Intelligent self-driven beach cleaning device and beach cleaning method based on bionic rake teeth and variable-diameter screening

Abstract

The invention relates to an intelligent self-driven beach cleaning device based on bionic rake teeth and variable-diameter screening. The intelligent self-driven beach cleaning device comprises a frame, spiral bionic rake teeth, a sand shoveling plate, an inward folding plate, a vibrating screen, a stock bin and the like. The spiral bionic rake tooth is fixedly arranged at the front end of the frame and comprises a rotating shaft and a plurality of sections of bent mole front toe bionic rake teeth which are spirally arranged along the rotating shaft; the sand shoveling plate is arranged on the rear portions of the spiral bionic rake teeth, is in a flat trapezoid shape and is fixed relative to the vehicle frame. A vibrating screen with an inward folding plate fixed at the bottom is arranged at the rear part of the sand shoveling plate, and a space for accommodating sand and wastes is formed between the inward folding plate and the vibrating screen; the vibrating screen is in a step shape and moves in the front-back direction of the inclined face of the vibrating screen (reciprocating motion between the lower portion of the front portion of the frame and the upper portion of the rear portion of the frame), different areas, from front to back, of screen holes in the vibrating screen are divided into a plurality of hole diameter grades, and the hole diameters of the hole diameter grades are gradually reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a kind of beach automatic cleaning device, in particular, it is a kind of intelligent self-driven beach cleaning device and beach cleaning method based on bionical rake teeth and variable-diameter screening. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the rapid development of beach tourism, the frequency of beach use increases, and the problem of waste pollution is increasingly prominent, which not only threatens the stability of the beach ecosystem, but also directly affects the city's tourism image and tourist experience. In addition to the normalization of beach cleaning, beach sports have attracted attention in recent years due to their unique charm. They perfectly combine sunshine, sand, and the passion of sports. Beach volleyball, football, and handball are popular among people of all ages. The booming development of beach sports industry and beach tourism industry requires advanced beach cleaning technology and equipment.

[0003] From the realistic needs of beach normalization cleaning, the current beach waste cleaning is facing the following pain points: first, the beach garbage cleaning capacity does not match the continuous increase in the total number of tourists. Second, manual cleaning is inefficient and costly, which inhibits the willingness of beach management subjects to invest. With large per capita responsible area and multiple cleaning ranges limited to the surface of the beach, it is impossible to thoroughly clean buried waste such as cigarette butts and glass fragments. During peak season, the lack of personnel often leads to a vicious cycle of "garbage accumulation-negative evaluation-tourist loss-economic damage."

[0004] Problems with existing beach automatic cleaning devices (robots):

[0005] 1) Difficulty in screening small-sized impurities in sand; low capture rate of small-sized waste such as cigarette butts, plastic, and foam debris, making it difficult to achieve deep cleaning;

[0006] 2) The collection in the hopper either has too high sand content (dense screen) or cannot capture small-sized lightweight waste (spare screen);

[0007] 3) Poor connection between the sand surface and the lifting and conveying facilities, resulting in high resistance, high energy consumption, and low garbage cleaning efficiency;

[0008] 4) High dependence on manual labor and low intelligence, making it impossible to achieve automatic cleaning. SUMMARY

[0009] The present application aims to provide an intelligent self-driven beach cleaning device and method based on bionical rake teeth and variable-diameter screening, which solves the above technical problems.

[0010] The present application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0011] A smart self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening includes a frame, a spiral biomimetic rake tooth 18, a sand-shoveling plate 19, an inward-facing folding plate 20, a vibrating screen 8, and a hopper 21. The spiral biomimetic rake tooth 18 is fixedly mounted at the front end of the frame and includes a rotating shaft 18-3 and multi-segmented, bent mole-toe biomimetic rake teeth 18-1 spirally arranged along the rotating shaft 18-3. The sand-shoveling plate 19 is located at the rear of the spiral biomimetic rake tooth 18. The sand-shoveling plate 19 is in the shape of a flat trapezoid and is fixed relative to the vehicle frame. An inward folding plate 20 is provided at the rear of the sand-shoveling plate 19, and the inward folding plate 20 forms a space for accommodating sand and waste. The inward folding plate 20 is fixed on the vibrating screen 8 located behind it. The vibrating screen 8 is stepped and vibrates in the front-to-back direction along the inclined plane. The screen holes on the vibrating screen 8 are divided into multiple aperture levels from front to back, and the aperture of each aperture level gradually decreases.

[0012] Preferably, the aperture grades are divided into three levels: large aperture screen 8-1, medium aperture screen 8-2, and small aperture screen 8-3. The large aperture screen 8-1 utilizes the fact that sand has a higher specific gravity than large waste materials to remove most of the sand. At the same time, some first waste materials with an outer diameter smaller than the screen aperture of the large aperture screen 8-1 are vibrated and sent to the medium aperture screen 8-2 because their specific gravity is less than that of sand, especially wet sand. Similarly, some second waste materials with an outer diameter smaller than the screen aperture of the medium aperture screen 8-2 are vibrated and sent to the small aperture screen 8-1 because their specific gravity is less than that of sand, especially wet sand.

[0013] The screen aperture size of a vibrating screen is typically larger than the maximum particle size of sand. When a stepped vibrating screen reciprocates along the front-down and rear-up directions of the frame, the mixture of sand and waste continuously impacts the screen surface under inertia. Sand particles and waste smaller than the screen aperture pass through the aperture and fall back onto the sand bed surface. Waste larger than the aperture, some incompletely separated sand particles, and waste smaller than the aperture move upwards step by step under the combined effects of the inclined reciprocating motion of the screen surface, the overall forward movement of the device, and its own inertia. As the upward movement time, distance, and number of impacts with the screen increase, the proportion of sand particles and waste smaller than the aperture in the mixture gradually decreases until it reaches zero, achieving thorough screening. Based on the physical characteristics of this dynamic screening process, the vibrating screen surface is designed with apertures decreasing from bottom to top (or from front to back). In the initial screening stage (i.e., near the bottom of the screen surface), sand accounts for a higher proportion of the mixture, and waste is usually distributed in the upper part of the mixture. This area uses a large-aperture screen 8-1, which can quickly screen off a large amount of sand with a particle size smaller than the aperture, thereby rapidly increasing the proportion of waste on the screen in the mixture, reducing the load on the vibrating screen, and preventing a large amount of sand particles from falling into the rear hopper 21 without being fully screened. In addition, the fine waste on the beach surface and in the shallow layer is mostly low-density debris such as plastic, cardboard, and foam, and is also concentrated in the upper part of the sand layer. When the sand and waste fall onto the vibrating screen through the sand shovel plate (which acts as a guide), these fine waste particles that are located in the upper layer and have a lower density are not easy to leak out of the screen holes in the initial stage of screening. Moreover, the vertical rebound height after each collision with the screen is large, and the combined effect of the forward movement of the device makes it easier for them to enter the middle and rear areas of the screen. Based on the aforementioned environmental characteristics and the objective laws governing the screening process, the middle area of ​​the vibrating screen is designated as the medium-aperture screen surface 8-2, and the upper rear area is designated as the small-aperture screen surface 8-3. On the one hand, this can significantly improve the separation efficiency of waste materials larger than the screen apertures, reducing the screening load and energy consumption. On the other hand, it can rapidly increase the proportion of waste materials in the mixture while collecting as many fine waste materials as possible that are smaller than the large-aperture screen surface 8-1 and the medium-aperture screen surface 8-2, thereby improving the overall waste cleaning efficiency.

[0014] Furthermore, the waste includes various types of waste commonly found on beaches, such as cigarette butts, foam fragments, and glass shards.

[0015] Preferably, the multi-segmented, bent mole forefoot-shaped bionic rake teeth 18-1 of the spiral bionic rake teeth 18 form a set angle with the plane of rotation to simulate the coupling effect of the optimal tangential entry angle of the forefoot and the normal digging force when the mole digs, so that the rake teeth act along the mechanical trajectory and convert rotational kinetic energy into the motion of grabbing, lifting and axially transporting garbage and sand.

[0016] Preferably, the sand-shoveling plate 19 is narrower at the front and wider at the rear, and is connected to the vehicle frame via a folding plate. During operation, the front end of the sand-shoveling plate 19 penetrates into the sand layer, applying an upward force to the waste, and lifting it into the space of the inward folding plate 20 that accommodates sand and waste, thus preventing it from sinking back into the sand layer and affecting the collection efficiency, and preventing small-sized waste from falling onto the sand bed.

[0017] Furthermore, vibrating screen 8 is provided with vibrating screen sidewalls 8-4 on both sides to prevent the waste-sand mixture from sliding sideways when it is conveyed upward.

[0018] Furthermore, the width of the vibrating screen 8 gradually decreases from front to back, and as the vibrating screen vibrates, it gathers waste towards the center, causing the waste to fall into the hopper 21. The waste in the hopper 21 is higher in the middle and lower on both sides. As the loading capacity increases, the waste slides to both sides on its own, thereby increasing the effective capacity of the hopper 21 and reducing the width of the hopper 21 to be sufficient to be pulled out from the rear of the vehicle.

[0019] Preferably, it also includes a spiral rake tooth top cover 7 and a collision emergency stop bar 6; the spiral rake tooth top cover 7 is fixed on the frame and covers the front and top of the spiral bionic rake tooth 18; the collision emergency stop bar 6 is fixed on the front and rear of the entire device.

[0020] Furthermore, it also includes a towed rake tooth 12, which is fixed to the rear side of the frame, located below the collision emergency stop bar 6, and extends rearward by a length less than the collision emergency stop bar 6.

[0021] Preferably, the hopper 21 is equipped with a screen, the mesh size of which is smaller than or equal to the smallest grade of the vibrating screen 8, for sand leakage, so as to improve the storage efficiency of the hopper and the single cleaning capacity of the device.

[0022] A beach cleaning method based on the above-mentioned intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device using biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening.

[0023] Image Recognition and Path Planning: The control system integrates SLAM lidar, ultrasonic radar, infrared night vision, high-definition camera, and dual-antenna RTK system to collaboratively complete environmental modeling, target recognition, path planning, and dynamic control. The RTK system provides centimeter-level relative positioning based on base stations, while SLAM lidar constructs a 3D point cloud map in real time. The fusion of these two systems achieves high-precision positioning and local map construction in dynamic environments. Ultrasonic radar supplements information on near-ground obstacles and micro-topography, infrared night vision ensures continuous visual perception at night and in low-light conditions, and high-definition camera is used for real-time identification and density analysis of garbage targets based on deep learning algorithms. The control system divides the work area into grids and assigns weights based on multi-sensor fusion information, and plans the globally optimal cleaning path using an improved Dijkstra algorithm. Simultaneously, based on the real-time identified target distribution density, the system dynamically adjusts the rotation speed of the bionic spiral rake teeth and the operating frequency and amplitude of the vibrating screen to achieve adaptive matching of operating power.

[0024] Walking control: The control system uses differential control to achieve track steering and terrain adaptation based on path planning results and real-time fused perception data. When the lidar or ultrasonic radar detects an obstacle, the control system activates a multi-level obstacle avoidance strategy, combines visual confirmation to decelerate, detour or brake in an emergency, and forms a redundant safety system with the physical collision emergency stop barrier.

[0025] Waste removal: The beach cleaning device moves along a planned path. The spirally arranged mole-like rake teeth on the rotating shaft reciprocate, converging waste to the effective cleaning width on the soil surface. The waste enters the vibrating screen along with the sand-shoveling plate, and due to the quasi-dynamic closed structure of the inward-curving plates and sand-shoveling plate, it does not fall out of the cleaning range. The screen vibrates reciprocally; the waste rises due to inertia. The large-aperture screen 8-1 utilizes the fact that sand is denser than waste and that waste is usually located on the upper layer of the mixture to remove most of the sand. Meanwhile, some waste with an outer diameter smaller than the screen openings of the large-aperture screen 8-1 is vibrated and sent to the medium-aperture screen 8-2 before it can fall off the large-aperture screen 8-1. Similarly, some waste with an outer diameter smaller than the screen openings of the medium-aperture screen 8-2 is vibrated and sent to the small-aperture screen 8-1 before it can fall off the medium-aperture screen 8-2. Finally, the waste falls into the hopper through the small-aperture screen 8-3. The sand falls into the screen mesh and is backfilled into the sandy bottom. After the operation is completed, the waste is extracted from the hopper.

[0026] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0027] (a) Strong adaptability to complex beach cleaning environments such as hard sandy bottoms and wet sand:

[0028] The biomimetic mole-like forefoot spiral rake teeth can loosen hard sand layers or break up clumps of wet sand and excavate deep waste to the surface. Inspired by the shape of a mole's forefoot, the teeth are spirally distributed along the axis of rotation, which helps to gather waste towards the center and also ensures that the overall force is evenly distributed, thereby maintaining a stable ground clearance when the equipment is moving. Subsequently, the sand-shoveling plate of the vibrating screen can be inserted into the loosened sand layer with low resistance, and the surface mixture is introduced into the screen surface of the vibrating screen.

[0029] Taking advantage of the high specific gravity of sand (especially wet sand) and the fact that waste is usually located on the upper layer of the mixture, the screen surface adopts a variable aperture layout with sparser pores at the bottom and denser pores at the top. This achieves efficient sand leakage while improving the capture rate of small-sized, low-specific-gravity waste (such as cigarette butts and foam fragments), thereby achieving deep cleaning.

[0030] (ii) Possesses the capability for deep sand penetration, high efficiency, high collection rate, low energy consumption, and safe beach cleaning operations:

[0031] 1) Large sand penetration depth and low energy consumption: The spiral bionic rake tooth structure enables deep sand digging, which gathers waste into the effective collection width of the device. This reduces the resistance for the sand shovel plate, sand guide and vibrating screen to reciprocate in the deep sand layer, thus enabling the equipment to operate at a large sand penetration depth and operate with low energy consumption and long endurance. The connection between the sand surface and the lifting and conveying facilities is improved, the obstruction and energy consumption can be reduced, and the efficiency can be improved.

[0032] 2) High efficiency and high collection rate: The inward-facing folding plate is integrated with the vibrating screen, providing a space to accommodate sand and waste. The vibrating screen, inward-facing folding plate, and sand-shoveling plate form a dynamic quasi-closed structure, which can effectively prevent small-sized waste from falling onto the sand bed.

[0033] 3) The screen aperture area of ​​the vibrating screen decreases progressively from low to high, thereby improving the collection rate of small-sized, low-density waste while maintaining high sand leakage efficiency, achieving a better balance between the two. The screen aperture of the vibrating screen decreases progressively from bottom to top. This design is based on the separation kinetics of sand mixtures: in the initial stage, the mixture contains a high proportion of sand particles, and their density is usually greater than that of lightweight waste such as cigarette butts and plastic scraps. Under high-intensity reciprocating vibration, the denser sand particles are more likely to fall back to the sand bed through the larger apertures at the bottom; while lightweight waste remains on the screen surface due to inertia and is not easy to overflow from the large apertures. As the screen continues to vibrate, the waste moves upward along the screen surface step by step. During this process, the proportion of sand particles decreases rapidly, and the probability of sand particles instantaneously clogging the screen apertures decreases. Therefore, the gradually decreasing aperture can significantly improve the capture rate of small-sized waste while maintaining efficient sand separation.

[0034] 4) Safe beach cleaning operation: A coupled obstacle avoidance module was designed that integrates physical collision emergency stop barriers, ultrasonic and lidar obstacle stopping to effectively protect the safety of pedestrians, surrounding objects and the equipment itself.

[0035] (III) The beach cleaning operation is highly intelligent, with high precision and strong reliability:

[0036] Current beach cleaning equipment generally suffers from shortcomings in reliable dynamic obstacle avoidance and high-precision anti-interference navigation. Faced with dynamic lighting changes, sudden weather changes, and low-texture environments, traditional positioning methods relying solely on vision, SLAM, or GNSS / RTK are prone to feature extraction failure due to fluctuations in ambient light intensity, or GNSS signal drift caused by terrain occlusion, multipath effects, and dense electromagnetic interference. This results in decreased positioning accuracy and limited system robustness for single-mode sensors in complex outdoor scenarios. To address this, this invention constructs a multi-source heterogeneous sensor fusion framework. Depending on the specific application scenario, it integrates or flexibly combines GNSS / RTK / INS and LiDAR data to form a composite positioning and navigation technology with environmental adaptability. This achieves centimeter-level positioning accuracy and real-time dynamic obstacle avoidance even in high-density crowd environments. Furthermore, by integrating a coupled obstacle avoidance module that combines physical collision emergency stop barriers with ultrasonic and lidar obstacle stopping, the safety of pedestrians, surrounding objects, and the equipment itself during operations is effectively improved. Attached Figure Description

[0037] Figure 1 This is an external view of the intelligent self-driving beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening according to the present invention.

[0038] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the intelligent self-driving beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening according to the present invention.

[0039] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the spiral biomimetic rake teeth.

[0040] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 Enlarged view of the middle shovel sand plate and the inward folding plate.

[0041] Figure 5 This is a magnified view of a section of the vibrating screen.

[0042] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the drag-type rake teeth.

[0043] Figure 7 This is a structural diagram of the silo.

[0044] Figure 8 These are three views of the intelligent self-driving beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening according to the present invention.

[0045] Figure 9 This is a logic diagram of the main functional modules of this invention. Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the path planning process and the automatic obstacle avoidance process.

[0046] In the diagram, 1 is a gimbal-mounted night vision device; 2 is the front hatch top cover; 3 is an LED screen; 4 is a headlight; 5 is an indicator light; 6 is a collision emergency stop barrier; 7 is a spiral rake tooth top cover; 8 is a vibrating screen; 9 is a rubber bearing; 10 is a tracked travel device; 11 is a rainproof charging port; 12 is a towed rake tooth; 13 is a first aid kit; 14 is a rear hatch top cover; 15 is a photovoltaic panel; 16 is an RTK antenna; 17 is a self-locking buckle; 18 is a spiral bionic rake tooth; 19 is a sand shovel; 20 is an inward-folding plate; 21 is a hopper; 23 is a battery; 24 is an electrical control compartment; 25 is a support frame; 26 is a linkage transmission mechanism; 27 is a motor; and 28 is a waste cigarette butt.

[0047] 18-1 Bionic rake teeth of a mole's forefoot toes; 18-2 Rotating shaft; 18-3 Rubber bearing;

[0048] 8-1 Large aperture screen surface; 8-2 Medium aperture screen surface; 8-3 Small aperture screen surface; 5-4 Vibrating screen sidewall; 8-5 Detachable connecting parts;

[0049] 6-1 Pole-mounted collision emergency stop switch; 6-2 Power supply and signal lines; 6-3 Connecting rod;

[0050] 12-1 Comb-shaped rake teeth; 12-2 Sand-sliding plate; 12-3 Support frame. Detailed Implementation

[0051] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0052] See Figure 1 A smart self-driving beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening includes a frame, spiral biomimetic rake teeth 18, sand shovel 19, inward folding plate 20, vibrating screen 8, and hopper 21.

[0053] Combination Figure 2 and Figure 3 The spiral bionic rake teeth 18 are fixedly mounted on the front end of the vehicle frame. They include a rotating shaft 18-3 and multi-segmented, bent mole-like forefoot bionic rake teeth 18-1 spirally arranged along the rotating shaft 18-3. A sand-shoveling plate 19 is located at the rear of the spiral bionic rake teeth 18. The sand-shoveling plate 19 is in the shape of a flat trapezoid and is fixed relative to the vehicle frame. An inward-folding plate 20 is located at the rear of the sand-shoveling plate 19, forming a space for accommodating sand and waste. Figure 4 As shown.

[0054] See also Figure 4 The inwardly folding plate 20 is fixed to the vibrating screen 8 located behind it; the vibrating screen 8 is stepped, and the vibration direction is along the front-to-back direction of the inclined plane. The screen holes on the vibrating screen 8 are divided into multiple aperture levels from front to back, and the aperture of each aperture level gradually decreases, such as...Figure 5 As shown.

[0055] Continue to combine Figure 5 The aperture grades are divided into three levels: large aperture screen 8-1, medium aperture screen 8-2, and small aperture screen 8-3. The large aperture screen 8-1 utilizes the fact that sand has a higher specific gravity than large waste and that waste is usually located on the upper layer of the mixture to remove most of the sand. At the same time, some waste with an outer diameter smaller than the screen aperture of the large aperture screen 8-1 is vibrated and sent to the medium aperture screen 8-2 because its specific gravity is less than that of sand, especially wet sand. Similarly, some waste with an outer diameter smaller than the screen aperture of the medium aperture screen 8-2 is vibrated and sent to the small aperture screen 8-1 because its specific gravity is less than that of sand, especially wet sand.

[0056] As an example, the waste includes cigarette butts (attached) Figure 3 , 4 Examples include foam debris, glass shards, and other types of waste commonly found on beaches.

[0057] See Figure 3 The multi-segmented, bent mole forefoot-shaped bionic rake teeth 18-1 of the spiral bionic rake teeth 18 form a set angle with the plane of rotation to simulate the coupling effect of the optimal tangential entry angle of the front paws and the normal digging force when the mole digs, so that the rake teeth act along the mechanical trajectory and convert rotational kinetic energy into the motion of grabbing, lifting and axially transporting garbage and sand.

[0058] See Figure 4 The sand-shoveling plate 19 is narrow at the front and wide at the back, and is connected to the frame via a folding plate. During operation, the front end of the sand-shoveling plate 19 penetrates into the sand layer, applying an upward force to the waste, and lifting it into the space of the inward folding plate 20 that holds sand and waste, preventing it from sinking back into the sand layer and affecting collection efficiency, and preventing small-sized waste from falling onto the sand bed.

[0059] See Figure 5 The vibrating screen 8 has vibrating screen sidewalls 8-4 on both sides to prevent the waste-sand mixture from sliding sideways when it is conveyed upward.

[0060] See also Figure 5 and combined Figure 2 The width of the vibrating screen 8 gradually decreases from front to back. While the vibrating screen vibrates, it gathers waste towards the center, causing the waste to fall into the hopper 21. The waste in the hopper 21 is higher in the middle and lower on both sides. As the loading capacity increases, the waste slides to both sides on its own, thereby increasing the effective capacity of the hopper 21 and reducing the width of the hopper 21 to be sufficient to be pulled out from the rear of the vehicle.

[0061] See Figure 1The device also includes a spiral rake tooth top cover 7 and a collision emergency stop barrier 6. The spiral rake tooth top cover 7 is fixed to the frame, covering the front and top of the spiral bionic rake teeth 18. The collision emergency stop barrier 6 is fixed to the front and rear of the entire device. To improve operational safety, physical collision emergency stop barriers are arranged at both ends of the vehicle body. Among them, the barrier-type emergency stop switch is connected to the vehicle body through a connecting rod. When a physical collision occurs, the rod-shaped physical contact emergency stop switch achieves a rapid, definite, and manually reset emergency power-off function through a series of reliable direct linkages of "mechanical contact, drive mechanism, forced disconnection of normally closed contacts, and mechanical locking of the power-off state." It is an important physical barrier in industrial safety. Its core working principle is to instantly cut off the power supply or control circuit of the equipment through direct mechanical triggering, thereby forcing the equipment to stop running and preventing personnel injury or equipment damage. The physical collision emergency stop barrier in this embodiment is a type of emergency stop switch. Its working principle is the same as that of an emergency stop switch, but it is longer. It can immediately cut off the power to the circuit when it touches any position. The connecting rod is made of brittle material and will break if the instantaneous pressure is too high to protect the vehicle body; the physical collision emergency stop barrier forms a coupled obstacle avoidance system with ultrasonic and lidar obstacle avoidance to effectively protect pedestrians, surrounding objects and the device itself.

[0062] See Figure 2 and combined Figure 6 It also includes a towed rake tooth 12, which is fixed to the rear side of the frame, located below the collision emergency stop bar 6, and extends rearward by a length less than the collision emergency stop bar 6.

[0063] See Figure 7 The hopper 21 is equipped with a screen with a mesh size smaller than or equal to the smallest grade of the vibrating screen 8, which is used to allow sand to pass through, thereby improving the storage efficiency of the hopper and the single cleaning capacity of the device.

[0064] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below:

[0065] The collection-screening module is the core component of the device for achieving beach cleaning functionality. Located at the front of the vehicle, it is connected to the vehicle frame via a linkage transmission system and enables the adjustment of the collection device's posture and the vibration of the vibrating screen. This module mainly consists of a spiral bionic rake tooth, a sand-shoveling plate, a vibrating screen, and an inward-facing folding plate.

[0066] The spiral bionic rake teeth are located at the front end of the device's bottom, under a top cover. This top cover is rainproof and dustproof, preventing the rake operation from exacerbating beach dust pollution and preventing collected waste from being knocked out of the device's operating area by the rotating rake gears. The structure mainly consists of mole-forefoot bionic rake teeth, a rotating shaft, and rubber bearings. The mole-forefoot bionic rake teeth are designed using biomimicry, drawing inspiration from the movement patterns and functions of a mole's forelimbs, such as... Figure 3As shown, the mechanism mechanically simulates the movement pattern of a mole's forelimbs: the contour curve of the rake teeth mimics the toes of a mole's forepaws, allowing them to efficiently cut into and loosen the sand during operation as the rotating shaft rotates, while simultaneously ruffling the garbage-sand mixture and converging it within the effective collection width of the device. Each bionic toe is not vertically positioned but at a specific angle to the plane of rotation, simulating the coupling effect of the optimal tangential entry angle and normal digging force of a mole's forepaws during digging. This ensures the rake teeth operate along the optimal mechanical trajectory, achieving efficient transport of the mixture. This design avoids the high-resistance "plowing" motion of vertical structures, effectively converting rotational kinetic energy into gripping, lifting, and axial transport of garbage-sand, improving energy utilization efficiency and cleaning effect. The rotating shaft enables the spiral arrangement of more than 30 sets of bionic rake teeth and carries the aforementioned rake gears for operation; the spiral arrangement effectively ensures the continuity of the collection process and improves collection efficiency. Rubber materials are used for all connecting bearings to reduce device wear and extend system life.

[0067] The sand-shoveling plate, located behind the spiral rake teeth, is a thick metal plate, narrower at the front and wider at the back, covering the entire width of the vehicle. It is connected to the frame via a folding plate. During operation, the front end of the sand-shoveling plate penetrates deep into the sand layer, applying an upward force to the waste and lifting it into the vibrating screen, preventing it from sinking back into the sand layer and affecting collection efficiency. The inward-facing folding plate is located at the bottom of the vibrating screen, below the sand-shoveling plate. It bends inward into the vehicle body, forming a dynamic quasi-closed structure with the sand-shoveling plate, effectively preventing small-sized waste from falling onto the sand bed.

[0068] The vibrating screen is located behind the sand-shoveling plate, inside the main body of the device. It mainly consists of screen surfaces with large, medium, and small apertures, vibrating screen sidewalls, and detachable connecting parts. The vibrating screen is connected to the vehicle frame via a linkage transmission device, and achieves reciprocating motion parallel to its own installation direction through a motor mounted on it, with the trajectory appearing as a parallelogram.

[0069] Furthermore, the screen aperture area of ​​the vibrating screen decreases sequentially from low to high, with the aperture sizes being large, medium, and small. This balances high sand removal efficiency with improved collection rates for small-sized waste materials. The screen also features a modular, easily replaceable design, allowing for flexible selection of different aperture sizes based on the size of the sand and target materials in the work area. This ensures high efficiency, high waste collection rates, and low energy consumption in clean tidal flat operations. Side walls on both sides of the vibrating screen prevent lateral slippage of the waste-sand mixture during upward conveyance; these side walls are hinged to the screen mesh via detachable connectors.

[0070] The walking module consists of two parts: a tracked walking device and a towed rake tooth, which improves the walking performance and environmental adaptability of the beach cleaning equipment.

[0071] The tracked travel device is located on both sides of the vehicle body and is covered with sand-resistant anti-slip patterns. The electrical control compartment can control the track motor to plan the track speed and direction of travel in real time, achieving precise cleaning in conjunction with the intelligent control system. The towed rake teeth are located at the rear of the vehicle body, below the guardrail, and mainly consist of comb-shaped rake teeth, a sand-sliding plate, and a support frame. Unlike traditional flatbed structures, the leveling system of this invention is composed of comb-shaped rake teeth. After the tracked travel and the collection-screening system operation, the surface sand is restored to its natural sand wave state through this structure, which helps to maintain the sand layer's ecological environment. The comb-shaped rake teeth are connected to the vehicle body and the sand-sliding plate through the support frame. The sand-sliding plate is used to fix the vertical height of the comb-shaped rake teeth and can be flexibly adjusted according to the actual situation.

[0072] Finally, the hopper 21 is located at the rear of the vehicle body, below the top of the vibrating screen, and rests on the vehicle body support. The hopper has no top cover, and the bottom is a removable screen, allowing fine particles such as sand and dust that fall into the hopper to pass through the screen holes and be backfilled, ensuring that only garbage, gravel, and other waste materials remain in the hopper, significantly improving loading efficiency. After operation, the garbage, gravel, and other waste materials can be removed by pulling out the screen.

[0073] Structure: The beach cleaning device is a two-sided tracked vehicle. The vehicle body consists of a frame structure, body panels, a front hatch, and a rear hatch. The front and rear hatches are connected to the body panels via self-locking latches. A photovoltaic panel covers the back of the vehicle, and rainproof charging ports are located on the sides. The interior houses a battery and an electronic control compartment. The beach cleaning device can be divided into three parts: an intelligent control module, a collection-screening module, and a walking module.

[0074] The intelligent control module features two RTK systems, a three-degree-of-freedom gimbal equipped with a high-definition night vision device, and ultrasonic radar. Dual RTK antennas are located at the front left and rear right of the vehicle, spaced apart. The gimbal is situated on the top of the front cabin. Two ultrasonic radars are located at the leading edge of the data acquisition and screening device. Physical collision emergency stop barriers are installed at both the front and rear ends of the vehicle, with barrier-type emergency stop switches connected to the vehicle body via connecting rods.

[0075] The collection-screening module is connected to the vehicle frame via a linkage transmission system and mainly consists of a spiral bionic rake tooth, a sand-shoveling plate, a vibrating screen, and an inward-facing folding plate. The spiral bionic rake tooth is located at the front end of the device's bottom, under the spiral rake tooth top cover, and mainly consists of mole forefoot bionic rake teeth, a rotating shaft, and rubber bearings. The mole forefoot bionic rake teeth are biomimeticly designed, drawing inspiration from the movement and function of a mole's forelimbs. The contour curve of the rake teeth mimics the shape of a mole's forefoot toes. Each bionic toe forms a specific angle with the plane of rotation to simulate the coupling effect of the optimal tangential entry angle and normal digging force of a mole's forefoot during digging. It is rotatably mounted in a rubber bearing, on which more than 30 sets of bionic rake teeth are spirally arranged. The sand-shoveling plate is located behind the spiral rake tooth and is a thick metal plate, narrower at the front and wider at the back, covering the entire width of the vehicle body. It is connected to the frame via folding plates. The inward-curving plate is located at the bottom of the vibrating screen, below the sand-shoveling plate. It bends inward towards the vehicle body, forming a dynamic quasi-closed structure with the sand-shoveling plate. The vibrating screen is located behind the sand-shoveling plate, inside the vehicle body, and mainly consists of screen surfaces with large, medium, and small apertures, vibrating screen side walls, and detachable connecting parts. The vibrating screen has side walls on both sides, which are hinged to the screen mesh section of the vibrating screen through detachable connecting parts.

[0076] The walking module consists of two parts: a tracked traveling device and a towed rake. The tracked traveling device is located on both sides of the vehicle body and is covered with sand-resistant treads. The towed rake is located at the rear of the vehicle body, below the guardrail, and mainly consists of comb-shaped rake teeth, a sand-skimming plate, and a support frame. The comb-shaped rake teeth are connected to the vehicle body and the sand-skimming plate through the support frame. The sand-skimming plate is used to fix the vertical height of the comb-shaped rake teeth and can be flexibly adjusted according to actual conditions.

[0077] The hopper is located at the rear of the vehicle body, below the top of the vibrating screen, and is mounted on the vehicle body support. The top of the hopper is uncovered, and the bottom is a removable screen.

[0078] Image Recognition and Path Planning: This device achieves intelligent perception, high-precision positioning, and fully autonomous operation control in the beach environment through a multi-source heterogeneous sensor fusion architecture. The system integrates SLAM lidar, ultrasonic radar, infrared night vision, high-definition cameras, and a dual-antenna RTK system to collaboratively complete environmental modeling, target recognition, path planning, and dynamic control. The RTK system provides centimeter-level relative positioning based on base stations, while the SLAM lidar constructs a 3D point cloud map in real time. The fusion of these two systems enables high-precision positioning and local map construction in dynamic environments. The ultrasonic radar supplements near-ground obstacles and micro-topography information, the infrared night vision ensures continuous visual perception at night and in low-light conditions, and the high-definition camera is used for real-time identification and density analysis of litter targets based on deep learning algorithms.

[0079] Based on multi-sensor fusion information, the system divides the work area into grids and assigns weights, then uses artificial intelligence algorithms to plan the globally optimal cleaning path. Simultaneously, based on the real-time identified target object distribution density, it dynamically adjusts the rotational speed of the helical bionic rake teeth and the operating frequency and amplitude of the vibrating screen to achieve adaptive matching of operating power.

[0080] In terms of walking control, the system uses differential control to achieve track steering and terrain adaptation based on path planning results and real-time fused perception data. When lidar or ultrasonic radar detects an obstacle, the system activates a multi-level obstacle avoidance strategy, combining visual confirmation to decelerate, detour, or brake urgently. This, along with a physical collision emergency stop barrier, forms a redundant safety system, ensuring efficient, stable, and reliable operation of the device in complex beach environments.

[0081] Waste removal: The beach cleaning device moves along a planned path. The spirally arranged mole-like rake teeth on the rotating shaft reciprocate, gathering waste within the effective cleaning width of the soil surface. Garbage, gravel, and other waste enter the vibrating screen area along with the sand-shoveling plate. Due to the quasi-dynamic closed structure of the inward-folding plate and the sand-shoveling plate, they do not leave the cleaning range. Then, the motor, through the linkage transmission assembly, provides vibration at a certain frequency parallel to the vibrating screen direction to the lower vibration transmission assembly, causing the screen to vibrate reciprocally. The vibrating screen, in turn, drives the lower hopper to vibrate longitudinally and horizontally through the connecting parts. Larger waste items are trapped in the screen mesh and rise due to inertia, eventually falling into the hopper; smaller sand and soil fall into the screen openings and backfill the beach bottom. After the operation, the screen can be removed to collect the waste.

[0082] In summary, the present invention has the following key advantages:

[0083] I. Strong adaptability to complex beach cleaning environments such as hard sandy bottoms and wet sand:

[0084] The biomimetic mole-like forefoot spiral rake teeth can loosen hard sand layers or break up clumps of wet sand and excavate deep waste to the surface. Inspired by the shape of a mole's forefoot, the teeth are spirally distributed along the axis of rotation, which helps to gather waste towards the center and also ensures that the overall force is evenly distributed, thereby maintaining a stable ground clearance when the equipment is moving. Subsequently, the sand-shoveling plate of the vibrating screen can be inserted into the loosened sand layer with low resistance, and the surface mixture is introduced into the screen surface of the vibrating screen.

[0085] Taking advantage of the high specific gravity of sand (especially wet sand) and the fact that waste is usually located on the upper layer of the mixture, the screen surface adopts a variable aperture layout with a sparse bottom and a dense top. This achieves efficient sand leakage while improving the capture rate of small-sized, low-specific-gravity waste (such as cigarette butts and foam fragments), thereby achieving deep cleaning.

[0086] II. Possesses the capability for deep sand penetration, high efficiency, high collection rate, low energy consumption, and safe beach cleaning operations:

[0087] 1) Large sand penetration depth and low energy consumption: The spiral bionic rake tooth structure enables deep sand digging, which gathers waste into the effective collection width of the device. This reduces the resistance for the sand shovel plate, sand guide and vibrating screen to reciprocate in the deep sand layer, thus enabling the equipment to operate at a large sand penetration depth and operate with low energy consumption and long endurance. The connection between the sand surface and the lifting and conveying facilities is improved, the obstruction and energy consumption can be reduced, and the efficiency can be improved.

[0088] 2) High efficiency and high collection rate: The inward-facing folding plate is integrated with the vibrating screen, providing a space to accommodate sand and waste. The vibrating screen, inward-facing folding plate, and sand-shoveling plate form a dynamic quasi-closed structure, which can effectively prevent small-sized waste from falling onto the sand bed.

[0089] 3) The screen aperture area of ​​the vibrating screen decreases progressively from low to high, thereby improving the collection rate of small-sized, low-density waste while maintaining high sand leakage efficiency, achieving a better balance between the two. The screen aperture of the vibrating screen decreases progressively from bottom to top. This design is based on the separation kinetics of sand mixtures: in the initial stage, the mixture contains a high proportion of sand particles, and their density is usually greater than that of lightweight waste such as cigarette butts and plastic scraps. Under high-intensity reciprocating vibration, the denser sand particles are more likely to fall back to the sand bed through the larger apertures at the bottom; while lightweight waste remains on the screen surface due to inertia and is not easy to overflow from the large apertures. As the screen continues to vibrate, the waste moves upward along the screen surface step by step. During this process, the proportion of sand particles decreases rapidly, and the probability of sand particles instantaneously clogging the screen apertures decreases. Therefore, the gradually decreasing aperture can significantly improve the capture rate of small-sized waste while maintaining efficient sand separation.

[0090] 4) Safe beach cleaning operation: A coupled obstacle avoidance module was designed that integrates physical collision emergency stop barriers, ultrasonic and lidar obstacle stopping to effectively protect the safety of pedestrians, surrounding objects and the equipment itself.

[0091] III. High Degree of Intelligent Beach Cleaning Operations, High Precision and Reliability: Current beach cleaning equipment generally suffers from shortcomings in reliable dynamic obstacle avoidance and high-precision anti-interference navigation. Faced with dynamic lighting changes, sudden weather changes, and low-texture environments, traditional positioning methods relying solely on vision, SLAM, or GNSS / RTK are prone to feature extraction failure due to fluctuations in ambient light intensity, or GNSS signal drift caused by terrain obstruction, multipath effects, and dense electromagnetic interference. This results in decreased positioning accuracy and limited system robustness for single-mode sensors in complex outdoor scenarios. To address this, this invention constructs a multi-source heterogeneous sensor fusion framework. Based on the specific operating environment, it integrates or combines multi-dimensional data to form a composite positioning and navigation technology with environmental adaptability, achieving centimeter-level positioning accuracy and real-time dynamic obstacle avoidance even in high-density crowd environments. Furthermore, by integrating a coupled obstacle avoidance module that combines physical collision emergency stop barriers with ultrasonic and lidar obstacle stopping, the safety protection capabilities for pedestrians, surrounding objects, and the equipment itself during operations are effectively improved.

[0092] The above are preferred embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or improvements based on these embodiments. Without departing from the overall concept of the present invention, such modifications or improvements should fall within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening, characterized in that: Includes a frame, spiral bionic rake teeth (18), sand shovel (19), inward folding plate (20), vibrating screen (8), and hopper (21); The spiral bionic rake teeth (18) are fixedly mounted on the front end of the vehicle frame. It includes a rotating shaft (18-3) and a multi-segmented, bent mole forefoot bionic rake teeth (18-1) spirally arranged along the rotating shaft (18-3). The rear of the spiral bionic rake teeth (18) is provided with the sand-shoveling plate (19), which is in the shape of a flat trapezoid and is fixed relative to the vehicle frame; An inward folding plate (20) is provided at the rear of the sand shovel plate (19), and the inward folding plate (20) forms a space for accommodating sand and waste; the inward folding plate (20) is fixed on the vibrating screen (8) located behind it; The vibrating screen (8) is stepped, and the vibration direction is along the front and back direction of the inclined plane. The screen holes on the vibrating screen (8) are divided into multiple aperture levels from front to back, and the aperture of each aperture level gradually decreases.

2. The intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The aperture grades are divided into three levels: large aperture sieve surface (8-1), medium aperture sieve surface (8-2), and small aperture sieve surface (8-3). The large-aperture screen (8-1) utilizes the fact that sand has a higher specific gravity than waste and that waste is usually located on the upper layer of the mixture to remove most of the sand. At the same time, some waste with an outer diameter smaller than the screen holes of the large-aperture screen (8-1) is vibrated and sent to the medium-aperture screen (8-2) before it can fall off the large-aperture screen (8-1). Similarly, some waste with an outer diameter smaller than the medium aperture screen surface (8-2) is vibrated and sent to the small aperture screen surface (8-1) before it can fall off the medium aperture screen surface (8-2).

3. The intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The waste includes at least one of the following: cigarette butts, plastic waste, foam waste, food waste, cardboard, glass shards, nails, wire, bamboo skewers, and shell fragments.

4. The intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-segmented, bent mole forefoot-shaped bionic rake teeth (18-1) of the spiral bionic rake teeth (18) form a set angle with the plane of rotation to simulate the coupling effect of the optimal tangential entry angle of the forefoot and the normal digging force when the mole digs, so that the rake teeth act along the mechanical trajectory and convert the rotational kinetic energy into the motion of grabbing, lifting and axially transporting garbage and sand.

5. The intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The sand shovel (19) is narrow at the front and wide at the back, and is connected to the frame by a folding plate. During operation, the front end of the sand shovel (19) penetrates into the sand layer, applies an upward force to the waste, and lifts it into the space of the inward folding plate (20) that holds the sand and waste, thus preventing small-sized waste from falling onto the sand bed and affecting the collection efficiency.

6. The intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The vibrating screen (8) has vibrating screen sidewalls (8-4) on both sides to prevent the waste-sand mixture from sliding sideways when it is conveyed upward.

7. The intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in claim 6, characterized in that: The width of the vibrating screen (8) gradually decreases from front to back. While the vibrating screen vibrates, it gathers waste towards the middle, causing the waste to fall into the hopper (21). The waste in the hopper (21) is high in the middle and low on both sides. As the loading increases, the waste slides down to both sides on its own, thereby increasing the effective capacity of the hopper (21) and reducing the width of the hopper (21) to be sufficient to be pulled out from the rear of the vehicle.

8. The intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a spiral rake tooth top cover (7) and a collision emergency stop bar (6); the spiral rake tooth top cover (7) is fixed on the frame and covers the front and top of the spiral bionic rake tooth (18); the collision emergency stop bar (6) is fixed on the front and rear of the entire device.

9. The intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in claim 8, characterized in that: It also includes a towed rake tooth (12), which is fixed to the rear side of the frame, located below the collision emergency stop bar (6), and extends rearward by a length less than the collision emergency stop bar (6).

10. The intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom of the silo (21) is equipped with a screen, the mesh size of which is smaller than or equal to the smallest grade of the vibrating screen (8) for sand leakage, so as to improve the storage efficiency of the silo and the single cleaning capacity of the intelligent self-driving beach cleaning device.

11. A beach cleaning method using an intelligent self-propelled beach cleaning device based on biomimetic rake teeth and variable diameter screening as described in any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that: Image Recognition and Path Planning: The control system integrates SLAM lidar, ultrasonic radar, infrared night vision, high-definition camera, and dual-antenna RTK system to collaboratively complete environmental modeling, target recognition, path planning, and dynamic control. The RTK system provides centimeter-level relative positioning based on base stations, while SLAM lidar constructs a 3D point cloud map in real time. The fusion of these two systems achieves high-precision positioning and local map construction in dynamic environments. Ultrasonic radar supplements information on near-ground obstacles and micro-topography, infrared night vision ensures continuous visual perception at night and in low-light conditions, and high-definition camera is used for real-time identification and density analysis of garbage targets based on deep learning algorithms. The control system divides the work area into grids and assigns weights based on multi-sensor fusion information, and plans the globally optimal cleaning path using artificial intelligence algorithms. Simultaneously, based on the real-time identified target distribution density, the system dynamically adjusts the rotation speed of the bionic spiral rake teeth and the working frequency and amplitude of the vibrating screen to achieve adaptive matching of operating power. Walking control: The control system uses differential control to achieve track steering and terrain adaptation based on path planning results and real-time fused perception data. When the lidar or ultrasonic radar detects an obstacle, the control system activates a multi-level obstacle avoidance strategy, combines visual confirmation to decelerate, detour or brake in an emergency, and forms a redundant safety system with the physical collision emergency stop barrier. Waste removal: The beach cleaning device moves along the planned path. The spirally arranged mole-like rake teeth on the rotating shaft reciprocate, converging the waste to the effective cleaning width on the soil surface. The waste enters the vibrating screen along with the sand-shoveling plate, and due to the quasi-dynamic closed structure of the inward-folding plate and the sand-shoveling plate, it does not fall out of the cleaning range. The screen vibrates reciprocally; the waste rises due to inertia. The large-aperture screen (8-1) utilizes the fact that sand has a higher specific gravity than waste, and that waste is usually located on the upper layer of the mixture, to remove most of the sand while retaining some. Waste with an outer diameter smaller than the large aperture screen (8-1) is vibrated and sent to the medium aperture screen (8-2) before it can fall off the large aperture screen (8-1); similarly, some waste with an outer diameter smaller than the medium aperture screen (8-2) is vibrated and sent to the small aperture screen (8-1) before it can fall off the medium aperture screen (8-2); finally, the waste falls into the hopper through the small aperture screen (8-3); sand falls into the screen mesh and is backfilled into the sandy bottom; after the operation is completed, the waste is extracted from the hopper.

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