Harvesters – Fruit gatherer
Patent
1983-09-30
1985-08-06
Mancene, Gene
Harvesters
Fruit gatherer
56 102, 56DIG15, A01D 4500, A01D 6900
Patent
active
045327572
ABSTRACT:
A method and system for harvesting fruit, such as citrus fruit. A modularized housing is provided with a mechanism for disposing the housing opposite a picking zone of a tree, with an open side thereof defining a picking aperture. The picking zone is illuminated, and an electronic camera at the geometric center of the housing having a 256.times.256 sensor array records the picking zone. Electronic processing circuits identify the X-Y coordinates with respect to the aperture of each identified fruit with color discrimination means utilized for such identification. The X-Y coordinates are stored in memory. An extensible picking arm is then placed with a pivot at the geometric center and sequentially extended through each stored X-Y coordinate. An optical seeker, having a light source and a quadrature optical detector, disposed at the distal end of the arm detects a fruit in the path of the extending arm and controls the movement of the arm to cause a severance head on the arm to contact the fruit. A set of grippers are then closed onto the fruit and stem to separate the fruit. An articulated collection arm follows the picking arm and collects the picked fruit in a cup and subsequently drops the fruit into a collection system.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3925973 (1975-12-01), Glover
patent: 4357790 (1982-11-01), Tyros
patent: 4425751 (1984-01-01), Bousseau et al.
Mancene Gene
Martin Marietta Corporation
Tarnoff David I.
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