FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a harvesting vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a fruit harvesting vehicle for picking fresh fruit bunches with minimal damage to the fruits and improved manoeuvrability in palm oil plantation which its ground consists of peat soil and uneven terrain.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Malaysia currently accounts for 39 % of world palm oil production and 44% of world exports. Being one of the biggest producers and exporters of palm oil and palm oil products, Malaysia has a vital role to play in providing sufficient palm oil to meet global market needs. Generally, the palm oil production in Malaysia still heavily relies on labourers, which the labourers manually remove fresh fruit bunches or fruits from oil palm tree with a sickle and chisel attached onto a long aluminium pole to cut through a stem connecting the fruit to the tree. Such conventional method slows down the palm oil production as each labourer only manages to collect as much as 2.2 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches on daily basis. The conventional method is not convenient for the labourers to manually cut through the stem as the oil palm tree would usually grow up to fifty feet of height.

Furthermore, once the labourers remove the fresh fruit bunches from the oil palm tree, the fresh fruit bunches being dropped from such height would be bruised. A sudden impact on the fruit bunches upon removal from the stem would significantly increase free fatty acid within the fruits. Hence, inducing a lower quality of palm crude oil after palm oil processing. Another disadvantage is that when the fresh fruit bunches are dropped on the ground, the fruits may be loosened from the bunches and scattered on the ground, causing part of the loosen fruits to be missing. The fresh fruit bunches that come in contact with the ground may be contaminated with sand and debris, which may cause wear and tear to mill machines during oil extraction, therefore causing a lower rate of oil extraction. The sand and debris may also absorb the extracted oil during the process and largely affect the rate of oil extraction.

Therefore, to significantly enhance the palm oil production, the conventional method has to be replaced with machinery to speed up the fruits collection from the oil palm trees. However, there are several challenges that have to be solved before implementing the machinery in palm oil plantation. Most of the palm oil plantation in Malaysia is situated over hilly areas with various levels of steeps and slopes. The ground within the palm oil plantation mainly consists of peat soil and uneven terrain which makes it tough for the machinery to move around. There are a few patented technologies over the prior art relating to the harvesting vehicle. Two motorized cutters, namely Cantas II and Cantas III, are able to reach the oil palm trees up to eight meters height. In another example, Ckat utilises chisel and is only intended for use in shorter oil palm trees. The average harvesting productivity for the above-mentioned apparatus only harvest eight tonnes of fresh fruit bunches per day. However, these apparatus causes bruises to the fresh fruit bunches as the fresh fruit bunches drop on the ground after removal from the oil palm trees. During handling of the fresh fruit bunches from the transport container to the mill, chances for the fruits to be bruised is high. The free fatty acid content increases rapidly from 0.3% up to 60% when the fruits are bruised. Therefore, largely affecting the rate of oil extraction.

Another example is a tracked type vehicle with cutting mechanism attached to a boom. The vehicle is a prime mover with 500kg loading capacity powered by a 31 5Hp diesel engine. The vehicle further includes a hydraulically powered scissor-type cutter and a catching mechanism in the form of a grapple with two fingers to hold the bunch. The boom can reach out about ten meters. This vehicle takes about two and a half to four minutes to complete a cutting cycle, results in four to six tonnes of fresh fruit bunches per day. The vehicle can be tilted up to thirty degrees with a traveling speed of 2.5 to 4.1 kilometre per hour. The fresh fruit bunches are directly stored into a container upon removal from the oil palm tree. However, the vehicle is not capable to travel along steep path, cratered land or flooded area.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a harvesting vehicle operable to effectively remove the fresh fruit bunches from the trees with minimal bruises and manoeuvre on peat soil and uneven terrain with ease.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION One object of the invention is to provide a harvesting vehicle suitable for removing the fresh fruit bunches from the trees with minimal bruises and manoeuvre on peat soil and uneven terrain with ease.

The invention provides a harvesting vehicle for harvesting fruit from trees, the vehicle comprising a main structure, a plurality of traction assemblies carried by the main structure and suitable for moving the vehicle over rough and/or flood prone terrain, a fruit picking assembly comprising at least one height adjustable, articulated arm having a cutting means for cropping fruit, and a ground engaging stabilizer assembly comprising a plurality of extensible and retractable legs operable to support the vehicle while the traction assemblies are taken out of engagement with the ground, wherein both the fruit picking assembly and the ground engaging stabilizer assembly are supported for movement with, and relative to, the main structure and wherein a fruit collecting means is provided onboard the vehicle to accumulate cropped fruit. Preferably, the fruit picking assembly may be coupled with the ground engaging stabilizer assembly and the main structure are movable together rotatably and/or translationally with respect to one another.

Preferably, the fruit picking assembly may be connected to the main structure with a first plurality of guide rollers ararnged therebetween for providing rotational movement with respect to one another. Preferably, the fruit picking assembly and the main structure may be arranged with a second plurality of guide rollers therebetween for providing translational movement with respect to one another.

Preferably, each arm may be hollow for allowing the fruit to pass therethrough, in which a means for controlling passage of the fruit through the arm is disposed within the arm operating in response to inclination angle of the arm detected by an orientation detection means.

Preferably, the cutting means may be assisted by a laser means for providing guidance to crop the fruit, and an imaging means coupled with a sensing means for identifying the fruit from the tree.

Preferably, the traction assemblies each may be tiltable with respect to the ground, in which the tilting movement of each traction assembly actuates an uphill sensor or a downhill sensor for extending or retracting its corresponding traction assembly telescopically.

Preferably, the traction assemblies each may be provided with a ground bearing load sensor, which the ground bearing load sensor actuates its corresponding traction assembly to extend and retract telescopically in response to bearing load of the ground engaging with the traction assembly.

Preferably, the traction assemblies each may be provided with a hydraulic cylinder for providing structural support upon increasing weight of the cropped fruit.

Preferably, the harvesting vehicle may further comprise a gyroscopic device for allowing self-balancing of the harvesting vehicle. One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments described herein are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawing the preferred embodiments from an inspection of which when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation and many of its advantages would be readily understood and appreciated.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of a harvesting vehicle according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a side view of the harvesting vehicle according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating a top view of the harvesting vehicle according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of an arm of the harvesting vehicle in an open condition.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of an arm of the harvesting vehicle in a closed condition.

Fig. 6A - 6C is a diagram illustrating a orientation detection means of the harvesting vehicle.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a side view of a main structure of the harvesting vehicle. Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an enlarged view of a plurality of traction assemblies carried by the main structure.

Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating a tilting movement of the traction assembly. Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a side view of a ground engaging stabilizer assembly with a plurality of extensible and retractable legs.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating a fruit collecting means surrounded by a plurality of extensible and retractable legs.

Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating a sequence of translational movement of the harvesting vehicle. Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating a sequence of rotational movement of the harvesting vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1 to Fig. 3, a harvesting vehicle comprises a main structure 1, a plurality of traction assemblies 2 carried by the main structure 1, a fruit picking assembly 4 and a ground engaging stabilizer assembly 7. Preferably, the plurality of traction assemblies 2 is suitable for moving the vehicle over rough and/or flood prone terrain.

Now referring to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the fruit picking assembly 4 is provided with at least one height adjustable, articulated arm 5 having a cutting means 6 for cropping fruit 19 from a tree. In this particular embodiment, each arm 5 is operable with a hydraulic cylinder 22 between a folded position and an extended position in multiple degrees of freedom. Each arm 5 comprises a first section connected to a second section, which the first section comprises a cutting means 6 assisted by a laser means 15 for providing guidance for a user to crop the fruit 19, and an imaging means 16 coupled with a sensing means 17 for identifying the fruit 19 from the tree. By way of example, each arm 5 may have more than two sections. In this preferred embodiment, each arm 5 is a hollow arm, which the hollow arm forms a channel that links an opening 26 of the first section to a fruit collecting means 9 is that is interconnected by the second section. The fruit collecting means 9 is provided onboard the vehicle to accumulate cropped fruit 19, by way of example, the fruit collecting means 9 can be a rigid container or flexible bag. Preferably, the first section is connected to the second section with a hydraulically actuated rotation assembly 25. The rotation assembly 25 may be rotated by a hydraulic cylinder. Therefore, such configuration allows the first section to be operable in substantially 100 degrees and the second section to be operable in substantially 270 degrees, hence achieving multiple degrees of rotational freedom. In one particular embodiment, each arm 5 can be operated individually to crop the fruit 19.

During operation of the harvesting vehicle, the user may operate to extend each arm 5 away from the harvesting vehicle so that the cutting means 6 is able to reach the fruit 19 hanging from the tree. Conveniently, the user observes the fruit 19 through the imaging means 16, which the sensing means 17 assists to identify a suitable fruit 19 to be cropped. By way of example, the imaging means 16 may include cameras, video cameras, infrared cameras, thermographic cameras, video recorders, thermal imagers and other suitable means for capturing images or videos. Advantageously, the sensing means 17 may be linked to a prestored information pertaining to characteristics of a perfectly ripened fruit 19 at the right time for harvesting. Depending on the prestored information, the sensing means 16 may be capable of identifying colour, size and shape of the fruit 19. Therefore, the user may be informed of the ripened fruit 19 among other fruits from the tree through comparison of the prestored information and the images and/or videos captured by the imaging means 16.

Upon identification of the ripened fruit 19, the user operates one of the arm 5 so that the opening 26, or hopper is positioned beneath the fruit 19. The user then actuates the cutting means 6 to remove the fruit 19 by cutting its stem that connects the fruit 19 to the tree, hence, the fruit 19 falls into the opening 26 and slides into the fruit collecting means 9. Preferably, the cutting means 6 is a rigid part having at least one sharp edge, by way of example, a cutting chisel. The laser means 15 improves cutting accuracy by aiming accurately at the stem prior to cutting.

A means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 through the arm is disposed within each arm 5, which the means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 operates in response to inclination angle of the arm 5 detected by an orientation detection means 8. The means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 is operable between an open position and a closed position to release and secure the cropped fruit 19 respectively. During the closed position, the means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 is actuated to block the channel, hence the fruit 19 is secured and unable to pass through the channel. During the open position, the means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 is actuated to unblock the channel, hence the fruit 19 is released into the fruit collecting means 9. By way of example, the means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 may secure the fruit 19 by gripping the fruit 19 instead of blocking the channel.

In this particular embodiment, the first section and second section of each arm 5 are provided with one means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 that is linked to one orientation detection means 8. Preferably, the orientation detection means 8 actuates its corresponding means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 to release the fruit 19 when its corresponding arm 5 is oriented at an angle in the range of zero degree to thirty-five degrees from horizontal. Otherwise, the orientation detection means 8 actuates the means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 to secure the fruit 19, thus preventing the fruit 19 from sliding into the fruit collecting means 9 as the fruit 19 slides faster within the arm 5 at a more inclined level and will be bruised as a result. Preferably, the orientation detection means 8 is in the form of a magnetic sensor 81. Fig. 6A to Fig. 6C illustrate that the orientation detection means 8 displays different indicator for various conditions, namely the open position 6B and a closed position 6C of the means for controlling passage of the fruit 23. If the magnetic sensor 81 contacts a weight 82 of the orientation detection means 8, it indicates the open position. If the magnetic sensor 81 does not contact the weight 82 of the orientation detection means 8, it indicates the closed position.

Referring to Fig. 7 to Fig. 9, the plurality of traction assemblies 2 each is connected telescopically to the main structure 1, which each traction assembly 2 is tiltable with respect to the ground, in which the tilting movement of each traction assembly 2 actuates an uphill sensor 18 or a downhill sensor (not shown) for extending or retracting its corresponding traction assembly 2 telescopically. In one preferred embodiment, each traction assembly 2 may be operable individually, therefore such combination is advantageous for the harvesting vehicle to manoeuvre on peat soil and uneven terrain.

In one example, the traction assembly 2 tilts upwards with respect to the harvesting vehicle’s advancing direction when the harvesting vehicle advances towards higher elevations with steep surface. In another example, the traction assembly 2 tilts downwards with respect to the harvesting vehicle’s advancing direction when the harvesting vehicle advances towards lower elevations with steep surface. The upward and downward tilting movement of the traction assembly 2 trigger the uphill sensor 18 and downhill sensor respectively. In one particular embodiment, when the uphill sensor 18 is triggered, the traction assembly 2 retracts; when the downhill sensor is triggered, the traction assembly 2 extends. By way of example, the uphill sensor 18 and the downhill sensor are pushed by a lever 21 to be triggered.

Furthermore, each traction assembly 2 is linked to a ground bearing load sensor 20 in such a way that which the ground bearing load sensor 20 actuates its corresponding traction assembly 2 to extend and retract telescopically in response to bearing load of the ground engaging with the traction assembly 2 Thus, each traction assembly 2 is extended until the traction assembly 2 is in contact with the ground. A force exerted continuously from the traction assembly 2 on the ground would compact the ground and thus causing the ground to be undesirable for the growth of oil palm tree. Therefore, a reaction force detected by the ground bearing load sensor 20 upon contact of the traction assembly 2 with the ground is compared with a pre-set hydraulic force. When the reaction force exceeds the pre-set hydraulic force, the ground bearing load sensor 20 stops the extension of its corresponding traction assembly 2 Therefore, the traction assembly 2 only stops extending upon contact with solid ground. Similarly, the extension of the traction assembly 2 due to the downhill sensor is stopped by the ground bearing load sensor 20 when the reaction force exceeds the pre-set hydraulic force, which implies that the traction assembly 2 is in contact with the solid ground and is not required to extended even further.

Furthermore, the traction assembly 2 is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 23. In this particular embodiment, the means for controlling passage of the fruit 23 records the number of the fruit 19 passing the channel, and thus computing total weight of the cropped fruits 19. Advantageously, the hydraulic cylinder 27 increases its hydraulic pressure with a pressure regulator in response to the total weight of the harvested fruit 19 in order to provide structural support to the traction assembly 2 upon increasing number of the fruit 19 collected.

Now referring to Fig. 10, the ground engaging stabilizer assembly 7 comprises a plurality of extensible and retractable legs 8 operable to support the vehicle while the traction assemblies 2 are taken out of engagement with the ground. The plurality of extensible and retractable legs 8 is in a retracted position during mobility of the harvesting vehicle so that the plurality of extensible and retractable legs 8 does not obstruct movement of the harvesting vehicle. Referring to Fig. 11, the legs 8 is arranged around the fruit collecting means 9.

Both the fruit picking assembly 4 and the ground engaging stabilizer assembly 7 are supported for movement with, and relative to, the main structure 1. Referring to Fig. 10, the fruit picking assembly 4 is connected to the main structure 1 with a first plurality of guide rollers 12 provided therebetween for providing rotational movement with respect to one another. Moreover, the fruit picking assembly 4 and the main structure 1 are arranged with a second plurality of guide rollers 13 therebetween for providing translational movement with respect to one another. Therefore, the arrangement of the first plurality of guide rollers 12 and the second plurality of guide rollers 13 allow the fruit picking assembly 4 coupled with the ground engaging stabilizer assembly 7 and the main structure 1 to be movable together rotatably and/or translationally with respect to one another. In a forward translational movement as depicted in Fig. 11, the legs 8 extend so that the traction assemblies 2 are lifted away the ground, meanwhile the main structure 1 is moved forward linearly with respect to the fruit picking assembly 4. Then, the legs 8 retract to bring the traction assemblies 2 into engagement with the ground, thus lowering the main structure 1. The fruit picking assembly 4 moves forward linearly until a certain horizontal distance and extends the legs 8 to lift the main structure 1 with its plurality of traction assemblies 2 from the ground again. Such cycle repeats until the harvesting vehicle reaches its designated area.

In a rotational movement as depicted in Fig. 12, the legs 8 extend so that the traction assemblies 2 are lifted away the ground, so that the main structure 1 is rotated with the gear and pinion configuration with respect to the fruit picking assembly 4. For example, the gear and pinion configuration may be driven by a hydraulic motor. The main structure 1 stops rotating upon reaching its desired orientation. The legs 8 then retracts to its retracted position, thus allowing the main structure 1 to be lowered down with the plurality of traction assemblies 2 engaging the ground.

In another preferred embodiment, the harvesting vehicle further comprises a gyroscopic device for allowing self-balancing of the harvesting vehicle. In one example, the fruit picking assembly 4 is provided with the gyroscopic device connected to the main structure 2 for allowing self-balancing of the harvesting vehicle. Preferably, the gyroscopic device is in the form of a ring which allows the harvesting vehicle to remain substantially horizontal regardless of ground steepness. Preferably, each traction assembly 2 can be operated individually by controlling moving speed of each traction assembly 2 to steer the direction of the harvesting vehicle. For example, the traction assemblies 2 on left side of the harvesting vehicle may rotate faster than the traction assemblies 2 on right side of the harvesting vehicle to steer to the right side.

Preferably, the harvesting vehicle may be provided with a platform 24 acting as an operation control centre for the user. The user may observe the images or videos on a display provided on the platform 24 and operates the plurality of arms 5 collectively or individually from the platform 24. By way of example, the user may control only one arm 5 at a time or more than one arm 5 simultaneously.

The present disclosure includes as contained in the appended claims, as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.