JPH0582165B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a fruit and vegetable harvesting device that is provided with a holding portion at the tip of an arm for capturing and holding fruits and vegetables to be harvested.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

By the way, since the growth conditions such as the length and hardness of the stems of fruit vegetables vary depending on the fruit vegetable, the holding part is simply moved upward along an arc-shaped trajectory or a trajectory close to it. Even if the joint portion is separated, there is a risk that the joint portion may not be separated as desired, and an improvement has been desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its object is to enable the joint portion to be appropriately separated regardless of changes in the growth state.

[Means for solving problems]

A characteristic configuration of the fruit and vegetable harvesting device according to the present invention is that it is provided with a vibration operation means for vibrating the holding section with respect to the arm, and its functions and effects are as follows.

[Effect]

That is, after the holding part holds fruits and vegetables to be harvested, the holding part is vibrated to loosen the joints and separate the joint parts.

Incidentally, it has been confirmed through experiments that the joint part can be separated by the vibration of the above-mentioned holding part, and that the separation is possible regardless of the length, hardness, etc. of the stalk of fruits and vegetables. In addition, if the fruit and vegetables are simply pulled and moved in the longitudinal direction of the handle, the handle often comes off from the fruit and vegetables. Therefore, the above-mentioned vibration applies a tensile force along the length of the handle. It is easier to perform better separation when not allowed to do so.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, it has become possible to harvest while appropriately separating the joint part, regardless of changes in growth conditions such as stalk length and hardness.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a case where an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a fruit harvesting device that mainly harvests apples will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the fruit harvesting device includes a vehicle body 1, a boom 2 attached to the vehicle body 1 so as to be able to rotate and move up and down, an auxiliary boom 3 attached to the boom 2 so as to be horizontally swingable, and the auxiliary boom. 3
an articulated telescopic arm 4 attached to the
It also includes a work hand H attached to the tip of the arm 4.

However, in the figure, 5 is a cylinder for lifting and lowering the boom, 6 is an electric motor for rotating the boom, and 7 is an electric motor for swinging the auxiliary boom.

The arm 4 is configured to be rotated around a vertical axis X by an electric motor 8, and to be swung around a horizontal axis Y by an electric motor 9. However, numeral 10 in the figure is an electric motor for arm extension/retraction operation.

As shown in FIG. 1, the work hand H includes a case-shaped base frame 11 attached to the tip of the arm 4;
A vent pipe 13 is supported on the base frame 11 via a spherical fulcrum 12, and a vacuum pad 14 as a holding portion attached to the tip of the vent pipe 13 is provided.

However, reference numeral 15 in the figure is a bellows-type hose connected to the ventilation pipe 13, and although not illustrated, it is connected to an intake pump.

A vibration operating means M for vibrating the vacuum pad 14 is provided. This vibration operating means M
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vacuum pad 14 is rotated by connecting the output shaft 16A of the electric motor 16 fixed to the base frame 11 to the ventilation pipe 13 using an eccentric coupling 17. It is configured to vibrate in a state where the

Incidentally, the eccentric coupling 17 includes a cylindrical body 17A attached to the end of the ventilation pipe 13,
It fits into the cylindrical body 17A, and the cylindrical body 17A
It consists of a disk-shaped body 17B smaller than the inner diameter of
The output shaft 16A of the motor 16 is connected to the disc-shaped body 17.
It is connected to a position off the center of B.

Next, a control configuration for harvesting while automatically guiding the work hand H to the fruit to be harvested will be described.

That is, a negative pressure sensor 18 that detects when the vacuum pad 14 adsorbs fruit is attached to the ventilation pipe 13, and a photo-type proximity sensor 19 that detects when the work hand H approaches the fruit to be harvested is attached. , a video camera 20 that is installed in the ventilation pipe 13 and takes images of the fruits to be harvested is mounted on the arm 4.
It is provided inside the proximal arm 4A at.

The proximity sensor 19 consists of a sensor main body 19a that houses a light emitting part, a light emitting part, etc., and an optical fiber cable 19b for emitting and receiving light that is fed out from the sensor main body 19a. It is now located in

Incidentally, the imaging range of the video camera 20 is set by the movement of the vehicle body 1, the rotation and elevation of the boom 2, the horizontal rocking of the auxiliary boom 3, and the rotation and back-and-forth rocking of the arm 4 relative to the auxiliary boom 3. become.

As shown in FIG. 4, imaging information from the video camera 20, detection information from the negative pressure sensor 18, and detection information from the proximity sensor 19 are input to a control device 21 configured using a microcomputer. however,
Reference numeral 22 denotes a setting device that has a function of manually operating the boom 2 and the like and a function of giving a command to start a harvesting operation, which will be described later.

Then, the control device 21 controls the control valve 2 of the lifting cylinder 5 of the boom 2 based on various information inputted as described above and information stored in advance.
3. Drive controller 24 for the swing motor 6 of the boom 2, drive controller 25 for the swing motor 7 of the auxiliary boom 3, swing motor 8 for the arm 4
controller 26 for driving the arm 4, controller 27 for driving the electric motor 9 for swinging the arm 4, and a controller 27 for driving the electric motor 9 for swinging the arm 4
An operation command is output to each of the controller 28 for driving the electric motor 10 for expansion and contraction, the control valve 29 for controlling the suction operation of the vacuum pad 14, and the controller 30 for driving the electric motor 16 for vibration. The harvesting operation described above is made to occur automatically.

Hereinafter, the harvesting operation will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, it is checked whether or not a start command has been given from the setting device 22, and only when a start command has been given, the harvesting operation is started.

That is, the video camera 20 captures an image of the area where the fruit to be harvested is located, and performs image processing to remove the background such as branches and leaves to extract image information corresponding only to the fruit to be harvested. Calculate the direction in which the fruit is located.

Next, based on the calculated direction, the arm 4 is extended while maintaining the state in which the suction port of the vacuum pad 14 faces toward the fruit to be harvested, and the harvesting hand H approaches the fruit to be harvested. let

After this approach operation, when it is determined that the hand H has approached the fruit to be harvested within a set distance based on the detection information of the proximity sensor 19,
The suction operation of the vacuum pad 14 is started. However, if the approach sensor 19 does not operate even if the approach distance exceeds the set value, 4 is shortened and the harvesting hand H is returned to the approach start position.

After the suction operation of the vacuum pad 14, the harvesting hand H is moved forward by a set distance (for example, 30 to 50 mm) toward the target fruit, and based on the detection information of the negative pressure sensor 18, it is determined whether or not the target fruit is suctioned. If it is adsorbed as desired,
After stopping the extension operation of the arm 4, the electric motor 16 for vibration is driven for a set time to separate the joint part S between the handle E of the fruits and vegetables and the branch. (1st
(See figure) However, if the negative pressure sensor 18 is not operating in the above check, it is determined that harvesting is not possible, the arm 4 is shortened, and the work hand H is returned to the approach starting position.

After driving the electric motor 16 described above, the arm 4 is shortened while holding the fruit to be harvested, the work hand H is returned to the approach start position, and the suction operation is stopped to remove the harvested fruit. It will be released into the container etc.

[Another example]

In carrying out the present invention, various changes may be made to the structure of each part necessary for carrying out the present invention, such as the specific structure of the working hand H and the specific structure of the arm 4 provided for guiding the working hand H.

In addition, the holding portion may be constructed using the vacuum pad 14 or may be constructed using gripping claws, etc.
Various changes can be made.

Furthermore, the vibration operating means M may be configured to vibrate not only in a rotary motion but also in a reciprocating manner, and its specific structure can be modified in various ways.

Incidentally, although reference numerals are written in the claims section for convenience of comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the fruit and vegetable harvesting device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a cutaway side view showing a working hand;
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the eccentric coupling, FIG. 3 is a side view of the fruit harvesting device, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control configuration, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control operation. 4...Arm, 14...Holding section, M...Vibration operation means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fruit and vegetable harvesting device including a holding section 14 at the tip of an arm 4 for capturing and holding fruits and vegetables to be harvested, wherein the holding section 14 is attached to the arm 4. This fruit and vegetable harvesting device is equipped with a vibration operation means M for shaking the fruit and vegetables. 2. The fruit and vegetable harvesting device according to claim 1, wherein the holding portion 14 is a vacuum pad that adsorbs fruits and vegetables to be harvested. 3. The fruit and vegetable harvesting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vibration operating means M rotates the holding part 14 with respect to the arm 4.