Search

EP-4736627-A2 - HARVESTING DEVICE

EP4736627A2EP 4736627 A2EP4736627 A2EP 4736627A2EP-4736627-A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a harvesting device for harvesting horticultural produce, from plant stems in greenhouse cultivation, the device comprising a guiding member, which defines a through plant passage and which is configured to surround the plant stem at least partially in the plant passage during use, and a cutting member, which is attached to the guiding member and which is configured to cut peduncles of the produce that is attached to the plant stems, to separate them from the plant stems. The plant stems are configured to be guided inside the guiding member upon relative movements of the harvesting device along the plant stem along a longitudinal axis and the cutting member is configured to cut the peduncles that pass the guiding member during movement of the harvesting device. The harvesting device further comprises a storage member, which surrounds the guiding member at least partially and which is configured to collect the produce that is separated from the plant stems and preferably configured to drop off the side shoots and leaves.

Inventors

  • BARTH, Ruud
  • VAN TUIJL, Bart Adrianus Johannes

Assignees

  • Saia Holding B.V.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220708

Claims (10)

  1. Harvesting device (1) for harvesting horticultural produce (102), side shoots and/or leaves (103) from plant stems (101) in greenhouse cultivation, the device comprising: - a guiding member (10), which defines a through plant passage (11) and which is configured to surround the plant stem at least partially in the plant passage during use, and - a cutting member (20), which is attached to the guiding member and which is configured to cut peduncles (104) of the produce, the side shoots and/or petioles of the leaves that are attached to the plant stems, to separate them from the plant stems, wherein the plant stems are configured to be guided inside the guiding member upon relative movements of the harvesting device along the plant stem along a longitudinal axis (L-L), i.e. in an upward vertical direction, and wherein the cutting member is configured to cut the peduncles, the side shoots and/or the petioles that pass the guiding member during movement of the harvesting device, characterized in that, the harvesting device further comprises: - a storage member (30), which surrounds the guiding member at least partially and which is configured to collect the produce that is separated from the plant stems and preferably configured to drop off the side shoots and leaves, wherein the guiding member is crown-shaped, comprising: - a plurality of tips (12), which are aligned upwardly and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis and which are spaced around the circumference of the plant passage, and - a respective tapered guiding valley (13) in between each two adjacent tips.
  2. Harvesting device according to claim 1, wherein the storage member is rotatable relative to the guiding member and/or the cutting member about the longitudinal axis.
  3. Harvesting device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a side aperture, which provides access to the plant passage in an access direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis to allow entry in and exit from the plant stem in the plant passage in the access direction.
  4. Harvesting device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting member is, seen in the radial direction, spaced at a distance from the plant passage, and wherein the distance is preferably selected in the range between 5 mm and 15 mm.
  5. Harvesting device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the guiding valleys are U-shaped or V-shaped, seen in the radial direction.
  6. Harvesting device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting member comprises a respective cutting device (21) in each of the guiding valleys.
  7. Harvesting device according to the preamble of claim 1, wherein the cutting member, e.g. each of the cutting devices, is an oscillatory cutting member, for example a sonic or ultrasonic cutting member.
  8. Harvesting device according to the preamble of claim 1, wherein the cutting member, e.g. each of the cutting devices, is a rotary cutting member, for example a rotary knife.
  9. Harvesting apparatus, comprising a base, the harvesting device according to any of the preceding claims and an actuator device, configured to move the harvesting device relative to the base to move the harvesting device relative to the plant stem along the longitudinal axis.
  10. Method of harvesting horticultural produce (102), side shoots and leaves (103) from plant stems (101) in greenhouse cultivation by means of the harvesting device (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 8, comprising the steps of: - surrounding the plant stem at least partially in the plant passage by the guiding member (10) of the harvesting device, - moving the harvesting device along the plant stem along a longitudinal axis (L-L), - guiding peduncles (104) of the produce, the side shoots and/or petioles of the leaves that are attached to the plant stem by the guiding member, - cutting the peduncles, the side shoots and/or the leaves by means of the cutting member (20) of the harvesting device, to separate them from the plant stem, and - collecting the produce that is separated from the plant stems in the storage member (30) of the harvesting device.

Description

Field of the invention The present invention relates to a harvesting for harvesting horticultural produce, side shoots and/or leaves from plant stems in greenhouse cultivation. The present invention further relates to a harvesting apparatus and to a method of horticultural produce, side shoots and/or leaves from plant stems in greenhouse cultivation. State of the art At present, various types of harvesting apparatuses are known for use in greenhouse cultivation. A first example thereof is the so-called Sweeper harvesting robot developed, amongst others, by Wageningen University and Research (NL). This robot comprises a harvesting device attached to a manipulator arm, configured to move the harvesting device to horticultural produce, i.e. bell peppers, on the basis of a sensor signal and wherein the harvesting device is configured to cut the produce from the plant and to transport it to a storage by means of the manipulator arm. This Sweeper robot has the drawback that it first needs to find the stem of the plant with its sensors, then needs to follow the stem by means of the sensors to find any ripe produce. After harvesting, the harvesting device needs to catch the produce that was cut and needs to move it towards a storage by means of the manipulator arm. This all has the drawback that the Sweeper robot is relatively slow in operation. Another example of a cutting apparatus is known from Dutch Patent NL1024702C2, which discloses a manipulator arm and a cutting device that surrounds the plant stem and that is configured to be moved along the plant stem. This cutting device is able to cut leaves and side shoots of the plants, but is unable to harvest produce from the plant. Hence, cut parts of the plants, i.e. the leaves and the side shoots, merely fall on the greenhouse floor. In case produce is cut, this system comprises no means to process the produce that was cut, for example for packaging and/or further processing. Finally, WO 2005/058013 A1 discloses a device for harvesting tomatoes from a tomato plant, comprising a positioning member with a gripper member for gripping a stem of the tomato plant and a separating member formed by tray parts. During harvesting with this device, the plant stem is clamped and the tray parts are moved upwards to separate the tomatoes from the plant stem. This known harvesting device has the drawback that the plant stem needs to be clamped to exert the upward cutting force onto the tomatoes to effect separation thereof from the plant stem. Object of the invention It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a harvesting device that is able to harvest horticultural produce is a more efficient manner, or at least to provide an alternative harvesting device. Detailed description The present invention provides a harvesting device for harvesting horticultural produce, side shoots and/or leaves from plant stems in greenhouse cultivation in accordance with claim 1. The device comprises: a guiding member, which defines a through plant passage and which is configured to surround the plant stem at least partially in the plant passage during use, anda cutting member, which is attached to the guiding member and which is configured to cut peduncles of the produce, the side shoots and/or petioles of the leaves that are attached to the plant stems, to separate them from the plant stems, wherein the plant stems are configured to be guided inside the guiding member upon relative movements of the harvesting device along the plant stem along a longitudinal axis, i.e. in an upward vertical direction, and wherein the cutting member is configured to cut the peduncles, the side shoots and/or the petioles that pass the guiding member during movement of the harvesting device, characterized in that the harvesting device further comprises:a storage member, which surrounds the guiding member at least partially and which is configured to collect the produce that is separated from the plant stems and preferably configured to drop off the side shoots and leaves. The harvesting device according to the present invention is configured to be moved along the plant stem, during which the plant stem is substantially enclosed in the through plant passage. With substantially enclosed, it is meant that the plant stem may be either completely surrounded by the guiding member or that it may be surrounded partly by the guiding member. The harvesting device is configured to receive the plant stem inside the plant passage of the guiding member. The passage extends along the longitudinal axis, so that the plant stem extends along the longitudinal axis as well. The longitudinal axis may be aligned substantially vertically and upward, but may also have a component in a horizontal direction, for example being aligned at an angle between 0° and 20° with respect to an upward vertical direction. The harvesting device is configured to be guided with respect to the plant stem as a result of the plant stem being receive