# US 2026/0076305 A1 · Dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection and its operation method

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- Number: US 2026/0076305 A1
- Document ID: US20260076305A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 19/399,698
- Filed: 2025-11-25
- Published: 2026-03-19
- Earliest claimed: 2025-07-22
- Assignees: Nanjing Forestry University
- Applicants: Nanjing Forestry University
- Inventors: Huichun ZHANG; Liming BIAN; Lei ZHOU; Hongping ZHOU; Ji QI
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20260076305A1

## CPC

- A01D 46/30: Robotic devices for individually picking crops
- G06V 20/68: Food, e.g. fruit or vegetables
- H04N 23/695: Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects
- A01D: HARVESTING; MOWING
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

The present invention discloses an integrated platform of dual-mode switching dry fruit detection and screening and a working method thereof. The platform comprises a frame body, a left detection picking mechanism, a right detection picking mechanism, a left screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism, a right screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism, a conveying mechanism, and a fruit collecting box. According to the present invention, a “phenotype monitoring-comb harvesting” dual-mode collaborative architecture is adopted, and automatic detection of fruit ripeness is achieved via left and right detection picking mechanisms; non-destructive and precise separation of fruit is achieved via a flexible comb brush technique and a dynamic mode switching mechanism; the height and inclination angle of fruit collecting are adaptively adjusted via an umbrella-type electric telescopic rod, thereby effectively avoiding the hybrid of fruit and leaves.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, comprising a frame body (1), a left detection picking mechanism (2A), a right detection picking mechanism (2B), a left screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3A), a right screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3B), a conveying mechanism (5), and a fruit collecting box (4); the fruit collection box (4) is mounted on the frame body (1), a left side of the fruit collection box (4) is connected to the left detection picking mechanism (2A) via a left rotation driving mechanism, and a right side of the fruit collection box (4) is connected to a right detection picking mechanism (2B) via a right rotation driving mechanism; the rotation driving mechanism is used for driving the left detection picking mechanism (2A) to rotate, and the right rotation driving mechanism is used for driving the right detection picking mechanism (2B) to rotate;
the left detection picking mechanism (2A) and the right detection picking mechanism (2B) have the same structure and are symmetrically arranged, each comprising an upper comb brush chassis (201), a lower comb brush chassis (202), and a dual-mode drive monitoring comb module; the dual-mode drive monitoring comb module comprises a module mounting frame, a fruit monitoring module and a comb brush module; the lower surface of the upper comb brush chassis (201) and the upper surface of the lower comb brush chassis (202) are each provided with a guide rail (204); the module mounting frame comprises an upper mounting plate (205), a lower mounting plate (206), and a spindle (207); the upper mounting plate (205) is connected to the upper portion of the spindle (207); the lower mounting plate (206) is connected to the lower portion of the spindle (207); both the top and the bottom of the spindle (207) are rotatably connected to a trolley plate (208); the trolley plate (208) is slidably connected to the guide rail (204); the trolley plate (208) is provided with a walking driving mechanism for driving the trolley plate (208) to move along the guide rail (204), and a spindle rotation driving mechanism for driving the spindle (207) to rotate; the fruit monitoring module is arranged between one end of the upper mounting plate (205) and one end of the lower mounting plate (206), and the comb brush module is arranged between the other end of the upper mounting plate (205) and the other end of the lower mounting plate (206); the fruit monitoring module is used for collecting images of fruit on the fruit tree (7) and detecting the ripeness of the fruit, and the comb brush module is used for picking fruit on the fruit tree (7);
the lower comb brush chassis (202) of the left detection picking mechanism (2A) is provided with a left screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3A), and the lower comb brush chassis (202) of the right detection picking mechanism (2B) is provided with a right screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3B); the left screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3A) and the right screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3B) have the same structure and are symmetrically arranged, each comprising a plurality of umbrella-type electric telescopic rods (301), the umbrella-type electric telescopic rods (301) being obliquely and fixedly connected to the bottom of the lower comb-brush chassis (202); one end of the conveying mechanism (5) is located between the left screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3A) and the right screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3B) structure and is located below the two lower comb brush chassis (202), and the other end extends upwards to above the inner side of the fruit collecting box (4); the bottom ends of the umbrella-type electric telescopic rods (301) in the left screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3A) and the right screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3B) are both used for attaching trunk surfaces and collecting and rolling the falling fruit to the conveying mechanism (5), and the conveying mechanism (5) is used for conveying the fruit to the fruit collection box (4) in the interior of the fruit collection box (4).

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, as recited in claim 1, wherein: a notch (401) is formed in the middle of the front side surface of the fruit collection box (4), and the other end of the conveying mechanism (5) extends from the notch (401) to the inner side of the fruit collection box (4); the left detection picking mechanism (2A) and the left screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3A) are located on the left side of the notch (401), and the right detection picking mechanism (2B) and the right screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3B) are located on the right side of the notch (401).

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, as recited in claim 2, wherein: the left rotation driving mechanism and the right rotation driving mechanism are respectively located on left and right sides of the notch (401), and structures of the left rotation driving mechanism and the right rotation driving mechanism are the same, and both include an upper hydraulic telescopic rod (402) and a lower hydraulic telescopic rod (403);
a left support frame (404) extending upwards and a right support frame (405) extending upwards are provided on the top of the front side surface of the fruit collection box (4);
the left support frame (404) is located above the left side of the notch (401), and the right support frame (405) is located above the right side of the notch (401);
the top of the left support frame (404) is rotatably connected to one end of the connection lug on the upper comb brush chassis (201) in the left detection picking mechanism (2A) via the left L-shaped connection plate (406), and at the same time, the top of the left support frame (404) is rotatably connected to one end of the upper hydraulic telescopic rod (402), and the other end of the upper hydraulic telescopic rod (402) is rotatably connected to the other end of the connection lug on the upper comb brush chassis (201) in the left detection picking mechanism (2A);
the top of the right support frame (405) is rotatably connected to one end of the connection lug on the upper comb brush chassis (201) in the right detection picking mechanism (2B) via the right L-shaped connection plate (407), and at the same time, the top of the right support frame (405) is rotatably connected to one end of the upper hydraulic telescopic rod (402), and the other end of the upper hydraulic telescopic rod (402) is rotatably connected to the other end of the connection lug on the upper comb brush chassis (201) in the right detection picking mechanism (2B);
the bottom of the front side of the fruit collection box (4) is provided with a left base

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, as recited in claim 1, wherein: both the upper comb brush chassis (201) and the lower comb brush chassis (202) are semicircular annular chassis, and the guide rail (204) are semicircular annular guide rail; the two upper hydraulic telescopic rods (402) are used for respectively driving one end of the two upper comb brush chassis (201) to be separated or closed, and the two lower hydraulic telescopic rods (403) are used for respectively driving one end of the two lower comb brush chassis (202) to be separated or closed.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, as recited in claim 1, wherein: the trolley plate (208) at the top of the spindle (207) and the trolley plate (208) at the bottom of the spindle (207) are rotatably connected with rollers (212) in rolling connection with the guide rail (204);
the trolley board (208) at the bottom of the spindle (207) is provided with a walking driving mechanism, the walking driving mechanism comprises a walking motor (209), a rack (210) and a gear (211), the rack (210) is connected to one side of the guide rail (204), the walking motor (209) is provided on the trolley board (208), the output of the walking motor (209) is connected to the gear (211), and the gear (211) meshes with the rack (210);
the trolley plate (208) at the top of the spindle (207) is provided with a spindle rotation driving mechanism, the spindle rotation driving mechanism comprises a transmission motor (213), a belt (214), a main pulley and a auxiliary pulley, the trolley plate (208) is provided with the transmission motor (213); the output end of the transmission motor (213) is connected to the main pulley, the outer circular surface of the spindle (207) is connected to the auxiliary pulley, the main pulley are in transmission connection with the auxiliary pulley via the belt (214).

### Claim 6 (depends on 3)

The dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, as recited in claim 3, wherein: the fruit monitoring module comprises a screw slider lifting mechanism (215), an imaging sensor (216) and a control box (221), the control box (221) is connected to the rear side surface of the fruit collection box (4), the imaging sensor (216) is connected to the slider in the screw slider lifting mechanism (215), the top of the screw slider lifting mechanism (215) is connected to one end of the upper mounting plate

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, as recited in claim 6, wherein: the comb brush module comprises a comb brush motor (217), a bevel gear system (218) and a comb brush shaft (219), the bottom of the comb brush shaft (219) is rotatably connected to the other end of the lower mounting plate (206), the top of the comb brush shaft (219) is rotatably connected to the other end of the upper mounting plate (205), the upper end of combing shaft (219) is connected to the output shaft of the comb brush motor (217) via the bevel gear system (218); the comb brush motor (217) is connected to the upper mounting plate (205); the comb brush motor (217) drives the comb brush shaft (219) to rotate via the bevel gear system (218), the comb brush shaft (219) is fixedly connected to a plurality of comb brush rods (220), and the surface of the comb brush rod (220) is provided with a plurality of protrusions (2201).

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, as recited in claim 1, wherein: the bottom of the umbrella-type electric telescopic rod (301) is provided with a polyurethane buffer kit; the conveying mechanism (5) adopts an electric conveying mechanism; the conveying mechanism (5) is connected to the frame body (1) via the front support column (501), and to the bottom of the inner side of the fruit collection box (4) via the rear support column (502).

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, as recited in claim 1, wherein: further comprising a power supply, the umbrella-type electric telescopic rod (301), the walking motor (209) of the walking driving mechanism, the transmission motor (213) of the spindle rotation driving mechanism, the comb brush motor (217) of the comb brush module and the electric conveying mechanism of the conveying mechanism (5) are all electrically connected to the control box (221); the control box (221) is further used for controlling the action of the upper hydraulic telescopic rod (402) and the lower hydraulic telescopic rod (403); the umbrella-type electric telescopic rod (301), the walking motor (209) of the walking driving mechanism, the transmission motor (213) of the spindle rotation driving mechanism, the screw slider lifting mechanism (215) of the fruit monitoring module, the imaging sensor (216) of the fruit monitoring module, the comb brush motor (217) of the comb brush module, the electric conveying mechanism of the conveying mechanism (5) and the control box (221) are both electrically connected to the power supply.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

An operation method based on the dual-mode switching platform integrating dry fruit detection and leaf screening fruit collection, as recited in claim 7, wherein: comprising the following steps:
Step 1, the frame body (1) moves to the vicinity of the target fruit tree (7), the two upper hydraulic telescopic rods (402) and the two lower hydraulic telescopic rods (403) act together to drive the left detection picking mechanism (2A) and the right detection picking mechanism (2B) to close, that is, the two upper comb brush chassis (201) are driven to close and the two lower comb brush chassis (202) are closed, and the fruit tree (7) is located between the two upper comb brush chassis (201) and the two lower comb brush chassis (202); and at the same time, the umbrella-type electric telescopic rod (301) in the left screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3A) and the right screening leaf collecting fruit mechanism (3B) is started, so that the bottom end of the umbrella-type electric telescopic rod (301) is attached to the surface of the trunk;
Step 2, the left detection picking mechanism (2A) and the right detection picking mechanism (2B) respectively perform the following steps:
Step 2.1, starting the spindle rotation driving mechanism, the spindle rotation driving mechanism driving the spindle (207) to rotate, so that the imaging sensor (216) in the fruit monitoring module faces the fruit to be detected on the fruit tree (7);
Step 2.2, starting the screw slider lifting mechanism (215), the screw slider lifting mechanism (215) driving the imaging sensor (216) to move up and down;
Step 2.3, the imaging sensor (216) collects the fruit surface image of the fruit tree (7) during the up and down sensor's movement, and sends the image information to the control box (221) in real time; the control box (221) performs analysis processing according to the received image information to determine whether the fruit needs to be picked; if so, step 2.4 is executed; otherwise, step 2.6 is performed;
Step 2.4, the control box (221) controls the spindle rotation driving mechanism to act, the transmission motor (213) of the spindle rotation driving mechanism drives the spindle (207) to rotate via the belt (214) so that the comb brush module faces the fruit to be picked in the fruit tree (7);
Step 2.5, starting the comb brush module, the comb brush motor (217) in the comb brush module driving the comb brush shaft (219) to rotate via the bevel gear system (218), thereby achieving fruit picking; and the picked fruit is rolled onto the conveying mechanism (5) from the umbrella-type electric telescopic rod (301), and the conveying mechanism (5) conveys the fruit to the fruit collection box (4); after the number of times that the trolley plate (208) moves back and forth along the guide rail (204) reaches a preset number of times, the picking process is ended, otherwise step 2.6 is executed;
Step 2.6, starting the walking driving mechanism, the walking driving mechanism driving the spindle (207), the fruit monitoring module and the comb brush module moving a preset distance along the guide rail (204) via the trolley plate (208), and after the movement ends, if the imaging sensor (216) has facing the fruit to be detected on the fruit tree (7), returning to execute step 2.2; and if the imaging sensor (216) does not face the fruit to be detected on the fruit tree (7), returning to step 2.1.

### Claim at position 11

(205) the bottom of the screw slider lifting mechanism (215) is connected to one end of the lower mounting plate (206), both the screw slide lifting mechanism (215) and the imaging sensor (216) are electrically connected to the control box (221).

### Claim at position 12

(403) and the other end of the lower hydraulic telescopic rod (403) is rotatably connected to the other end of the connection lug on the lower comb brush chassis (202) in the right detection picking mechanism (2B).

### Claim at position 13

(408) and a right base (409) extending forward, the left base (408) is located below the left side of the notch (401), and the right base (409) is located below the right side of the notch (401);
the left base (408) is rotatably connected to one end of the connection lug on the lower comb brush chassis (202) in the left detection picking mechanism (2A) via the left fixed shaft (410), and at the same time, the bottom of the left side of the front side of the fruit collection box (4) is rotatably connected to one end of the lower hydraulic telescopic rod (403), and the other end of the lower hydraulic telescopic rod (403) is rotatably connected to the other end of the connection lug on the lower comb brush chassis (202) in the left detection picking mechanism (2A);
the right base (409) is rotatably connected to one end of the connection lug on the lower comb brush chassis (202) in the right detection picking mechanism (2B) via the right fixed shaft (411), and at the same time, the bottom of the right side of the front side face of the fruit collection box (4) is rotatably connected to one end of the lower hydraulic telescopic rod