Picking end effector

Abstract

The utility model relates to a picking end effector which comprises a tray, a clam type double-blade assembly, a first torque servo motor and a second torque servo motor. One end of the tray in the y-axis direction is provided with a containing space with a circular top cross section, and the other end of the tray is provided with a connecting part; a first torque servo motor and a second torque servo motor are symmetrically arranged in the x-axis direction of the tray; the clam type double-blade assembly comprises a semicircular first blade and a semicircular second blade, the first blade and the second blade are arranged above the containing space and are symmetrical about the x axis, and the first blade and the second blade are driven by a first torque servo motor and a second torque servo motor respectively to rotate and conduct opening and closing actions; a contact sensor is arranged at the center of the bottom of the containing space. The clam-type double-blade assembly is adopted as the cutting device, the first blade and the second blade are driven by the motor to be opened and closed so as to complete the cutting action, the clam-type cutting machine is suitable for mechanical operation, and labor cost is saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of agricultural and forestry machinery technology, and specifically relates to a harvesting end effector, mainly used for citrus harvesting. Background Technology

[0002] Citrus fruits are one of the world's most important economic crops, widely cultivated around the globe. They are the world's largest category of fruit and the world's third-largest traded agricultural product. China, as one of the major origins of citrus fruits, possesses abundant citrus resources and diverse varieties, with a huge production volume. Besides being consumed as food, citrus fruits also have significant medicinal value and high commercial worth. Existing citrus harvesting tools can be broadly categorized into two types: manual harvesting tools and harvesting machinery.

[0003] Traditional manual harvesting tools typically use scissor-type end effectors for harvesting. While they achieve basic harvesting functions, they rely entirely on manual operation for positioning, resulting in high labor intensity and low work efficiency. The structure of traditional manual harvesting tools can be referenced in utility model patent CN221748994U, which discloses a scissor-type harvester, including a first clamp body, a second clamp body, a connecting piece, an elastic element, and a torsion spring. Harvesting is achieved through manual operation.

[0004] Existing harvesting machines, such as the invention patent disclosed in CN118901402A, involve a citrus harvesting device for citrus cultivation, including a scissor-type lifting device, a horizontal moving module, and a scissor device, which grips the fruit. This type of harvesting device lacks sufficient control over fruit clamping damage. Current mechanical claw actuators mostly use rigid grippers, which, especially for larger diameter fruits, lack a pressure adaptive adjustment mechanism, easily lead to excessive clamping force causing fruit crushing damage. Furthermore, the traditional planar claw structure is not well-suited to the spherical geometry of citrus fruits, resulting in a small contact area. When the fruit surface is moist, the friction coefficient between the gripper and the fruit surface decreases, leading to an increased slippage rate and consequently, an increased fruit damage rate. Therefore, improvements to harvesters used for citrus harvesting are needed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This utility model provides a harvesting end effector to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art. It has the characteristics of high automation, preventing fruit from slipping and maintaining good fruit peel integrity.

[0006] This utility model includes the following technical solution:

[0007] A harvesting end effector includes a tray, a clamshell double-blade assembly, a first torque servo motor, and a second torque servo motor. The tray has a circular-topped receiving space at one end along the y-axis and a connecting portion at the other end. The first and second torque servo motors are symmetrically arranged along the x-axis of the tray. The clamshell double-blade assembly includes a semi-circular first blade and a second blade, positioned above the receiving space and symmetrical about the x-axis. The first and second blades are driven to rotate and open / close by the first and second torque servo motors, respectively. A contact sensor is located at the center of the bottom of the receiving space. The contact sensor detects whether the fruit is in contact.

[0008] Furthermore, the first blade is provided with a plurality of blade fixing holes evenly distributed on it, and the cutting blade can be detached and installed through the blade fixing holes and screws.

[0009] Furthermore, the tip of the cutting blade is fixedly fitted with a plastic fruit peel protective sleeve.

[0010] Furthermore, the first torque servo motor and the second torque servo motor are respectively fixed to the bottom of the tray by alloy frames.

[0011] Furthermore, the first blade is movably mounted on the connecting shafts protruding on both sides of the tray.

[0012] Furthermore, the active end of the first blade is connected to the output shaft of the first torque servo motor, and the driven end of the second blade is sleeved on the outside of the connection part on this side.

[0013] Furthermore, the active end of the second blade is connected to the output shaft of the second torque servo motor and is located outside the driven end of the first blade.

[0014] Furthermore, the connecting part is mounted on the rotating arm or rotating rod.

[0015] Furthermore, the bottom of the tray is flat or entirely flat, and an arc-shaped groove is provided in the receiving space to facilitate the positioning of citrus fruits.

[0016] Furthermore, both the first and second torque servo motors are 150kg servo motors with a torque output capability of approximately 150 kgf·cm.

[0017] The advantages and positive effects of this utility model are as follows:

[0018] 1. This utility model uses a clamshell double-blade assembly as a cutting device. The first and second blades open and close under the drive of a motor to complete the cutting action. It is suitable for mechanized operations and saves labor costs.

[0019] 2. This utility model has a tray with a receiving space below the clamshell double blade assembly, which is adapted to the spherical shape of citrus, resulting in higher cutting efficiency and preventing the fruit from falling or slipping; at the same time, the length of the fruit stem can be adjusted to avoid the fruit stem remaining too long.

[0020] 3. The first blade of this utility model can be detachably installed with a cutting blade with a fruit peel protective sleeve, which is less likely to damage the fruit peel. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is the front view of this utility model;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of the tray of this utility model;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional view of the overall structure of this utility model;

[0024] In the figure, 1-tray; 101-accommodating space; 102-connecting part; 103-connecting shaft; 2-first torque servo motor; 3-second torque servo motor; 4-alloy frame; 5-first blade; 501-blade fixing hole; 6-second blade; 7-cutting blade; 8-fruit peel protective cover; 9-contact sensor. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To further disclose the invention content, features, and effects of this utility model, the following examples are provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings for detailed description. In the following description of the embodiments, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise," etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this patent and simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the device or component referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this patent.

[0026] In the following description of the embodiments, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "setting" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection or setting, a detachable connection or setting, or an integral connection or setting. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this patent according to the specific circumstances.

[0027] Example: See Appendix Figure 1-3A harvesting end effector includes a tray 1, a clamshell double-blade assembly, and a first torque servo motor 2 and a second torque servo motor 3. Both the first torque servo motor 2 and the second torque servo motor 3 are 150kg servo motors with a torque output capacity of approximately 150 kgf·cm. The first torque servo motor 2 and the second torque servo motor 3 are respectively fixed to the bottom of the tray 1 via an alloy frame 4. The bottom of the tray 1 is flat or entirely flat, and an arc-shaped groove is provided in the receiving space 101 to facilitate the positioning of citrus fruits.

[0028] The tray 1 has a circular-top cross-section receiving space 101 at one end along the y-axis and a connecting part 102 at the other end; the connecting part 102 is mounted on a rotating arm or rotating rod (not shown in this example). A first torque servo motor 2 and a second torque servo motor 3 are symmetrically arranged along the x-axis of the tray 1; the clamshell double-blade assembly includes a semi-circular first blade 5 and a second blade 6, which are positioned above the receiving space and symmetrical about the x-axis. The first blade 5 and the second blade 6 are driven to rotate and open / close by the first torque servo motor 2 and the second torque servo motor 3, respectively; a contact sensor 9 is located at the center of the bottom of the receiving space 101. The contact sensor 9 is used to detect whether the fruit is in contact.

[0029] like Figure 2 As shown, the first blade 5 is provided with a plurality of blade fixing holes 501 evenly distributed, through which the cutting blade 7 can be detachably installed. The tip of the cutting blade 7 is fixedly fitted with a fruit peel protective sleeve 8, which is a plastic sleeve.

[0030] like Figure 3 As shown, the first blade 5 is movably mounted on the connecting shafts 103 protruding from both sides of the tray 1. One side of the active end of the first blade 5 is connected to the output shaft of the first torque servo motor 2, and the driven end of the second blade 6 is sleeved outside this connection. One side of the active end of the second blade 6 is connected to the output shaft of the second torque servo motor 3 and is located outside the driven end of the first blade 5.

[0031] Working principle: When the citrus fruit falls into the center of the receiving space 101 and triggers the contact sensor 9, the first torque servo motor 2 and the second torque servo motor 3 drive the first blade 5 and the second blade 6 to move upward and close together, similar to the closing action of a clam shell. In the first stage of the cutting operation, only a small torque is set to achieve the purpose of initially restraining the fruit stem; when both torque motors reach the set pre-clamping force, the entire device moves downward to reduce the length of the remaining fruit stem inside the blades; finally, the torque motors provide a higher torque, which, in conjunction with the rotational movement of the rotating arm or rotating rod, completely cuts off the fruit stem.

[0032] Finally, the device moves downwards with the citrus fruits. The rotating arm or rod rotates, causing the entire device to flip downwards. This flipping opens the first blade 5 and the second blade 6 to facilitate the collection of the citrus fruits. A peel protector 8 is installed at the tip of the cutting blade 7 to prevent damage to the peel.

[0033] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other modifications under the guidance of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. These modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A harvesting end effector, characterized in that: The device includes a tray, a clamshell double-blade assembly, a first torque servo motor, and a second torque servo motor. The tray has a circular-topped accommodating space at one end along the y-axis and a connecting portion at the other end. The first and second torque servo motors are symmetrically arranged along the x-axis of the tray. The clamshell double-blade assembly includes a semi-circular first blade and a second blade, positioned above the accommodating space and symmetrical about the x-axis. The first and second blades are driven to rotate and open / close by the first and second torque servo motors, respectively. A contact sensor is located at the center of the bottom of the accommodating space.

2. The harvesting end effector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first blade is provided with several blade fixing holes evenly distributed on it, and the cutting blade can be detached and installed through the blade fixing holes and screws.

3. The harvesting end effector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The tip of the cutting blade is fixedly fitted with a fruit peel protective sleeve.

4. The harvesting end effector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first torque servo motor and the second torque servo motor are respectively fixed to the bottom of the tray by alloy frames.

5. The harvesting end effector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first blade is movably mounted on the connecting shafts protruding on both sides of the tray.

6. The harvesting end effector according to claim 5, characterized in that: The active end of the first blade is connected to the output shaft of the first torque servo motor, and the driven end of the second blade is sleeved on the outside of the connection part on this side.

7. The harvesting end effector according to claim 6, characterized in that: The active end of the second blade is connected to the output shaft of the second torque servo motor and is located outside the driven end of the first blade.

8. The harvesting end effector according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that: The connecting part is installed on the rotating arm or rotating rod.

9. The harvesting end effector according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that: The bottom of the tray is flat or entirely flat, and an arc-shaped groove is provided in the accommodating space.

10. The harvesting end effector according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that: Both the first torque servo motor and the second torque servo motor are 150kg servo motors.

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