JPH04106904U - Steering control device for agricultural vehicles - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] “Industrial application field”
The present invention relates to a steering control device for an agricultural vehicle, such as a speed sprayer, which sprays a pesticide solution while traveling along a row of trees.

"Conventional technology"
In a chemical spraying operation using a speed sprayer, the steering of the aircraft is controlled by a driver riding on the aircraft.

"The problem that the idea tries to solve"
However, in today's world where drug poisoning has become a major social problem, there is an urgent need to switch from manned to unmanned operation, but this is not easy to do due to the high cost of equipment. There were drawbacks.

"Means to solve problems"
Therefore, in the present invention, a pipe guide rail for steering and guiding the machine body is laid in a field, and a work position sensor for detecting the running position of the machine body is provided near the guide rail.

In addition, in a structure in which the aircraft is steered along a row of trees, a touch sensor for controlling the aircraft's steering is provided on the aircraft, and a sensor operating bar for operating the touch sensor is attached to each tree. It is installed so that it can be adjusted freely.

"action"
According to the present invention, unmanned work can be performed by reliably guiding agricultural vehicles using simple pipe guide rails, and harmful pest control work can be carried out economically and safely. I can do it.

In addition, by maintaining the contact activation position of the sensor activation bar attached to the tree with respect to the touch sensor, it is possible to drive while maintaining a constant distance from the row of trees, and the agricultural machine can be steered along the row of trees. The control can be extremely simple and economical.

"Example"
Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. Fig. 1 is a rear view of the speed sprayer, Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the working state. (2), a driver's seat (5) installed in the driver's cab (4), a tank (6) for storing the chemical solution, a spray nozzle (7) for dispersing the chemical solution, and a blower fan (8). ), left and right front wheels (9), (9), and rear wheels (10), (10), and is configured to spray a chemical solution around the vehicle while it is running.

The speed sprayer (1) performs steering control with the guidance of a pipe guide rail (11) laid in the field, and is designed to control the steering of three adjacent fruit trees (12) planted in a vertical line in the direction of travel. Between the rows of fruit trees (A), there are two straight rail sections (11a) on the left and right of the guide rail (11).
At the same time, substantially semicircular turning rail parts (11b) are laid at the front and rear ends of these straight rail parts (11a), and the guide rail (11) is formed into an endless oval shape. There is. Said guide rail (11)
The anchor part (13a) of the support post (13) is buried in the field to secure it, while a pair of left and right steering guide rollers (14) (14) that hold the guide rail (11) from both the left and right sides are installed. , these guide rollers (14) are installed at two locations (a) and (b) at the front and rear mounting positions (a) and (b) of the lower end of the machine base (1a) of the speed sprayer (1) through each roller shaft (15).
The structure is such that the aircraft is steered along the guide rail (11) with the guidance of the guide rail (11).

Further, a travel position sensor (17), which is a limit switch, is provided on the detection plate (16) located on the side of the fruit tree (12) above the guide rail (11), and the sensor (17) is used to control the speed sprayer (12). ) is used to detect the current working position of the sensor (17), and each traveling position lamp (19) corresponding to the traveling position of the speed sprayer (1) on the control board (18) as shown in The driving position is detected by sequentially turning on the lights based on the detection operation.

When the sensor (17) contacts and senses the guide roller (14) at the front mounting position (a) when the sprayer (1) is traveling, the position lamp (19) corresponding to the sensor (17) is turned on, and when the guide roller (14) at the rear mounting position (b) is contacted and sensed, the turned-on position lamp (19) is turned off.

Furthermore, a limit switch-type spreading stop sensor (20) is installed on the detection plate (16a) at the entrance of the swing rail part (11b), and a limit switch-type spreading stop sensor (20) is installed on the detection plate (16b) at the entrance of the straight rail part (11b). A start sensor (21) is provided respectively, and a stop sensor (20) is turned on by a switch operating member (22) protruding from the rear lower side of the machine base (1a) when the sprayer (1) is traveling. The chemical liquid dispersion is stopped when the chemical liquid spraying is stopped, and the chemical liquid spraying is started when the start sensor (21) is turned on by the operation member (22).

Furthermore, the control board (18) includes an operation button (23a) for the power switch (23) and an operation lever (24a) for the automatic/manual changeover switch (24) for switching between automatic and manual steering control. , each operation button (25a) (26a) of the travel switch (25) and the spraying switch (26) for manual operation of traveling and spraying, and the appropriate sensor (17) position during automatic steering control to move the sprayer (1). Operation button (27a) for each travel stop switch (27) to be stopped...
It is equipped with As shown in FIG. 5, it is equipped with a control circuit (30) composed of a microcomputer that applies power from a battery (28) and a solar cell (29) mounted on the aircraft, and each of the switches (23) and (24)
(25)(26)(27) and each sensor (17)(20)(21) to the control circuit (30), and a travel drive device (31) that drives and stops the travel, and a spray a spraying drive device (32) for spraying and stopping the spraying of the chemical solution from the nozzle (7); a switch lamp (33) that illuminates the operation button (27a) when the travel stop switch (27) is turned on; The control circuit (30) is connected as an output to the traveling position lamp (19), so that the spraying operation can be performed while traveling along the guide rail (11) during automatic steering control.

This embodiment is constructed as described above, and its operation will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6.

When the changeover switch (24) is switched from manual to automatic during automatic steering control, the sprayer (1) starts traveling along the guide rail (11) and sprays the chemical liquid from the spray nozzle (7). is started.

During this travel operation, each time the aircraft passes a sensor (17) position provided on the guide rail (11), a travel position lamp (19) corresponding to the sensor (17) position on the control board (18) is displayed. is displayed, and the sensors (17) from the right end to the left end of the upper row guide rail (11) in FIG.
Sensors (17a) (17b) (17c) (17d) (17e) (17f) (17g), and the sensors (17) from the left end to the right end of the lower row guide rail (11) are the 8th to 14th sensors (17h)
(17i)(17j)(17k)(17l)(17m)(17n) When the sprayer (1) passes the first sensor (17a) position, "1" on the control board (18) is The driving position lamp (19) provided at the lower position of the operating button (27a) to be displayed is turned on and displayed, and when the sprayer (1) passes the second sensor (17b) position, the operating button (2) is displayed. 27a) Turn on the travel position lamp (19) in the lower position, and then turn on each sensor (17c) in sequence.
(17n) When passing the position, the corresponding "3"
The current traveling position of the sprayer (1) is notified to the operator by lighting up the traveling position lamp (19) located under the operation button (27a) displaying the number "14".

The lighting operation of the lamp (19) at this time is such that when the sensor (17) at the corresponding position senses the guide roller (14) at the front mounting position (a), the sensor (17) is turned on and the lamp (19) is turned on. ) is turned on, and when the guide roller (14) at the rear mounting position (b) is sensed next time, the sensor (17) is turned off to turn off the lamp (19) which is currently lit.

And the straight rail part (11a) of the guide rail (11)
When the machine body reaches the end of its movement and turns under the guidance of the turning rail section (11b), the stop sensor (20) activates the switch operation member (22) of the sprayer (1).
When detecting this, the spraying of the chemical solution is stopped, and when the post-swing start sensor (21) detects the operating member (22), the spraying of the chemical solution is restarted.

During such automatic running, if you want to stop the sprayer (1) at an appropriate sensor (17) position, that is, at one of the 1st to 14th sensors (17a) to (17n), press that sensor (17). Press the operation button (27a) that displays the number corresponding to the position and press this stop switch (27).
By turning on the switch wrap (33), the button (27a) lights up and the sprayer (1) reaches its sensor (17) position, causing the sensor (17) to move to the front mounting position (A). When the guide roller (14) is sensed, the machine is stopped immediately or after a certain period of time has elapsed, and when the stop switch (27) is turned off, the lighting display of the operation button (27a) is canceled and the machine starts traveling again.

In this way, the simple guide rail (11) formed by a pipe allows the sprayer (1) to operate reliably in an unmanned manner to perform the spraying work, making it highly economical and moreover powered by the battery (28). By using solar cells (29), the control can be made simple and highly accurate, and by being able to stop at the position of each fruit tree (12), it can also be used for harvesting work.

In addition, a detection plate (16) having the position sensor (17)
Although the configuration is shown in which the sprayer is installed on the guide rail (11), the traveling position of the sprayer (1) may be detected by attaching a detection plate (15) to each fruit tree (12).

FIG. 7 shows another example of a modified structure, in which a touch sensor (34) for automatic steering control is provided on the front of the sprayer (1); Touch-operated sensor activation bar (35)
The base end of each bar (12) is attached to the trunk of each fruit tree (12) via an adjustment bolt (36) so that the vertical position can be adjusted freely, so that the tip of each bar (35) is always at a predetermined position of the touch sensor (34) while the aircraft is running. By controlling the steering of the aircraft so that the fruit tree (12) and the aircraft make contact, the aircraft travels while maintaining a constant distance between the fruit tree (12) and the aircraft. Further, the touch sensor (34) includes a straight steering sensor (34a) in the center, left and right steering correction sensors (34b) (34c) on both left and right sides, and a turning steering sensor (34c) in the upper center position. 34d), and when driving straight, three sensors (34a) (34b) (34c) are installed side by side on the left and right.
While controlling the aircraft's steering with When the operating bar (35a) comes into contact with the sensor (34d), a turning program stored in the control circuit (30) is activated in advance to turn the aircraft, making the equipment low-cost. At the same time, the equipment can be easily changed.

FIGS. 8 to 10 show still other examples of modified structures, and the ones in FIGS. 8 to 9 have steering guide rails (37) installed along the row of fruit trees (A), Central guide groove (38) of the guide rail (37)
The detection roller (40) at the tip of the detection arm (39) provided on the outside of the sprayer (1) is brought into contact with the roller (40), and as the distance between the sprayer (1) and the rail (37) changes while the sprayer (1) is running, When the contact posture of the detection arm (39) changes, this change is detected by the potentiometer (42) provided on the arm shaft (41) at the base end of the detection arm (39), and the change is detected between the body and the rail (37). The control system controls the steering of the aircraft so that the distance between the rails (37) is always maintained constant, and the rails (37) have appropriate intervals at both upper and lower ends in the direction of movement of the aircraft to detect the spraying state of the chemical solution. A sensor (43) for spraying work is provided, and the sensor (43)
The system is configured to perform control by spraying chemical solutions based on the detection of , and to enable uniform and good unmanned pest control.

In addition, the one in Fig. 10 is the guide rail (37).
A running roller (44) that runs parallel to the guide groove (38) is provided on the support arm (45) on the outside of the machine body, and a steering switch that maintains a constant distance between the rail (37) and the machine body. (46) is provided on the support arm (45) via a switch arm (47) to automatically steer the aircraft.

"Effect of ideas"
As is clear from the above embodiments, the present invention involves the work of laying a pipe guide rail (11) for steering and guiding the aircraft in a field, and detecting the traveling position of the aircraft near the guide rail (11). Position sensor (17)
Since it is equipped with a guide rail (11) made of a simple pipe, it is possible to guide the agricultural vehicle (1) to perform unmanned work, thereby making harmful pest control work economical and safe. It can be done.

Further, in the structure in which the aircraft is steered along the tree row (A), a touch sensor (34) for controlling the aircraft's steering is provided on the aircraft, and the touch sensor (34) is operated. Sensor activation bar (35)
By attaching (35a) to each tree in an adjustable position, it becomes possible to easily travel while maintaining a constant distance between the tree row (A) and the aircraft.
The present invention has remarkable effects such as being able to control the steering of the agricultural machine in a very simple and economical manner so that it follows the agricultural machine accurately.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an explanatory rear view of the speed sprayer, Figure 2 is a side view of the same, Figure 3 is a plan view showing the working state, Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the control board, Figure 5 is a control circuit diagram, Figure 6 is a flowchart, Figures 7 to 1
FIG. 0 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a modified structure. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Guide rail, 17... Position sensor, 34... Touch sensor, 35, 35a... Actuation bar, A... Fruit tree row (tree row).

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A method for operating an agricultural vehicle, characterized in that a pipe guide rail for steering and guiding the machine body is laid in a field, and a working position sensor for detecting the running position of the machine body is provided near the guide rail. direction control device. 2. In a structure in which the aircraft is steered and controlled along a row of trees, a touch sensor for controlling the aircraft's steering is provided on the aircraft body, and a sensor operating bar for operating the touch sensor is provided at each tree. A steering control device for an agricultural vehicle, characterized in that the mounting position can be freely adjusted.