JPH0150365B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fruit harvesting device for harvesting mandarin oranges, apples, and other fruits. The present invention relates to a fruit harvesting device including a control means for moving a fruit picking section attached to a moving means to a position where the fruit can be picked based on the result.

Traditionally, fruit harvesting has been done by hand, and is currently not mechanized. However, since such harvesting work not only requires a lot of manpower but also involves unexpectedly heavy labor, it is desired to mechanize it, and a fruit harvesting device having a novel configuration as described above is considered as such a device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in configuring the fruit harvesting device having the above configuration,
The operator can specify the fruit to be picked while always staying in a fixed location, the operation for specifying the specification is easy, and the position of the specified fruit can be detected accurately, allowing the worker to perform the picking operation reliably. The purpose is to make you feel like you.

In order to achieve this object, the fruit harvesting device of the present invention has the above configuration, and includes a television camera whose direction can be changed and a spot light beam emitting device whose direction of emission can be changed as the detection means. The spot light emitting device is moved so that the spot light beam scans on a virtual straight line extending from the camera in the direction in which the fruit imaged on the screen is located, and an image is generated for the imaged position of the fruit on the screen. The present invention is characterized in that it includes means for detecting the position of the fruit by the principle of triangulation based on the direction of the virtual straight line and the direction of the spot light emitting device when the signal changes in a predetermined manner. This is what I did.

Because of this characteristic configuration, the direction in which the fruit is located can be detected from the direction of the television camera and the position of the fruit on the camera screen. Then, the distance to the fruit can be detected by scanning the spot light emitting device on a virtual straight line extending from the camera in the detected direction. Therefore, it has been possible to obtain a fruit harvesting device that can perform harvesting operations by simply changing the direction of the television camera one after another.

Examples will be described below based on the drawings.

() Overall structure Figures 1 and 2 respectively show the external appearance of a fruit harvesting device that is an embodiment of the present invention. , a monitor device 8 installed separately from the aircraft
An example of a remote-controlled fruit harvesting device that operates based on instructions from a user is shown.

The riding type fruit harvesting device shown in FIG. The remote-controlled fruit harvesting device shown in the figure has a frame-shaped main body 1 that can be used even when the fruit trees are small, such as mandarin oranges, and the distance between adjacent fruit trees is narrow. is configured to do so.

Each of these fruit harvesting devices has a main body 1 equipped with a traveling device 2 so as to be able to move to any desired location, a position detection device 3 installed on the main body 1 to detect the position of the fruit, and a fruit harvesting device 3 that is installed on the main body 1 to detect the position of the fruit. Device 4
It consists of

This picking device 4 is composed of a multi-jointed arm 5 having multiple degrees of freedom, and a picking section 6 attached to the tip of the arm 5. It is configured to be moved to a position where the fruit can be picked.
The multi-joint arm 5, which is this means of movement, is as follows:
A hydraulically driven link structure as shown in Figure 1, an electric type with a high rigidity structure as shown in Figure 2, and a flexible structure with many joints. An articulated arm with one degree of freedom can be used.

It is also possible to transport the fruits picked by the picking section 6 at the tip of the arm 5 to a storage section provided at a predetermined location by moving the arm 5, but this is not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the shown fruit harvesting device, in order to improve the efficiency of harvesting work, a transport cylinder 7 having elasticity and flexibility is connected to the main body 1 from the picking part 6, and through this transport cylinder 7,
It is configured to transport the fruit to a storage section (not shown) within the main body 1. In addition, in the case shown in FIG. 1, by providing such a transport cylinder 7 inside the arm 5, it is possible to prevent the transport cylinder 7 from interfering with the movement of the arm 5, and to prevent the movement of the arm 5 from becoming a hindrance. This increases the selectivity of the mounting position of the arm 5.

Reference numeral 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an embodiment of a fruit position detecting device constructed using a television camera 9, etc., and its detailed configuration and operation will be described later.

The traveling device 2 can be configured to move up and down with respect to the main body 1, or to be provided with an auxiliary device such as an outrigger so that it can be applied to slopes.

() Structure of the picking section As shown in FIG. 3, the picking section 6 has a cylindrical catching section 10, and the upper opening of the catching section 10 has a guide section 11 that expands upward. It is arranged so that air can be sucked through the upper opening.

The guide section 11 is configured to have the function of a contact sensor that detects the direction in which an object makes contact and emits a signal, and controls the arm 5 based on this signal, which will be described in detail later, to the capturing section 10. The picking part 6 at the tip of the arm 5 is moved so that the fruit is introduced. Further, an upwardly opened exhaust port 19 is provided around the guiding part 11 in order to blow away leaves and the like around the picking part 6 when it approaches the fruit.

Further, the guide section 11 is composed of a plurality of contact members 11a configured to be slightly rotatable downward so as to have the function of the contact sensor 11c as described above, and each contact member Each of the contact members 11a is provided with a switch 11b so that the rotation of the contact member 11a upon contact with the fruit can be detected. The contact sensor 11c is not limited to this configuration, and a contact sensor such as a touch sensor may be attached to the inner wall of the guiding portion 11.

A tenon cutting cutter 12 is provided at the upper end of the trapping section 10 in order to cut the tenon of the fruit introduced into the trapping section 10 with such a configuration.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cutter 12 has a structure in which a plurality of blades 14 are disposed inside the external ring gear 13, each having a gear portion that meshes with the external ring gear 13 and rotates around an axis X. have. The center of this external ring gear 13 is arranged so as to coincide with the center of the upper opening of the catching section 10, and an air motor 15 for rotating this external ring gear 13 is attached to the catching section 10. Now, when this external ring gear 13 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by the air motor 15, each blade 14 is rotated along the axis X fixed to the catching part 10.
It rotates in the direction of the arrow, and at this time, the intersection points come together at the center and cut the tenon. Therefore, the tenon is cut close to the center of the upper opening of the catching part 10, so that no excessive force is applied to the fruit and the fruit is not damaged, and the tenon is prevented from escaping to ensure reliable cutting. It is possible.

The positioning necessary for tenon cutting with the cutter 12 is performed by a control method described later based on signals from a plurality of optical sensors 16 provided immediately below the blade 14 of the cutter 12.

These optical sensors 16 have a structure consisting of a pair of a light emitting part 16a and a light receiving part 16b, and each sensor 16 has a structure in which the light is emitted from the center of the upper opening of the capturing part 10 to one side of approximately the width of a tenon. It is arranged so as to cross the opening. Therefore, when the fruit is at the position of the cutter 12, all the light is blocked, but when the tenon is at the position of the cutter 12, at least some of the light is not blocked due to its thinness. Based on the signals from these optical sensors 16, the picking section 6 is positioned so that the tenon is at the position of the cutter 12.

The same optical sensor 1 as described above is installed at the lower part of the capturing section 10.
7 are provided vertically at a predetermined interval so that the light passes through the central axis of the capturing section 10, and when positioning is performed based on the signals from the optical sensors 16, the bottom of the fruit is detected. By detecting the position of the object, the size thereof can be detected. Although these sensors 17 are provided for the purpose of detecting the size of the fruit, they can also be used to confirm that the fruit has entered the trap 10 reliably.

As described above, the opening at the bottom of the catcher 10 and the main body 1
It is connected to the storage section on the side by a flexible and stretchable transport cylinder 7, and the fruit picked by cutting the tenon is absorbed by the air sucked from the catching section 10 and its own weight. Then, it is transported to the storage section through this transport cylinder 7.

Exhaust air from an air pump 18 provided on the main body 1 side for suctioning air is guided through an exhaust passage 20 integrally held in the transport cylinder 7 to an exhaust port 19 of the guide section and an air motor 15 that drives the cutter 12. I'm being chased. air motor 15
Solenoid valves 21 and 2 are provided in the exhaust passage 20 that sends exhaust gas to
1' are provided, and these solenoid valves 21, 2
1' from the computer, air motor 15
The system is configured to control the operation of the system as necessary. In this way, this embodiment is configured to operate the cutter 12 for tenon cutting using exhaust gas, but an air cylinder may be used instead of the air motor, and another drive source such as an electric motor may be used to operate the cutter 12. 12 can also be operated.

Further, by selecting a material (for example, rubber) having an appropriate rigidity for the contact member 11a of the guide portion 11 according to the target fruit, the fruit picking operation can be performed reliably.

Alternatively, a part of the exhaust gas may be ejected into the upper opening of the trapping section 10 so that the fruit is centered with respect to the opening of the trapping section 10.

() Arm control The arm 5 is configured to be controlled by a computer, and the control computer includes a routine for moving the tip of the arm 5 to a given coordinate position, and a routine for moving the tip of the arm 5 to a given coordinate position. By preparing a routine that performs a basic operation such as moving a robot by a given amount, it can be programmed using a so-called robot language. The structure of this robot language, together with the control method of the arm 5, can be the same as the conventional structure.

Further, this computer is configured to be able to take in signals from a plurality of sensors and change control based on these signals, and includes contact sensors 11c consisting of the contact member 11a and its switch 11b, and The signals from the optical sensors 16, 17, . . . of the capturing section 10 are taken into a computer, and control is performed based on the signals from these sensors.

Control of the arm 5 by this computer is performed according to the sequences shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

First, as shown in Fig. 5A, the position of the fruit to be picked is read from the memory, which is a storage medium, and the position (R) is located a predetermined distance directly below that position.
The picking section 6 is moved to . The positions of the fruits are measured in advance by means described later, the order in which they should be picked is determined, the fruits are rearranged in that order and stored in memory, and at the stage of picking the fruits, they are simply read out from the memory in order.

The control moves to the next step, and based on the signals from the contact sensors 11c of the guide section 11, the contact sensors 11c that have contacted the fruit...
By moving the picking part 6 to the side, the picking part 6 is gradually raised while adjusting its horizontal position so that the catching part 10 moves directly below the fruit.

During this upward movement, when the optical sensors 16 provided at the upper opening of the trapping section 6 emit a signal indicating that all light is cut off, this is detected and the process moves to the stage indicated by control X. On the other hand, these optical sensors 1
If the light-shielding signal is not emitted even if 6... passes through the height read from the memory, the control moves from step to step ,
The operation of harvesting the fruit is stopped and the operation of harvesting the next fruit is started. If the bottom of the fruit enters the upper opening, which is the entrance of the trapping section 10, at the initial stage, the optical sensor 16 provided at the upper opening as described above...
A signal is emitted from , and control moves to stage X. Therefore, in the following sequence, it is confirmed whether or not what has entered the catching section 10 is a fruit, and only when it is confirmed that it is a fruit, the cutter 12 is operated to pick the fruit.

This method of fruit confirmation is such that after the optical sensors 16 installed in the upper opening of the trapping unit 10 emit the above-mentioned signals, a predetermined number of these optical sensors 16 emit signals when light passes through them. The distance that the picking part 6 rises during this period is measured, and only when this distance is within a predetermined range, the fruit enters the catching part 10, and its tenon is detected by these optical sensors 16...
It recognizes that the appropriate position has been reached and operates the cutter 12 to perform the picking operation.

That is, at the stage , measurement of the ascending distance is started. The next step is to cause an interrupt to occur when the optical sensor 16 provided in the upper opening of the capture section 6 issues a signal indicating that light passes through.

The picking section 6 is raised by the arm 5 according to the sequence shown. When the above-mentioned interruption occurs during this ascent, the control is transferred to the sequence shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the interrupt does not occur even after climbing a predetermined distance, the control
The process moves to the sequence shown in , where the operation for harvesting the fruit is stopped, the picking section 6 is returned to the initial position (R), and then the operation for harvesting the next fruit is started.

That is, at the stage where the control is transferred to the sequence shown in FIG. After the sequence, the control is transferred to the step shown in FIG. By checking the amount of rise in this manner, malfunctions caused by foreign matter such as leaves entering the trapping section 6 are prevented.

Now, if there is an increase by the predetermined amount,
Assuming that the fruit has entered the trapping section 6, the control shifts to the sequence shown by the blank in FIG. After detecting the size by ..., the cutter 12 is operated to pick the fruit. Then, the picking section 6 is returned to the initial position R, the fruit harvesting operation is finished, and the next fruit harvesting operation is started.

Incidentally, the size detected by the optical sensors 17 provided at the lower part of the capturing section 10 is used for sorting, but it can also be used to prevent malfunction. That is, the optical sensors 17 check whether or not there is fruit in the trap 10, and only when it is detected that the fruit is present, the valves 21 and 21' are operated to remove the cutter 1.
2 is configured to operate.

() Position detection device What is shown in Figure 6A is a principle diagram of the mechanism of an embodiment of the fruit position detection device, which is configured to operate based on the sequence shown in Figure 6B. be.

That is, the television camera 9 is configured to be rotatably driven around the first horizontal axis _E1 by a motor (not shown), and its optical axis t is adjusted so as to intersect perpendicularly to the axis _E1 . . On the other hand, the laser light source 22 as a spot beam emitting device is similarly configured to be rotatably driven around a second horizontal axis _E2 by a motor (not shown), and the optical axis r that coincides with the laser beam is centered around this axis _E2. It is adjusted so that it intersects perpendicularly to . Further, the television camera 9 and the laser light source 22 are configured to be rotatably driven around the vertical axis _E3 by a motor (not shown).

The first horizontal axis E ₁ and the second horizontal axis E ₂ are both perpendicular to the vertical axis E ₃ and are configured so that they can each independently rotate around the vertical axis E ₃ . The rotation angles (ψ ₁ ) and (ψ _{2 )} of E ₁ and E 2 around the vertical axis E ₃ are respectively detected by rotary encoders 27 and 28 with the same direction as a reference. Furthermore, the rotation angle (ψ 3 ) of the television camera 9 around the first horizontal axis E (ψ ₃ ) and the rotation angle (ψ ₄ ) of the laser light source 22 around the second horizontal axis E ₂
are also the respective rotary encoders 25, 2
6, and rotation around these axes E ₁ , E ₂ , and E ₃ is performed by controlling each motor (not shown) by a computer.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6A, the television camera 9 and the laser light source 22 each have a vertical axis E ₃ , a first horizontal axis E ₁ , and an optical axis t of the television camera 9 that intersect at one point, and the vertical axis The mounting positions are adjusted so that E ₃ , the second horizontal axis E ₂ and the optical axis r of the laser light source 22 intersect at one point.

The direction of the television camera 9 is controlled by a computer, which is connected to a control console (not shown) as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
The television camera 9 is sequentially directed in a predetermined direction according to signals from the television camera 9. This console is configured so that the coordinates on the screen (schematically indicated by S) of the television monitor (not shown) of the television camera 9 can be entered with a light pen, and these coordinates are given to the calculator, which Deflection angle components (ψ ₅ ), (ψ ₆ ) of the straight line y corresponding to the point on the screen S from the optical axis t of the television camera 9
is calculated, and a correction angle (ψ ₈ ) around the vertical axis E ₃ corresponding to that angle is calculated. That is, the auxiliary straight line z is the optical axis t of the television camera 9 and the first horizontal axis E ₁
The intersection line w between this plane and a plane perpendicular to the vertical axis E ₃ is the first horizontal axis E ₁
is parallel to In other words, ΔP ₀ , P ₂ , and P ₃ are formed, and the interior angle of one side (P ₀ , P ₃ ) is a right angle.
Further, ΔP ₁ , P ₂ , and P ₃ are formed, and the interior angle of one side (P ₁ , P ₃ ) is a right angle. Therefore, P ₀ , P ₂ tanφ ₅ =P ₀ , P ₃ =P ₁ , P ₂ tanφ ₈ (i). Also, P ₀ , P ₂ sinφ ₃ =P ₁ , P ₂ (ii). From equations (i) and (ii), φ ₈ =tan ⁻¹ (tanφ ₅ /sinφ ₃ ). The angle (φ ₇ ) between the straight line y and the vertical axis E ₃ is φ ₇ =φ ₃ =φ ₆ .

Next, the calculator calculates the calculated angle (ψ ₈ )
_{Based on} Rotate around the horizontal axis _E2 to a predetermined position.
At this time, the angle from the reference direction around the vertical axis E ₃ of the laser light source 22 is ψ ₂ (=ψ ₁ −ψ ₈ ).

Next, the computer extracts the brightness and color tone of the designated point on the screen S from the video signal and stores it.

Next, the process moves to step (iv) in _the flowchart of FIG. Rotate. For more details,
Every time the laser light source 22 is rotated by a small fixed amount, the change in the video signal is checked, and the angle (ψ ₄ ) around the second horizontal axis E ₂ of the laser light source 22 when a predetermined change in the video signal is detected is determined. The vertical axis of the straight line y is detected by the rotary encoder 26.
Calculate the coordinates based on the principle of triangulation and cylindrical coordinates from the angle with respect to E ₃ (ψ ₇ ), the angle around the vertical axis E ₃ (ψ ₂ ), and the angle around the second horizontal axis E ₂ (ψ ₄ ) It is configured to do so.

Therefore, each time the direction of the TV camera 9 is changed, the work vehicle monitors the fruit that appears on the monitor TV screen.
When A′ is specified with a light pen, the laser light source 22
moves as described above, so fruit A is irradiated with the laser light source. At this time, a change occurs in the video signal at a designated point on the screen of the monitor television, and the coordinates of that fruit are input into the computer.

Next, based on the calculated coordinates, it is determined whether the picking device 4 can reach the coordinates. If the coordinates cannot be reached, the coordinates are simply displayed to notify the worker, and if the coordinates are reached, the coordinates are memorized, but the following predetermined comparisons are made with the previously detected positions. Then, the picking order is determined, and the sorting is performed so that they are lined up in that order on the array and stored. In this order, the lower the order, the higher the order, and the next closest the order is set. Therefore, when picking, the items are picked in order from the bottom, and items of approximately the same height are picked starting from the ones closest to each other.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the fruit harvesting device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of the entire fruit harvesting device, FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the picking section, and FIG. 3, FIGS. 5A and 5B are flowcharts showing the control sequence of the arm, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are a principle diagram of an embodiment of the position detection device and its control sequence. This is a flowchart showing the following. A... Fruit, 3... Position detecting means, 5... Fruit picking section moving means, 6... Fruit picking section, 9... Television camera, 22... Spot light emitting device.

[Claims]

1. A waste straw bundling processing device for a threshing machine, in which a bundling device 6 equipped with a packer 8 for picking up the waste straw bundles into the bundling space 7 is disposed at the transport end of the waste straw bundle holding and conveying device 3, as described above. In conjunction with the vertical movement of the end of the clamping rail 17 of the clamping and conveying device 3, during upward movement, the waste straw bundle sent out from the clamping and conveying device 3 is received and held at a position out of the raking action range of the picker 8. , and a mechanism 29 for releasing the holding of the receiving straw during downward movement and supplying the waste straw bundle to the raking action range of the packer 8.