Patent ID: 11968928
Assignee: OCTIVA BELGIUM BV
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC A  B | IPC A  B

Claim 19:
20. A device for picking fruit, provided with:
an optical detection means, configured to detect and spatially locate a piece of fruit to be picked and hanging from a plant;
a robot arm, comprising a picking element provided with a movable frame, and fitted with a gripper mechanism provided with at least two fingers; and
a processing unit, operatively connected to the optical detection means, the robot arm and the gripper mechanism;
in which the processing unit is configured such that it actuates the robot arm to make the gripper mechanism move at least partly about the piece of fruit to be picked in an upward movement from below after a piece of fruit to be picked has been located by the optical detection means, the upward movement from below being defined with an angle which diverts less than 10 degrees from a substantially vertical first axis, wherein the fingers of the gripper mechanism are directed upwards in from a first position in a closed state and remain passively closed during the upward movement from below of the gripper mechanism to a second position;
and in which the processing unit is configured such that it actuates the gripper mechanism, when it has been positioned around the piece of fruit to be picked at a second position, in order to:
open the at least two fingers at the second position after moving in an upward movement from below;
grasp the piece of fruit to be picked between the at least two fingers so that a predetermined break point coincides with a remotely situated movement center for rotating the gripper mechanism, the fingers of the gripper mechanism being directed upwards;
rotate the gripper mechanism through a rotation angle in a range 70 and 110 degrees, independently from the robot arm, about a substantially horizontal axis to a third position such that the piece of fruit to be picked is rotated in such a way about the substantially horizontal axis or about a second axis situated in a plane which is at right angles to the direction of the stalk of the piece of fruit that it comes away from the plant, the gripper mechanism is configured such that the piece of fruit to be picked is rotated about the predetermined desired break point of the stalk of the piece of fruit;
move to a downward orientation at a fourth position, such that the fingers are directed downwards, and open the fingers to release the piece of fruit; and
reversely rotate the gripper mechanism and return the gripper mechanism to the first position.