Doubles End-Effector for Robotic Harvesting

Abstract

An example system includes a nozzle having an inlet; an outlet mechanism disposed longitudinally adjacent to the nozzle; a conduit longitudinally adjacent to the outlet mechanism, where the conduit includes a distal chamber, a middle chamber, and a proximal chamber that are longitudinally disposed along a length of the conduit; a partition block configured to move between (i) a first position at which the partition block is disposed laterally adjacent to the middle chamber, such that the partition block is offset from a longitudinal axis of the conduit, and (ii) a second position at which the partition block resides in the middle chamber between the distal chamber and the proximal chamber; and a deceleration structure disposed at a proximal end of the conduit and bounding the proximal chamber, where the deceleration structure is configured to decelerate fruit that has traversed the conduit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A harvesting system comprising:
 a vacuum generating device;   an end-effector having an inlet;   a vacuum tube coupled to the inlet of the end-effector and to the vacuum generating device, wherein the vacuum generating device is configured to generate a vacuum environment in the vacuum tube, and wherein the inlet of the end-effector has a size that allows fruit of a particular type to pass through the inlet and enter the vacuum environment in the vacuum tube; and   a director toggle pivotably mounted to an outlet structure adjacent an outlet of the vacuum tube, the director toggle aligned with the outlet the vacuum tube such that fruit that has exited the vacuum tube impacts the director toggle and is deflected according to an orientation of the director toggle.   
     
     
         2 . The harvesting system of  claim 1 , wherein the director toggle is pivotably mounted to the outlet structure with a hinge. 
     
     
         3 . The harvesting system of  claim 2 , wherein fruit that has exited the vacuum tube impacts the director toggle causing the director toggle to rotate about the hinge. 
     
     
         4 . The harvesting system of  claim 2 , wherein the director toggle is formed as a bracket having a first plate and a second plate coupled to each other at a junction. 
     
     
         5 . The harvesting system of  claim 4 , fruit that has exited the vacuum tube impacts either the first plate or the second plate of the director toggle causing the director toggle to rotate about the hinge. 
     
     
         6 . The harvesting system of  claim 4 , wherein the first plate is padded with a first padding, and wherein the second plate is padded with a second padding. 
     
     
         7 . The harvesting system of  claim 4 , wherein the director toggle is formed as an L-shaped bracket such that the first plate is substantially perpendicular to the second plate. 
     
     
         8 . The harvesting system of  claim 4 , further comprising a controller configured to perform operations comprising:
 causing the harvesting system to position the inlet of the end-effector within a predetermined distance from a cluster of fruit having at least two fruits, and   activating the vacuum generating device to generate the vacuum environment in the vacuum tube, wherein the vacuum environment applies a force on the cluster of fruit to pull a first fruit of the cluster through the inlet into the vacuum tube, and subsequently pull a second fruit of the cluster through the inlet into the vacuum tube, wherein:
 the first fruit that has traversed the vacuum tube in a longitudinal direction, exits the vacuum tube and impacts the first plate of the director toggle, causing the director toggle to pivot about the hinge to change direction of travel of the first fruit to a first direction of travel at a first angle to the longitudinal direction, and 
 the second fruit that has traversed the vacuum tube in the longitudinal direction, exits the vacuum tube and impacts the second plate of the director toggle, such that the second plate changes direction of travel of the second fruit to a second direction of travel at second first angle to the longitudinal direction different from the first angle. 
   
     
     
         9 . The harvesting system of  claim 8 , wherein the first plate is padded with a first padding so as to decelerate the first fruit, and wherein the second plate is padded with a second padding so as to decelerate the second fruit. 
     
     
         10 . The harvesting system of  claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to perform operations comprising:
 causing the harvesting system to position the inlet of the end-effector within a predetermined distance from a cluster of fruit having at least two fruits, and   activating the vacuum generating device to generate the vacuum environment in the vacuum tube, wherein the vacuum environment applies a force on the cluster of fruit to pull a first fruit of the cluster through the inlet into the vacuum tube, and subsequently pull a second fruit of the cluster through the inlet into the vacuum tube, wherein:
 the first fruit that has traversed the vacuum tube in a longitudinal direction, exits the vacuum tube and impacts the director toggle, causing the director toggle to pivot to change direction of travel of the first fruit to a first direction of travel at a first angle to the longitudinal direction, and 
 the second fruit that has traversed the vacuum tube in the longitudinal direction, exits the vacuum tube and impacts the director toggle to change direction of travel of the second fruit to a second direction of travel at second first angle to the longitudinal direction different from the first angle. 
   
     
     
         11 . The harvesting system of  claim 1 , further comprising a motor configured to rotate that the director toggle. 
     
     
         12 . The harvesting system of  claim 11 , further comprising a controller configured to perform operations comprising:
 determine that a first fruit has impacted or is about to impact the director toggle; and   send a signal to the motor to rotate the director toggle.   
     
     
         13 . The harvesting system of  claim 1 , wherein the director toggle is formed as a bracket having a first plate and a second plate coupled to each other at a junction. 
     
     
         14 . The harvesting system of  claim 13 , fruit that has exited the vacuum tube impacts either the first plate or the second plate of the director toggle causing the director toggle to rotate. 
     
     
         15 . The harvesting system of  claim 13 , wherein the first plate is padded with a first padding, and wherein the second plate is padded with a second padding. 
     
     
         16 . The harvesting system of  claim 13 , wherein the director toggle is formed as an L-shaped bracket such that the first plate is substantially perpendicular to the second plate. 
     
     
         17 . The harvesting system of  claim 1 , further comprising an outlet mechanism coupled to the vacuum tube, wherein fruit that has entered the vacuum environment is able to exit the vacuum environment through the outlet mechanism. 
     
     
         18 . The harvesting system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a robotic arm carrying the end-effector; and   a controller configured to perform operations comprising:
 causing the robotic arm to move the inlet of the end-effector within a predetermined distance from a cluster of fruit comprising at least two fruits, and 
 activating the vacuum generating device to generate the vacuum environment in the vacuum tube, wherein the vacuum environment applies a force on the cluster of fruit to pull a first fruit of the cluster into the inlet of the end-effector, and subsequently pull a second fruit of the cluster into the inlet of the end-effector.