U.S. patent application number 15/535901 was filed with the patent office on 2018-08-02 for device and method for peeling.
The applicant listed for this patent is BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Jinyue JU, Tianyue ZHAO.
Application Number | 20180213960 15/535901 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56330322 |
Filed Date | 2018-08-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180213960 |
Kind Code |
A9 |
JU; Jinyue ; et al. |
August 2, 2018 |
DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PEELING
Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and a
device for peeling, including a peeling means, a fixing means, a
first motor, a second motor, a control device for controlling the
peeling means, a three-dimensional (3D) modeling apparatus
configured to acquire three-dimensional coordinates of the surface
of the item to be peeled, and a processing and controlling unit,
wherein the processing and controlling unit is connected to the
three-dimensional modeling apparatus and configured to determine an
operating parameter of the peeling means, an operating parameter of
the first motor and an operating parameter of the second motor, the
processing and controlling unit is further connected to the first
motor and controls the first motor to drive the movement of the
fixing means, the processing and controlling unit is further
connected to the second motor and control the second motor to drive
the movement of the peeling means.
Inventors: |
JU; Jinyue; (Beijing,
CN) ; ZHAO; Tianyue; (Beijing, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD. |
Beijing |
|
CN |
|
|
Prior
Publication: |
|
Document Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20180055268 A1 |
March 1, 2018 |
|
|
Family ID: |
56330322 |
Appl. No.: |
15/535901 |
Filed: |
April 29, 2016 |
PCT Filed: |
April 29, 2016 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2016/080586 PCKC 00 |
371 Date: |
June 14, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J 17/16 20130101;
A23N 7/026 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47J 17/16 20060101
A47J017/16; A23N 7/02 20060101 A23N007/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 26, 2016 |
CN |
201610107370.4 |
Claims
1. A device for peeling, comprising: a peeling means configured to
peel an item to be peeled; a fixing means configured to secure the
item to be peeled; the device for peeling further comprising a
first motor, a second motor, a control device for controlling the
peeling means, a three-dimensional (3D) modeling apparatus, and a
processing and controlling unit, wherein: the three-dimensional
modeling apparatus is configured to acquire three-dimensional
coordinates of a surface of the item to be peeled; the processing
and controlling unit is connected to the three-dimensional modeling
apparatus and configured to i) determine, based on the
three-dimensional coordinates, an operating parameter of the
peeling means for each region of the surface of the item to be
peeled, and ii) determine, based on the determined operating
parameter, an operating parameter of the first motor and an
operating parameter of the second motor; the processing and
controlling unit is further connected to the first motor and
configured to control the first motor based on the operating
parameter of the first motor such that the first motor operates to
drive the movement of the fixing means based on the operating
parameter of the first motor; and the processing and controlling
unit is further connected to the second motor and configured to
control the second motor based on the operating parameter of the
second motor such that the second motor operates to drive the
movement of the peeling means based on the operating parameter of
the second motor, wherein the rotation of the second motor enables
the control device for controlling the peeling means to control the
movement of the peeling means.
2. The device of claim 1, further comprising: an acquisition means
configured to acquire a category of the item to be peeled.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein the acquisition means comprises:
an image acquiring unit configured to acquire an image of the item
to be peeled; and an image recognizing unit configured to perform
image recognition on the acquired image of the item to be peeled to
determine the category of the item to be peeled.
4. The device of claim 2 wherein; the processing and controlling
unit is further configured to determine a thickness parameter for
peeling based on the category of the item to be peeled; and the
processing and controlling unit is further configured to determine,
based on the three-dimensional coordinates and the thickness
parameter for peeling, the operating parameter of the peeling means
for each region of the surface of the item to be peeled.
5. The device of claim 3, wherein: the image recognizing unit is
configured to identify, by using image recognition, a contour of a
part of the surface of the item to be peeled which requires special
handling; the processing and controlling unit is configured to
determine, based on the characteristics of the contour, a
processing parameter for the contour; and the processing and
controlling unit is configured to determine, for the contour, an
operating parameter of the peeling means based on the processing
parameter for the contour.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional modeling
apparatus comprises at least one of: a monocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a multi-vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a structured light
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; and a pulse ranging
three-dimensional modeling apparatus.
7. A method for peeling, comprising: obtaining three-dimensional
coordinates of a surface of an item to be peeled; determining an
operating parameter of a peeling means for each region of the
surface of the item to be peeled based on the three-dimensional
coordinates; determining an operating parameter of a first motor
and an operating parameter of a second motor based on the
determined operating parameter; controlling the first motor to
drive the movement of a fixing means based on the operating
parameter of the first motor; and controlling the second motor to
drive the movement of the peeling means based on the operating
parameter of the second motor, wherein the rotation of the second
motor enables a control device for controlling the peeling means to
control the movement of the peeling means.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: acquiring a category
of the item to be peeled.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein acquiring the category of the
item to be peeled comprises: acquiring an image of the item to be
peeled by using an image acquiring device; and determining, by
performing image recognition on the acquired image of the item to
be peeled, the category of the item to be peeled.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining a
thickness parameter for peeling based on the category of the item
to be peeled; and determining, based on the three-dimensional
coordinates and the thickness parameter for peeling, the operating
parameter of the peeling means for each region of the surface of
the item to be peeled.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: identifying, by
using image recognition, a contour of a part of the surface of the
item to be peeled which requires special handling; determining a
processing parameter for the contour based on the characteristics
of the contour; and determining, for the contour, an operating
parameter of the peeling means based on the processing parameter
for the contour.
12. The method according to claim 7, wherein the three-dimensional
coordinates of the surface are obtained using at least one of:
monocular vision three-dimensional modeling; binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling; multi-vision three-dimensional
modeling; structured light three-dimensional modeling; and pulse
ranging three-dimensional modeling.
13. The device of claim 3, wherein: the processing and controlling
unit is further configured to determine a thickness parameter for
peeling based on the category of the item to be peeled; and the
processing and controlling unit is further configured to determine,
based on the three-dimensional coordinates and the thickness
parameter for peeling, the operating parameter of the peeling means
for each region of the surface of the item to be peeled.
14. The device of claim 3, wherein the three-dimensional modeling
apparatus comprises at least one of: a monocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a multi-vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a structured light
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; and a pulse ranging
three-dimensional modeling apparatus.
15. The device of claim 4, wherein the three-dimensional modeling
apparatus comprises at least one of: a monocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a multi-vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a structured light
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; and a pulse ranging
three-dimensional modeling apparatus.
16. The device of claim 5, wherein the three-dimensional modeling
apparatus comprises at least one of: a monocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a multi-vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; a structured light
three-dimensional modeling apparatus; and a pulse ranging
three-dimensional modeling apparatus.
17. The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining a
thickness parameter for peeling based on the category of the item
to be peeled; and determining, based on the three-dimensional
coordinates and the thickness parameter for peeling, the operating
parameter of the peeling means for each region of the surface of
the item to be peeled.
18. The method according to claim 8, wherein the three-dimensional
coordinates of the surface are obtained using at least one of:
monocular vision three-dimensional modeling; binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling; multi-vision three-dimensional
modeling; structured light three-dimensional modeling; and pulse
ranging three-dimensional modeling.
19. The method according to claim 9, wherein the three-dimensional
coordinates of the surface are obtained using at least one of:
monocular vision three-dimensional modeling; binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling; multi-vision three-dimensional
modeling; structured light three-dimensional modeling; and pulse
ranging three-dimensional modeling.
20. The method according to claim 10, wherein the three-dimensional
coordinates of the surface are obtained using at least one of:
monocular vision three-dimensional modeling; binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling; multi-vision three-dimensional
modeling; structured light three-dimensional modeling; and pulse
ranging three-dimensional modeling.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application is a National Stage Entry of
PCT/CN2016/080586 filed on Apr. 29, 2016, which claims the benefit
and priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201610107370.4 filed
on Feb. 26, 2016, the disclosures of which are incorporated by
reference herein in their entirety as part of the present
application.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a device and
method for peeling.
[0003] At present, there are usually two ways to peel items such as
fruits and vegetables: artificial peeling and mechanical peeling.
Artificial peeling is time consuming and laborious, and if you do
not carry out a lot of peeling training/practice, it may lead to
the phenomenon that the peeling is too thick, uneven and so on. In
addition, the user's fingers may also be injured. Mechanical
peeling is suitable for peeling an item with a regular shape, but
for items with irregular shape, mechanical peeling may lead to the
phenomenon that the peeling is too thick and/or too thin or the
skin cannot be peeled. As a result, there is a need for an improved
solution for peeling.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
[0004] A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a device
for peeling. The device for peeling includes a peeling means
configured to peel an item to be peeled and a fixing means
configured to secure the item to be peeled, wherein the device for
peeling further includes a first motor, a second motor, a control
device for controlling the peeling means, a three-dimensional (3D)
modeling apparatus, a processing and controlling unit, wherein the
three-dimensional modeling apparatus is configured to acquire
three-dimensional coordinates of a surface of the item to be
peeled, the processing and controlling unit is connected to the
three-dimensional modeling apparatus and configured to determine,
based on the three-dimensional coordinates, an operating parameter
of the peeling means for each region of the surface of the item to
be peeled, and determine, based on the determined operating
parameter, an operating parameter of the first motor and an
operating parameter of the second motor, the processing and
controlling unit is further connected to the first motor and
configured to control the first motor based on the operating
parameter of the first motor such that the first motor operates to
drive the movement of the fixing means based on the operating
parameter of the first motor, the processing and controlling unit
is further connected to the second motor and configured to control
the second motor based on the operating parameter of the second
motor such that the second motor operates to drive the movement of
the peeling means based on the operating parameter of the second
motor, wherein the rotation of the second motor enables the control
device for controlling the peeling means to control the movement of
the peeling means.
[0005] According to an embodiment, the device for peeling further
includes an acquisition means configured to acquire a category of
the item to be peeled.
[0006] According to an embodiment, the acquisition means includes
an image acquiring unit configured to acquire an image of the item
to be peeled, and an image recognizing unit configured to perform
image recognition on the acquired image of the item to be peeled to
determine the category of the item to be peeled.
[0007] According to various embodiments, the processing and
controlling unit is further configured to determine a thickness
parameter for peeling based on the category of the item to be
peeled, the processing and controlling unit is further configured
to determine, based on the three-dimensional coordinates and the
thickness parameter for peeling, an operating parameter of the
peeling means for each region of the surface of the item to be
peeled.
[0008] According to an embodiment, the image recognizing unit is
configured to identify, by using image recognition, a contour of a
part of the surface of the item to be peeled which requires special
handling, the processing and controlling unit is configured to
determine, based on the characteristics of the contour, a
processing parameter for the contour, and the processing and
controlling unit is configured to determine, for the contour, an
operating parameter of the peeling means based on the processing
parameter for the contour.
[0009] According to various embodiments, the three-dimensional
modeling apparatus includes one or more of a monocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a multi-vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a structured light
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, and a pulse ranging
three-dimensional modeling apparatus.
[0010] A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method
for peeling, the method including obtaining three-dimensional
coordinates of a surface of an item to be peeled, determining an
operating parameter of a peeling means for each region of the
surface of the item to be peeled based on the three-dimensional
coordinates, determining an operating parameter of a first motor
and an operating parameter of a second motor based on the
determined operating parameter, controlling the first motor to
drive the movement of a fixing means based on the operating
parameter of the first motor, and controlling the second motor to
drive the movement of the peeling means based on the operating
parameter of the second motor, wherein the rotation of the second
motor enables a control device for controlling the peeling means to
control the movement of the peeling means.
[0011] According to an embodiment, the method further includes
acquiring a category of the item to be peeled.
[0012] According to one embodiment, acquiring the category of the
item to be peeled includes acquiring an image of the item to be
peeled by using an image acquiring device, and determining, by
performing image recognition on the acquired image of the item to
be peeled, the category of the item to be peeled.
[0013] According to various embodiments, the method further
includes determining a thickness parameter for peeling based on the
category of the item to be peeled, and determining, based on the
three-dimensional coordinates and the thickness parameter for
peeling, an operating parameter of the peeling means for each
region of the surface of the item to be peeled.
[0014] According to one embodiment, the method further includes
identifying, by using image recognition, a contour of a part of the
surface of the item to be peeled which requires special handling,
determining a processing parameter for the contour based on the
characteristics of the contour, and determining, for the contour,
an operating parameter of the peeling means based on the processing
parameter for the contour.
[0015] According to various embodiments, the three-dimensional
coordinates of the surface are obtained by using one or more of a
monocular vision three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a binocular
vision three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a multi-vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a structured light
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, and a pulse ranging
three-dimensional modeling apparatus.
[0016] The embodiments of the disclosure have at least the
following advantages: 1) it can determine the operating parameters
of the peeling means for each region of the surface of the item to
be peeled so that more accurate peeling operations can be performed
on an irregularly item to be peeled, 2) it can avoid the effects of
insufficient peeling and/or excessive peeling by obtaining the
category of the item to be peeled and determining a thickness
parameter for peeling based on the category of the item to be
peeled, and 3) it enables the device for peeling to handle a part
which requires special handling by identifying a contour of the
part which requires special handling, determining a processing
parameter for the part and determining the operating parameter of
the peeling means, thereby further enhancing the scope of
application of the device for peeling and more precisely processing
the part which requires special handling.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] Referring now to the drawings, the drawings are exemplary
only and are not drawn to scale, wherein:
[0018] FIG. 1A shows a schematic structural view of a device for
peeling according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 1B shows a schematic structural view of a device for
peeling according to another embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0020] FIG. 2A shows a schematic structural view of a device for
peeling according to another embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0021] FIG. 2B shows a schematic structural view of a device for
peeling according to another embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0022] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a device for peeling
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0023] FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of a method for peeling according
to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0024] In the drawings, for ease of understanding, the same or
similar reference number has been used to refer to elements that
have substantially the same or similar construction and/or
functions.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described
below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following
description, numerous specific details are set forth such that
those skilled in the art can completely understand and implement
the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the
art that the present disclosure may be implemented without some of
these specific details. In addition, it is to be understood that
the disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments
described. Rather, it is contemplated that the present disclosure
may be practiced with any combination of features and elements
described below, whether or not they relate to different
embodiments. Accordingly, the following aspects, features, examples
and advantages are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be
regarded as an element or limitation of the claims, unless
expressly stated in the claims.
[0026] As used in this application, "peeling" may refer to
eliminating/removing a skin of an item to be peeled,
eliminating/removing a part of the item to be peeled which requires
special handling (e.g., rotting, deteriorating, wormhole, breakage,
etc.), cutting the item to be peeled into a uniform film with a
specified size, or other cutting operations for the item to be
peeled.
Device for Peeling
[0027] FIG. 1A shows a schematic structural view of a device for
peeling 100a according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the device for peeling 100a includes a peeling
means 102 configured to peel the item 118 to be peeled. The item
118 to be peeled may include any item suitable for peeling, such as
various fruits, vegetables or other items, for example, apples,
pears, peaches, potatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, sweet potatoes, and
the like. The peeling means 102 may include various types of
existing or future developed peeling knives, cutting knives, any
other means suitable for peeling the item to be peeled, or a
combination thereof. By way of example, the peeling means 102 may
include a peeling knife and a cutter knife, wherein the peeling
knife may perform a peeling operation, and the cutting knife may
perform a cutting operation on certain parts.
[0028] The device for peeling 100a further includes a fixing means
104 configured to secure the item 118 to be peeled. The fixing
means may be any existing or future means suitable for securing the
item to be peeled, such as a rod with a plurality of pins or any
other suitable fixing means. It should be noted that although the
fixing means 104 is shown as fixing the item to be peeled 118 at
one end of the item to be peeled item 118 in FIG. 1A, the fixing
means 104 may fix the item to be peeled 118 at both ends of the
item to be peeled item 118 in other embodiments. In this case, the
fixing means 104 may include a fixing mechanism with an ejector rod
and a pressing rod, or other suitable fixing or holding mechanism.
The fixing means 104 may be integrally formed with a tray 116, or
the fixing means 104 and the tray 116 may be two separate elements,
but may engage with each other.
[0029] The device for peeling 100a further includes a first motor
106 provided at one end of the fixing means 104. The first motor
106 may be directly connected with the fixing means 104 or
connected with the fixing means 104 by any other suitable mechanism
(such as a transmission gear, for example a gear, belt, or the
like) and control its movement. The movement of the fixing means
104 may include rotational movement or other suitable forms of
movement. When the first motor 106 is rotating, it can cause the
fixing means 104 to move (e.g., rotate), thereby causing the item
to be peeled to move (e.g., rotate). The first motor 106 may be any
suitable type of motor capable of converting electrical energy into
mechanical energy, including but not limited to a direct current
motor and/or an alternating current motor.
[0030] The device for peeling 100a further includes a second motor
108 provided at one end of a control device 110 for controlling the
peeling means. The second motor 108 may be connected with the
control device 110 for controlling the peeling means by any other
suitable mechanism (such as a transmission gear, for example a
gear, belt, or the like) and control its movement. When the second
motor 108 is rotating, it drives the control device 110 for
controlling the peeling means to move. The movement may include up
and down movement and/or left and right movement or other suitable
forms of movement. The second motor 108 may be any suitable type of
motor capable of converting electrical energy into mechanical
energy, including but not limited to a direct current motor and/or
an alternating current motor.
[0031] The device for peeling 100a further includes the control
device 110 for controlling the peeling means. The control device
110 for controlling the peeling means is configured to control the
movement of the peeling means 102, for example, it may position the
peeling means 102 at a specified location (coordinate) and control
the orientation of the peeling means 102 or may control other
movements of the peeling means 102. The control device 110 for
controlling the peeling means may be implemented using any suitable
existing or future developed mechanism. For example, the control
device 110 for controlling the peeling means may use a combination
of, for example, a slider nut and a screw rod to effect lifting
movements, use a variety of existing or future developed diverter
to achieve steering motion, use a belt and/or pulley mechanism etc.
to transmit the kinetic energy of the second motor to the other end
of the control device 110 for controlling the peeling means and
control the orientation of the peeling means 102 by using a
suitable mechanism such as a robot arm for example.
[0032] The device for peeling 100a further includes a
three-dimensional modeling apparatus 112 for obtaining the
three-dimensional coordinates of the surface of the item 118 to be
peeled. The three-dimensional coordinates can be three-dimensional
Cartesian coordinates, cylindrical coordinates, spherical
coordinates, or other three-dimensional coordinates that can be
used. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus 112 may include one
or more of a monocular vision three-dimensional modeling apparatus,
a binocular vision three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a
multi-vision three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a structured
light three-dimensional modeling apparatus, and a pulse ranging
three-dimensional modeling apparatus. As an example, the
pulse-ranging three-dimensional modeling apparatus such as a laser
rangefinder uses pulsed measurements and performs distance
measurement by actively emitting a laser and receiving a reflected
signal from an object such as an item to be peeled. For each scan
point, the slope distance of a station to the scanning point can be
measured, and the difference between the coordinates of each scan
point and the station can be obtained with the horizontal and
vertical angle of the scan. If the coordinates of the station and
an orientation point are the known values, the three-dimensional
coordinate of each scan point can be determined. In an embodiment,
the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 112 may simultaneously
scan the rotating item 118 to be peeled with two lasers, and use a
data processor to perform three-dimensional modeling on the scanned
data to determine the coordinates of each point of the surface of
the item 118 to be peeled.
[0033] The device for peeling 100a further includes a processing
and controlling unit 120. The processing and controlling unit 120
is connected to the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 112 and
determines an operating parameter of the peeling means 102 for each
region of the surface of the item 118 to be peeled based on the
three-dimensional coordinates. For example, the processing and
controlling unit 120 may obtain the three-dimensional coordinates
of the surface of the item 118 to be peeled from the
three-dimensional modeling apparatus 112. In addition, the
processing and controlling unit 120 may divide the surface of the
item 118 to be peeled into a plurality of regions depending on the
flatness of the surface of the item to be peeled and so on. By way
of example, it is assumed that the shape of the item 118 to be
peeled (e.g., apple) is regular (e.g., spherical) and the item 118
to be peeled is centered on the fixing means 104. In this case, if
the fixing means 104 drives the item 118 to be peeled to rotate,
the minimum distance between the surface of the item 118 to be
peeled and the peeling means 102 is the same at the same horizontal
plane. Thus, the surface of the item 118 to be peeled within the
same vertical height range can be divided into a region depending
on the size and surface evenness of the item 118 to be peeled. In
addition, if the surface of the item 118 to be peeled is irregular,
the processing and controlling unit 120 may divide the irregular
surface into a plurality of regular sub-surfaces (i.e., regions),
and then determine, for each sub-surface, the operating parameter
of the peeling means 102. In addition, the surface of the item 118
to be peeled may be divided into a plurality of regions by using
any suitable methods, and this disclosure has no limit to this. In
general, the processing and controlling unit 120 may determine a
reference line for each region. At the time of cutting, the peeling
means 102 may complete the peeling operation of the region along
the reference line.
[0034] Then, for each region, the processing and controlling unit
120 determines the operating parameters of the peeling means 102,
such as position (e.g., three-dimensional coordinate), orientation
(e.g., cutting angle), trajectory, etc., wherein the position of
the peeling means 102 may be defined as the position of any
designated portion in the peeling means 102. After the peeling
means 102 is adjusted to the position consistent with the operating
parameters, it can peel the region. After determining a region, the
processing and controlling unit 120 may determine the operating
parameters of the peeling means 102 for an adjacent or non-adjacent
region.
[0035] After determining the operating parameters of the peeling
means 102, the processing and controlling unit 120 may determine
the operating parameter of the first motor 106 and the operating
parameters of the second motor 108 based on the determined
operating parameters. For example, assuming that the operating
parameters for the peeling means 102 for the first region are that
the position is (x, y, z) and the orientation is vertical. The
processing and controlling unit 120 may determine the operating
parameters of motor which are required to rotate the first region
of the item 118 to be peeled (e.g., the reference line as described
above) through the coordinates (x, y, z) based on the determined
operating parameters. As an example, assuming that the starting
point of the reference line of the first region of the item to be
peeled is located at coordinates (x1, y1, z1), the processing and
controlling unit 120 may determine, based on the coordinates (x, y,
z) and coordinates (x1, y1, Z1) and the characteristics of the
first region, the number of turns of the first motor 106, and then
the operating parameters of the first motor are determined based on
the performance parameters of the first motor 106 for example
(i.e., enable the first motor to rotate the determined number of
turns). In an embodiment, the first motor 106 may rotate at a
uniform speed.
[0036] In addition, the processing and controlling unit 120 may
determine the operating parameters of the second motor 108 which
are required for the peeling means 102 to reach the specified
coordinates (x, y, z) and adjusting the peeling means 102 to the
specified orientation (such as vertical orientation) based on the
determined operating parameters. As an example, assuming that the
peeling means 102 is initially located at the coordinates (x2, y2,
z2), the processing and controlling unit 120 may calculate the
height difference between the coordinates (x, y, z) and the
coordinates (x2, y2, z2), determine the height of the peeling means
102 required to rise/fall, and determine the operating parameters
of the second motor 108 based on the performance parameters of the
control device 110 for controlling the peeling means. Similarly,
the processing and controlling unit 120 may further determine the
operating parameters of the second motor 108 for adjusting the
left/right movement of the control device 110 for controlling the
peeling means, and finally causing the peeling means 102 to reach
the specified coordinates (x, y, z). When the peeling means 102
reaches the coordinates (x, y, z), the processing and controlling
unit 120 may further determine the operating parameters of the
second motor 108 for controlling the control device 110 for
controlling the peeling means to adjust the peeling means 102 to a
specified orientation (e.g., vertical orientation in this
embodiment). It is noted that the movement order (rise/fall,
left/right movement, and orientation adjustment) of the control
device 110 for controlling the peeling means can be varied, and the
disclosure has no limit to this. In other embodiments, the
processing and controlling unit 120 may use any suitable method to
determine the operational parameters required to adjust the peeling
means 102 to a specified coordinates (x, y, z).
[0037] The processing and controlling unit 120 is also connected to
the first motor 106. The processing and controlling unit 120 may
control the first motor 106 based on the operating parameters of
the first motor such that the first motor 106 operates based on the
operating parameters of the first motor to drive the movement of
the fixing means 104. In this case, the processing and controlling
unit 120 may act as a controller for the first motor.
[0038] The processing and controlling unit 120 is also connected to
the second motor 108. The processing and controlling unit 120 may
control the second motor 108 based on the operating parameters of
the second motor such that the second motor 108 operates based on
the operating parameters of the second motor to drive the movement
of the peeling means 102, wherein the rotation of the second motor
108 causes the control device 110 for controlling the peeling means
to be able to control the movement of the peeling means 102. In
this case, the processing and controlling unit 120 may act as a
controller for the second motor.
[0039] In addition, depending on the type of motor used, the
operating parameters of the first motor and the second motor may
include, but are not limited to, voltage, current, rotational
speed, power, start and stop settings, acceleration/deceleration
time, torque, delay, and the like. In addition, when the processing
and controlling unit 120 determines the operating parameters of the
first motor and the operating parameters of the second motor, it is
also possible to consider operating parameters such as motion
sequence, timing, and the like. For example, as described above,
different motion sequences (rise/fall, left/right movement, and
orientation adjustment) of the control device 110 for controlling
the peeling means may correspond to different operating parameters
of the second motor. As an example, the operating parameters of the
first motor and/or the operating parameters of the second motor may
be associated with the timing.
[0040] In addition, it should be noted that the processing and
controlling unit 120 may be an element or include a plurality of
discrete elements. As an example, the processing and controlling
unit 120 may include a data processing unit, a first motor
controller, and a second motor controller. In this case, the first
motor controller may be located in the vicinity of the first motor
or integrated with the first motor, and the second motor controller
may be located near the second motor or integrated with the second
motor. As another example, the processing and controlling unit 120
may include a data processing unit and a motor controller. In this
case, the motor controller can simultaneously control the first
motor and the second motor.
[0041] In the above embodiment, the device for peeling 100a may
determine the operating parameters of the peeling means 102 for
each region of the surface of the item to be peeled, so that a more
precise peeling operation may be performed on the irregular item
118 to be peeled.
[0042] In an embodiment, the device for peeling 100a further
includes an acquisition means (not shown) configured to acquire the
category of the item to be peeled. The category of the item 118 to
be peeled may include, but are not limited to, the type of item,
the degree of maturation, the degree of soft and hard, the time of
storage, or a combination thereof. The processing and controlling
unit 120 is able to determine a thickness parameter for peeling
based on the category of the item 118 to be peeled. For example,
the peeling thickness of different types of items may be different.
As an example, the peeling thickness of an apple is different from
that of a pumpkin. Even if the same type of items, if the
preservation time is different, then their respective peeling
thickness is different. For example, the peeling thicknesses of
fresh potatoes and potatoes saved for a year are different. The
acquisition means may be any suitable means, such as a button, a
press key, a touch screen, a voice input and recognition device, a
keypad, a keyboard, etc., through which the category of the item to
be peeled can be entered by the user. By way of example, the user
can obtain the category of the item to be peeled 118 by pressing
the acquisition means such as a button corresponding to the
category of the item to be peeled. The category of the item 118 to
be peeled may then be transferred to the processing and controlling
unit 120.
[0043] In addition, the acquisition means may also obtain the
category of the item to be peeled by using image recognition in
other embodiments. In this case, the acquisition means may include
an image acquiring unit (not shown) and an image recognizing unit
(not shown). The image acquiring unit may be any suitable image
acquiring means, such as various image sensors, etc., for acquiring
an image of the item to be peeled. The image recognizing unit may
be any device capable of processing and recognizing an image, such
as a processor, a CPU, a digital signal processor, etc., which is
used to perform image recognition on the acquired image of the item
to be peeled to determine the category of the item to be peeled.
The image recognizing unit may use any applicable existing or
future developed image recognition algorithm, and this disclosure
has no limit on it.
[0044] In an embodiment, the processing and controlling unit 120
may further determine a thickness parameter for peeling based on
the category of the item to be peeled. For example, the device for
peeling 100a may store in its memory (not shown) an entry including
the category of an item to be peeled and its corresponding
thickness parameter for peeling (e.g., the entry may be stored in
various suitable data structures such as a database). The
processing and controlling unit 120 may use the category of the
item to be peeled as a retrieval/query item to obtain the thickness
parameter for peeling from the database.
[0045] After obtaining the thickness parameter for peeling, the
processing and controlling unit 120 may further determine an
operating parameter of the peeling means 102 for each region of the
surface of the item to be peeled based on the three-dimensional
coordinates and the thickness parameter for peeling.
[0046] In the above embodiment, the device for peeling 100a can
avoid the effects of insufficient peeling and/or excessive peeling
by obtaining the category of the item to be peeled and determining
the thickness parameter for peeling based on the category of the
item to be peeled.
[0047] In an embodiment, the image recognizing unit may identify,
by using image recognition, a contour of a part of the surface of
the item 118 to be peeled which requires special handling. The part
that requires special handling may include, but not limited to,
rotting, metamorphic, wormhole, damaged, or the like, or
combinations thereof. In general, an image of the part that
requires special handling is different from an image of a normal
part, and the part that requires special handling can be identified
by any suitable image recognition method. The contour of the part
that requires special handling may be defined by the
three-dimensional coordinates of the surface of the item to be
peeled. The processing and controlling unit 120 may then determine
a processing parameter for the contour of the part based on the
characteristics of the contour of the part. The processing
parameter for the contour of the part may include, but not limited
to, degree of decay, degree of metamorphism, the size of the
wormhole, and degree of damage. The processing parameter for the
contour of the part may include, but not limited to, thickness or
depth for peeling for each sub-parts of the part. Subsequently, the
processing and controlling unit 120 may determine, for the contour
of the part, an operating parameter of the peeling means 102 based
on the processing parameters of the contour of the part. By way of
example, it is possible to control the peeling means 102, such as a
cutter, to perform a cutting operation on the part. It is noted
that the above-described operations for identifying the contour of
the part, determining the processing parameter for the contour of
the part and determining the operating parameter of the peeling
means can be iteratively performed until further operations of the
part are not required.
[0048] In the above embodiment, the device for peeling 100a can
handle a part which requires special handling by identifying the
contour of the part which requires special handling, determining
the processing parameter for the contour of the part and
determining the operating parameter of the peeling means, thereby
further enhancing the scope of application of the device for
peeling 100a and more precisely processing the part which requires
special handling.
[0049] FIG. 1B shows a schematic structural view of a device for
peeling 100b according to another embodiment of the present
disclosure. In FIG. 1B, the same reference numerals are used for
the same or similar elements as those in FIG. 1A. For sake of
brevity, the function of each element is not described in detail.
In contrast to FIG. 1A, the second motor includes a second motor
108 and a second motor 128 in FIG. 1B. The second motor 108 may
control the rise and fall movement, and left and right movement of
the peeling means 102 and the second motor 128 may control the
orientation of the peeling means 102.
[0050] FIG. 2A shows a schematic structure view of a device for
peeling 200a according to another embodiment of the present
disclosure. The similar reference numerals are used for the same or
similar elements as those of FIGS. 1A and 1B. For example, the
peeling means 202 may correspond to the peeling means 102 of FIGS.
1A and 1B, wherein in the reference numerals, the first number from
left represents the number of Figure and the remaining two
represent the number of an element. Unlike FIGS. 1A and 1B, the
peeling means 202 and the control device 210 for controlling the
peeling means in FIG. 2A are located at the position of the fixing
device 104 in FIG. 1A and 1B, while the fixing device 204 is
located at the position of peeling means 102 and the control device
110 for controlling the peeling means in FIGS. 1A and 1B, wherein
the peeling means 202 is connected to the control device 210 for
controlling the peeling means. In addition, the positions of the
first motor 206 and the second motor 208 are also adjusted. In the
configuration of FIG. 2A, the first motor 206 may drive the fixing
means 204 to rotate in the direction (or opposite direction)
indicated by an arrow 230 in the vertical plane, whereas in FIGS.
1A and 1B the first motor 106 may drive the fixed means 104 to
rotate in the direction indicated by an arrow 130 (or in the
opposite direction) in the horizontal plane.
[0051] FIG. 2B shows a schematic structural view of a device for
peeling 200b according to another embodiment of the present
disclosure. In FIG. 2B, the same reference numerals are used for
the same or similar elements as in FIG. 2A. For sake of brevity,
the function of each element is not described in detail. Unlike
FIG. 2A, the second motor includes a second motor 208 and a second
motor 228 in FIG. 2B. The second motor 208 may control the rise and
fall movement, and left and right movement of the control device
for controlling the peeling means and the second motor 228 may
control the orientation of the peeling means 202.
[0052] It is noted that the various elements shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B,
2A, and 2B are merely examples, and various elements may have any
suitable size and shape and may be arranged in any suitable
positions in practice. This disclosure has no limit on this.
[0053] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a device for peeling 300
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 3,
the peeling means 302 may be connected to a control device 314 for
controlling the peeling means, wherein the connection may generally
be a mechanical connection through which the operation of the
peeling means 302 can be controlled. The second motor 312 may be
connected to the control device 314 for controlling the peeling
means, wherein the connection may generally be a mechanical
connection through which the rotational energy of the second motor
312 may be converted into movement of the control device 314 for
controlling the peeling means. The second motor 312 is electrically
connected to the processing and controlling unit 318. The
processing and controlling unit 318 is also electrically connected
to the first motor 306. The first motor 306 is connected to the
fixing means 304, wherein the connection may generally be a
mechanical connection through which the fixing means 304 may be
driven.
[0054] In addition, the image recognizing unit in the acquisition
means, the data processor in the three-dimensional modeling
apparatus 316, and the processing and controlling unit 318 in the
above embodiments may be discrete elements, or one or more or all
of them may be integrated in one element.
[0055] In addition, the device for peelings 100a, 100b, 200a, 200b,
and 300 may further include any other suitable components, such as
power modules, power switches, memory, and the like. This
disclosure has no limit on it.
Method for Peeling
[0056] Under the same inventive concept, FIG. 4 shows a flow chart
of a method 400 for peeling according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure. The method 400 for peeling may be performed by
the above-described device for peeling 100a, 100b, 200a, 200b, or
300. The method 400 will be described below in connection with the
figure. The description of same parts as those of the foregoing
embodiments is appropriately omitted.
[0057] The method 400 for peeling includes the following:
[0058] In step S402, obtaining the three-dimensional coordinates of
a surface of an item to be peeled;
[0059] In step S404, determining an operating parameter of a
peeling means for each region of the surface of the item to be
peeled based on the three-dimensional coordinates;
[0060] In step S406, determining an operating parameter of a first
motor and an operating parameter of the second motor based on the
determined operating parameter;
[0061] In step S408, controlling the first motor to drive the
movement of a fixing means based on the operating parameter of the
first motor; and
[0062] In step S410, controlling the second motor to drive the
peeling means based on the operating parameter of the second motor,
wherein the rotation of the second motor enables the control device
for controlling the peeling means to control the movement of the
peeling means.
[0063] In an embodiment, the method 400 for peeling further
includes acquiring a category of the item to be peeled.
[0064] In an embodiment, acquiring the category of the item to be
peeled includes acquiring an image of the item to be peeled by
using an image acquiring device, and determining, by performing
image recognition on the acquired image of the item to be peeled,
the category of the item to be peeled.
[0065] In an embodiment, the method 400 for peeling further
includes determining a thickness parameter for peeling based on the
category of the item to be peeled, and determining, based on the
three-dimensional coordinates and the thickness parameter for
peeling, an operating parameter of the peeling means for each
region of the surface of the item to be peeled.
[0066] In an embodiment, the method 400 for peeling further
includes identifying, by using image recognition, a contour of a
part of the surface of the item to be peeled which requires special
handling, determining a processing parameter for the contour based
on the characteristics of the contour, and determining, for the
contour, an operating parameter of the peeling means based on the
processing parameter for the contour.
[0067] In an embodiment, the three-dimensional coordinates of the
surface are obtained by using one or more of a monocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a binocular vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a multi-vision
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, a structured light
three-dimensional modeling apparatus, and a pulse ranging
three-dimensional modeling apparatus.
[0068] The different functions described in the application may be
performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other.
In addition, one or more of the functions described above may be
non-essential or may be combined.
[0069] While the embodiments of the present disclosure have been
described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it
will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing
description is exemplary only and is not intended to be limiting of
the present disclosure. Various modifications and variations of the
embodiments of the present disclosure may be made without departing
from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, the scope of which is
to be determined only by the appended claims.
* * * * *