Tomato Leaf Removal Robot With Cutting and Disinfection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pruning and leaf removal operations in large-scale agriculture are labor-intensive, inefficient, and prone to damage plants due to manual labor, with existing robots causing damage and lacking disinfection and collection mechanisms, leading to cross-contamination and increased workload.
Innovation Solution
A tomato leaf removal robot equipped with a depth camera for identification, a telescopic arm for precise cutting, a disinfection device for hygiene, and a collecting frame for automated foliage collection, enabling full-automatic pruning and leaf removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual labor is used for pruning and leaf removal, then operation flexibility is maintained, but labor intensity increases and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs pruning operations autonomously by identifying foliage targets, navigating to positions, and executing cuts without continuous human intervention. The system serves itself by integrating sensing, decision-making, and actuation capabilities into a single autonomous unit that can operate independently in the field.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical pruning operations with an automated robotic system that uses depth cameras for detection, robotic arms for positioning, and cutting mechanisms for foliage removal. This substitution eliminates the need for human workers to physically handle pruning tools while maintaining the mechanical cutting function.
2Extent of automation
If existing pruning robots use pulling action to remove leaves, then automation is achieved, but plant damage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of pulling leaves off the plant as existing robots do, this patent inverts the approach by using cutting action to separate foliage from the main plant body. The cutting mechanism cleanly severs the connection between leaves and stems, avoiding the damaging pulling forces that can tear plant tissues and damage remaining foliage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the harmful pulling action from the leaf removal process and replaces it with a cutting-based separation method. By removing the pulling mechanism entirely and using only cutting action, the system achieves automated leaf removal without the harmful effects of mechanical stress on plant tissues.
3Volume of moving object
If telescopic mechanisms are designed for compactness, then space utilization improves, but extension length is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic mechanism employs a nested doll structure where multiple telescopic tubes are arranged concentrically, with each tube containing the next smaller tube. This nesting arrangement allows the mechanism to achieve significant extension length while maintaining a compact retracted profile, effectively resolving the contradiction between compactness and extension capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescopic mechanism is divided into multiple segmented tubes that can extend and retract relative to each other. This segmentation allows the system to achieve long extension lengths through cumulative displacement of multiple sections, while the segmented structure can be compactly stored when retracted, solving both requirements simultaneously.
4Reliability
If disinfection and collection devices are added to the robot, then plant health protection improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the disinfection device and collection device with the existing robotic platform by integrating them into the same chassis and control system. The disinfection spray mechanism is combined with the cutting arm assembly, and the collection container is integrated into the robot's body structure, reducing overall system complexity compared to separate independent systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic platform is designed with multi-functionality, serving as both a pruning robot and a disinfection/collection system. The same robotic arm that performs cutting also positions the disinfection spray, and the collection container serves both as waste storage and as part of the robot's structural framework, thereby reducing the need for separate dedicated systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A tomato leaf removal robot for facilities and a leaf removal method are provided. The robot includes a walking body for walking, a depth camera mounted on the walking body and configured to identify and position to-be-pruned foliage; a rotation support body capable of rotation from side to side and connected to the walking body; a telescopic arm base capable of swinging up and down and connected to the rotation support body; a telescopic shaft mounted on the telescopic arm base; a cutting device mounted at a front end of the telescopic shaft; and a collecting frame mounted on the walking body. The robot also includes a disinfection device configured to disinfect a cutting blade and a pruning cut.