Design and Experiment on Traversibility of Traveling Chassis of Crawler Self-propelled Tea Picker

Abstract:

Aiming to address the challenges of weak driving stability in complex tea garden environments for self-propelled tea-picking machines, a study was conducted on the traversing performance of the crawler chassis of such machines. Utilizing UGNX 12.0, a three-dimensional virtual model of the entire vehicle mechanism was established, and multi-body dynamics simulations were performed using RecurDyn. These simulations demonstrated that the triangular crawler chassis designed can meet design requirements under both no-load and loaded conditions. Theoretical analyses were also conducted on the lateral and longitudinal stability of the tea-picking machine, as well as its obstacle-crossing capabilities. These analyses yielded solutions for the maximum climbing angle and obstacle-crossing height. Through the design of a wireless control system, Bluetooth APP communication was established to enable wireless control of the chassis. Based on this, a four-crawler, self-propelled, cross-row tea-picking machine was designed, capable of autonomous navigation in the field. Field tests were conducted on the traversing chassis of this machine, and the results indicated that when fully loaded, the tea-picking machine can climb angles up to 30° and cross obstacles with a maximum height of 340 mm, satisfying the current traversability requirements in tea gardens.This research can provide a theoretical basis and reference for the design of autonomous track chassis in hilly and mountainous areas.