Climbing type branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels

Abstract

The invention discloses a climbing type branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels, and relates to the technical field of forestry machinery and intelligent robots, and the climbing type branch pruning robot specifically comprises a rotating platform, a climbing mechanism, a mechanical arm, a pruning mechanism, a clamping mechanism, a crushing mechanism and a multi-mode sensing module. The rotating platform drives a gear and an annular rack to rotate through a stepping motor so as to drive mechanisms such as a mechanical arm to move around a trunk in the circumferential direction; the climbing mechanism adopts a Mecanum wheel form, and realizes omni-directional movement of the surface of a trunk through differential control so as to complete work such as climbing and obstacle avoidance; the pruning mechanism is used for pruning branches by utilizing a clamp shear, and the branches are conveyed into the crushing box through a conveying belt and cleaned by the crushing mechanism; the multi-mode sensing module can identify obstacles and branches to be trimmed; according to the invention, through the integration of omni-directional movement and intelligent sensing technologies, the technical problems of omni-directional obstacle avoidance, accurate branch shearing, synchronous chipping processing and the like of existing forestry machinery are effectively solved, and automatic pruning of high-altitude branches is facilitated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical fields of forestry machinery and intelligent robots, and particularly relates to a climbing type tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels, which is applicable to automatic pruning operations of high-altitude tree branches in complex forest areas. Background Art

[0002] In forest tree management and maintenance, tree shaping and pruning can not only promote tree growth, but also reduce the absorption of sunlight and nutrients by aging branches, and enhance the photosynthesis of forest trees. However, traditional tree pruning equipment is relatively large and is not suitable for walking and pruning operations in dense forest areas. Manual pruning often requires climbing or the use of an aerial work platform, which is inefficient and dangerous.

[0003] Existing forest tree management equipment mostly uses methods such as hugging and clamping for climbing operations (such as CN114261457A, CN119498129A, and CN119744672A), but its overall size is too large and the structure is complex, which is not conducive to climbing operations in complex obstacle scenarios. In addition, existing climbing type pruning equipment generally scatters the trimmed residual branches on the ground, relying on manual picking up and transporting for the next step of cleaning. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a forest tree pruning equipment with high climbing efficiency, strong adaptability, and capable of realizing precise cutting of tree branches and synchronous processing of debris. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The main object of the present invention is to propose a climbing type tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels, aiming to effectively solve technical problems such as poor adaptability of existing tree branch pruning equipment to tree trunks, the fault between intelligent perception and execution, and low utilization rate of debris resources.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions:

[0006] A climbing type tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels, comprising a rotating platform, a climbing mechanism, a robotic arm, a pruning mechanism, a clamping mechanism, a crushing mechanism, and a multi-modal perception module;

[0007] The rotating platform includes a robot platform, a stepping motor, a gear, a ring rack, and guide wheels;

[0008] The guide wheels are circumferentially arranged above the robot platform for guiding the ring rack. The stepping motor is placed below the robot platform and drives the gear and the ring rack to rotate, for the circumferential rotation of components such as the robotic arm, the pruning mechanism, and the multi-modal perception module around the tree trunk;

[0009] Optionally, the number of guide wheels is multiple;

[0010] The robotic arm is fixed on the ring rack, the pruning mechanism is arranged on the robotic arm, and the crushing mechanism is arranged on the collection box of the pruning mechanism;

[0011] The clamping mechanism includes a hydraulic cylinder, a telescopic bracket, a clamping wheel, and a square shaft;

[0012] The clamping mechanism is fixed under the robot platform and is used to clamp the tree trunk when climbing and pruning branches to adapt to tree trunks of different sizes;

[0013] Optionally, the number of clamping wheels is 4 and the number of square shafts is 2;

[0014] The climbing mechanism includes Mecanum wheels, a climbing motor, brackets, shock absorbers, and supports;

[0015] Optionally, the Mecanum wheels are divided into left-handed wheels and right-handed wheels, with two of each type. Their rotation directions are arranged alternately and are disposed on both sides of the robot platform;

[0016] The entire climbing mechanism is fixed to the bottom of the robot platform by means of supports with screws. Bracket A and bracket B are fixed to the support by shafts and are connected by shock absorbers;

[0017] The Mecanum wheels are fixed on the shaft of the climbing motor, and the climbing motor is fixed to the bracket with screws;

[0018] The pruning mechanism includes a pruning platform, a shaft, a small pulley, a conveyor belt, a drive motor, a conveying motor, a pin shaft, a large pulley, a small gear, a large gear, a pruning pulley A, a timing belt, a pruning pulley B, a linear guide rail, a stationary blade, a moving blade, a pruning shaft, a spur gear, a motor base, and a pruning motor;

[0019] The small pulley is fixed to the front end of the pruning platform by a shaft. The large pulley is fixed to the end of the pruning platform by a pin shaft and is connected by a conveyor belt. The large pulley and the small gear are fixed to the upper and lower sides of the pruning platform by the same pin shaft. The small gear is engaged with the large gear through gears. The large gear is fixed to the conveying motor, and the conveying motor is fixed to the pruning platform;

[0020] Optionally, the conveyor belts and other related transmission components on both sides of the pruning platform are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the pruning platform. The crushing box is arranged at the tail of the pruning platform. The conveyor belt conveys the pruned branches into the crushing box for branch crushing work;

[0021] The pruning pulley A is fixed to the lower part of the conveying platform by a pin shaft. The pruning pulley B is fixed to the motor shaft of the drive motor and is connected to the pruning pulley A by a timing belt;

[0022] The linear guide rail is fixed to the lower part of the conveying platform with screws. Its axis is parallel to the timing belt. The side surface of the slider above the linear guide rail is fixed to the timing belt with screws, and the upper surface of the slider is fixed to the motor base with screws;

[0023] The trimming motor is fixed on the motor base, the gear is fixed on the motor shaft of the trimming motor and meshes with the bevel gear section at the end of the moving blade, and the bracket at the end of the static blade is fixed on the motor base;

[0024] The static blade and the moving blade are fixed by a shear shaft. The rotation of the gear drives the rotation of the moving blade, and the cooperation between the cutting edge of the moving blade and the cutting edge of the static blade realizes the trimming action;

[0025] The crushing mechanism includes a crushing motor, a crushing box and blades;

[0026] The crushing box is arranged below the trimming platform. The crushing motor is fixed at the bottom of the crushing box, and the blades are fixed on the pin shaft of the crushing motor. After the trimmed branches are conveyed to the crushing box by the conveyor belt, the crushing motor drives the blades to rotate to realize the crushing and collection of the branches;

[0027] The multi-modal perception module includes sensing components such as a vision camera and a lidar, which are used to identify climbing obstacles and target branches to be trimmed;

[0028] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: (1) For the climbing type tree branch trimming robot of the present invention, by controlling the rotation speed and rotation direction of the climbing motor driving the Mecanum wheels, the tilt angle and omnidirectional movement of the robot platform can be controlled, and in cooperation with the multi-modal perception module, the clamping mechanism, etc., the trimming robot can realize autonomous obstacle avoidance and climbing operations under complex obstacle working conditions; (2) During the tree branch trimming process, through the coordinated actions of the trimming mechanism, the conveyor belt and the crushing mechanism, etc., the cut branches can be conveyed into the crushing box, crushed and recycled, reducing the workload of manual cleaning and improving the automation efficiency of the whole process. Description of the Drawings

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for description in the embodiments.

[0030] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a climbing type tree branch trimming robot;

[0031] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the rotating platform and the clamping mechanism;

[0032] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the climbing mechanism.

[0033] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the trimming and crushing mechanism

[0034] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the trimming mechanism in the upward viewing direction

[0035] In the figure, 1 is a rotating platform, 2 is a climbing mechanism, 3 is a multi-modal perception module, 4 is a pruning mechanism, 5 is a crushing mechanism, 6 is a robotic arm, 7 is a clamping mechanism, 1-1 is a robot platform, 1-2 is an annular rack, 1-3 is a guide wheel, 1-4 is a rotating gear, 1-5 is a stepper motor, 2-1 is a Mecanum wheel (right-handed wheel), 2-2 is a support A, 2-3 is a climbing motor A, 2-4 is a shock absorber, 2-5 is a support, 2-6 is a climbing motor B, 2-7 is a support B, 2-8 is a Mecanum wheel (left-handed wheel), 4-1 is a shaft, 4-2 is a small pulley, 4-3 is a conveyor belt, 4-4 is a driving motor, 4-5 is a conveying motor, 4-6 is a pin shaft, 4-7 is a large pulley, 4-8 is a small gear, 4-9 is a large gear, 4-10 is a pruning pulley A, 4-11 is a timing belt, 4-12 is a pruning pulley B, 4-13 is a linear guide rail, 4-14 is a stationary blade, 4-15 is a moving blade, 4-16 is a pruning shaft, 4-17 is a spur gear, 4-18 is a motor base, 4-19 is a pruning motor, 4-20 is a pruning platform, 5-1 is a crushing motor, 5-2 is a crushing box, 5-3 is a blade, 7-1 is a hydraulic cylinder, 7-2 is a telescopic support, 7-3 is a clamping wheel, 7-4 is a square shaft. Detailed implementation manners

[0036] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0037] The embodiment of the present invention provides a climbing type tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels. Refer to Figures 1 to 3 . Figure 1 The structure diagram of the climbing type tree branch pruning robot is shown. A multi-modal perception module 3 and a robotic arm 6 are installed on the rotating platform 1. The climbing mechanism 2 and the clamping mechanism 7 are installed below the rotating platform 1. The pruning mechanism 4 is installed at the end of the robotic arm 6, and the crushing mechanism 5 is installed at the tail of the pruning mechanism 4.

[0038] Figure 2 The structure diagram of the rotating platform and the clamping mechanism is shown. A plurality of guide wheels 1-3 are arranged in the circumferential direction on the robot platform 1-1, and the annular rack 1-2 is fixed by using the groove in the middle of the guide wheels 1-3. The gear 1-4 is fixed on the motor shaft of the stepper motor 1-5 and meshes with the annular rack 1-2 through gears. The stepper motor 1-5 is installed on the lower surface of the robot platform. The hydraulic cylinder 7-1 is installed at the bottom of the robot platform. The telescopic support 7-2 is fixed on the telescopic rod of the hydraulic cylinder 7-1. Two square shafts 7-4 are installed at both ends of the telescopic support 7-2, and two clamping wheels 7-3 are installed at both ends of each square shaft 7-4.

[0039] Figure 3The figure shows a schematic diagram of the climbing mechanism. The whole climbing mechanism is fixed to the bottom of the robot platform 1-1 through the support 2-5. The Mecanum wheel (right-handed wheel) 2-1 is fixed to the motor shaft of the climbing motor A 2-3. The climbing motor A 2-3 is fixed to the support A 2-2 by screws. The Mecanum wheel (left-handed wheel) 2-8 is fixed to the motor shaft of the climbing motor B 2-6. The climbing motor B 2-6 is fixed to the support B 2-7 by screws. The other ends of the support A 2-2 and the support B 2-7 are fixed to the support 2-5 by shafts, and the two supports are connected by a shock absorber 2-4 in the middle. The rotation directions of the other group of Mecanum wheels are arranged staggered with those of this group of Mecanum wheels to ensure omnidirectional movement on the tree trunk during the climbing operation.

[0040] Figure 4 and Figure 5 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the pruning and crushing mechanism and its upward view. The small pulley 4-2 is fixed to the pruning platform 4-20 through the shaft 4-1 and is driven by the large pulley 4-7 through the conveyor belt 4-3. The large pulley 4-7 and the small gear 4-8 are fixed to the pruning platform 4-20 through the pin shaft 4-6. The small gear 4-8 meshes with the large gear 4-9. The large gear 4-9 is fixed to the motor shaft of the conveyor motor 4-5. The conveyor motor 4-5 is fixed to the conveyor platform 4-20. The above conveyor belt and its transmission device are both two sets and are symmetrically arranged on the conveyor platform 4-20. A driving motor 4-4 is also installed on the conveyor platform 4-20. The pruning pulley A 4-10 is fixed to the motor shaft of the driving motor 4-4. The pruning pulley A 4-10 is connected to the pruning pulley B 4-12 through the synchronous belt 4-11. The pruning pulley B 4-12 and the linear guide 4-13 are fixed to the bottom of the conveyor platform 4-20. The side surface of the slider of the linear guide 4-13 is fixed to the synchronous belt 4-11 by screws, and the upper surface of the slider is equipped with a motor seat 4-18. A pruning motor 4-19 is installed on the motor seat 4-18. The static blade 4-14 is fixed to the front end of the motor seat 4-18 by screws. The moving blade 4-15 is connected to the static blade 4-14 through the pruning shaft 4-16. The bevel gear at the tail of the moving blade 4-15 meshes with the spur gear 4-17. The spur gear 4-17 is fixed to the motor shaft of the pruning motor 4-19. The crushing box 5-2 is fixed to the tail of the pruning platform 4-20. The blade 5-3 is fixed to the motor shaft of the crushing motor 5-1. The crushing motor 5-1 is fixed to the bottom of the crushing box.

[0041] Refer to Figures 1 to 3, The working process of a climbing tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels of the present invention is as follows: During the climbing process of the pruning robot, the multi-modal perception module 3 identifies obstacles on the tree trunk and plans a path. The hydraulic cylinder 7-1 drives the clamping wheel 7-3 by controlling the telescopic bracket 7-2, and cooperates with the climbing mechanism 2 to clamp the tree trunk. By controlling the rotation directions and speeds of the climbing motors (2-3 and 2-6), the Mecanum wheel sets (2-1 and 2-8) can perform omnidirectional movement on the tree trunk; During the climbing process, components such as the clamping mechanism 7 and the shock absorber 2-4 can cooperate with the Mecanum wheels (2-1 and 2-8) and the clamping wheel 7-3 to adapt to small obstacles or size changes on the tree trunk surface.

[0042] When the multi-modal perception module 3 identifies an obstacle or a tree branch, it can control the rotation directions and speeds of the climbing motors (2-3 and 2-6), thereby controlling the Mecanum wheel sets (2-1 and 2-8) to change the tilt angle of the robot platform 1-1, and enabling the robot to use the notches on the robot platform 1-1 and the annular rack 1-2 to pass through the obstacle or the tree branch in various postures, so as to achieve autonomous obstacle avoidance and climbing operations under complex obstacle conditions.

[0043] When the multi-modal perception module 3 identifies the position to be pruned, the stepping motor 1-5 drives the gear 1-4 to drive the annular rack 1-2 to rotate around the tree trunk in the grooves of the guide wheels 1-3. At the same time, the annular rack 1-2 drives the robotic arm 6 to move to a suitable position for pruning;

[0044] After the robotic arm 6 drives the pruning mechanism 4 to the target position, the drive motor 4-4 drives the pruning pulley A 4-10 to rotate through belt drive, causing the synchronous belt 4-11 to drive the pruning pulley B 4-12 to rotate. At the same time, the synchronous belt 4-11 drives the slider on the linear guide rail to move back and forth, so that the motor base 4-18 and the clamping scissors as a whole move back and forth; When moving to the target position, the pruning motor 4-19 drives the spur gear 4-17 to rotate, and drives the moving blade 4-15 to rotate around the shear shaft 4-16 through gear meshing. When the cutting edges of the moving blade 4-15 and the static blade 4-14 coincide, the tree branch to be pruned can be cut off;

[0045] When the tree branch is cut off, the conveying motor 4-5 drives the large gear 4-9 to drive the small gear 4-8 to rotate. The small gear 4-8 drives the large pulley 4-7 to rotate through the pin shaft 4-6. Thus, the large pulley 4-7 drives the conveyor belt 4-3 and the small pulley 4-2 to rotate through belt drive; By using the opposite rotation of the conveyor belt 4-3, the pruned tree branches are conveyed into the crushing box 5-2, and the crushing motor 5-1 is driven to drive the blade 5-3 to rotate at high speed to achieve the crushing and collection of the tree branches.

[0046] The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims described above.

Claims

1. A climbing type tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels, characterized in that: It includes a rotating platform, a climbing mechanism, a robotic arm, a pruning mechanism, a clamping mechanism, a crushing mechanism, and a multi-modal sensing module. The base of the robotic arm is installed on the annular rack of the rotating platform. The clamping mechanism and the climbing mechanism are installed equidistantly in a circle at the bottom of the robot platform. The pruning mechanism is installed at the end of the robotic arm, and the crushing mechanism is arranged at the end of the pruning mechanism.

2. The climbing type tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels according to claim 1, wherein: The rotating platform consists of a robot platform, an annular rack, a gear, a stepper motor, and guide wheels. The gear is fixed on the stepper motor and meshes with the annular rack. The guide wheels are circumferentially arranged on the robot platform. The outer ring of the annular rack is installed in the groove of the guide wheels. By controlling the stepper motor to drive the gear to rotate, and using the meshing of the gear and the annular rack, the annular rack drives components such as the robotic arm to rotate circumferentially around the tree trunk.

3. The climbing type tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels according to claim 1, wherein: The clamping mechanism consists of a hydraulic cylinder, a telescopic bracket, and a tensioning wheel. The hydraulic cylinder is fixed under the robot platform, and a telescopic bracket is installed on its telescopic rod. A square shaft is installed at each end of the bracket, and two clamping wheels are installed at both ends of the square shaft. The hydraulic cylinder expands and contracts to adapt to the climbing operation of tree trunks of different sizes and prevent falling.

4. The climbing type tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The climbing mechanism mainly consists of Mecanum wheels (right-handed, left-handed), brackets, climbing motors, shock absorbers, supports, etc. The climbing mechanism is fixed to the bottom of the robot platform through supports. The Mecanum wheels are divided into left-handed and right-handed, with alternating rotation directions, and are arranged on both sides of the robot platform. The Mecanum wheels are fixed on the motor shafts of the climbing motors, and the climbing motors are fixed on the brackets. The brackets are connected by shock absorbers to adapt to small changes in the tree trunk size and overcome obstacles with small sizes on the tree trunk surface.

5. The climbing mechanism according to claim 4, wherein: By controlling the rotation speed and rotation direction of each Mecanum wheel, the climbing mechanism can adjust the tilt angle of the robot and control its omnidirectional movement to adapt to autonomous obstacle avoidance and climbing operations under complex obstacle conditions.

6. The climbing tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-modal sensing module includes sensing components such as a vision camera and a lidar, and is installed on the annular rack to identify obstacles, plan climbing paths, and identify and locate branches to be pruned.

7. A climbing tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pruning mechanism includes a pruning platform, a shaft, a small pulley, a conveyor belt, a drive motor, a conveying motor, a pin shaft, a large pulley, a small gear, a large gear, a pruning pulley A, a synchronous belt, a pruning pulley B, a linear guide rail, a stationary blade, a moving blade, a pruning shaft, a spur gear, a motor base, and a pruning motor.

8. The trimming mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that: The small pulley is fixed to the front end of the pruning platform through a shaft. The large pulley is fixed to the end of the pruning platform through a pin shaft and is connected by a conveyor belt. The large pulley and the small gear are fixed on the upper and lower sides of the pruning platform by the same pin shaft. The small gear is engaged with the large gear through gear meshing. The large gear is fixed on the conveying motor, and the conveying motor is fixed on the pruning platform. The conveyor belt and other related transmission parts are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the pruning platform.

9. The trimming mechanism according to claim 7, wherein: The described trimming pulley A is fixed below the conveying platform by a pin shaft. The described trimming pulley B is fixed on the motor shaft of the driving motor and is connected to the trimming pulley A by a synchronous belt. The linear guide rail is fixed below the conveying platform by screws, and its axis is parallel to the synchronous belt. The side surface of the slider above the linear guide rail is fixed to the synchronous belt by screws, and the upper surface of the slider is fixed to the motor base by screws. The trimming motor is fixed on the motor base, the gear is fixed on the motor shaft of the trimming motor, and meshes with the bevel gear section at the end of the moving blade. The bracket at the end of the stationary blade is fixed on the motor base.

10. The trimming mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that: The stationary blade and the moving blade are fixed by a cutting shaft. The rotation of the gear drives the rotation of the moving blade, and the cooperation between the cutting edge of the moving blade and the cutting edge of the stationary blade realizes the trimming action.

11. A climbing tree branch pruning robot based on Mecanum wheels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The described crushing mechanism includes a crushing box, a crushing motor and blades. The crushing box is arranged below the trimming platform. The crushing motor is fixed at the bottom of the crushing box, and the blades are fixed on the pin shaft of the crushing motor. The conveyor belt rotates and conveys the trimmed branches into the crushing box for crushing and collecting the branches.

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