Strawberry pedicle cutting and separating mechanism, system and method

Abstract

The invention provides a strawberry pedicle cutting and separating mechanism, system and method.The strawberry pedicle cutting and separating mechanism comprises a round pipe cutting knife, a negative pressure material suction system, a conveying belt, an industrial camera, a parallel robot and an industrial personal computer, a cutting edge is arranged on the outer edge of the bottom of the round pipe cutting knife, and the negative pressure material suction system is in sealed connection with the upper portion of the round pipe cutting knife through a hose; when the negative-pressure material suction system discharges or does not discharge materials, the negative-pressure material suction system can enable the bottom of the circular pipe cutting knife to suck the materials; the round pipe cutting knife is vertically arranged at the center of a moving platform at the bottom of the parallel robot, the industrial camera and the parallel robot are both arranged in the area above the conveying belt, the industrial camera is closer to the feeding end of the conveying belt than the parallel robot, and the industrial personal computer can achieve operation control over the conveying belt, the industrial camera, the parallel robot and the negative pressure material suction system. The strawberry pedicle removing device can automatically, efficiently and accurately remove strawberry pedicles.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of strawberry deep processing technology, specifically a strawberry stem cutting and separation mechanism, system and method. Background Technology

[0002] Strawberries are a popular fruit, and the demand for processed strawberry products such as jam, juice, and frozen strawberries is increasing daily. Removing the strawberry stem (the green calyx and pedicel) is a necessary step in both primary and advanced strawberry processing. Currently, the vast majority of strawberry processing companies, both domestically and internationally, still remove the stems manually.

[0003] The manual removal of the stem has the following significant drawbacks: 1. High fruit damage rate: Strawberries are soft and juicy. When using knives or stem-removing tools, it is easy to cut the fruit flesh due to improper control of force and angle, resulting in a decrease in yield and waste of raw materials.

[0004] 2. Difficulty in ensuring hygiene conditions: Manual operation is difficult to fully meet the hygiene standards of food processing, which may pose a risk of cross-contamination and affect product safety.

[0005] 3. Low production efficiency: Manual stem removal is slow, and workers are prone to fatigue from repetitive work for long periods of time, resulting in low overall processing efficiency and making it difficult to meet the needs of large-scale production.

[0006] 4. High labor costs: With the continuous rise in labor costs, the processing method of removing strawberries from their stems by a large number of people increases the cost pressure on enterprises and reduces their competitiveness. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to provide a strawberry stem cutting and separating mechanism, system and method that can automatically, efficiently and accurately remove strawberry stems.

[0008] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is: a strawberry stem cutting and separating mechanism, including a round tube cutting blade and a negative pressure suction system. A cutting blade is provided on the bottom outer edge of the round tube cutting blade. The negative pressure suction system is sealed to the upper part of the round tube cutting blade through a hose. Whether the negative pressure suction system is discharging material or not, the negative pressure suction system can make the bottom of the round tube cutting blade suck in material.

[0009] Preferably, the negative pressure suction system includes a vortex blower, a first connecting pipe, and a cyclone separator. The air inlet of the vortex blower is connected to the external air outlet pipe of the cyclone separator through the first connecting pipe. The air inlet of the cyclone separator is connected to a through pipe. The air inlet of the through pipe is sealed to the upper part of the round tube cutter through a flexible hose. Two vertically spaced gate valves are provided on the material collection pipe of the cyclone separator. The gates of the two gate valves can respectively block or open the material collection pipe.

[0010] Furthermore, a removable sealing cover is provided on the upper part of the cyclone separator, and the upper air outlet of the cyclone separator and the air inlet of the external air outlet pipe are both located inside the sealing cover. A first filter assembly is provided on the upper air outlet of the cyclone separator, and a second filter assembly is provided at the air inlet of the external air outlet pipe.

[0011] Furthermore, the bottom of the tube cutting blade has a conical structure, and several auxiliary separation grooves located above the cutting edge are provided on the circumferential sidewall of the tube cutting blade.

[0012] A strawberry stem cutting and separation system includes the strawberry stem cutting and separation mechanism described above. The separation system also includes a conveyor belt, an industrial camera, a parallel robot, and an industrial control computer. The round tube cutting blade is vertically arranged at the center of the moving platform at the bottom of the parallel robot. The industrial camera and the parallel robot are both arranged in the area above the conveyor belt, and the industrial camera is closer to the feed end of the conveyor belt than the parallel robot. The industrial control computer can realize the operation control of the conveyor belt, the industrial camera, the parallel robot, and the negative pressure suction system.

[0013] Furthermore, the round tube cutting blade includes an upper round tube, a middle round tube, and a lower round tube. A cutting blade mounting base is provided in the middle of the moving platform. A stepped hole is provided inside the cutting blade mounting base. The upper round tube and the middle round tube are sequentially fitted into the stepped hole. The middle round tube is connected to the bottom of the cutting blade mounting base by a quick-release connection. The upper round tube and the middle round tube can move up and down and be positioned within the stepped hole. A spring is fitted on the lower outer side of the upper round tube and is locked between the shoulder of the stepped hole and the external protrusion provided on the lower part of the upper round tube. The upper part of the lower round tube is connected to the lower part of the middle round tube by a threaded connection.

[0014] Furthermore, three U-shaped grooves are evenly spaced on the outer circumferential sidewall of the middle tube. One upper end of each U-shaped groove penetrates the upper sidewall of the middle tube. A retaining ring is provided at the bottom of the cutter mounting base. A retaining plate corresponding to the open end of the corresponding U-shaped groove is provided on the inner circumferential sidewall of the retaining ring. The retaining plate can enter the closed end of the corresponding U-shaped groove through the open end of the U-shaped groove, and the retaining plate can move up and down and be positioned within the closed end of the corresponding U-shaped groove.

[0015] Furthermore, the system also includes a water tank, which is set within the activity range of the corresponding mobile platform, and a water pump can be used to deliver flowing water into the water tank.

[0016] A method for cutting and separating strawberry stems includes the strawberry stem cutting and separating system described above. The separation method further includes the following steps: an industrial camera takes pictures of the strawberries within the imaging area conveyed by the conveyor belt and transmits the image data to an industrial control computer. The industrial control computer performs noise reduction processing on the image. The image data is further processed to identify the strawberry body and the strawberry stem area. The center of the strawberry stem area is used as the cutting positioning reference. The image coordinates of the cutting positioning reference are converted into spatial coordinates under the motion coordinate system of the parallel robot actuator. The parallel robot drives the round tube cutter to move and track the target strawberry for cutting. When cutting the strawberry stem with the round tube cutter, the center point of the round tube cutter corresponds to the cutting positioning reference, and the round tube cutter performs a vertical downward cutting relative to the strawberry along the Z-axis. After completing the vertical downward cutting action, the strawberry stem is accurately cut off and the waste is simultaneously sucked in by negative pressure.

[0017] Furthermore, after continuously performing strawberry stem cutting and negative pressure separation for a certain period of time, the water pump is first started to supply water to the water tank. After the water flow stabilizes, the bottom of the round tube cutter is inserted into the water tank, and the negative pressure suction of the round tube cutter is used to draw water from the round tube cutter.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this invention are: This invention enables automatic, efficient, and precise removal of strawberry stems; the use of a round tube cutting blade to directly press down and cut the strawberry stem greatly reduces the risk of mechanical damage to the strawberry fruit during the cutting process, maximizing the protection of the strawberry flesh; during the cutting process, a negative pressure system simultaneously sucks in and transports the stem waste generated during cutting to a designated collection area, preventing waste accumulation from interfering with subsequent operations; the water flow in the water tank can rinse the round tube cutting blade, hose, and the inner wall of the cyclone separator, effectively preventing strawberry juice and residue from drying and clogging the blades and pipes; the entire cutting process is controlled in a closed loop by an industrial control computer, requiring no manual intervention, significantly improving efficiency and hygiene; During image processing, the main body area of ​​the strawberry and the strawberry stem area are identified simultaneously, thereby effectively improving the identification accuracy and positioning robustness of the strawberry stem area. The strawberry stem area is where all the sepals at the back of the strawberry are located, so the strawberry stem area can be effectively identified for strawberries with various sepal distribution patterns (such as outward and inward), thus ensuring the identification ability of the strawberry stem and improving the cutting ability of the strawberry stem of this invention. The bottom of the round tube cutter has a circular structure and a large cutting range, so it has a certain tolerance for cutting errors when cutting strawberry stems. At the same time, combined with the auxiliary positioning method with the center of the strawberry stem area as the positioning reference of the center point of the round tube cutter, the cutting and removal of the strawberry stem can be effectively guaranteed. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some preferred embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of a specific embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the relative distribution of industrial cameras and parallel robots on a conveyor belt. Figure 3 A front view of two cyclone separators distributed on the same support frame; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing two insert plates distributed vertically on the material collection pipe. Figure 5 This is a top view of the insert plate; Figure 6 This is a longitudinal sectional view of a round tube cutting tool; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of a round tube cutting tool; Figure 8A schematic diagram illustrating the identification of the main body area and the stem area of ​​a strawberry; Figure 9 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of point A in the middle; Figure 10 for Figure 1 Enlarged view at point B in the middle; In the diagram: 1. Round tube cutting blade, 11. Upper round tube, 12. Middle round tube, 121. U-shaped groove, 122. Open end, 123. Closed end, 13. Lower round tube, 131. Cutting blade, 132. Auxiliary separation groove, 14. Spring, 21. Vortex fan, 22. First connecting pipe, 23. Cyclone separator, 231. External air outlet pipe, 232. Air inlet, 233. First filter assembly, 234. Second filter assembly, 235. Insert plate, 2351. Discharge port, 2352. Connecting lug, 236. Material collection pipe, 237. Material collection box, 238. Support frame, 239. First cylinder, 24. Hose, 3. Conveyor belt, 4. Industrial camera, 5. Parallel robot, 51. Mobile platform, 511. Cutting blade mounting base, 512. Clamping ring, 61. Strawberry body, 62. Outwardly turned sepals, 63. Inwardly attached sepals, 64. Strawberry body area, 65. Strawberry stem area. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The following will describe specific embodiments and appendices. Figure 1-10 The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some preferred embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make similar modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0022] This invention provides a strawberry stem cutting and separation mechanism (such as...) Figure 1As shown, the device includes a cylindrical cutting blade 1 and a negative pressure suction system. The cylindrical cutting blade 1 is cylindrical and hollow inside. In practical applications, it can be combined with the negative pressure suction system to achieve integrated cutting and waste removal operations. A cutting blade 131 is provided on the outer edge of the bottom of the cylindrical cutting blade 1. The design of the cutting blade 131 can reduce the squeezing of the strawberry when the cylindrical cutting blade 1 is cutting the strawberry, thereby effectively reducing the risk of damage to the strawberry skin during the cutting process. Furthermore, after the strawberry stem is cut, in order to facilitate the effective separation of the remaining strawberry fruit from the outer wall of the cylindrical cutting blade 1, the bottom of the cylindrical cutting blade 1 is made into a conical structure, and several auxiliary separation grooves 132 are provided on the circumferential side wall of the cylindrical cutting blade 1 above the cutting blade 131. The auxiliary separation grooves 132 can reduce the contact area between the strawberry fruit and the outer wall of the cylindrical cutting blade 1, and accelerate the natural fall of the fruit. The negative pressure suction system is sealed to the upper part of the round tube cutter 1 via a flexible hose 24. In practical applications, to ensure the flexibility of the flexible hose 24 while also taking into account its resistance to negative pressure deformation, the flexible hose 24 is made of corrugated steel wire. Whether the negative pressure suction system is discharging or not, it can still draw material into the bottom of the round tube cutter 1. Utilizing the aforementioned working capacity of the negative pressure suction system, the round tube cutter 1 can be used for continuous cutting operations over a long period of time, while simultaneously removing sepal fragments and sap residue generated during cutting, thereby greatly improving the cleanliness and efficiency of the cutting operation.

[0023] Based on the above embodiments, a specific implementation of one embodiment of the negative pressure suction system is as follows: The negative pressure suction system includes a vortex blower 21, a first connecting pipe 22, and a cyclone separator 23. The vortex blower 21 is used to realize air flow, and the cyclone separator 23 utilizes the principle of centrifugal force to effectively separate solid impurities from air in the flowing air. Both the vortex blower 21 and the cyclone separator 23 are known mature technologies in the existing technical field, therefore, the specific structure and working principle of the vortex blower 21 and the cyclone separator 23 will not be described in detail here. The air intake of the vortex blower 21 is connected to the external air outlet pipe 231 of the cyclone separator 23 through the first connecting pipe 22. In this specific embodiment, the first connecting pipe 21... 2 can be a ventilation duct composed of stainless steel pipes. The separated clean airflow enters the vortex blower 21 through the external outlet duct 231, and then is discharged to the atmosphere from the exhaust port of the vortex blower 21. The air inlet of the cyclone separator 23 is connected to a through duct. The air inlet of the through duct is sealed to the upper part of the round tube cutter 1 through a flexible hose 24. In actual application, the airflow mixed with cutting impurities enters the cyclone separator 23 through the air inlet 232. Under the action of centrifugal force, the airflow and solid impurities are efficiently separated. Two vertically spaced gate valves are provided on the material collection pipe 236 of the cyclone separator 23. The gate valves 235 of the two gate valves can respectively realize the material collection. The specific implementation method for sealing or opening the material collection pipe 236, with two insert plates 235 installed on the material collection pipe 236, is as follows: The cyclone separator 23 is fixedly mounted on a support frame 238. The material collection pipe 236 is vertically arranged and divided into upper and lower connecting pipes. The lower part of the upper connecting pipe and the upper part of the lower connecting pipe are both mounted on the support frame 238, and the two connecting pipes are in a connected state. One insert plate 235 is distributed between the two connecting pipes, and the other insert plate 235 is located at the bottom outlet of the lower connecting pipe. When the upper insert plate 235 is closed, the opening of the upper connecting pipe can be sealed. When the lower insert plate 235 is closed, the outlet of the lower connecting pipe can be sealed. In practical applications, to improve the effect of the insert plate 235 on the material collection pipe 236, the following measures are taken: To improve the sealing effect of the connecting pipe openings, a pipe end sealing ring can be fitted on the lower openings of both connecting pipes. The pipe end sealing ring is made of elastic silicone and is pressed between the insert plate 235 and the end face of the connecting pipe to form a reliable seal. When the lower insert plate 235 is closed and the upper insert plate 235 is open, the material can be temporarily stored in the two connecting pipes. When the upper insert plate 235 is closed and the lower insert plate 235 is open, the accumulated material is discharged directionally through the bottom outlet under the action of gravity. During the discharge process, the upper insert plate 235 is used for sealing, which can effectively prevent the backflow of external air and ensure that the cyclone separator 23 can still provide a stable negative pressure environment for the round pipe cutting blade 1 during the discharge process, thus ensuring the cleanliness and safety of the cutting operation.After discharge is completed, the lower baffle 235 closes and the upper baffle 235 opens, thus starting the next discharge cycle. In practical applications, when two cyclone separators 23 are used for synchronous operation, to facilitate simple control of the discharge of the two cyclone separators 23, the two baffles 235 can synchronously open and close the material collection pipes 236 on the two cyclone separators 23. Specifically, two discharge ports 2351 corresponding to the material collection pipes 236 are provided on the baffles 235. When the discharge port 2351 is aligned with the corresponding material collection pipe 236, the channel on that side is opened; when the discharge port 2351 is misaligned, the channel is blocked. Each baffle 235 can be driven synchronously by two first cylinders 239. The piston rods of the two first cylinders 239 are hinged or directly fixed to the connecting lugs 2352 on both sides of the corresponding baffle 235. The fixed end of the first cylinder 239 is hinged to the support frame 238. To facilitate the centralized collection of materials discharged from the material collection pipe 236, a shared material collection box 237 can be installed below the bottom outlet of the material collection pipe 236. Personnel can periodically clean and transfer the waste residue inside the material collection box 237 to ensure a clean and orderly production site.

[0024] To ensure the long-term and effective maintenance of the cleanliness inside the vortex blower 21 during prolonged operation, a removable sealing cover is installed on the upper part of the cyclone separator 23. Under normal circumstances, the sealing cover provides a sealed environment for the upper part of the cyclone separator 23 to maintain its negative pressure exhaust capacity. The upper air outlet of the cyclone separator 23 and the air inlet of the external air outlet pipe 231 are both located inside the sealing cover. A first filter assembly 233 is installed on the upper air outlet of the cyclone separator 23, and a filter is installed at the air inlet of the external air outlet pipe 231. The second filter component 234, in practical applications, can be a steel wire mesh with a smaller mesh size, to achieve initial interception of larger impurities such as strawberry calyxes, stem and leaf debris; the second filter component adopts a high-precision air filter to capture smaller impurities; the two filter components work together to form a graded purification system, which not only ensures smooth airflow but also prevents impurities from entering the vortex fan 21; the sealing cover adopts a quick-release buckle structure, which facilitates regular cleaning or replacement of the first filter component 233 and the second filter component 234, ensuring efficient and safe maintenance operations.

[0025] In practical applications, the strawberry stem can be removed by manually operating the round tube cutter 1, or by using existing automated equipment to precisely position the strawberry stem and then controlling the round tube cutter 1 with a robotic arm. Manually operating the round tube cutter 1 is labor-intensive and inefficient, while automation can replace manual labor for highly repetitive tasks, significantly improving cutting accuracy and consistency. Therefore, the present invention also provides a strawberry stem cutting and separation system, which includes the strawberry stem cutting and separation mechanism described above. The system also includes a conveyor belt 3, an industrial camera 4, a parallel robot 5, and an industrial control computer. In practical applications, the conveyor belt 3, industrial camera 4, parallel robot 5, and industrial control computer are actually set on corresponding fixed support frames to ensure continuous and effective operation. The conveyor belt 3, industrial camera 4, parallel robot 5, and industrial control computer are all known mature technologies in this field. The conveyor belt 3 achieves material conveying above it through its cyclic rotation. In this specific embodiment, the conveyor belt 3 is used to continuously convey strawberries. The industrial camera 4 is used to take pictures and transmit image data. In this specific embodiment, the industrial camera 4 is installed above the conveyor belt 3. The industrial control computer is used to process data and send relevant execution commands. In this specific embodiment, the industrial control computer is used to perform image recognition, strawberry stem positioning, and cutting path planning, and sends precise motion commands to the parallel robot 5. The parallel robot 5 is used to receive execution commands and drive the round tube cutting blade 1 to precisely cut the strawberry stem.

[0026] The round tube cutting blade 1 is vertically positioned at the center of the moving platform 51 at the bottom of the parallel robot 5. Both the industrial camera 4 and the parallel robot 5 are positioned above the conveyor belt 3, with the industrial camera 4 closer to the feed end of the conveyor belt 3 than the parallel robot 5. This allows the industrial camera 4 to first capture the distribution of strawberries within the corresponding area, ensuring precise cutting of the strawberry stems by the round tube cutting blade 1 driven by the parallel robot 5. The industrial control computer controls the operation of the conveyor belt 3, industrial camera 4, parallel robot 5, and negative pressure suction system. Specifically, when a strawberry enters the detection area via the conveyor belt 3, the industrial camera 4 captures an image in real time and transmits it to the industrial control computer. The industrial control computer quickly identifies the coordinates of the strawberry stem using a pre-trained model, generates the optimal cutting path, and simultaneously sends motion commands to the parallel robot 5. The moving platform 51 precisely positions itself according to the commands, driving the round tube cutting blade 1 to press down vertically to complete a single cut.

[0027] Based on the above embodiments, when cutting strawberry stems using the vertical downward movement of the round tube cutter 1, to reduce the risk of damage to the conveyor belt 3 by the bottom blade of the round tube cutter 1, the round tube cutter 1 includes an upper round tube 11, a middle round tube 12, and a lower round tube 13. A cutter mounting base 511 is provided in the middle of the moving platform 51. The cutter mounting base 511 is fixedly connected to the moving platform 51 by a threaded connection. A stepped hole is provided inside the cutter mounting base 511. The upper round tube 11 and the middle round tube 12 are sequentially fitted into the stepped hole, and the middle round tube 12 is connected to the cutter by a quick-release connection. The upper circular tube 11 and the middle circular tube 12 are connected to the bottom of the mounting base 511. The upper circular tube 11 and the middle circular tube 12 can move up and down and be positioned within the stepped hole. Specifically, three U-shaped grooves 121 are equally spaced on the outer circumferential sidewall of the middle circular tube 12. One upper end of each U-shaped groove 121 penetrates the upper sidewall of the middle circular tube 12. A retaining ring 512 is provided at the bottom of the cutter mounting base 511. A retaining plate corresponding to the open end 122 of the corresponding U-shaped groove 121 is provided on the inner circumferential sidewall of the retaining ring 512. The retaining plate can enter the corresponding U-shaped groove 121 through the open end 122 of the U-shaped groove 121. When installing the middle tube 12, the closed end 123 of tube 21 is aligned with the corresponding clamping plate by aligning the three open ends 122 with the corresponding clamping plate. Then, the middle tube 12 is pressed in axially. After the clamping plate enters the rear end of the open end 122, the middle tube 12 is rotated clockwise to slide the clamping plate into the closed end 123 of the U-shaped groove 121, thus completing the quick installation of the middle tube 12. The middle tube 12 can be quickly disassembled by reversing the operation. The clamping plate can move up and down and be positioned within the closed end 123 of the corresponding U-shaped groove 121. That is, the thickness of the clamping plate is smaller than the height of the closed end 123. The height difference between the two is used to move the clamping plate up and down. When the clamping plate moves to the closed end 123... The upper or lower sidewall is then limited, thus constraining the axial displacement range of the middle tube 12. A spring 14 is sleeved on the lower outer side of the upper tube 11, and the spring 14 is engaged between the shoulder of the stepped hole and the external protrusion at the lower part of the upper tube 11. The upper part of the lower tube 13 is connected to the lower part of the middle tube 12 by a threaded connection. When the tube cutting blade 1 vertically presses down to cut the strawberry stem, the spring 14 is compressed the instant its bottom contacts the conveyor belt 3. The elastic deformation of the spring 14 enables the upper tube 11 and the middle tube 12 to move upward synchronously, thereby reducing the instantaneous impact force of the tube cutting blade 1 on the conveyor belt 3. After the strawberry stem is cut, the upper tube 11 returns to its original position under the rebound force of the spring 14, driving the middle tube 12 and the tube cutting blade 1 to fall back to the initial position synchronously, thus realizing the precise cycle of the next round of cutting operations. This structural design takes into account both quick assembly and disassembly and dynamic buffering, significantly improving the stability of equipment operation.

[0028] After a long period of strawberry stem cutting, in order to achieve automatic cleaning of the relevant pipes and cyclone separator 23 in the negative pressure suction system, the system also includes a water trough. The water trough is set within the activity range of the corresponding mobile platform 51, and a water pump can be used to deliver flowing water into the water trough. After a certain period of continuous strawberry stem cutting and negative pressure separation, according to the set program, when automatic cleaning is required, the industrial control computer first starts the water pump to inject water into the water tank. When the water level in the water tank reaches a stable level, the industrial control computer controls the parallel robot 5 to make the moving platform 51 drive the round tube cutting blade 1 down to below the water surface in the water tank. At the same time, the negative pressure suction system is kept working normally. At this time, the negative pressure airflow draws water into the pipe. The water flows in the pipe to flush the side wall of the pipe. The water enters the cyclone separator 23 to form a turbulent flushing effect, which efficiently removes the strawberry residue and sticky materials attached to the inner wall. After separation, the water enters the material collection pipe 24. The wastewater is released by controlling the insert plate 235 on the material collection pipe 24.

[0029] This invention also provides a method for coordinating strawberry stem cutting and negative pressure cleaning using the aforementioned system. The method includes the following steps: an industrial camera 4 captures images of strawberries conveyed on a conveyor belt 3. When a strawberry enters a preset imaging area, the camera captures an image and transmits the high-definition image data to an industrial control computer in real time. The industrial control computer first preprocesses the image, including noise filtering and image enhancement, to improve image quality and recognition accuracy. Subsequently, the system further analyzes the image data and uses an advanced image segmentation algorithm to identify the main body 64 of the strawberry and the strawberry stem area 65. In this embodiment, the strawberry stem area 65 is explicitly defined as the entire area covered by the inner sepals 63 and the outer sepals 62. This definition is compatible with strawberries of different shapes and sepal distributions, thereby improving the system's adaptability and recognition generalization performance for different types of strawberries. Based on the identification of the main body area 64 and the strawberry stem area 65, the system comprehensively analyzes their spatial relative positional relationship and further improves the positioning accuracy of the strawberry stem area 65 through coordinate fitting and region matching strategies. Furthermore, the system uses the center point of the identified strawberry stem region 65 as the reference position for cutting. During actual operation, a pre-trained image recognition model (e.g., a deep learning model based on convolutional neural networks, trained and optimized using massive amounts of strawberry image samples, possessing excellent recognition capabilities for the main strawberry region 64 and the strawberry stem region 65) can be embedded in the industrial control computer to achieve real-time processing of the strawberry image and extraction of key region coordinates. This model can efficiently and accurately output the center coordinates of the strawberry stem region 65, i.e., the cutting positioning reference. Subsequently, the system converts the cutting positioning reference coordinates in the image coordinate system into spatial coordinates in the motion coordinate system of the parallel robot 5's actuator using a coordinate transformation algorithm. Based on this coordinate information, the industrial control computer controls the parallel robot 5 to drive the round tube cutting blade 1 to perform dynamic tracking and cutting operations on the target strawberry. During path planning, as the strawberry moves continuously at a constant speed with the conveyor belt 3, the system needs to calculate the position and attitude changes of the strawberry stem region 65 in space in real time. Simultaneously, combining the speed feedback signal of the conveyor belt 3 and the inverse kinematic model of the parallel robot 5, the system generates a highly dynamic tracking trajectory updated in milliseconds to ensure the real-time performance and accuracy of the cutting execution. During the cutting process, the center point of the circular tube cutting blade 1 is always aligned with the cutting positioning reference of the strawberry stem region 65. The cutting blade cuts the strawberry stem in a vertical downward pressing manner along the Z-axis. The bottom of the circular tube cutting blade 1 has a circular structure, providing a large cutting range and thus a certain tolerance for positioning errors, which helps improve cutting robustness. At the same time, the system uses the center of the strawberry stem region 65 as the alignment reference for the circular tube cutting blade 1, further ensuring the accuracy of the cutting positioning, thereby effectively achieving the complete removal of the strawberry stem.After the vertical downward cutting action is completed, the strawberry stem is precisely cut off, and the waste is simultaneously cleaned up through a negative pressure suction device, thus completing the strawberry stem removal operation.

[0030] In this invention, "left" and "right" are relative positions used for the convenience of describing positional relationships, and therefore should not be interpreted as absolute positions or as limitations on the scope of protection.

[0031] Except for the technical features described in the specification, all other technologies are known to those skilled in the art.

[0032] The preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and examples. For those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A strawberry stem cutting and separating mechanism, characterized in that, The device includes a round tube cutter and a negative pressure suction system. The round tube cutter has a cutting blade at its bottom outer edge. The negative pressure suction system is sealed to the upper part of the round tube cutter through a hose. Whether the negative pressure suction system is discharging material or not, it can still draw material into the bottom of the round tube cutter.

2. The strawberry stem cutting and separating mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The negative pressure suction system includes a vortex blower, a first connecting pipe, and a cyclone separator. The air inlet of the vortex blower is connected to the external air outlet pipe of the cyclone separator through the first connecting pipe. The air inlet of the cyclone separator is connected to a through pipe. The air inlet of the through pipe is sealed to the upper part of the round tube cutter through a flexible hose. Two vertically spaced gate valves are installed on the material collection pipe of the cyclone separator. The gates in the two gate valves can respectively block or open the material collection pipe.

3. The strawberry stem cutting and separating mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that, A removable sealing cover is provided on the upper part of the cyclone separator. The upper air outlet of the cyclone separator and the air inlet of the external air outlet pipe are both located inside the sealing cover. A first filter assembly is provided on the upper air outlet of the cyclone separator, and a second filter assembly is provided at the air inlet of the external air outlet pipe.

4. The strawberry stem cutting and separating mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that, The bottom of the tube cutting blade is tapered, and several auxiliary separation grooves are provided on the circumferential sidewall of the tube cutting blade above the cutting edge.

5. A strawberry stem cutting and separation system, characterized in that, The system includes a strawberry stem cutting and separating mechanism according to claim 3 or 4. The separating system further includes a conveyor belt, an industrial camera, a parallel robot, and an industrial control computer. The round tube cutting blade is vertically arranged at the center of the moving platform at the bottom of the parallel robot. The industrial camera and the parallel robot are both arranged in the area above the conveyor belt, and the industrial camera is closer to the feed end of the conveyor belt than the parallel robot. The industrial control computer can realize the operation control of the conveyor belt, the industrial camera, the parallel robot, and the negative pressure suction system.

6. The strawberry stem cutting and separation system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The round tube cutting blade includes an upper round tube, a middle round tube, and a lower round tube. A cutting blade mounting base is provided in the middle of the moving platform. A stepped hole is provided inside the cutting blade mounting base. The upper round tube and the middle round tube are sequentially fitted into the stepped hole, and the middle round tube is connected to the bottom of the cutting blade mounting base by a quick-release connection. The upper round tube and the middle round tube can move up and down and be positioned within the stepped hole. A spring is fitted on the lower outer side of the upper round tube and is locked between the shoulder of the stepped hole and the external protrusion provided on the lower part of the upper round tube. The upper part of the lower round tube is connected to the lower part of the middle round tube by a threaded connection.

7. The strawberry stem cutting and separation system according to claim 6, characterized in that, Three U-shaped grooves are evenly spaced on the outer circumferential sidewall of the middle tube. One upper end of each U-shaped groove penetrates the upper sidewall of the middle tube. A retaining ring is provided at the bottom of the cutter mounting base. A retaining plate corresponding to the open end of the corresponding U-shaped groove is provided on the inner circumferential sidewall of the retaining ring. The retaining plate can enter the closed end of the corresponding U-shaped groove through the open end of the U-shaped groove, and the retaining plate can move up and down and be positioned within the closed end of the corresponding U-shaped groove.

8. The strawberry stem cutting and separation system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The system also includes a water tank, which is set within the activity range of the corresponding mobile platform, and a water pump can be used to deliver flowing water into the water tank.

9. A method for cutting and separating strawberry stems, characterized in that, The strawberry stem cutting and separation system according to any one of claims 5-8 further includes the following steps: an industrial camera takes pictures of the strawberries in the conveyor belt's imaging area and transmits the image data to an industrial control computer; the industrial control computer performs noise reduction processing on the image; further processes the image data to identify the strawberry body and the strawberry stem area; uses the center of the strawberry stem area as the cutting positioning reference; converts the image coordinates of the cutting positioning reference into spatial coordinates under the motion coordinate system of the parallel robot actuator; and drives the parallel robot to move and track the target strawberry with a round tube cutter. When cutting the strawberry stem with the round tube cutter, the center point of the round tube cutter corresponds to the cutting positioning reference, and the round tube cutter performs a vertical downward cutting relative to the strawberry along the Z-axis. After completing the vertical downward cutting action, the precise cutting of the strawberry stem and the synchronous negative pressure suction of waste material are achieved.

10. The strawberry stem cutting and separation method according to claim 9, characterized in that, After continuously performing strawberry stem cutting and negative pressure separation for a certain period of time, the water pump is first started to supply water to the water tank. After the water flow stabilizes, the bottom of the round tube cutter is inserted into the water tank, and the negative pressure suction of the round tube cutter is used to draw water from the round tube cutter.

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