autonomous golf ball collecting robot which comprises a rack assembly, a front axle assembly, a rear axle assembly, a ball collecting assembly, a storage and transportation assembly and a control system assembly. The front axle assembly comprises a front wheel hub assembly connected with the rack assembly through a double-fork-arm suspension and a steering engine used for driving the front wheel hub assembly to steer. The rear axle assembly comprises a rear wheel hub assembly connected with the rack assembly through a four-connecting-rod suspension and a driving motor used for driving the rear wheel hub assembly to rotate. The ball collecting assembly is installed at the bottom of the rack assembly and comprises a piece wheel set and a blocking piece. The piece wheel set comprises a plurality of piece wheels which are coaxially arranged and can rotate around the horizontal axis, and a ball clamping groove is formed between every two adjacent piece wheels and used for clamping a golf ball located on the ground. And the separation blade is used for stripping the golf ball in the ball clamping groove. An independent suspension type vehicle type structure is adopted, and a high-precision navigation module and a control algorithm are carried, so that the golf ball collecting robot can adapt to unstructured terrains, and golf ball collecting work is autonomously and efficiently completed in a golf training range.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of robots, and more particularly to an autonomous golf ball collecting robot. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous growth of China's economy, the increase in residents' disposable income and the popularity of golf, the scale of the golf market tends to grow steadily. In a typical golf driving range, thousands of balls are played every day. Generally speaking, a medium-sized driving range will accumulate tens of thousands of balls every day. At present, the task of picking up balls in golf driving ranges is mainly completed by manually operating a trolley or a small car with a collection device. These methods inevitably require manual work. In addition, for safety reasons, workers must also take corresponding protective measures when working in a driving range that is in use. Therefore, collecting golf balls is still a tedious task. It takes a lot of manpower and time to collect golf balls every day, and the speed and efficiency of recycling are also very low. At the same time, due to the large area of ​​​​the golf course, the labor cost required to recycle golf balls will also be very high.

[0003] Looking at the current golf ball collection devices on the market, there are few types, and they mainly rely on manual operation, which has very limited effect on reducing the labor intensity of picking up balls, and has not substantially changed the manual participation in the process of picking up balls. With the reduction of labor and the continuous increase in labor costs, this is obviously not in line with the future development trend. In this context, the design and development of an autonomous golf ball collection robot to replace manual ball picking has broad market prospects and application value. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention is intended to provide an autonomous golf ball collecting robot to solve the current problems of high cost and low efficiency in picking up balls at golf driving ranges.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0006] An autonomous golf ball collecting robot comprises a frame assembly, a front axle assembly, a rear axle assembly, a ball collecting assembly, a storage and transportation assembly and a control system assembly; the front axle assembly comprises a front wheel hub assembly connected to the frame assembly via a double wishbone suspension and a steering gear for driving the front wheel hub assembly to steer; the rear axle assembly comprises a rear wheel hub assembly connected to the frame assembly via a four-link suspension and a driving motor for driving the rear wheel hub assembly to rotate; the ball collecting assembly is mounted at the bottom of the frame assembly, and comprises a wheel assembly and a baffle; the wheel assembly comprises a plurality of wheels coaxially arranged and rotatable around a horizontal axis, A ball-holding groove is formed between two adjacent wheels for clamping a golf ball on the ground; the baffle is used to peel off the golf ball in the ball-holding groove; the storage and transportation component comprises a ball-collecting frame, a ball screw pair, a guide plate and a ball storage box; the ball-collecting frame is arranged on the frame component in a liftable manner; the ball-collecting frame is lifted and lowered under the drive of the ball screw pair, and when the ball-collecting frame is at the lower dead point, the golf ball peeled off by the baffle is collected, and when the ball-collecting frame is at the upper dead point, the golf ball inside the ball-collecting frame is transported to the ball storage box through the guide plate; the control system component is used to control the robot to achieve outdoor high-precision positioning and autonomous navigation.

[0007] Furthermore, the disc wheel is made of rubber material, and the cross section of the ball-locking groove between two adjacent disc wheels is in a wedge shape that is larger on the outside and smaller on the inside.

[0008] Furthermore, the bottom surface of the ball receiving frame has a certain inclination angle, so that the golf balls inside can roll freely to the exit side; a ball blocking plate is vertically arranged below the guide plate to stop the exit side of the ball receiving frame.

[0009] Furthermore, the steering gear is fixedly mounted on the front axle bottom plate, and the steering gear drives the steering tie rod, and then drives the front wheel to rotate through the steering knuckle and the steering knuckle arm to achieve steering.

[0010] Furthermore, the double wishbone suspension includes an upper cantilever, a lower cantilever and a shock absorber; one end of the upper cantilever and the lower cantilever is hinged to the front axle connecting plate, and the other end is hinged to the front wheel hub assembly; the shock absorber is connected between the frame assembly and the lower cantilever.

[0011] Furthermore, the control system components include a battery, an RTK navigation module, a main control board, an auxiliary control board, a step-down module, and a motor driver; the battery is connected to the step-down module and supplies power to each electronic module; the RTK navigation module is connected to the main control board and outputs high-precision differential GPS positioning data; the auxiliary control board carries an IMU unit and is connected to the motor driver, while receiving motor encoder data and sending the collected motion information to the main control board in real time; the main control board obtains high-precision absolute position coordinates through the RTK navigation module, obtains the track-reckoning posture of the IMU and odometer through the auxiliary control board, outputs real-time centimeter-level posture coordinates, and controls the golf ball collection robot to move along a set path and collect golf balls on the path.

[0012] Furthermore, the rear axle is equipped with two drive motors to achieve differential control of the two rear wheels.

[0013] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0014] (1) The present invention adopts an integrated design with a reasonable structural layout, front wheel Ackerman steering, rear wheel differential control, and a wheel group rolling with the vehicle. The robot can collect golf balls while moving. The wheel group can collect golf balls within the range after one rotation, with high efficiency and success rate.

[0015] (2) The present invention adopts an independent suspension structure with a shock absorber, which can reduce the vibration of the robot and enable the robot to adapt to unstructured terrain.

[0016] (3) The present invention adopts a screw lifting mechanism to move the balls in the ball collecting frame to the ball storage box, which can effectively increase the number of golf balls collected in a single time.

[0017] (4) The present invention uses RTK+IMU+odometer fusion to output the robot's position coordinates, which can obtain the robot's real-time centimeter-level accurate position coordinates.

[0018] (5) The present invention adopts an intelligent control system that can autonomously plan the optimal path and autonomously navigate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 The figure is a schematic structural diagram of an autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 A side view of an autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 The figure is a bottom view of an autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 It is a front view of an autonomous golf ball collecting robot of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a rear view of an autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 The figure is a control system block diagram of an autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to the present invention.

[0025] In the figure: 1, rectangular frame, 2, mounting plate, 3, servo, 4, front axle bottom plate, 5, front axle connecting plate, 6, steering knuckle arm, 7, steering tie rod, 8, front wheel hub assembly, 9, upper cantilever, 10, lower cantilever, 11, shock absorber, 12, drive motor, 13, rear axle connecting plate, 14, rear wheel hub assembly, 15, connecting rod, 16, shock absorber, 17, wheel set, 18, baffle, 19, ball receiving frame, 20, ball screw pair, 21, stepping motor, 22, guide plate, 23, ball storage box, 24, battery, 25, RTK navigation module, 26, main control board, 27, auxiliary control board, 28, step-down module 29, motor driver. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] As attached Figure 1-6 As shown, an autonomous golf ball collecting robot of this embodiment includes: a frame assembly, a front axle assembly, a rear axle assembly, a ball collecting assembly, a storage and transportation assembly, and a control system assembly.

[0027] The frame assembly comprises a rectangular frame 1 and a mounting plate 2 covering the top surface of the rectangular frame. The mounting plate 2 is provided with a plurality of mounting holes for fixing and mounting various components of the robot.

[0028] The front axle assembly includes a front wheel hub assembly 8 connected to the frame assembly through a double wishbone suspension and a steering gear 3 for driving the front wheel hub assembly 8 to steer; the front axle adopts an Ackerman steering structure, the steering gear 3 is fixedly mounted on the front axle bottom plate 4, the steering gear 3 drives the steering tie rod 7, and then drives the front wheel to rotate through the steering knuckle and the steering knuckle arm 6 to achieve steering. The double wishbone suspension includes an upper cantilever 9, a lower cantilever 10 and a shock absorber 11; one end of the upper cantilever 9 and the lower cantilever 10 are hinged to the front axle connecting plate 5, and the other end is hinged to the front wheel hub assembly 8; the shock absorber 11 is connected between the frame assembly and the lower cantilever 10.

[0029] The rear axle assembly includes a rear wheel hub assembly 14 connected to the frame assembly through a four-link suspension and two drive motors 12 for driving the rear wheel hub assembly 14 to rotate. The two drive motors 12 are installed on a rear axle connecting plate 13 to achieve differential control of the two rear wheels. The rear axle connecting plate 13 is connected to the frame through a four-link suspension, and the four-link suspension includes four connecting rods 15 and a shock absorber 16.

[0030] The ball collecting assembly is installed at the bottom of the frame assembly through a multi-link suspension, and includes a wheel group 17 and a baffle 18; the wheel group 17 includes a plurality of wheels coaxially arranged and rotatable around a horizontal axis, and a ball-holding groove is formed between two adjacent wheels for clamping a golf ball on the ground; the wheel shaft is installed on a bracket at the bottom of the frame assembly through a bearing, so that the wheel group 17 can roll with the vehicle; the wheel is made of rubber material, and the cross-section of the ball-holding groove between two adjacent wheels is a wedge-shaped shape with a larger outer side and a smaller inner side, so that a golf ball can be easily clamped therein; the baffle 18 is fixedly installed at the bottom of the frame and extends into the ball-holding groove, so as to peel off the golf ball in the ball-holding groove.

[0031] The storage and transportation assembly includes a ball receiving frame 19, a ball screw pair 20, a guide plate 22 and a ball storage box 23; the ball receiving frame 19 is arranged on the frame assembly in a manner that it can be raised and lowered; the ball receiving frame 19 is raised and lowered under the stepping motor 21 driving the ball screw pair, and when the ball receiving frame 19 is at the lower dead point, the golf balls peeled off by the baffle 18 are collected, and when the ball receiving frame 19 is at the upper dead point, the golf balls inside it are transported to the ball storage box 23 through the guide plate 22; the bottom surface of the ball receiving frame 19 has a certain inclination angle, so that the golf balls inside it can roll freely to the outlet side; a ball baffle plate is vertically arranged below the guide plate 22 to stop the outlet side of the ball receiving frame 19, so that when the ball receiving frame 19 is raised and lowered, the golf balls inside it will not roll out. When the ball receiving frame 19 rises to the upper dead point, the ball outlet side of the ball receiving frame 19 will be opposite to the guide plate 22, so that the golf balls can roll onto the guide plate 22 autonomously, and a fence is arranged on the other side of the guide plate 22.

[0032] The control system component is used to control the robot to achieve outdoor high-precision positioning and autonomous navigation.

[0033] The control system components include a battery 24, an RTK navigation module 25, a main control board 26, an auxiliary control board 27, a step-down module 28, and a motor driver 29; the battery 24 is connected to the step-down module 28 and supplies power to each electronic module; the RTK navigation module 25 is connected to the main control board 26, and outputs high-precision differential GPS positioning data; the auxiliary control board 27 carries an IMU unit and is connected to the motor driver 29, and simultaneously receives motor encoder data, and sends the collected motion information to the main control board 26 in real time; the main control board 26 obtains high-precision absolute position coordinates through the RTK navigation module 25, obtains the track-reckoning posture of the IMU and the odometer through the auxiliary control board 27, outputs real-time centimeter-level posture coordinates, and controls the golf ball collection robot to move along a set path and collect golf balls on the path.

[0034] When the autonomous golf ball collecting robot of this embodiment is in operation, it first determines a work starting point and a work end point, turns on the switch, and then starts to operate automatically, entering the work area of ​​the golf practice range to perform autonomous ball collection operations. The autonomous golf ball collecting robot determines its own location through the RTK navigation module 25, IMU, and odometer information, determines the distribution information of golf balls through the golf course map taken in advance, obtains the optimal path through the path planning calculation of the main control board 26, calculates the motion information, and then sends the motion information to the auxiliary control board 27, thereby controlling the steering gear 3, the stepper motor 21, and the drive motor 12 to operate, and moves along the path and collects golf balls. When it reaches the work end point, it plans the optimal path from the end point to the starting point, and then moves along the path, and operates in this way in a cycle; during the operation, the ball collecting frame 1919 regularly transports the ball to the ball storage box 23, and when the ball storage box 23 is full, the robot is controlled to return to the base.

[0035] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solution of the present invention can be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the purpose and scope of the technical solution of the present invention, which should be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An autonomous golf ball collecting robot, characterized in that: It includes a frame assembly, a front axle assembly, a rear axle assembly, a ball receiving assembly, a storage and transportation assembly, and a control system assembly; The front axle assembly includes a front wheel hub assembly connected to the frame assembly via a double wishbone suspension and a steering gear for driving the front wheel hub assembly to steer; The rear axle assembly includes a rear wheel hub assembly connected to the frame assembly via a four-link suspension and a drive motor for driving the rear wheel hub assembly to rotate; The ball collecting assembly is installed at the bottom of the frame assembly, and includes a wheel assembly and a baffle; the wheel assembly includes a plurality of wheels coaxially arranged and rotatable around a horizontal axis, and a ball-holding groove is formed between two adjacent wheels for clamping a golf ball on the ground; the baffle is used to peel off the golf ball in the ball-holding groove; The storage and transportation assembly comprises a ball receiving frame, a ball screw pair, a guide plate and a ball storage box; the ball receiving frame is arranged on the frame assembly in a liftable manner; the ball receiving frame is lifted and lowered under the drive of the ball screw pair, and when the ball receiving frame is at the lower dead point, the golf balls peeled off by the baffle are collected, and when the ball receiving frame is at the upper dead point, the golf balls inside the ball receiving frame are transported to the ball storage box through the guide plate; The control system component is used to control the robot to achieve outdoor high-precision positioning and autonomous navigation.

2. The autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wheel is made of rubber material, and the cross section of the ball-locking groove between two adjacent wheels is in a wedge shape with a larger outer side and a smaller inner side.

3. The autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom surface of the ball receiving frame has a certain inclination angle, so that the golf balls inside it can roll freely to the exit side; a ball blocking plate is vertically arranged below the guide plate to stop the exit side of the ball receiving frame.

4. The autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steering gear is fixedly installed on the front axle bottom plate, and the steering gear drives the steering tie rod, and then drives the front wheel to rotate through the steering knuckle and the steering knuckle arm to achieve steering.

5. The autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The double wishbone suspension comprises an upper cantilever, a lower cantilever and a shock absorber; one end of the upper cantilever and the lower cantilever is hinged to the front axle connecting plate, and the other end is hinged to the front wheel hub assembly; the shock absorber is connected between the frame assembly and the lower cantilever.

6. The autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control system components include a battery, an RTK navigation module, a main control board, an auxiliary control board, a step-down module, and a motor driver; the battery is connected to the step-down module and supplies power to each electronic module; the RTK navigation module is connected to the main control board and outputs high-precision differential GPS positioning data; the auxiliary control board is equipped with an IMU unit and is connected to the motor driver, while receiving motor encoder data and sending the collected motion information to the main control board in real time; the main control board obtains high-precision absolute position coordinates through the RTK navigation module, obtains the track-reckoning posture of the IMU and the odometer through the auxiliary control board, outputs real-time centimeter-level posture coordinates, and controls the golf ball collection robot to move along a set path and collect golf balls on the path.

7. The autonomous golf ball collecting robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rear axle is equipped with two driving motors to achieve differential control of the two rear wheels.

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