CN113016355A

CN113016355A - Automatic robot, system and method for picking pinecones

Info

Publication number: CN113016355A
Application number: CN202110224320.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈龙; 李广琦
Original assignee: Shandong University
Current assignee: Shandong University
Priority date: 2021-03-01
Filing date: 2021-03-01
Publication date: 2021-06-25

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an automated robot, system and method for pine cone picking, comprising a mechanical arm pantograph mechanism; the mechanical arm scaling mechanism comprises a telescopic arm, a storage unit and a mechanical claw, wherein the storage unit is arranged in the telescopic arm, and the first end of the telescopic arm is connected with the mechanical claw; the mechanical claw is provided with a suction hole and a suction device, the suction hole is communicated with the storage unit, and the pine cones to be picked are conveyed to the storage unit from the suction hole through the suction device; the method has flexibility and feasibility, and is suitable for representing highly unstructured northeast forest land structures; the problem of the device is too big, it is inconvenient to move in pine forest, and the expense is higher moreover, needs the manpower to operate it, only is applicable to the large tracts of land and picks the problem, realizes automatic small-size harvesting, can satisfy the work needs and need not the manual work and carry out extra operation, uses manpower sparingly, raises the efficiency.

Description

Automatic robot, system and method for picking pinecones

Technical Field

The disclosure belongs to the field of intelligent robots, and particularly relates to an automatic robot and a method for picking pinecones.

Background

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not necessarily constitute prior art.

Picking pinecones in autumn is an important income for local farmers. However, the traditional method for picking pinecones is to pick pinecones manually, and the danger coefficient is high. Pine trees can be as high as thirty-four meters, pine cones all grow at the tips of branches, and once a picker is missing, the picker can be disabled. The picking personnel is required to be slim, and in recent years, with the improvement of living standard, the number of people meeting the picking requirement is less. Therefore, the invention is particularly important for the device suitable for picking the pine cones.

Two practical semi-automatic pine cone picking methods are put into practice at present: 1. the pine cone picking vibration machine 2 is used for picking by using hydrogen balloons. The obvious problems of the two methods are that the device is too large in size, inconvenient to move in pine forest, high in cost, and only suitable for large-area picking, and manpower is needed to operate the device. At present, the number of small-sized picking devices capable of realizing automation is small, and a device capable of meeting the requirement needs to be designed and invented.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problems, the automatic robot and the method for picking the pine cones are provided by the disclosure, mainly aiming at the limitation and difficulty of pine cone picking, the automatic picking is carried out by utilizing a micro unmanned aerial vehicle, an image recognition system, a range finder and a mechanical arm controlled by the micro unmanned aerial vehicle, the image recognition system, the range finder and the mechanical arm, and the requirements of pine cone storage and automatic pine cone unloading are met through a built-in storage unit and a filling device. The pine cone picking machine has the characteristics of low danger coefficient, realization of non-manual picking, automatic pine cone recovery, small size, suitability for pine forest environment and the like, can be used for picking and recovering of the pine cone of Korean pine, and can meet the working requirement.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides an automated robot for picking turpentine, comprising a mechanical arm pantograph mechanism; the mechanical arm scaling mechanism comprises a telescopic arm, a storage unit and a mechanical claw, wherein the storage unit is arranged in the telescopic arm, and the first end of the telescopic arm is connected with the mechanical claw; the mechanical claw is provided with a suction hole and a suction device, the suction hole is communicated with the storage unit, and the pine cones to be picked are conveyed to the storage unit from the suction hole through the suction device.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides an automated system for picking turpentines, comprising an automated robot for picking turpentines as described in the first aspect, with which the picking work is performed on turpentines to be picked.

In a third aspect, the present disclosure also provides a method of using an automated robot for picking pine cones, comprising:

the mechanical arm retraction mechanism is transported to a pine cone area to be picked through an unmanned aerial vehicle of the unmanned aerial vehicle system;

controlling the overall height of the robot according to the distance meter and the camera and identifying the position of the pine cone;

transmitting the image to a visual recognition system by using a camera to recognize the maturity of the pine cone;

the pine cones with the maturity meeting the requirements are grabbed by mechanical claws of a mechanical arm scaling mechanism, and the pine cones to be picked are conveyed to the storage unit from the suction holes through a suction device.

Compared with the prior art, this disclosure possesses following beneficial effect:

1. the automatic picking of the pine cones is carried out by adopting a mechanical arm scaling mechanism, the mechanical arm scaling mechanism comprises a telescopic arm, a storage unit and mechanical claws, the storage unit is arranged in the telescopic arm, and the first end of the telescopic arm is connected with the mechanical claws; the mechanical gripper is provided with a suction hole and a suction device, the suction hole is communicated with the storage unit, the pinecone to be picked is conveyed to the storage unit from the suction hole through the suction device, and the unmanned aerial vehicle is combined to carry out device movement, so that the device has flexibility and feasibility, and is suitable for representing a highly unstructured northeast forest land structure; the problem of the device is too big, it is inconvenient to move in the pine forest, and the expense is higher moreover, needs the manpower to operate it, only is applicable to the large tracts of land and picks the problem to how to realize automatic small-size harvesting is solved.

2. The automatic picking device utilizes the micro unmanned aerial vehicle, the image recognition system, the distance measuring instrument and the mechanical arm controlled by the distance measuring instrument to carry out automatic picking, meets the requirements of storing the pine cone and automatically unloading and loading the pine cone through the built-in storage device and the full measuring device, has the characteristics of low danger coefficient, realization of non-manual picking, automatic recovery of the pine cone, small size, adaptability to pine forest environment and the like, can be used for picking and recovering the Korean pine cone, can meet the working requirement, does not need manual extra operation, saves manpower and improves the efficiency;

3. the pine cone position can be detected by the visual identification system and the distance measuring instrument, and the device is controlled to pick and recover;

4. the picking machine does not need manual picking work, fundamentally avoids the danger possibly caused by manual picking, has high safety, and can be used for picking the pine cone of the Korean pine.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the application and, together with the description, serve to explain the application and are not intended to limit the application.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the operation of the disclosed apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the disclosed device operation;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a gripper of the present disclosure;

in the figure: 1. a camera; 2. a first range finder; 3. a gripper pantograph (built-in storage unit); 4. a gripper; 5. a suction machine; 6. a suction port; 7. a second rangefinder; 8. unidirectional anti-skid lines; 9. a universal joint.

The specific implementation mode is as follows:

the present disclosure is further described with reference to the following drawings and examples.

It should be noted that the following detailed description is exemplary and is intended to provide further explanation of the disclosure. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs.

It is noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments according to the present application. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, and it should be understood that when the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" are used in this specification, they specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, devices, components, and/or combinations thereof, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Example 1

As shown in fig. 1, the present disclosure provides an automated robot for pine cone picking comprising a robotic arm pantograph mechanism; the mechanical arm scaling mechanism comprises a telescopic arm, a storage unit and a mechanical claw, wherein the storage unit is arranged in the telescopic arm, and the first end of the telescopic arm is connected with the mechanical claw; the mechanical claw is provided with a suction hole and a suction device, the suction hole is communicated with the storage unit, and the pine cones to be picked are conveyed to the storage unit from the suction hole through the suction device.

Further, still include unmanned aerial vehicle system, unmanned aerial vehicle system includes unmanned aerial vehicle, and the second end of flexible arm is connected with unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle system still includes distancer, camera and vision identification system, the distancer is used for controlling the whole height of robot and makes the position that the robot can discern the pine cone, the camera is used for discerning the maturity of pine cone with image transmission to vision identification system. The visual identification system, the range finder and the camera are matched to realize the detection and the positioning of the pine cone. Specifically, the unmanned aerial vehicle comprises a rack and four rotor wings connected with the rack, a wing camera is mounted on the rack of the unmanned aerial vehicle, specifically on the upper surface of the rack, and a first range finder is mounted at one end of the rack; the mechanical arm scaling mechanism is arranged on the bottom surface of the frame; the support frame is still installed to unmanned aerial vehicle frame bottom for provide the supporting role on ground after falling.

Furthermore, the mechanical claw comprises a grabbing end, the grabbing end comprises a grabbing bracket, a second distance meter and grabbing fingers, the second distance meter and the grabbing fingers are arranged on the grabbing bracket, a suction hole is arranged in the center of the grabbing bracket, and the surface of the front end of each grabbing finger is provided with a one-way anti-skidding line; specifically, the gripper comprises a grabbing end, and the grabbing end is provided with one-way anti-skidding lines, so that a working target (mature pine cone) can be controlled and captured, the pine cone can be prevented from falling off, and meanwhile, the pine cone can enter the storage unit under the matching of a suction machine arranged in the gripper. The grabbing end comprises a second distance meter 7 and grabbing fingers, the surface of the front end of each grabbing finger is provided with a one-way anti-slip line 8, so that the grabbing of a target pine cone is controlled conveniently, and the grabbed pine cone is prevented from falling off; the gripper is provided with five second distance measuring devices 7 at one end for measuring the position of the pine cone to be gripped and for extending and retracting in cooperation with the pantograph system 3, and then enters the storage unit through the suction opening 6. The motor control system related in the device can adopt the existing general equipment.

Furthermore, the grabbing end comprises a grabbing support which is of a cylindrical structure, a support and a second distance meter are mounted on one side face of the cylindrical structure, the number of the support is five, the second distance meter is also provided with five regions respectively located between the five supports, the five supports are uniformly distributed around the circle center of the side face of the cylindrical structure, a suction hole is formed in the circle center, a mounting hole is formed in the support, and the grabbing finger is mounted on the mounting hole of the support and can rotate around the mounting hole for a set angle; five grabbing fingers which are uniformly distributed around the circle center are formed, and the five grabbing fingers can be opened and closed;

furthermore, the gripping fingers are of arc-shaped structures and can be of ratchet tooth-shaped structures, crescent shapes or petal shapes; one side surface of the arc-shaped structure is provided with a one-way anti-slip pattern.

Furthermore, the ends of the grabbing fingers are provided with bulges for cutting, and when the five grabbing fingers are closed, the five bulges can be closed to form a complete section so as to cut off branches connected with the pine cones; the bellying is the rectangle structure, and two sides of rectangle structure are the circular-arc of petal, and the circular-arc structure of grabbing the finger when grabbing the end closure can form closed taper shape, also is the bud form. The boss may be a cutter.

Furthermore, the mechanical arm scaling mechanism comprises a first telescopic arm, a second telescopic arm, a shaft fork and a universal joint, the first telescopic arm and the second telescopic arm are connected through the shaft fork and the universal joint, and the mechanical arm scaling mechanism rotates, swings and performs compound motion through the shaft fork and the universal joint.

Furthermore, the storage unit is partially overlapped with the mechanical arm scaling system, and a weight detection system and a vacuum suction machine are arranged in the storage unit. The storage unit is a tubular storage space and is arranged in the mechanical arm and composed of a hollow pipeline of the mechanical arm, so that the space utilization rate can be effectively improved, the size of the robot is reduced, and the storage unit is suitable for high-altitude operation environments.

Furthermore, the suction device is a suction machine which performs pine cone suction through an absorption hole arranged in the center of the mechanical claw.

Further, arm zoom system and gripper install under unmanned aerial vehicle, carry out picking object's seizure through cooperation vision recognition system.

Example 2

An automatic system for picking pinecones comprises the automatic robot for picking pinecones as described in the above embodiments, and picking operation is performed on pinecones to be picked by using the automatic robot for picking pinecones.

Example 3

A method of using an automated robot for picking pine cones, comprising:

controlling the overall height of the robot by the distance measuring instrument and the camera and identifying the position of the pine cone;

And when the storage unit reaches the storage upper limit, the mechanical arm retraction mechanism is transported to the ground for unloading and loosening the tower through the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Further, the unmanned aerial vehicle takes off to a certain height; the camera and the machine vision system find a proper pine cone target; positioning a camera and a range finder, and enabling the unmanned aerial vehicle to approach a target; the mechanical claw extends out and cooperates with the zooming system to enable the mechanical claw to capture a target; the pine cone is conveyed into a storage unit under the assistance of a suction machine; detecting whether the stored weight of the storage system reaches an upper limit; if the upper limit is reached, the mechanical claw is retracted and is matched with the unmanned aerial vehicle to retract the pine cone, otherwise, the unmanned aerial vehicle automatically searches the next target; realize non-artifical picking, retrieve pine cone automatically.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 1-2, when the device is started, the unmanned aerial vehicle on the ground flies to a certain height for cruising, so that the camera 1 searches for the acquisition target.

After the camera and the first distance meter 2 are positioned, the unmanned aerial vehicle approaches the target and enters the acquisition range.

The gripper 4 is then extended, which in cooperation with the zoom system 3 causes the gripper 4 to catch the target.

In the present disclosure, the gripper system realizes free motion in the acquisition range through the universal joint 9 and the zoom system 3, and the specific operations are as follows: after the target position is determined, the zooming system 3 controls the mechanical claw 4 to extend, and the top universal joint 9 controls the mechanical claw to rotate, lift and fall; the mechanical claw 4 captures a target, meanwhile, a suction machine 5 is arranged in the mechanical claw to work, and the pine cones are conveyed into a storage unit to achieve the purpose of recycling; after recovery, the weight detection system judges whether the upper limit is reached, the mechanical claw 4 is recovered after the upper limit is reached, and the unmanned aerial vehicle returns to the ground to unload the pine cone; otherwise, the unmanned aerial vehicle automatically searches the next target; the above processes are repeated to enable the device of the present disclosure to meet the requirements of non-manual picking of pinecones and automatic recovery.

As shown in fig. 3, the grabbing end consists of a second distance meter 7 and grabbing fingers, the front end surfaces of the grabbing fingers are provided with one-way anti-slip lines 8, so that the grabbing of the target turrets is controlled conveniently, and the grabbed turrets are prevented from falling off; the tips of the gripping fingers are provided with five second distance measuring devices 7 for measuring the position of the pine cone to be gripped and for extending and retracting in cooperation with the pantograph system 3, and then enter the storage unit through the suction opening 6. The motor control systems involved in the device can all adopt the existing general equipment, and are not further explained and introduced.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and various modifications and changes may be made to the present disclosure by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An automatic robot for picking pinecones is characterized by comprising a mechanical arm scaling mechanism; the mechanical arm scaling mechanism comprises a telescopic arm, a storage unit and a mechanical claw, wherein the storage unit is arranged in the telescopic arm, and the first end of the telescopic arm is connected with the mechanical claw; the mechanical claw is provided with a suction hole and a suction device, the suction hole is communicated with the storage unit, and the pine cones to be picked are conveyed to the storage unit from the suction hole through the suction device.

2. An automated robot for pine cone picking as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a drone system including a drone, the second end of the telescoping arm being connected with the drone.

3. An automated robot for pine cone picking as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drone system further comprises a rangefinder for controlling the overall height of the robot and enabling the robot to identify the location of the pine cones, a camera for transmitting images to a visual identification system to identify the maturity of the pine cones and a visual identification system.

4. The automated robot for picking pinecones according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical claw comprises a grabbing end, the grabbing end comprises a grabbing bracket, a second distance meter and grabbing fingers, the second distance meter and the grabbing fingers are both arranged on the grabbing bracket, a suction hole is arranged in the center of the grabbing bracket, and the front end surface of the grabbing fingers is provided with one-way anti-skidding lines.

5. The automatic robot for picking pinecones according to claim 4, wherein the grabbing end comprises a grabbing bracket, the grabbing bracket is of a cylindrical structure, a support and a second distance meter are mounted on one side surface of the cylindrical structure, the support is provided with a mounting hole, and the grabbing finger is mounted on the mounting hole of the support and can rotate around the mounting hole for a set angle.

6. An automated robot for pine cone picking as claimed in claim 5 wherein the gripping fingers are arcuate in configuration, either ratchet tooth, crescent or petal; one side surface of the arc-shaped structure is provided with a one-way anti-slip pattern.

7. An automated robot for pine cone picking as claimed in claim 5 wherein the ends of the gripping fingers have a cutting action lobe which is a rectangular structure with two sides of the rectangular structure being radiused; the grabbing fingers and the support are all provided with five grabbing fingers and five supporting seats, the grabbing fingers and the support are all arranged around the circle center of the grabbing support, and a closed conical shape is formed when the grabbing end is closed.

8. An automated robot for picking turpentine as defined in claim 1, wherein said mechanical arm pantograph mechanism comprises a first telescopic arm, a second telescopic arm, a shaft fork and a universal joint, the first telescopic arm and the second telescopic arm are connected through the shaft fork and the universal joint, and the shaft fork and the universal joint are connected to rotate, swing and compound motion.

9. An automated system for picking pine cones, comprising an automated robot for picking pine cones according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the automated robot for picking pine cones is used for picking operation of pine cones to be picked.

10. A method of using an automated robot for picking pine cones, comprising: