Articulated arm with fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine

Abstract

Articulated arm (1) with fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine, comprising at a first end (1a) a clevis with two legs spaced apart along a first axis of rotation (2), wherein one leg has a first mounting flange (4) with a first mounting surface (4a) perpendicular to the first axis of rotation (2) for receiving a first driven pivot joint (5) and another leg has a first bearing seat (6) for receiving a first non-driven pivot joint (7), so that a first joint connection designed as a clevis joint can be mounted through the first driven pivot joint (5) and the first non-driven pivot joint (7) with the common first axis of rotation (2), and at a second end (1b) a clevis with two legs spaced apart along a second axis of rotation (3), wherein one leg has a second mounting flange (8) with a second mounting surface (8a) perpendicular to the second axis of rotation (3) for receiving the second driven pivot joint (9) and another leg has a second bearing seat (10) for receiving a second non-driven pivot joint (11), so that a second joint connection designed as a clevis joint can be mounted through the second driven pivot joint (9) and the second non-driven pivot joint (11) with the common second axis of rotation (3), wherein the first axis of rotation (2) and the second axis of rotation (3) are aligned parallel to each other and the first mounting surface (4a) and the second mounting surface (8a) are aligned oppositely to each other

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an articulated arm with a fork joint of an electric motor-driven manipulator with several articulated arms for a harvesting machine.

[0002] For the automated harvesting of fruit, harvesting machines are known that feature an electric motor-driven manipulator with multiple articulated arms. These manipulators are mounted on the driving units of the harvesting machines and are designed to accommodate a gripping and harvesting tool. The fruit is harvested and deposited using the manipulator. Typical manipulators for harvesting fruit have an articulated arm arrangement, starting from a base frame and a carousel, which then supports an end effector. In the articulated arm arrangement, the articulated arms are connected to one another by means of swivel joints. The articulated arms themselves are composed of several housing sections.

[0003] A robot joint with a drive motor and reduction gear is known from patent US 10,906,194 B2. The robot joint is designed for the driven rotation of an arm relative to a pivot base and comprises a drive motor, an intermediate element, and a reduction gear. The drive motor has a housing and a drive shaft. The reduction gear, in turn, has a gear housing, an input shaft, and an output shaft. The input shaft of the reduction gear is operatively connected to the drive shaft. In one embodiment, the housing of the drive motor is connected to the pivot base via the intermediate element and the output shaft of the reduction gear. The gear housing is then connected to the arm for rotating the arm relative to the pivot base.

[0004] US Pat. No. 11,433,532 B2 discloses a robot joint structure with an actuator, by means of which a first arm and a second arm of a manipulator can be rotated relative to each other. The actuator comprises a motor housed within the first hollow arm and a reduction gear, via which a motor shaft of the motor is connected to the second arm. Furthermore, a braking mechanism is provided, which is also housed in the first arm.

[0005] From published patent application US 2022 / 388152 A1, a vertical articulated-arm robot is known in which a plurality of joint axis sections are provided. A joint axis section for rotatably connecting a first arm and a second arm comprises a motor with a motor shaft, a reduction gear directly connected to the motor shaft, a brake configured to hold the motor, and an oil seal mounted on the motor shaft. The motor is arranged in a joint section of the first arm, and the reduction gear and the brake are arranged in a joint section of the second arm.

[0006] From published patent application US 2018 / 207795 A1, a robot system with a manipulator is known, which is formed from several articulated arms. The articulated arms are connected to one another via pivot joints and each have a housing for accommodating mechanical, mechatronic, and / or electronic components. The housings of the articulated arms are designed such that the torques and forces introduced into the articulated arm can be transmitted to the adjacent articulated arm. For this purpose, the housing is constructed from at least two interconnected, complementary housing parts, wherein the separating surface of the housing parts runs essentially along the axial extent of the articulated arm. The shell-shaped housing parts are connected by means of detachable connecting elements along the separating surface.

[0007] A multi-part articulated arm with an articulated structure is known from published patent application US 2018 / 186017 A1. The articulated arm has, on the one hand, a fork head for a first pivot joint and, on the other hand, a second pivot joint, with the axes of rotation of the joints aligned perpendicular to each other. The articulated arm is composed of two shells. A servomotor is arranged within the cavity formed by the shells, which serves to drive the second pivot joint.

[0008] From published patent application US 2022 / 339802 A1, a vertical articulated-arm robot is known, which comprises a base, a carousel, and an articulated-arm assembly with several articulated arms. The individual articulated arms are connected to each other by means of electric motor-driven joints. A central articulated arm in the articulated-arm assembly is connected to the adjacent articulated arms on both sides by means of a pivot joint. A bearing eye is formed on this articulated arm at both ends, and an associated bearing eye is formed on each of the adjacent articulated arms. The drive of the associated pivot joint is housed within the bearing eye of the respective adjacent articulated arm and is further connected to the bearing eye of the central pivot joint. The respective pivot joint is formed by means of the respective drive.The middle articulated arm is composed of several articulated arm sections, with a first articulated arm section connected to the respective drive of the two pivot joints, and a second articulated arm section opposite the first articulated arm designed as a wiring unit. The two articulated arm sections are connected to each other via an additional web.

[0009] Published patent application US 2012 / 0198955 A1 and published patent application US 2019 / 0275685 A1 each disclose a robot whose arm is composed of several articulated arms. An articulated arm has fork-shaped joints on both sides with a driven and a non-driven pivot joint, with the pivot axes of the pivot joints aligned parallel.

[0010] Published patent application US 2015 / 0283709 A1, patent application DE 10 2014 103 199 B3, and published patent application US 2018 / 0311834 A1 each disclose a robot arm comprising several articulated arms. One articulated arm of the robot arm has a fork-shaped pivot joint on both sides.

[0011] The object of the invention is to provide an improved articulated arm with a fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine.

[0012] The object is achieved by an articulated arm with a fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine according to the features of patent claim 1. Advantageous further developments emerge from the subclaims and the exemplary embodiment.

[0013] The invention provides an advantageous articulated arm with a fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine. The articulated arm is designed at its first end to receive a first articulated connection with a first axis of rotation, and at its second end opposite the first end to receive a second articulated connection with a second axis of rotation. The first axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation are aligned parallel or skewed to one another. The first articulated connection and the second articulated connection are designed as fork joints, each comprising two separate, spaced-apart pivot joints with a common axis of rotation.

[0014] For this purpose, the articulated arm is designed at its first end in the form of a fork head with two legs spaced along the first axis of rotation for accommodating first pivot joints, and at its second end in the form of a fork head with two legs spaced along the second axis of rotation for accommodating second pivot joints. A separate pivot joint can be mounted on each leg.

[0015] The articulated arm with fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine, which is advantageous according to the invention, is designed to accommodate the articulated connections in such a way that the first articulated connection can comprise a first driven rotary joint and a first non-driven rotary joint spaced apart along the first axis of rotation, and the second articulated connection can comprise a second driven rotary joint and a second non-driven rotary joint spaced apart along the second axis of rotation.

[0016] For this purpose, at the first end of the articulated arm, one leg is provided with a first mounting flange for receiving the first driven pivot joint, and another leg is provided with a first bearing seat for receiving the first non-driven pivot joint. Furthermore, at the second end of the articulated arm, one leg is provided with a second mounting flange for receiving the second driven pivot joint, and another leg is provided with a second bearing seat for receiving the second non-driven pivot joint. The bearing seats are designed as cylindrical outer surfaces.

[0017] Driven swivel joints are swivel joints that are rotated by a drive. Drive torque is transmitted via the driven swivel joints. A driven swivel joint is provided by a geared motor. A non-driven swivel joint, on the other hand, fulfills a support function without transmitting drive torque. A non-driven swivel joint can be provided by a rolling bearing or a plain bearing.

[0018] A housing of the advantageous articulated arm is constructed from several housing parts that are detachably connected to one another. The housing has two housing parts that are detachably connected to one another by means of a support strut and primarily fulfill a supporting function. A first housing part comprises the leg with the first mounting flange for receiving the first driven rotary joint and the leg with the second mounting flange for receiving the second driven rotary joint and is thus assigned to the first articulated connection and the second articulated connection. A second housing part comprises the leg with the first bearing seat for receiving the first non-driven rotary joint and the leg with the second bearing seat for receiving the second non-driven rotary joint and is thus functionally parallel to the first housing part and also assigned to the first articulated connection and the second articulated connection.

[0019] The first mounting flange has a first mounting surface perpendicular to the first axis of rotation, with the first mounting surface oriented toward the opposite first bearing seat. This allows a geared motor to be mounted at the first end of the articulated arm between the legs of the fork joint. The second mounting flange has a second mounting surface perpendicular to the second axis of rotation, with the second mounting surface oriented away from the opposite second bearing seat. This allows a geared motor to be mounted at the second end of the articulated arm outside the legs of the fork joint.

[0020] The first mounting flange has at least one through-hole, by means of which the articulated arm can be connected at the first end to a drive shaft of a geared motor. The second mounting flange has at least one through-hole, by means of which the articulated arm can be connected to a housing of a geared motor.

[0021] If the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis are aligned parallel to each other, the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface are aligned oppositely with respect to their mounting direction with the respective driven rotary joint, with the respective driven rotary joint being positioned on the respective mounting surface. Furthermore, the first mounting flange with its first mounting surface and the second mounting flange with its second mounting surface are offset from each other in the direction of the rotation axes, so that the distance between the first mounting surface and the first bearing seat is greater than the distance between the second mounting surface and the second bearing seat.

[0022] The design of the joints as fork joints with separate, spaced-apart pivots significantly improves the rigidity of the gripper arm's joints. Furthermore, bending loads on the pivots, especially the driven pivots, can be significantly reduced. The bearings in the respective drives of the driven pivots can be made smaller. This results in an overall reduction in weight despite the use of additional roller bearings. These measures make the gripper arm suitable for use in a manipulator for a harvesting machine, which is primarily used for particularly delicate crops.

[0023] An advantageous embodiment of the articulated arm 1 according to the invention with a fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine is shown here as an example. The accompanying figures show: Fig. 1 an exploded view and Fig. 2 a longitudinal section of the articulated arm 1 with fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine.

[0024] The advantageous embodiment of the articulated arm 1 according to the invention with fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine, shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, is designed at a first end 1a to receive a first articulated connection designed as a fork joint with a first axis of rotation 2 and at a second end 1b opposite the first end 1a to receive a second articulated connection designed as a fork joint with a second axis of rotation 3.

[0025] At the first end 1a of the articulated arm 1, a fork head is provided with two legs spaced apart along the first axis of rotation 2 for receiving first rotary joints 5, 7, wherein one leg has a first mounting flange 4 with a first mounting surface 4a perpendicular to the first axis of rotation 2 for receiving a first driven rotary joint 5 and another leg has a first bearing seat 6 for receiving a first non-driven rotary joint 7.

[0026] At the second end 1b of the articulated arm 1, a fork head is provided with two legs spaced apart along the second axis of rotation 3 for receiving second rotary joints, wherein one leg has a second mounting flange 8 with a second mounting surface 8a perpendicular to the second axis of rotation 3 for receiving the second driven rotary joint 9 and another leg has a second bearing seat 10 for receiving a second non-driven rotary joint 11.

[0027] Accordingly, the first articulated connection can be represented by the first driven rotary joint 5 and the first non-driven rotary joint 7 with the common first axis of rotation 2 and the second articulated connection by the second driven rotary joint 9 and the second non-driven rotary joint 11 with the common second axis of rotation 3.

[0028] The first mounting flange 4 has at least one through-bore 4b, by means of which the articulated arm 1 can be connected at the first end 1a to a drive shaft 5a of the first driven rotary joint 5. The second mounting flange 8 has at least one through-bore 8b, by means of which the articulated arm 1 can be connected to a housing 9a of the second driven rotary joint 9.

[0029] The first rotational axis 2 and the second rotational axis 3 are aligned parallel to one another. The first mounting surface 4a and the second mounting surface 8a are aligned parallel and opposite to one another with respect to their mounting direction with the drive shaft 5a and the housing 9a, with the first mounting surface 4a facing toward the first bearing seat and the second mounting surface 8a facing away from the second bearing seat 10. Furthermore, the leg with the first mounting flange 4 and the leg with the second mounting flange 8 are offset from one another in the direction of the rotational axes 2, 3, so that the distance between the first mounting surface 4a and the first bearing seat 6 is greater than the distance between the second mounting surface 8a and the second bearing seat 10.

[0030] The articulated arm 1 has two housing parts 12, 13, which are detachably connected to one another by a support strut 12a and primarily fulfill a supporting function. A first housing part 12 comprises the support strut 12a, the leg with the first mounting flange 4, and the leg with the second mounting flange 8, and is thus assigned to the first articulated connection and the second articulated connection. A second housing part 13 comprises the leg with the first bearing seat 6 and the leg with the second bearing seat 10, and is thus assigned to the first articulated connection and the second articulated connection, parallel to the first housing part 12. List of reference symbols used 1 articulated arm 1a first end of the articulated arm 1b second end of the articulated arm 2 first axis of rotation 3 second axis of rotation 4 first mounting flange 4a first mounting surface 4b Through hole 5 first driven swivel joint 5a Drive shaft of the first driven swivel joint 6 first warehouse location 7 first non-driven swivel joint 8 second mounting flange 8a second mounting surface 8b Through hole 9 second driven swivel joint 9a Housing of the second driven swivel joint 10 second bearing seat 11 second non-driven swivel joint 12 first housing part 12a Support strut 13 second housing part

Claims

[1] Articulated arm (1) with fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine, comprising at a first end (1a) a fork head with two legs spaced apart along a first axis of rotation (2), wherein one leg has a first mounting flange (4) with a first mounting surface (4a) perpendicular to the first axis of rotation (2) for receiving a first driven rotary joint (5) and a further leg has a first bearing seat (6) for receiving a first non-driven rotary joint (7), so that a first articulated connection designed as a fork joint can be mounted by the first driven rotary joint (5) and the first non-driven rotary joint (7) with the common first axis of rotation (2), and at a second end (1b) a fork head with two legs spaced apart along a second axis of rotation (3), wherein one leg has a second mounting flange (8) with a second mounting surface (8a) perpendicular to the second axis of rotation (3) for receiving the second driven rotary joint (9) and a further leg has a second bearing seat (10) for receiving a second non-driven rotary joint (11), so that a second joint connection designed as a fork joint can be mounted by the second driven rotary joint (9) and the second non-driven rotary joint (11) with the common second axis of rotation (3), wherein the first axis of rotation (2) and the second axis of rotation (3) are aligned parallel to each other and the first mounting surface (4a) and the second mounting surface (8a) are aligned opposite to each other [2] Articulated arm (1) with fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine according to claim 1, characterized bythat the leg with the first mounting flange (4) and the leg with the second mounting flange (8) are offset from one another in the direction of the axes of rotation (2, 3), so that the distance between the first mounting surface (4a) and the first bearing seat (6) is greater than the distance between the second mounting surface (8a) and the second bearing seat (10). [3] Articulated arm (1) with fork joint for a manipulator of a harvesting machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by in that the articulated arm (1) has two housing parts (12, 13) which are detachably connected to one another by means of a support strut (12a) and mainly fulfil a supporting function, wherein a first housing part (12) comprises the support strut (12a), the leg with the first mounting flange (4) and the leg with the second mounting flange (8) and a second housing part (13) comprises the leg with the first bearing seat (6) and the leg with the second bearing seat (10).

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