JPH0367648B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a fruit harvesting robot hand mainly used for harvesting fruits such as tangerines and apples, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a fruit harvesting robot hand that is provided with a fruit storage space inside,
and a fruit trapping part with a fruit intake port on the upper part,
A guide means is provided, which is pivotally attached to the arm so as to be able to swing back and forth in a state where the fruit intake port is returned to the set rotational position facing upward, and guides the fruit trap to a lower part of the fruit to be harvested. A first fruit detecting means for detecting that the target fruit is located at the fruit intake port is provided, and the fruit trap guided by the guiding means is moved upward until the first fruit detecting means takes a detecting action. A first upward moving means is provided, and a horizontal position detecting means is provided for detecting the horizontal position of the fruit trap with respect to the fruit to be harvested, and when the first upward moving means moves upward, the horizontal position detecting means A second fruit that detects that the fruit to be harvested has been taken into the fruit storage space, further comprising a horizontal position adjustment means for moving and adjusting the horizontal position of the fruit catching section toward the target fruit based on the detection result. A robot hand for fruit harvesting, comprising: a detection means; and a second fruit lifting means for upwardly moving the fruit catching section lifted by the first lifting means until the second fruit detecting means performs a detection action. Regarding.

[Conventional technology]

In such a fruit harvesting robot hand,
In general, each time the fruit trap guided to the lower part of the fruit to be harvested is raised by a set amount by the first upward movement means, the horizontal position of the trap with respect to the fruit is adjusted by the horizontal position adjustment means. After the fruit to be harvested is positioned in the fruit intake port, the fruit to be harvested is moved upward by a set amount by the second upward movement means, and the fruit to be harvested is taken into the trapping section.

By the way, conventionally, as described above, when the fruit to be harvested cannot be taken into the trapping section even if the fruit to be harvested is moved upward by a set amount by the second upward moving means, the fruit trapping section is temporarily returned to the vehicle body side. After that, the fruit trapping section is moved again toward the fruit to be harvested, and then the trapping section is moved upward as described above to take the fruit to be harvested into the trapping section.

Incidentally, by biasing the fruit catching section back to the set rotational position, the fruit catching section can be maintained in a posture suitable for taking in fruit regardless of changes in the posture of the arm.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional means, it is necessary to repeatedly return the fruit catching section to the vehicle body side and then move it again to the side of the fruit to be harvested, which has the disadvantage of reducing work efficiency.

To explain the reason why the fruit to be harvested cannot be taken into the trapping section, the horizontal position adjustment means includes, for example, a plurality of finger-shaped fruit detection contact sensors installed in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of the fruit trapping section. , and based on the information from the contact sensors, the fruit trapping section is horizontally moved by a set amount in the direction in which the contact sensor in the fruit detection state is located. Due to the risk of erroneous detection due to the presence of branches, etc., a portion of the fruit may protrude from the fruit intake port, and in this state, the second lifting means Even if it were moved upward, there was a risk that the fruits to be harvested could not be taken in properly.

As shown in Fig. 9 A and B and Fig. 10 A and B, there are two cases in which the fruit M to be harvested is located towards the rear of the fruit intake port G and a case in which it is located towards the front. Comparatively, in the former case, as the catching part H moves upward, the catching part H assumes an inclined position with the rear side facing downward, and as the fruit M is pushed upward, the connection between the peduncle and the branch increases. The fruit M will be swung downward using the part as a fulcrum,
Since there is a fruit storage space D in the direction in which the fruit M swings, the fruit M can be taken into the trapping section, but in the latter case, even if the fruit trapping section H is raised, the fruit M cannot be shaken. Since there is no fruit storage space D in the direction of movement, the fruit M cannot be taken into the trap.

By the way, the fruit stems extend towards the tip of the branches extending from the tree, and the harvesting work is done with the arm pointing in the same direction as the fruit stems grow. This causes the above phenomenon.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to move the fruit into the fruit trapping part without reducing work efficiency even when the fruit to be harvested protrudes forward from the fruit intake port. The point is to make it possible to incorporate it into the

[Means for solving problems]

The characteristic configuration of the present invention is that the second upward movement means 1
A descending moving means 108 is provided which moves the fruit catching section H downward by a set amount when the rising amount detecting means 107 detects that the rising amount by 05 has reached a set amount, A horizontal position correction means 109 is provided to horizontally move the fruit catching section H by a set amount to the front side after the downward movement, and after the horizontal position correction by the horizontal position correction means 109, the second fruit detection means 106 performs a detection operation. The present invention is characterized in that a re-elevating means 110 is provided for moving the fruit catching section H upward again until it reaches the upper limit (see FIG. 1).

The functions and effects of the characteristic configuration are as follows.

[Effect]

That is, it is detected that the second lifting amount by the second lifting means for lifting the fruit trap so that the fruit located at the fruit intake port is taken into the fruit storage space has reached the set amount, and If the second fruit detection means does not detect that the fruit has been taken into the fruit storage space, it is determined that the fruit is protruding to the front side of the fruit intake opening, and the fruit trapping section is lowered. At the same time, the capturing section is moved horizontally to the front side by a set amount, and then the second
The fruit trapping section is moved upward again until the fruit is detected by the fruit detecting means to take the fruit into the trapping section.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, even if the horizontal position of the target fruit is changed to the front side of the trap when moving the fruit trap guided to the lower part of the fruit to be harvested, the fruit trap will also move upward. The fruit to be harvested can be taken into the fruit trap by simply lowering the fruit trap, horizontally moving it forward, and then raising it again without returning it to the vehicle body, which reduces work efficiency. It has become possible to have the harvesting work done accurately.

〔Example〕

As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of left and right propulsion wheels 2a, 2b are provided, which can be driven by hydraulic motors 1a, 1b which can be independently switched between forward and reverse directions, and a caster 3 is installed at a location away from these wheels 2a, 2b. In addition, a driving unit E and a rotatable swivel table 5 are provided on the upper part of the body frame 4, and a fruit catching unit H is provided.
A fruit harvesting robot B consisting of a support arm 6 and a support arm 6 thereof is attached to a support frame 7 provided on the upper part of the swivel base 5 to constitute a fruit harvesting machine. However, A in the figure is a motor operation unit for the swivel base 5.

The support arm 6 is configured by the support frame 7.
A square cylindrical first arm 6a is pivotally supported to be vertically swingable, a second arm 6b is removably fitted inside the first arm 6a, and a second arm 6b is connected to the tip of the arm 6b. Three arms 6c are provided respectively, and the second arm 6b is slidably operated by the rotation of an electric motor _m1 provided inside the first arm 6a, and is constructed in a linear sliding telescopic type. However, _m2 in the figure indicates that the support arm 6 is connected to the support frame 7.
This is an electric motor with an encoder that swings up and down against the ground.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the fruit catching section H includes a cylindrical case 8 and first to sixth finger-like members F ₁ to F ₆ made of rubber.
A fruit storage space D stands up on the upper peripheral edge of the case 8 and is surrounded by the case 8 and the plurality of finger-like members F ₁ to F ₆ , and includes a plurality of finger-like members.
It is provided with a fruit intake port G surrounded by the tips of F ₁ to F ₆ .

To attach the fruit catching section H to the arm 6, the forked support frame 9 is attached to the tip of the third arm 6c so as to be rotatable around the axis Y along the arm's longitudinal direction. It is attached to the tip of the forked support frame 9 so as to be rotatable around the horizontal axis X, and the fruit trapping part H is urged by its own weight to return to the set rotational position where the fruit intake port G faces upward, that is, to the horizontal position. It is structured as follows.

In addition, the stem support member 10 presses and supports the stem-like portion connecting the fruit introduced into the trapping part and the branch, the so-called stem, at a predetermined position corresponding to the center of the fruit intake port G as it is projected. The six pieces are attached to the cylindrical case 8 so as to be able to swing in and out, and an arc-shaped sliding cutter 11 for cutting the stem supported by the stem supporting member 10 is attached to the stem at the predetermined position. It is provided in the cylindrical case 8 so as to be able to swing forward and backward so that it can be projected into the cutting position.

That is, the fruit catching section H is guided to a lower part of the fruit M to be harvested as described later, and the fruit catching part H guided to the lower part of the fruit M to be harvested.
moves upward to take in the fruit M into the trapping part H,
In this state, the fruit stem supporting member 10 is operated to protrude to support the fruit stem, and the fruit stem is cut by the cutter 11 to harvest the fruit M.

To explain the structure for moving the fruit stem support member 10 and the cutter 11 in and out, a reciprocatingly rotatable cylindrical member 12 is fitted and supported in the cylindrical case 8, and the cylindrical member 12 is operated. An electric motor 13 is provided in the cylindrical case 8, and the cylindrical member 12 is rotated by operating the electric motor 13 based on a detection signal from a central sensor 19, which will be described later. It is designed to swing in and out.

The cutter 11 and the structure for operating the cutter will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cutter 11 is constructed by connecting two arcuate band-shaped blades with a pin so that they can be slid relative to each other in the longitudinal direction while stacked vertically, and the double blades can be slid relative to each other. A pneumatic cylinder 14 is provided for cutting the cutter 11, and the double-edged blades are slid relative to each other by the expansion and contraction operation of the pneumatic cylinder 14, thereby operating the cutter 11 for cutting.

Next, the guiding means 100 for guiding the fruit catching section H to the lower part of the fruit M to be harvested will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 7, a television camera 15 serves as an imaging means for recognizing the direction of the fruit M to be harvested.
is attached to the upper end of the third arm 6c with its optical axis parallel to the direction of extension and contraction of the arm, and a monitor 16 for projecting the image taken by the television camera 15 is provided. A light pen 17 is provided for selecting the fruit, and an infrared proximity sensor 18 is provided for detecting when the fruit capturing section H approaches the fruit M to be harvested within a set distance.
It is provided at the upper end of the third arm 6c, and contains fruit selection information, detection information of the proximity sensor 18, rotation information of the arm drive motors m ₁ and m ₂ and the swivel base 5, and
A control device C using a microcomputer is provided which outputs operation commands based on control information stored in advance.

That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. angle), and based on the result, operate the swivel base 5 and the arm swing operation motor _m2 to adjust the direction (angle) so that the television camera 15 is directed toward the target fruit M. Next, by extending the arm 6, the fruit catching section H is moved to the target fruit.

Then, when the proximity sensor 18 detects this while the arm 6 is being extended, it is determined that the fruit catching section H has approached the fruit M to be harvested within a set distance, and decelerates and moves the set distance toward the target fruit. be.

Next, the configuration for harvesting operation and its control operation will be explained in detail.

That is, the first fruit detection means 104 detects that the fruit M to be harvested is located directly above the fruit intake port G, and the horizontal position detects the horizontal position of the fruit trap H with respect to the fruit M to be harvested. Detection means 103, second fruit detection means 106 that detects that the fruit M to be harvested is taken into the fruit storage space D, and second upward movement means 105, which will be described later.
The control device C uses detection information from these means as information for control operation.
The first fruit detecting means 104 locates the fruit M to be harvested at the fruit intake port G by the first fruit detecting means 104. During the upward movement by the first upward movement means 101, the position of the fruit trap H in the horizontal direction is determined based on the detection information of the horizontal position detection means 103. A second raising step that moves the fruit trap H upward until it is detected by the horizontal position adjustment means 102 that adjusts the horizontal position adjustment means 102 and the second fruit detection means 106 that the fruit M to be harvested is taken into the fruit storage space D. Transportation means 10
5. A descending moving means 108 that moves the fruit trap H downward when the rising amount detecting means 107 detects that the rising amount has reached a set amount, and after the descending movement by the descending moving means 108; Horizontal position correction means 109 for horizontally moving the fruit trap H by a set amount to the front side, until the fruit M to be harvested is detected by the second fruit detection means 106 after the horizontal position correction by the horizontal position correction means 109; Re-elevating means 110 for moving the fruit catching section H upward again, and fruit stem support member 10
and a stalk cutting means for operating the cutters 11 in a predetermined order are configured using the control device C, and each means will be explained below.

First, each means for detecting information for control operation will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 6, the first fruit detecting means 104 and the second fruit detecting means 106 are configured such that a contact type central sensor 19 for detecting the fruit M for detecting the fruit M to be harvested is connected to The link is provided at the upper part of the pantograph type link mechanism R that is operated to change the position between the central part of the intake port G and the lower part in the fruit storage space D, that is, the part retracted to the inside of the fruit catching part H. A mechanism R is provided on the bottom wall 8a assembled to the cylindrical case 8, and a crack 21 that engages with the gear 20 formed integrally with the link mechanism R is provided on the rod of the pneumatic cylinder 22 fixed to the bottom wall 8a. When pressurized air is supplied into the pneumatic cylinder 22, it is positioned at the center of the fruit intake port G against the biasing force of the spring provided inside the cylinder 22. The position of the central sensor 19 inside the fruit catching section H can be changed.

Therefore, as the central sensor 19 located at the center of the fruit intake port G acts for detection, the first sensor 19 detects that the fruit M to be harvested is located directly above the fruit intake port G. Fruit detection means 104
2nd fruit detection for detecting that the fruit M to be harvested has been taken into the fruit trapping section H as the central sensor 19, which is configured and located on the inner side of the fruit trapping section H, performs a detection action. Means 106 is configured.

When it is detected that the fruit M to be harvested is located directly above the fruit intake port G, the central sensor 19 is directed toward the inner side of the fruit trap H based on the information from the control device C. It is made to descend. Further, after the fruit catching section H is operated to return to the vehicle body side, the central sensor 19 is operated to return to the central position of the fruit intake port G based on the information from the control device C.

As shown in FIG. 5, the horizontal position detection means 103 includes contact-type fruit detection finger sensors S ₁ to S ₆ at the tips of each of the finger members F ₁ to F ₆ .
is provided.

The rise amount detection means 107 includes an encoder (not shown) that rotates integrally with the operation shaft of the electric motor _m2 for arm swing operation to detect an encoder value after the motor is driven and an encoder value before the motor is driven. The amount of rise of the trapping portion H is detected based on the subtracted value.

Next, each means for harvest control operation configured using the control device C will be explained based on the flowchart of FIG. 2.

The first upward moving means 101 comprises: until the first fruit detecting means 104 detects that the fruit M to be harvested is located in the fruit intake port G;
The arm 6 is actuated to intermittently move the fruit catching section H upward by a set amount (R ₁ =5 mm). In addition, the fruit trapping part H is adjusted by a set amount (5
If the central sensor 19 does not detect the fruit M to be harvested even after raising the fruit by 40 mm),
It is determined that the fruit cannot be harvested, and the fruit trap H is returned to the intended position on the vehicle body side.

As described above, when the fruit catching part H is moved upward, each time it is raised by a set amount (R ₁ = 5 mm), the presence or absence of the finger sensors S _{1 to S 6 that are in contact is checked, and the presence or absence of the finger sensors S 1} to S ₆ that are in contact is checked. When there are sensors S ₁ to S ₆ , the arm 6 and the swivel base 5 are operated so as to horizontally move the fruit catcher H by a predetermined distance to the side where the finger sensors S ₁ to S ₆ are located,
A horizontal position adjustment means 102 is configured to adjust the horizontal position of the fruit catching section H.

The second upward moving means 105 is configured such that the fruit catching section H is moved until the central sensor 19 located at the inner side of the fruit catching section H detects that the fruit is taken into the fruit storage space D. The arm 6 is operated to move upward intermittently by a set amount (R ₂ =15 mm).

Then, the rise amount detection means 107 detects the sum R ₃ of the unit rise amount R ₂ of the fruit trap H by the set amount (150
mm), the arm 6 is operated to lower the arm 6 by the raised amount, thereby forming the lowering movement means 108.

Further, after the fruit catching section H moves downward,
The horizontal position correction means 109 is configured to move the capturing section forward by a set amount (15 mm) by operating the arm 6.

After correcting the horizontal position of the fruit catching section H,
Until the second fruit detecting means 106 detects that the fruit M to be harvested is taken in between the fruit storage spaces D, the fruit catching section H is intermittently moved upward by a set amount (R ₂ = 15 mm). The re-elevating movement means 110 is configured to operate the arm 6.

In addition, as mentioned above, the arm 6 or the swivel base 5 is moved so that the fruit catching part H is swung vertically or horizontally each time it is raised by the set amount (R ₂ = 15 mm).
It is set to operate. Furthermore, even if the amount R ₃ raised by the re-ascent moving means 110 exceeds the set amount (150 mm) after the fruit catching portion H is lowered by the amount R ₃ raised and the horizontal position is corrected. If the central sensor 19 does not detect the fruit, it is determined that the fruit cannot be harvested, and the fruit trap H is returned to its original position on the vehicle body side.

The fruit stem cutting means includes a fruit catching section H.
As the contact sensor 19 located on the inner side of
1 is operated to protrude, then the cutter 11 is operated to cut, and then the stem support member 10 and the cutter 11 are operated to cut.
The electric motor 13 and the cylinder 14 are operated in order to cause the motor to retire.

Incidentally, when the operation of the stem cutting means is completed and fruit harvesting is completed, the fruit catching part H is returned to the intended position on the vehicle body side, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Arm 6
and the swivel base 5 are operated.

[Another example]

In carrying out the present invention, the specific configuration of the fruit catching section H, the specific configuration of the imaging means, the specific configuration of the arm 6,
The specific configuration for guiding the fruit trap H can be modified in various ways.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. However, as shown in Fig. 8, when the number of times of the above-mentioned taking-in operation reaches 3, it is determined that the fruit M cannot be harvested. You may do this as many times as you like.

The amount of movement by which the fruit catching section H is moved by the downward movement means 108 and the horizontal position correction means 109 of the present invention may be set to any amount.

In the embodiment described above, the horizontal position correction means 109 causes the fruit catching section H to be repositioned only to the front side, but it may also be repositioned to the left and right sides or to the rear side.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the robot hand for fruit harvesting according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the harvesting operation, and FIG. , D, and E are explanatory diagrams showing the fruit capturing operation, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control operation, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the fruit catching section.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the fruit catching section, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the control configuration. FIG. 8 is a partially omitted flowchart showing another embodiment of the harvesting operation. FIGS. 9A and 9B and FIGS. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams showing conventional examples of fruit taking-in operations. 6...Arm, 100...Fruit catcher guide means, 101...First upward movement means, 102...Horizontal position adjustment means, 103...Horizontal position detection means,
104...First fruit detection means, 105...Second upward movement means, 106...Second fruit detection means, 10
7... Ascending amount detection means, 108... Lowering moving means, 109... Horizontal position correcting means, 110... Re-ascent moving means, D... Fruit storage space, G... Fruit intake port, H... Fruit capturing Department.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The fruit trap H, which has a fruit storage space D inside and a fruit intake port G at the top, is attached to the arm 6 in a state where it is biased to return to the set rotational position where the fruit intake port G faces upward. A first fruit is provided with a guiding means 100 that is pivotably pivoted and guides the fruit catching section H to a position below the fruit to be harvested, and detects that the fruit to be harvested is located in the fruit intake port G. A detecting means 104 is provided, and the first fruit detecting means 1
04 is provided to upwardly move the fruit trapping section H guided by the guiding means 100, and detects the horizontal position of the fruit trapping section H with respect to the fruit to be harvested. A horizontal position detecting means 103 is provided, and the first horizontal position detecting means 103 is provided.
During upward movement by the upward movement means 101,
A horizontal position adjusting means 102 is provided for moving and adjusting the horizontal position of the fruit catching section H toward the target fruit based on the detection result of the horizontal position detecting means 103, so that the fruit to be harvested is within the fruit storage space D. Second fruit detection means 10 for detecting that the fruit has been taken in
6, and moves the fruit catching section H lifted by the first lifting movement means 101 upward until the second fruit detection means 106 performs a detection action.
A fruit harvesting robot hand provided with a fruit lifting means 105, the second lifting means 10
A descending moving means 108 is provided for moving the fruit catching section H downward by a set amount when the rising amount detecting means 107 detects that the rising amount by 5 has reached a set amount. A horizontal position correction means 109 is provided to horizontally move the fruit catching section H by a set amount to the front side after the downward movement, and after the horizontal position correction by the horizontal position correction means 109, the second fruit detection means 106 performs a detection operation. This robot hand for fruit harvesting is provided with a re-elevating means 110 for moving the fruit catching part H upward again until the fruit is harvested.