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 transport mechanism for drawing the agricultural products towards the header section.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a quality measurement device, a work 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 measurements outdoors such as in a field, disturbing light is more likely to be mixed in compared to indoors, so the accuracy can be further reduced. 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 an aspect of the present disclosure is a device that measures the quality of agricultural products using light in a predetermined wavelength band, and includes a header unit having a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit, and a transport mechanism that draws 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 shows a plan view and a side view illustrating an example of the configuration of the conveying mechanism. [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 conveying 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 transport mechanism for drawing the agricultural products towards the header section.

[0010] According to the quality measuring device of this embodiment, since the transport mechanism pulls the crops towards the header section, light emission and light reception can be started, for example, when the crops are 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 transport mechanism may include a pair of conveyors extending from the header section toward the tip and having transport surfaces facing each other, and a position sensor for monitoring the end position of the transport.

[0012] In this way, the transport motion of the pair of conveyors can pull the crops located between the conveyors to the end of the transport route.

[0013] (3) The quality measuring device described in (2) above may further include a backup mechanism that supports the pair of conveyors such that the distance between them changes according to the degree to which the crops are pulled in.

[0014] This method prevents damage to the surface and internal structure of crops from the pressure exerted on the conveyor belt.

[0015] (4) In the quality measuring device described in (3) above, the backup mechanism may include a fixed frame that supports at least one of the pair of conveyors so that it can move in opposing directions, and an adjustment member that adjusts the amount of movement of at least one of the pair of conveyors in opposing directions.

[0016] In this way, by adjusting the amount of movement using the adjustment member, the distance between the opposing conveyors can be set to an appropriate distance according to the size of the crops.

[0017] (5) The crop may be grapes. In this case, the decrease in the accuracy of quality measurement for grapes can be suppressed.

[0018] (6) The apparatus 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 (1) to (5) described above is connected to the tip of the robot arm.

[0019] 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 the quality measurement to be executed by the work robot.

[0020] (7) The method according to the present embodiment is a quality measurement method executed by the apparatuses (1) to (6) described above, and includes a step of bringing the agricultural crop close to the header portion by the transport mechanism, and a step of performing light projection and light reception in a state where the agricultural crop is close to the header portion.

[0021] According to the quality measurement method of the present embodiment, light projection and light reception are performed in a state where the agricultural crop is brought close to the header portion by the transport mechanism. Therefore, the amount of disturbing light entering the light receiving portion can be reduced, and a decrease in accuracy due to the mixing of disturbing light into the reflected light can be suppressed.

[0022] <Details of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure> Hereinafter, details of embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that at least a part of the embodiments described below may be arbitrarily combined.

[0023] 〔Overall Configuration of Agricultural Work System〕 FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of an agricultural work system 200. As shown in FIG. 1, the agricultural work system 200 of the present 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.

[0024] 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.

[0025] 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.

[0026] [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.

[0027] 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.

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] [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.

[0032] 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 transport mechanism 72 for drawing 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.

[0033] (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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] (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).

[0038] The power supply circuit 82 is, for example, a DC / DC converter that 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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 predetermined start conditions 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.

[0041] [Example of a conveying mechanism configuration] Figure 3 shows a plan view and a side view illustrating an example configuration of the conveying mechanism 72. In the figure, "40A" refers to the grape vine 40. As shown in Figure 3, the transport mechanism 72 includes a base plate 91 whose side dimensions are larger than the outer diameter of the header section 71, a pair of conveyors 92, 92, and a position sensor 93 for monitoring the end position of the transport.

[0042] The base plate 91 has a mounting portion 94 in the center. The mounting portion 94 has a mounting hole 95 (see Figure 2) that is approximately 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 conveying mechanism 72 is fixed to the tip side of the main body 73 by fixing the mounting portion 94 to the hollow cylindrical body 81. The pair of conveyors 92, 92 are attached to the left and right ends of the base plate 91, respectively, so as to sandwich the header portion 71 from both sides.

[0043] Furthermore, the pair of conveyors 92, 92 are arranged such that the distance between them gradually increases from the base end to the tip end. The conveyor 92 is, for example, a belt type in which a transport belt 97 is driven inside a support box 96. However, the conveyor 92 may also be a roller type in which multiple rollers are installed inside the support box 96.

[0044] The conveying direction of the conveyor 92 is the direction of the solid arrow shown in Figure 3. That is, the conveying direction of the conveyor 92 is the direction in which the agricultural products 40 in contact with the conveying surfaces of the pair of conveyors 92, 92 are conveyed toward the header section 71. Therefore, when the conveyor belts 97 are operated with, for example, bunches of grapes 40 in contact with the conveying surfaces of the pair of conveyors 92, 92, the grapes 40 are pulled towards the header section 71 by the conveyor belts 97 of each conveyor 92, 92.

[0045] The electric motor (not shown) that drives the conveyor belt 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 conveyor belt 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.

[0046] The position sensor 93 is an optical position sensor having a light-emitting unit 93A and a light-receiving unit 93B, and detects the presence of an object by blocking the light transmitted and received by both. The light-emitting unit 93A and the light-receiving unit 93B are mounted on brackets that protrude from the upper end surface of the base plate 91. The light-receiving unit 93B transmits a detection signal to the controller 84 if the reception of the light transmitted from the light-emitting unit 93A is blocked.

[0047] The detection position P of the position sensor 93 is the position at which the conveyors 92, 92 are stopped, and is set to the same position as the light-emitting and receiving surface of the header section 71, or to a position shifted by a predetermined distance D (for example, 3 mm to 10 mm) towards the front end (right side in Figure 3). The predetermined distance D is the distance at which a sufficient amount of reflected light DO can be obtained even if the surface of the crop 40 is separated from the light-emitting / receiving surface by that distance D. The value of the predetermined distance D can be determined by trial experiments using actual crops 40.

[0048] [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 transport threshold (step S11), and activates the transport mechanism 72 when it falls below the threshold (step S12). Specifically, activating the transport mechanism 72 involves turning on the power supply to the electric motor of the transport belt 97.

[0049] "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.

[0050] The "conveying threshold" is the maximum distance over which it is estimated that the pulling of the crop (grapes in this embodiment) 40 will begin when the conveyors 92, 92 are driven. The transport threshold is a set value determined by parameters such as the average weight of the agricultural products 40 to be transported, the belt width of the transport surface, and the coefficient of friction between the transported items and the transport surface, for example, by model experiments or a simulator capable of mechanical analysis.

[0051] Next, the controller 84 determines whether or not it has received a "detection signal" from the position sensor 93 (step S13). As mentioned above, the "detection signal" is an electrical signal transmitted by the position sensor 93 when the crop 40 reaches a position where the amount of reflected light DO is sufficient. If the result of step S13 is positive, the controller 84 stops the conveyors 92, 92 at their current positions (step S14), and then generates light emission and spectral intensity (step S15).

[0052] Specifically, after receiving the detection signal, the controller 84 first instructs the power supply circuit 82 to turn off the power supply to the electric motor of the conveyor belt 97. Following the above instructions, 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.

[0053] Next, the controller 84 generates and transmits quality data (step S16). 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 light emission and spectral intensity and releases the crop 40 (step S17), and then terminates the process.

[0054] 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 conveying mechanism 72 (specifically the electric motor of the conveying belt 97) to temporarily reverse rotation.

[0055] If the result of step S13 is negative, the controller 84 determines whether the waiting time has elapsed (step S18). The waiting time is, for example, 3 seconds, and is measured by the controller 84 starting from the start of operation of the transport mechanism 72. If the result of the determination in step S18 is negative, the controller 84 returns the process to before step S13.

[0056] If the result of step S18 is positive, the controller 84 notifies the control device of the mobile device 11 that measurement is not possible, and after releasing the crop 40 (step S19), the process ends. The reason for this is that if a waiting period elapses without receiving a detection signal from the position sensor 93, it can be assumed that the crops 40 were not drawn to the header section 71 despite the transport mechanism 72 being activated, and accurate quality measurement may not be achieved.

[0057] [Examples of conveying mechanisms] Figure 5 is a plan view showing a modified example of the conveying mechanism 72. As shown in Figure 5, the modified conveying mechanism 72 further includes a backup mechanism 101 that supports a pair of conveyors 92, 92 such that the distance between them changes according to the degree to which the crops 40 are pulled in.

[0058] The backup mechanism 101 includes fixed frames 102, 102 that support a pair of conveyors 92, 92 so that they can move in opposing directions, and an adjustment member 103 that adjusts the amount of movement of the pair of conveyors 92, 92 in opposing directions. The pair of fixed frames 102, 102 are, for example, made of plate material that protrudes from both the left and right ends of the base plate 91 toward the front end (right side in Figure 5).

[0059] Multiple guide bars 104 are attached to the back of the support box 96 of the conveyor 92. The direction in which the guide bars 104 protrude is perpendicular to the normal direction of the back of the support box 96, that is, perpendicular to the conveying direction. Multiple guide bars 104 are inserted into guide holes in the fixed frame 102 in a manner that prevents them from coming loose, allowing them to move freely. As a result, the conveyor 92 is connected to the fixed frame 102 in a manner that allows it to move freely in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.

[0060] The adjustment member 103 consists of, for example, a plurality of air cells 105 that expand or contract according to the amount of air being filled. Each air cell 105 is attached to both surfaces of the fixed frame 102 and the support box 96, interposed between them. Each air cell 105 is connected to an air pump 106 capable of both pressurizing and depressurizing, and expands when the air pump 106 pressurizes and contracts when the air pump 106 depressurizes.

[0061] The use of air cells 105 as adjustment members 103 offers the following advantages. Specifically, the air cells 105 are elastic materials, like rubber, and can passively change shape in response to external forces. They are also flexible in terms of deformation in opposing directions, allowing the distance between the conveyors 92, 92 to change naturally according to the degree to which the crops 40 are being pulled in. Therefore, compared to the case where the pair of conveyors 92, 92 are rigidly supported, the pressure on the crops 40 from the conveying surfaces of the conveyors 92, 92 is reduced, and damage to the surface and internal structure of the crops 40 can be prevented.

[0062] The air pump 106 is capable of serial communication with the controller 84 and adjusts the pressurization amount of each air cell 105 according to instructions from the controller 84. This adjusts the amount of movement of the pair of conveyors 92, 92 in the opposing direction. The controller 84 determines the instructions to the air pump 106, for example, according to the width dimension W of the crop 40 to be measured, using control logic described later.

[0063] The width dimension W of the crop 40 may be monitored by the control device of the moving device 11 from a camera image or the like and notified to the controller 84, or the controller 84 may monitor it by itself. Note that TH1 to TH4 in the following control logic are threshold values representing the boundaries of the amount of the facing interval between the conveyors 92 and 92.

[0064] (Control Logic) 1) When TH1 < W ≤ TH2: Instruct the air pump 106 to have a "large" degree of inflation. As a result, the facing interval between the conveyors 92 and 92 is set to the minimum distance. 2) When TH2 < W ≤ TH3: Instruct the air pump 106 to have a "medium" degree of inflation. As a result, the facing interval between the conveyors 92 and 92 is set to the intermediate distance. 3) When TH3 < W ≤ TH4: Instruct the air pump 106 to have a "small" degree of inflation. As a result, the facing interval between the conveyors 92 and 92 is set to the maximum distance.

[0065] In the case of W ≤ TH1, since the width dimension W of the crop 40 is too small and there is a high possibility that the crop 40 cannot be conveyed to the vicinity of the header portion 71, it may be excluded from the measurement target. In the case of W > TH4, since the width dimension W of the crop 40 is too large and the crop 40 may not fit between the conveyors 92 and 92, or if it is forcibly accommodated, the crop 40 may be damaged, it may be excluded from the measurement target.

[0066] In a modification of FIG. 5, the adjustment member 103 may be provided only on one of the pair of conveyors 92 and 92, and the other may be rigidly fixed. In a modification of FIG. 5, the adjustment member 103 may employ a mechanical mechanism such as a movement mechanism using a ball screw shaft instead of the air cell method.

[0067] 〔Other Modifications〕 The embodiments disclosed this time are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the rights of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but 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 Conveying 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) 81 Hollow cylinder 82 Power supply circuit 83 Spectrometer 84 Controllers 85 Connectors 91 Base Plate 92 Conveyor 93 Position Sensor 93A Light-emitting section 93B Light receiving section 94 Mounting part 95 mounting holes 96 Support Box 97 Conveyor belt 101 Backup mechanism 102 Fixed Frame 103 Adjustment Member 104 Guide Bar 105 Air Cell 106 Air pump 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 conveying mechanism for drawing the aforementioned agricultural products towards the header section.

2. The aforementioned transport mechanism is A pair of conveyors extending from the header section toward the tip and having conveying surfaces facing each other, The quality measuring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a position sensor for monitoring the end position of transport.

3. The quality measuring device according to claim 2, further comprising a backup mechanism that supports the pair of conveyors such that the distance between them changes according to the degree to which the crops are pulled in.

4. The aforementioned backup mechanism is A fixed frame that supports at least one of the pair of conveyors so as to be movable in opposing directions, The quality measuring apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an adjustment member for adjusting the amount of movement of at least one of the pair of conveyors in opposing directions.

5. The aforementioned crops are A quality measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the material is grapes.

6. 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 4 is connected to the tip of the robot arm.

7. 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 transport mechanism for pulling the crops towards the header section, The aforementioned method, The steps include bringing the agricultural product close to the header section using the transport 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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