A seed replenishment device

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of agricultural equipment, and relates to a seed supplementing device, which comprises a movable chassis capable of moving by itself, a storage tank, a seed lifting mechanism, a flexible flow channel, a mechanical arm and a seed adding mechanism arranged on the movable chassis. The storage tank is used for storing seeds to be supplemented. The seed lifting mechanism comprises a vertical auger and a high-position energy storage tank arranged at the top of the auger, and the bottom of the auger is connected with the storage tank. One end of the flexible flow channel is communicated with the high-position energy storage tank, and the other end is fixed at the tail end of the mechanical arm. The seed adding mechanism is detachably arranged on the movable chassis, the mechanical arm can grab the seed adding mechanism and fix the seed adding mechanism on the seed bin of a seeding machine, and the seed adding mechanism comprises a transfer tank and a plurality of guide pipes arranged below the transfer tank. The transfer tank is used for receiving the seeds flowing out through the flexible flow channel, and the plurality of guide pipes are in one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of small seed bins of the seed bin and are used for uniformly adding seeds into the small seed bins. The application can realize automatic seed supplementing of the seeding machine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of agricultural equipment technology, specifically a seed supply device. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, the research and application of unmanned equipment in smart farms have formed a relatively mature technological system in core production processes such as tillage, sowing, fertilization, irrigation, and harvesting. However, to achieve unmanned closed-loop operation of the entire agricultural production process, a technological breakthrough in the key link of automatic seed addition in the seed bin is indispensable.

[0003] Current automated seed replenishment devices generally suffer from four major pain points: First, their replenishment efficiency is low, making it difficult to meet the fast-paced demands of large-scale planting. Second, their structural design is flawed; the commonly used integrated seed replenishment device design results in excessively long arms, directly causing low end-point positioning accuracy and further exacerbating the replenishment efficiency problem. Third, insufficient seed uniformity easily leads to uneven seed distribution, affecting subsequent sowing quality. Fourth, their equipment adaptability is limited; individual devices are often incompatible with seed bins of different specifications, greatly limiting the equipment's versatility. This adaptability deficiency not only increases the difficulty of equipment selection but also indirectly drives up the overall investment cost of smart farms, becoming a significant bottleneck restricting the implementation of fully automated processes. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a seed supply device that can solve the technical problems of low efficiency, low addition accuracy, poor addition uniformity, and poor versatility of existing seed supply devices.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution.

[0006] A seed supply device includes a self-moving chassis, on which are mounted a storage tank, a seed lifting mechanism, a flexible flow channel, a robotic arm, and a seed dispensing mechanism.

[0007] The storage box is used to store seeds that are yet to be replenished.

[0008] The seed lifting mechanism includes a vertically arranged auger and a high-level energy storage box located at the top of the auger. The bottom of the auger is connected to the storage box to lift the seeds in the storage box to the high-level energy storage box.

[0009] One end of the flexible flow channel is connected to the high-level energy storage tank, and the other end is fixed to the end of the robotic arm, which is used to guide the exit position of the flexible flow channel using the robotic arm.

[0010] The seed-adding mechanism is detachably mounted on the moving chassis. The robotic arm can grab the seed-adding mechanism and fix it on the seed bin of the seeder. The seed-adding mechanism includes a transfer box and multiple guide tubes located under the transfer box. The transfer box is used to receive the seeds flowing out through the flexible flow channel. The multiple guide tubes correspond one-to-one with multiple small-interval seed bins in the seed bin and are used to evenly add seeds to each small-interval seed bin.

[0011] Furthermore, the robotic arm is equipped with a box-grabbing magnetic chuck, and the transfer box is equipped with a counter-cooperation mechanism that can cooperate with the box-grabbing magnetic chuck. The robotic arm can grasp the seed-adding mechanism through the cooperation of the box-grabbing magnetic chuck and the counter-cooperation mechanism.

[0012] Furthermore, the robotic arm is equipped with a precision positioning camera to accurately identify the position of the opposing cooperating mechanism, thereby enabling the grasping of the seed-adding mechanism.

[0013] Furthermore, the end of the guide tube is provided with a uniform seeding structure, which has multiple outlets to ensure that the seeds are discharged evenly in multiple directions when discharged through the uniform seeding structure.

[0014] Furthermore, a valve is provided at the end of the flexible flow channel on one side of the robotic arm, and the opening and closing of the flexible flow channel can be controlled by controlling the opening and closing of the valve.

[0015] Furthermore, the motion chassis is equipped with a global positioning system, which is a global positioning camera or radar, used to guide the resupply device from the hangar to the work machine that needs to be resown, so that it can reach the position where seed resupply can be achieved by relying on the range of motion of the robotic arm.

[0016] Furthermore, a support is provided on the motion chassis, and the seeding mechanism can be detachably fixed on the support for waiting for the robotic arm to grasp it.

[0017] Furthermore, the support frame is equipped with multiple seed-adding mechanisms of different specifications to adapt to seed bins with different structures.

[0018] By adopting the above technical solution, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] 1. This solution uses multiple guide tubes of the seed-adding mechanism to simultaneously add seeds to multiple small-interval seed bins in the seed bin. When a small-interval seed bin is full, the outlet of the guide tube is blocked, and the addition of seeds to that small-interval seed bin stops until all small-interval seed bins are full. It is not affected by the uneven distribution of remaining seeds in the original small-interval seed bins, thus achieving adaptive and uniform addition.

[0020] 2. This solution, by setting up multiple seed-adding mechanisms of different specifications, can be simultaneously applied to multiple seeders with different seed box structures. By identifying different seed boxes, the robotic arm grabs the corresponding seed-adding mechanism to replenish the seeds, realizing multi-purpose use of one machine, improving the utilization rate and adaptability of the equipment, and reducing the cost of the replenishment device.

[0021] 3. This solution uses a uniform seeding structure at the end of the seeding mechanism guide tube to ensure that the seeds are evenly distributed when they fall into the small-interval seed bins, avoiding the unevenness caused by a single outlet (top conical bulge).

[0022] 4. This solution guides the seeds in the high-level energy storage box to the transfer box of the seeding mechanism through a flexible flow channel, effectively breaking the constraints of the rigid structure on the movement space of the robotic arm and greatly reducing its spatial limitations and positioning errors during movement.

[0023] 5. This solution achieves automatic operation by configuring a self-propelled chassis and high-precision positioning, which greatly improves work efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the seed-adding mechanism in this invention.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the uniform seeding structure in this invention.

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the magnetic chuck for grabbing boxes in this invention.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the motion chassis in this invention.

[0029] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the seed storage chamber in this invention.

[0030] Figure descriptions: 1. Motion chassis; 11. Global positioning system; 12. Support frame; 2. Storage tank; 31. Screwdriver; 32. High-level energy storage tank; 4. Flexible flow channel; 5. Robotic arm; 51. Grab box magnetic chuck; 511. Assembly plate; 512. Magnetic chuck; 513. Positioning column; 6. Seeding mechanism; 61. Transfer box; 611. Opposing cooperation mechanism; 62. Guide tube; 621. Uniform seeding structure; 7. Seed bin; 71. Small-interval seed bin. Detailed Implementation

[0031] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the features and performance of a seed supply device of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0032] Example 1

[0033] Please see the appendix Figures 1-6 A seed supply device includes a self-moving chassis 1, on which a storage box 2, a seed lifting mechanism, a flexible flow channel 4, a robotic arm 5, and a seed adding mechanism 6 are provided.

[0034] The motion chassis 1 is equipped with a global positioning system 11, which is a global positioning camera or radar. It is used to guide the resupply device from the hangar to the work implement that needs reseeding, so that it can reach a position where seed resupply can be achieved within the range of motion of the robotic arm. The storage tank 2 is used to store the seeds to be resupplied.

[0035] The seed lifting mechanism includes a vertically arranged auger 31 and a high-level energy storage box 32 located on top of the auger 31. The bottom of the auger 31 is connected to the storage box 2 to lift the seeds in the storage box 2 into the high-level energy storage box 32.

[0036] One end of the flexible flow channel 4 is connected to the high-level energy storage tank 32, and the other end is fixed to the end of the robotic arm 5, which is used to guide the outlet position of the flexible flow channel 4 using the robotic arm 5. A valve is provided at the end of the flexible flow channel 4 on one side of the robotic arm 5, and the opening and closing of the flexible flow channel 4 can be controlled by controlling the opening and closing of the valve.

[0037] The seed-adding mechanism 6 is detachably mounted on the motion chassis 1. The robotic arm 5 can grasp the seed-adding mechanism 6 and fix it onto the seed bin 7 of the seeder. The seed-adding mechanism 6 includes a transfer box 61 and multiple guide tubes 62 located below the transfer box 61. The transfer box 61 is used to receive seeds flowing out through the flexible flow channel 4. The multiple guide tubes 62 correspond one-to-one with multiple small-interval seed bins 71 of the seed bin 7, and are used to evenly add seeds to each small-interval seed bin 71. The number of guide tubes 62 is specifically set according to the number of small-interval seed bins 71. In this embodiment, four guide tubes 62 are used as an example for explanation.

[0038] Specifically, the robotic arm 5 is equipped with a box-grabbing magnetic chuck 51, and the transfer box 61 is equipped with a counter-cooperation mechanism 611 that can cooperate with the box-grabbing magnetic chuck 51. The robotic arm 5 grasps the seed-adding mechanism 6 through the cooperation of the box-grabbing magnetic chuck 51 and the counter-cooperation mechanism 611. The robotic arm 5 is also equipped with a precision positioning camera to accurately identify the position of the counter-cooperation mechanism 611, thereby realizing the grasping of the seed-adding mechanism 6.

[0039] A support frame 12 is mounted on the motion chassis 1, and the seed-adding mechanism 6 is detachably fixed to the support frame 12 for waiting for the robotic arm 5 to grasp it. The support frame 12 is equipped with multiple seed-adding mechanisms 6 of different specifications to adapt to seed bins 7 with different structures.

[0040] The end of the guide tube 62 is provided with a uniform seeding structure 621, which has multiple outlets to ensure that the seeds are evenly discharged in multiple directions when discharged through the uniform seeding structure 621. The number of outlets of the uniform seeding structure 621 is set according to the actual situation. Preferably, in this embodiment, the uniform seeding structure 621 has 5 outlets.

[0041] In specific implementation, a seed supply device includes a supply device design combining an auger 31, a flexible flow channel 4 and a robotic arm 5, an adaptive uniformity seed addition mechanism 6, and a seed bin 7 identification and positioning method.

[0042] A seed supply device such as Figure 1 As shown, the system includes a motion chassis 1, a storage tank 2 located on the motion chassis 1, an auger 31 connected at its lower end to the storage tank 2, a high-level energy storage tank 32 located at the upper end of the auger 31, a flexible flow channel 4 connected to the feed end of the high-level energy storage tank 32, the other end of the flexible flow channel 4 located at the end of the robotic arm 5 and equipped with a valve, a grabbing magnetic chuck 51 located below the valve at the end of the robotic arm 5, the robotic arm 5 located on the front side of the motion chassis 1, a precision positioning camera located on the upper side of the end of the robotic arm 5, a global positioning system 11 located on the upper right front side of the motion chassis 1, a seeding mechanism 6 located on a bracket 12 on the upper right front side of the motion chassis 1, and a uniform seeding structure 621 at the end of the guide tube 62 of the seeding mechanism 6.

[0043] 6 additional seeding agencies Figure 2 As shown. The front of the transfer box 61 is provided with a counter-cooperation mechanism 611 for cooperating with the magnetic chuck 51 on the robotic arm 5, and the lower side of the transfer box 61 has multiple guide tubes 62.

[0044] Uniform seeding structure 621 Figure 3 As shown, the uniform seeding structure 621 has multiple outlets to ensure that the seeds are discharged evenly in multiple directions when discharged through the uniform seeding structure 621.

[0045] The box-grabbing magnetic chuck 51 includes an assembly plate 511, a magnetic chuck 512, and a positioning post 513. The assembly plate 511 is engaged with the end of the robotic arm 5. The magnetic chuck 512 is attached to the assembly plate 511, and the positioning post 513 is on the magnetic chuck 512.

[0046] The motion chassis 1 is a pure electric tracked chassis or a wheeled chassis.

[0047] The auger 31 provides gravitational potential energy for the seeds to flow in the flexible flow channel 4, eliminating the problem of the flexible flow channel 4's dependence on power.

[0048] The seed-adding mechanism 6 can adapt to seed bins 7 of different sizes by changing the distance, angle and diameter of multiple guide tubes 62, thus achieving multiple uses in one machine. In addition, it can also control the replenishment range and replenishment speed.

[0049] The uniform seeding structure 621 can improve the fine uniformity of reseeding in small areas.

[0050] The bracket 12 can hold seed-adding mechanisms 6 of different specifications. Depending on the type of seed bin 7 required for the current task, different specifications of seed-adding mechanisms 6 can be placed on the bracket 12 to achieve multiple uses of one machine, improve the utilization rate and adaptability of the equipment, and reduce costs.

[0051] In actual operation, when the replenishment device receives a replenishment signal, it navigates to the location of the seed bin 7 to be replenished through the global positioning system 11, identifies the type of seed bin 7 through the vision system, and then selects the matching seeding mechanism 6. The main body of the robotic arm 5 drives the precision positioning camera to complete the positioning of the seed bin 7 and stores the calculated position information for later use.

[0052] Next, the main body of the robotic arm 5 identifies the positioning hole of the opposing cooperation mechanism 611 through visual guidance. Based on the positioning result, the robotic arm 5 drives the magnetic suction cup 51 to adsorb and grab the seed-adding mechanism 6. Then, the robotic arm 5 drives the seed-adding mechanism 6 to be placed on the seed bin 7. The multiple guide tubes 62 of the seed-adding mechanism 6 correspond one-to-one with the multiple small-interval seed bins 71 of the seed bin 7.

[0053] Open the valve at the end of the flexible flow channel 4 and start the auger 31. Seeds flow from the storage box 2 through the auger 31 and the high-level energy storage box 32 in sequence, and then flow out from the valve at the end of the flexible flow channel 4 into the transfer box 61 of the seed feeding mechanism 6. After passing through the guide tube 62 and the uniform seed feeding structure 621, the seeds finally reach the small-interval seed bin 71.

[0054] When the seed level in a small-interval seed chamber 71 reaches the same height as the corresponding uniform seeding structure 621, the guide tube 62 is blocked by seeds, and that small-interval seed chamber 71 will not continue to be seeded. Small-interval seed chambers 71 that are not full will continue to be seeded. When the lower seed outlets of all guide tubes 62 are blocked, it means that all small-interval seed chambers 71 are full.

[0055] At this point, the seeds in transfer box 61 will stop falling. The seeding process stops when the seed height in transfer box 61 exceeds a certain limit, the auger 31 stops, and the valve at the end of the flexible flow channel 4 is closed. Then, the robotic arm 5 drives the seeding mechanism 6 to rise vertically a certain distance. After all the seeds remaining in transfer box 61 fall into seed bin 7, the seeding mechanism 6 is placed in the corresponding position on the support 12. Once placed, the magnetic chuck 51 is released, and the robotic arm 5 returns to its original position.

[0056] Finally, the refilling device returns to the waiting area, thus completing the entire automatic reseeding process. This not only meets the reseeding needs of different seeders, but also allows one device to cover the reseeding of the entire farm, greatly reducing costs. At the same time, thanks to the adaptive uniform seeding mechanism 6, real-time monitoring is not required, achieving efficient and accurate uniform reseeding.

[0057] Example 2

[0058] In Embodiment 1, by reasonably arranging the position of the magnetic chuck 51 on the robotic arm, the position of the outlet of the flexible flow channel 4, and the position of the opposing cooperation mechanism 611 on the transfer box 61, when the robotic arm 5 grabs the seed-adding mechanism 6 and places it on the seed bin 7, the transfer box 61 is located below the outlet of the flexible flow channel 4, and the seeds flowing out of the flexible flow channel 4 can fall directly into the transfer box 61.

[0059] If the above design cannot be realized due to spatial layout or other reasons, such as in this embodiment, when the robotic arm 5 grabs the seed-adding mechanism 6 and places it on the seed bin 7, the seeds flowing out from the flexible flow channel 4 cannot fall directly into the transfer box 61. Then, after the robotic arm 5 places the seed-adding mechanism 6 on the seed bin 7, it releases the magnetic suction cup 51, positions the transfer box 61 through the vision system, aligns the outlet of the flexible flow channel 4 with the transfer box 61, and begins adding seeds.

[0060] When the seed height in the transfer box 61 exceeds a certain limit, the seeding process stops, the auger 31 stops, and the valve at the end of the flexible flow channel 4 is closed. The robotic arm 5 then identifies and grabs the seeding mechanism 6 again, completing the retrieval.

[0061] The core innovation of this invention lies in the adoption of a rigid auger 31-flexible flow channel 4 system, which effectively breaks the constraints of rigid structures on the movement space of the robotic arm 5. The flexible flow channel 4 can flexibly adjust its posture with the movement of the robotic arm 5, significantly reducing the spatial limitations of the robotic arm 5 during movement, reducing positioning errors caused by structural rigidity, and significantly improving the flexibility and accuracy of replenishment operations. This fundamentally solves the structural design defects of traditional devices, such as excessively long arms and low positioning accuracy, thereby improving replenishment accuracy and efficiency.

[0062] To achieve uniform seed supply and intelligent control, the device is equipped with an adaptive uniform seeding mechanism 6. This mechanism 6 can achieve uniform seed supply independently without the need for a robotic arm. After seeding is complete, it only needs to check if there are seeds in the transfer box 61 at higher positions, ensuring uniformity and efficiency. The adoption of a grab-gun-multi-specification adaptive uniform device model allows a single device to quickly, accurately, and adaptively supply seeds to the seed bins 7 of various seeders.

[0063] This invention also proposes a precise method for identifying and locating seed bins 7. By integrating visual recognition technology and lidar positioning technology, the robotic arm 5 automatically adjusts its working trajectory and posture based on the identification and positioning results, enabling the end of the flexible flow channel 4 to precisely connect with the feeding ports of seed bins 71 with different small intervals, achieving compatible replenishment of seed bins of various sizes by a single device. This method supports fully automated control of unmanned seed replenishment operations, significantly improves the equipment's scenario generalization ability, reduces the equipment selection cost for smart farms, and provides key technical support for the full-process unmanned implementation.

[0064] In summary, this invention comprehensively addresses the four major pain points of existing automatic seed supply devices through the synergistic innovation of a rigid-flexible combined transmission channel, an adaptive uniform seed replenishment mechanism, and a precise identification and positioning method. It achieves high efficiency, precision, uniformity, and universality in seed supply, providing a reliable technical solution for unmanned seed supply in large-scale smart agriculture.

[0065] It should be noted that the parts not described in detail in this solution are all prior art. The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A seed supply device, comprising a self-moving chassis (1), characterized in that: The motion chassis (1) is equipped with a storage box (2), a seed lifting mechanism, a flexible flow channel (4), a robotic arm (5), and a seed feeding mechanism (6). The storage box (2) is used to store seeds to be replenished. The seed lifting mechanism includes a vertically arranged auger (31) and a high-level energy storage box (32) located at the top of the auger (31). The bottom of the auger (31) is connected to the storage box (2) to lift the seeds in the storage box (2) into the high-level energy storage box (32). One end of the flexible flow channel (4) is connected to the high-level energy storage tank (32), and the other end is fixed to the end of the robotic arm (5), which is used to guide the outlet position of the flexible flow channel (4) by the robotic arm (5). The seed-adding mechanism (6) is detachably mounted on the motion chassis (1). The robotic arm (5) can grab the seed-adding mechanism (6) and fix it on the seed bin (7) of the seeder. The seed-adding mechanism (6) includes a transfer box (61) and multiple guide tubes (62) located under the transfer box (61). The transfer box (61) is used to receive the seeds flowing out through the flexible flow channel (4). The multiple guide tubes (62) correspond one-to-one with the multiple small-interval seed bins (71) of the seed bin (7) and are used to evenly add seeds to each small-interval seed bin (71).

2. The seed supply device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The robotic arm (5) is equipped with a box-grabbing magnetic chuck, and the transfer box (61) is equipped with a counter-cooperation mechanism (611) that can cooperate with the box-grabbing magnetic chuck. The robotic arm (5) grasps the seed-adding mechanism (6) through the cooperation of the box-grabbing magnetic chuck and the counter-cooperation mechanism (611).

3. The seed supply device as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The robotic arm (5) is also equipped with a precision positioning camera, which is used to accurately identify the position of the opposing cooperation mechanism (611), thereby enabling the grasping of the seed-adding mechanism (6).

4. The seed supply device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The end of the guide tube (62) is provided with a uniform seeding structure (621), which has multiple outlets to ensure that the seeds can be discharged evenly in multiple directions when discharged through the uniform seeding structure (621).

5. The seed supply device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible flow channel (4) is equipped with a valve at the end of one side of the robotic arm (5). The opening and closing of the flexible flow channel (4) can be controlled by controlling the opening and closing of the valve.

6. The seed supply device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: A global positioning system (11) is provided on the sports chassis (1). The global positioning system (11) is a global positioning camera or radar used to guide the supply device from the hangar to the work equipment that needs to be replanted.

7. The seed supply device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: A support (12) is provided on the motion chassis (1), and the seeding mechanism (6) is detachably fixed on the support (12) for waiting for the robotic arm (5) to grab.

8. A seed supply device as described in claim 7, characterized in that: The support (12) is equipped with multiple seed-adding mechanisms (6) of different specifications to adapt to seed bins (7) of different structures.

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