Low-damage self-adaptive harvesting robot for tea trees

Abstract

The invention discloses a low-damage self-adaptive harvesting robot for tea trees, and relates to the technical field of agricultural machinery, and the low-damage self-adaptive harvesting robot comprises a walking supporting mechanism used for driving the whole robot to move flexibly; the picking and cutting mechanism is mounted on the front side of the upper end of the walking supporting mechanism, and the picking and cutting mechanism is used for accurately picking tea leaves; the sorting and collecting mechanism is installed in the walking supporting mechanism and located below the picking and cutting mechanism, and the sorting and collecting mechanism is used for screening the picked tea leaves; through the arc-shaped protection block, the progressive cutting principle and the buffering mechanism, the picking damage rate of the fresh tea leaves is controlled within 5%, and the damage rate of stem fracture surface cells is smaller than 8% and is far lower than the damage rate of 15-20% of traditional mechanical picking; the browning rate of the picked fresh leaves within 12 hours is less than 8%, and the water loss rate is less than 5%, so that the fresh degree and aroma of the tea leaves in subsequent processing are guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of agricultural machinery technology, specifically to a low-damage adaptive harvesting robot for tea trees. Background Technology

[0002] Manual picking is currently the mainstream picking method for high-value tea leaves, mainly divided into techniques such as "hand picking," "folding picking," and "pinching picking." Its core advantage lies in its ability to accurately select fresh leaves that meet the standards (such as one bud and one leaf, or one bud and two leaves), and it causes minimal damage to the tea tree (the stem break surface is smooth, and the cell damage rate is <3%). However, this method has obvious limitations: Extremely low efficiency: Skilled tea pickers can pick an average of about 0.02 hectares per day, with a daily fresh leaf picking volume of about 15-20 kg. This is insufficient to meet the picking needs of large-scale tea gardens (area > 10 hectares). Especially during the peak season for tea sales (such as the spring tea picking season), untimely picking can easily lead to the aging of fresh leaves and a decline in quality.

[0003] High labor intensity: Tea pickers need to bend over or stand for long periods of time, and the frequency of repetitive hand movements is as high as 30-40 times per minute. The average working time is 8-10 hours per day, which can easily lead to occupational diseases such as lumbar muscle strain, tenosynovitis, and cervical spondylosis. In addition, labor costs are rising year by year (in 2024, the average daily wage of tea pickers reached 200-300 yuan, an increase of more than 50% compared with 2019).

[0004] Inconsistent standards: Different tea pickers have different judgments on "maturity" and "bud-leaf ratio," resulting in inconsistent quality of tea leaves from the same batch. This increases the difficulty of sorting in subsequent processing stages and affects the stability of the finished tea quality. Traditional mechanical pruning equipment: While large-scale horticultural machinery (such as towed hedge trimmers and vehicle-mounted shrub cutters) can improve efficiency, they are bulky and heavy (usually exceeding 50kg), rely on tractors or other power equipment for towing, and are only suitable for large, flat, open areas. They cannot enter orchards with narrow row spacing (row spacing < 2 meters) or complex terrain (slope > 15°). Furthermore, pruning parameters (height, angle) need to be manually adjusted and cannot be dynamically adapted to the real-time growth status of the vegetation.

[0005] Furthermore, tea leaves are collected directly after picking without sorting out old leaves, branches, and impurities, requiring subsequent manual screening. Screening costs account for 15-20% of the total tea processing cost, and the screening efficiency is low (0.5-1 ton / day for manual screening), making it difficult to match the efficiency advantages of mechanized harvesting. Therefore, a low-damage adaptive harvesting robot for tea trees is needed to solve these problems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a low-damage adaptive harvesting robot for tea trees, in order to solve the problems existing in the prior art as described in the background section.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: A low-damage adaptive harvesting robot for tea trees, including: A walking support mechanism is used to drive the entire robot to move flexibly. A picking and cutting mechanism is installed on the upper front side of the walking support mechanism, and is used for precise picking of tea leaves. The sorting and collecting mechanism is installed inside the walking support mechanism and located below the picking and cutting mechanism. The sorting and collecting mechanism is used to sieve the tea leaves after they have been picked.

[0008] Preferably, the picking and cutting mechanism includes a rotating base, a picking robotic arm, and a picking head. The rotating base is mounted on a walking support mechanism, and the picking robotic arm is mounted on the rotating base. The rotating base can drive the picking robotic arm to rotate. The picking head is installed at the upper end of the picking robotic arm. The picking head is used to guide and cut the tea leaves, reducing damage to the tea leaves and tea trees.

[0009] Preferably, the picking head includes a picking box, an arc-shaped protective block, and a cutting blade. The picking box is installed on the upper end of the robotic arm. Arc-shaped protective blocks are installed on both sides inside the picking box, and a cutting blade is installed between the two arc-shaped protective blocks. The picking box also has a drive structure for driving the cutting blade to open and close.

[0010] Preferably, the upper end of the picking box is equipped with a binocular camera and a lidar scanner to identify tea leaves and send signals back to the processor to control the movement of the picking robotic arm.

[0011] Preferably, the sorting and collecting mechanism includes a sorting roller, a side cover, and a first conveyor belt. The sorting roller is rotatably connected to the frame of the walking support mechanism. The arc surface of the sorting roller is uniformly provided with filter holes for sieving tea leaves of different sizes. The arc surface of the sorting roller is provided with a rectangular opening, and a side cover is rotatably connected to one side of the rectangular opening. A first conveyor belt is provided on the front side of the sorting roller, and a second and a third conveyor belt are provided on the rear side of the sorting roller. Several sorting robotic arms and visual marker sensors are installed between the second and third conveyor belts for sorting tea leaves and impurities.

[0012] Preferably, the walking support mechanism includes a fuselage frame, track wheels and tracks, with a plurality of track wheels installed on both sides of the fuselage frame, the tracks installed on the corresponding track wheels, and a power component for driving the track wheels to rotate installed on the fuselage frame.

[0013] Preferably, the inner two sides of the body frame are provided with drawers for storing fresh tea leaves, and the rear end of the body frame is provided with a waste collection drawer.

[0014] Preferably, it also includes a buffer protection mechanism, which includes a transmission rod, a dual-mode resonant energy recovery shock absorber, and a protective beam. The transmission rod is slidably connected to the bottom of the walking support mechanism. One end of the dual-mode resonant energy recovery shock absorber is rotatably connected to the transmission rod, and the other end of the dual-mode resonant energy recovery shock absorber is rotatably connected to the bottom surface of the walking support mechanism. The front section of the transmission rod is connected to the protective beam.

[0015] Preferably, the dual-mode resonant energy recovery damper is symmetrically arranged on both sides of the transmission rod and forms a V-shaped structure.

[0016] Preferably, a solar panel is installed at the upper end of the walking support mechanism, and a wind turbine is installed at the rear end of the walking support mechanism.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. This invention, through its arc-shaped protective block, progressive cutting principle, and buffer mechanism, controls the damage rate of fresh tea leaves during harvesting to within 5%, and the cell damage rate on the stem fracture surface to <8%, far lower than the 15-20% damage rate of traditional mechanical harvesting. Within 12 hours after harvesting, the browning rate of fresh leaves is <8%, and the water loss rate is <5%, ensuring the "freshness" and "aroma" of the tea during subsequent processing. It is especially suitable for the harvesting requirements of high-end green teas such as Longjing and Biluochun, and can improve the quality grade of processed tea by 1-2 levels, increasing the added value of each ton of tea by 5,000-10,000 yuan.

[0018] 2. Through the design of the sorting and collection mechanism, this invention can complete the sorting of tea leaves by size and impurities during the picking process, reducing the cost of subsequent manual sorting. The proportion of manual sorting is reduced from more than 20% of traditional machinery to less than 10%, and the sorting cost per ton of tea leaves is reduced by 200-300 yuan. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a front-view stereoscopic structural diagram of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a rear-view stereoscopic structural diagram of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a bottom-view structural diagram of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the harvesting and cutting mechanism of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 For the present invention Figure 4A magnified schematic diagram of the structure at point A in the middle.

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the sorting and collecting mechanism of the present invention.

[0025] In the diagram: 1. Walking support mechanism; 11. Fuselage frame; 12. Track wheels; 13. Tracks; 2. Harvesting and cutting mechanism; 21. Rotating base; 22. Harvesting robotic arm; 23. Harvesting box; 24. Arc-shaped protective block; 25. Cutting knife; 26. Binocular camera; 27. LiDAR scanner; 3. Sorting and collecting mechanism; 31. Sorting roller; 32. Side cover; 33. First conveyor belt; 34. Second conveyor belt; 35. Third conveyor belt; 36. Sorting robotic arm; 37. Visual tag sensor; 38. Fresh tea storage drawer; 39. Waste collection drawer; 4. Buffer protection mechanism; 41. Transmission rod; 42. Dual-mode resonance energy recovery shock absorber; 43. Protective crossbeam; 5. Solar panels; 6. Wind turbines. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the technical means, creative features, objectives and effects of this invention easier to understand, the invention will be further described below in conjunction with specific embodiments.

[0027] Please see Figure 1-6 The present invention provides the following technical solutions: A low-damage adaptive tea tree harvesting robot includes: a walking support mechanism 1, which drives the entire robot to move flexibly; the walking support mechanism 1 includes a body frame 11, tracked wheels 12, and tracks 13, with several tracked wheels 12 mounted on both sides of the body frame 11, and the tracks 13 mounted on the corresponding tracked wheels 12; the body frame 11 is equipped with a power component for driving the tracked wheels 12 to rotate; the tracked walking support mechanism 1 enables the harvesting robot to move smoothly in diverse terrains such as densely planted tea gardens on plains, hilly slopes, and mountainous areas.

[0028] A solar panel 5 is installed at the upper end of the walking support mechanism 1, and a wind turbine 6 is installed at the rear end of the walking support mechanism 1. The solar panel 5 and wind turbine 6 provide additional power during the harvesting robot's operation, extending its runtime. Additionally, the robot is equipped with a main control module (STM32H750, labeled "550MHz, 2MB SRAM"), a battery pack (48V / 30Ah lithium iron phosphate, labeled "BMS protection, cycle life ≥2500 cycles"), a drive motor controller (labeled "24V / 600W, supports PWM speed control"), three robotic arm servo drivers (each corresponding to one of the three joint motors), and a sorting system controller, which provide power and control for the robot.

[0029] Wiring connections: Label the communication lines (CAN bus, RS485, Ethernet) and power lines (48V, 12V) between each module. The communication lines use shielded wires (labeled "anti-interference, transmission distance ≤10m"). The cross-sectional area of ​​the power lines is "48V main line 2.5mm², 12V branch line 1.0mm²".

[0030] Heat dissipation design: The main control module and motor controller are equipped with aluminum heat sinks (labeled "heat dissipation area ≥ 100cm², heat dissipation coefficient ≥ 20W / (m²)"). . K)”, to ensure that the equipment can work normally in a high-temperature environment of 40℃ without overheating.

[0031] The picking and cutting mechanism 2 is installed on the upper front side of the walking support mechanism 1. The picking and cutting mechanism 2 is used for precise picking of tea leaves. The picking and cutting mechanism 2 includes a rotating base 21, a picking robotic arm 22, and a picking head. The rotating base 21 is installed on the walking support mechanism 1, and the picking robotic arm 22 is installed on the rotating base 21. The rotating base 21 can drive the picking robotic arm 22 to rotate. The picking head is installed at the upper end of the picking robotic arm 22. The picking head is used to guide and cut the tea leaves to reduce damage to the tea leaves and tea trees.

[0032] The picking head includes a picking box 23, arc-shaped protective blocks 24, and a cutting blade 25. The picking box 23 is mounted on the upper end of the robotic arm 22. Arc-shaped protective blocks 24 are installed on both sides of the inside of the picking box 23, and the cutting blade 25 is installed between the two arc-shaped protective blocks 24. The picking box 23 also has a drive structure for opening and closing the cutting blade 25. The two arc-shaped protective blocks 24 guide the tea leaves, allowing them to enter the cutting area of ​​the cutting blade 25 and reducing damage to the tea leaves during the movement of the cutting blade 25. A binocular camera 26 and a lidar scanner 27 are installed on the upper end of the picking box 23 to identify the tea leaves and send signals back to the processor to control the movement of the picking robotic arm 22. The lidar scanner 27 has a measurement range of 0.2-8m, an accuracy of ±2mm, and a point cloud density of 100 points / m². 2 The system features a dual-lens camera 26 ("2 megapixels, 30fps, 60° field of view"), demonstrating how the two work together to collect data from the tea tree canopy; it can also be equipped with a near-infrared spectral sensor ("wavelength 700-1100nm, resolution 10nm, sampling frequency 10Hz") for detecting chlorophyll and moisture content in fresh leaves.

[0033] The sorting and collecting mechanism 3 is installed inside the walking support mechanism 1 and located below the picking and cutting mechanism 2. The sorting and collecting mechanism 3 is used to sieve the picked tea leaves. The sorting and collecting mechanism 3 includes a sorting roller 31, a side cover 32, and a first conveyor belt 33. The sorting roller 31 is rotatably connected to the body frame 11 of the walking support mechanism 1. The arc surface of the sorting roller 31 is evenly provided with filter holes for sieving tea leaves of different sizes. The arc surface of the sorting roller 31 is provided with a rectangular opening, and one side of the rectangular opening is rotatably connected to the side cover 32. The side cover 32 is opened when collecting tea leaves and closed when rotating to sieve tea leaves.

[0034] A first conveyor belt 33 is provided on the front side of the sorting roller 31, and a second conveyor belt 34 and a third conveyor belt 35 are provided on the rear side of the sorting roller 31. The first conveyor belt 33 is used to transport the harvested tea leaves to the sorting roller 31 for sieving, the second conveyor belt 34 is used to transport the sieving tea leaves to the sorting robotic arm 36 for sorting, and the third conveyor belt 35 is used to transport the sorted impurities to the waste collection drawer 39. Several sorting robotic arms 36 and visual marker sensors 37 are installed between the second conveyor belt 34 and the third conveyor belt 35 for sorting tea leaves and impurities. Fresh tea storage drawers 38 are provided on both sides of the interior of the machine frame 11, and a waste collection drawer 39 is provided at the rear end of the machine frame 11.

[0035] The invention also includes a buffer protection mechanism 4, which comprises a transmission rod 41, a dual-mode resonant energy recovery shock absorber 42, and a protective beam 43. The transmission rod 41 is slidably connected to the bottom of the walking support mechanism 1. One end of the dual-mode resonant energy recovery shock absorber 42 is rotatably connected to the transmission rod 41, and the other end is rotatably connected to the bottom surface of the walking support mechanism 1. The front section of the transmission rod 41 is connected to the protective beam 43. The dual-mode resonant energy recovery shock absorbers 42 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the transmission rod 41, forming a V-shaped structure. Through the design of the buffer protection mechanism 4, the harvesting robot can be buffered when it comes into contact with tea trees during its movement, preventing damage to the tea trees, while also enabling a certain degree of energy recovery.

[0036] The working process of this invention is as follows: When it is time to harvest tea leaves, the harvesting robot is transported to the tea garden and started by manual or automatic path planning. When the harvesting robot is at the tea tree harvesting position, the binocular camera 26 and the lidar scanner 27 collect images of the tea tree and feed the signals back to the processor. The processor controls the rotating base 21 and the picking robotic arm 22 to move the picking head to the position of the tea leaves to be picked. During this process, the arc-shaped protective block 24 guides the tea leaves to prevent the cutting blade 25 from directly contacting the tea leaves and damaging them during the movement.

[0037] After being cut, the tea leaves are placed onto the first conveyor belt 33 by the picking robotic arm 22 and then transported to the sorting roller 31. The sorting roller 31 sieves the tea leaves, leaving larger leaves inside and smaller leaves on the second conveyor belt 34. The leaves are then sorted by the visual marker sensor 37 and the sorting robotic arm 36. The sorting robotic arm 36 places the intact tea leaves into the fresh tea storage drawer 38 and sorts the impurities onto the third conveyor belt 35. The third conveyor belt 35 then transports the impurities to the waste collection drawer 39, thus completing the tea leaf sorting process.

[0038] After harvesting, the fresh tea leaves can be pulled out of drawer 38 to package them for the next processing step, eliminating the need for manual sorting and thus improving the efficiency of tea production.

[0039] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A low-damage adaptive harvesting robot for tea trees, characterized in that, include: Walking support mechanism (1), which is used to drive the entire robot to move flexibly; The picking and cutting mechanism (2) is installed on the upper front side of the walking support mechanism (1) and is used for precise picking of tea leaves. The sorting and collecting mechanism (3) is installed inside the walking support mechanism (1) and located below the picking and cutting mechanism (2). The sorting and collecting mechanism (3) is used to sieve the tea leaves after picking.

2. The tea tree low-damage adaptive harvesting robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The picking and cutting mechanism (2) includes a rotating base (21), a picking robotic arm (22), and a picking head. The rotating base (21) is mounted on the walking support mechanism (1), and the picking robotic arm (22) is mounted on the rotating base (21). The rotating base (21) can drive the picking robotic arm (22) to rotate. The picking head is mounted on the upper end of the picking robotic arm (22). The picking head is used to guide and cut the tea leaves to reduce damage to the tea leaves and tea trees.

3. The tea tree low-damage adaptive harvesting robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The picking head includes a picking box (23), an arc-shaped protective block (24), and a cutting blade (25). The picking box (23) is installed on the upper end of the robotic arm (22). Arc-shaped protective blocks (24) are installed on both sides inside the picking box (23). A cutting blade (25) is installed between the two arc-shaped protective blocks (24). The picking box (23) is also provided with a drive structure for driving the cutting blade (25) to open and close.

4. The tea tree low-damage adaptive harvesting robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The upper end of the picking box (23) is equipped with a binocular camera (26) and a lidar scanner (27) to identify tea leaves and send signals to the processor to control the movement of the picking robotic arm (22).

5. The low-damage adaptive harvesting robot for tea trees according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sorting and collecting mechanism (3) includes a sorting roller (31), a side cover (32) and a first conveyor belt (33). The sorting roller (31) is rotatably connected to the frame (11) of the walking support mechanism (1). The arc surface of the sorting roller (31) is uniformly provided with filter holes for screening tea leaves of different sizes. The arc surface of the sorting roller (31) is provided with a rectangular opening, and a side cover (32) is rotatably connected to one side of the rectangular opening. A first conveyor belt (33) is provided on the front side of the sorting roller (31), and a second conveyor belt (34) and a third conveyor belt (35) are provided on the rear side of the sorting roller (31). Several sorting robotic arms (36) and visual marker sensors (37) are installed between the second conveyor belt (34) and the third conveyor belt (35) for sorting tea leaves and impurities.

6. The tea tree low-damage adaptive harvesting robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The walking support mechanism (1) includes a fuselage frame (11), track wheels (12) and tracks (13). Several track wheels (12) are installed on both sides of the fuselage frame (11), and the tracks (13) are installed on the corresponding track wheels (12). The fuselage frame (11) is equipped with a power component for driving the track wheels (12) to rotate.

7. The tea tree low-damage adaptive harvesting robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The inner sides of the fuselage frame (11) are provided with drawers (38) for storing fresh tea leaves, and the rear end of the fuselage frame (11) is provided with a garbage collection drawer (39).

8. The tea tree low-damage adaptive harvesting robot according to claim 6, characterized in that, It also includes a buffer protection mechanism (4), which includes a transmission rod (41), a dual-mode resonant energy recovery damper (42), and a protective beam (43). The transmission rod (41) is slidably connected to the bottom of the walking support mechanism (1). One end of the dual-mode resonant energy recovery damper (42) is rotatably connected to the transmission rod (41), and the other end of the dual-mode resonant energy recovery damper (42) is rotatably connected to the bottom surface of the walking support mechanism (1). The front section of the transmission rod (41) is connected to the protective beam (43).

9. The tea tree low-damage adaptive harvesting robot according to claim 8, characterized in that: The dual-mode resonant energy recovery damper (42) is symmetrically arranged on both sides of the transmission rod (41) and forms a V-shaped structure.

10. The tea tree low-damage adaptive harvesting robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: A solar power panel (5) is installed at the upper end of the walking support mechanism (1), and a wind turbine (6) is installed at the rear end of the walking support mechanism (1).

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