System for harvesting stalked fruit

Abstract

System for harvesting stalked fruit, comprising a first vehicle, a manipulator provided on the first vehicle, a harvesting tool which is attached to an end of the manipulator, the system further comprising a discharge device for transporting fruit away into a container which is situated at a filling position, the system further comprising a second vehicle which has a first supporting surface for supporting a stack of containers thereon and which first supporting surface has a length. The system is furthermore provided with displacement means comprising lifting means with first gripping means, wherein the displacement means are configured for repeatedly successively releasing, from the stack, a bottom container of a stack of containers raised by the lifting means, moving this container in the direction of the first vehicle to a second position, in which second position the container is outside the length of the first supporting surface, after this container has been filled with fruit by means of the discharge device, moving this filled container back to the second vehicle, wherein this filled container comes to rest directly on the first supporting surface or will form part of a stack of filled containers which rest on the first supporting surface.

Description

[0001] Brief title: System for harvesting stalked fruit

[0002] Description:

[0003] The invention relates to a system for harvesting stalked fruit. Such fruit may be, for example, fruit having a substantially elongate shape, such as cucumbers and courgettes, or having a substantially spherical shape, such as peppers, kiwis and apples.

[0004] International patent application WO 2021 / 071920 A1 describes a vehicle designed as a (first) cart which is provided with a robotic harvester. By means of the robotic harvester, harvested fruit is automatically moved to a container on a second cart which is coupled to the first cart by means of a towing hook. The second cart is provided with a supporting surface for supporting stacks of containers which are arranged in a row which extends parallel with the longitudinal direction of the supporting surface and with displacement means for displacing containers which may or may not be filled with harvested plants within the length of the supporting surface. The displacement means ensure that a container to be filled is taken from the top of a stack of containers and is kept at a suitable position within the length of the supporting surface, but at a distance above it on the side of the second cart facing the first cart when filling the container from the first cart. Once they have been filled completely with harvested fruit, the containers are subsequently either placed directly onto the supporting surface or on top of a previously filled container by the displacement means. Although the second cart actually offers space for four stacks of containers arranged one behind the other, in practical terms the second cart is only suitable for accommodating three stacks of containers arranged one behind the other in order thus to provide space for the displacement means to be able to displace the containers within the length of the second cart. A further drawback of the described second cart which, in practice, has to be available in relatively large numbers in greenhouses, is that it is relatively expensive.

[0005] International patent application WO 2021 / 071920 A1 describes an automated harvesting system in which crates are successively filled directly underneath a stack of raised empty crates. For the operation, filled crates have to be moved to and fro multiple times.

[0006] US patent application US 2021 / 0337734 A1 describes a manned vehicle by means of which strawberries can be harvested on the land. The vehicle is provided with a harvesting tool which drops harvested strawberries in a container. It mentions a stack of empty containers, the bottom container of which is lowered onto rails first which moves the respective container to a position under the harvesting tool. After the container has been filled, it is moved back beyond the stack of empty containers by means of the rails to form part of a stack of filled containers situated behind the stack of empty containers. During use, there is therefore no stack of containers of which some are still empty and some are filled.

[0007] It is an object of the invention to provide a system by means of which it is possible to harvest fruit efficiently, in particular inside a glasshouse. It is a further object of the invention to provide a relatively simple system which can be produced and used at a relatively modest cost.

[0008] To this end, the invention provides a system according to claim 1. The invention offers the advantage that the first supporting surface can be loaded entirely with containers, because no space has to be set aside on the first supporting surface to make displacement of the containers possible and / or to load a container with harvested fruit while it is on the first supporting surface. The reason for this is that loading the harvested fruit into containers takes place outside the length of the first supporting surface. The first supporting surface under a stack of (empty) containers can be made available to a filled container or a stack of filled containers by lifting the stack using the lifting means. The length of the first supporting surface is the dimension of the first supporting surface viewed in the first direction of travel. The length of the first supporting surface may be suitable to support only one stack of containers, but may also be so long that it can support two or more stacks of containers, as will become clear below.

[0009] In case of possible misunderstanding, it should be noted that insofar as the term “stack” is used below for containers, this refers to a situation in which containers rest directly on top of one another, as is the case, for example, in WO 2021 / 071920 A1 . A stack thus requires more than the containers extending above one another in a row because they have been accommodated, for example, in a rack, as in US 2022 / 0346319 A1.

[0010] In one embodiment, the displacement means comprise second gripping means with a second gripping member for gripping a container from a raised stack of containers. The second gripping means can thus keep a stack of containers in a raised position, in which the first gripping means become available to move a freed container to the second position. Just as the first gripping means may comprise two first gripping members which can grip a container on opposite sides, the second gripping means may also comprise two second gripping members which can grip a container on opposite sides. In this case, the respective two gripping members may be designed to move towards each other and away from each other in order to grip and subsequently release a container, respectively. Such a gripping operation may involve, for example, clamping a container in which case two clamping members are used.

[0011] If, according to one embodiment, the first vehicle is provided with the displacement means, this results in the advantage that the second vehicle which is provided with the first supporting surface can be designed to be relatively simple or even basic and can thus have a relatively low cost price. Such a second vehicle could even be a harvesting cart such as are currently already being used in the manual harvesting of fruit, or an only slightly modified version thereof. The abovementioned advantages also entail that, in practice, a large number of second vehicles may be available in a harvesting environment, such as in a greenhouse, in an economically responsible way and a second vehicle, which is filled entirely with containers which are filled with harvested fruit, can quickly be replaced with a second vehicle containing still empty containers, so that the first vehicle can preferably be used continuously in an efficient manner.

[0012] According to one embodiment which makes flexible use of the system possible, the first supporting surface forms part of a second vehicle which is configured to move in a second direction of travel.

[0013] In order to support simple and correct positioning of the second vehicle with respect to the first vehicle, the system is provided, in one embodiment, with first coupling means for detachably coupling the first vehicle and the second vehicle so as to be aligned in the first direction of travel and in the second direction of travel with respect to each other. Such coupling means may be, for example, a magnetic coupling or a click-fit coupling and are preferably configured to couple the first vehicle and the second vehicle, viewed in top view, in a rigid manner.

[0014] It may be advantageous if the first vehicle and the second vehicle are coupled by means of the first coupling means, the second position extends within the length of the first vehicle.

[0015] This advantage may be particularly relevant if the first vehicle has a second supporting surface for supporting a container thereon, wherein the second position extends within the length of the second supporting surface. This offers the possibility for a container from the second vehicle to come to rest on the second supporting surface by means of the displacement means and / or this container is moved from the second supporting surface back to the second vehicle after it has been filled.

[0016] In particular, the second vehicle may be of a relatively simple design if the first supporting surface is a fixed surface. This is understood to mean that the first supporting surface cannot move with respect to the frame of the second vehicle.

[0017] More preferably, the first supporting surface may extend parallel to a horizontal surface.

[0018] If, according to a further embodiment, the filling position and the second position are equal to each other, filling of the containers can take place at the second position.

[0019] Preferably, the filling position forms part of the first vehicle, so that filling a container with harvested fruit can be effected on the first vehicle.

[0020] In a further embodiment, the second vehicle is of the driven type. This means that the second vehicle is able to move autonomously in the second direction of travel and does not depend on another vehicle or does not have to be advanced manually. In this way, the second vehicle is able to move away from the first vehicle autonomously after it has been fully loaded with fruit-filled containers, so that the first vehicle remains available in order to be used for harvesting fruit, and another second vehicle which is loaded with empty containers can move autonomously to the first vehicle, so that these containers can also be filled with fruit and this other second vehicle is loaded with fruit-filled containers.

[0021] In one embodiment, which is particularly suitable for use in greenhouses, the system comprises rails on which at least the first vehicle can travel. Such rails, which comprise two rail guides, may extend in aisles of greenhouses and are often in the form of two parallel pipes on which a pipe rail trolley is able to ride at the start of an aisle. In a further embodiment, the second vehicle is also configured to ride on the rails and / or the third vehicle which is to be described in more detail below is also configured to drive on the rails.

[0022] The capacity of the system may be increased if, according to a further embodiment, the second vehicle is configured for supporting two or more stacks of containers on the first supporting surface thereof, which stacks are arranged in a row which extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the second vehicle.

[0023] In a practical embodiment, the displacement means comprise a horizontal guide and the first gripping means comprise a first gripping member which is configured to grip a container, and which is connected to the horizontal guide so as to be movable back and forth between a first longitudinal position in which, when the system is in use, the first gripping member extends within the length of the first supporting surface, and a second longitudinal position in which the first gripping member extends outside the length of the first supporting surface. The horizontal guide makes it possible to move a container from the second vehicle to the second position and vice versa in an efficient manner.

[0024] In a further embodiment, the displacement means comprise a first post resting on the first vehicle and the horizontal guide is connected to the first post so as to be movable up and down. Such a post which, for the purposes of this embodiment, may be provided with a guide which extends in the longitudinal direction of the post, makes it possible to perform a vertical component of the displacement from the second vehicle to the second position and vice versa in an efficient manner.

[0025] More specifically, it may be preferable for the displacement means to comprise two first posts resting on the first vehicle and situated opposite each other, and two horizontal guides situated opposite each other, which guides are each connected to an associated first post so as to be movable up and down, and the first gripping means comprise two first gripping members which are configured to grip a container from opposite sides of the container and which are movable to and fro with respect to an associated horizontal guide between the first longitudinal position and the second longitudinal position. Thus, a container can reliably be gripped and displaced.

[0026] In particular if, according to an above-described embodiment, the first supporting surface is configured for supporting two or more stacks of containers on the first supporting surface, which stacks are arranged in a row which extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the second vehicle, it may be advantageous if the displacement means comprise a first post and a second post, which each rest on a vehicle of the system, and comprise a horizontal guide which is connected to both the first post and the second post so as to be movable up and down, and the first gripping means comprise a first gripping member which is configured to grip a container and which is movable to and fro with respect to the horizontal guide between the first longitudinal position and the second longitudinal position.

[0027] More preferably, the displacement means may comprise two first posts resting on a vehicle of the system and situated opposite each other, two second posts resting on said vehicle and situated opposite each other and two horizontal guides, each of which guides is connected to an associated first post and second post so as to be movable up and down, wherein the first posts, viewed in the direction of travel of the respective vehicle, are provided at a distance from the second posts, and the first gripping means comprise two first gripping members which are configured to grip a container from opposite sides of the container and which, viewed in the first direction of travel, are connected to an associated horizontal guide between the first longitudinal position and the second longitudinal position so as to be movable to and fro.

[0028] In one embodiment which may be particularly advantageous when using a first supporting surface which is configured for supporting two or more stacks of containers on the supporting surface, which stacks are arranged in a row which extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the second vehicle, the system comprises a third vehicle which is configured to move in a third direction of travel and is provided with the displacement means. There is thus no need for the first vehicle or the second vehicle to be provided with the displacement means.

[0029] In one embodiment, the abovementioned first post or posts and the abovementioned second posts rest on the third vehicle.

[0030] In a further embodiment, the third vehicle is of the driven type which may make it unnecessary for the second vehicle to be able to drive autonomously, as a result of which the second vehicle may be of a relatively simple and inexpensive design and may be of the non-driven type.

[0031] The abovementioned advantage may be particularly relevant if the system is provided with second coupling means for detachably coupling the second vehicle and the third vehicle so as to be aligned in the second direction of travel and in the third direction of travel with respect to each other. Due to the effectiveness of the second coupling means, the second vehicle can thus be propelled by driving the third vehicle which can push, pull and / or support the second vehicle.

[0032] In a particular embodiment, the third vehicle comprises two first running wheels which are aligned with respect to each other and which are provided a first distance apart, and two second running wheels which are aligned with respect to each other and which are provided, viewed in the third direction of travel, at a distance from the first running wheels and which are provided a second distance apart, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance. In this case, the first distance may be adapted to the distance between the rail guides of a rails. The second running wheels then extend on the sides of the respective rail guides facing away from each other and may, for example, rest on the floor, such as concrete, on which the rail guides are fitted. Due to the fact that the second distance is greater than the first distance, space may be created for moving a second vehicle in between the two second running wheels, with running wheels of the second vehicle resting on the rail guides. In this way, the lengths of the second vehicle and the third vehicle may overlap to an increased extent during use, as a result of which the displacement means of the third vehicle only have to go beyond the length of the third vehicle to a limited extent in order to bring about the displacement of a container from the second vehicle to the first vehicle.

[0033] In a further embodiment, the third vehicle comprises operable supporting means in order to be supported on the second vehicle in the operational state. Thus, in the operational state of the supporting means, running wheels of the third vehicle, such as in particular the abovementioned second running wheels, can be lifted from a floor and running wheels of the second vehicle can be used to support the third vehicle and to guide the second vehicle and the third vehicle on the rails.

[0034] In the context of the latter, in a further embodiment, the supporting means are configured to clear the second running wheels on which the second vehicle rests with its running wheels in the operational state from the floor. Such a floor may be formed by a concrete floor. After the supporting means have been brought in the operational state, the combination of the second vehicle and the third vehicle on rails can be driven from the floor onto the rails, in which case support on the rails is provided by both running wheels, preferably the abovementioned first running wheels, of the third vehicle and by running wheels of the second vehicle.

[0035] In order to assist with simple correct positioning of the third vehicle with respect to the first vehicle, in one embodiment, the system is provided with third coupling means for detachably coupling the first vehicle and the third vehicle so as to be aligned in the first direction of travel and in the third direction of travel with respect to each other.

[0036] In a further embodiment, the discharge device comprises a sliding guide which is configured to allow fruit to slide downwards along a curved path towards a collection point, after the harvesting tool has produced a separation in the stalk thereof. Such a sliding guide makes it relatively easy to collect fruit which has been separated and may ensure a gradual decline in the speed of the fruit in the vertical direction. Such an advantage would also occur if there were, inter alia, no second vehicle as described above. In this case, the system is one for harvesting stalked fruit, comprising a driven first vehicle which is configured to move in a first direction of travel, a manipulator which is provided on the first vehicle, a harvesting tool which is attached at one end of the manipulator and can be spatially manipulated by means of the manipulator, wherein the harvesting tool is configured for producing a separation in the stalk on which the fruit grows at the location of a harvesting position, the system further comprising a discharge device for discharging fruit whose associated stalk has been separated by the harvesting tool, into a container, the discharge device comprising a sliding guide which is configured to allow fruit to slide downwards along a curved path to a collection point after the harvesting tool has produced a separation in the stalk thereof.

[0037] In one embodiment, the sliding guide extends from the harvesting tool.

[0038] If, according to a further embodiment, an upper end of the curved path has a downward sliding guide direction which encloses an angle of at most 30 degrees with a vertical line or runs parallel to a vertical line and / or a bottom end has a sliding guide direction which slopes downwards at an angle of at most 30 degrees with a horizontal plane, it may be possible to slow down the fruit effectively, so that it can either land directly in a container, or can be processed by another part of the discharge device.

[0039] If the harvesting tool comprises a separating device for producing a separation in the stalk on which a plant grows by means of a cutting operation, it may be possible to bring about the respective separation effectively and quickly.

[0040] If the positioning device comprises a supporting body for temporarily supporting fruit during and / or immediately after the separating operation of the harvesting tool, it is possible that the fruit drops down immediately after the separation is produced in the stalk.

[0041] In this case the supporting body is preferably displaceable between an operational position, in which the fruit is supported, and a non-operational position, in which the fruit is not supported.

[0042] In this case, it is highly advantageous for cucumbers in particular if the supporting body is configured to separate a flower on the underside from fruit supported by the supporting body from said fruit due to displacement from the operational position to the non-operational position.

[0043] In order to limit the risk of the separating device being active at an incorrect position which would result in the creation of a separation not being performed correctly, it may be advantageous if the harvesting tool also comprises a positioning device for positioning fruit in a positioning space thereof during the separating action of the harvesting tool. The positioning device then contributes to a stable positioning of the stalk while the separating device produces a separation in this stalk.

[0044] In one embodiment, the sliding guide, such as a flexible hose, is rigidly connected to the harvesting tool and is configured to be manipulated by the manipulator together with the harvesting tool. In this way, the fruit can slide along the sliding guide shortly after a separation has been produced in the stalk.

[0045] In another embodiment, the manipulator is configured to move the harvesting tool towards the sliding guide and away from the sliding guide. Then, the sliding guide is thus not rigidly connected to the harvesting tool. Such an embodiment may make it superfluous for the sliding guide to move into the plant, together with the harvesting tool. During such a movement, the sliding guide may come into contact with parts of the plant and displace these, as a result of which, for example, the stalk in which the harvesting tool has to produce a separation ends up at a different position than the position which had previously been detected by sensors, such as a camera, of the system. This embodiment is particularly advantageous if the harvesting tool comprises a supporting body which is displaceable between an operational position and a non-operational position as described above. In addition, the embodiment makes it less problematic if the sliding guide takes up more space and may consequently, for example, be designed as a chute which tapers in a downward direction.

[0046] In a further embodiment, the positioning device comprises at least two positioning bodies, wherein the at least two positioning bodies are configured to assume a closed position or an open position together in order to, in the closed position, at least determine the positioning space in which the at least two positioning bodies, at least in top view, surround fruit in the positioning space in such a manner that fruit cannot escape from the positioning space in a horizontal direction, and in order to, in the open position, provide space for the fruit to enter the positioning space due to the fact that the at least two positioning bodies pass from the open position to the closed position after the fruit has entered. In this way, it is possible to prevent the positioning device from having to move around the fruit to be harvested from below, which could disturb the order in the respective plant and may in addition be relatively time-consuming, assuming that there is any space for such a movement and / or the manipulator would make such a movement possible.

[0047] In one embodiment, the system is provided with a collecting device at the location of the collection point. Such a collecting device could be formed by a container, but also by a buffer system in which the fruit is temporarily stored before being conveyed along to a container.

[0048] The system may also be provided with a conveying device and the collecting device may be configured for transferring harvested fruit to the conveying device, in which case the conveying device is configured for conveying the harvested fruit from the collecting device to a container. In this case, the container may be situated on the second supporting surface of the first vehicle, as has already been described above.

[0049] In one embodiment, the collecting device comprises a supporting surface which is inclined towards the conveying device for the harvested plants in order to assist the reliable supply of fruit to the conveying device.

[0050] According to a further aspect of the invention, the latter relates to a method according to claim 44, wherein the system according to the invention as above is described, optionally in possible embodiments thereof. The advantages of such a method will be obvious to the person skilled in the art on the basis of the above description of the system according to the invention.

[0051] The invention will be explained in more detail by means of the description of a number of possible embodiments or systems according to the invention with reference to the following figures:

[0052] Fig. 1 shows an isometric view of a first embodiment of a system according to the invention;

[0053] Fig. 2 shows an isometric view of a harvesting tool, forming part of the system according to Fig. 1 during a first stage of operation of the harvesting tool;

[0054] Fig. 3 shows another isometric view of the harvesting tool during a second stage of operation; Fig. 4 shows a top view of the harvesting tool during the first stage;

[0055] Fig. 5 shows a top view of the harvesting tool during a third stage of operation;

[0056] Fig. 6 shows a vertical longitudinal section of the harvesting tool during the third stage;

[0057] Fig. 7 shows a horizontal cross section of the harvesting tool during the third stage;

[0058] Fig. 8 shows an isometric view of a second embodiment of a system according to the invention;

[0059] Figs. 9B to 9L show a side view of a second vehicle of the system according to Fig. 1 during successive stages of operation of the system;

[0060] Fig. 10A shows an isometric view of a system according to the invention in a third embodiment thereof;

[0061] Fig. 10B shows an isometric view of a second vehicle and a third vehicle of the system according to Fig. 10A;

[0062] Figs. 11A to 11 D show a side view of the second vehicle and the third vehicle according to Fig. 10B during the successive stages of operation thereof.

[0063] System 1 according to Fig. 1 comprises a first vehicle 100 which will be referred to below as a robot vehicle, and a second vehicle 200 which will be referred to below as a crate vehicle. System 1 further comprises pipe rails 10 with two mutually parallel tubular rail guides 10A, 10B which are fitted to a floor (not shown in any more detail), such as made of concrete, in a greenhouse. Pipe rails 10 are known per se to a person skilled in the art and extend in one of the aisles of the greenhouse between two rows of plants on which fruit to be harvested grows. In this example, the fruit is formed by cucumbers. In practice, aisles are often between 100 meters and 150 meters long.

[0064] Near their ends, robot vehicle 100 and crate vehicle 200 each have a total of four running wheels 101 and 201 , respectively, by means of which the robot vehicle 100 and the crate vehicle 200 can move along the pipe rails 10. The orientation of running wheels 101 and 201 determines direction of travel 111 for robot vehicle 100 and direction of travel 211 for crate vehicle 200, respectively. Directions of travel 111 and 211 are in line with each other when the robot vehicle 100 and the crate vehicle 200 are on rails 10, as is illustrated in Fig. 1. The robot vehicle 100 is unmanned, is of the self-propelled type and has its own drive mechanism (not shown in any more detail) which is active on at least two of the four running wheels 101 , as a result of which robot vehicle 100 is able to drive to and fro on the rails 10 autonomously. Crate vehicle 200 does not has its own drive mechanism, but can be pushed or pulled to and fro on the pipe rails 10 using robot vehicle 100 or human force. Alternatively, it is incidentally also possible for the crate vehicle 200 to be provided with its own drive mechanism, just like robot vehicle 100. The crate vehicle 200 comprises a supporting surface 210 on which a stack of containers designed as crates 250 can rest. Such crates 250 are known to the person skilled in the art. As has already been indicated above, the expression stack requires the respective containers to rest on top of one another.

[0065] Below, in a slightly arbitrary manner, the left side in Fig. 1 will be denoted as the front side of system 1 and the right side as the rear side. Robot vehicle 100 comprises a post 105 on the front side which is provided with a longitudinal guide 106 (Fig. 3) on the front side, along which a manipulator 107, designed as a robot of the SCARA-type, is movable up and down by means of drive means (not shown in any more detail). On the end of the robot 107, a harvesting tool 108 is provided which can be moved in a horizontal plane by means of the robot 107 and can also be moved in a vertical direction as a result of guide 106.

[0066] Harvesting tool 108 comprises a frame 109, two positioning bodies 120A, 120B each of which is semicircular in cross section, a link mechanism 130 above the two positioning bodies 120A, 120B and a supporting body 140 directly under the positioning bodies 120A, 120B. Positioning body 120B is rigidly connected to the frame 109. The two positioning bodies 120A, 120B are mutually connected via a hinge 121 at the location of longitudinal edges of the two positioning bodies 120A, 120B which are turned towards each other. In order to pivot positioning bodies 120A about hinge 121 , the harvesting tool 108 is provided with an automated operating mechanism 122 with an actuating rod 123, one end of which is hingably connected to the frame 109 and the opposite end of which is hingably connected to positioning bodies 120A. In this way, the two positioning bodies 120A, 120B are able to assume an open position, as is illustrated in Fig. 4, or a closed position, as is illustrated in Fig. 5. In the closed position, the interior of the positioning bodies 120A, 120B forms a positioning space 125.

[0067] Supporting body 140 is pivotable about a pivot axle 141 which extends parallel to the longitudinal directions of the positioning bodies 120A, 120B, connected to the positioning body 120B between an operational position 140A in which the supporting body 140 extends directly under and straight under the positioning space 125 and partly also determines this positioning space 125, and a non-operational position 140B in which the supporting body 140 extends, viewed in top view, largely on the outer side of positioning space 125 (Fig. 7). In order to pivot the supporting body 140 about the pivot axle 141 , the harvesting tool 108 is provided with a drive mechanism 142 which is attached to the outer side of the positioning body 120B.

[0068] On the bottom side of positioning body 120B, a tubular coupling part 125 is provided which may, for example, form an integral part of the positioning body 120B. Between the positioning body 120B and the coupling part 125, a gap 126 is provided which leaves space for the supporting body 140 to move between the operational position 140A and the non-operational position 140B. On the bottom side of the tubular coupling part 125, a sliding guide, designed as a flexible hose 170, is attached, for example using a clamping ring. Hose 170 forms part of a discharge device and has a curved shape, with the sliding guide direction being oriented vertically at the position where hose 170 is connected to the coupling part 125. At the bottom end, hose 170 is trough-like and has a sliding guide direction which encloses an angle with a horizontal plane of at most 30°. The latter angle partly depends on the vertical position of the harvesting tool 108, because hose 170 is flexible and its upper end moves concomitantly with the harvesting tool 108. At the trough-like bottom end, hose 170 is pivotably connected to post 105 in a way which is not shown in any more detail, so that the bottom end of the trough-like part of hose 170 is always situated more or less at the same vertical position. As a result, hose 170 ends at the location of a collection point 180 with a fixed collecting tray 181 which also forms part of the discharge device and which has three upright walls on an open side which faces the rear side. Furthermore, collecting tray 181 has a bottom surface 182 which is inclined downwardly towards the open rear side.

[0069] The harvesting tool 108 works as follows:

[0070] By means of detection means not shown in any more detail, such as cameras which form part of the robot vehicle 100 and are known per se to the person skilled in the art, a cucumber 160 is detected which is suitable to be harvested according to the control unit of the system 1. The cucumber 160 grows on a plant and is connected to a stem 162 of the respective plant via a stalk 161. On the basis of the abovementioned observations, the harvesting tool 108 is moved to a position by means of robot 107 and guide 106 in which the harvesting tool 108 is situated directly opposite the cucumber 160 and the link mechanism 130 extends at the same height as the longitudinal position in stalk 161 , where a separation has to be made in the stalk 161 in order to be able to harvest the cucumber 160. Both the link mechanism 130 and the positioning bodies 120A, 120B are in the open state, as is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. Robot 107 subsequently manipulates the harvesting tool 108 in such a way that the two free longitudinal edges of the positioning bodies 120A, 120B facing each other completely pass opposite sides the cucumber 160. In addition, supporting body 140 is moved to the operational position 140A in case that had not already been done before (Fig. 3). Subsequently, the positioning bodies 120A, 120B close, in which case cucumber 160 is completely positioned inside the positioning space 125 (Fig. 5). At the bottom end of cucumber 160 which faces away from stalk 161 , there is often still a small flower 163 present during harvesting. During the stage from Fig. 5, the cucumber 160 with the small flower 163 rests on the supporting body 140 or the small flower 163 extends just above the supporting body 140. Furthermore, the stalk 161 extends between the open leaves of the link mechanism 130.

[0071] Subsequently, the link mechanism 130 closes, as a result of which a separation is produced in the stalk 161 and cucumber 160 comes away from the plant. If it has not already done so, cucumber 160 with the small flower 163 comes to rest on the supporting body 140. Subsequently, the control unit of the system 1 will actuate the operating mechanism 142 to move the supporting body 140 from the operational position 140A to the non-operational position 140B. This displacement will cause the flower to come off the cucumber 160, which is also desirable in practice. Optionally, this detachment of the flower 163 could also be assisted by roughing up the top surface of the supporting body 140. As there is no longer any support of the cucumber 160 by supporting body 140, cucumber 160 will drop down on account of the force of gravity and slide downwards via the hose 170 and fall into the collecting tray 181 from the bottom end of hose 170. In this case, the longitudinal direction of the cucumbers 160 is directed at right angles to the direction in which bottom surface 182 is downwardly inclined. As a result thereof, the harvesting tool 108 becomes available again for harvesting a subsequent cucumber 160 in a manner as described above.

[0072] Robot vehicle 100 is furthermore provided with a booster belt conveyor

[0073] 190 which forms part of the discharge device and comprises an endless conveyor belt

[0074] 191 with square partitions 192 on its outer side. The conveyor belt 190 is wound around two deflector rollers 193, 194, at least one of which can be driven by drive means not shown in any more detail. Deflector roller 193 is situated lower than deflector roller 194. At the front end, the booster belt conveyor 190 connects to the bottom end of bottom surface 182, so that, in operation, harvested cucumbers 160 which fall from hose 170 into collecting tray 181 roll downwards and come to rest on one of the partitions 192, and are transported upwards again by means of booster belt conveyor 190 in order to drop into a crate 250 from the upper end, which is situated on the rear side of the booster belt conveyor 190, which crate 250 rests on the rear side of the robot vehicle 100 at the location of a filling position 196 of robot vehicle 100 on a supporting surface 195 thereof. Once the cucumbers 160 have been harvested by means of harvesting tool 108, these can be automatically discharged into the crate 250 on the supporting surface 195 of the robot vehicle 100.

[0075] Fig. 8 shows an alternative system 450 comprising a robot vehicle 500 and a separate trolley 650. Robot vehicle 500 is designed to have a post 505 which is not only provided with a longitudinal guide 518 on the front side, but also on the rear side. Collecting tray 581 is movable up and down along longitudinal guide 518. As a departure from collecting tray 181 , a flap 585 is provided at the bottom end of the inclined bottom surface 582a and is operable between a closed position, as is illustrated in Fig. 8, and an open position, in which the flap 585 assumes a position such that cucumbers 160 are given space to roll down from collecting tray 581. In operation, this open position is only assumed if the collecting tray 581 is in a bottom position, similar to that of collecting tray 181 in Fig. 1. The bottom end of hose 170 is connected to the collecting tray 581 in a way not shown in any more detail, so that, during operation, this bottom end moves up and down together with collecting tray 581 , so that the sliding guide direction of hose 170 at the location of the bottom end is less dependent on the position of harvesting tool 108.

[0076] Robot vehicle 500 furthermore differs from robot vehicle 100 in that robot vehicle 500 is provided with a drone 540 which is provided with a camera 541 by means of which images of the plants can be captured. The control unit of the system is able to collect information about properties of the plants on the basis of these images. The drone 540 is connected to the drone 540 via a cable 542. This cable 542 may be used to supply the drone 540 with electrical power and may, if desired, also serve to pass information between the control unit of the system and the drone 540.

[0077] By means of four running wheels 611 , the separate trolley 650 is movable to and fro over pipe rails 10, together with robot vehicle 500. In operation, the robot vehicle 500 and the trolley 650 are mutually coupled at a fixed distance from each other by coupling means not shown in any more detail, so that the booster belt conveyor 590 which is provided on the rear side of robot vehicle 500 can drop harvested cucumbers 160 in a crate 250 which rests on a supporting surface 595 of the trolley 650.

[0078] In a further variant of system 1 , a hose, such as hose 170, and harvesting tool 108 are not directly connected to each other, but the hose assumes a fixed spatial position and orientation with respect to the collecting tray 181 , both at its upper end and at its bottom end. The hose therefore does not have to be flexible and can therefore be designed to be stiff. This prevents having to move the hose into the plant when using the hose, as is the case with hose 170, as a result of which the stems of the plant could be pushed away by hose 170, which could change the position and the orientation of cucumbers 160 to be harvested which could be to the detriment of the reliability of the operability of harvesting tool 108. When using such a variant, the harvesting tool 108 moves to a position in which the harvesting tool 108 is positioned straight over the top end of the hose after a stalk 161 has been cut and the cucumber 160 has been accommodated in the positioning space 125 and rests on the supporting body 140, after which the supporting body 140 is moved to the non-operational position 140B and the harvested cucumber 160 still slides down via the hose and ends up in the collecting tray 181. In a further variant, the hose could also be replaced by an open chute which is, for example, wider at the upper end than at the bottom end, so that the harvesting tool can be positioned over such an open chute with less accuracy and the cucumbers 160 can still fall into a collecting tray, such as collecting tray 181 , with great reliability.

[0079] According to Fig. 1 , at the rear end, robot vehicle 100 is furthermore provided with displacement means 601 which are configured to move crates 250 between the filling position 196 of robot vehicle 100 and crate vehicle 200 in a way which will be explained below. At the rear corners of robot vehicle 100, the displacement means 601 comprise two posts 602 and two girders 603, each of which adjoin an upper end of an associated post 602 with a front end and are provided with a gripping member designed as clamping jaw 604, at their rear ends. The clamping jaws 604 face each other and can also move slightly towards each other and away from each other and have drive means not shown in any more detail in order to be able to grip a crate 250 situated between the two clamping jaws 604 by means of a clamping action or to release it. For each of the posts 602, the displacement means 601 further comprise a girder 605 which, just like girders 603, extend parallel to the first direction of travel 111 and, in contravention to girders 603, extend both on the front side and on the rear side of the associated post 602. On the mutually facing sides, the posts 602 are provided with guides not shown in any more detail along which the associated girders 605 are movable up and down. Posts 602 with their associated guides and the drive mechanism for moving the girders 605 up and down may be regarded as a lift. Girders 605 themselves each also comprise a guide not shown in any more detail which extends in the longitudinal direction of the girders 605. Along each of these guides, a gripping member designed as a clamping jaw 606 is movable up and down in the direction of travel 111. As is the case with clamping jaws 604, clamping jaws 606 are able to move slightly towards each other and away from each other in order thus to grip a crate 250 situated between the clamping jaws 606 in a clamping manner or to release it. For the purpose of the abovementioned displacements of girders 605, of clamping jaws 606 and of clamping jaws 604, the displacement means 601 are provided with drive means not shown in any more detail which are controlled by the control unit of robot vehicle 100.

[0080] Returning to system 1 , a more detailed description is given below of the operation of the displacement means 601 by means of Figs. 9A to 9L.

[0081] Fig. 9A shows how crate vehicle 200 with a stack of empty crates 250-2, 250-3, 250-4 resting thereon is moved on rails 10 in moving direction 220. This may occur because crate vehicle 200 is pushed or pulled towards the robot vehicle 100 using human force. In a variant, in which the crate vehicle 200 has its own drive means, this displacement could also be performed by the crate vehicle 200 completely autonomously.

[0082] Fig. 9B shows that a front side of the crate vehicle 200 adjoins or virtually adjoins the rear side of the robot vehicle 100. The robot vehicle 100 and the crate vehicle 200 are coupled to one another by coupling means of the system 1 not shown in any more detail, such as a magnetic coupling or a mechanical coupling which may, if desired, be operated automatically, so that they are at a fixed intermediate distance, even if robot vehicle 100 would move on rails 10. The girders 605 are moved to a bottom position along the posts 602, as a result of which the clamping jaws 606 extend on the respective outer side of the longitudinal walls of the bottom crate 250-1 and, in Fig. 9B, are moved towards each other, so that the clamping jaws 606 grip the bottom crate 250-1 in a clamping manner.

[0083] In Fig. 9C, the girders 605 are moved upwards along the longitudinal guides of posts 602 to a position in which the clamping jaws 604 extend on opposite sides of crate 250-2, which rests directly on crate 250-1 . In addition, the clamping jaws 604 are moved towards each other, just like clamping jaws 606, so that clamping jaws 604 grip crate 250-2 in a clamping manner.

[0084] Subsequently, the girders 605 move downwards again (Fig. 9D), with the bottom crate 250-1 coming away from the stack of crates 250-2, 250-3, 250-4, which stack remains raised due to clamping jaws 604 gripping crate 250-2 in a clamping manner.

[0085] Fig. 9E shows that the girders 605 are in a bottom position and the clamping jaws 606 are moved along the guides of girders 605 in the direction of robot vehicle 100, with the clamping jaws 606 and thus also crate 250-1 extending at the filling position 196 and crate 250-1 resting on supporting surface 195. The clamping jaws 604 may continue to grip crate 250-1 or may move away from each other in order to release the latter, in which case the crate 250-1 comes to rest autonomously on the supporting surface 195. The hatching of crate 250-1 in Fig. 9F (and Figs. 9G to 9L) indicates that the respective crate 250-1 is entirely filled with cucumbers 160 by booster belt conveyor 190 in a manner which has already been explained above by means of the description of Figs. 1 to 7.

[0086] In Fig. 9G, the clamping jaws 606 have been moved back to a rearmost position along the guides of girders 605 again and the clamping jaws 606 have been moved apart, so that crate 250-1 is no longer gripped in a clamping manner by the clamping jaws 606. As a result thereof, crate 250-1 rests on supporting surface 210.

[0087] Subsequently, the girders 605 move to the highest position along the guides of posts 602 until they reach the position in which the clamping jaws 606 extend on two opposite longitudinal sides of crate 250-2, just like clamping jaws 604. In addition, the clamping jaws 606 also move towards each other again, so that crate 250-2 is at that moment not only gripped in a clamping manner by clamping jaws 604, but also by clamping jaws 606. Subsequently, the clamping jaws 604 move away from each other, as a result of which the gripping action in a clamping manner of clamping jaws 604 on crate 250-2 is lost.

[0088] Fig. 9I shows how girders 605 are subsequently moved downwards over a distance which equals the height of a crate 250 and crate 250-3 is now gripped by the clamping jaws 604. The crates 250-3 and 250-4 are now carried by these clamping jaws 604 and crate 250-2 has consequently become available in order to be moved separately to the filling position 196 in a way which will be clear to the person skilled in the art on the basis of the above description of, in particular, Figs. 9D and 9E, as is also illustrated in Figs. 9J and 9K.

[0089] There, crate 250-2 can be filled again with harvested cucumbers and subsequently be moved to a position on crate 250-1 , as is illustrated in Fig. 9L, so that a stack of filled crates 250-1 , 250-2 is produced.

[0090] In a way similar to that explained above for crates 250-1 and 250-2, the crates 250-3 and 250-4 may also be moved to the filling position 196, be filled with cucumbers there, and moved back to the crate vehicle 200, so that the same crates 250-1 to 250-4 are ultimately stacked on top of each other on the crate vehicle 200 in the same order as the one in which the crates 250-1 to 250-4 were supplied (see Fig. 9A) and the stack rests on the supporting surface 210 of the crate vehicle 200. Subsequently, the crate vehicle 200 with the filled crates 250-1 to 250-4 can be uncoupled from the robot vehicle 100 and be transported away via the rails 10, so that the crate vehicle 200 can be unloaded at a distance from robot vehicle 100 and space becomes available for another crate vehicle 200 with a new stack of empty crates 250.

[0091] In a further variant of system 1 , this comprises a second crate trolley, such as crate trolley 200. This crate trolley is used to transport empty crates 250 to the crate vehicle 200 on rails 10 and to transport filled crates 250 away, again on rails 10. In operation, crate trolley 200 can then remain coupled to the robot vehicle 100. The displacement means of this further variant differ from displacement means 601 of system 1 in that its girders are longer, namely approximately longer by the length of vehicle 200, and that they extend further to the rear so that, in operation, they extend above the second crate trolley if the latter is situated against or at least close to crate trolley 200, on its side facing away from robot vehicle 100.

[0092] In operation, a stack of empty crates is supplied by means of the second crate trolley by the second crate trolley driving to crate trolley 200 on rails 10 and adjoining or virtually adjoining crate trolley 200. The crates of the stack on crate trolley 200 are filled in a manner as explained above with reference to Figs. 9A to 9L. After all crates 250 of the stack on crate trolley 200 have been filled and the stack of filled crates 250 rests on supporting surface 210 of crate trolley 200, the clamping jaws 606 grip the bottom crate of the stack of crates on the second crate trolley and the displacement means move these to a position where the clamping jaws 604 can assume the task of gripping the respective bottom crate. In a further variant, it is also possible for the girders 603 to also be designed to be longer, as is the case with girders 605, and for each of the crate trolley 200 and the second crate trolley to be provided with pairs of clamping jaws 604 of clamping jaws which are slidable to and fro. By thus lifting the stack of empty crates above the stack of filled crates 250, the stack of filled crates 250 can be moved to the supporting surface of the second crate trolley. This displacement may be performed by means of the clamping jaws 604, but may optionally alternatively also be performed by means of a pushing body which pushes from the robot vehicle 100 against the bottom, filled, crate 250 on the supporting surface 210 of the crate vehicle 200. In a further variant, the supporting surfaces may be designed as, optionally driven, roller conveyors or as a belt conveyor. In another subvariant, the crate trolley 200 may form an integral part of the robot vehicle 100.

[0093] Fig. 10A shows a system 301 according to the invention which not only comprises a robot vehicle 800, but also a crate cart 900 (see Fig. 10B). Robot vehicle 800 differs from robot vehicle 100 in that robot vehicle 800 is not provided with displacement means 601.

[0094] Crate cart 900 shows significant similarities with a harvesting cart such as is already known per se. Crate cart 900 comprises a plateau with a supporting surface 906 comprising a row of four stacks 610-1 to 610-4 of four crates 250 each, resting thereon. The respective row extends in the longitudinal direction of the crate cart 900 and, in operation, parallel to the rails 10. Crate cart 900 further comprises four running wheels 901 , which are configured to allow crate cart 900 to drive on rails 10, and four swivel wheels 903 on the corners of the plateau and in the center of the length of the plateau two running wheels 904. Wheels 903, 904 are configured to allow crate cart 900 to drive across the ground, such as concrete, to which the rails 10 are attached. In this case, a small distance exists between the running wheels 901 and said ground. The orientation of wheels 901 and 904 determines the direction of travel 931 for crate cart 900.

[0095] Gantry cart 700, only the parts which are important for the functioning thereof being illustrated in Figs. 10A and 10B, comprising two running wheels 801 on the front side and two running wheels 802 on the rear side. The orientation of the running wheels 801 , 802 determines a direction of travel 731 for gantry cart 700. Running wheels 801 are configured to drive on rails 10, but also on floor 950 (Figs. 11A to 11 D) to which pipe rails 10 are attached, for example in the areas of a greenhouse where no rails 10 have been provided. Running wheels 701 are connected to a drive mechanism which are provided in a housing part 707 on which the posts 710 rests.

[0096] The distance between running wheels 802 is greater than that between running wheels 801 , as a result of which running wheels 802 are unsuitable to drive on rails 10, but may be used to drive on the floor. Gantry cart 700 has two posts 710 on the bottom ends on which the running wheels 701 are provided, and two posts 711 on the bottom ends on which running wheels 702 are provided. Along the largest part of their lengths, the distance between posts 711 is equal to that between posts 710. However, at their bottom end, posts 711 have an outwardly directed bend 708. At the location of each bend 708 in the posts 711 , a strut 725 is provided which is movable up and down to a limited degree with respect to the associated post 711 in the extension of the part of the posts 711 situated above the respective bends 708.

[0097] Gantry cart 700 further comprises two fixed girders 721 which are each connected at their ends to a post 710 and a post 711 , near the upper ends thereof. Each of the fixed girders 721 is provided with four gripping members designed as clamping jaws 722, with the clamping jaws 722 associated with the one fixed girder 721 being provided directly opposite the clamping jaws 722 associated with the other fixed girder 721 . The mutual distance between the four clamping jaws 722 associated with a fixed girder 721 corresponds to the distance between the stacks 610-1 to 610-4. For the sake of clarity and although not illustrated in more detail, gantry cart 700 also comprises two cross girders which connect the upper ends of the posts 710 and the posts 711 , respectively, in order to provide more rigidity to gantry cart 700.

[0098] Gantry cart 700 further comprises two movable girders 730 which are movable up and down by means of longitudinal guides 732 whose girders 710 and girders 711 are provided on the sides facing each other. The movable girders 730 extend on the front side of the front posts 710 across a distance which approximately equals that of the length of a crate 250 for reasons which will become clear below. Gantry cart 700 is furthermore provided with a coupling member 740 for coupling with the crate cart 900.

[0099] Gantry cart 700 further comprises clamping jaws 724 which are movable to and fro along the entire length of the movable girders 730 by means of guides not shown in any more detail on which these movable girders 730 are provided. As is the case with clamping jaws 604 and 606, clamping jaws 722 and 724 are movable towards and away from each other to a limited degree by means of drive means not shown in any more detail in order to clamp a crate 250 in between them or on the contrary to release such a crate 250.

[0100] Below, the way in which the combination of crate cart 900 and gantry cart 700 is used will be explained with reference to Figs. 11A to 11 D.

[0101] Fig. 11A shows that a crate cart 900 is driven across floor 950 and between posts 711 in the direction of posts 710, wherein the gantry cart 700 with running wheels 701 and 702 rests on the floor 950, and crate cart 900 with swivel wheels 903 and with running wheels 904 rests on the floor 950. Running wheels of crate cart 900 are situated at a slightly limited distance above concrete floor 950. The crate cart 900 is loaded with four stacks of in each case four empty crates 250. When moving crate cart 700 further in the direction of the front posts 710, crate cart 900 strikes against the coupling member 740 and a rigid coupling will be brought about between the crate cart 900 and the gantry cart 700.

[0102] After the coupling between crate cart 900 and gantry cart 700 has been brought about, the respective combination 900 / 700 moves from the floor 950 onto the rails 10 which are attached to the floor 950 (Fig. 11 B). Subsequently, the struts 725 are moved slightly downwards, as a result of which these rest on the supporting surface 906 of crate cart 900 and the running wheels 702 become clear of the floor 950 to a limited degree.

[0103] Thus, the combination of the crate cart 900 and the gantry cart 700 with running wheels 701 of gantry cart 700 and running wheels 901 of crate cart 900 comes to rest on the rails. In order to render running wheels 701 suitable for running across floor 950 and on rails 10, these are adjustable up and down to a limited degree, as is illustrated in Fig. 11 B. In this case, swivel wheels 903 and running wheels 904 of the crate cart 900 as well as running wheels 702 of the gantry cart 700 extend on the outer side of the rails 10. The combination of the gantry cart 700 and the crate cart 900 drives along on the rails 10 until it strikes against the rear side of robot vehicle 800 and is rigidly coupled thereto in a way which may be similar, for example, to the way in which crate vehicle 200 is rigidly coupled to robot vehicle 100. In this way, robot vehicle 800, gantry cart 700 and crate cart 900 are only able to move together on rails 10.

[0104] Subsequently, the bottom crate of each of the stacks 610-1 to 610-4 is successively gripped by clamping jaws 724 and lifted and subsequently transferred to two clamping jaws 722. In Fig. 11C, stack 610-1 has already been transferred by clamping jaws 724 to a pair of clamping jaws 722 and stack 610-2 is lifted up, with clamping jaws 724 gripping the bottom crate of stack 610-2 and the girders 730 moving upwards. The other two stacks 610-3 and 610-4 still have to be lifted up in order to be gripped by the respective clamping jaws 722, as is illustrated in Fig. 11 D.

[0105] From this situation, clamping jaws 724 can always accept a bottom crate 250 from the stacks 610-1 to 610-4 from a respective pair of clamping jaws 722 and move it to a filling position 896 on harvesting trolley 800 in a way which will be clear to the person skilled in the art on the basis of the above description of Figs. 9A to 9L. The crates which are completely filled at the transfer location 896 can subsequently be moved back to crate cart 900 and in the process come to rest on the supporting surface 906 thereof or on another, already filled crate 250. Fig. 11 D shows that crate A1 , after it has been filled, is moved to the position which the respective crate 250 already had during supply of crate cart 900 according to Fig. 11 A. After it has been filled, crate B1 may be placed on crate A1 or next to crate A1 on the supporting surface 906. The eventual order of the filled crates 250 may ultimately be exactly the same as the order of the empty crates 250 when the crate cart 900 was supplied, but may also deviate therefrom.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system for harvesting stalked fruit, comprising a driven first vehicle which is configured to move in a first direction of travel, a manipulator which is provided on the first vehicle, a harvesting tool which is attached at one end of the manipulator and can be spatially manipulated by means of the manipulator, wherein the harvesting tool is configured for producing a separation in the stalk on which the fruit grows at the location of a harvesting position, the system further comprising a discharge device for discharging fruit whose associated stalk has been separated by the harvesting tool, into a container which is situated at a filling position, the system further comprising a first supporting surface which forms part of a vehicle of the system for supporting a stack of containers on the first supporting surface, which first supporting surface, viewed in the first direction of travel, has a length, wherein the system is provided with displacement means comprising lifting means with first gripping means, which lifting means are configured to grip a container forming part of a stack by means of the first gripping means thereof, and for lifting the stack of containers or at least an upper part of the stack from the first supporting surface, and wherein the displacement means are furthermore configured for repeatedly successively releasing, from the stack, a bottom container of a stack of containers raised by the lifting means, moving this container in the direction of the filling position to a second position, in which second position the container is outside the length of the first supporting surface, after this container has been filled with fruit by means of the discharge device, moving the filled container back to the first supporting surface, wherein this filled container comes to rest directly on the first supporting surface or will form part of a stack of filled containers which rest on the first supporting surface.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the displacement means comprise second gripping means with a second gripping member for gripping a container from a raised stack of containers.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the first vehicle is provided with the displacement means.

4. The system as claimed in claims 1 , 2 or 3, wherein the first supportingsurface forms part of a second vehicle which is configured to move in a second direction of travel.

5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the system is provided with first coupling means for detachably coupling the first vehicle and the second vehicle so as to be aligned in the first direction of travel and in the second direction of travel with respect to each other.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein if the first vehicle and the second vehicle are coupled by means of the first coupling means and the second position extends within the length of the first vehicle.

7. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the first vehicle has a second supporting surface for supporting a container thereon, wherein the second position extends within the length of the second supporting surface.

8. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the first supporting surface is a fixed surface.

9. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the first supporting surface extends parallel to a horizontal plane.

10. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the filling position and the second position are equal to each other.11 . The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the filling position forms part of the first vehicle.

12. The system as claimed in claim 4 or a claim dependent thereon, wherein the second vehicle is of the driven type.

13. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the system comprises rails wherein the first vehicle is configured to move on the rails.

14. The system as claimed in claim 4 or a claim dependent thereon and as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second vehicle is configured to move on the rails.

15. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the first supporting surface is configured for supporting two or more stacks of containers on the first supporting surface, which stacks are arranged in a row which extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the second vehicle.

16. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the displacement means comprise a horizontal guide and the first gripping means comprise a first gripping member which is configured to grip a container, and which is connected to the horizontal guide so as to be movable to and fro between a first longitudinal position in which, when the system is in use, the first gripping member extends within the length of the first supporting surface, and a second longitudinal position in which the first gripping member extends outside the length of the first supporting surface.

17. The system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the displacement means comprise a first post resting on the first vehicle and the horizontal guide is connected to the first post so as to be movable up and down.

18. The system as claimed in claim 16 or 17, wherein the displacement means comprise two first posts resting on the first vehicle and situated opposite each other, and two horizontal guides situated opposite each other, which guides are each connected to an associated first post so as to be movable up and down, and the first gripping means comprise two first gripping members which are configured to grip a container from opposite sides of the container and which are movable to and fro with respect to an associated horizontal guide between the first longitudinal position and the second longitudinal position.

19. The system as claimed in claim 16, 17 or 18, wherein the displacement means comprise a first post and a second post which each rest on a vehicle of the system, and comprise a horizontal guide which is connected to both the first post and the second post so as to be movable up and down, and the first gripping meanscomprise a first gripping member which is configured to grip a container and is movable to and fro with respect to the horizontal guide between the first longitudinal position and the second longitudinal position.

20. The system as claimed in claim 16, 17, 18 or 19, wherein the displacement means comprise two first posts resting on a vehicle of the system and situated opposite each other, two second posts resting on said vehicle and situated opposite each other and two horizontal guides, which guides are connected to an associated first post and second post so as to each be movable up and down, wherein the first posts, viewed in the direction of travel of the respective vehicle, are provided at a distance with the second posts and the first gripping means comprise two first gripping member which are configured to grip a container from opposite sides of the container and, viewed in the first direction of travel, are connected to an associated horizontal guide so as to be movable to and fro between the first longitudinal position and the second longitudinal position.

21. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the system comprises a third vehicle which is configured to move in a third direction of travel and is provided with the displacement means.

22. The system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the third vehicle is of the driven type.

23. The system as claimed in 4 or a claim which is dependent thereon and as claimed in claim 21 or 22, wherein the system is provided with second coupling means for detachably coupling the second vehicle and the third vehicle so as to be aligned in the second direction of travel and in the third direction of travel with respect to each.

24. The system as claimed in Claim 21 , 22 or 23, wherein the third vehicle comprises two first running wheels which are aligned with respect to each other which are provided a first distance apart, and two second running wheels which are aligned with respect to each other and which are provided, viewed in the third direction of travel, at a distance from the first running wheels and which are provided a seconddistance apart, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance.

25. The system as claimed in one of claims 21 to 24, wherein the third vehicle comprises operable supporting means in order to be supported on the second vehicle in the operational state.

26. The system as claimed in claim 25, wherein the supporting means are configured to keep the second running wheels clear from the floor on which the second vehicle rests with its running wheels.

27. The system as claimed in one of the claims 21 to 26, wherein the system is provided with third coupling means for detachably coupling the first vehicle and the third vehicle so as to be aligned in the first direction of travel and in the third direction of travel with respect to each other.

28. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the discharge device is configured for transporting fruit away from the harvesting position.

29. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the discharge device comprises a sliding guide which is configured to allow fruit to slide downwards along a curved path towards a collection point, after the harvesting tool has produced a separation in the stalk thereof.

30. The system as claimed in claim 29, wherein the sliding guide extends from the harvesting tool.

31. The system as claimed in claim 29 or 30, wherein an upper end of the curved path has a downward sliding guide direction which encloses an angle of at most 30 degrees with a vertical line or runs parallel to a vertical line and / or a bottom end has a sliding guide direction which slopes downwards at an angle of at most 30 degrees with a horizontal plane.

32. The system as claimed in claim 29, 30 or 31 , wherein the harvesting tool comprises a separating device for producing a separation in the stalk on which a plantgrows by means of a cutting operation.

33. The system as claimed in one of claims 29 to 32, wherein the harvesting tool also comprises a positioning device for positioning a plant to be harvested in a positioning space thereof during the separating action of the harvesting tool.

34. The system as claimed in claim 33, wherein the positioning device comprises a supporting body for temporarily supporting a plant during and / or immediately after the separating operation of the harvesting tool.

35. The system as claimed in claim 34, wherein the supporting body is displaceable between an operational position and a non-operational position.

36. The system as claimed in claim 35, wherein the supporting body is configured to separate a flower on the bottom side from a plant supported by the supporting body from said plant due to displacement from the operational position to the non-operational position.

37. The system as claimed in one of claims 29 to 36, wherein the positioning device comprises at least two positioning bodies, wherein the at least two positioning bodies are configured to assume a closed position or an open position together in order to, in the closed position, at least determine the positioning space in which the at least two positioning bodies, at least in top view, surround fruit in the positioning space in such a manner that fruit cannot escape from the positioning space in a horizontal direction, and in order to, in the open position, provide space for the fruit to enter the positioning space due to the fact that at least two positioning bodies pass from the open position to the closed position after the fruit has entered.

38. The system as claimed in one of claims 29 to 37, wherein the sliding guide is rigidly connected to the harvesting tool and is configured to be manipulated by the manipulator together with the harvesting tool.

39. The system as claimed in one of claims 29 to 37, wherein the manipulator is configured to move the harvesting tool towards the sliding guide andaway from the sliding guide.

40. The system as claimed in one of claims 29 to 39, wherein the system is provided with a collecting device at the location of the collection point.

41. The system as claimed in claim 40, wherein the system is provided with a conveying device and the collecting device is configured for transferring harvested fruit to the conveying device, wherein the conveying device is configured for conveying the harvested fruit from the collecting device to a collecting container.

42. The system as claimed in claim 40 or 41 , wherein the collecting device comprises a supporting surface which is inclined towards the conveying device for the harvested plants.

43. The system as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the first vehicle is a self-propelled vehicle.

44. A method for using a system according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps: resting a stack of empty containers on the first supporting surface, producing a separation in the stalk on which the fruit grows by means of the harvesting tool at the location of the harvesting position, discharging the fruit to the filling position by means of the discharge device, repeatedly successively releasing, from the stack, a bottom container of a stack of containers raised by the lifting means, moving this container to the second position, after this container has been filled with fruit by means of the discharge device, moving the filled container back to the first supporting surface, wherein this filled container comes to rest directly on the first supporting surface or will form part of a stack of filled containers which rest on the first supporting surface.

45. The method as claimed in claim 44, wherein it is carried out in a glasshouse in an aisle between two rows of plants on which fruit to be harvested grows.

Images