Full-automatic broccoli harvesting device and method

Abstract

The invention provides a full-automatic broccoli harvesting device and method. The device comprises a wheel mechanism, a vehicle frame, a vehicle hopper, a negative pressure generation mechanism, a conveying pipeline, a machine vision mechanism and a swing cutting mechanism, the swing cutting mechanism comprises a first mounting frame, a lifting assembly, a swing assembly and a tension band, the first mounting frame is fixedly connected to the front end of the vehicle frame, and the lifting assembly and the swing assembly are both mounted on the first mounting frame; the swing assembly is connected to the lifting assembly, the hoop ring is arranged at the front end of the conveying pipeline in a sleeving mode and connected with the swing assembly, a fixing plate is further installed on the swing assembly, an air cylinder is installed below the fixing plate, a cutter is fixedly connected to the end of an ejector rod of the air cylinder, the blade portion of the cutter faces the hoop ring, and a cutter hole is formed in the side wall of the hoop ring. The cutter penetrates through the cutter hole to cut towards the center of the tension sleeve under the action of the air cylinder. The broccoli cutting and harvesting device can rapidly cut and harvest broccoli, and the working efficiency is greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of agricultural machinery, and in particular relates to a fully automatic broccoli harvesting device and method. Background Art

[0002] At present, automation technology is common in agricultural production, and related technologies are relatively mature. In particular, in response to the time-consuming and laborious problem of harvesting agricultural products, people have designed corresponding picking devices to replace manual labor. At present, the main research object in China is the fruit picking of crops with small stems such as apples, tomatoes, and cucumbers. However, there are few studies on fully automatic picking machines for crops with short plants, large fruits and thick stems such as broccoli. Even if there are, they are semi-manual and semi-automatic equipment with low efficiency and high cost of use. To this end, the applicant has designed a fully automatic broccoli harvesting device [application number 202410301945.0], which includes a wheel mechanism for movement and a bucket arranged on the wheel mechanism, a negative pressure generating mechanism is installed on the upper part of the bucket, the negative pressure generating mechanism is connected to the conveying pipe, the front end of the conveying pipe extends to the front of the bucket and bends downward, a swing mechanism is provided in front of the bucket, the swing mechanism and the front end of the conveying pipe are transmission-connected to drive the conveying pipe to move, a cutting mechanism is installed at the front end of the conveying pipe, a machine vision mechanism is installed at the front end of the swing mechanism, a control system and a battery are also installed on the wheel mechanism, and the wheel mechanism, the machine vision mechanism, the swing mechanism, the negative pressure generating mechanism and the cutting mechanism are all electrically connected to the control system. After testing, it was found that this solution has the following shortcomings: the leaves around the broccoli head will hinder the cutting of the cutting mechanism, causing the cutting process of the cutting mechanism to take too long. Each time cutting requires the wheels to stop and wait for a long time. Only after the cutting is completed can they move to the next broccoli to continue harvesting. The efficiency is low, and the broken leaves generated during the cutting process are easily sucked into the conveying pipeline by the negative pressure generating mechanism, resulting in a large amount of impurities in the truck bed. Therefore, further improvements are needed on this basis. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic broccoli harvesting device and a harvesting method, which can further improve the harvesting efficiency of broccoli and effectively reduce the labor intensity of people.

[0004] The object of the present invention can be achieved by the following technical solutions: A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device includes a wheel mechanism and a frame provided on the wheel mechanism. A hopper is installed on the frame. At least one set of negative pressure generating mechanism is installed above the hopper. The negative pressure generating mechanism is connected to a conveying pipeline. The front end of the conveying pipeline extends in front of the hopper and bends downward. A swinging cutting mechanism corresponding to the conveying pipeline one by one is provided at the front end of the hopper. The swinging cutting mechanism includes a first mounting frame, a lifting assembly, a swinging assembly and a hoop. The first mounting frame is fixedly connected to the front end of the frame. The lifting assembly and the swinging assembly are both installed on the first mounting frame. The swinging assembly is connected to the lifting assembly. The hoop is sleeved on the front end of the conveying pipeline and connected to the swinging assembly. A machine vision mechanism is provided above the connection between the conveying pipeline and the swinging assembly. A fixing plate is also installed on the swinging assembly. A cylinder is installed below the fixing plate. The end of the ejector rod of the cylinder is fixedly connected with a cutter. The cutting edge of the cutter faces the hoop. Knife holes are formed in the side wall of the hoop. The cutter cuts towards the center of the hoop through the knife holes under the action of the cylinder. An air compressor is also provided at the front end of the frame. The air compressor is connected to the cylinder to provide kinetic energy.

[0005] The working principle of the present invention is as follows: The control system obtains the position of the broccoli through the machine vision mechanism, and then sequentially controls the swinging mechanism to move the front end of the conveying pipeline above the broccoli flower head that can be picked. Then the lifting mechanism drives the hoop to press down, so that while the hoop encloses the broccoli flower head, the excess leaves around the broccoli flower head are pressed down and broken, thereby exposing the stem. Finally, the cylinder quickly acts to push the cutter to cut off the broccoli stem. The negative pressure generating mechanism is started to generate negative pressure in the conveying pipeline, suck the broccoli into the conveying pipeline and move it towards its tail end. After the broccoli moves to the tail end of the conveying pipeline, the negative pressure generating mechanism is closed, so that the broccoli falls into the hopper, realizing fully automatic harvesting.

[0006] In the above-mentioned fully automatic broccoli harvesting device, a control box is installed at the rear end of the frame, which contains a control system and a storage battery. The wheel mechanism, the machine vision mechanism, the swinging cutting mechanism and the negative pressure generating mechanism are all electrically connected to the control system. An internal combustion engine is also provided on one side of the air compressor. The internal combustion engine and the wheel mechanism are connected by a belt pulley transmission.

[0007] In the above-mentioned fully automatic broccoli harvesting device, the conveying pipeline includes a feeding section, a pressure gradient forming section, and a discharging section; the feeding section is located at the front end of the conveying pipeline, its bottom end is connected to the swinging assembly, and its top end is communicated with the front end of the pressure gradient forming section; the pressure gradient forming section is in a straight tube shape, and its rear end is communicated with the negative pressure generating mechanism through a flange structure; the top end of the discharging section is communicated with the lower side surface at the middle and rear sections of the pressure gradient forming section; a baffle is arranged inside the pressure gradient forming section, the baffle is located on the side close to the negative pressure generating mechanism at the connection between the pressure gradient forming section and the discharging section, and a plurality of uniformly distributed ventilation holes are arranged on the baffle; a cover plate is rotatably connected to the bottom end of the discharging section, and the cover plate is closely attached to the bottom end surface of the discharging section through an elastic resetting member.

[0008] In the above-mentioned fully automatic broccoli harvesting device, the baffle is an arc-shaped plate, the front end of the baffle is located above the connection between the discharging section and the pressure gradient forming section, and the rear end of the baffle is located on the side close to the negative pressure generating mechanism at the connection between the discharging section and the pressure gradient forming section.

[0009] In the above-mentioned fully automatic broccoli harvesting device, the lifting assembly includes a first motor, a first synchronous belt, a first driving wheel, a first driven wheel, a screw rod, a nut, and a guide rod. The first motor is vertically installed on the upper part of the first mounting rack. The first driving wheel is sleeved on the output shaft of the first motor. The screw rod is vertically rotatably connected to the first mounting rack. The first driven wheel is sleeved on the upper end of the screw rod. The first driving wheel and the first driven wheel are connected and driven by the first synchronous belt. The guide rod is arranged in parallel with the screw rod. The nut is rotatably connected to the screw rod. The guide rod penetrates through the nut to guide its vertical movement. The nut is connected to the swinging assembly. The lifting assembly further includes a distance sensor arranged below the hoop for detecting the distance between the hoop and the broccoli. The distance sensor is connected to the control system, and the distance sensor is an ultrasonic sensor or a laser ranging sensor.

[0010] In the above-mentioned fully automatic broccoli harvesting device, the swinging assembly includes a rotating shaft, a second motor, a second driving wheel, a second driven wheel, a second synchronous belt, and a swing arm. The upper end of the rotating shaft is connected to the lifting assembly. The rotating shaft is rotatably connected to the first mounting frame. The second motor is vertically installed on the lower part of the first mounting rack. The second driving wheel is sleeved on the output shaft of the second motor. The second driven wheel is sleeved on the rotating shaft. The second driving wheel and the second driven wheel are connected and driven by the second synchronous belt. The swing arm is fixedly connected to the lower end of the rotating shaft.

[0011] In the above-mentioned fully automatic broccoli harvesting device, a second mounting frame is provided on the frame, a slide rail is provided on the upper end of the second mounting frame, the slide rail is located above the vehicle bed, the negative pressure generating mechanism is connected to the slide rail by sliding a slider, and the conveying pipeline is a retractable PU polyurethane tube that is both flexible and rigid.

[0012] In the above-mentioned fully automatic broccoli harvesting device, a stop handle is provided on the side of the slider, and the stop handle passes through the side wall of the slider and is pressed against the slide rail to fix the position of the slider.

[0013] In the above-mentioned fully automatic broccoli harvesting device, there are two sets of negative pressure generating mechanisms, which are arranged in parallel on the left and right sides above the truck bed. The truck bed is a split structure composed of a plurality of storage boxes spliced ​​together, or the truck bed (3) is an integrated structure.

[0014] The method for harvesting broccoli using a fully automatic broccoli harvesting device comprises the following steps: (1) Drive the broccoli fully automatic harvesting device into the broccoli planting field and align the front end of the frame with the broccoli planting area; (2) The machine vision mechanism at the front end of the truck bed is used to identify the broccoli, determine its maturity, and locate the coordinates of the mature broccoli that meets the picking requirements; (3) The positioned coordinates are sent to the control system. The control system controls the wheel mechanism to move the frame to the vicinity of the target mature broccoli according to the coordinate output control instructions, and at the same time controls the swing component of the swing cutting mechanism to move the hoop to the top of the mature broccoli; the distance sensor determines the distance value between the broccoli head and the distance sensor, and controls the lifting component of the swing cutting mechanism to move down to a specified height through the control system again, so that the hoop covers the broccoli head and breaks the petioles of the leaves around the head, exposing the stem of the head, and the cylinder quickly controls the cutter to cut the broccoli stem; (4) The negative pressure generating mechanism is started, and the broccoli is sucked from the feeding section into the conveying pipeline under the action of the negative pressure. When the broccoli reaches the baffle at the rear end of the pressure gradient forming section, it enters the discharging section under the combined action of the pressure gradient force and the baffle guide. Then the negative pressure generating mechanism is closed, so that the broccoli breaks through the obstruction of the bottom cover of the discharging section under the action of gravity and falls into the truck bed, completing the entire harvesting process.

[0015] (5) The broccoli is identified and located again through the machine vision mechanism, and another broccoli plant is harvested.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the fully automatic broccoli harvesting device has the following advantages: 1. It can automatically identify and pick broccoli, without manual operation, fully automated and intelligent, liberating the labor force, reducing the harvesting cost, and having high picking accuracy and low mis-picking rate.

[0017] 2. Utilize the characteristic of the cylinder's fast action as the driving force of the cutter, thereby improving the cutting speed, reducing the cutting delay, and thus enabling efficient harvesting of cutting while moving with the wheel speed; 3. Utilize the pressing action of the hoop to synchronously remove the excess leaves around the flower head when positioning the broccoli, improving the cutting efficiency and effectively removing the cutting impurities to ensure the harvesting quality.

[0018] 4. Combine the planting situation of broccoli and design multiple sets of negative pressure generating mechanisms to synchronously harvest, improving the harvesting efficiency.

[0019] 5. Through the slidable design, when the broccoli is sent above the car hopper, it avoids the situation of centralized stacking at the rear end. Description of the Drawings

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the fully automatic broccoli harvesting device in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 It is Figure 1 The enlarged view of part A of

[0022] Figure 3 It is the structural schematic diagram of the swing cutting mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 4 It is the schematic installation structure diagram of the cutter in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 5 It is the schematic structural diagram of the conveying pipeline in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 6 It is the sectional structural schematic diagram of the pressure gradient forming section of the conveying pipeline in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] In the figure, 1. wheel mechanism; 2. vehicle frame; 3. hopper; 4. negative pressure generating mechanism; 5. conveying pipeline; 5a. feeding section; 5b. pressure gradient forming section; 5c. discharging section; 5d. baffle; 5d1. ventilation hole; 5e. cover plate; 5f. elastic resetting member; 6. machine vision mechanism; 7. swing cutting mechanism; 7a. first mounting bracket; 7b. lifting assembly; 7b1. first motor; 7b2. first driving pulley; 7b3. first driven pulley; 7b4. first synchronous belt; 7b5. screw rod; 7b6. nut; 7b7. guide rod; 7b8. distance sensor; 7c. swing assembly; 7c1. rotating shaft; 7c2. second motor; 7c3. second driving pulley; 7c4. second driven pulley; 7c5. second synchronous belt; 7c6. swing arm; 7d. hoop; 7d1. knife hole; 7e. fixing plate; 7f. air cylinder; 7g. cutting knife; 8. control box; 9. second mounting bracket; 10. slide rail; 11. slider; 12. stop handle; 13. air compressor; 14. internal combustion engine. Detailed implementation manners

[0027] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below. The examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the respective drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that unless otherwise specifically stated, the algorithms involved are all known algorithms and thus will not be described in detail. Embodiment 1

[0028] As Figures 1-4As shown, the fully automatic broccoli harvesting device provided by the present invention includes a wheel mechanism 1 for movement and a frame 2 arranged on the wheel mechanism 1; a bucket 3 is placed on the frame 2. A set of negative pressure generating mechanisms 4 are installed on the left and right sides above the bucket 3, and the negative pressure generating mechanism 4 is connected to the conveying pipeline 5. The front end of the conveying pipeline 5 extends to the front of the bucket 3 and bends downward. In this embodiment, the conveying pipeline 5 adopts a retractable PU polyurethane tube that is both flexible and rigid. A swing cutting mechanism 7 corresponding to the conveying pipeline 5 is provided at the front end of the bucket 3. The swing cutting mechanism 7 is connected to the front end of the conveying pipeline 5 to drive the conveying pipeline 5 to move, so that the target broccoli can be covered for cutting and harvesting. A control box 8 is installed at the rear end of the frame 2, which contains a control system and a battery. The wheel mechanism 1, the machine vision mechanism 6, the swing cutting mechanism 7, the negative pressure generating mechanism 4 and the cutting mechanism are all electrically connected to the control system. Specifically, the swing cutting mechanism 7 includes a first mounting frame 7a, a lifting assembly 7b, a swing assembly 7c and a hoop 7d. The first mounting frame 7a is fixedly connected to the front end of the frame 2. The lifting assembly 7b and the swing assembly 7c are both installed on the first mounting frame 7a. The swing assembly 7c is connected to the lifting assembly 7b. The hoop 7d is sleeved on the front end of the conveying pipe 5 and connected to the swing assembly 7c. A machine vision mechanism 6 is provided above the connection between the conveying pipe 5 and the swing assembly 7c. A fixing plate 7e is also installed on the swing assembly 7c. A cylinder 7f is installed below the fixing plate 7e. A cutter 7g is fixedly connected to the end of the top rod of the cylinder 7f. The blade of the cutter 7g faces the hoop 7d. A knife hole 7d1 is opened on the side wall of the hoop 7d. The cutter 7g can pass through the knife hole 7d1 and cut toward the center of the hoop 7d under the push of the cylinder 7f. An air compressor 13 is also provided at the front end of the frame 2. The air compressor 13 is connected to the cylinder 7f to provide kinetic energy.

[0029] Furthermore, an internal combustion engine 14 is provided on one side of the air compressor 13. The internal combustion engine 14 and the wheel mechanism 1 are connected through a pulley transmission. The internal combustion engine 14 can be used as a backup power source to provide power for the wheel mechanism when the battery is out of power; it can also be used as an auxiliary power source to cooperate with the battery to achieve hybrid power drive. In this embodiment, the internal combustion engine 14 is implemented by an engine.

[0030] The lifting assembly 7b includes a first motor 7b1, a first driving pulley 7b2, a first driven pulley 7b3, a first synchronous belt 7b4, a screw rod 7b5, a nut 7b6 and a guide rod 7b7. The first motor 7b1 is vertically installed on the upper part of the first mounting bracket 7a. The first driving pulley 7b2 is sleeved on the output shaft of the first motor 7b1. The screw rod 7b5 is vertically rotatably connected to the first mounting bracket 7a. The first driven pulley 7b3 is sleeved on the upper end of the screw rod 7b5. The first driving pulley 7b2 and the first driven pulley 7b3 are connected and driven by the first synchronous belt 7b4. The guide rod 7b7 and the screw rod 7b5 are arranged in parallel. The nut 7b6 is rotatably connected to the screw rod 7b5. The guide rod 7b7 passes through the nut 7b6 to guide its vertical movement. The nut 7b6 is connected to the swing assembly 7c. A distance sensor is arranged below the hoop 7d. The lifting assembly determines the distance value between the hoop 7d and the broccoli through the distance sensor 7b8, so as to determine the vertical displacement of the hoop 7d through the control system, ensuring that the hoop 7d can completely cover the broccoli for convenient cutting. The distance sensor is an ultrasonic sensor or a laser ranging sensor.

[0031] The swing assembly 7c includes a rotating shaft 7c1, a second motor 7c2, a second driving pulley 7c3, a second driven pulley 7c4, a second synchronous belt 7c5 and a swing arm 7c6. The upper end of the rotating shaft 7c1 is connected to the lifting assembly 7b. The rotating shaft 7c1 is rotatably connected to the first mounting bracket. The second motor 7c2 is vertically installed on the lower part of the first mounting bracket 7a. The second driving pulley 7c3 is sleeved on the output shaft of the second motor 7c2. The second driven pulley 7c4 is sleeved on the rotating shaft 7c1. The second driving pulley 7c3 and the second driven pulley 7c4 are connected and driven by the second synchronous belt 7c5. The swing arm 7c6 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the rotating shaft 7c1. The side of the swing arm 7c6 is connected to the fixing plate 7e.

[0032] A second mounting bracket 9 is provided on the vehicle frame 2. A slide rail 10 is provided at the upper end of the second mounting bracket 9. The slide rail 10 is located above the hopper 3. The negative pressure generating mechanism 4 is slidably mounted on the slide rail 10 through a slider 11. A stop handle 12 is provided on the side of the slider 11. The stop handle 12 passes through the side wall of the slider 11 and abuts against the slide rail 10 to fix the position of the slider 11. By adjusting the stop handle 12, the relative position of the slider 11 and the slide rail 10 can be controlled, thereby further controlling the relative front-back position of the negative pressure generating mechanism 4 on the vehicle frame 2. In this way, during the harvesting process, when the broccoli is collected to a certain extent, the falling point of the broccoli can be adjusted by moving the negative pressure generating mechanism 4, thus avoiding the broccoli from piling up.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present invention, the hopper 3 is of a split structure and is composed of a plurality of storage boxes spliced together. By adopting the method of splicing a plurality of storage boxes and cooperating with the movable negative pressure generating mechanism 4 for regional collection, it is convenient to remove a storage box in time after it is full and replace it with a new empty box, thus avoiding the broccoli from concentrating and piling up.

[0034] As shown Figures 5-6 in the figure, the conveying pipeline 5 includes a feeding section 5a, a pressure gradient forming section 5b, and a discharging section 5c. The feeding section 5a is located at the front end of the conveying pipeline 5, is arc-shaped, its bottom end is connected to the swinging assembly 7c, and its upper end is connected to the front end of the pressure gradient forming section 5b. The pressure gradient forming section 5b is in a straight cylindrical shape, and its rear end is communicated with the negative pressure generating mechanism 4 through a flange structure. The discharging section 5c is arc-shaped, and the top end of the discharging section 5c is communicated with the lower side surface at the middle and rear section of the pressure gradient forming section 5b. A baffle 5d is arranged inside the pressure gradient forming section 5b. The baffle 5d is located on the side close to the negative pressure generating mechanism at the connection between the pressure gradient forming section 5b and the discharging section 5c. A plurality of uniformly distributed ventilation holes 5d1 are arranged on the baffle 5d; as a preferred solution, the baffle 5d is designed as an arc-shaped plate. The front end of the baffle 5d is located above the connection between the discharging section 5c and the pressure gradient forming section 5b, and the rear end of the baffle 5d is located on the side close to the negative pressure generating mechanism at the connection between the discharging section 5c and the pressure gradient forming section 5b, so as to form a guiding structure. A cover plate 5e is rotatably connected to the bottom end of the discharging section 5c, and a torsion spring is arranged as an elastic reset member 5f at the connection between the discharging section 5c and the cover plate 5e, so that the cover plate 5e is tightly attached to the bottom end surface of the discharging section 5c under the action of elastic force, so that when the negative pressure generating mechanism 4 is started, a negative pressure can be formed inside the entire conveying pipeline 5. Embodiment 2

[0035] A method for harvesting broccoli using a full-automatic broccoli harvesting device includes the following steps: (1) Drive the full-automatic broccoli harvesting device into the broccoli planting field and align the front end of the vehicle frame 2 with the broccoli planting area; (2) Identify and determine the maturity of broccoli through the machine vision mechanism 6 at the front end of the hopper 3, and perform coordinate positioning on the mature broccoli that meets the picking requirements. In an embodiment of the present invention, the machine vision mechanism 6 uses a Hikvision camera, which is connected to the control system through an Ethernet port. The configuration parameters are changed through the MVS of the Hikvision camera and saved to the user settings. After the setting is completed, close the camera and open the VM (VisionMaster), and input the image source to connect to the corresponding camera. Through the VM, perform rapid matching, position correction, N-point calibration, calibration conversion, formatting, serial communication, and data sending of the image in sequence, and finally send the coordinate data of the broccoli to the control system.

[0036] It should be noted that: the identification and maturity determination of broccoli are described in a full-automatic broccoli harvesting device [application number 202410301945.0], which will not be elaborated here; (3) The positioned coordinates are sent to the control system. The control system controls the wheel mechanism 1 to move the frame 2 to the vicinity of the target mature broccoli according to the coordinate output control instruction. At the same time, the swing component 7c of the swing cutting mechanism 7 is controlled to move to move the hoop 7d above the mature broccoli. The distance sensor determines the distance value between the broccoli head and the distance sensor, and the control system controls the lifting component 7b of the swing cutting mechanism 7 to move down to a specified height again, so that the hoop 7d covers the broccoli head and breaks the petioles of the leaves around the head, exposing the stem of the head. The cylinder 7f quickly controls the cutter to cut the broccoli stem. (4) Start the negative pressure generating mechanism 4, and under the action of negative pressure, the broccoli is sucked from the feeding section 5a into the conveying pipe 5. Under the action of negative pressure, the broccoli further enters the gradient pressure forming section 5b and moves to the front end of the baffle 5d. When the negative pressure generating mechanism 4 is evacuated, a pressure gradient force is formed at the front end of the baffle 5d, and the direction of the pressure gradient force is opposite to the pressure gradient. Therefore, the broccoli rolls into the discharging section 5c under the guidance of the pressure gradient force and the baffle 5d. At this time, by closing the negative pressure generating mechanism, the broccoli falls further under the action of gravity, breaks through the obstruction of the bottom cover plate 5e of the discharging section 5c, and falls into the truck bucket, completing the entire harvesting process.

[0037] (5) The broccoli is identified and located again through the machine vision mechanism 6, so that another broccoli plant can be harvested.

[0038] The present invention improves the existing scheme by using the rapid action of the cylinder 7f to replace the motor to achieve rapid cutting and harvesting. In combination with the planting conditions of broccoli, the negative pressure generating mechanism 4 is redesigned and arranged, and the downward pressure of the hoop 7d is used to remove excess leaves, making it convenient for the cutter to directly cut the stems, thereby further improving the harvesting efficiency.

[0039] The specific embodiments described herein are merely examples of the spirit of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications or additions to the specific embodiments described or replace them in similar ways, but they will not deviate from the spirit of the present invention or exceed the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device, comprising a wheel mechanism (1) and a frame (2) arranged on the wheel mechanism (1), a bucket (3) being mounted on the frame (2), at least one set of negative pressure generating mechanism (4) being mounted above the bucket (3), the negative pressure generating mechanism (4) being connected to a conveying pipeline (5), the front end of the conveying pipeline (5) extending to the front of the bucket (3) and bending downward, the front end of the bucket (3) being provided with a swing cutting mechanism (7) corresponding to the conveying pipeline (5), characterized in that: The swing cutting mechanism (7) comprises a first mounting frame (7a), a lifting assembly (7b), a swing assembly (7c) and a hoop (7d); the first mounting frame (7a) is fixedly connected to the front end of the vehicle frame (2); the lifting assembly (7b) and the swing assembly (7c) are both mounted on the first mounting frame (7a); the swing assembly (7c) is connected to the lifting assembly (7b); the hoop (7d) is sleeved on the front end of the conveying pipe (5) and connected to the swing assembly (7c); a machine vision mechanism (6) is provided above the connection between the conveying pipe (5) and the swing assembly (7c); A fixing plate (7e) is also mounted on the swing assembly (7c), a cylinder (7f) is mounted below the fixing plate (7e), a cutter (7g) is fixedly connected to the end of the top rod of the cylinder (7f), the blade of the cutter (7g) faces the hoop (7d), a knife hole (7d1) is provided on the side wall of the hoop (7d), and the cutter (7g) passes through the knife hole (7d1) and cuts toward the center of the hoop (7d) under the action of the cylinder (7f). An air compressor (13) is also mounted at the front end of the frame (2), and the air compressor (13) is connected to the cylinder (7f) to provide kinetic energy.

2. A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A control box (8) is installed at the rear end of the vehicle frame (2), which contains a control system and a battery. The wheel mechanism (1), the machine vision mechanism (6), the swing cutting mechanism (7) and the negative pressure generating mechanism (4) are all electrically connected to the control system. An internal combustion engine (14) is also provided on one side of the air compressor (13). The internal combustion engine (14) and the wheel mechanism (1) are connected via a pulley transmission.

3. A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The conveying pipeline (5) comprises a feed section (5a), a pressure gradient forming section (5b) and a discharge section (5c); the feed section (5a) is located at the front end of the conveying pipeline (5), the bottom end of which is connected to the swing assembly (7c), and the top end of which is connected to the front end of the pressure gradient forming section (5b); the pressure gradient forming section (5b) is in a straight cylindrical shape, and the rear end of which is connected to the negative pressure generating mechanism (4) via a flange structure; the top end of the discharge section (5c) is connected to the front end of the pressure gradient forming section (5b). The lower side surface at the middle and rear sections is connected; a baffle (5d) is arranged inside the pressure gradient forming section (5b), the baffle (5d) is located at the side of the negative pressure generating mechanism close to the connection between the pressure gradient forming section (5b) and the discharge section (5c), and a plurality of evenly distributed ventilation holes (5d1) are provided on the baffle (5d); a cover plate (5e) is rotatably connected to the bottom end of the discharge section (5c), and the cover plate (5e) is tightly attached to the bottom end surface of the discharge section (5c) through an elastic reset member (5f).

4. A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The baffle plate (5d) is an arc-shaped plate, the front end of the baffle plate (5d) is located above the connection point between the discharge section (5c) and the pressure gradient forming section (5b), and the rear end of the baffle plate (5d) is located on the side of the connection point between the discharge section (5c) and the pressure gradient forming section (5b) close to the negative pressure generating mechanism.

5. A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The lifting assembly (7b) comprises a first motor (7b1), a first synchronous belt (7b4), a first driving wheel (7b2), a first driven wheel (7b3), a screw rod (7b5), a nut (7b6) and a guide rod (7b7); the first motor (7b1) is vertically mounted on the upper part of the first mounting frame (7a); the first driving wheel (7b2) is sleeved on the output shaft of the first motor (7b1); the screw rod (7b5) is vertically rotatably connected to the first mounting frame (7a); the first driven wheel (7b3) is sleeved on the upper end of the screw rod (7b5); the first driving wheel (7b2) and the first driven wheel (7b3) are connected by the screw rod (7b5); The first synchronous belt (7b4) is connected for transmission, the guide rod (7b7) and the screw rod (7b5) are arranged in parallel, the nut (7b6) is rotatably connected to the screw rod (7b5), the guide rod (7b7) passes through the nut (7b6) to guide the vertical movement of the nut (7b6), the nut (7b6) is connected to the swing assembly (7c), and the lifting assembly (7b) further includes a distance sensor (7b8) arranged below the hoop for detecting the distance between the hoop and the broccoli, the distance sensor (7b8) is connected to the control system, and the distance sensor (7b8) is an ultrasonic sensor or a laser distance sensor.

6. A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The swing assembly (7c) comprises a rotating shaft (7c1), a second motor (7c2), a second driving wheel (7c3), a second driven wheel (7c4), a second synchronous belt (7c5) and a swing arm (7c6); the upper end of the rotating shaft (7c1) is connected to the lifting assembly (7b); the rotating shaft (7c1) is rotatably connected to the first mounting frame; the second motor (7c2) is vertically mounted on the lower part of the first mounting frame (7a); the second driving wheel (7c3) is sleeved on the output shaft of the second motor (7c2); the second driven wheel (7c4) is sleeved on the rotating shaft (7c1); the second driving wheel (7c3) and the second driven wheel (7c4) are connected and driven by the second synchronous belt (7c5); and the swing arm (7c6) is fixedly connected to the lower end of the rotating shaft (7c1).

7. A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The vehicle frame (2) is provided with a second mounting frame (9), the upper end of the second mounting frame (9) is provided with a slide rail (10), the slide rail (10) is located above the vehicle bucket (3), the negative pressure generating mechanism (4) is slidably connected to the slide rail (10) via a slider (11), and the conveying pipeline (5) is a retractable PU polyurethane tube having both flexibility and rigidity.

8. A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device according to claim 7, characterized in that: A stop handle (12) is provided on the side of the slider (11), and the stop handle (12) passes through the side wall of the slider (11) and rests on the slide rail (10) to fix the position of the slider (11).

9. A fully automatic broccoli harvesting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: There are two sets of negative pressure generating mechanisms (4), which are arranged in parallel on the left and right halves above the truck bed (3); the truck bed (3) is a split structure formed by splicing a plurality of storage boxes, or the truck bed (3) is an integrated structure.

10. A method for harvesting broccoli using the fully automatic broccoli harvesting device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: (1) Drive the broccoli fully automatic harvesting device into the broccoli planting field and align the front end of the frame with the broccoli planting area; (2) The machine vision mechanism at the front end of the truck bed is used to identify the broccoli, determine its maturity, and locate the coordinates of the mature broccoli that meets the picking requirements; (3) The positioned coordinates are sent to the control system. The control system controls the wheel mechanism to move the frame to the vicinity of the target mature broccoli according to the coordinate output control instructions, and at the same time controls the swing component of the swing cutting mechanism to move the hoop to the top of the mature broccoli; the distance sensor determines the distance value between the broccoli head and the distance sensor, and controls the lifting component of the swing cutting mechanism to move down to a specified height through the control system again, so that the hoop covers the broccoli head and breaks the petioles of the leaves around the head, exposing the stem of the head, and the cylinder quickly controls the cutter to cut the broccoli stem; (4) The negative pressure generating mechanism is started, and the broccoli is sucked from the feeding section into the conveying pipeline under the action of the negative pressure. When the broccoli reaches the baffle at the rear end of the pressure gradient forming section, it enters the discharging section under the combined action of the pressure gradient force and the guidance of the baffle (5d). Then, the negative pressure generating mechanism is closed, so that the broccoli breaks through the obstruction of the cover plate at the bottom of the discharging section under the action of gravity and falls into the bucket, completing the entire harvesting process; (5) The broccoli is identified and located again through the machine vision mechanism, and another broccoli plant is harvested.

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