Unmanned aerial vehicle seedling slinging system and unmanned aerial vehicle seedling slinging method

Abstract

The invention discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle seedling slinging system and an unmanned aerial vehicle seedling slinging method. The system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle, a seedling accommodating frame and a seedling separating mechanism, wherein the seedling accommodating frame and the seedling separating mechanism are mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle; the seedling containing frame comprises a plurality of seedling containing grooves, and the seedling separating mechanism can separate seedlings in the seedling containing grooves one by one; the seedling separating mechanism is arranged at the lower end of the seedling accommodating frame and is mounted in the middle of the seedling accommodating frame relative to the circumferential array; the seedling separating mechanism can enable all the seedling accommodating grooves to discharge seedlings in sequence; and a hopper-shaped piece with a thick upper part and a narrow lower part is arranged below the seedling separating mechanism. According to the unmanned aerial vehicle, the seedling containing grooves are distributed in a circumferential array mode, the seedling separating mechanism is installed in the middle and lower portion relative to the seedling containing frame, balance of the whole structure is facilitated, the seedlings in all the seedling containing grooves are reduced in a balanced mode through the seedling separating mode of annular circulating seedling separating, and therefore the whole structure below the unmanned aerial vehicle always has good balance, and the whole structure is more uniform. The flight control difficulty of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of agricultural seedling planting, and particularly to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) seedling throwing system and a UAV seedling throwing method. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, UAV technology has been increasingly widely used in the agricultural field. Especially in rice seedling throwing operations, UAV seedling throwing systems have attracted attention due to their high efficiency and flexibility. The existing UAV seedling throwing technology mainly involves the UAV carrying a seedling container and using a mechanical or gravity seedling separation device to scatter the seedlings into the field. For example, Patent CN 115104410A discloses a UAV seedling throwing device that uses linearly arranged seedling accommodating grooves, which has problems such as uneven weight distribution and scattered seedling throwing in actual use. Specifically, the linearly arranged seedling accommodating grooves are prone to causing the center of gravity of the UAV to shift during the seedling separation process, increasing the difficulty of flight control. At the same time, each seedling accommodating groove is driven by an independent motor to operate the belt for seedling separation. The large number of motors increases the weight and cost, affecting the endurance, and the outlets of each seedling accommodating groove are inconsistent, resulting in uneven seedling throwing and affecting the operation effect.

[0003] In addition, in the UAV and the UAV seedling throwing control method disclosed in Patent CN 119256720A, seedling accommodating grooves with a square layout and a symmetrical layout are provided, but it is necessary to set up a seedling separation device for each seedling accommodating groove, which not only increases the weight and cost, but also brings an increase in control difficulty and affects the endurance of the UAV. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Object of the Invention: In order to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a UAV seedling throwing system and a UAV seedling throwing method that are lightweight, have balanced weight, and high seedling separation efficiency.

[0005] Technical Solution: To achieve the above object, the UAV seedling throwing system of the present invention includes a UAV, a seedling accommodating frame installed on the UAV, and a seedling separation mechanism; the seedling accommodating frame includes a plurality of seedling accommodating grooves, and the seedling separation mechanism can separate the seedlings on the seedling accommodating grooves one by one;

[0006] All the seedling accommodating grooves are arranged in a circumferential array, and the seedling accommodating grooves are used vertically. The lower side of the seedling accommodating frame has a seedling emergence opening corresponding to each of the seedling accommodating grooves. During use, the roots of the seedlings have substrate blocks, or the roots of the seedlings have seedling pots filled with substrate. The substrate blocks or seedling pots are placed in the seedling accommodating grooves, and the leaves of the seedlings extend to the outside of the seedling accommodating grooves; the seedling separating mechanism is placed at the lower end of the seedling accommodating frame and is centrally installed relative to the circumferential array; the seedling separating mechanism can sequentially discharge the seedlings from all the seedling accommodating grooves. The process of discharging the seedlings is carried out round by round. During the first round of separating the seedlings, the seedling separating mechanism sequentially discharges one seedling from all the seedling accommodating grooves in sequence. Then, during the first round of separating the seedlings, the seedling separating mechanism sequentially discharges one more seedling from all the seedling accommodating grooves in sequence. By this cycle, the seedlings in all the seedling accommodating grooves can be evenly reduced, maintaining the balance of the drone;

[0007] A funnel-shaped member with a wider upper part and a narrower lower part is installed below the seedling separating mechanism. The seedling separating mechanism causes the seedlings discharged from each seedling accommodating groove to fall into the funnel-shaped member and be discharged through the seedling discharging opening below the funnel-shaped member.

[0008] Further, the seedling accommodating frame is connected to the drone through a docking mechanism; the docking mechanism includes two cross bars connecting the seedling accommodating frame, and each cross bar is installed with a docking claw hand for connecting the drone. In this solution, there are two symmetrically installed docking claw hands on each cross bar. The docking claw hand has two claw bodies that can open and close relative to each other, and the docking claw hand can grasp the landing gear of the drone to achieve docking with the drone.

[0009] Further, the drone seedling throwing system further includes a shelf, and there are two longitudinal bars on the shelf; in the docking mechanism not docked with the drone, the two ends of the cross bar are respectively placed on the two longitudinal bars, so that the seedling accommodating frame is placed between the two longitudinal bars.

[0010] The above replacement operation can be completed automatically or assisted by manual labor.

[0011] Further, the seedling separating mechanism includes a mechanism seat body; a seedling separating motor is installed on the mechanism seat body, and a plurality of ejector rods arranged around the seedling separating motor are also installed. The ejector rods are slidably installed relative to the mechanism seat body, and the number of the ejector rods and the seedling accommodating grooves is equal and they correspond one by one. In this solution, the number of ejector rods is 16;

[0012] The output shaft of the seedling separating motor is connected to a rotary seat through a first eccentric shaft, and a connecting rod is connected between the rotary seat and each ejector rod.

[0013] Further, the swivel base has a disc portion and four ear portions arranged in a circumferential array around the disc portion. Each ear portion is connected to the mechanism base body through a second eccentric shaft, and the eccentric distances of the second eccentric shaft and the first eccentric shaft are equal. Thus, when the seedling separating motor drives the first eccentric shaft to rotate, all the second eccentric shafts rotate synchronously, which can ensure the stability of the translational rotation movement of the swivel base. The rotation radius of the swivel base is the eccentric distance of the first eccentric shaft.

[0014] With the above structure, the sliding axes of all the ejector rods are perpendicular to and intersect with the central axis of the seedling separating motor, and all the ejector rods are located at different phases of the central axis of the seedling separating motor. Therefore, the displacements of each ejector rod are different. When the seedling separating motor rotates the swivel base one week, all the ejector rods can complete an ejecting and seedling separating operation in the circumferential direction.

[0015] Further, the funnel-shaped member includes a funnel-shaped cylinder body and vertical ribs arranged around the funnel-shaped cylinder body. The upper ends of the vertical ribs are connected to the mechanism base body of the seedling separating mechanism; the funnel-shaped member further includes a plurality of annular ribs arranged around the funnel-shaped cylinder body.

[0016] With the above structure, the structural strength of the funnel-shaped member can be maintained, and the structure can be made lightweight.

[0017] An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) seedling throwing method has the above UAV seedling throwing system, and the method includes:

[0018] Obtain the position information and navigation path information of the UAV, and accordingly control the UAV to fly according to the preset navigation path;

[0019] Control the operation of the seedling separating mechanism so that all the seedling accommodating grooves discharge seedlings in turn by rounds.

[0020] Further, the method further includes:

[0021] When the seedlings on the seedling accommodating rack are used up, record the position and control the UAV to return.

[0022] When the UAV reaches the preset docking location, release the old seedling separating assembly through the docking mechanism and replace it with a new seedling separating assembly; the seedling separating assembly is a combination of a seedling accommodating rack, a seedling separating mechanism, a funnel-shaped member, and a docking mechanism;

[0023] Control the UAV to fly to the recorded position and continue to perform the seedling throwing operation.

[0024] Beneficial effects: The UAV seedling throwing system and the UAV seedling throwing method of the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0025] (1) The circumferential array layout of the seedling accommodation grooves and the structure in which the seedling separation mechanism is installed centered and downward relative to the seedling accommodation frame are beneficial to the balance of the overall structure. Moreover, the seedling separation method of annular cyclic seedling separation enables the seedlings in all the seedling accommodation grooves to be evenly reduced. In this way, the overall structure below the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) always has good balance, which can reduce the flight control difficulty of the UAV.

[0026] (2) All the separated seedlings are guided towards the middle by the bucket-shaped part and then discharged, enabling the throwing seedling system to throw seedlings in rows.

[0027] (3) By setting the above-mentioned docking mechanism and the shelf, during use, after loading the seedling accommodation frame with seedlings, the assembled seedling separation assembly as a whole can be placed on the shelf through the cross bar. The seedling separation assembly includes a seedling accommodation frame, a seedling separation mechanism, a bucket-shaped part, and a docking mechanism. After the UAV returns, the docking claw hands in the old seedling separation assembly are opened, the old seedling separation assembly is unloaded, and the new seedling separation assembly is connected to the UAV through the docking claw hands, which can quickly complete the replacement of the seedling separation assembly and improve the continuity of the seedling throwing work. Description of the Drawings

[0028] Figure 1 is the front view structure diagram of the UAV seedling throwing system;

[0029] Figure 2 is the three-dimensional structure diagram of the UAV seedling throwing system;

[0030] Figure 3 is the three-dimensional structure diagram of the seedling separation assembly;

[0031] Figure 4 is the structure diagram of the UAV seedling throwing system with a shelf;

[0032] Figure 5 is the three-dimensional combined structure diagram of the seedling accommodation frame and the seedling separation mechanism;

[0033] Figure 6 is the combined bottom view structure diagram of the seedling accommodation frame and the seedling separation mechanism;

[0034] Figure 7 is the combined structure diagram of the rotary base and the mechanism base body.

[0035] In the figure: 1 - UAV; 2 - seedling accommodation frame; 21 - seedling accommodation groove; 22 - seedling emergence opening; 3 - seedling separation mechanism; 31 - mechanism base body; 32 - seedling separation motor; 33 - ejector rod; 34 - first eccentric shaft; 35 - rotary base; 35a - disc part; 35b - ear part; 36 - connecting rod; 37 - second eccentric shaft; 4 - bucket-shaped part; 41 - bucket-shaped cylinder; 42 - vertical rib; 43 - annular rib; 5 - docking mechanism; 51 - cross bar; 52 - docking claw hand; 6 - shelf; 61 - longitudinal rod. Detailed Implementation Modes

[0036] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0037] As Figure 1 shown in Figure 2 the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) seedling throwing system, which includes a UAV 1, a seedling accommodating rack 2 mounted on the UAV 1, and a seedling separating mechanism 3; the seedling accommodating rack 2 includes a plurality of seedling accommodating grooves 21, and the seedling separating mechanism 3 can separate the seedlings on the seedling accommodating grooves 21 one by one;

[0038] As Figure 5 shown, all the seedling accommodating grooves 21 are arranged in a circumferential array, and the seedling accommodating grooves 21 are used vertically. The lower side of the seedling accommodating rack 2 has a seedling emergence opening 22 corresponding to each seedling accommodating groove 21. During use, the roots of the seedlings have a substrate block, or the roots of the seedlings have a seedling pot filled with substrate. The substrate block or the seedling pot is placed in the seedling accommodating groove 21, and the leaves of the seedlings extend to the outside of the seedling accommodating groove 21; the seedling separating mechanism 3 is placed at the lower end of the seedling accommodating rack 2 and is installed centrally relative to the circumferential array; the seedling separating mechanism 3 can cause all the seedling accommodating grooves 21 to discharge seedlings in sequence. The process of discharging seedlings is carried out round by round. During the first round of separating seedlings, the seedling separating mechanism 3 causes all the seedling accommodating grooves 21 to discharge one seedling in sequence. Then, during the first round of separating seedlings, the seedling separating mechanism 3 causes all the seedling accommodating grooves 21 to discharge one more seedling in sequence. By this cycle, the seedlings in all the seedling accommodating grooves 21 can be evenly reduced, maintaining the balance of the UAV 1;

[0039] A funnel-shaped member 4 with a wide top and a narrow bottom is installed below the seedling separating mechanism 3. The seedling separating mechanism 3 causes the seedlings discharged from each seedling accommodating groove 21 to fall into the funnel-shaped member 4 and be discharged through the seedling discharging opening below the funnel-shaped member 4.

[0040] In the above structure, the circumferential array layout of the seedling accommodating grooves 21 and the structure that the seedling separating mechanism 3 is installed centrally and downward relative to the seedling accommodating rack 2 are beneficial to the balance of the overall structure. Moreover, the seedling separating method of circular cyclic seedling separation enables the seedlings in all the seedling accommodating grooves 21 to be evenly reduced. In this way, the overall structure below the UAV 1 always has good balance, which can reduce the flight control difficulty of the UAV.

[0041] All the separated seedlings are guided to the middle by the funnel-shaped member 4 and then discharged, so that the seedling throwing system can carry out seedling throwing in rows.

[0042] Preferably, the seedling accommodating rack 2 is connected to the UAV 1 through a docking mechanism 5; As Figure 3As shown in the figure, the docking mechanism 5 includes two cross bars 51 connecting the seedling accommodating frame 2. A docking claw 52 for connecting the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is installed on each cross bar 51. In this embodiment, two symmetrically installed docking claws 52 are provided on each cross bar 51. The docking claw 52 has two claw bodies that can open and close relative to each other, and the docking claw 52 can grasp the landing gear of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 to achieve docking with the unmanned aerial vehicle 1.

[0043] Preferably, as Figure 4 shown, the unmanned aerial vehicle seedling throwing system further includes a shelf 6, and two longitudinal bars 61 are provided on the shelf 6; in the docking mechanism 5 not docked with the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, both ends of the cross bar 51 are respectively placed on the two longitudinal bars 61, so that the seedling accommodating frame 2 is placed between the two longitudinal bars 61.

[0044] By providing the above docking mechanism 5 and the shelf 6, during use, after loading the seedling accommodating frame 2 with seedlings, the assembled seedling separating assembly as a whole can be placed on the shelf 6 through the cross bar 51. The seedling separating assembly includes the seedling accommodating frame 2, the seedling separating mechanism 3, the funnel-shaped member 4, and the docking mechanism 5; after the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 returns, the docking claws 52 in the old seedling separating assembly are opened, the old seedling separating assembly is unloaded, and the new seedling separating assembly is connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 through the docking claws 52, so that the replacement of the seedling separating assembly can be quickly completed, and the continuity of the seedling throwing work can be improved. The above replacement operation can be completed automatically or assisted by manual labor.

[0045] Preferably, as Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown, the seedling separating mechanism 3 includes a mechanism base body 31; a seedling separating motor 32 is installed on the mechanism base body 31, and a plurality of ejector rods 33 arranged around the seedling separating motor 32 are also installed. The ejector rods 33 are slidably installed relative to the mechanism base body 31, and the number of the ejector rods 33 and the seedling accommodating grooves 21 are equal and correspond to each other one by one. In this embodiment, the number of the ejector rods 33 is 16;

[0046] The output shaft of the seedling separating motor 32 is connected to a rotary seat 35 through a first eccentric shaft 34, and a connecting rod 36 is connected between the rotary seat 35 and each ejector rod 33.

[0047] Preferably, as Figure 7As shown, the rotary seat 35 has a disc portion 35a and four ear portions 35b arranged in a circumferential array around the disc portion 35a. Each ear portion 35b is connected to the mechanism seat body 31 through a second eccentric shaft 37. The eccentric distances of the second eccentric shaft 37 and the first eccentric shaft 34 are equal. In this way, when the seedling separating motor 32 drives the first eccentric shaft 34 to rotate, all the second eccentric shafts 37 rotate synchronously, which can ensure the stability of the translational rotation movement of the rotary seat 35. The rotation radius of the rotary seat 35 is the eccentric distance of the first eccentric shaft 34.

[0048] With the above structure, the sliding axes of all the ejector rods 33 are perpendicular to and intersect with the central axis of the seedling separating motor 32, and all the ejector rods 33 are located at different phases of the central axis of the seedling separating motor 32. Therefore, the displacements of each ejector rod 33 are different. When the seedling separating motor 32 rotates the rotary seat 35 for one week, all the ejector rods 33 can complete an ejection and seedling separation operation in the circumferential direction. It can be seen that the structural design of the above seedling separating mechanism 3 enables the output shaft of the seedling separating motor 32 to rotate one circle, and the throwing operation of 16 seedlings can be completed. The throwing efficiency is high, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 can operate at a relatively high speed, improving the operation efficiency.

[0049] In addition, in the above structure, the seedling separation operations of all the seedling accommodating grooves 21 are driven by the same seedling separating motor 32, which not only has a low weight, realizes light weight, but also has a low cost and high orderliness of seedling separation.

[0050] Preferably, as Figure 3 shown, the bucket-shaped member 4 includes a bucket-shaped cylinder body 41 and vertical ribs 42 arranged around the bucket-shaped cylinder body 41. The upper ends of the vertical ribs 42 are connected to the mechanism seat body 31 of the seedling separating mechanism 3; the bucket-shaped member 4 further includes a plurality of annular ribs 43 arranged around the bucket-shaped cylinder body 41.

[0051] With the above structure, the structural strength of the bucket-shaped member 4 can be maintained, and the structure is made lightweight.

[0052] An unmanned aerial vehicle throwing method has the above unmanned aerial vehicle throwing system, and the method includes the following steps S101 - S102:

[0053] Step S101, obtain the position information and navigation path information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, and accordingly control the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 to fly along a preset navigation path;

[0054] Step S102, control the operation of the seedling separating mechanism 3 to enable all the seedling accommodating grooves 21 to discharge seedlings in turn by rounds.

[0055] Preferably, the method further includes the following steps S201 - S203:

[0056] Step S201, when the seedlings on the seedling accommodating rack 2 are used up, record the position and control the UAV 1 to return;

[0057] Step S202, when the UAV 1 reaches the preset docking location, release the old seedling separating assembly through the docking mechanism 5 and replace it with a new seedling separating assembly; the seedling separating assembly is a combination of the seedling accommodating rack 2, the seedling separating mechanism 3, the hopper-shaped part 4 and the docking mechanism 5;

[0058] Step S203, control the UAV 1 to fly to the recorded position and continue to perform the rice transplanting operation.

[0059] The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the principle of the present invention, several improvements and refinements can be made, and these improvements and refinements should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A drone seedling transplanting system, comprising a drone (1), a seedling storage rack (2) and a seedling separation mechanism (3) mounted on the drone (1); the seedling storage rack (2) comprises a plurality of seedling storage grooves (21), and the seedling separation mechanism (3) is capable of separating the seedlings on the seedling storage grooves (21) one by one; and characterized in that: All the seedling receiving grooves (21) are arranged in a circular array; the seedling separation mechanism (3) is placed at the lower end of the seedling receiving frame (2) and installed in the center relative to the circular array; the seedling separation mechanism (3) can enable all the seedling receiving grooves (21) to discharge the seedlings in sequence; A bucket-shaped member (4) which is thick at the top and narrow at the bottom is installed below the seedling separation mechanism (3).

2. The drone seedling throwing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The seedling accommodating frame (2) and the drone (1) are connected via a docking mechanism (5); the docking mechanism (5) comprises two cross bars (51) connected to the seedling accommodating frame (2), and each of the cross bars (51) is provided with a docking claw (52) for connecting to the drone (1).

3. The drone seedling throwing system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The drone seedling transplanting system further comprises a shelf (6) having two longitudinal bars (61); in the docking mechanism (5) not docked with the drone (1), the two ends of the cross bar (51) are respectively placed on the two longitudinal bars (61), so that the seedling receiving frame (2) is placed between the two longitudinal bars (61).

4. The drone seedling throwing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The seedling separation mechanism (3) comprises a mechanism base (31); a seedling separation motor (32) is mounted on the mechanism base (31); and a plurality of top rods (33) arranged around the seedling separation motor (32) are also mounted; the top rods (33) are slidably mounted relative to the mechanism base (31), and the number of the top rods (33) and the number of the seedling receiving grooves (21) are equal and correspond one to one; The output shaft of the seedling separation motor (32) is connected to the rotating seat (35) via a first eccentric shaft (34), and a connecting rod (36) is connected between the rotating seat (35) and each of the push rods (33).

5. The drone seedling throwing system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The swivel seat (35) comprises a disc portion (35a) and four ears (35b) arranged in a circular array around the disc portion (35a), and each ear (35b) is connected to the mechanism seat body (31) via a second eccentric shaft (37).

6. The drone seedling throwing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bucket-shaped member (4) comprises a bucket-shaped cylinder (41) and vertical ribs (42) arranged around the bucket-shaped cylinder (41), and the upper ends of the vertical ribs (42) are connected to the mechanism base (31) of the seedling separation mechanism (3); the bucket-shaped member (4) further comprises a plurality of annular ribs (43) arranged around the bucket-shaped cylinder (41).

7. A method for transplanting rice seedlings by drone, comprising the drone transplanting system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquiring the position information and navigation path information of the drone (1), and controlling the drone (1) to fly according to a preset navigation path; The seedling separation mechanism (3) is controlled to operate so that all the seedling containing grooves (21) discharge the seedlings in turn.

8. The method for transplanting rice seedlings by using a drone according to claim 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the rice seedlings on the rice seedling storage rack (2) are used up, the position is recorded and the drone (1) is controlled to return; When the drone (1) arrives at a preset docking location, the old seedling separation assembly is released through the docking mechanism (5) and replaced with a new seedling separation assembly; the seedling separation assembly is a combination of a seedling storage rack (2), a seedling separation mechanism (3), a bucket-shaped member (4) and a docking mechanism (5); The drone (1) is controlled to fly to the recorded position and continue to perform the seedling throwing operation.

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