Eggplant harvester

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of agricultural machinery, and particularly relates to an eggplant harvester which comprises a walking vehicle, a picking mechanism is arranged on the walking vehicle and comprises a picking end and a discharging end, the picking end is used for picking eggplants, and the discharging end is used for discharging the picked eggplants into a material frame. The picking end and the discharging end can be used for picking and discharging at the same time. By means of the picking mechanism, picking and unloading can be conducted at the picking end and the unloading end at the same time, and the picking efficiency can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of agricultural machinery, and in particular relates to an eggplant harvester. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid improvement of my country's agricultural production and the rapid development of its market economy, the demand and production of vegetables have been increasing rapidly each year, making my country the world's largest vegetable producer and consumer. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, my country's total vegetable production in 2023 was approximately 270 million tons, of which eggplant accounted for 48% of global production, ranking first in the world. Eggplant is one of the most consumed vegetables globally and one of China's most important agricultural exports. In the early 1990s, China's eggplant production surpassed that of the United States to become the world's largest eggplant producer.

[0003] Currently, eggplant harvesting in China primarily relies on manual labor. Harvesting eggplants is the most labor-intensive and time-consuming step in the production process. Some highly automated farms utilize robotic harvesting, which not only reduces labor intensity but also improves efficiency. Currently, the harvesting efficiency of vegetable harvesting robots, both domestically and internationally, is relatively low. This is primarily due to limitations in the structure, workflow, drive mechanism, and control system of the harvesting arm and end effector. Most vegetable harvesting robots utilize a single end effector. During the harvesting process, the simultaneous movement of the arm and end effector is required to harvest and retrieve each fruit. This results in a long harvesting cycle for each fruit and low efficiency, severely hindering the practical application of fruit harvesting robots. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an eggplant harvester to improve the picking efficiency in response to the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides an eggplant harvester, including a traveling vehicle, on which a picking mechanism is provided, the picking mechanism including a picking end and a unloading end, the picking end being used to pick the eggplants, and the unloading end being used to unload the picked eggplants into a material frame, the picking end and the unloading end being capable of picking and unloading respectively at the same time.

[0006] In this technical solution, the picking mechanism can realize picking and unloading at the picking end and the unloading end respectively at the same time, which can improve the picking efficiency.

[0007] Furthermore, the picking mechanism includes: A cutting assembly, the cutting assembly being used to cut the eggplants at the picking end of the picking mechanism; A conveying component is used to convey eggplants. A clamping component is provided on the conveying component. The clamping component is used to clamp the eggplants. The clamping component can clamp the eggplants to be picked at the picking end and release the eggplants as the conveying component transfers the picked eggplants to the unloading end.

[0008] Furthermore, the transmission component includes: A conveying frame, wherein two rotary wheels are rotatably provided on the conveying frame, and the two rotary wheels are respectively located at the picking end and the unloading end; A conveying drive assembly, the conveying drive assembly being fixedly disposed on the conveying frame and configured to drive one of the rotary wheels to rotate circumferentially; A synchronous rotary belt, both ends of which are tensioned and engaged with two rotary wheels, and the clamping assembly is arranged on the synchronous rotary belt.

[0009] Furthermore, a plurality of clamping assemblies are arranged along the length direction of the synchronous rotary belt, and the clamping assemblies include a clamping plate, one end of which is fixed on the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt by a fastener. When the clamping plate is tangent to the rotating wheel, it is perpendicular to the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt, and when the clamping plate is positioned between the two rotating wheels, it is parallel to the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt.

[0010] In this technical solution, the clamping piece is parallel to the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt under normal circumstances. When the clamping piece moves with the synchronous rotary belt to the picking end and is tangent to the front end of the rotary wheel, the clamping piece on the synchronous rotary belt is perpendicular to the synchronous rotary belt, that is, there is space for accommodating eggplants between the synchronous rotation and the clamping piece, so that the eggplant stems can be clamped, and the cutting component cuts off the stems at the same time. As the synchronous rotary belt moves, the clamping piece clamps the picked eggplants and moves with the conveying synchronous rotary belt to the unloading end, and the clamping piece is again aligned with the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt. The synchronous rotating belt opens again and the eggplants fall into the material frame. Multiple clamping pieces are installed on the synchronous rotating belt. When the synchronous rotating belt moves one circle, multiple eggplants can be clamped and harvested at the same time, which greatly improves the picking efficiency. The meshing effect of the synchronous rotating belt is cleverly utilized, and multiple clamping components are installed on the synchronous rotating belt to realize the clamping and transportation of eggplant stalks. The process has been expanded from one picking, one transportation and one harvesting to multiple picking, multiple transportation and multiple harvesting, which greatly improves the picking efficiency. The clamping and releasing actions do not require additional power sources, which saves energy.

[0011] Furthermore, the cutting assembly is fixedly arranged on the conveying frame, and the cutting assembly includes a cutting frame, and the cutting frame is provided with: A cutting drive assembly, wherein the cutting drive assembly is fixedly arranged on the cutting frame; The cutting disc is connected to the output end of the cutting drive assembly and can rotate in a circumferential direction.

[0012] Furthermore, the lower end of the conveying frame is rotatably arranged on the first rotating frame through a horizontal rotating shaft parallel to the ground. The first rotating frame is hinged with an electric push rod, and the output end of the electric push rod is hinged to the lower end of the conveying frame.

[0013] In this technical solution, the electric push rod can be pushed out to rotate the conveyor frame around the horizontal axis, thereby adjusting the angle and distance between the conveyor frame and the ground, so that the cutting component on the conveyor frame can cut off the eggplant stems at a better angle.

[0014] Furthermore, a rotary motor is fixedly provided on the traveling vehicle, and an output end of the rotary motor is connected to the first rotating frame.

[0015] In this technical solution, the rotation of the output end of the rotary motor can cause the first rotating rack to rotate, thereby causing the first rotating rack to rotate to adjust the horizontal position of the conveying rack, thereby facilitating the cutting component on the conveying rack to cut the eggplant stems from a better angle.

[0016] Furthermore, the traveling vehicle is also provided with a mobile power supply.

[0017] Furthermore, the walking vehicle is also provided with an identification module, which includes a camera, an analysis module and a controller. The camera is connected to the analysis module, and the analysis module is used to analyze the walking trajectory of the walking vehicle and the adjustment angle of the conveyor rack according to the size and color of the eggplants photographed by the camera.

[0018] Furthermore, the traveling vehicle includes traveling wheels and a traveling drive motor for driving the traveling wheels to rotate.

[0019] In this technical solution, in order to make the wheeled harvester suitable for more ground environments, the height between the ground and the vehicle body is designed to be 500mm, the front wheel servo motor is installed on the vehicle body fixed mounting plate, and the front wheel mounting position is installed to the vehicle body fixed mounting plate through a square mounting piece. The steering servo motor drives the front wheel to complete the steering through a chain drive. The upper part of the rear wheel universal wheel fixing frame makes the driving and steering motors installed at a higher position. This design reduces the corrosion of the motor caused by splashing of mud, water droplets, etc. when the wheeled robot travels on uneven ground.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. This picking mechanism can realize picking and unloading at the picking end and the unloading end respectively at the same time, which can improve the picking efficiency. It has a simple structure, low energy consumption, stable operation and easy control, flexible turning, strong obstacle crossing ability, and realizes barrier-free movement to meet the complex terrain requirements of the eggplant planting base.

[0021] 2. Multiple clamping pieces are installed on the synchronous rotary belt. When the synchronous rotary belt moves one circle, multiple eggplants can be clamped and harvested at the same time, which greatly improves the picking efficiency. The meshing effect of the synchronous rotary belt is cleverly utilized, and multiple clamping components are installed on the synchronous rotary belt to realize the clamping and transportation of eggplant stalks. The process has been expanded from one picking, one transportation and one harvesting to multiple picking, multiple transportation and multiple harvesting, which greatly improves the picking efficiency. The clamping and releasing actions do not require an additional power source, which saves energy.

[0022] 3. The electric push rod can be pushed out to make the conveyor rack rotate around the horizontal axis, so as to adjust the angle and distance between the conveyor rack and the ground. The rotation of the output end of the rotary motor can rotate the first rotating rack, so as to adjust the horizontal position of the conveyor rack to facilitate the cutting component on the conveyor rack to cut off the eggplant stems from a better angle, so as to achieve accurate picking of eggplants. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a perspective view of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional diagram of the picking mechanism; Figure 3 is a control system diagram of the present invention; The marks in the figure are: 1. Traveling vehicle; 2. Picking end; 3. Unloading end; 4. Material frame; 5. Cutting assembly; 6. Conveying assembly; 7. Conveying frame; 8. Rotating wheel; 9. Conveying drive assembly; 10. Synchronous rotating belt; 11. Clamping piece; 12. Fastener; 13. Cutting frame; 14. Cutting drive assembly; 15. Horizontal rotating shaft; 16. First rotating frame; 17. Electric push rod; 18. Rotating motor; 19. Mobile power supply; 20. Camera; 21. Traveling wheel; 22. Traveling drive motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0025] In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to this application. For ease of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the drawings are not drawn according to the actual proportional relationship. Technologies, methods and equipment known to ordinary technicians in the relevant fields may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the technologies, methods and equipment should be considered as part of the authorization specification. In all examples shown and discussed here, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not as limitations. Therefore, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values. It should be noted that similar numbers and letters represent similar items in the following figures, so once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further discussed in subsequent figures.

[0026] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc. in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of this application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and that the objects distinguished by "first," "second," etc. are generally of the same type, and do not limit the number of objects. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0027] It should be noted that, in the description of this application, the directions or positional relationships indicated by directional terms such as "front, back, up, down, left, right", "horizontal, vertical, vertical, horizontal" and "top, bottom" are usually based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description. Unless otherwise specified, these directional terms do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction or be constructed and operated in a specific direction. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of this application; the directional terms "inside and outside" refer to the inside and outside relative to the outline of each component itself.

[0028] It should be noted that, in the present application, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the statement "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in the opposite order according to the functions involved. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0029] Example 1: like Figure 1-2 As shown, an eggplant harvester includes a traveling vehicle 1, and a picking mechanism is provided on the traveling vehicle 1. The picking mechanism includes a picking end 2 and a unloading end 3. The picking end 2 is used to pick the eggplants, and the unloading end 3 is used to unload the picked eggplants into a material frame 4. The picking end 2 and the unloading end 3 can respectively perform picking and unloading at the same time.

[0030] The picking mechanism can realize picking and unloading at the picking end 2 and the unloading end 3 at the same time, thereby improving the picking efficiency.

[0031] The picking mechanism comprises: A cutting assembly 5, which is used to cut the eggplants at the picking end 2 of the picking mechanism; The conveying component 6 is used to convey eggplants. A clamping component is provided on the conveying component 6. The clamping component is used to clamp the eggplants. The clamping component can clamp the eggplants to be picked at the picking end 2 and release the eggplants when the conveying component 6 transfers the picked eggplants to the unloading end 3.

[0032] Example 2: like Figure 2 As shown, the transmission component 6 includes: A conveying frame 7, on which two rotary wheels 8 are rotatably provided, and the two rotary wheels 8 are respectively located at the picking end 2 and the unloading end 3; A conveying drive assembly 9, which is fixedly disposed on the conveying frame 7 and is used to drive one of the rotary wheels 8 to rotate circumferentially; The synchronous rotating belt 10 has two ends that are tensioned and engaged with the two rotating wheels 8 , and the clamping assembly is arranged on the synchronous rotating belt 10 .

[0033] The synchronous belt model is HTD5M-B25 and the synchronous pulley model is HTD5M-25Z with an outer diameter of 38.65mm. The transmission drive assembly motor model is 5D80-RV, the voltage is 24V, the output power is 320W, and the speed is 800 rpm.

[0034] A plurality of clamping assemblies are arranged along the length direction of the synchronous rotary belt 10, and the clamping assemblies include a clamping plate 11, one end of which is fixed on the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt 10 by a fastener 12. When the clamping plate 11 is tangent to the rotating wheel 8, it is perpendicular to the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt 10, and when the clamping plate 11 is located between the two rotating wheels 8, it is parallel to the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt 10.

[0035] Under normal circumstances, the clamping piece 11 is parallel to the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt 10. When the clamping piece 11 moves with the synchronous rotary belt 10 to the picking end 2 and is tangent to the front end of the rotary wheel 8, the clamping piece 11 on the synchronous rotary belt 10 is perpendicular to the synchronous rotary belt 10, that is, there is space for accommodating eggplants between the synchronous rotation and the clamping piece 11, so that the eggplant stems can be clamped, and the cutting component 5 cuts off the stems at the same time. As the synchronous rotary belt 10 moves, the clamping piece 11 clamps the picked eggplants and moves with the conveying synchronous rotary belt 10 to the unloading end 3. The clamping piece 11 The synchronous rotary belt 10 is opened again, and the eggplants fall into the material frame 4. A plurality of clamping pieces 11 are installed on the synchronous rotary belt 10. When the synchronous rotary belt 10 moves one circle, multiple eggplants can be clamped and harvested at the same time, which greatly improves the picking efficiency. The meshing effect of the synchronous rotary belt 10 is cleverly utilized, and multiple clamping components are installed on the synchronous rotary belt 10 to realize the clamping and transportation function of the eggplant stalks. The function is expanded from one picking, one transportation and one harvesting to multiple picking, multiple transportation and multiple harvesting, which greatly improves the picking efficiency. The clamping and releasing actions do not require an additional power source, which saves energy.

[0036] The cutting assembly 5 is fixedly mounted on the conveying frame 7. The cutting assembly 5 includes a cutting frame 13. The cutting frame 13 is provided with: A cutting drive assembly 14, wherein the cutting drive assembly 14 is fixedly mounted on the cutting frame 13; The cutting disc is connected to the output end of the cutting drive assembly 14 and can rotate in a circumferential direction.

[0037] The lower end of the conveying frame 7 is rotatably arranged on the first rotating frame 16 through a horizontal rotating shaft 15 parallel to the ground. The first rotating frame 16 is hinged with an electric push rod 17, and the output end of the electric push rod 17 is hinged to the lower end of the conveying frame 7.

[0038] The electric push rod 17 pushes out to make the conveying frame 7 rotate around the transverse rotating shaft 15, so as to adjust the angle and distance of the conveying frame 7 from the ground, thereby facilitating the cutting assembly 5 on the conveying frame 7 to cut the eggplant stem from a better angle.

[0039] The walking vehicle 1 is fixedly provided with a rotary motor 18, and the output end of the rotary motor 18 is connected with the first rotating frame 16.

[0040] The output end of the rotary motor 18 rotates with the first rotating frame 16, so that the first rotating frame 16 rotates to adjust the horizontal position of the conveying frame 7, thereby facilitating the cutting assembly 5 on the conveying frame 7 to cut the eggplant stem from a better angle.

[0041] The walking vehicle 1 is further provided with a mobile power supply 19.

[0042] The walking vehicle 1 is further provided with an identification module, which includes a camera 20, an analysis module and a controller, the camera 20 is connected with the analysis module, and the analysis module is used to analyze the walking track of the walking vehicle 1 and the adjustment angle of the conveying frame 7 according to the size and color of the eggplant photographed by the camera 20. The 3D camera used in the product is a binocular depth camera of Xiaomi Intelligence. The related parameters of the 3D camera are as follows: the size of the circuit board is 90*26 mm, the total size is 124*33.3*32.5 mm, the resolution is 2 560*720, 1280*480 respectively, the depth resolution is 1 280*720, 640*480, the pixel size is 3.75*3.75um, and the IR detectable distance is 3m.

[0043] The walking vehicle 1 includes walking wheels 21 and a walking drive motor 22 for driving the walking wheels 21 to rotate. The size of the walking wheel is 400mmX50mm, the drive motor model is ZYT, the voltage is 24V, the output power is 320W, and the rotating speed is 800r / min.

[0044] In order to make the wheel type picking machine suitable for more ground environment, the height between the ground and the vehicle body is designed to be 500mm, the front wheel servo motor is installed on the vehicle body fixed mounting plate, and is installed on the front wheel mounting position of the vehicle body fixed mounting plate through a square mounting piece. The steering servo motor drives the front wheel to complete steering through chain transmission. The upper part of the rear wheel universal wheel fixing frame makes the driving and steering motor installation position higher. This design reduces the corrosion of the motor by mud, water beads and other splashes when the wheel type robot travels on uneven ground.

[0045] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Unless there is a conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other. The present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of this application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of this application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of this application.

Claims

1. An eggplant harvester, characterized in that , comprising: an eggplant harvester, comprising a traveling vehicle (1), the traveling vehicle (1) being provided with a picking mechanism, the picking mechanism comprising a picking end (2) and a discharge end (3), the picking end (2) being used for picking the eggplants, the discharge end (3) being used for discharging the picked eggplants into a material frame (4), the picking end (2) and the discharge end (3) being capable of respectively performing picking and discharging at the same time.

2. The eggplant harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that: The picking mechanism comprises: A cutting assembly (5), the cutting assembly (5) being used to cut the eggplant at the picking end (2) of the picking mechanism; A conveying assembly (6) is provided for conveying eggplants. The conveying assembly (6) is provided with a clamping assembly for clamping the eggplants. The clamping assembly can clamp the eggplants to be picked at the picking end (2) and release the eggplants when the conveying assembly (6) transfers the picked eggplants to the unloading end (3).

3. The eggplant harvester according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transmission component (6) comprises: A conveying frame (7), wherein two rotary wheels (8) are rotatably provided on the conveying frame (7), and the two rotary wheels (8) are respectively located at the picking end (2) and the unloading end (3); A conveying drive assembly (9), wherein the conveying drive assembly (9) is fixedly arranged on the conveying frame (7) and is used to drive one of the rotary wheels (8) to rotate circumferentially; A synchronous rotary belt (10), wherein both ends of the synchronous rotary belt (10) are tensioned and meshed with two rotary wheels (8), and the clamping assembly is arranged on the synchronous rotary belt (10).

4. The eggplant harvester according to claim 3, characterized in that: A plurality of clamping assemblies are provided along the length direction of the synchronous rotary belt (10), wherein the clamping assemblies include a clamping piece (11), one end of which is fixedly provided on the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt (10) by a fastener (12), and the clamping piece (11) is perpendicular to the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt (10) when it is tangent to the rotary wheel (8), and is parallel to the outer wall of the synchronous rotary belt (10) when the clamping piece (11) is located between the two rotary wheels (8).

5. The eggplant harvester according to claim 3, characterized in that: The cutting assembly (5) is fixedly mounted on the conveying frame (7). The cutting assembly (5) includes a cutting frame (13). The cutting frame (13) is provided with: A cutting drive assembly (14), wherein the cutting drive assembly (14) is fixedly arranged on the cutting frame (13); A cutting disc is connected to the output end of the cutting drive assembly (14) and can rotate in a circumferential direction.

6. The eggplant harvester according to claim 3, characterized in that: The lower end of the conveying frame (7) is rotatably arranged on the first rotating frame (16) via a horizontal rotating shaft (15) parallel to the ground. The first rotating frame (16) is hingedly provided with an electric push rod (17), and the output end of the electric push rod (17) is hingedly connected to the lower end of the conveying frame (7).

7. The eggplant harvester according to claim 6, characterized in that: A rotary motor (18) is fixedly provided on the traveling vehicle (1), and an output end of the rotary motor (18) is connected to the first rotating frame (16).

8. The eggplant harvester according to claim 7, characterized in that: The traveling vehicle (1) is also provided with a mobile power supply (19).

9. The eggplant harvester according to claim 8, characterized in that: The traveling vehicle (1) is further provided with an identification module, which includes a camera (20), an analysis module and a controller. The camera (20) is connected to the analysis module, and the analysis module is used to analyze the walking track of the traveling vehicle (1) and the adjustment angle of the conveyor frame (7) based on the size and color of the eggplants photographed by the camera (20).

10. The eggplant harvester according to claim 9, characterized in that: The traveling vehicle (1) comprises a traveling wheel (21) and a traveling drive motor (22) for driving the traveling wheel (21) to rotate.

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