JP7285467B2 - harvesting robot - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a harvesting robot that automatically harvests fruits such as tomatoes and apples.

As a conventional harvesting robot, there is one equipped with a storage basket supply device that stores a large number of storage baskets and supplies them in a timely manner (for example, Patent Document 1). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional harvesting robot described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, an imaging device 601 has a role of detecting a distance from a fruit to be harvested, and an arm 602 grips and plucks the fruit, and after turning, it is stored in a storage basket 603 . The storage basket 603 is independently supplied by a storage basket supply device 604 . These are arranged on the upper side of the chassis 605 and the wheels 606 are arranged on the lower side to constitute the vehicle body. When manually operating the harvesting robot, an operation panel 607 and a steering lever 608 provided on the front surface of the storage basket supply device 604 are used.

JP-A-7-87829

However, in the conventional configuration, the harvested fruits are placed in a storage basket and released to the ground when the storage basket is full. In addition to being a hindrance to other workers and working robots, the discharged storage baskets must be collected one by one by one person, and the collection work takes time. Another problem is that the empty harvesting baskets must be manually set to the harvesting robot periodically and in a timely manner, which is time-consuming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the conventional problems described above and to provide a harvesting robot capable of efficiently performing harvesting work.

The main disclosure that solves the above-mentioned problems is
n (n is an integer of 3 or more) storage baskets arranged along the vertical direction;
a first gripping member that grips the lowest storage basket among the n storage baskets;
a second gripping member that grips a k-th storage basket (k is an integer equal to or greater than 2 and equal to or smaller than n) from the lowest layer among the n storage baskets;
a lift mechanism for moving the first gripping member or the second gripping member up and down;
a harvesting mechanism including an arm for harvesting the object;
with
The second gripping member is configured to change a storage basket to be gripped from among the n storage baskets,
The first gripping member supports, of the n storage baskets, from the bottom storage basket to the (k−1)-th storage basket,
The second gripping member supports the stacked storage baskets from the k-th layer storage basket to the n-th storage basket among the n storage baskets,
The lift mechanism vertically moves the first gripping member or the second gripping member so that a space is formed between the k-th layer storage basket and the (k−1)-th storage basket,
The harvesting mechanism stores the harvested target object in the k−1 storage basket,
A harvesting robot.

As described above, according to the harvesting robot of the present invention, harvesting work can be performed efficiently.

Side view of a harvesting robot in the present disclosure Process cross-sectional views showing the harvesting operation in the first embodiment. Process cross-sectional views showing the harvesting operation in the second embodiment. Process cross-sectional views showing the harvesting operation in the third embodiment Schematic top view showing the operation flow of the first gripping member in the present embodiment A diagram showing a conventional harvesting robot described in Patent Document 1

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of harvesting robot)
1 is a side view of a harvesting robot in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG. In FIG. 1, a harvesting mechanism 101 includes an arm 103 for harvesting fruit to be harvested and placing it in a storage basket 102 .

Various methods of harvesting by the harvesting mechanism 101 have conventionally been proposed according to the type of fruit, so detailed description thereof will be omitted. An appropriate harvesting method is selected according to the type of target fruit.

The storage basket 102 is gripped by a second gripping member 109 and a first gripping member 108, respectively.

The arm 103 has a function of holding the harvested object at its tip. Specifically, the arm 103 has, for example, a vacuum suction mechanism that sucks and holds the harvested fruit by the harvesting mechanism 101, a case that temporarily holds the harvested fruit, and the like. Note that the mechanism may be arranged near the tip of the arm 103 as long as it is arranged at a position where the harvested objects can be stored in the storage basket as described later.

The imaging device 104 images the harvest target for harvesting, and also images the storage basket 102 placed on the ground.

The control device 105 specifies the position of the storage basket from the image data captured by the imaging device 104, and controls the self-propelled carriage 106 to guide it to the specified position of the storage basket.

The self-propelled carriage 106 is controlled by the control device 105 and runs on wheels 107 arranged at the front and rear portions thereof. The self-propelled carriage 106 is generally called an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The first gripping member 108 grips the bottom storage basket 102 of the stacked storage baskets 102 .

The second gripping member 109 grips any storage basket 102 other than the storage basket 102 gripped by the first gripping member 108 .

The storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 and the first gripping member 108 is arranged coaxially in the vertical direction with respect to the ground.

The first lift mechanism 110 is controlled by the control device 105 to drive the first gripping member 108 up and down.

The second lift mechanism 111 is controlled by the control device 105 and vertically drives the second grip member 109 .

The second gripping member 109 and the first gripping member 108 grip the storage basket 102 by pinching it, and release it by loosening the pinching. The second gripping member 109 and the first gripping member 108 may be controlled in gripping and releasing motion by the controller 105, or may be controlled using other techniques. For example, when an object to be grasped is detected using a sensor or the like, the information may be directly fed back to drive.

The first gripping member 108 is positioned above the bottom surface of the storage basket 102 and grips the storage basket 102 at a position where the distance between the bottom surface of the first gripping member 108 and the bottom surface of the storage basket 102 is a distance L. . The first lift mechanism 110 is configured to move the first gripping member 108 until the distance between the bottom surface of the first gripping member 108 and the ground becomes the distance L or less.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the first gripping member 108 is provided with a stopper 501 . Details of the stopper 501 will be described later.

The operation of the harvesting robot configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 2 is a process cross-sectional view showing the harvesting operation in the first embodiment. Embodiment 1 assumes the harvesting operation by the main operation of the second lift mechanism 111 . Although FIG. 2 exemplifies a case in which there are four storage baskets, any number of storage baskets may be provided.

Movement of the second lift mechanism 111 , described below, is controlled by the controller 105 .

First, as shown in FIG. 2( a ), the first gripping member 108 grips the storage basket 102 on the bottom layer of the stacked storage baskets 102 .

Next, the second gripping member 109 descends by the second lift mechanism 111, grips the storage basket 102 on the second stage from the bottom, and ascends (FIG. 2(b)). In this state, the harvesting operation is performed by the harvesting mechanism 101 shown in FIG.

Further, the arm 103 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the space formed between the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 and the storage basket 102 one layer below, and the harvested objects are picked up. They are stored in the storage basket 102 on the bottom layer. Specifically, the arm 103, for example, releases the suction of a vacuum suction mechanism that suction-holds the fruit harvested by the harvesting mechanism 101, or moves the fruit harvested from the case to the storage basket 102 by rotating or vibrating. do.

Here, the arm 103 needs to be inserted into the space between the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 and the storage basket 102 one layer below. Therefore, the control device 105 determines the insertion height of the arm 103 . For example, the control device 105 determines the insertion height of the arm 103 based on the position of the above-described interval measured using a camera or the like having an imaging device. Also, for example, the control device 105 determines the insertion height of the arm 103 based on the position of the second gripping member 109 measured using a sensor or the like. More specifically, the control device 105 inserts the arm 103 to a position where it is estimated that the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 and the arm 103 do not interfere.

When the lowermost storage basket 102 is full, the second gripping member 109 descends to once stack all the storage baskets 102 . Then, the second gripping member 109 releases the storage basket 102 on the second stage from the bottom, rises by the height of one storage basket 102, grasps the storage basket 102 on the third stage from the bottom, and ascends (FIG. 2). (c)).

Here, the control device 105 determines that the storage basket 102 has become full. For example, when the number of reciprocations of the arm 103 exceeds a preset number, the control device 105 determines that the storage basket 102 is full. Further, for example, the number of objects stored in the storage basket 102 is measured using a camera or the like having an imaging device, and the control device 105 detects that the storage basket 102 is full when the number exceeds a preset number. to judge. Also, for example, the weight of the storage basket 102 is measured using a weight scale or the like, and the control device 105 determines that the storage basket 102 is full when the weight exceeds a preset weight.

In this state, the interrupted harvesting operation is resumed, the arm 103 is inserted into the space formed above the storage basket 102 on the second stage from the bottom, and the harvested objects are transferred to the storage basket on the second stage from the bottom. Store in 102.

Thereafter, the process is repeated in the same manner and transitions to FIG. 2(d) and FIG. 2(e). Finally, the second gripping member 109 does not grip the storage basket 102, as shown in FIG. 2(e). When the uppermost storage basket 102 among the loaded storage baskets 102 is full, the harvesting operation is finished.

After that, the first gripping member 108 descends to lower the storage basket 102 to the ground. In addition, when lowering the storage basket 102 to the ground, it may be moved to an appropriate place.

In this way, the second gripping member 109, the first gripping member 108, and the second lift mechanism 111 that vertically drives the second gripping member 109 hold the plurality of storage baskets 102 and move the storage baskets 102 to the respective storage baskets 102. Objects can be stored sequentially. Therefore, harvesting can be performed continuously, and harvesting efficiency is improved. Furthermore, it is possible to increase the yield in one harvesting operation. Furthermore, since the filled storage baskets 102 are not scattered on the ridge, it is possible to reduce the interference of other workers and working robots with the released storage baskets 102. . In addition, by discharging a plurality of full storage baskets 102 at once, the collection efficiency of the stored harvest baskets 102 is improved. In addition, at the start of harvesting work, it is sufficient to simply load empty storage baskets, which is expected to save space and improve efficiency.

[effect]
As described above, the harvesting robot according to the present embodiment
n (n is an integer equal to or greater than 3) storage baskets 102 arranged along the vertical direction;
a first gripping member 108 that grips the lowest storage basket 102 among the n storage baskets 102;
a second gripping member 109 that grips the k-th storage basket 102 (k is an integer equal to or greater than 2 and equal to or smaller than n) from the lowest layer among the n storage baskets 102;
a lift mechanism (110 or 111) for moving the first gripping member 108 or the second gripping member 109 up and down;
a harvesting mechanism 101 including an arm 103 for harvesting objects;
with
The second gripping member 109 is configured to variably select the storage basket 102 to be gripped from among the n storage baskets 102,
The first gripping member 108 supports the storage basket 102 of the lowest layer to the storage basket 102 of the k-1th layer among the n storage baskets 102,
The second gripping member 109 supports the stacked storage baskets 102 to the n-th storage basket 102 among the n storage baskets 102 .

Therefore, according to the harvesting robot according to the present embodiment, it is possible to store objects in the storage baskets 102 while holding the plurality of storage baskets 102, so that the full storage baskets 102 are sequentially discharged to the ground. Harvesting work can be continued without This makes it possible to efficiently perform the harvesting work.

In particular, in the harvesting robot according to the present embodiment, the lift mechanism (110 or 111) is configured so that a space is formed between the k-th storage basket 102 and the (k−1)-th storage basket 102 so that the By moving the first gripping member 108 or the second gripping member 109 up and down, the harvesting mechanism 101 stores the harvested object in the storage basket 102 on the k−1th layer.

This makes it possible to efficiently perform the harvesting work.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a process cross-sectional view showing the harvesting operation in the second embodiment. Embodiment 2 assumes the harvesting operation by the main operation of the first lift mechanism 110 . Although FIG. 3 exemplifies the case where the number of storage baskets 102 is three, the number of storage baskets 102 may be any number. Moreover, explanations of parts common to the first embodiment may be omitted.

Movement of the first lift mechanism 110 , described below, is controlled by the controller 105 .

First, as shown in FIG. 3, the first gripping member 108 grips the storage basket 102 on the bottom layer of the stacked storage baskets.

Next, the first gripping member 108 is lifted by the first lift mechanism 110 and stops at a position where the second gripping member 109 can grip the second storage basket from the bottom. Then, the second gripping member 109 grips the second storage basket from the bottom (FIG. 3(b)).

Next, the first gripping member 108 is lowered by the first lift mechanism 110 to form a space above the lowermost storage basket (FIG. 3(c)). In this state, the harvesting operation is performed by the harvesting mechanism 101 shown in FIG. Further, the arm 103 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the space formed between the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 and the storage basket 102 one layer below, and the harvested objects are picked up. They are stored in the storage basket 102 on the bottom layer.

When the storage basket 102 on the bottom layer is full, the first gripping member 108 rises so as to return to the state shown in FIG. 3(b). That is, the first gripping member 108 is lifted so that the space between the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 and the storage basket 102 one layer below is eliminated. In this state, the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 is released, the storage basket 102 is raised by one storage basket, and the storage basket 102 on the third stage from the bottom is gripped. Then, the second gripping mechanism 109 descends to form a space above the storage basket 102 on the second stage from the bottom (Fig. 3(d)).

In this state, the interrupted harvesting operation is resumed, the arm 103 is inserted into the space formed above the storage basket 102 on the second stage from the bottom, and the harvested objects are transferred to the storage basket on the second stage from the bottom. Store in 102.

Thereafter, the same process is repeated until the top storage basket 102 is full, and the harvesting operation is completed (FIG. 3(e)).

After that, the first gripping member 108 descends to lower the storage basket 102 to the ground (FIG. 3(f)).

In this way, by the second gripping member 109, the first gripping member 108, and the first lift mechanism 110 that vertically drives the first gripping member 108, a plurality of storage baskets 102 are held while each storage basket 102 is lifted. Objects can be stored sequentially. Therefore, harvesting can be performed continuously, and harvesting efficiency is improved. Furthermore, it is possible to increase the yield in one harvesting operation. Furthermore, since the filled storage baskets are not scattered on the ridge road, it is possible to reduce the obstruction of other workers and working robots by the released storage baskets. In addition, by discharging a plurality of full storage baskets at once, the collection efficiency of harvesting baskets that have already been stored is improved. In addition, at the start of harvesting work, it is sufficient to simply load empty storage baskets, which is expected to save space and improve efficiency.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 4 is a process cross-sectional view showing the harvesting operation in the third embodiment. Embodiment 3 assumes harvesting operation by combined operation of the second lift mechanism 111 and the first lift mechanism 110 . Although FIG. 4 exemplifies the case where the number of storage baskets 102 is five, the number of storage baskets 102 may be any number. In addition, descriptions of parts common to the first or second embodiment may be omitted.

The movements of the second lift mechanism 111 and the first lift mechanism 110 , which will be described below, are controlled by the controller 105 .

First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the first gripping member 108 grips the storage basket 102 in the lowest layer among the stacked storage baskets 102 .

Next, the first gripping member 108 is lifted by the first lift mechanism 110 to lift the bottom storage basket 102 to a predetermined height. Then, the second gripping member 109 descends by the second lift mechanism 111 and grips the second harvesting basket 102 from the bottom (FIG. 4(b)). Here, the predetermined height is the lowest position within the stroke range of the arm 103 and the position where the harvesting basket 102 on the bottom layer can contain the target object. As a result, the driving of the first lift mechanism 110 can be minimized. In addition, the stacked storage baskets 102 do not have to be lifted more than necessary, and the center of gravity can be kept low. It should be noted that the predetermined height can be driven if it is higher than the above position. For example, in FIG. 4, the first lift mechanism 110 is raised above the above position.

Next, the second gripping member 109 is lifted by the second lift mechanism 111 to form a space above the lowermost storage basket 102 (FIG. 4(c)). In this state, the harvesting operation is performed by the harvesting mechanism 101 shown in FIG. Further, the arm 103 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the space formed between the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 and the storage basket 102 one layer below, and the harvested objects are picked up. They are stored in the storage basket 102 on the bottom layer.

When the storage basket 102 on the lowest layer is full, the second gripping member 109 descends so that the space between the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 and the storage basket 102 on the next lower layer disappears. In this state, the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 is released, the second gripping member 109 rises by one storage basket, or the first gripping member 108 descends by one storage basket, A gripping member 109 grips the storage basket 102 on the third stage from the bottom. Then, the second gripping member 109 rises to form a space above the storage basket 102 on the second stage from the bottom (Fig. 4(d)).

In this state, the interrupted harvesting operation is resumed, the arm 103 is inserted into the space formed above the storage basket 102 on the second stage from the bottom, and the harvested objects are transferred to the storage basket on the second stage from the bottom. Store in 102.

When the storage basket 102 on the second level from the bottom is full, the second gripping member descends again so that the space between the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 and the storage basket 102 one layer below disappears. do. In this state, the storage basket 102 gripped by the second gripping member 109 is released, the second gripping member 109 rises by one storage basket, or the first gripping member 108 descends by one storage basket, A gripping member 109 grips the storage basket 102 on the fourth stage from the bottom. Then, the second gripping member 109 rises to form a space above the storage basket 102 on the third stage from the bottom (FIG. 4(e)).

The harvesting operation suspended in this state is resumed. Thereafter, the same process is repeated (FIG. 4(f)), and the harvesting operation is completed when the uppermost storage basket 102 is full (FIG. 4(g)).

After that, the first gripping member 108 descends to lower the storage basket 102 to the ground (FIG. 4(h)).

In this way, the second gripping member 109, the first gripping member 108, the second lift mechanism 111 for vertically driving the second gripping member 109, and the first lift mechanism 110 for vertically driving the first gripping member 108 , while holding a plurality of storage baskets 102, objects can be sequentially stored in the respective storage baskets 102. - 特許庁Therefore, harvesting can be performed continuously, and harvesting efficiency is improved. Moreover, the same effects as in the first or second embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, in Embodiment 3, the stroke range of the arm 103 can be reduced, or the movement can be performed within the same stroke range, thereby improving the efficiency of the mechanism. Furthermore, when a large number of storage baskets are stacked, they can be gripped with the center of gravity held low, which improves safety and increases the number of storage baskets that can be stacked.

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view showing the operation flow of the first gripping member 108 in this embodiment. In addition, each structure is illustrated simply in FIG.

The first gripping member 108 pinches the storage basket 102 placed on the ground during the first or previous stage of the harvesting operation.

First, the imaging device 104 images the storage basket 102 placed on the ground (FIG. 5(a)). The control device 105 identifies the position of the storage basket 102 based on the image data captured by the imaging device 104 .

Next, based on the specified position of the storage basket 102, the control device 105 drives the self-propelled cart 106 so that the center axes of the storage basket 102 and the first gripping member 108 are aligned (FIG. 5B).

Next, the control device 105 advances the self-propelled cart 106 and stops it when the harvesting basket 102 comes into contact with the stopper 501 (FIG. 5(c)). A trigger for stopping may be based on image data from the imaging device 104 , or a contact sensor may be provided in the stopper 501 .

After that, the first gripping member 108 performs an operation of pinching the harvest 102 (FIG. 5(d)).

In this manner, the first gripping member 108, the imaging device 104, the control device 105, and the self-propelled carriage 106 can automatically detect and grip a storage basket placed at an arbitrary position on the ground. can. As a result, work can be made more efficient.

Although one arm 103 is used in this embodiment, the harvesting mechanism 101 may have two arms. As the number of arms 103 increases, the harvesting work can be performed more efficiently.

In addition, although the imaging device 104 identifies the position of the harvest target and the position of the storage basket, it is also possible to have dedicated imaging devices separately.

Also, the control device 105 may perform its functions not only by a single computer but also by a plurality of computers.

In addition, although the second gripping member 109 and the first gripping member 108 respectively grip the storage basket 102, in the case of the storage basket 102 with a flange, the structure may be such that the flange is hooked to lift the storage basket 102 without chucking. can hold the storage basket 102 .

The harvesting robot of the present disclosure can sequentially store objects in a plurality of storage baskets while holding a plurality of storage baskets, and has a function of lowering the stacked storage baskets to the ground and scooping them up. In addition to work, it can also be applied to automation of picking and parts arrangement work in the assembly process of industrial products.

101 harvesting mechanism 102 storage basket 103 arm 104 imaging device 105 control device 108 first gripping member 109 second gripping member 110 first lift mechanism 111 second lift mechanism

Claims (6)

n (n is an integer of 3 or more) storage baskets arranged along the vertical direction;
a first gripping member that grips the lowest storage basket among the n storage baskets;
a second gripping member that grips a k-th storage basket (k is an integer equal to or greater than 2 and equal to or smaller than n) from the lowest layer among the n storage baskets;
a lift mechanism that vertically moves the first gripping member or the second gripping member;
a harvesting mechanism including an arm for harvesting the object;
with
The second gripping member is configured to change the storage basket to be gripped from among the n storage baskets,
The first gripping member supports, of the n storage baskets, from the bottom storage basket to the (k−1)-th storage basket,
The second gripping member supports the stacked storage baskets from the k-th layer storage basket to the n-th storage basket among the n storage baskets,
The lift mechanism vertically moves the first gripping member or the second gripping member so that a space is formed between the k-th layer storage basket and the (k−1)-th storage basket,
The harvesting mechanism stores the harvested target object in the storage basket of the k−1 layer,
harvesting robot. the harvesting mechanism disposes the arm in the space;
A harvesting robot according to claim 1 . The storage basket of the k-th layer is released from the gripping state of the storage basket of the k-th layer by the second gripping member, and the storage basket of the k-1th layer is moved from the storage basket of the k-th layer to the storage basket of the n-th layer. After being supported by the first gripping member so as to be stacked on top, t (t is an integer of 2 or more and n or less) from the lowest layer of the n storage baskets to the second gripping member. Further comprising a control device for gripping the storage basket of the second layer,
A harvesting robot according to claim 1 or 2 . Further comprising a self-propelled cart for running the harvesting robot,
Harvesting robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . an imaging device that captures an area around the harvesting robot;
Based on the image captured by the imaging device, the position of the storage basket placed on the ground is specified, the self-propelled carriage is guided to the specified position, and the storage basket is gripped by the first gripping member. and a control device that causes
A harvesting robot according to claim 4 . The first gripping member grips the storage basket of the lowest layer at a position where the distance between the lower surface of the storage basket and the lower surface of the first gripping member is L,
The lift mechanism is configured to move the first gripping member until the distance between the lower surface of the first gripping member and the ground becomes L or less.
Harvesting robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5 .

Images