Robotic rubber tapping system and rubber tapping method

Abstract

A robotic rubber tapping system, comprising a robot body (1) and a rubber tapping mechanism (2). The robot body (1) can move autonomously and comprises a mechanical arm (102); the rubber tapping mechanism (2) comprises a connecting member (201), a first fixing device (202), a linear moving module (203), a helical guide rail (204), a rubber tapping tool bit (205), and a displacement detection unit; the connecting member (201) is fixedly mounted at the tail end of the mechanical arm (102); the first fixing device (202) is fixedly mounted on the connecting member (201) and is configured to be fixed to a rubber tree; the linear moving module (203) is mounted on the connecting member (201); the helical guide rail (204) is connected to the linear moving module (203), and can be driven by the linear moving module (203) to linearly move in the vertical direction relative to the connecting member (201); the rubber tapping tool bit (205) is arranged on the helical guide rail (204) and can be used for tapping rubber along the helical path of the helical guide rail (204); and the displacement detection unit is mounted on the connecting member (201) and is configured to detect the displacement of the helical guide rail (204) in the vertical direction. The rubber tapping system solves the problem of low intelligence of a conventional rubber tapping system. Further provided is a rubber tapping method.

Description

Robotic rubber tapping system and rubber tapping method

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application number 2023108423107, filed with the Chinese Patent Office on July 11, 2023, entitled “A Robotic Rubber Tapping System and Rubber Tapping Method,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of rubber tapping technology, and in particular to a robotic rubber tapping system and a rubber tapping method. Background Art

[0004] Rubber is an important industrial raw material and is divided into natural rubber and synthetic rubber. Natural rubber is made by extracting gum from plants such as rubber trees and rubber grass. The existing method of tapping rubber is generally manual tapping, which is inefficient and requires high physical strength. Even if a large number of rubber farmers work hard, the resulting rubber output still cannot meet the huge demand for natural rubber. Therefore, there is an urgent need to change the traditional manual tapping method and gradually push the natural rubber industry towards mechanization, industrialization, and intelligence.

[0005] At present, there are automatic rubber tapping machines that use automated machinery to replace manual labor for rubber tapping, but an automatic rubber tapping machine needs to be fixed on each rubber tree through a clamping device. This method fixes one automatic rubber tapping machine to one rubber tree, and its degree of intelligence is low.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] In view of this, the present invention provides a robotic tapping system, which can use one robot to tap multiple rubber trees, solving the problem that one traditional automatic tapping machine is fixed to one rubber tree and has a low level of intelligence.

[0008] In addition, the present invention also provides a rubber tapping method. Compared with the traditional method of using the end of a robotic arm to directly manipulate the tapping head for tapping, the rubber tapping method has higher control accuracy of the rubber consumption during tapping and lower control difficulty. Beneficial effects:

[0009] (1) The robot body can move autonomously, so that one robot can tap multiple rubber trees, solving the problem that one traditional automatic rubber tapping machine is fixed to one rubber tree and has a low level of intelligence.

[0010] The connecting piece is fixedly installed at the end of the robotic arm; the first fixing device is fixedly installed on the connecting piece and is configured to be fixed to the rubber tree; the linear motion module is installed on the connecting piece; the spiral guide rail is connected to the linear motion module and can move linearly in the vertical direction relative to the connecting piece under the drive of the linear motion module; the tapping knife head is arranged on the spiral guide rail and can tap rubber along the spiral track of the spiral guide rail; the displacement detection unit is installed on the connecting piece and is configured to detect the displacement of the spiral guide rail in the vertical direction.

[0011] In this way, when tapping rubber, the robotic arm can be fixed to the rubber tree, reducing the shaking during tapping and making the tapping action more stable and reliable. More importantly, when tapping rubber, the vertical movement of the spiral guide rail is not controlled by controlling the robotic arm (the distance of each vertical linear movement corresponds to the amount of leather consumed), but the linear movement module fixed on the robotic arm controls the linear movement of the spiral guide rail, and the displacement of the spiral guide rail can be detected by the displacement detection unit, which is equivalent to controlling the movement of a component on a fixed table. It is easy to achieve high-precision control, and the control difficulty is relatively low under the existing technology, avoiding the traditional problem of high control difficulty caused by the high-precision movement of the spiral guide rail by the end of the robotic arm (because it is difficult to control the robotic arm not to shake, and the coordinate system of the end of the robotic arm changes all the time relative to the fixed coordinate system of the robot body, and it is difficult to achieve high-precision control).

[0012] (2) The spiral guide rail is located outside the coverage of the first fixing device. In this way, the linear movement of the spiral guide rail in the vertical direction will not be hindered by the first fixing device, ensuring that the spiral guide rail has a sufficiently large vertical displacement range to meet the demand for rubber tapping.

[0013] (3) The second fixing device is fixedly mounted on the rubber tree and is configured to dock with the first fixing device. In this way, the end of the robotic arm can be quickly fixed to the rubber tree through the docking of the first fixing device and the second fixing device.

[0014] (4) The linear motion module is driven by a servo motor to move the spiral guide rail connected to the screw nut pair in the vertical direction. This has high control accuracy and low control difficulty.

[0015] (5) The connector is provided with an elastic member, which allows the connector to have translational and rotational freedom. This is equivalent to allowing a certain tolerance when the first fixture and the second fixture are docked, so that even if the first fixture and the second fixture are not completely aligned, the docking can be completed smoothly.

[0016] (6) The laser radar is connected to the control unit signal, which can identify rubber trees and build a scene map of the rubber plantation. It can also be used for autonomous navigation when the robot moves. This further improves the intelligence of the robot.

[0017] (7) The robot body moves to the rubber tree, and the robot arm is fixed to the rubber tree through the first fixing device; the tapping knife head performs the first tapping along the spiral track of the spiral guide rail; after the linear motion module drives the spiral guide rail to move linearly in the vertical direction to a set displacement, the tapping knife head performs the second tapping along the spiral track of the spiral guide rail.

[0018] Thus, in this rubber tapping method, the vertical movement of the spiral guide rail is not controlled by controlling the robotic arm (the distance of each vertical linear movement corresponds to the amount of leather consumed), but the linear movement module fixed on the robotic arm is used to control the linear movement of the spiral guide rail, and the displacement of the spiral guide rail can be detected by a displacement detection unit, which is equivalent to controlling the movement of a component on a fixed table. It is easy to achieve high-precision control, and the control difficulty is relatively low under the existing technology, avoiding the traditional problem of high control difficulty caused by the high-precision movement of the spiral guide rail by the end of the robotic arm (because it is difficult to control the robotic arm from shaking, and the coordinate system of the end of the robotic arm changes all the time relative to the fixed coordinate system of the robot body, and it is difficult to achieve high-precision control). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a rubber tapping robot provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0020] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of the crawler chassis in FIG1 ;

[0021] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of the robotic arm in FIG1 ;

[0022] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of the rubber tapping mechanism in FIG1 ;

[0023] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of the displacement detection unit in FIG4;

[0024] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a rubber block provided on the connector in FIG4 ;

[0025] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a rubber collection bag provided in a second embodiment of the present invention installed on a rubber tree;

[0026] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of the bag-type installation structure in FIG7;

[0027] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of an assembly structure of a rubber bowl for collecting rubber provided in a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Among them, 1-robot body, 101-mobile chassis, 101A-first control box, 101B-laser camera, 101C-crawler, 101D-anti-collision part, 102-robotic arm, 2-tapping mechanism, 201-connecting part, 202-first fixing device, 203-linear moving module, 204-spiral guide rail, 205-tapping head, 206-binocular camera, 207-second control box, 208-displacement sensor, 209-displacement detection baffle, 210-slider, 211-servo motor, 212-rubber block, 3-bag collection device, 301-bag installation structure, 301A-fixing seat, 301B-support rod, 302-collection bag, 4-bowl collection device, 401-bowl fixing structure, 402-rubber bowl, 403-dial lever. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0030] Example 1:

[0031] This embodiment provides a robotic rubber tapping system, as shown in Figures 1 to 16. The robotic rubber tapping system includes a robot body 1 and a rubber tapping mechanism 2, wherein:

[0032] The robot body 1 is capable of autonomous movement and is composed of a robotic arm 102 with six degrees of freedom; the tapping mechanism 2 includes a connecting member 201, a first fixing device 202, a linear motion module 203, a spiral guide rail 204, a tapping cutter head 205 and a displacement detection unit; the connecting member 201 is fixedly mounted on the end of the robotic arm 102; the first fixing device 202 is fixedly mounted on the connecting member 201 and is configured to be fixed to the rubber tree; the linear motion module 203 is mounted on the connecting member 201; the spiral guide rail 204 is connected to the linear motion module 203 and can move linearly in a vertical direction relative to the connecting member 201 under the drive of the linear motion module 203; the tapping cutter head 205 is arranged on the spiral guide rail 204 and can tap rubber along the spiral trajectory of the spiral guide rail 204 (the tapping cutter head 205 is driven by a motor to tap rubber along the spiral trajectory); the displacement detection unit is mounted on the connecting member 201 and is configured to detect the displacement of the spiral guide rail 204 in the vertical direction.

[0033] In this way, when tapping rubber, the robotic arm 102 can be fixed to the rubber tree, reducing the shaking during tapping and making the tapping action more stable and reliable. More importantly, when tapping rubber, the spiral guide rail 204 is not controlled by controlling the robotic arm 102 to control the vertical movement (the distance of each vertical linear movement of the spiral guide rail 204 corresponds to the amount of leather consumed during tapping), but the linear movement module 203 fixed on the robotic arm 102 controls the linear movement of the spiral guide rail 204, and the displacement of the spiral guide rail 204 can be detected by the displacement detection unit. This is equivalent to controlling the movement of a component on a fixed table, which is easy to achieve high-precision control, and the control difficulty is relatively low under the existing technology, avoiding the traditional problem of high control difficulty caused by the high-precision movement of the spiral guide rail 204 driven by the end of the robotic arm 102 (because it is difficult to control the robotic arm 102 not to shake, and the coordinate system of the end of the robotic arm 102 changes all the time relative to the fixed coordinate system of the robot body 1, and it is difficult to achieve high-precision control).

[0034] In this embodiment, the robot body 1 further includes a mobile chassis 1 supporting a robotic arm 102, a first control box 101A (with a first control unit installed therein) and a laser radar 101B disposed on the mobile chassis 1; tracks 101C are provided at the bottom of the mobile chassis 1, and the laser radar 101B is signal-connected to the control unit within the first control box 101A, enabling it to identify rubber trees and construct a scene map of the rubber plantation, which can be used for autonomous navigation during movement of the robot body 1. Furthermore, anti-collision members 101D are provided on the front and rear sides of the bottom of the mobile chassis 1. If the anti-collision members 101D collide with other objects, the robot will stop operating and sound an alarm.

[0035] Specifically, the spiral guide rail 204 is preferably located outside the coverage of the first fixing device 202. In this embodiment, the spiral guide rail 204 is located below the first fixing device 202. In this way, the linear movement of the spiral guide rail 204 in the vertical direction will not be hindered by the first fixing device 202, ensuring that the spiral guide rail 204 has a sufficiently large vertical displacement range to meet the demand for rubber tapping.

[0036] Specifically, the robotic rubber tapping system further includes a second fixing device (not shown in the figure), which is fixedly mounted on the rubber tree and configured to dock with the first fixing device 202. Specifically, as shown in Figure 4, in this embodiment, the first fixing device 202 is provided with four conical positioning members, and correspondingly, the second fixing device is provided with four positioning circular holes. When the first fixing device 202 and the second fixing device are docked, the four conical positioning members are respectively inserted into the four positioning circular holes to achieve the function of fixing the robotic arm 102 to the rubber tree.

[0037] Specifically, as shown in Figure 4, the tapping mechanism 2 also includes a binocular camera 206 as a docking vision unit. In this way, through image recognition and robotic arm control algorithm, the robotic arm 102 can smoothly move the tapping mechanism to the specified spatial position, thereby completing the positioning when the first fixing device 202 is docked with the second fixing device.

[0038] More specifically, in this embodiment, the linear motion module drives the spiral guide rail 204 connected to the screw nut pair through the servo motor 211 to move linearly in the vertical direction. This method has high control accuracy and low control difficulty. As shown in Figure 5, the spiral guide rail 204 is connected to the slider 210, and the slider 210 is connected to the servo motor 211 through a screw nut pair. In addition, a displacement detection unit is provided on the connecting member 201, and the displacement detection unit specifically includes a displacement sensor 208, a displacement detection baffle 209 and a second control box 207 (with a second control unit provided inside). Among them, the displacement sensor 208 is fixedly mounted on the connecting member 201, and the displacement detection baffle 209 is fixedly mounted on the slider 210. In this way, the displacement of the spiral guide rail 204 can be detected by detecting the displacement of the displacement detection baffle 209 by the displacement sensor 208, and the detection result can be fed back to the second control unit in the second control box 207. The second control unit controls the rotation of the servo motor 211 according to the detection result to achieve precise control of the displacement of the spiral guide rail 204, so that the skin consumption during tapping reaches the required accuracy requirement.

[0039] As an improvement, as shown in FIG6 , the connector 201 is provided with a rubber block 212 having a certain elasticity. The rubber block 212 allows the connector 201 to have translational and rotational freedom. This is equivalent to allowing a certain tolerance when the first fixing device 202 and the second fixing device are docked. Even if the first fixing device 202 and the second fixing device are not completely aligned, the docking can be successfully completed.

[0040] Example 2:

[0041] Based on the first embodiment, a bag-type rubber collection device 3 is provided.

[0042] As shown in Figure 7, the bag-type collecting device 3 includes a bag-type mounting structure 301 and a collecting bag 302, wherein the bag-type mounting structure 301 is fixedly mounted on the rubber tree, and the collecting bag 302 is movably arranged on the bag-type mounting structure 301 in an open state (that is, the collecting bag 302 is connected to the bag-type mounting structure 301 in a non-fixed manner). The collecting bag 302 in the bag-type collecting device 3 can collect rubber.

[0043] In this way, by providing a gripping mechanism (such as a manipulator) on the robot body 1 , the collection bag 302 containing the rubber can be conveniently removed from the bag-type mounting structure 301 , thus completing the rubber collection operation.

[0044] Specifically, as shown in Figure 8, the bag-type installation structure 301 includes a fixing seat 301A and two arc-shaped support rods 301B, wherein the fixing seat 301A can be fixed on the rubber tree, one end of the two support rods 301B is connected to the fixing seat 301A, and the other end can be inserted into the perforation set at the open end of the collection bag 302 (the open edge of the collection bag 302 is rolled outward or inward to form a perforation). In this way, the installation and removal operations of the collection bag 302 can be conveniently realized.

[0045] As an improvement, the open end of the collection bag 302 is elastic. When the collection bag 302 is removed from the bag-type mounting structure 301, the elastic effect will close the open end of the collection bag 302, preventing rubber from flowing out of the collection bag 302 during the rubber collection operation and causing rubber waste.

[0046] As a further improvement, the collecting bag 302 is made of rubber. Thus, the collecting bag 302 is equivalent to dry rubber, which avoids the step of removing the collecting bag 302 during the latex refining process, saves manpower, and improves work efficiency.

[0047] Example 3:

[0048] Based on the first embodiment, a bowl-shaped rubber collecting device 4 is provided.

[0049] As shown in Figure 9, the bowl-type collecting device 4 includes a bowl-type fixing structure 401, a rubber bowl 402 and a lever 403, wherein the bowl-type fixing structure 401 can be fixed on a rubber tree, and the rubber bowl 402 is set on the bowl-type fixing structure 401 with one open end facing upward, and is configured to collect rubber. One end of the lever 403 is connected to the rubber bowl 402. When the lever 403 is pushed in one direction, the rubber bowl 402 can be flipped over (that is, the open end of the rubber bowl 402 will flip downward).

[0050] In this way, the lever mechanism provided on the robot body 1 can conveniently flip the rubber bowl 402 containing the collected rubber, so that the rubber flows from the rubber bowl 402 into the collection container, completing the rubber collection operation.

[0051] As an improvement, a rubber scraper is provided on the bowl-type collecting device 4. When the rubber bowl 402 is turned over, the rubber scraper can scrape the rubber. In this way, the rubber in the rubber bowl 402 can flow smoothly into the rubber collection container, avoiding rubber residue in the rubber bowl 402.

[0052] Example 4:

[0053] Based on the first embodiment, a rubber tapping method is provided, which includes the following steps:

[0054] Step 1: The robot body 1 moves to the rubber tree, and the robot arm 102 is fixed to the rubber tree through the first fixing device 202;

[0055] Step 2: The tapping head 205 performs the first tapping along the spiral track of the spiral guide rail 204;

[0056] Step 3: After the linear motion module 203 drives the spiral guide rail 204 to linearly move a set displacement in the vertical direction, the tapping head 205 performs a second tapping along the spiral track of the spiral guide rail 204 .

[0057] It is understandable that after the second tapping, the linear motion module 203 can continue to drive the spiral guide rail 204 to linearly move the set displacement in the vertical direction, so that the tapping head 205 can tap the rubber for the third, fourth, etc. along the spiral track of the spiral guide rail 204.

[0058] In this rubber tapping method, the vertical movement of the spiral guide rail 204 is not controlled by controlling the robotic arm 102 (the distance of each vertical linear movement corresponds to the amount of leather consumed), but the linear movement module 203 fixed on the robotic arm 102 controls the linear movement of the spiral guide rail 204, and the displacement of the spiral guide rail 204 can be detected by a displacement detection unit, which is equivalent to controlling the movement of a component on a fixed table, and it is easy to achieve high-precision control. Moreover, the control difficulty is relatively low under the existing technology, avoiding the traditional problem of high control difficulty caused by the high-precision movement of the spiral guide rail 204 driven by the end of the robotic arm 102 (because it is difficult to control the robotic arm 102 not to shake, and the coordinate system of the end of the robotic arm 102 changes all the time relative to the fixed coordinate system of the robot body 1, and it is difficult to achieve high-precision control).

[0059] In summary, the above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention. Industrial Applicability

[0060] By adopting the above solution, one robot can be used to tap multiple rubber trees, solving the problem that one traditional automatic tapping machine is fixed to one rubber tree and has a low level of intelligence. Compared with the traditional method of using the end of the robotic arm to directly manipulate the tapping head for tapping, the rubber consumption control during tapping is more accurate and the control difficulty is lower.

Claims

1. A robot rubber tapping system, characterized in that: It includes a robot body and a rubber tapping mechanism; The robot body is capable of autonomous movement and comprises a mechanical arm; The rubber tapping mechanism includes a connecting member, a first fixing device, a linear motion module, a spiral guide rail, a rubber tapping knife head and a displacement detection unit; the connecting member is fixedly mounted on the end of the robotic arm; the first fixing device is fixedly mounted on the connecting member and is configured to be fixed to the rubber tree; the linear motion module is mounted on the connecting member; the spiral guide rail is connected to the linear motion module and can move linearly in the vertical direction relative to the connecting member under the drive of the linear motion module; the rubber tapping knife head is arranged on the spiral guide rail and can tap rubber along the spiral track of the spiral guide rail; the displacement detection unit is mounted on the connecting member and is configured to detect the displacement of the spiral guide rail in the vertical direction.

2. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spiral guide rail is located outside the coverage area of ​​the first fixing device.

3. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The spiral guide rail is located below the first fixing device.

4. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also included is a second fixing device; The second fixing device is fixedly installed on the rubber tree and is configured to dock with the first fixing device.

5. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: Also included is a docking vision unit; The docking visual unit is arranged on the connecting piece and is configured to position the first fixing device when docking with the second fixing device.

6. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The linear motion module is driven by a servo motor to linearly move the spiral guide rail connected to the screw nut pair in the vertical direction.

7. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes sliders; The spiral guide rail is connected to the slider, and the slider is connected to the servo motor through the screw nut pair.

8. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting member is provided with an elastic member so that the connecting member has translational and rotational freedom.

9. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot body further includes a mobile chassis, a laser radar and a first control unit arranged on the mobile chassis; The laser radar is connected to the first control unit by signal, can identify rubber trees, and construct a scene map of the rubber plantation, and can be used for autonomous navigation when the robot body moves.

10. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 9, characterized in that: The mobile chassis is a crawler-type mobile chassis.

11. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 9, characterized in that: Anti-collision parts are also provided on the front and rear sides of the bottom of the mobile chassis, which are configured to control the rubber tapping robot to stop operating and alarm when colliding with other objects.

12. A rubber tapping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The displacement detection unit includes a displacement sensor, a displacement detection baffle and a second control unit; The displacement sensor is fixedly mounted on the connecting member, the displacement detection baffle is fixedly mounted on the slider, and the displacement sensor is configured to perform displacement detection on the displacement detection baffle and send the detection result to the second control unit; The second control unit is configured to control the displacement of the spiral guide rail according to the detection result.

13. A rubber tapping method, characterized in that: Using a rubber tapping robot according to any one of claims 1 to 8 comprises the following steps: The robot body moves to the rubber tree, and the robot arm is fixed to the rubber tree through the first fixing device; The tapping cutter head performs the first tapping along the spiral track of the spiral guide rail; After the linear motion module drives the spiral guide rail to linearly move a set displacement in the vertical direction, the tapping knife head performs a second tapping along the spiral track of the spiral guide rail.

14. A rubber tapping method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The following steps are also included: If the anti-collision piece arranged at the bottom of the mobile chassis of the robot body collides with other objects, the rubber tapping robot is controlled to stop operating and alarm.

15. A rubber tapping method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The robot body moves to the rubber tree, comprising the following steps: The laser radar on the mobile chassis of the robot body and the first control unit identify the rubber trees in the rubber plantation and construct a scene map of the rubber plantation; The robot body autonomously navigates and moves to the rubber tree according to the scene map.

16. A rubber tapping method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The following steps are also included: The displacement sensor detects the displacement of the displacement detection baffle; The second control unit controls the displacement of the spiral guide rail according to the detection result.

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