Quality measurement device, work robot, and quality measurement method

Abstract

This suppresses the decrease in accuracy of quality measurement devices that utilize light in a predetermined wavelength range. [Solution] An apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an apparatus for measuring the quality of agricultural products using light in a predetermined wavelength band, comprising a header section having a light-emitting section and a light-receiving section, and a suction mechanism for attracting the agricultural products toward the header section.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a quality measurement device, a working robot, and a quality measurement method.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a device that uses light in a predetermined wavelength band to nondestructively measure the quality of agricultural products such as fruits. In the quality measurement device of Patent Document 1, near-infrared light is irradiated onto the agricultural product to be measured, and the quality such as the sugar content or acidity of the agricultural product is measured based on the spectral intensity for each wavelength of the reflected light from the agricultural product.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In quality measurement using reflected light from agricultural products, since the quality value is determined based on the spectral intensity for each wavelength of the reflected light, the accuracy decreases when disturbing light is mixed in. In particular, in measurement outdoors such as in a field, disturbing light is more likely to be mixed in than indoors, so the accuracy may decrease even more. However, Patent Document 1 does not assume the problem of accuracy degradation due to disturbing light. In view of such conventional problems, an object of the present disclosure is to suppress a decrease in the accuracy of a quality measurement device that uses light in a predetermined wavelength band.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] A device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a device that measures the quality of an agricultural product using light in a predetermined wavelength band, and includes a header unit having a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit, and a suction mechanism that sucks the agricultural product toward the header unit side.

[0006] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by apparatus, systems, methods, integrated circuits, computer programs, or computer-readable non-temporary recording media, or any combination thereof. The recording medium may be either volatile or non-volatile. The apparatus may consist of multiple individual devices. If it consists of multiple individual devices, they may be arranged in a single enclosure or in two or more separate enclosures. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this disclosure, it is possible to suppress the decrease in accuracy of a quality measurement device that utilizes light in a predetermined wavelength band. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of an agricultural work system. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the internal configuration of a quality measurement device. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the intake mechanism configuration. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a quality measurement process. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a plan view showing a modified example of the intake mechanism. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] <Summary of the embodiments of this disclosure> The embodiments of this disclosure are outlined below. (1) An apparatus according to one aspect of this embodiment is an apparatus for measuring the quality of agricultural products using light in a predetermined wavelength band, comprising a header section having a light-emitting section and a light-receiving section, and a suction mechanism for attracting the agricultural products toward the header section.

[0010] According to the quality measuring device of this embodiment, the suction mechanism sucks the crops towards the header section, so, for example, light emission and light reception can be started with the crops in close proximity to the header section. Therefore, the amount of ambient light entering the light-receiving section can be reduced, and the decrease in accuracy caused by ambient light mixing with reflected light can be suppressed.

[0011] (2) In the quality measuring device described in (1) above, the suction mechanism may include a storage member that forms a storage space for the agricultural products in front of the header section, and a ventilation device that generates an airflow in the storage space toward the header side.

[0012] In this way, the airflow generated by the ventilation system in the storage space can be used to draw the crops towards the header section.

[0013] (3) In the quality measuring device described in (2) above, the housing member may include a pair of left and right opposing wall portions extending toward the tip side of the header portion, and the ventilation device may include a ventilation cylinder that penetrates the opposing wall portions in the wall thickness direction, and an axial fan housed in the ventilation cylinder.

[0014] In this case, the storage space is formed by the space sandwiched between a pair of opposing walls on the left and right. Therefore, even if the height dimension is larger than the width dimension (for example, grapes), the crop can be easily positioned within the storage space.

[0015] (4) In the quality measuring device described in (2) above, the housing member may include a housing cylinder that extends toward the front end of the header and has a closed bottom, and the ventilation device may include an intake duct that leads to the bottom of the housing cylinder and a blower fan having an intake port that leads to the intake duct.

[0016] In this case, since air is drawn in from the bottom of the enclosed storage cylinder, a negative pressure can be created at the back of the storage space. Compared to the case where the storage space is formed by a pair of opposing walls on the left and right, it becomes easier to draw agricultural products into the storage space.

[0017] (5) In the quality measurement device of (4) above, it may further include a blower duct that blows the exhaust of the blower fan toward the agricultural product.

[0018] By doing so, foreign matters such as leaves are likely to move to the opposite side of the header part due to the blowing from the blower duct, so it is possible to reduce the situation of erroneously measuring foreign matters such as leaves. Also, since the exhaust of the blower fan is diverted, an increase in power consumption can be suppressed.

[0019] (6) In the quality measurement device of (1) to (5) above, the agricultural product may be grapes. In this case, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the accuracy of quality measurement regarding grapes.

[0020] (7) The device according to another aspect of the present embodiment is a work robot including a mobile device and a robot arm mounted on the mobile device, and any one of the quality measurement devices of (1) to (6) above is connected to the tip of the robot arm.

[0021] According to the work robot of the present embodiment, since the quality measurement device of the present embodiment is connected to the tip of the robot arm of the work robot, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the accuracy of quality measurement to be executed by the work robot.

[0022] (8) The method according to the present embodiment is a quality measurement method executed by the devices of (1) to (6) above, and includes a step of bringing the agricultural product close to the header part by the suction force of the suction mechanism, and a step of performing light projection and light reception in a state where the agricultural product is close to the header part.

[0023] According to the quality measurement method of the present embodiment, light projection and light reception are performed in a state where the agricultural product is brought close to the header part by the suction force of the suction mechanism. Therefore, the amount of disturbing light entering the light receiving part can be reduced, and a decrease in accuracy due to the mixing of disturbing light into the reflected light can be suppressed.

[0024] <Details of the embodiments of this disclosure> The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. At least some of the embodiments described below may be combined in any way.

[0025] [Overall structure of the agricultural work system] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of the agricultural work system 200. As shown in Figure 1, the agricultural work system 200 of this embodiment includes a work robot 10 capable of traveling in a field 210, a communication device 20, and a server 30. In this embodiment, the crop 40 in field 210 is grapes used as a raw material for wine, and field 210 is a vineyard for cultivating grapes 40. In the vineyard 210, the same variety or different varieties of grapes 40 may be cultivated.

[0026] The work robot 10 is connected to the communication device 20 via a wireless LAN or the like. The communication device 20 is a wireless router that has, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) communication function and a communication function compliant with mobile communication systems such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 5G. Therefore, the work robot 10 can communicate with the server 30 through local communication with the communication device 20 and public communication via the wireless base station 50 and the public communication network 60.

[0027] Server 30 is a management server that provides predetermined farming support services to users (not shown) who manage the field 210. The public communication network 60 includes the Internet, and user terminals (not shown) are connected to the public communication network 60. The server 30, in response to service requests sent from the user terminals, issues commands to the work robot 10 to perform, and collects work results and notifies the user terminals of them.

[0028] [Example configuration of a work robot] As shown in Figure 1, the work robot 10 comprises a mobile device 11 and a robot arm 12 mounted on the mobile device 11. The mobile device 11 is, for example, an electric vehicle and has a driving body 13 and a chassis 14 that includes a plurality (e.g., four) of wheels that constitute the lower part of the driving body 13. However, the drive system of the chassis 14 may be a crawler system, a hybrid system having both wheels and crawlers, or a walking system that walks on two or more legs.

[0029] The robot arm 12 includes a manipulator 15 located at the front upper part of the traveling body 13, and an end effector 16 that is detachably attached to the tip of the manipulator 15. The manipulator 15 is composed of, for example, a multi-jointed arm including multiple joints that changes the three-dimensional position of the end effector 16. Inside the traveling body 13 are control devices (not shown) for automatically or remotely controlling the chassis 14 and robot arm 12 of the work robot 10, respectively.

[0030] The automatic operation of the work robot 10 is achieved by an automatic driving control program installed in the control unit. Remote operation of the work robot 10 is performed by operation input from a user terminal that communicates with the work robot 10 via the server 30. The position control in the above-mentioned automated and remote control is performed based on sensing results from cameras and LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) installed on the mobile device 11 and robot arm 12.

[0031] The end effector 16 is a device that performs a predetermined operation on the crop 40, and performs the predetermined operation while being positioned near the target object by the manipulator 15. Multiple end effectors 16 are provided for each type of work. These types of work include, for example, harvesting, pruning, watering, fertilizing, pesticide application, condition detection, photography, pest control, and equipment charging. Therefore, the user can have the work robot 10 perform these various tasks in the field 210.

[0032] The end effector 16 includes a quality measurement device (hereinafter referred to as the "quality measurement device") 70, which is a type of condition detection device for agricultural products 40. The object of quality measurement is not limited to grapes 40, but may also be other fruits or vegetables. The quality measuring device 70 is a device that measures the quality of agricultural products 40 non-contact using light in a predetermined wavelength range (e.g., near-infrared light). Measurable quality factors include, for example, sugar content, acidity, pH, and polyphenol content.

[0033] [Internal configuration of the quality measurement device] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the internal configuration of the quality measuring device 70. As shown in Figure 2, the quality measurement device 70 is a device that irradiates the crop 40 with near-infrared light UO and uses the spectral intensity of reflected light DO at each wavelength to determine the components of the crop 40. The reflected light DO includes direct reflected light that is reflected off the surface of the crop 40 and indirect reflected light that is scattered inside the crop 40 before returning.

[0034] The quality measuring device 70 of this embodiment comprises, as its main components, a header section 71 having the function of transmitting and receiving near-infrared light UO and reflected light DO, a suction mechanism 72 that attracts agricultural products 40 towards the header section 71, and a main body section 73 having a tip to which the header section 71 is connected.

[0035] (Header section structure) The header section 71 has a ring-shaped retaining frame 74, a light-emitting / receiving section 75, and a protective plate 76. The retaining frame 74 is a frame material with an outer circumference that is approximately circular or elliptical when viewed from the grape 40 side. The light-emitting / receiving section 75 and the protective plate 76 are circular or elliptical plate materials with an outer circumference that is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the retaining frame 74 when viewed from the grape 40 side.

[0036] The light-emitting and light-receiving unit 75 includes a circuit board 77 with a perforated center, a light-receiving element 78 mounted in the center, and a plurality of light-emitting elements 79 mounted on the surface of the circuit board 77. The outer edge of the circuit board 77 is fitted into a circumferential groove formed on the inner surface of the retaining frame 74. The outer edge of the protective plate 76 is fitted into another circumferential groove formed on the inner surface of the retaining frame 74. The protective plate 76 is made of light-transmitting glass or synthetic resin and functions as a shielding member that protects the surface side (left side in Figure 2) of the light-emitting / receiving unit 75 from the external environment.

[0037] The light-emitting element 79 is a component that functions as a light-emitting part of the near-infrared light UO, and is made of, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) that emits near-infrared light. Multiple light-emitting elements 79 are mounted on the surface of the circuit board 77 (the left side in Figure 2). The multiple light-emitting elements 79 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction along, for example, concentric circles or concentric ellipses with a diameter smaller than that of the circuit board 77.

[0038] The light-receiving element 78 is a component that functions as a light-receiving part for reflected light DO, and consists of, for example, one optical fiber or a bundle of multiple optical fibers. The photodetector 78 is mounted in the center of the circuit board 77 such that the length of the optical fiber is oriented in the direction normal to the circuit board 77. The photodetector surface of the photodetector 78 (specifically, the tip of the optical fiber) is exposed on the surface side of the circuit board 77.

[0039] A proximity sensor 80 is provided on the surface of the retaining frame 74 (the left side in Figure 2). The proximity sensor 80 is attached to the surface of the retaining frame 74 with adhesive or the like. The proximity sensor 80 is a capacitive type capable of detecting non-metallic objects and monitors whether the distance to an object such as crops 40 falls below the detection distance (e.g., 10 mm). When the proximity sensor 80 detects that the distance to the crops 40 is below the detection distance, it transmits a detection signal, which is an electrical signal, to the controller 84 described later.

[0040] (Main unit configuration) The main body 73 comprises a hollow cylindrical body 81 having a circular or elliptical cross-section, and a group of quality measurement circuits housed inside the hollow cylindrical body 81. This group of circuits includes a power supply circuit 82, a spectrometer 83, and a controller 84. A connector 85 is provided on the bottom wall of the hollow cylindrical body 81. The connector 85 is a standard connector that integrates digital communication and power supply into a single cable, such as USB (Universal Serial Bus).

[0041] The power supply circuit 82 is, for example, a DC / DC converter, which converts the DC supplied from the connector 85 into a predetermined voltage and supplies the converted DC to the spectrometer 83 and the controller 84. The spectrometer 83 is a circuit module that spectrally separates the input light from the photodetector 78 into predetermined wavelength bands and generates an electrical signal (hereinafter referred to as "intensity signal") representing the light intensity of each wavelength band. The intensity signals generated by the spectrometer 83 are output to the controller 84.

[0042] The controller 84 generates quality data from the intensity signal input from the spectrometer 83 and sends the generated quality data to the connector 85. The quality data is digital information including the intensity value for each spectrally separated spectrum and is transmitted to the control device of the mobile device 11. The control device of the mobile device 11 calculates quality values ​​such as sugar content and acidity of the crop 40 using quality data received from the controller 84. Alternatively, the controller 84 may calculate the quality values ​​based on the quality data.

[0043] The controller 84 is capable of serial communication with other circuits or elements included in the quality measuring device 70, and controls the operation of those circuits or elements through this serial communication. Specifically, the controller 84, upon the fulfillment of a predetermined start condition for quality measurement (for example, step S13 in Figure 4), instructs the control IC (not shown) on the circuit board 77 to emit light from the light-emitting element 79, or instructs the spectrometer 83 to output an intensity signal.

[0044] [Example of a suction mechanism configuration] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example configuration of the suction mechanism 72. As shown in Figure 3, the suction mechanism 72 includes a storage member 91 that forms a storage space SP for agricultural products (grapes) 40 in front of the header section 71, and a ventilation device 92 that generates an airflow AC that flows into the storage space SP toward the header section 71.

[0045] The housing member 91 in Figure 3 consists of a curved plate 91A, for example, made of plastic, which is curved in a substantially U-shape when viewed from above. The curved plate 91A has a mounting portion 93 located in the center in the left-right direction and a pair of opposing wall portions 94, 94 that extend toward the tip side beyond the header portion 71. The mounting portion 93 has a mounting hole 95 that is substantially the same shape as the outer circumferential surface of the main body portion 73. The tip portion of the hollow cylindrical body 81 is housed in the mounting hole 95. In this housed state, the suction mechanism 72 is fixed to the tip side of the main body portion 73 by fixing the mounting portion 93 to the hollow cylindrical body 81.

[0046] Multiple ventilation devices 92 are provided. Specifically, for example, ventilation devices 92 are attached to a pair of opposing wall sections 94, 94, respectively. Each ventilation device 92 has a ventilation cylinder 96 that penetrates the opposing wall section 94 in the wall thickness direction, and an axial fan 97 housed in the ventilation cylinder 96. The axial flow fan 97 is housed in the ventilation cylinder 96 such that its rotational axis coincides with the central axis AX of the ventilation cylinder 96. The ventilation cylinder 96 is housed in mounting holes formed in the opposing wall portions 94 and is attached to each of the opposing wall portions 94, 94.

[0047] The intake direction of the axial flow fan 97 is the direction of the arrowhead attached to the central axis AX shown in the figure. In other words, the intake direction of the axial flow fan 97 is to draw in air from the housing space SP sandwiched between the pair of opposing wall portions 94, 94 and expel that air to the outside of the housing space SP. Therefore, when the intake fan 97 of the ventilation device 92 is activated while the grapes 40 are present in the storage space SP, an airflow AC is generated in the storage space SP that flows toward the header section 71, and the air pressure of the airflow AC pulls the grapes 40 toward the header section 71.

[0048] The electric motor (not shown) that drives the axial flow fan 97 is powered by electricity supplied from the power supply circuit 82 of the main unit 73. The power supply circuit 82 switches the power supply to the electric motor of the axial flow fan 97 on or off according to the instructions of the controller 84. The controller 84 instructs the power supply circuit 82 to turn on the power supply when a predetermined condition (for example, step S11 in Figure 4) is met.

[0049] To prevent the grapes 40 from being drawn to one of the pair of ventilators 92, 92, it is preferable to position the intake ports of the ventilators 92, 92 close to the header section 71, as shown in Figure 3. For similar reasons, the angle θ between the central axes AX of the pair of ventilation devices 92, 92 should be set to less than 90 degrees. A suitable numerical range for the angle θ is 70 degrees or less, preferably 60 degrees or less, more preferably 50 degrees or less, and even more preferably 40 degrees or less.

[0050] The number of ventilation devices 92 installed is not necessarily limited to two; it may be three or more. When three or more ventilation devices 92 are installed, it is preferable to arrange them so as to surround the outer edge of the header section 71. When arranging three or more ventilation devices 92 to surround the outer edge of the header section 71, it is preferable to arrange the ventilation devices 92 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

[0051] [Contents of the quality measurement process] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the quality measurement process performed by the controller 84. As shown in Figure 4, the controller 84 monitors whether the "target distance" is below a predetermined suction threshold (step S11), and activates the suction mechanism 72 when it falls below the threshold (step S12). Specifically, activating the suction mechanism 72 involves turning on the power supply to the axial flow fan 97.

[0052] "Target distance" refers to the straight-line distance from the current position of a representative point of the end effector 16 (for example, the center point of the header section 71) to the current position of a representative point of the crop 40 (for example, the centroid of the crop 40). The current value of the target distance may be obtained from the control device of the mobile device 11 if the control device is monitoring the target distance, or the controller 84 may monitor it itself.

[0053] The "suction threshold" is the maximum distance at which it is estimated that the attraction of the crop (grapes in this embodiment) 40 begins due to the airflow AC generated in the housing space SP of the suction mechanism 72. The suction threshold is a set value determined by parameters such as the average weight of the crops 40 to be suctioned, the capacity of the containment space SP, and the rated airflow of the ventilation device 92, for example, by model experiments or a simulator capable of three-dimensional airflow analysis.

[0054] Next, the controller 84 determines whether or not it has received a "detection signal" from the proximity sensor 80 (step S13). As mentioned above, the "detection signal" is an electrical signal transmitted by the proximity sensor 80 when the crop 40 is sufficiently close to the light-emitting / receiving surface of the header section 71. If the result of step S13 is positive, the controller 84 generates light emission and spectral intensity (step S14). Specifically, the controller 84 instructs the control IC on the circuit board 77 to emit light from the light-emitting element 79 and instructs the spectrometer 83 to output an intensity signal.

[0055] Next, the controller 84 generates and transmits quality data (step S15). Specifically, the controller 84 generates quality data based on the intensity signal and transmits the generated quality data to the control device of the mobile device 11. Once the transmission of quality data is complete, the controller 84 stops generating emission and spectral intensity (step S16) and then terminates the process.

[0056] Specifically, the controller 84 issues the following instructions to each part of the controlled system. Instruction 1: Instruct the control IC on the circuit board 77 to turn off the light-emitting element 79. Instruction 2: Instruct the spectrometer 83 to stop operation or pause (sleep) the output of the intensity signal. Instruction 3: Instruct the power supply circuit 82 to turn off the power supply to the suction mechanism 72 (specifically, the electric motor of the axial flow fan 97).

[0057] If the result of the determination in step S13 is negative, the controller 84 notifies the control device of the mobile device 11 that measurement is not possible (step S17), and then terminates the process. The reason for this is that if a detection signal is not received from the proximity sensor 80, it can be presumed that the crop 40 was unable to approach the header section 71 despite the suction mechanism 72 being activated, and accurate quality measurement may not be achieved.

[0058] [Variations of the suction mechanism] Figure 5 is a plan view showing a modified example of the suction mechanism 72. In the figure, "40A" represents the vine of the grape 40, and "40B" represents the leaves of the grape 40. As shown in Figure 5, in the modified suction mechanism 72, the housing member 91 is composed of a housing cylinder portion 102 that extends further forward than the header portion 71 and whose bottom is closed by the base plate 101.

[0059] The modified intake mechanism 72 comprises a base plate 101, a housing cylinder 102 attached to the surface of the base plate 101 (left side in Figure 5), an intake duct 103 piped to the back surface of the base plate 101 (right side in Figure 5), and a suction device 104 connected to the intake duct 103. The intake duct 103 and the blower fan 105 of the suction device 104 function as a ventilation device 92 that generates an airflow AP that flows into the housing space SP toward the header section 71.

[0060] The housing cylinder portion 102 is made of, for example, a rubber cylinder whose diameter gradually increases towards the tip. The base end opening, which is the smaller diameter side of the housing cylinder portion 102, is fixed to the surface of the base plate 101, and the tip opening, which is the larger diameter side of the housing cylinder portion 102, is left open as a free edge. Therefore, the bottom of the storage cylinder portion 102 is closed by the base plate 101, but the front end of the storage cylinder portion 102 is open to the front.

[0061] The key features of the above-mentioned storage cylinder portion 102 are as follows: The bottom of the storage cylinder section 102 is closed off by the base plate 101. The tip of the storage cylinder portion 102 is open. The inner diameter of the tip side of the storage cylinder 102 is larger than the inner diameter of the bottom side. The inner diameter of the storage cylinder 102 gradually increases from the bottom towards the front. The material used for the storage cylinder 102 is rubber.

[0062] The main body portion 73 is mounted on the base plate 101 in a through-hole state. The header portion 71 protrudes from the surface of the base plate 101 and is located at the back of the storage space SP formed by the storage cylinder portion 102. The base plate 101 has multiple (for example, four) air intake ports 101A that lead to the storage space SP. Specifically, the air intake ports 101A are arranged at predetermined intervals along a circumference larger than the outer diameter of the header portion 71, for example, in order to attract the crops 40 so that they are guided to the central portion of the header portion 71.

[0063] The intake duct 103 is a conduit formed in accordance with the following distribution policy. Policy 1: The upstream end connects to each of the intake ports 101A. Policy 2: The downstream end is connected only to the suction side of the suction device 104. The suction device 104 is a suction module in which a blower fan 105 is mounted inside a casing, and the downstream end of the intake duct 103 is connected to the intake port of the blower fan 105.

[0064] The base plate 101 also has an exhaust port 101B that leads to the outside of the housing space SP. A relay pipe 106 leading to the outlet of the blower fan 105 is connected to the upstream side of the exhaust port 101B. A blower pipe 107, which is longer than the housing cylinder 102, is connected to the downstream side of the exhaust port 101B.

[0065] When the blower fan 105 is activated, as shown by the solid arrows in Figure 5, air from the storage space SP flows into the intake port 101A, passes through the intake duct 103, and reaches the intake port of the blower fan 105. In this way, when air is drawn into the intake duct 103, a negative pressure is created at the back of the storage space SP. As a result, an airflow AC is generated near the tip opening of the storage cylinder 102, flowing toward the header section 71, and the air pressure of the airflow AC pulls the grapes 40 toward the header section 71.

[0066] As shown by the dashed arrow in Figure 5, the exhaust from the blower fan 105 passes through the relay pipe 106, the exhaust port 101B, and the blower pipe 107, and functions as air blow AB, which is ejected from the outlet of the blower pipe 107. In this way, since the air blower pipe 107 blows out air blow AB, there is a higher possibility that leaves 40B and other foreign objects will move to the opposite side of the header section 72 as the bunch of grapes 40 enters the storage space SP. Therefore, the chances of accidentally measuring parts other than the grapes can be reduced.

[0067] [Other variations] The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes all modifications within the scope equivalent to the configurations described in the claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0068] 10 Industrial Robots 11 Mobile device 12 Robot Arms 13 Driving Body 14 Chassis 15 Manipulators 16 End Effectors 20 Communication equipment 30 servers 40. Agricultural products (grapes) 40A Vine 40B Leaf 50 Wireless base stations 60 Public telecommunications networks 70 Quality Measuring Device 71 Header section 72 Suction mechanism 73 Main body 74 Retaining Frame 75 Light emitter / receiver 76 Protective Plate 77 Circuit boards 78 Light-receiving element (light-receiving part) 79. Light-emitting element (light-emitting part) 80 Proximity Sensors 81 Hollow cylinder 82 Power supply circuit 83 Spectrometer 84 Controllers 85 Connectors 91 Housing member 91A Curved Plate 92 Ventilation device 93 Mounting part 94 Opposing wall section 95 mounting holes 96 Ventilation cylinder 97 Axial Fan 101 Base Plate 101A Air intake 101B Exhaust port 102 Storage cylinder section 103 Intake duct 104 Suction device 105 Blower Fan 106 relay tube 107 Air pipe 200 Agricultural Systems 210 vineyards

Claims

1. A device for measuring the quality of agricultural products using light in a predetermined wavelength range, A header section having a light-emitting section and a light-receiving section, A quality measuring device comprising a suction mechanism for drawing the aforementioned agricultural products towards the header section.

2. The aforementioned suction mechanism is A storage member that forms a storage space for the agricultural products in front of the header portion, The quality measuring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a ventilation device that generates an airflow in the storage space toward the header side.

3. The aforementioned housing member is It includes a pair of opposing left and right wall portions that extend towards the tip side from the header portion, The aforementioned ventilation device, A ventilation pipe that penetrates the opposing wall portion in the wall thickness direction, The quality measuring apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an axial flow fan housed in the ventilation cylinder.

4. The aforementioned housing member is It includes a storage cylinder portion that extends towards the tip of the header portion and has a closed bottom portion, The aforementioned ventilation device, An intake duct that leads to the bottom of the aforementioned storage cylinder, The quality measuring apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a blower fan having an intake port leading to the aforementioned intake duct.

5. The quality measuring apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a blower pipe for blowing the exhaust air from the blower fan toward the crops.

6. The aforementioned crops are A quality measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the material is grapes.

7. Mobile device and A work robot comprising a robot arm mounted on the aforementioned mobile device, A work robot in which a quality measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is connected to the tip of the robot arm.

8. A method for measuring the quality of agricultural products, which is performed by an apparatus that measures the quality of agricultural products using light in a predetermined wavelength band, The aforementioned device is A header section having a light-emitting section and a light-receiving section, The system includes a suction mechanism for drawing the aforementioned agricultural products towards the header section, The aforementioned method, The steps include bringing the crops closer to the header section by the suction force of the suction mechanism, A method for measuring quality, comprising the step of illuminating and receiving light with the crop in close proximity to the header portion.

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