Wearable picking equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses wearable picking equipment. The wearable picking equipment comprises a driving part and a flexible arm, the driving part is provided with a box body mounted on the back seat and a plurality of first driving pieces positioned in the box body; the rear end of the flexible arm is rotationally connected to the box body through a rotating component, the front end of the flexible arm is provided with an executing component used for picking fruits, and the flexible arm comprises a plurality of driving ropes and a plurality of sets of flexible assemblies connected in sequence; the multiple sleeve parts in each flexible assembly are arranged side by side and rotationally connected in a 90-degree staggered mode, one end of each driving rope is correspondingly connected with the output end of the corresponding first driving part and is wound and unwound, the other end of each driving rope sequentially penetrates through through holes in the corresponding sleeve part to be connected with the front side of the corresponding flexible assembly, and the driving ropes are in a tightened state. The whole body is light and more flexible, the flexible arm has richer postures to adjust different positions, the overlarge picking range is avoided, different picking requirements and picking environments are met, and damage to picked objects in the picking process is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to robot technology, belongs to the field of picking, and specifically relates to a wearable picking device. Background Art

[0002] In crop picking, manual picking has problems such as poor working environment, low picking efficiency, and high labor demand, which cannot meet the needs of picking crops on a large scale. However, picking equipment can identify and locate crops, pick and recycle fruits, and is widely used in various crop picking operations.

[0003] Affected by the picking environment, intelligent picking in the form of robots requires the use of different picking platforms and is not suitable for picking all crops. For example, when picking tea leaves, floor-type tea picking machines drive on the side of the tea trees or pass through from above. However, the width and height of the passages between tea trees vary depending on the region and the type of tea, making the tea picking machines unable to adapt to different tea garden environments. For example, when picking lychees, the lychee planting industry is mainly small-scale individual farmers, and the production bases are relatively scattered. The use of large-scale machinery for picking results in a limited picking angle, which cannot meet the requirements of production bases. In addition, the machinery is expensive and inconvenient to maintain.

[0004] In addition, the existing picking arms mainly achieve spatial positioning through multi-degree-of-freedom movement. When picking some crops, they lack simulation of manual picking due to their limited flexibility, which can easily cause damage to the fruits. For example, the picking of high-quality tea has certain requirements for picking techniques. It is necessary to change different angles in time and accurately identify and locate the tea buds. However, the existing multi-degree-of-freedom picking arms mainly cooperate with each other through rotation, extension and other movements, which makes the overall picking movement large and requires a certain picking space. It has poor flexibility and limitations. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a wearable picking device that is lightweight and more flexible. The flexible arm has a richer posture to adjust different positions, avoid excessive picking range, is suitable for different picking requirements and picking environments, and reduces damage to the picked objects during the picking process.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the wearable picking device includes:

[0007] Back seat;

[0008] A driving component comprises a box body mounted on the back seat and a plurality of first driving members located in the box body;

[0009] The flexible arm has a rear end rotatably connected to the box body through a rotating component, and a front end is provided with an execution component for picking fruits. The flexible arm includes multiple drive ropes and multiple groups of flexible components connected in sequence; each group of flexible components includes multiple sleeves and an elastic core column;

[0010] Multiple sleeve pieces are arranged side by side and connected in a 90° staggered rotation manner. Each sleeve piece is provided with multiple through holes evenly arranged in the circumference. The elastic core columns are of the same length and are located in the multiple sleeve pieces.

[0011] One end of each driving rope is connected to the output end of the first driving member and is wound and released, and the other end passes through the through hole on the sleeve member and is connected to the front side of the flexible component in sequence, and the driving rope is in a taut state.

[0012] In some examples of the present invention, when the number of flexible components is 2N+1, the multiple driving ropes on the flexible arm are evenly divided into N+1 parts, and each driving rope is connected to the front end of the flexible component at an odd position;

[0013] A plurality of circumferentially arranged decoupling ropes are provided between the flexible components at odd-numbered positions and the flexible components at the adjacent front sides;

[0014] The decoupling rope passes through the through hole on the sleeve component and is connected to the front and rear ends of a pair of adjacent flexible components.

[0015] In some examples of the present invention, the flexible components are in three groups;

[0016] The flexible arm includes eight drive cables;

[0017] The rear flexible assembly is connected to the middle flexible assembly by four decoupling ropes.

[0018] In some examples of the present invention, when the number of flexible components is 2N, the multiple driving ropes on the flexible arm are evenly divided into N parts, and each driving rope is correspondingly connected to the front end of the flexible component at an even-numbered position.

[0019] In some examples of the present invention, the flexible arm further comprises a rigid arm having a telescopic structure;

[0020] The rigid arm is connected between the rear end of the flexible arm and the rotating component.

[0021] In some examples of the present invention, the rotating component has a rotating plate and a second driving member;

[0022] The rotating plate is rotatably mounted on the supporting back plate, and the supporting back plate is fixedly connected to the box body;

[0023] The second driving component is installed on the supporting back plate, and the output end is connected to the rotating plate.

[0024] In some examples of the present invention, after the driving rope is connected to the first driving member, it is first wound around the guide wheel member and then sequentially passes through the through holes on the sleeve member;

[0025] The guide wheel component comprises a guide wheel located on the rotating plate and a tension wheel slidingly located in the box body;

[0026] The tensioning wheel is subjected to elastic force, and the direction of the elastic force is opposite to the direction of the force exerted by the driving rope on the tensioning wheel.

[0027] In some examples of the present invention, the tensioning wheel is rotatably mounted on the first support plate, and the first support plate is slidably located in the box body via a slide rail;

[0028] A second supporting plate is provided on one side of the first supporting plate, and an elastic member is provided between the first supporting plate and the second supporting plate.

[0029] In some examples of the present invention, the execution component includes:

[0030] a grab plate connected to the front end of the flexible arm;

[0031] A pair of symmetrically arranged grab assemblies, each grab assembly comprising a grab gear, a first guide rod, a second guide rod, and a limit rod;

[0032] One end of the first guide rod is fixed on the grabbing gear, and the other end is rotatably connected to one end of the second guide rod. The second guide rod is a bent structure and the other end is close to the symmetry center. The two ends of the limit rod are correspondingly rotatably installed at the bend of the grabbing plate and the second guide rod;

[0033] A pair of grabbing gears are meshed and connected with each other, and one of the grabbing gears is meshed and connected with the driving gear.

[0034] In some examples of the present invention, the execution component is provided with a visual sensor for identifying the picked objects in the area;

[0035] The visual sensor is connected to the control component, and the control component controls the actions of the first driving component and the second driving component.

[0036] Compared with the existing technology, this wearable picking device connects multiple groups of flexible components to form a flexible arm, and drives the rope through the flexible component with an elastic core column inside. The change of the length of multiple driving ropes drives the bending of the flexible arm, so that the flexible arm has a richer posture to adjust to different positions, avoiding excessive picking range. The overall lightness and flexibility are stronger. In combination with the execution component, it can simulate manual picking actions, meet different picking requirements, and reduce damage to the picked objects during the picking process. In addition, this picking device is worn on the person. Compared with the robot form or the environment with a more dispersed picking range, this picking device is suitable for different picking environments and has stronger applicability.

[0037] Since the flexible components at odd-numbered positions are connected to the flexible components at the adjacent front sides through multiple decoupling ropes, and each driving rope is correspondingly connected to the front end of the flexible components at odd-numbered positions, it not only ensures that the flexible components at odd-numbered positions on the front side do not have posture coupling with the flexible components on the rear side, avoiding mutual bending influence, but also facilitates the control of the bending posture of the flexible arm with higher accuracy and efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall rear view of the utility model (executing components are not shown);

[0039] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall front view of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 This is the assembly front view of the driving component and the rotating component in the utility model;

[0041] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the tensioning pulley assembly in the utility model;

[0042] Figure 5 It is a partial schematic diagram of the flexible arm in the utility model;

[0043] Figure 6 This is a simplified diagram of the connection between the drive rope and the decoupling rope in the three sets of flexible components of the utility model;

[0044] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly of multiple sleeve components in the utility model;

[0045] Figure 8 This is the front view of the execution component in the utility model;

[0046] In the figure: 10, back seat;

[0047] 20. Driving component, 21. Box, 22. First driving component, 23. Reel, 24. Tensioning wheel, 25. First supporting plate, 26. Elastic member, 27. Second supporting plate, 28. Slide rail;

[0048] 30. Flexible arm, 31. Sleeve member, 311. Through hole, 32. Elastic core column, 33. Driving rope, 34. Decoupling rope;

[0049] 40. Support back panel;

[0050] 50. Rotating member, 51. Rotating plate, 52. Guide wheel, 53. Rigid arm, 54. Second driving member;

[0051] 61. Grabbing plate, 62. Driving gear, 63. Grabbing gear, 64. First guide rod, 65. Second guide rod, 66. Limit rod. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the technical solution of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the specific embodiments of the present invention. The same figure marks in the drawings represent the same parts. It should be noted that the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the described embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0053] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used herein shall have the ordinary meaning understood by persons of ordinary skill in the field to which the present invention belongs. The words "first", "second" and similar terms used in the specification and claims of the present utility model patent application do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, words such as "a" or "an" do not necessarily indicate a quantity limitation. Words such as "include" or "comprising" mean that the elements or objects preceding the word include the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Words such as "connect" or "connected" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0054] like Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 7 As shown, the wearable picking device includes:

[0055] Back seat 10;

[0056] The driving component 20 includes a box body 21 mounted on the back seat 10 and a plurality of first driving members 22 located in the box body 21;

[0057] The flexible arm 30 has a rear end connected to the box 21 via a rotating component 50 and a front end provided with an actuator for picking the fruit. The flexible arm 30 includes a plurality of drive ropes 33 and a plurality of groups of flexible components connected in sequence; each group of flexible components includes a plurality of sleeves 31 and an elastic core column 32;

[0058] Multiple sleeve members 31 are arranged side by side and connected in a 90° staggered rotation manner. Each sleeve member 31 is provided with multiple through holes 311 evenly arranged in the circumferential direction. The elastic core columns 32 are located in the multiple sleeve members 31 with the same length.

[0059] One end of each driving rope 33 is connected to the output end of the first driving member 22 for winding and releasing, and the other end passes through the through hole 311 on the sleeve member 31 and is connected to the front side of the flexible component. The driving rope 33 is in a taut state.

[0060] Specifically, the back seat 10 is configured to facilitate wearing by the operator. The back seat 10 as a whole can conform to the contours of the shoulders, back and other parts of the human body to increase wearing comfort. The interior of the back seat 10 is supported by an inverted "only" type rigid material and the exterior is wrapped with a flexible material.

[0061] The driving component 20 provides power for the wearable picking device. This power is mainly for the flexible arm 30. The box 21 can be composed of multiple hollow plates connected by welding or screw threads. The first driving member 22 can be a brushless DC motor, which is installed inside the box 21 through a motor frame. In order to ensure that adjacent first driving members 22 work independently of each other and reduce the occupied space, multiple first driving members 22 are arranged in a staggered manner. The output end of each first driving member 22 is connected to the driving rope 33 through the reel 23. The reeling and releasing of the driving rope 33 are achieved by the forward and reverse rotation of the first driving member 22.

[0062] The flexible arms 30 are configured to position the picked objects by flexibly bending at any angle. Preferably, the flexible arms 30 are a pair and are symmetrically connected to both sides of the box body 21. When the operator wears the device, the pair of flexible arms 30 are located on both sides of the operator's shoulders. The rotating component 50 conveniently drives the flexible arms 30 to rotate at a certain angle. The multiple sleeve members 31 in the flexible assembly are rotated and connected in sequence, and the rotation axes are staggered at 90 degrees. The sleeve member 31 is a through structure and has an inner ring with multiple through holes 311. The elastic core column 32 is a cylindrical spring, which is located in the multiple sleeve members 31 to play a supporting role, that is, the flexible assembly has a certain initial cylindrical shape under the action of the elastic core column 32.

[0063] One end of the drive rope 33 is connected to the first drive member 22 for winding and releasing, and the other end passes through the through hole 311 of the sleeve member 31 and is connected to the front side of the flexible component. As explained, after the drive rope 33 is led out of the box 21, it can be connected to the flexible arm 30 through a lasso. When the drive rope 33 is in a taut transmission state, the lasso makes the overall structure flexible and shape-adjustable, and the corresponding transmission path can be adjusted according to needs. As an example, the drive rope 33 can pass through the through hole 311 to directly connect to the front end of the flexible arm 30.

[0064] The operator wears the wearable picking device and moves close to the picking position. The rotating component 50 is activated, driving the flexible arm 30 to rotate in the picking direction. The execution component may be provided with a sensor for identifying the picked object, such as a visual sensor, a distance sensor, an infrared scanner, etc., which can facilitate the positioning of the picked object. After receiving the corresponding signal, the controller finally determines the position of the picked object and controls the first driving member 22 to move.

[0065] In the initial state, under the action of the elastic core column 32, the flexible component presents a certain shape. When the first driving member 22 is started, it drives the driving rope 33 to move, such as reeling in the driving rope 33. The length of the driving rope 33 is reduced, and one side of the flexible component located at the driving rope 33 is in a tensioned state. The length of the other driving ropes 33 can be adjusted in coordination with the length change. The multiple sleeve members 31 connected in staggered rotation can be adaptively adjusted to bend, and the elastic core column 32 is subjected to uneven force and bends, so that the flexible component has a certain shape change. Finally, the flexible arm 30 is bent, and the actuator is located in the picking position.

[0066] This wearable picking device connects multiple groups of flexible components to form a flexible arm 30, which is lightweight as a whole, and drives the rope 33 through the flexible component with an elastic core column 32 inside, so that the flexible arm 30 has a richer posture for adjusting different positions, and combined with the execution component, it can simulate manual picking actions and reduce the damage to the picked objects during the picking process. In addition, this picking device is worn on a person, and compared with the robot form or an environment with a more dispersed picking range, this picking device is suitable for different picking environments and has stronger applicability.

[0067] In some examples of the present invention, when the number of flexible components is 2N+1 (N≥1), the multiple driving ropes 33 on the flexible arm 30 are evenly divided into N+1 parts, and each driving rope 33 is connected to the front end of the flexible component at an odd position;

[0068] A plurality of circumferentially arranged decoupling ropes 34 are provided between the flexible components at odd positions and the flexible components at the adjacent front sides;

[0069] The decoupling rope 34 passes through the through hole 311 on the corresponding sleeve member 31 and is connected to the front and rear ends of the adjacent pair of flexible components;

[0070] Preferably, Figure 6 As shown, there are three groups of flexible components, and the flexible arm 30 includes eight drive ropes 33 and three groups of flexible components as an example for explanation. In this case, from the rotating component 50 to the actuator component (from back to front), the three groups of flexible components are defined as flexible components S1, S2, and S3 in sequence;

[0071] The drive ropes 33 are evenly divided into two parts. Four of the drive ropes 33 are connected from the first drive member 22 and the through holes 311 on the multiple sleeve members 31 to the front end of the flexible component S1. The remaining four drive ropes 33 are connected from the first drive member 22 and the through holes 311 in the flexible components S1 to S3 to the front end of the flexible component S3. In addition, a plurality of circumferentially arranged decoupling ropes 34 are provided between the flexible components S1 and S2. That is, the number of decoupling ropes 34 can also be four. One end of each decoupling rope 34 is connected to the rear end of the flexible component S1 and passes through the through holes 311 of the multiple corresponding sleeve members 31 until it is connected to the front end of the flexible component S2.

[0072] Alternatively, the flexible arm 30 includes nine ropes and five groups of flexible components, which are defined as flexible components S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5 in sequence. The driving rope 33 is evenly divided into three parts, wherein three ropes are connected from the first driving member 22 and the through hole 311 of the flexible component S1 to the front end of the flexible component S1, and the other three ropes are connected from the first driving member 22 and the through holes 311 in the flexible components S1 to S3 to the front end of the flexible component S3, and the last three ropes are connected from the first driving member 22 and the through holes 311 in the flexible components S1 to S5 to the front end of the flexible component S5; in addition, in the flexible components A plurality of circumferentially arranged decoupling ropes 34 are provided between S1 and S2, and between the flexible components S3 and S4. That is, there are three decoupling ropes 34 between the flexible components S1 and S2, one end of each decoupling rope 34 is connected to the rear end of the flexible component S1, and passes through the through holes 311 of the plurality of corresponding sleeve components 31 until it is connected to the front end of the flexible component S2. There are three decoupling ropes 34 between the flexible components S3 and S4, one end of each decoupling rope 34 is connected to the rear end of the flexible component S3, and passes through the through holes 311 of the plurality of corresponding sleeve components 31 until it is connected to the front end of the flexible component S4.

[0073] In this example, the decoupling effect is exerted on the flexible components of the action by the decoupling rope 34. That is, if the multiple driving ropes 33 are passed through the through hole 311 and directly connected to the front end of the flexible arm 30, some flexible components will be difficult to control, resulting in uncontrollable bending posture of the flexible arm 30. If the multiple driving ropes 33 are divided into multiple parts, and each part is passed through the through hole 311 and connected to the front end of each flexible component, for example, the multiple driving ropes 33 are respectively connected to the front end of the flexible components S1, S2, and S3, severe posture coupling will occur in the multiple flexible components when bending, that is, the bending of one flexible component will affect the position and posture of the adjacent flexible component on the front side, for example, the bending of the flexible component S1 will affect the position and posture of the flexible component S2, resulting in the non-existence of an analytical solution for the inverse kinematics. In the motion analysis and control of the flexible arm 30, the numerical solution can only be calculated by the Jacobi iteration method, which makes the control component inefficient and low-precision in motion analysis.

[0074] In this example, the flexible components at odd positions are connected to the flexible components on the adjacent front side through multiple decoupling ropes 34, which can ensure that the flexible components at odd positions on the front side do not have posture coupling with the flexible components on the rear side, that is, the flexible component S3 does not have posture coupling with the flexible components S1 and S2 on the rear side, avoiding the flexible component S3 from being affected during movement, thereby achieving posture decoupling and drive decoupling.

[0075] In some examples of the present invention, when the number of flexible components is 2N (N ≥ 1), the multiple driving ropes 33 on the flexible arm 30 are evenly divided into N parts, and each driving rope 33 is connected to the front end of the flexible component at an even-numbered position;

[0076] Specifically, for example, the flexible arm 30 includes eight driving ropes 33 and four groups of flexible components, and the four groups of flexible components are defined as flexible components S1, S2, S3, and S4 in sequence;

[0077] The drive ropes 33 are divided into two equal parts. Four of the drive ropes 33 run from the first drive member 22, through the through holes 311 in the flexible components S1 and S2, and are connected to the front end of the flexible component S2. The other four drive ropes 33 run from the first drive member 22, through the through holes 311 in the flexible components S1 and S4, and are connected to the front end of the flexible component S4.

[0078] In this example, the driving rope 33 is connected to the front end of the flexible component at the even position to actuate the corresponding flexible component. When the flexible component is controlled, the adjacent flexible component is prevented from interfering with the controlled flexible component, thereby achieving controllable bending posture of the flexible arm 30.

[0079] In some examples of the present invention, Figure 2 、 Figure 3 As shown, the flexible arm 30 further includes a rigid arm 53 having a telescopic structure;

[0080] The rigid arm 53 is connected between the rear end of the flexible arm 30 and the rotating component 50;

[0081] Specifically, the rigid arm 53 of the telescopic structure is a sleeve structure, which can be adjusted in length so that the flexible arm 30 is extended in length. That is, before the wearable picking device is used, the length of the rigid arm 53 is adjusted according to the position of the operator from the picking path to the picking object, so that the flexible arm 30 can reach the picking position. During the telescopic process of the rigid arm 53, the first driving member 22 is started and the length is adjusted by winding or loosening the driving rope 33 to match the telescopic adjustment of the rigid arm 53.

[0082] In some examples of the present invention, Figure 2 、 Figure 3As shown, the rotating component 50 has a rotating plate 51 and a second driving member 54;

[0083] The rotating plate 51 is rotatably mounted on the supporting back plate 40 , and the supporting back plate 40 is fixedly connected to the box body 21 ;

[0084] The second driving member 54 is mounted on the supporting back plate 40 and its output end is connected to the rotating plate 51;

[0085] Specifically, the support back plate 40 is installed horizontally on the box body 21 so that both ends are located outside the operator's shoulders;

[0086] The second driving member 54 can be a brushless DC motor, which is installed on the support back plate 40 through a support frame and the output end is connected to the rotating plate 51. The rotating plate 51 can be rotatably connected to the support back plate 40 through a bearing and a bearing support to ensure rotational stability and support for the flexible arm 30.

[0087] In some examples of the present invention, Figure 3 、 Figure 4 As shown, after the driving rope 33 is connected to the first driving member 22, it is first wound around the guide wheel member and then passes through the sleeve member 31 in sequence;

[0088] The guide wheel assembly includes a guide wheel 52 located on a rotating plate 51 and a tension wheel 24 slidingly located in the box body 21;

[0089] The tensioning wheel 24 is subjected to elastic force, and the direction of the elastic force is opposite to the direction of the force exerted by the driving rope 33 on the tensioning wheel 24;

[0090] Specifically, the guide pulley 52 in the guide pulley assembly is used to guide and limit the driving rope 33 to ensure that the driving rope 33 can be connected to the driving component 20 and the flexible arm 30; the tensioning pulley 24 is used to tension the driving rope 33 to ensure that the driving rope 33 is in a taut state when driving the flexible arm 30 to move;

[0091] The number of wire pulleys 52 is the same as the number of drive ropes 33. For example, when a single flexible arm 30 includes eight drive ropes 33, the number of wire pulleys 52 on the rotating plate 51 is also eight, and they are arranged side by side in an upper and lower direction. That is, the upper four wire pulleys 52 are arranged side by side in the same plane, and the lower four wire pulleys 52 are arranged side by side in the same plane. The drive ropes 33 are correspondingly wound around the outer sides of the wire pulleys 52. In addition, the wire pulleys 52 can adopt a wire-stripping prevention structure, that is, the wire pulleys 52 are provided with baffles covering the circumference thereof, and the drive ropes 33 are limited by the baffles to prevent them from being detached.

[0092] The number of tensioning wheels 24 is the same as the number of drive ropes 33, and can apply a certain elastic force to the drive ropes 33, so that the drive ropes 33 are in a taut state during the process of winding and loosening. For example, when the length of a certain drive rope 33 becomes shorter and the flexible arm 30 changes its posture, the force on other drive ropes 33 will change, or the length will also change appropriately. At this time, the tensioning wheel 24 elastically tensions the drive ropes 33, which can compensate for the force and length of the drive ropes 33, thereby avoiding excessive force on the drive ropes 33 or untimely length changes, which may cause the flexible arm 30 to respond slowly.

[0093] Further, such as Figure 4 As shown, the tension wheel 24 is rotatably mounted on the first support plate 25, and the first support plate 25 is slidably positioned in the box body 21 via the slide rail 28;

[0094] A second support plate 27 is provided on one side of the first support plate 25 , and an elastic member 26 is provided between the first support plate 25 and the second support plate 27 ;

[0095] Specifically, the elastic member 26 can be a cylindrical spring, and it is located between the first support plate 25 and the second support plate 27. When the driving rope 33 is wound around the outside of the tensioning wheel 24 and the force changes, under the action of the elastic member 26, the first support plate 25 can drive the tensioning wheel 24 to adjust.

[0096] In some examples of the present invention, Figure 8 As shown, the execution component includes:

[0097] a grab plate 61 connected to the front end of the flexible arm 30;

[0098] A pair of symmetrically arranged grab assemblies, each grab assembly having a grab gear 63, a first guide rod 64, a second guide rod 65, and a limit rod 66;

[0099] One end of the first guide rod 64 is fixed to the grabbing gear 63, and the other end is rotatably connected to one end of the second guide rod 65. The second guide rod 65 is a bent structure and the other end is close to the symmetry center. The two ends of the limit rod 66 are correspondingly rotatably mounted at the bend of the grabbing plate 61 and the second guide rod 65.

[0100] A pair of grabbing gears 63 are meshed and connected with each other, and one of the grabbing gears 63 is meshed and connected with the driving gear 62;

[0101] Specifically, the grab plate 61 is a support structure mounted on the sleeve member 31 at the front end of the flexible arm 30;

[0102] A pair of grabbing assemblies are symmetrically arranged around the grabbing center. The first guide rod 64 and the grabbing gear 63 can be integrally processed. The driving gear 62 is meshed and connected with one of the grabbing gears 63.

[0103] When the actuator performs a grabbing action, the driving gear 62 drives the grabbing gear 63 to rotate, and the pair of grabbing gears 63 engage and rotate in opposite directions. Under the action of the limit rod 66, one end of the pair of second guide rods 65 moves toward or away from each other toward the symmetric center, completing the grabbing action of the picked object; this actuator can bend, grab, or pull again under the condition that the flexible arm 30 provides multiple degrees of freedom, effectively simulating different manual picking techniques and improving the success rate and completeness rate of picking;

[0104] As explained, this execution component is not only used for grabbing picked objects, but can also be used for grabbing other objects. In addition, during the grabbing process, a pressure sensor connected to the controller can be provided on the second guide rod 65. After receiving the pressure signal, the controller controls the rotation of the drive gear 62 to adjust the grabbing force.

[0105] In some examples of the present invention, the execution component is provided with a visual sensor for identifying the picked objects in the area;

[0106] The visual sensor is connected to the control component, which controls the actions of the first driving member 22 and the second driving member 54;

[0107] The visual sensor may be a camera, that is, the camera captures the picked objects, and the control component may be a controller, an analyzer, etc., which can identify the characteristics of the picked objects and thus determine the location of the picked objects. Finally, the control component controls the driving component 20 to start. Identifying the picked objects by visual sensors belongs to the existing technology and will not be further elaborated here.

[0108] This example uses a visual sensor to locate the picking position. After the control component obtains the position of the picking object, it controls the driving component 20 to drive the flexible arm 30 until the actuator at the front end of the flexible arm 30 approaches the picking position. The visual sensor is installed on the actuator and the position is adjusted by the flexible arm 30. Compared with fixed placement, this example can obtain clearer and more accurate images at different angles. At the same time, it avoids the problem of recognition difficulties caused by lighting, shooting angle, etc. during the picking process, thereby improving recognition speed and accuracy.

[0109] In motion analysis control, the relationship between the operating space, joint space, and driving space can be established through the constant curvature model. The visual sensor identifies the position of the picked object and obtains the posture of the picked object, which is the operating space. Then, the inverse kinematics solution of the constant curvature model is performed to obtain the joint space, that is, the bending angle and deflection angle of each flexible component, and the rotation angle of the rotating component 50. Then, the driving space, that is, the change of each driving rope 33, is obtained through inverse kinematics solution, and the change of the driving rope 33 is converted into the rotation angle of the corresponding first driving component 22. After the action is completed, the visual sensor continues to measure the posture of the picked object. If its posture error is within the set allowable range, the execution component performs the picking action. Otherwise, the inverse kinematics solution is continued to control the flexible arm 30 to be closer to the posture of the picked object.

[0110] In motion analysis and control, it is necessary to establish a change matrix between each group of flexible components and their rear-end positions, as follows:

[0111]

[0112] Where L is the center length of the flexible component, θ is the bending angle of the flexible component, and α is the deflection angle of the flexible component. It can be explained that the rear end position of each set of flexible components can be defined as the base, and the bending and deflection angles are determined as joint parameters;

[0113] The relationship between the driving rope length 33 and the joint parameters is:

[0114]

[0115] Wherein, L1, L2, L3, and L4 represent the lengths of the four driving ropes connected to the flexible component;

[0116] In the above formula, the front-end posture of the flexible component under bending and deflection angles can be determined by the change matrix of each group of flexible components and the base (rear-end position), and multiple change matrices are multiplied to obtain the front-end posture of the flexible arm 30, that is, the mapping between the joint space and the operation space. The drive rope 33 and the joint parameters represent the mapping between the drive space and the joint space.

[0117] When using this wearable picking device, the operator wears it and moves close to the picking position, and uses visual sensors to identify and locate the picked objects;

[0118] The second driving member 54 is started, and the flexible arm 30 is driven to rotate a certain angle by the rotating plate 51 so that the flexible arm 30 can face the picking object within a controllable range. In the initial state, under the action of the elastic core column 32, the flexible component presents a certain posture, and the posture of the picking object can be extracted according to the picking requirements, and inverse kinematics solution is performed to obtain the change of each driving rope 33, that is, the control component controls the driving component 20 according to the information feedback of the visual sensor, and the first driving member 22 is started to reel or loosen the driving rope 33. The length of the driving rope 33 changes, driving the multiple sleeve members 31 to rotate and the elastic core column 32 to change. The flexible arm 30 is bent and adjusted so that its front end reaches the picking position. The posture adjustment of the flexible arm 30 can have rich degrees of freedom, thereby simulating human hand movements, which is more flexible and suitable for different picking environments.

[0119] At this time, the visual sensor can be used to extract the posture information of the picked object again and compare it with the current posture information of the actuator. When the distance error between the two is greater than the set range, the actuator will not move. The inverse kinematics solution is used and the above process is repeated until the error is within an acceptable range.

[0120] When the actuator is in the picking position, the driving gear 62 drives the grabbing gear 63 to rotate, and a pair of grabbing gears 63 engage and rotate in opposite directions. Under the action of the limiting rod 66, one end of a pair of second guide rods 65 approaches or moves away from each other toward the symmetric center, completing the grabbing action of the picked object.

[0121] The exemplary implementation of the wearable picking device proposed in the present invention is described in detail above with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that, without departing from the concept of the present invention, various variations and modifications can be made to the above-mentioned specific embodiments, and various technical features and structures proposed in the present invention can be combined in various ways without exceeding the scope of protection of the present invention, which is determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. Wearable picking equipment, characterized in that: include: Back seat (10); A driving component (20) comprising a box (21) mounted on the back seat (10), and a plurality of first driving members (22) located in the box (21); A flexible arm (30) is rotatably connected to the box (21) via a rotating component (50) at its rear end, and an execution component for picking fruits is provided at its front end. The flexible arm (30) includes a plurality of drive ropes (33) and a plurality of groups of flexible components connected in sequence; each group of flexible components includes a plurality of sleeve members (31) and an elastic core column (32); A plurality of sleeve pieces (31) are arranged side by side and are connected in a 90° staggered rotation manner. Each sleeve piece (31) is provided with a plurality of through holes (311) evenly arranged in the circumferential direction. The elastic core columns (32) are located in the plurality of sleeve pieces (31) with the same length. One end of each driving rope (33) is connected to the output end of the first driving member (22) and is wound and released, and the other end passes through the through hole (311) on the sleeve member (31) and is connected to the front side of the flexible component. The driving rope (33) is in a taut state.

2. The wearable picking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the number of flexible components is 2N+1, where N≥1, the plurality of driving ropes (33) on the flexible arm (30) are evenly divided into N+1 parts, and each driving rope (33) is connected to the front end of the flexible component at an odd position; A plurality of circumferentially arranged decoupling ropes (34) are provided between the flexible components at odd positions and the flexible components at the adjacent front sides; The decoupling rope (34) passes through the through hole (311) on the sleeve member (31) and is connected to the front and rear ends of an adjacent pair of flexible components.

3. The wearable picking device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The flexible components are divided into three groups; The flexible arm (30) includes eight drive cables (33); The rear flexible component is connected to the middle flexible component via four decoupling ropes (34).

4. The wearable picking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the number of flexible components is 2N, where N≥1, the multiple driving ropes (33) on the flexible arm (30) are evenly divided into N parts, and each driving rope (33) is correspondingly connected to the front end of the flexible component at an even position.

5. The wearable picking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible arm (30) further includes a rigid arm (53) having a telescopic structure; The rigid arm (53) is connected between the rear end of the flexible arm (30) and the rotating component (50).

6. The wearable picking device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The rotating component (50) has a rotating plate (51) and a second driving component (54); The rotating plate (51) is rotatably mounted on the supporting back plate (40), and the supporting back plate (40) is fixedly connected to the box body (21); The second driving member (54) is mounted on the supporting back plate (40), and the output end is connected to the rotating plate (51).

7. The wearable picking device according to claim 6, characterized in that: After being connected to the first driving member (22), the driving rope (33) is first wound around the guide wheel member and then sequentially passes through the through holes (311) on the sleeve member (31); The guide wheel component comprises a guide wheel (52) located on the rotating plate (51) and a tension wheel (24) slidingly located in the box body (21); The tensioning wheel (24) is subjected to elastic force, and the direction of the elastic force is opposite to the direction of the force exerted by the driving rope (33) on the tensioning wheel (24).

8. The wearable picking device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The tensioning wheel (24) is rotatably mounted on the first support plate (25), and the first support plate (25) is slidably located in the box (21) via a slide rail (28); A second support plate (27) is provided on one side of the first support plate (25), and an elastic member (26) is provided between the second support plate (27).

9. The wearable picking device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The execution component includes: A grab plate (61) connected to the front end of the flexible arm (30); A pair of symmetrically arranged grabbing assemblies, each grabbing assembly having a grabbing gear (63), a first guide rod (64), a second guide rod (65), and a limit rod (66); One end of the first guide rod (64) is fixed on the grabbing gear (63), and the other end is rotatably connected to one end of the second guide rod (65). The second guide rod (65) is a bent structure and the other end is close to the symmetry center. The two ends of the limit rod (66) are correspondingly rotatably mounted on the grabbing plate (61) and the bending portion of the second guide rod (65). A pair of grabbing gears (63) are meshed and connected with each other, and one of the grabbing gears (63) is meshed and connected with the driving gear (62).

10. The wearable picking device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The execution component is provided with a visual sensor for identifying the picked objects in the area; The visual sensor is connected to the control component, and the control component controls the actions of the first driving component (22) and the second driving component (54).

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