A fruit harvester and harvesting method

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of picking equipment, and discloses a fruit harvesting machine and a harvesting method, which comprise a walking device, an arc-shaped support body, an arc-shaped track movably assembled in the arc-shaped support body along a circumferential direction, a cutting mechanism connected with two ends of the arc-shaped track, a driving mechanism for driving the arc-shaped track to move, a telescopic mechanical arm, a telescopic chute, a hopper mechanism and a fruit receiving basket; one end of the telescopic mechanical arm is connected with the arc-shaped support body, and the other end of the telescopic mechanical arm is connected with the walking device; the hopper mechanism is arranged on the walking device; each cutting mechanism is connected with a fruit receiving basket, and the fruit receiving basket is located below the cutting mechanism; the telescopic chute is arranged around or inside the telescopic mechanical arm, one end of the telescopic chute extends to below the fruit receiving basket, and the other end of the telescopic chute extends to above the hopper mechanism. The present application has the advantages that the picked fruits can be directly and automatically sent back to the hopper mechanism from high altitude, and the picking efficiency can be effectively improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of harvesting equipment technology, specifically to a fruit harvester and harvesting method. Background Technology

[0002] Palm fruits grow on palm trees, typically at high elevations, sometimes exceeding 10 meters. To facilitate the harvesting of these high-altitude palm fruits, aerial harvesting equipment has emerged, such as the Chinese invention patent CN202511341460.5, filed on September 19, 2025, which discloses an aerial fruit harvesting device and method. However, these existing harvesting devices have the following drawbacks in actual operation: 1. They only have a cutting mechanism for cutting the fruit, lacking a corresponding fruit-receiving mechanism, making it impossible to directly return the harvested fruit from the height to the equipment. This causes significant inconvenience and greatly reduces harvesting efficiency; 2. They cannot reliably retract the robotic arm, resulting in a large space occupation and the robotic arm easily colliding with surrounding objects during operation; 3. During the cutting process, the cutting device cannot firmly grip the tree trunk, leading to poor cutting stability. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a fruit harvester and harvesting method, solving the problems of existing harvesting equipment, such as the inability to directly return harvested fruit from high altitudes to the equipment, which greatly reduces harvesting efficiency, the inability to reliably store the robotic arm, and the inability of the cutting mechanism to hold the fruit tree trunk tightly during the cutting process, resulting in poor cutting stability.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: A fruit harvester includes a walking device, an arc-shaped support body, an arc-shaped track movably mounted within the arc-shaped support body along a circumferential direction, a cutting mechanism connected to both ends of the arc-shaped track, a drive mechanism for moving the arc-shaped track, a telescopic robotic arm, a telescopic chute, a hopper mechanism, and a fruit receiving basket. One end of the telescopic robotic arm is connected to the arc-shaped support body, and the other end of the telescopic robotic arm is connected to the walking device. The hopper mechanism is mounted on the walking device. Each cutting mechanism is connected to a fruit receiving basket located below the cutting mechanism. The telescopic chute is located around or inside the telescopic robotic arm, with one end extending below the fruit receiving basket and the other end extending above the hopper mechanism.

[0005] Secondly, a harvesting method for a fruit harvester, the harvesting method comprising the following steps: When it is time to harvest the fruit, the telescopic robotic arm is raised to the desired position, then extended forward to clamp the tree trunk with the curved support body. At the same time, the telescopic chute extends forward as well. Once the curved support body has clamped the tree trunk, the drive mechanism drives the curved track to move one of the cutting mechanisms to cut and harvest the fruit on the tree, causing the harvested fruit to fall into the corresponding fruit-receiving basket. After the harvested fruit falls into the fruit-receiving basket, the drive mechanism drives the curved track to move the cutting mechanism and the fruit-receiving basket together until the fruit-receiving basket is above one end of the telescopic chute. The fruit-receiving basket then releases the fruit into the telescopic chute, allowing the fruit to slide down the telescopic chute into the hopper mechanism. When harvesting is no longer required, control the telescopic robotic arm and telescopic chute to retract, and control the telescopic robotic arm to move downwards to the desired position.

[0006] By adopting the above-described technical solution of the present invention, at least the following beneficial effects are achieved: 1. By setting telescopic chutes around the telescopic robotic arm, each cutting mechanism is equipped with a fruit receiving basket, and a hopper mechanism is set on the traveling device. One end of the telescopic chutes extends to the bottom of the fruit receiving basket, and the other end extends to the top of the hopper mechanism. In actual use, the fruit receiving basket, telescopic chutes, and hopper mechanism work together to automatically and directly send the harvested fruit back to the hopper mechanism from high altitude, thereby effectively improving harvesting efficiency.

[0007] 2. By placing the hopper mechanism at the end of the walking device, and simultaneously installing two robotic arm support frames on the walking device near the hopper mechanism, with the other end of the telescopic robotic arm rotatably connected between the two robotic arm support frames, the following advantages are achieved during use: Firstly, when harvesting is not required, the telescopic robotic arm and telescopic chute can be retracted and stored in the robotic arm storage channel, reducing the space occupied by the entire fruit harvester. Furthermore, the fruit harvester is less likely to collide with surrounding objects during operation, thus extending its service life. Secondly, placing both the hopper mechanism and the telescopic robotic arm at the end of the walking device improves the overall stability of the fruit harvester, ensuring that it is less prone to tipping over during actual use.

[0008] 3. By connecting the telescopic chute with the telescopic robotic arm, the telescopic robotic arm can be used to drive the telescopic chute to extend and retract synchronously during actual use, without the need to equip the telescopic chute with a separate power component. This simplifies the structure of the entire telescopic chute and reduces costs.

[0009] 4. By equipping both ends of the arc-shaped support body with a fruit tree tightening mechanism, during actual use, the fruit tree trunk can be tightened using the fruit tree tightening mechanism, so that the arc-shaped support body can hold the fruit tree trunk tightly, thereby improving the cutting stability; moreover, the fruit tree tightening mechanism will not interfere with the cutting mechanism and the fruit receiving basket. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional view of a fruit harvester of the present invention in the process of harvesting fruit; Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional view of a fruit harvester of the present invention in a driving state (i.e., not harvesting fruit). Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the telescopic robotic arm and telescopic chute of the present invention in the retracted state. Figure 4 This is an assembly drawing of the arc-shaped support body, arc-shaped track, cutting mechanism, driving mechanism, and fruit receiving basket of the present invention; Figure 5 for Figure 4 A structural diagram showing the central drive mechanism driving an arc-shaped track to move one of the cutting mechanisms along the circumference to a certain position. Figure 6 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the fruit basket of the present invention when the movable parts of the fruit basket are in the open state; Figure 7 This is a top view of the fruit basket of the present invention when the movable parts of the fruit basket are in the closed state; Figure 8 This is a structural diagram of the cutting mechanism of the present invention; Figure 9 This is a structural diagram of the fruit tree tightening mechanism of the present invention; Figure 10 This is a structural diagram of the hopper mechanism of the present invention; Figure 11 This is a structural diagram of the walking device of the present invention; Figure 12 This is a three-dimensional view of the fruit harvester of the present invention, which directly forms a telescopic chute inside the telescopic robotic arm, in the driving state (i.e., not harvesting fruit). Figure 13 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the present invention when a telescopic slide is directly formed inside the telescopic robotic arm and is in an extended state.

[0011] Figure label: Fruit harvester 100; Walking device 1, walking body 11, upper frame 12, rotating mechanism 13; Arc-shaped support body 2, arc-shaped clearance groove 21, limit stop 22; Arc track 3; Cutting mechanism 4, support base 41, cutting tool 42, rotating frame 43, tool holder 44, first drive cylinder 45, second drive cylinder 46, third drive cylinder 47, trigger baffle 48; Drive mechanism 5; Telescopic robotic arm 6, tube body 61, telescopic drive cylinder 62, first swing drive cylinder 63, second swing drive cylinder 64, feed port 65, discharge port 66; Telescopic chute 7, inclined receiving part 71, chute section 72, connecting piece 73; Hopper mechanism 8, hopper body 81, hopper support 82, tilting drive assembly 83, discharge guide 84; Fruit basket 9, fruit basket connector 91, fruit basket fixed part 92, fruit basket movable part 93, opening and closing drive part 94, bottom plate 951, side baffle 952, end baffle 953. Robotic arm support frame 10, robotic arm storage channel 101; The fruit tree tightening mechanism 1a, the arc-shaped abutment 11a, the swing arm 12a, the fixed seat 13a, and the tightening drive cylinder 14a. Detailed Implementation

[0012] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Example 1

[0013] Please see the appendix Figures 1 to 13As shown, the present invention provides a fruit harvester 100, which includes a walking device 1, an arc-shaped support body 2, an arc-shaped track 3 movably mounted within the arc-shaped support body 2 along a circumferential direction, a cutting mechanism 4 connected to both ends of the arc-shaped track 3, a drive mechanism 5 for driving the arc-shaped track 3, a telescopic robotic arm 6, a telescopic chute 7, a hopper mechanism 8, and a fruit receiving basket 9; wherein, the walking device 1 is used to realize the walking function; the arc-shaped support body 2 is used to support the arc-shaped track 3, the cutting mechanism 4, the drive mechanism 5, and the fruit receiving basket 9. The system supports the following components: the arc-shaped track 3 drives the cutting mechanism 4 and the fruit-receiving basket 9 to move along the circumference; the cutting mechanism 4 is used to cut and harvest fruits (such as palm fruits); the driving mechanism 5 drives the arc-shaped track 3 to move; the telescopic robotic arm 6 drives the arc-shaped support body 2, the arc-shaped track 3, the cutting mechanism 4, the driving mechanism 5, and the fruit-receiving basket 9 to move; the telescopic chute 7 allows fruits to slide down automatically; the hopper mechanism 8 temporarily stores the harvested fruits; and the fruit-receiving basket 9 catches the fruits harvested by the cutting mechanism 4 and falling down.

[0014] One end of the telescopic robotic arm 6 is connected to the arc-shaped support body 2, and the other end of the telescopic robotic arm 6 is connected to the walking device 1. The hopper mechanism 8 is set on the walking device 1. Each cutting mechanism 4 is connected to a fruit receiving basket 9, so that the cutting mechanism 4 can drive the fruit receiving basket 9 to move along the circumference. The fruit receiving basket 9 is located below the cutting mechanism 4, so that the fruit picked by the cutting mechanism 4 can fall down into the fruit receiving basket 9. The telescopic chute 7 is set around or inside the telescopic robotic arm 6, and one end of the telescopic chute 7 extends to the bottom of the fruit receiving basket 9, and the other end of the telescopic chute 7 extends to the top of the hopper mechanism 8. During operation, the fruit picked by the cutting mechanism 4 will first fall into the fruit receiving basket 9, then fall down from the fruit receiving basket 9 into the telescopic chute 7, and finally slide down automatically into the hopper mechanism 8.

[0015] Because existing harvesting equipment lacks a fruit-receiving mechanism, harvested fruits falling directly from a height are often damaged. While some harvesting equipment includes fruit-receiving baskets, these require a robotic arm to move the basket to a storage location and then tilt it to empty the fruit, significantly reducing harvesting efficiency. This invention addresses this by installing telescopic chutes 7 around a telescopic robotic arm 6, equipping each cutting mechanism 4 with a fruit-receiving basket 9, and including a hopper mechanism 8 on the traveling device 1. One end of the telescopic chutes 7 extends below the fruit-receiving basket 9, and the other end extends above the hopper mechanism 8. This allows the fruit-receiving basket 9, telescopic chutes 7, and hopper mechanism 8 to work together to automatically and directly return the harvested fruit from a height to the hopper mechanism 8, effectively improving harvesting efficiency.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present invention, the hopper mechanism 8 is disposed at the end of the walking device 1. Two robotic arm support frames 10 are disposed on the walking device 1 near the hopper mechanism 8. A robotic arm storage channel 101 is formed between the two robotic arm support frames 10. The other end of the telescopic robotic arm 6 is rotatably connected between the two robotic arm support frames 10, and the other end of the telescopic robotic arm 6 is positioned higher than the hopper mechanism 8. The robotic arm support frames 10 are used to support the other end of the telescopic robotic arm 6 at a certain height, so that the telescopic robotic arm 6 and the hopper mechanism 8 will not interfere with each other during operation.

[0017] This invention places the hopper mechanism 8 at the end of the walking device 1, and simultaneously places two robotic arm support frames 10 on the walking device 1 near the hopper mechanism 8, with the other end of the telescopic robotic arm 6 rotatably connected between the two robotic arm support frames 10. This allows for several advantages during use. First, when fruit harvesting is not required, the telescopic robotic arm 6 and the telescopic chute 7 can be retracted and stored in the robotic arm storage channel 101, reducing the space occupied by the entire fruit harvester 100. Furthermore, the fruit harvester 100 is less likely to collide with surrounding objects during operation, thus extending its service life. Second, placing both the hopper mechanism 8 and the telescopic robotic arm 6 at the end of the walking device 1 improves the overall stability of the fruit harvester 100, ensuring that it is less prone to tipping over during actual use.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present invention, the telescopic robotic arm 6 is equipped with a first swing drive cylinder 63. The first swing drive cylinder 63 can be a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder. The first swing drive cylinder 63 is connected between the telescopic robotic arm 6 and the robotic arm support frame 10, and drives the telescopic robotic arm 6 to rise to the desired position or retract into the robotic arm storage channel 101. To ensure that the telescopic robotic arm 6 can swing smoothly up and down during operation, first swing drive cylinders 63 are provided on both sides of the telescopic robotic arm 6. In specific operation, when fruit harvesting is required, the two first swing drive cylinders 63 can drive the telescopic robotic arm 6 to swing upwards to the desired position, enabling the telescopic robotic arm 6 to drive the cutting mechanism 4 upwards to cut and harvest the fruit; when fruit harvesting is not required, the two first swing drive cylinders 63 can drive the telescopic robotic arm 6 to swing downwards and retract into the robotic arm storage channel 101.

[0019] As the first specific embodiment of the present invention, please refer to the following: Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the telescopic robotic arm 6 is connected to the outside of the telescopic chute 7, and the telescopic robotic arm 6 drives the telescopic chute 7 to extend and retract synchronously. This invention connects the telescopic chute 7 to the telescopic robotic arm 6, allowing the telescopic robotic arm 6 to directly drive the telescopic chute 7 to extend and retract synchronously during use, eliminating the need for a separate power unit for the telescopic chute 7. This simplifies the structure of the entire telescopic chute 7 and reduces costs. Of course, the above is only a preferred embodiment of the invention, but the invention is not limited thereto. In specific implementations, a separate power unit can be provided for the telescopic chute 7, but this would increase structural complexity and cost.

[0020] In a first embodiment of the present invention, the telescopic chute 7 is a telescopic chute with an open top, located below the telescopic robotic arm 6, and one end of the telescopic chute 7 has an inclined receiving portion 71 for receiving fruits falling from the fruit receiving basket 9. Because fruits vary in size during actual harvesting, the present invention designs the telescopic chute 7 as an open-top telescopic chute, and positions it below the telescopic robotic arm 6. This ensures that the top of the fruit is not obstructed as it slides down the telescopic chute 7, facilitating the smooth sliding of fruits of various sizes without blockage. Of course, the above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the invention is not limited thereto. In specific implementations, the telescopic chute 7 can also be designed as a closed pipe structure.

[0021] In the first specific embodiment of the present invention, please refer to the following: Figures 1 to 3As shown, in order for the telescopic robotic arm 6 to achieve its telescopic function, the telescopic robotic arm 6 includes three tubes 61 nested together from the inside out and two telescopic drive cylinders 62. The telescopic drive cylinders 62 can specifically be hydraulic cylinders or pneumatic cylinders. Except for the outermost tube 61, the other two tubes 61 are each connected to a telescopic drive cylinder 62. Specifically, one telescopic drive cylinder 62 is connected between the outermost tube 61 and the protruding end of the middle tube 61, while the other telescopic drive cylinder 62 is connected between the inside of the middle tube 61 and the inside of the innermost tube 61. Between the parts, the telescopic drive cylinder 62 drives the tube body 61 to extend forward or retract backward; in specific implementation of the present invention, the telescopic drive cylinder 62 needs to be connected between two adjacent tube bodies 61; the robotic arm support frame 10 is rotatably connected to the lower end of the outermost tube body 61, and the first swing drive cylinder 63 is connected between the robotic arm support frame 10 and the outermost tube body 61 to ensure that the first swing drive cylinder 63 can drive the entire telescopic robotic arm 6 to swing up and down; the arc-shaped support body 2 is connected to the extended end of the innermost tube body 61 so that the telescopic robotic arm 6 can drive the arc-shaped support body 2 to move back and forth. Meanwhile, to ensure that the telescopic chute 7 can extend and retract synchronously with the telescopic robotic arm 6, the telescopic chute 7 includes three chute sections 72 that are slidably assembled together from the inside to the outside. Each chute section 72 is connected to the corresponding tube body 61 through at least one connector 73. In specific implementation of the present invention, for the outermost tube body 61 and the outermost chute section 72, the tube body 61 and the two ends and the middle of the chute section 72 can be connected by connectors 73. For the other tube bodies 61 and the other chute sections 72, the protruding end of the tube body 61 and the protruding end of the chute section 72 are connected by connectors 73.

[0022] As a second specific embodiment of the present invention, please refer to the following: Figure 12 and Figure 13As shown, the telescopic robotic arm 6 has a hollow interior that directly forms the telescopic slide 7. This means the telescopic slide 7 is directly formed inside the telescopic robotic arm 6, allowing it to both drive the arc-shaped support body 2 to move back and forth via its telescopic function and to allow harvested fruit to slide directly from inside the telescopic robotic arm 6 from a height. By adopting the structural design of the second specific embodiment of this invention, the structural complexity of the entire telescopic robotic arm 6 and telescopic slide 7 can be reduced, helping to lower the manufacturing cost of the telescopic robotic arm 6 and telescopic slide 7. In a specific implementation of this invention, a feed inlet 65 is directly formed at one end of the telescopic robotic arm 6. In order to facilitate the fruit entering the telescopic chute 7 inside the telescopic robotic arm 6, the feed inlet 65 can be a slanted structure. During operation, the drive mechanism 5 can drive the arc track 3 to move the fruit receiving basket 9 above the feed inlet 65, so that the fruit released from the fruit receiving basket 9 can enter the telescopic chute 7 through the feed inlet 65. At the same time, a discharge outlet 66 is directly formed at the other end of the telescopic robotic arm 6 to realize the output of the fruit.

[0023] In a second embodiment of the present invention, the telescopic robotic arm 6 includes three tubes 61 arranged sequentially from the inside out and two telescopic drive cylinders 62. The telescopic drive cylinders 62 can be hydraulic cylinders or pneumatic cylinders. The difference from the first embodiment is that the telescopic drive cylinders 62 are connected between the exteriors of two adjacent tubes 61 to ensure that the interior of the telescopic robotic arm 6 can directly serve as a telescopic slide 7. In specific implementation, for the telescopic drive cylinder 62 between the outermost tube 61 and the middle tube 61, the cylinder body of the telescopic drive cylinder 62 can be connected to the exterior of the outermost tube 61, and the movable end of the telescopic drive cylinder 62 can be connected to the extended end of the middle tube 61. For the telescopic drive cylinder 62 between the middle tube 61 and the innermost tube 61, the cylinder body of the telescopic drive cylinder 62 can be connected to the extended end of the middle tube 61, and the movable end of the telescopic drive cylinder 62 can be connected to the movable end of the innermost tube 61.

[0024] In a second specific embodiment of the present invention, in order to enable the fruit to slide down the telescopic slide 7 more effectively, the tube 61 may be a polygonal tube, for example, the tube 61 may be a hexagonal tube.

[0025] In some embodiments of the present invention, in order to better engage the arc-shaped support body 2 with the fruit tree trunk and ensure that the two cutting mechanisms 4 can cover 360° of harvesting and cutting without blind spots, the arc-shaped support body 2 is an arc-shaped support body with an arc greater than or equal to 180° and less than or equal to 190°. Fruit tree tightening mechanisms 1a are provided at both ends of the arc-shaped support body 2, with a 180° interval between the two mechanisms, to ensure that the arc-shaped support body 2 can better hold the fruit tree trunk. By providing fruit tree tightening mechanisms 1a at both ends of the arc-shaped support body 2, the present invention not only allows the fruit tree trunk to be tightened during use, enabling the arc-shaped support body 2 to hold the trunk tightly and thus improving cutting stability, but also prevents interference between the fruit tree tightening mechanisms 1a, the cutting mechanism 4, and the fruit receiving basket 9. Of course, in some embodiments of the present invention, the fruit tree tightening mechanisms 1a may not be provided.

[0026] As one specific embodiment of the present invention, please refer to the following: Figure 9 As shown, the fruit tree tightening mechanism 1a includes an arc-shaped abutment 11a, a swing arm 12a, a fixed seat 13a, and a tightening drive cylinder 14a. The tightening drive cylinder 14a can be a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. The fixed seat 13a is located at the bottom of the arc-shaped support body 2. The upper end of the swing arm 12a is rotatably connected to the fixed seat 13a, allowing the swing arm 12a to rotate relative to the fixed seat 13a. The arc-shaped abutment 11a is connected to the lower end of the swing arm 12a and is located inside the swing arm 12a. The tightening drive cylinder 14a is located outside the swing arm 12a, and the upper end of the tightening drive cylinder 14a is hinged to the fixed seat 13a, while the lower end of the tightening drive cylinder 14a is hinged to the swing arm 12a. In the specific operation of the fruit tree tightening mechanism 1a, when the tightening drive cylinder 14a extends forward, it can drive the swing arm 12a and the arc-shaped abutment 11a to move inward, so that the arc-shaped abutment 11a can tighten the fruit tree trunk; and when the tightening drive cylinder 14a retracts backward, it can drive the swing arm 12a and the arc-shaped abutment 11a to move outward, so that the arc-shaped abutment 11a can loosen the fruit tree trunk.

[0027] In some embodiments of the present invention, please refer to the following: Figure 8As shown, the cutting mechanism 4 includes a support base 41, a cutting tool 42, a rotating frame 43, a tool holder 44, a first drive cylinder 45, a second drive cylinder 46, and a third drive cylinder 47. The fruit basket 9 is connected to the support base 41 through a fruit basket connector 91. Specifically, the first drive cylinder 45, the second drive cylinder 46, and the third drive cylinder 47 can be pneumatic cylinders or hydraulic cylinders. The inner wall of the arc-shaped support body 2 has an arc-shaped relief groove 21 formed along the circumferential direction. The arc-shaped relief groove 21 extends along the circumferential direction to both ends of the arc-shaped support body 2. The lower end of the support base 41 passes through the arc-shaped relief groove 21 and is connected to the arc-shaped track 3. The rotating frame 43 is rotatably connected to the support base 41. The first drive cylinder 45 is located between the support base 41 and the rotating frame 43. The first drive cylinder 45 drives the rotating frame 43 to rotate and adjust. The tool holder 44 is rotatably connected to the upper end of the rotating frame 43. The second drive cylinder 46 is located between the tool holder 44 and the rotating frame 43. The second drive cylinder 46 drives the tool holder 44 to swing inward and outward and adjust. The third drive cylinder 47 is located on the tool holder 44. The cutting tool 42 is connected to the movable end of the third drive cylinder 47. The third drive cylinder 47 drives the cutting tool 42 to cut. By adopting the above-described structural design of the cutting mechanism 4, in practical use, after the arc-shaped support body 2 tightly holds the trunk of the fruit tree, the driving mechanism 5 can drive the arc-shaped track 3 to move the cutting mechanism 4 along the circumferential direction to the required position. Alternatively, the first driving cylinder 45 can drive the rotating frame 43 to rotate and adjust the cutting blade 42. Furthermore, the second driving cylinder 46 can drive the blade support 44 to adjust the inward and outward swing of the cutting blade 42, allowing the third driving cylinder 47 to drive the cutting blade 42 to accurately cut and harvest the fruit. The specific structural design of the driving mechanism 5 is existing technology, and can be found in the detailed description in CN202511341460.5, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0028] In some embodiments of the present invention, the fruit-receiving basket 9 is an openable fruit-receiving basket. Please refer to the following: Figure 6 and Figure 7As shown, the fruit basket 9 includes a fixed fruit basket body 92, a movable fruit basket body 93, and an opening / closing drive component 94. The opening / closing drive component 94 can specifically be a cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. The fixed fruit basket body 92 is connected to the fruit basket connector 91. The upper end of the movable fruit basket body 93 is rotatably connected to the upper end of the fixed fruit basket body 92, so that the movable fruit basket body 93 can rotate relative to the fixed fruit basket body 92. The opening / closing drive component 94 is located between the fixed fruit basket body 92 and the movable fruit basket body 93. The opening / closing drive component 94 drives the movable fruit basket body 93 to close to receive material or to open to discharge material. In specific operation, when the opening and closing drive component 94 drives the movable part 93 of the fruit basket to close, the movable part 93 and the fixed part 92 of the fruit basket can together form a basket with a closed bottom, so as to catch the fruit picked by the cutting mechanism 4 and falling down. When the opening and closing drive component 94 drives the movable part 93 of the fruit basket to open, a discharge opening can be formed between the bottom of the movable part 93 and the fixed part 92 of the fruit basket, so as to release the fruit collected in the basket from the bottom.

[0029] Furthermore, the lower end of the movable fruit basket section 93 is provided with a base plate 951 that, in the closed state, is adjacent to or in contact with the lower end of the fixed fruit basket section 92. Side baffles 952, in the closed state, are provided on both sides of the movable fruit basket section 93, adjacent to or in contact with the fixed fruit basket section 92. Both the movable fruit basket section 93 and the fixed fruit basket section 92 have end baffles 953 at their respective ends. By adopting the above structural design, it can be ensured that the fruit in the receiving basket 9 can reliably fall downwards, allowing all the fruit in the receiving basket 9 to be released without being retained inside.

[0030] In some embodiments of the present invention, a limiting stop 22 is provided at the top center of the arc-shaped support body 2, and a trigger switch (not shown) is provided on the limiting stop 22. The trigger switch is used to trigger the opening and closing drive component 94 to drive the movable fruit basket 93 to open, so as to release the fruit in the basket from the bottom. Each cutting mechanism 4 is provided with a trigger baffle 48 on the side away from the limiting stop 22. When the drive mechanism 5 drives the arc-shaped track 3 to move any cutting mechanism 4 to the point that the trigger baffle 48 contacts the limiting stop 22 and the trigger switch at the same time, the opening and closing drive component 94 of the fruit basket 9 corresponding to the cutting mechanism 4 drives the movable fruit basket 93 to open. In a specific implementation, the present invention can be designed so that each cutting mechanism 4 can move within a circumferential range of 190°. That is, when the trigger baffle 48 corresponding to the first cutting mechanism 4 is in contact with the limit stop 22, assuming the first cutting mechanism 4 is at a 0° position, when the driving mechanism 5 drives the arc track 3 to move the second cutting mechanism 4 until its corresponding trigger baffle 48 is in contact with the limit stop 22, the first cutting mechanism 4 will be at a 190° position. In this way, the cooperation of the two cutting mechanisms 4 can effectively achieve 360° coverage without dead angles for picking and cutting. By adopting the above structural design, in the actual use process, not only can the circumferential movement of the cutting mechanism 4 be limited by the limit stop 22, and the two cutting mechanisms 4 can cover 360° without dead angles for picking and cutting; moreover, when the trigger baffle 48 contacts the limit stop 22 to achieve the limit, it can also trigger the opening and closing drive component 94 of the fruit receiving basket 9 corresponding to the cutting mechanism 4 to drive the movable split 93 of the fruit basket to open, so as to automatically release the fruit in the fruit receiving basket 9 from the bottom.

[0031] In some embodiments of the present invention, one end of the telescopic robotic arm 6 is rotatably connected to the arc-shaped support body 2, and a second swing drive cylinder 64 is provided between the arc-shaped support body 2 and one end of the telescopic robotic arm 6. The second swing drive cylinder 64 can be a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder, and the arc-shaped support body 2 is driven by the second swing drive cylinder 64 to drive the cutting mechanism 4 to swing up and down to ensure that the cutting mechanism 4 can better cut and pick the fruit. In a specific implementation of the present invention, before the telescopic robotic arm 6 drives the arc-shaped support body 2 to clamp the fruit tree trunk, the second swing drive cylinder 64 is used to drive the arc-shaped support body 2 to swing the cutting mechanism 4 to the required position, and then the telescopic robotic arm 6 is controlled to drive the arc-shaped support body 2 to clamp the fruit tree trunk.

[0032] In some embodiments of the present invention, please refer to the following: Figure 11As shown, the walking device 1 includes a walking body 11, an upper frame 12 disposed above the walking body 11, and a rotating mechanism 13 connecting the walking body 11 and the upper frame 12, and the upper frame 12 is driven to rotate 360° through the rotating mechanism 13; the hopper mechanism 8 and the telescopic robotic arm 6 are both disposed on the top of the upper frame 12; wherein, the walking body 11 can specifically be a wheeled walking body or a tracked walking body, both of which are very common walking structures in the prior art, and will not be described in detail here; at the same time, the rotating mechanism 13 can also be any existing rotating mechanism, as long as it can drive the upper frame 12 to achieve 360° rotation.

[0033] The present invention designs the walking device 1 to include a rotating mechanism 13 connected between the walking body 11 and the upper frame 12, so that in the actual use, the rotating mechanism 13 can drive all the mechanisms to rotate together to achieve 360° rotation, so as to ensure that the cutting mechanism 4 can better realize the harvesting and cutting of fruit trees on the trunk.

[0034] In some embodiments of the present invention, please refer to the following: Figure 10 As shown, the hopper mechanism 8 includes a hopper body 81, a hopper support 82, and a tilting drive assembly 83. The hopper support 82 is located at the end of the traveling device 1. The end of the hopper body 81 away from the traveling device 1 is rotatably connected to the hopper support 82, allowing the hopper body 81 to rotate relative to the hopper support 82. A discharge guide 84 is provided on the top of the hopper body 81 at the end away from the traveling device 1. The tilting drive assembly 83 is connected between the traveling device 1 and the hopper body 81, and the hopper body 81 is tilted to unload material. In practical operation, after the telescopic robotic arm 6 harvests the fruit, the harvested fruit can be temporarily stored in the hopper body 81, and the fruit harvester 100 can transport the harvested fruit to a designated location. After the fruit harvester 100 has transported the fruit to the designated location, the hopper body 81 can be flipped using the tilting drive assembly 83, thereby unloading the fruit from the hopper body 81 to the designated location. To ensure that the tilting drive assembly 83 can more stably drive the hopper body 81 to tilt, the tilting drive assembly 83 includes two tilting drive cylinders located on both sides of the hopper body 81, and the tilting drive cylinders can specifically be hydraulic cylinders or pneumatic cylinders. Example 2

[0035] Please see the appendix Figures 1 to 13 As shown, the present invention also provides a harvesting method of a fruit harvester 100, the harvesting method comprising the following steps: When it is time to harvest the fruit, the telescopic robotic arm 6 is raised to the desired position, allowing it to move the arc-shaped support body 2 toward the tree trunk. The telescopic robotic arm 6 then extends forward, causing the arc-shaped support body 2 to clamp the tree trunk. Simultaneously, the telescopic chute 7 extends forward to automatically transport the harvested fruit. Once the arc-shaped support body 2 has clamped the tree trunk, the drive mechanism 5 drives the arc-shaped track 3, which in turn drives one of the cutting mechanisms 4 to cut the fruit. The fruit is cut and harvested, and the harvested fruit falls into the corresponding fruit-receiving basket 9. After the harvested fruit falls into the fruit-receiving basket 9, the drive mechanism 5 drives the arc-shaped track 3 to move the cutting mechanism 4 and the fruit-receiving basket 9 together until the fruit-receiving basket 9 is above one end of the telescopic chute 7. The fruit-receiving basket 9 is then controlled to drop the fruit into the telescopic chute 7, so that the fruit slides down the telescopic chute 7 into the hopper mechanism 8. In a specific implementation of the present invention, the telescopic robotic arm 6 drives the arc-shaped support body 2 to clamp the trunk of the fruit tree. First, the second swing drive cylinder 64 can be used to drive the arc support body 2 to swing the cutting mechanism 4 to the required position. When the drive mechanism 5 drives the arc track 3 to drive one of the cutting mechanisms 4 to cut and pick the fruit on the fruit tree, specifically, the drive mechanism 5 first drives the arc track 3 to move one of the cutting mechanisms 4 to the position of the fruit. The first drive cylinder 45 of the cutting mechanism 4 can be used to drive the rotating frame 43 to drive the cutting blade 42 to rotate and adjust, or the second drive cylinder 46 of the cutting mechanism 4 can be used to drive the blade support 44 to drive the cutting blade 42 to swing inward and outward to adjust, so as to ensure that the third drive cylinder 47 can drive the cutting blade 42 to accurately cut and pick the fruit. At the same time, when it is necessary to use the fruit receiving basket 9 to catch the fruit picked by the cutting mechanism 4, the opening and closing drive component 94 drives the movable part 93 of the fruit basket to close to form a closed basket body at the bottom. When it is necessary to let the fruit in the receiving basket 9 fall into the telescopic chute 7, the opening and closing drive component 94 drives the movable part 93 of the fruit basket to open.

[0036] When there is no need to harvest the fruit, control the telescopic robotic arm 6 and the telescopic slide 7 to retract, and control the telescopic robotic arm 6 to move downward to the desired position. Specifically, the telescopic robotic arm 6 and the telescopic slide 7 are retracted together into the robotic arm storage channel 101 to reduce the space occupied by the telescopic robotic arm 6 and the telescopic slide 7.

[0037] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A fruit harvester, comprising a walking device, an arc-shaped support body, an arc-shaped track movably mounted within the arc-shaped support body along a circumferential direction, a cutting mechanism connected to both ends of the arc-shaped track, and a drive mechanism for driving the arc-shaped track to move; characterized in that, It also includes a telescopic robotic arm, a telescopic chute, a hopper mechanism, and a fruit receiving basket; one end of the telescopic robotic arm is connected to the arc-shaped support body, and the other end of the telescopic robotic arm is connected to the walking device; the hopper mechanism is set on the walking device, each cutting mechanism is connected to a fruit receiving basket, the fruit receiving basket is located below the cutting mechanism, the telescopic chute is set around or inside the telescopic robotic arm, and one end of the telescopic chute extends to the bottom of the fruit receiving basket, and the other end of the telescopic chute extends to the top of the hopper mechanism.

2. The fruit harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hopper mechanism is located at the end of the walking device. Two robotic arm support frames are provided on the walking device near the hopper mechanism. A robotic arm storage channel is formed between the two robotic arm support frames. The other end of the telescopic robotic arm is rotatably connected between the two robotic arm support frames, and the other end of the telescopic robotic arm is located above the hopper mechanism.

3. The fruit harvester according to claim 2, characterized in that, The telescopic robotic arm is equipped with a first swing drive cylinder, which is connected between the telescopic robotic arm and the robotic arm support frame. The first swing drive cylinder drives the telescopic robotic arm to be raised to the desired position or lowered into the robotic arm storage channel.

4. The fruit harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The telescopic robotic arm is connected to the outside of the telescopic chute, and the telescopic robotic arm drives the telescopic chute to extend and retract synchronously. The telescopic chute is a telescopic chute with an open top. The telescopic chute is located below the telescopic robotic arm, and one end of the telescopic chute has an inclined receiving part for receiving fruits falling from the fruit receiving basket.

5. A fruit harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The telescopic robotic arm has a hollow interior that directly forms the telescopic slide.

6. A fruit harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The arc-shaped support body is an arc-shaped support body with an arc of greater than or equal to 180° and less than or equal to 190°. Fruit tree tightening mechanisms are provided at both ends of the arc-shaped support body, and the two fruit tree tightening mechanisms are spaced 180° apart.

7. A fruit harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fruit receiving basket is an openable type.

8. A fruit harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the telescopic robotic arm is rotatably connected to the arc-shaped support body. A second swing drive cylinder is provided between the arc-shaped support body and one end of the telescopic robotic arm. The arc-shaped support body is driven by the second swing drive cylinder to drive the cutting mechanism to swing up and down.

9. A fruit harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The walking device includes a walking body, an upper frame located above the walking body, and a rotating mechanism connecting the walking body and the upper frame. The rotating mechanism drives the upper frame to rotate 360°. The hopper mechanism and the telescopic robotic arm are both located on the top of the upper frame.

10. A harvesting method based on the fruit harvester according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The harvesting method includes the following steps: When it is time to harvest the fruit, the telescopic robotic arm is raised to the desired position, then extended forward to clamp the tree trunk with the curved support body. At the same time, the telescopic chute extends forward as well. Once the curved support body has clamped the tree trunk, the drive mechanism drives the curved track to move one of the cutting mechanisms to cut and harvest the fruit on the tree, causing the harvested fruit to fall into the corresponding fruit-receiving basket. After the harvested fruit falls into the fruit-receiving basket, the drive mechanism drives the curved track to move the cutting mechanism and the fruit-receiving basket together until the fruit-receiving basket is above one end of the telescopic chute. The fruit-receiving basket then releases the fruit into the telescopic chute, allowing the fruit to slide down the telescopic chute into the hopper mechanism. When harvesting is no longer required, control the telescopic robotic arm and telescopic chute to retract, and control the telescopic robotic arm to move downwards to the desired position.

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