Bag opening device and bagging robot with same

Abstract

The utility model discloses a bag opening device which comprises a machine frame, a bag feeding opening is formed in one side of the machine frame, and two installation plates are arranged on the inner side of the machine frame in a spaced mode. Corresponding variable-diameter grooves are formed in the sides, close to each other, of the two mounting plates, and the groove diameters of the variable-diameter grooves are narrowed in the direction from one side of the rack to the other side of the rack; an integrated conveying roller and a separated roller are mounted between the two mounting plates and located on the two sides of the variable-diameter groove, and the conveying roller is close to one side of the bag feeding opening; the rollers are conveyed to rotate through the first power device, and the rollers are driven to rotate through the second power device. The bag opening device can be used for carrying out bag opening operation on bag bodies such as fruit bags; furthermore, a conveying belt, a mechanical arm, a moving trolley and other components are designed to work cooperatively with the bag opening device, and the multifunctional robot integrating the bag storage function, the bag taking function and the bag sealing function is formed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a bag-holding device and a bag-handling robot having the same, belonging to the field of agricultural machinery and equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, bagging of young fruits such as eggplant mainly relies on traditional manual bagging methods and simple bagging aids, such as simple bag-supporting devices.

[0003] Traditional manual bagging methods have many shortcomings and problems, including:

[0004] First, it is inefficient, as manual bagging relies entirely on manual operation, resulting in an extremely slow bagging rate. Especially in large-scale planting scenarios, it is difficult to complete the bagging task within the critical growth cycle, missing the optimal bagging time for eggplant growth and affecting the quality and yield of eggplants.

[0005] Secondly, the high cost, namely, with the continuous rise in labor market prices, the proportion of labor costs for manual bagging in the overall planting cost structure is constantly increasing, seriously eroding the planting profit margin and weakening the industry's profitability and market competitiveness; and the difficulty in quality control, namely, the quality level of manual bagging is subject to subjective factors such as the worker's skill level and fatigue, making it difficult to ensure that the bagging operation of each eggplant maintains a high degree of consistency in key indicators such as tightness and sealing, thus significantly increasing the probability of pest and disease invasion, affecting the product's commercial value and market acceptance.

[0006] Third, the level of automation is low. While simple bagging aids have achieved automation in some aspects of bagging, the overall level of automation needs to be improved.

[0007] Based on the above, this utility model is hereby proposed. Summary of the Invention

[0008] This utility model provides a bag-supporting device for supporting bags such as fruit bags; furthermore, based on the bag-supporting device, a conveyor belt, a robotic arm, a mobile trolley and other components are designed to work in conjunction with the bag-supporting device, forming a multi-functional robot that integrates bag storage, bag retrieval and bag sealing functions.

[0009] The technical solution of this utility model is:

[0010] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a bag-supporting device is provided, including a frame, a bag-feeding opening 12 on one side of the frame, and two mounting plates arranged at intervals on the inner side of the frame; the two mounting plates have corresponding variable diameter grooves 13 on their adjacent sides, and the diameter of the variable diameter grooves 13 narrows from one side of the frame to the other side; an integrated conveying roller 8 and a separate roller 9 are installed between the two mounting plates on both sides of the variable diameter grooves 13, and the conveying roller 8 is closer to the bag-feeding opening 12; the conveying roller 8 is driven to rotate by a first power device, and the roller 9 is driven to rotate by a second power device.

[0011] Furthermore, the first power unit and the second power unit have the same structure, both including a servo motor 10, a servo motor bracket 14, and a servo motor pad 15. The servo motor bracket 14 fixes the two servo motors 10 through the servo motor pad 15. The first power unit drives the two conveying rollers 8 located on both sides of the variable diameter groove 13 to move. The second power unit drives the roller 9 located on a mounting plate to move, and the second power unit drives the roller 9 located on another mounting plate to move.

[0012] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a bagging robot is provided, including a bag-supporting device and a bag-sealing device installed on the other side of the frame. The bag-sealing device includes two sets of lead screw modules 7 and toothed racks 11. The two sets of lead screw modules 7 drive the toothed racks 11 installed on the lead screws in the lead screw modules 7 to move closer or further apart. The two toothed racks 11 move closer together to press the bag conveyed by the bag-supporting device.

[0013] Furthermore, the bagging robot also includes a conveying module 3, which is used to transport the bag to the bag feeding port 12 of the bag-supporting device.

[0014] Furthermore, the bagging robot also includes a bag storage and retrieval device, used to retrieve the stored bags sequentially and transport them to the conveying module 3.

[0015] Furthermore, the bagging robot also includes:

[0016] Vision module 2 is used to identify bagging targets;

[0017] Car module 4, which includes a car body, is used to move the various components installed on the car body to the target position;

[0018] Robotic arm module 5, which is mounted on the vehicle body and whose working end is used to install a bag-supporting device.

[0019] The beneficial effects of this utility model are:

[0020] First, in terms of mechanical structure, this utility model ingeniously designs a bag-supporting device, and further, through the coordinated work of components such as conveyor belts, robotic arms, and mobile trolleys, it forms a multi-functional robot that integrates bag storage, bag retrieval, and bag sealing functions.

[0021] Secondly, the bag-supporting device, based on mechanical principles and utilizing rollers and spatial constraints, automatically supports the paper bag during its operation. This not only saves material costs but also reduces the overall weight of the device, improving its portability and economy. The bag-sealing device employs a pre-designed rack and pinion structure, where two lead screws drive a set of racks to mesh in opposite directions, ensuring a reliable seal at the bag opening. This effectively avoids the loosening problems that may occur with traditional bag-sealing methods, guaranteeing the integrity of the bagging operation and the protection of the fruit.

[0022] Third, a high-performance STM32 microcontroller was selected as the core control unit, paired with a trained Faster R-CNN model, enabling high-precision detection and localization of targets such as eggplants. This deep learning model can accurately identify the shape, posture, and position information of young fruits such as eggplants, providing accurate navigation data for subsequent robotic arm operations. Through the TCP communication protocol, the robotic vehicle achieves remote monitoring and control functions. Operators can operate and manage the robotic vehicle anytime, anywhere using a mobile app or IoT platform, greatly improving the flexibility and convenience of operations. Furthermore, a mobile application developed based on Python further enhances the user experience with the robotic vehicle, making the operation process more intuitive and easy to understand, lowering the technical threshold, and allowing ordinary farmers to easily get started and enjoy the convenience brought by intelligent agricultural equipment. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 The overall structure of the bagging robot provided according to the embodiments of this utility model Figure 1 ;

[0024] Figure 2 The overall structure of the bagging robot provided according to the embodiments of this utility model Figure 2 ;

[0025] Figure 3 The overall structure of the bagging robot provided according to the embodiments of this utility model Figure 3 ;

[0026] Figure 4 The structure of the bag-supporting device of this utility model Figure 1 ;

[0027] Figure 5 The structure of the bag-supporting device of this utility model Figure 2 ;

[0028] Figure 6 The structure of the bag-supporting device of this utility model Figure 2 ;

[0029] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the power device structure of this utility model;

[0030] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing the connection of the lead screw and toothed rack in the sealing device of this utility model.

[0031] The following are the labels in the diagram: sealing device-1, vision module-2, conveyor belt module-3, trolley module-4, robotic arm module-5, control module-6, lead screw module-7, conveyor roller-8, roller-9, servo motor-10, rack and pinion-11, bag feeding opening-12, variable diameter groove-13, servo motor bracket-14, servo motor pad-15, robotic arm servo motor-16, U-shaped bracket-17, servo disc-18, bag picking module-19, bag storage module-20. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The utility model will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, but the scope of the utility model is not limited to the description.

[0033] In the cultivation of crops such as eggplant, fruits that are not bagged are susceptible to pests and diseases, leading to decreased quality and yield. Increased pesticide use raises food safety concerns, and adverse weather conditions increase the risk of fruit rot, affecting fruit appearance and market competitiveness. Manual bagging is difficult to promote on a large scale. Therefore, this invention proposes a bag-supporting device and a bagging robot incorporating it. The specific details of this invention are described below.

[0034] like Figure 4-7 As shown, according to a first aspect of this embodiment, a bag-supporting device is provided, including a frame. A bag-feeding opening 12 is provided on one side of the frame, and two mounting plates arranged at intervals are provided on the inner side of the frame. Corresponding variable-diameter grooves 13 are provided on the side of the two mounting plates that are close to each other, and the diameter of the variable-diameter grooves 13 narrows from one side of the frame to the other. An integrated conveying roller 8 and a separate roller 9 are installed between the two mounting plates on both sides of the variable-diameter groove 13, with the conveying roller 8 closer to the bag-feeding opening 12. The conveying roller 8 is rotated by a first power device, and the roller 9 is driven to rotate by a second power device. In the above description, the distance between the two mounting plates matches the size of the bag so that when the bag is fed through the bag-feeding opening 12, the variable-diameter grooves on the mounting plates can hold the upper and lower ends of the bag. It should be noted that, in order to better demonstrate the internal structure of the bag-supporting device, Figures 4-6 Part of the rack was hidden.

[0035] like Figure 7As shown, the first power unit and the second power unit have the same structure, both including a servo motor 10, a servo motor bracket 14, and a servo motor pad 15. The servo motor bracket 14 fixes the two servo motors 10 through the servo motor pad 15. The first power unit drives the two conveying rollers 8 located on both sides of the variable diameter groove 13 to move. The second power unit drives the roller 9 located on a mounting plate to move, and the second power unit drives the roller 9 located on another mounting plate to move.

[0036] As can be seen from the above technical solution, the bag-supporting device mainly utilizes the constraint of the fruit bag's travel space during transportation. At the same time, three sets of servo motors drive the rollers to rotate. When the fruit bag is transported to the bag opening by the conveyor belt, it then enters the bag-supporting device. As the width of the path gradually narrows, the bag opening gradually widens due to the gradual constraint of the space, thus achieving the purpose of bag support. This solution has a simple structure, only requiring a certain restriction on the travel space of the fruit bag, and has high bag-supporting efficiency.

[0037] like Figures 1-8 As shown, according to a second aspect of this embodiment, a bagging robot is provided, including a bag-supporting device and a bag-sealing device 1 installed on the other side of the frame. The bag-sealing device 1 includes two sets of lead screw modules 7 and toothed racks 11. The two sets of lead screw modules 7 drive the toothed racks 11 installed on the lead screws in the lead screw modules 7 to move closer or further apart. The movement of the two toothed racks 11 closer together compresses the bag conveyed by the bag-supporting device. The toothed racks 11 use the principle of a stapleless stapler to press and seal the opened bag opening. Applying the above technical solution, it can be seen that the bag-sealing device uses toothed racks to seal the bag. This design simplifies the sealing process, reduces mechanical complexity, and ensures the tightness and reliability of the sealed bag.

[0038] like Figures 1-3 As shown, the bagging robot also includes a conveying module 3, which is used to convey the bag to the bag feeding port 12 of the bag-supporting device.

[0039] like Figures 1-3 As shown, the bagging robot also includes a bag storage and retrieval device for sequentially retrieving stored bags and conveying them to the conveyor module 3. Specifically, this design adopts a single-roller design similar to a printer, including a bag retrieval module 19 and a bag storage module 20. The bag storage module 20 is used to store bags and includes a bag box. A bag-blocking mechanism is designed around the bag box to keep the bags neat and prevent them from moving during retrieval. A separation pad is designed under the bags to prevent multiple bags from being sent to the conveyor belt at once. When a bag is needed, the roller of the bag retrieval module 19 rotates counterclockwise to transport the topmost bag to the conveyor module to complete the bag retrieval work.

[0040] like Figures 1-3As shown, the bagging robot also includes:

[0041] Vision module 2 is used to identify bagging targets;

[0042] Car module 4, which includes a car body, is used to move the various components installed on the car body to the target position;

[0043] A robotic arm module 5 is mounted on the vehicle body, and its working end is used to install a bag-holding device. The robotic arm module 5 includes a robotic arm servo motor 16 and a U-shaped bracket 17. During installation, the bag-holding device is connected to the robotic arm servo motor 16 at the end of the robotic arm module 5 via a servo disc 18.

[0044] For example, the trolley module 4, serving as the mobile platform for the entire system, employs a tracked design to adapt to the uneven terrain of the orchard. Compared to traditional wheeled chassis, the tracked structure offers better grip and stability, enabling smooth movement on soft or obstacle-prone surfaces and reducing damage to crops. The trolley is equipped with ultrasonic ranging sensors to monitor the surrounding environment in real time, ensuring timely deceleration or steering when encountering obstacles to avoid collisions. The robotic arm module 5 is responsible for performing the specific bagging action. It is a multi-degree-of-freedom joint structure that can flexibly adjust its angle and position as needed. Each joint is driven by a servo motor and equipped with an encoder to feed back position information to the STM32 main control unit, thus achieving closed-loop control and ensuring the accuracy and stability of the movements. Upon receiving the three-dimensional coordinates of the fruit from the vision module 2, the robotic arm moves to the designated position based on this data. The conveyor belt module 3 utilizes the friction between the conveyor belt and the paper bag, moving the paper bag along the conveyor belt to the bag feeding opening 12 of the bag-holding device. Vision Module 2 captures RGB images using a high-definition camera and employs advanced machine vision technology to identify and locate young fruits such as eggplants that require bagging. First, the images undergo preprocessing to remove noise and enhance features, then are fed into a deep learning-based object detection model—Faster R-CNN. This model can quickly and accurately detect eggplant crops in the image and provide their position coordinates. Next, image segmentation technology separates the eggplants from the background, and feature point extraction technology determines corner features, achieving sub-pixel-level precise positioning. Finally, combining the PnP algorithm and camera intrinsic parameters, the exact three-dimensional coordinates of the eggplants relative to the camera are calculated, providing necessary spatial reference information for subsequent robotic arm operations. The high-precision recognition capability of Vision Module 2 enables stable and accurate location of each eggplant to be bagged, even in complex and changing field environments. The control module 6, responsible for coordinating the operation of all subsystems, uses an STM32 microcontroller as the main control unit. The STM32 features high performance and low power consumption, making it suitable for complex control environments. By programming with Keil 5 software, developers achieved precise control over complex tasks such as cart movement, speed adjustment, and bagging actions. The STM32 microcontroller also processes data input from high-definition cameras and other sensors, exchanging information with wireless communication modules, the robotic arm control system, and other auxiliary equipment to ensure synchronized operation. In the intelligent bagging robot, IoT technology collects environmental data in real time through high-definition cameras, ultrasonic sensors, and other devices, while a Wi-Fi module ensures secure transmission of this data to the cloud or user terminals, supporting remote monitoring and operation. Users can view the cart's status, send commands, and receive feedback via computer or mobile applications, while simultaneously utilizing cloud computing for data analysis to optimize management strategies. This powerful remote operation capability improves agricultural production efficiency and management levels, driving the development of modern agriculture towards intelligence.

[0045] Furthermore, the optional working process is given as follows:

[0046] The entire bagging process begins with the vision module 2 identifying and locating the young fruit. The robotic carriage module 4 automatically plans its path based on the acquired visual information and moves precisely to the target location. Upon arrival, the rotating robotic arm module 5 accurately positions itself in the space beneath the young fruit. Simultaneously, the conveyor belt delivers the paper bag to the bag inlet 12, with the bag opening facing the sealing device. Under the influence of the spatial constraint mechanism, the paper bag is evenly opened, preparing for the insertion of the young fruit. Finally, the sealing process is completed by the meshing action of two toothed racks 11 moving closer together. The entire process is seamless and requires no manual intervention, significantly improving bagging efficiency and quality. Users can operate the robotic carriage through various interactive methods, such as a joystick, mobile app, or IoT platform, setting parameters for each module or selecting preset bagging modes. This easily achieves automated bagging of young eggplant fruit, effectively solving the problems of low efficiency, high cost, and difficulty in quality control associated with traditional manual bagging methods, providing strong technical support for the modernization and intelligent development of the eggplant planting industry.

[0047] As can be seen from the above technical solution, this robotic cart has significant advantages over traditional methods such as manual bagging:

[0048] Regarding bag-opening and sealing devices, existing technologies may suffer from problems such as complex structures, high costs, or insufficient reliability. While some high-precision, high-efficiency robotic bagging systems from abroad offer satisfactory bagging results, their complex structures and high costs pose significant challenges to their widespread application in China. This robotic cart features a simple yet ingenious bag-opening and sealing structure. Utilizing the spatial constraints of rollers and the meshing mechanism of a rack and pinion, it not only achieves automatic bag opening and sealing but also saves material costs, reduces the overall weight of the device, and improves its stability and lifespan. This innovative structural design allows the robotic cart to reduce production costs while ensuring bagging quality, enhancing its market competitiveness and making it easier to widely promote and apply in domestic agricultural production.

[0049] In terms of intelligent recognition, traditional manual recognition and positioning suffer from low efficiency and poor accuracy. While existing robotic bagging systems possess some visual recognition capabilities, their stability and accuracy often struggle to be guaranteed in complex agricultural environments, such as varying lighting conditions and shading. This robotic vehicle employs a Faster R-CNN model combined with image segmentation and feature point extraction techniques to achieve sub-pixel-level precision in eggplant positioning. It can accurately identify young eggplants and automatically bag them. This technology not only significantly improves work efficiency and reduces reliance on manual labor but also performs exceptionally well in complex agricultural environments, ensuring precise robotic arm operation. It solves the challenges of fruit shading and varying lighting conditions that traditional methods struggle to address, providing a more reliable and efficient solution for agricultural bagging operations.

[0050] Furthermore, this robotic cart has achieved a significant breakthrough in its interactive methods. It integrates a mobile handle, a mobile app, and an IoT platform, breaking through previous limitations. The mobile handle allows operators to control the cart's movement and bagging operations directly and intuitively, providing a convenient and straightforward operating method, especially suitable for use in complex environments such as fields. The mobile app and IoT platform offer remote monitoring and management functions, allowing users to check the cart's operating status, adjust operating parameters, and even receive fault warnings at any time, regardless of location. This diverse interactive approach not only improves operational flexibility and convenience but also makes it easier for more farmers to use, lowering the barrier to entry and contributing to the wider application and popularization of intelligent agricultural technologies.

[0051] In terms of cost and maintenance, this robotic vehicle also demonstrates significant advantages. Its modular design not only simplifies maintenance and upgrades but also reduces maintenance costs. Furthermore, the use of a low-cost STM32 microcontroller as the main control unit further lowers the overall cost of the equipment, making the robotic vehicle more price-competitive in the market. In addition, the R&D team conducted trials in the core eggplant-growing area of ​​Zhejiang Province—around Taizhou University—and provided a professional maintenance team to offer users timely and effective technical services and after-sales support. This contrasts sharply with high-precision, high-efficiency robotic bagging systems abroad, which not only have high purchase costs but also suffer from numerous inconveniences in maintenance and service, such as long maintenance cycles, high service costs, lack of standardization and compatibility, and data security and privacy issues, seriously hindering their widespread application in China. While China has made some progress in the field of robotic bagging technology for agricultural products in recent years, it still faces challenges such as high purchase costs of robotic equipment, poor reliability and stability, and an imperfect technical service and after-sales support system. The emergence of this robotic cart undoubtedly provides a brand-new approach and solution for the development of robotic bagging technology for agricultural products in China. It is expected to play an important role in future agricultural production and promote the modernization and smart agriculture process.

[0052] The specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A bag opening device characterized by comprising: The machine frame is provided with a bag feeding port (12) on one side, and two installation plates are arranged in the machine frame in a spaced manner. The two installation plates are provided with corresponding variable-diameter grooves (13) on the side close to each other, and the groove diameter of the variable-diameter grooves (13) narrows from one side of the machine frame to the other side. An integrated conveying roller (8) and a separate roller (9) are installed on both sides of the variable-diameter grooves (13) between the two installation plates, and the conveying roller (8) is close to the side of the bag feeding port (12). The conveying roller (8) rotates by the first power device, and the roller (9) rotates by the second power device.

2. The bag opening device of claim 1, wherein The first power device and the second power device have the same structure, and each includes a rudder (10), a rudder support (14), and a rudder cushion (15). The two rudders (10) are fixed by the rudder support (14) through the rudder cushion (15). One first power device drives the movement of the two conveying rollers (8) located on both sides of the variable-diameter grooves (13). One second power device drives the movement of the roller (9) located on one installation plate, and another second power device drives the movement of the roller (9) located on the other installation plate.

3. A bagging robot, characterized in that, The bag supporting device further includes a bag sealing device installed on the other side of the machine frame. The bag sealing device includes two groups of lead screw modules (7) and toothed bars (11). The toothed bars (11) installed on the lead screws of the lead screw modules (7) are driven by the two groups of lead screw modules (7) to move close to or away from each other. The two toothed bars (11) move close to each other to compress the bags conveyed by the bag supporting device.

4. The sleeving robot of claim 3, wherein, The bagging robot further includes a conveying module (3) for conveying bags to the bag feeding port (12) of the bag supporting device.

5. The sleeving robot of claim 4, wherein, The bagging robot further includes a bag storage and taking device for taking the stored bags one by one to the conveying module (3).

6. The sleeving robot of claim 3, wherein, The bagging robot further includes: A vision module (2) for identifying bagging targets; A trolley module (4) including a trolley body for moving various components installed on the trolley body to target positions; A mechanical arm module (5) installed on the trolley body, and the working end of the mechanical arm module (5) is used to install the bag supporting device.

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