Automatic picker
The picking module, with its negative pressure suction head and elastic retainer, solves the problem of fruit damage during picking, achieving efficient and damage-free fruit picking, and is suitable for complex and narrow environments.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202423152196.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-19
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-11
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-12-19
AI Technical Summary
Existing harvesting machinery handles are prone to causing bumps and damage to the surface of the fruit during the harvesting process.
The picking module, which uses a negative pressure suction head combined with an elastic retainer, adheres tightly to the fruit surface through negative pressure and moves in multiple degrees of freedom in three-dimensional space to compensate for positional accuracy errors.
It effectively avoids bruising and damage to the fruit surface, improves the success rate of harvesting, and is especially suitable for complex and narrow environments.
Smart Images
Figure CN223528529U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of harvesting robotic arms, and more particularly to an automatic harvester. Background Technology
[0002] With the continuous development of agricultural modernization, the application rate of mechanized and automated agricultural equipment has been increasing year by year, gradually replacing traditional manual operations. This has saved a lot of human labor and reduced labor costs in the agricultural operation process.
[0003] Harvesting robots are a common type of automated agricultural equipment. Current harvesting robots generally consist of a multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm and a mechanical gripper. They also have vision cameras to control the movement of the robotic arm and gripper and harvest fruit through machine vision algorithms. However, most existing mechanical grippers mimic human fingers to grasp and harvest fruit. During the harvesting process, the mechanical gripper applies different forces to the fruit surface, which can easily cause bumps and damage to the fruit surface, affecting the later storage and sale of the fruit.
[0004] In view of this, there is an urgent need in the market for a new type of harvesting equipment to solve the problem that the harvesting process of existing harvesting machinery is prone to causing bumps and damage to the surface of the fruit. Utility Model Content
[0005] This disclosure provides an automatic harvester to address the problem that the harvesting process of existing harvesting machinery can easily cause damage to the surface of fruits.
[0006] The automatic harvester provided in this embodiment includes a robotic arm and a harvesting head;
[0007] The robotic arm is capable of multi-degree-of-freedom movement in multiple directions in three-dimensional space;
[0008] The harvesting head is connected to one end of the robotic arm;
[0009] The picking head is equipped with a vision module and a picking module.
[0010] The harvesting module includes a negative pressure suction head and a connecting air tube;
[0011] The negative pressure suction heads are spaced apart on the outside of the picking head;
[0012] The connecting air tube is used to connect the negative pressure suction head to the air pump in the harvesting head.
[0013] The picking module can move the negative pressure suction head away from the picking head or retract toward the picking head.
[0014] In one embodiment, the picking module further includes an elastic retainer;
[0015] The elastic support member is disposed on the outer periphery of the connecting air tube;
[0016] The elastic retainer is used to keep the connecting air tube taut and can extend and retract synchronously with the connecting air tube.
[0017] In one embodiment, the elastic support is configured as a telescopic spring sleeved on the outer periphery of the connecting air tube;
[0018] The two ends of the telescopic spring are respectively connected to the picking head and the negative pressure suction head.
[0019] In one embodiment, the elastic support member is configured as a telescopic sleeve fitted onto the outer periphery of the connecting air tube;
[0020] The telescopic sleeve is connected to the harvesting head and the negative pressure suction head at both ends, and the telescopic sleeve has a deformation section for telescopic deformation.
[0021] In one embodiment, the negative pressure suction head includes a suction head disc and a telescopic suction head cavity;
[0022] One side of the suction head plate is connected to the telescopic suction head cavity, and the other side forms a concave spherical adsorption surface;
[0023] When the connecting air tube is subjected to negative pressure suction, the telescopic suction head cavity can correspondingly drive the suction head plate to retract toward the picking head.
[0024] In one possible embodiment, the connecting air tube has a telescopic section in the shape of a corrugated tube;
[0025] When the connecting air tube is used for negative pressure suction, the telescopic tube section can correspondingly drive the negative pressure suction head to retract toward the picking head.
[0026] In one embodiment, the vision module includes at least two spaced-apart vision cameras and a ranging probe for measuring distance.
[0027] In one embodiment, the picking head further includes a picking turntable;
[0028] The visual module and the picking module are provided on one side of the picking turntable, and the other side is rotatably connected to the picking head.
[0029] In one embodiment, the harvesting turntable includes a turntable bottom shell and a turntable cover shell;
[0030] The bottom shell of the turntable and the cover shell of the turntable are closed to form a cavity for installing the air pump.
[0031] In one embodiment, a mounting base is also provided at the other end of the robotic arm;
[0032] The mounting base can be detachably connected to a mobile device.
[0033] The technical solution provided in this disclosure has the following advantages compared with the prior art:
[0034] The automatic harvester provided in this embodiment can firmly and tightly adhere to the surface of the target fruits and vegetables to be harvested by using the negative pressure suction head in the harvesting head under negative pressure. This effectively solves the problems of local stress concentration and bump damage when harvesting target fruits and vegetables. Moreover, during the specific adsorption process, the negative pressure suction head can also extend outward to a certain extent away from the harvesting head. This can compensate for the positional accuracy error when the robotic arm moves in three-dimensional space, improve the success rate of the harvesting head in adsorbing and grasping the target fruits and vegetables, and is especially suitable for complex and narrow harvesting environments.
[0035] It should be understood that the description in this section is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description
[0036] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated in the drawings by way of example and not limitation, in which:
[0037] In the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.
[0038] Figure 1 A perspective view of the automatic harvester provided in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown;
[0039] Figure 2 This diagram shows a first structural diagram of the picking head in an automatic picker provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0040] Figure 3 A second structural diagram of the picking head in the automatic picker provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;
[0041] Figure 4 A structural diagram of the picking module in the automatic picker provided in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown;
[0042] Figure 5 A three-dimensional half-sectional view of the picking head in the automatic picker provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.
[0043] Explanation of the numbers in the diagram: 1. Harvesting head; 11. Vision module; 111. Vision camera; 112. Rangefinder probe; 12. Harvesting module; 121. Negative pressure suction head; 121a. Suction head plate; 121b. Telescopic suction head cavity; 122. Connecting air tube; 122a. Telescopic tube section; 123. Elastic retainer; 13. Harvesting turntable; 131. Turntable bottom shell; 132. Turntable cover shell;
[0044] 2. Robotic arm; 21. Mounting base. Detailed Implementation
[0045] To make the objectives, features, and advantages of this disclosure more apparent and understandable, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this disclosure, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this disclosure without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.
[0046] The embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0047] Combination Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment of the present disclosure provides an automatic harvester, which includes a robotic arm 2 and a harvesting head 1; the robotic arm 2 is capable of multi-degree-of-freedom movement in three-dimensional space along multiple directions; the harvesting head 1 is connected to one end of the robotic arm 2; wherein, the harvesting head 1 is provided with a vision module 11 and a harvesting module 12; the harvesting module 12 includes a negative pressure suction head 121 and a connecting air tube 122; the negative pressure suction head 121 is spaced apart on the outside of the harvesting head 1; the connecting air tube 122 is used to connect the negative pressure suction head 121 to the air pump in the harvesting head 1; the harvesting module 12 can drive the negative pressure suction head 121 to extend away from the harvesting head 1 or retract toward the harvesting head 1.
[0048] The automatic harvester provided in this embodiment can be applied to the automatic harvesting and sorting of fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, apples, and oranges. The usage process will be described using the automatic harvesting of tomatoes as an example.
[0049] In practical use, the automatic harvester first uses the vision module 11 in the harvesting head 1 to determine the ripeness and three-dimensional spatial coordinates of the target tomato. The vision module 11 can specifically, but is not limited to, use AI vision algorithms based on dual cameras to determine whether the target tomato has reached the required ripeness and its three-dimensional spatial coordinates relative to the harvesting head 1. If the target tomato meets the required ripeness, the vision module 11 feeds back the three-dimensional spatial coordinates of the target tomato to the control center of the robotic arm 2. The robotic arm 2 then moves accordingly in three-dimensional space, bringing the harvesting head 1 closer to the target tomato. Furthermore, the control center can also control the harvesting module 1. When the air pump in module 2 operates, it draws air through the air pipe 122 to the negative pressure suction head 121, causing the negative pressure suction head 121 to adhere to the target tomato under negative pressure. At this time, the negative pressure suction head 121 can extend a certain distance away from the picking head 1 and adhere firmly to the surface of the target tomato under negative pressure. Then, the robotic arm 2 can drive the picking head 1 to pick the target tomato by twisting or pulling. Finally, the robotic arm 2 drives the picking head 1 to move the target tomato to the storage chamber. The control center controls the air pump in the picking module 12 to stop working or to blow air with positive pressure. In this way, the negative pressure suction head 121 will no longer adhere to the target tomato, allowing the target tomato to be released into the storage chamber.
[0050] In summary, compared with the existing harvesting mechanical gripper method, the automatic harvester provided in this embodiment can firmly and tightly adhere to the surface of the target fruits and vegetables under negative pressure through the negative pressure suction head 121 in the harvesting head 1, effectively solving the problems of local stress concentration and bump damage when harvesting target fruits and vegetables. Moreover, during the specific adsorption process, the negative pressure suction head 121 can also extend outward to a certain extent away from the harvesting head 1, which can compensate for the positional accuracy error of the robotic arm 2 when moving in three-dimensional space, improve the success rate of the harvesting head 1 in adsorbing and grasping the target fruits and vegetables, and is especially suitable for complex and narrow harvesting environments.
[0051] In one embodiment, the picking module 12 further includes an elastic support member 123; the elastic support member 123 is disposed on the outer periphery of the connecting air tube 122; the elastic support member 123 is used to keep the connecting air tube 122 in a taut state and can extend and retract synchronously with the connecting air tube 122.
[0052] Specifically, in combination Figure 2 or Figure 3In further detail, the picking module 12 is also equipped with an elastic retainer 123 located on the outer periphery of the connecting air tube 122. Under the elastic retainer 123, the connecting air tube 122 can be kept relatively taut. This can further improve the stability of the distance between the negative pressure suction head 121 and the picking head 1, making it easier for the robotic arm 2 to drive the picking head 1 to reach into a narrower picking space for picking.
[0053] Furthermore, the elastic retainer 123 can extend and retract synchronously with the connecting air tube 122. Thus, when the negative pressure suction head 121 extends outward to a certain extent towards the target fruits and vegetables under negative pressure, the elastic retainer 123 will also extend accordingly, so as not to affect the mutual adsorption between the negative pressure suction head 121 and the target fruits and vegetables.
[0054] In one embodiment, the elastic support member 123 is configured as a telescopic spring sleeved on the outer periphery of the connecting air tube 122; the two ends of the telescopic spring are respectively connected to the picking head 1 and the negative pressure suction head 121.
[0055] Specifically, in combination Figure 2 In further detail, the elastic support 123 is specifically designed as a telescopic spring sleeved on the outer periphery of the connecting air tube 122, and the two ends of the telescopic spring are respectively connected to the picking head 1 and the negative pressure suction head 121. This allows an initial compressive installation stress to be applied to the telescopic spring, and the telescopic spring can keep the connecting air tube 122 taut under its own stretching force, ensuring a stable distance between the negative pressure suction head 121 and the picking head 1.
[0056] In addition, it is worth noting that since the negative pressure suction head 121 can extend outward to a certain extent away from the picking head 1, the connecting air tube 122 can also be specifically designed to have a certain elasticity and flexibility to ensure that it can extend and retract accordingly as the negative pressure suction head 121 extends.
[0057] The specific arrangement of the elastic support member 123 described above has the advantages of simple structure, keeping the connecting air tube 122 taut, and ensuring a stable distance between the negative pressure suction head 121 and the picking head 1.
[0058] In one embodiment, the elastic support member 123 is configured as a telescopic sleeve fitted around the outer periphery of the connecting air tube 122; the two ends of the telescopic sleeve are respectively connected to the picking head 1 and the negative pressure suction head 121, and the telescopic sleeve has a deformable cylindrical section for telescopic deformation.
[0059] Specifically, in combination Figure 3In further detail, the elastic support 123 is specifically configured as a telescopic sleeve fitted around the outer periphery of the connecting air tube 122. The two ends of the telescopic sleeve are connected to the picking head 1 and the negative pressure suction head 121, respectively. The telescopic sleeve has a deformable cylindrical section for telescopic deformation. The deformable cylindrical section can be specifically configured to be formed by annular array of arched strips. In this way, the deformable cylindrical section can apply an initial installation elastic force that moves away from each other to its two ends. The connecting air tube 122 can also remain taut under the action of the initial installation elastic force of the deformable cylindrical section, which can also ensure the stability of the distance between the negative pressure suction head 121 and the picking head 1.
[0060] Similarly, the connecting tube 122 can also be specifically designed to have a certain elasticity and flexibility to ensure that it can extend and retract accordingly as the negative pressure suction head 121 moves.
[0061] The specific arrangement of the aforementioned elastic retainer 123 also has the beneficial effects of simple structure, keeping the connecting air tube 122 taut, and ensuring a stable distance between the negative pressure suction head 121 and the picking head 1.
[0062] In one embodiment, the negative pressure suction head 121 includes a suction head plate 121a and a telescopic suction head cavity 121b; one side of the suction head plate 121a is connected to the telescopic suction head cavity 121b, and the other side forms a concave spherical adsorption surface; wherein, when the connecting air tube 122 performs negative pressure suction, the telescopic suction head cavity 121b can correspondingly drive the suction head plate 121a to retract toward the picking head 1.
[0063] Specifically, in combination Figure 4 In further detail, the negative pressure suction head 121 is specifically configured to include a suction head plate 121a and a telescopic suction head cavity 121b. One side of the suction head plate 121a is connected to the telescopic suction head cavity 121b, and the other side forms a concave spherical adsorption surface. In this way, the suction head plate 121a can fully adsorb and contact the surface of the target fruits and vegetables through the concave spherical adsorption surface.
[0064] Moreover, when the negative pressure suction head 121 is not initially in contact with the target fruits and vegetables, the telescopic suction head cavity 121b in the negative pressure suction head 121 can extend accordingly, so that the suction head disk 121a can more quickly and efficiently contact and adsorb onto the surface of the target fruits and vegetables; after the negative pressure suction head 121 contacts and adsorbs the target fruits and vegetables, the telescopic suction head cavity 121b can also shorten accordingly under the action of negative pressure, thereby driving the suction head disk 121a to retract toward the picking head 1, so that the picking head 1 can pick the target fruits and vegetables by twisting or pulling.
[0065] The specific configuration of the negative pressure suction head 121 described above has the advantages of simple structure, enabling the suction head plate 121a to more quickly adsorb the target fruits and vegetables, and facilitating the picking head 1 to apply force to pick the target fruits and vegetables.
[0066] In one embodiment, the connecting air tube 122 has a wavy, telescopic tube section 122a; wherein, when the connecting air tube 122 is subjected to negative pressure suction, the telescopic tube section 122a can correspondingly drive the negative pressure suction head 121 to retract toward the picking head 1.
[0067] Specifically, in combination Figure 4 In further detail, a wavy, telescopic tube section 122a is provided in the connecting air tube 122. When the connecting air tube 122 performs negative pressure suction, and the negative pressure suction head 121 moves a certain distance toward the target fruits and vegetables for adsorption, the telescopic tube section 122a can extend to a certain extent, so that the suction head plate 121a can more quickly adsorb onto the surface of the target fruits and vegetables. After the negative pressure suction head 121 contacts and adsorbs the target fruits and vegetables, the telescopic tube section 122a can also contract under the action of negative pressure, which correspondingly drives the negative pressure suction head 121 to contract toward the picking head 1. This also makes it easier for the picking head 1 to pick the target fruits and vegetables by twisting or pulling.
[0068] The specific arrangement of the connecting air tube 122 described above also has the beneficial effects of simple structure, enabling the suction head plate 121a to more quickly adsorb the target fruits and vegetables, and facilitating the picking head 1 to apply force to pick the target fruits and vegetables.
[0069] In one embodiment, the vision module 11 includes at least two spaced-apart vision cameras 111 and a ranging probe 112 for measuring distance.
[0070] Specifically, in combination Figure 2 In further detail, the vision module 11 is equipped with at least two spaced vision cameras 111. The two vision cameras 111 can accurately acquire the three-dimensional position information of the target fruits and vegetables based on the binocular vision algorithm. Moreover, the ranging probe 112 in the vision module 11 can, but is not limited to, use infrared ranging or ultrasonic ranging to further assist in measuring the distance information between the target fruits and vegetables and the picking head 1, so as to fully ensure that the robotic arm 2 can drive the picking head 1 to approach the target fruits and vegetables to be picked in three-dimensional space.
[0071] In one embodiment, the picking head 1 further includes a picking turntable 13; a vision module 11 and a picking module 12 are provided on one side of the picking turntable 13, and the other side is rotatably connected to the picking head 1.
[0072] Specifically, in combination Figure 2In further detail, a picking turntable 13 is also provided in the picking head 1. A vision module 11 and a picking module 12 are provided on one side of the picking turntable 13, and the other side is rotatably connected to the picking head 1. When the picking module 12 is stably adsorbed to the target fruits and vegetables to be picked, the picking head 1 can drive the picking turntable 13 to rotate and coordinate with the movement of the robotic arm 2. In this way, the target fruits and vegetables can be picked quickly and efficiently by twisting and pulling at the same time.
[0073] In one embodiment, the harvesting turntable 13 includes a turntable bottom shell 131 and a turntable cover shell 132; the turntable bottom shell 131 and the turntable cover shell 132 are closed to form a cavity for installing an air pump.
[0074] Specifically, in combination Figure 5 In further detail, the harvesting turntable 13 is specifically configured to include a turntable bottom shell 131 and a turntable cover shell 132, with the turntable bottom shell 131 and the turntable cover shell 132 covering each other to form a cavity for installing the air pump. In this way, the air pump can be installed inside the harvesting turntable 13. On the one hand, it can save installation space and make the structure more compact. On the other hand, when the harvesting turntable 13 rotates, the air pump and the connecting air pipe 122 will not twist relative to each other, avoiding the problem of the connecting air pipe 122 being selectively entangled and blocked.
[0075] In one embodiment, the other end of the robotic arm 2 is also provided with a mounting base 21; the mounting base 21 can be detachably connected to the mobile device.
[0076] Specifically, in combination Figure 5 In further detail, a mounting base 21 is also provided at the other end of the robotic arm 2. This allows the robotic arm 2 to be detachably connected to a mobile device (e.g., a mobile cart) via the mounting base 21, enabling the automatic harvester to move flexibly during the harvesting process and have a wider range of harvesting work space.
[0077] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this disclosure, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.
[0078] The above are merely specific embodiments of this disclosure, but the scope of protection of this disclosure is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this disclosure should be included within the scope of protection of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure should be determined by the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. An automatic harvester, characterized in that, include: The robotic arm (2) is capable of multi-degree-of-freedom movement in three-dimensional space along multiple directions; A picking head (1) is connected to one end of the robotic arm (2); The picking head (1) is equipped with a vision module (11) and a picking module (12); The picking module (12) includes a negative pressure suction head (121) and a connecting air tube (122); The negative pressure suction head (121) is spaced apart on the outside of the picking head (1); The connecting air tube (122) is used to connect the negative pressure suction head (121) to the air pump in the picking head (1); The picking module (12) can drive the negative pressure suction head (121) to extend away from the picking head (1) or retract toward the picking head (1).
2. The automatic harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The picking module (12) also includes an elastic support (123); The elastic support member (123) is disposed on the outer periphery of the connecting air pipe (122); The elastic retainer (123) is used to keep the connecting air tube (122) in a taut state and can extend and retract synchronously with the connecting air tube (122).
3. The automatic harvester according to claim 2, characterized in that, The elastic support member (123) is configured as a telescopic spring sleeved on the outer periphery of the connecting air pipe (122); The two ends of the telescopic spring are respectively connected to the picking head (1) and the negative pressure suction head (121).
4. The automatic harvester according to claim 2, characterized in that, The elastic support member (123) is configured as a telescopic sleeve fitted onto the outer periphery of the connecting air pipe (122); The two ends of the telescopic sleeve are respectively connected to the picking head (1) and the negative pressure suction head (121), and the telescopic sleeve has a deformation cylinder section for telescopic deformation.
5. The automatic harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The negative pressure suction head (121) includes a suction head disk (121a) and a telescopic suction head cavity (121b); One side of the suction head plate (121a) is connected to the telescopic suction head cavity (121b), and the other side forms a concave spherical adsorption surface; When the connecting air tube (122) is subjected to negative pressure suction, the telescopic suction head cavity (121b) can correspondingly drive the suction head plate (121a) to retract toward the picking head (1).
6. The automatic harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The connecting air pipe (122) has a telescopic tube section (122a) in the shape of a corrugated tube; When the connecting air tube (122) is subjected to negative pressure suction, the telescopic tube section (122a) can correspondingly drive the negative pressure suction head (121) to retract toward the picking head (1).
7. The automatic harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vision module (11) includes at least two spaced vision cameras (111) and a ranging probe (112) for ranging.
8. The automatic harvester according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The picking head (1) also includes a picking turntable (13); The visual module (11) and the picking module (12) are provided on one side of the picking turntable (13), and the other side is rotatably connected to the picking head (1).
9. The automatic harvester according to claim 8, characterized in that, The harvesting turntable (13) includes a turntable bottom shell (131) and a turntable cover shell (132); The turntable bottom shell (131) and the turntable cover shell (132) are closed to form a cavity for installing the air pump.
10. The automatic harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that, The other end of the robotic arm (2) is also provided with a mounting base (21); The mounting base (21) can be detachably connected to the mobile device.