EP1521885A1 - Weeding procedure for a railway vehicle - Google Patents

Weeding procedure for a railway vehicle

Info

Publication number
EP1521885A1
EP1521885A1 EP02777582A EP02777582A EP1521885A1 EP 1521885 A1 EP1521885 A1 EP 1521885A1 EP 02777582 A EP02777582 A EP 02777582A EP 02777582 A EP02777582 A EP 02777582A EP 1521885 A1 EP1521885 A1 EP 1521885A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
control
recognising
unit
spraying
weed
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP02777582A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1521885B1 (en
Inventor
Jozsef Gaal
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
G And G Novenyvedelmi Es Kereskedelmi
Original Assignee
G And G Novenyvedelmi Es Kereskedelmi
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by G And G Novenyvedelmi Es Kereskedelmi filed Critical G And G Novenyvedelmi Es Kereskedelmi
Publication of EP1521885A1 publication Critical patent/EP1521885A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1521885B1 publication Critical patent/EP1521885B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
    • E01H—STREET CLEANING; CLEANING OF PERMANENT WAYS; CLEANING BEACHES; DISPERSING OR PREVENTING FOG IN GENERAL CLEANING STREET OR RAILWAY FURNITURE OR TUNNEL WALLS
    • E01H11/00—Control of undesirable vegetation on roads or similar surfaces or permanent ways of railways, e.g. devices for scorching weeds or for applying herbicides; Applying liquids, e.g. water, weed-killer bitumen, to permanent ways

Definitions

  • the subject matter of the invention is a connection arrangement of a
  • the weeds grow along the railway tracks, between and along the rails and
  • optical sensors scan the soil covered with weeds
  • a herbicide is applied to the surface covered
  • Video camera and optical sensors are used to draw up the weed map, which
  • the camera and the optical sensors on the moving vehicle are connected to
  • a computer which opens valves and nozzles through signal transducers.
  • a herbicide is sprayed onto the surface covered by weeds by means of
  • the species of weeds are not distinguished respectively the relief of the
  • weed recognising camera a PC connected to it for
  • control PC is connected to a control panel, which, in turn
  • a spraying unit is connected to a spraying unit through an electronic control unit and a
  • the spraying unit consists of a water tank, a pump, a flow
  • PC is connected to a meteorological unit, a weed recognising camera
  • control PC and the speed transducer are connected to a
  • the spraying unit respectively the pre-spraying one
  • tilting motors which, in turn, are
  • the pre-spraying unit is configured so that the control valve is coupled to
  • the injector valve and the latter is coupled to the sectioning valve.
  • the spraying unit is configured so that the control valve is coupled to the
  • sectioning valve and the latter is coupled to the injector valve.
  • the weed recognising camera of the connection arrangement is a colour
  • the subject matter of the invention is furthermore a weeding procedure
  • weed recognising camera are processed by a weed recognising PC, the
  • This valve either lets the herbicide to the actual
  • valves are controlled by a series of switches on the control switch panel
  • the control PC controls the
  • the control PC compares these values
  • herbicide mixture of chosen quality and concentration and of defined flow
  • the nozzles are positioned so by means of the tilting motor of the axle that
  • the spraying is performed according to the slope of railway track.
  • the spraying unit serves advantageously for spraying the raised weeds
  • the treatment before raising and the one after raising of weeds can be
  • the weeding is selective according to the weed species.
  • the spraying is performed in the angle adequate to the relief of the railway
  • the different sections of railway track can be treated with herbicides of
  • the treatment before respectively after the raising of weeds can be any treatment before respectively after the raising of weeds.
  • the herbicide solution is prepared in the injector valve, in the case of
  • the different sections of the railway track can be selectively treated as
  • the spraying procedure can be highly automated, the apparatus does not
  • the Figure 1 shows the basic diagram of the connection arrangement of the
  • the Figure 2 shows the spraying frame and the structural components
  • control PC 8 connected with a meteorological unit 7 is shown in the
  • the weed recognising camera 1 is connected with the control PC 8 through
  • the control PC 8 is connected with the species recognising camera 2
  • the control PC 8 is furthermore connected to the electronic tilting control
  • the spraying unitaverageB as well as the pre-spraying unit admirationA" consist of a
  • the electronic dosing unit 14 is connected to the injector valves 22 both in
  • the injector valve 22 is connected to chemical agent tanks 26 through a
  • the axle 24 is coupled with a tilting motor 15, which is also connected to
  • connection arrangement are connected to the pre-spraying unit responsibleA" and to
  • the pre-spraying unitrobA" is configured so that the control valve 20 is
  • the spraying unitisraelB" is configured so that the control valve 20 is coupled
  • the weed recognising camera 1 is advantageously a colour camera and the
  • relief following laser camera 3 is a colour camera provided with a special
  • the spraying frame 23 provided with the tiltable axle 24 and nozzles 25 is
  • the tilting around the axle 24 enables to change the angle of the spray jet
  • the subject matter of the present invention is fu ⁇ tf ⁇ e ⁇ nore a weeding
  • the profile of the railway track 30 is
  • the positions of the sectioning valves 21 can be controlled by series of
  • switch panel 10 the switches can be operated either automatically or by
  • a weed species map is drawn up by the species recognising PC 5 on the
  • the species recognising camera 2 is provided with a special filter.
  • herbicides prescribed for the defined weed species is chosen for each
  • a weed recognising camera 1 viewing to the direction of movement is
  • control PC 8 taking into account also the signals of the speed transducer
  • control PC 8 sends closing commands relating to the other sections in
  • a command is sent thereafter to the electronic tilting control unit 13 to tilt
  • An electronic dosing control unit 14 which is connected to several
  • control valves 20 and the sectioning valves 21 are opened or closed
  • the herbicide having quality, concentration and flow rate per minute, which is the herbicide having quality, concentration and flow rate per minute, which is the herbicide having quality, concentration and flow rate per minute, which is the herbicide having quality, concentration and flow rate per minute, which is the herbicide having quality, concentration and flow rate per minute, which is the herbicide having quality, concentration and flow rate per minute, which is the herbicide having quality, concentration and flow rate per minute, which is the herbicide having quality, concentration and flow rate per minute, which

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Catching Or Destruction (AREA)
  • Soil Working Implements (AREA)
  • Agricultural Chemicals And Associated Chemicals (AREA)
  • Guiding Agricultural Machines (AREA)

Abstract

The subject matter of the invention is a connection arrangement of a weeding machine mounted onto a railway vehicle which is provided with a weed recognising camera, a PC connected to it for recognition of weeds, a meteorological unit, the said units are connected to a control PC. The control PC is connected to a control panel, which in turn is connected to a spraying unit through an electronic control unit and a dosing unit. The spraying unit consists of a water tank, a pump, a flow meter, a control valve, a spraying frame provided with an axle and nozzles furthermore a chemical agent tank, a chemical agent pump and a flow-meter of chemical agent, all the units are connected together. The connection arrangement is containing a species recognising camera connected to a species recognising PC and relief following laser camera connected to a relief following PC and is containing a pre-spraying unit and a spraying unit. The subject matter of the invention is furthermore a procedure for weeding with the above connection arrangement.

Description

WEEDING PROCEDURE FOR A RAILWAY VEHICLE
The subject matter of the invention is a connection arrangement of a
weeding machine mounted onto a railway vehicle and a procedure for
weeding with the machine.
It is a difficult task for the specialists to make a selective and effective
elimination of weeds along the railway tracks.
The weeds grow along the railway tracks, between and along the rails and
on the slopes on the sides of tracks.
The pre-treatment of weeds corning up and the efficacious extinction of the
weeds grown up are separate tasks.
The published uriexa ined patent application of No. DE 4 132 637
describes a procedure and an apparatus for a directed elrrnination of weeds.
According to the procedure optical sensors scan the soil covered with weeds
and a map of weeds is drawn up and if the grade of covering with weeds
surpasses a defined threshold, a herbicide is applied to the surface covered
with weed.
Video camera and optical sensors are used to draw up the weed map, which
sense the green colour of the vegetation and compose the weed map from
the green pixels. The camera and the optical sensors on the moving vehicle are connected to
a computer, which opens valves and nozzles through signal transducers.
A herbicide is sprayed onto the surface covered by weeds by means of
opening of nozzles.
The disadvantage of the described procedure is that it does not enable to
regulate the pressure, concentration and directed distribution of the applied
herbicide on the surface.
Another disadvantage of the solution is that it does not allow to draw up the
weed map and to spray simultaneously.
It is necessary to move along each track twice: the first time to draw up the
weed map, the second time to perform spraying.
The species of weeds are not distinguished respectively the relief of the
track is not taken into account according to the procedure.
The procedure does not enable to treat the different species of weeds with
different herbicides .
Our aim is to develop a connection arrangement and procedure, which
eliminates the above mentioned disadvantages.
Our connection arrangement and procedure enable to perform extirpation of
weeds delivering herbicides specific to weeds having different
concentrations according to the different sections of tracks and taldng the
shapes of the tracks into account. The subject-matter of the invention is consequently a connection
arrangement of a weeding machine mounted onto a railway vehicle, which
is provided with a weed recognising camera, a PC connected to it for
recognition of weeds, a meteorological unit, the said units are connected to
a control PC. The control PC is connected to a control panel, which, in turn
is connected to a spraying unit through an electronic control unit and a
dosing unit. The spraying unit consists of a water tank, a pump, a flow
meter, a control valve, a spraying frame provided with an axle and nozzles
furthermore a chemical agent tank, a chemical agent pump and a flow-
meter of chemical agent, all the units are connected together.
The characteristic feature of the connection arrangement is that the control
PC is connected to a meteorological unit, a weed recognising camera
through a weed recognising PC, a species recognising camera through a
species recognising PC, a relief following laser camera with a laser signal
transducer through a relief following PC, furthermore a speed measuring
transducer. The control PC and the speed transducer are connected to a
control switch panel and an auxiliary control switch panel. The contiol PC
is furthermore connected to an electronic dosing control unit and electronic
tilting control unit of a spraying unit respectively to the same control units
of a pre-spraying one. The spraying unit respectively the pre-spraying one
consist of a water tank, a pump, a flow meter, a control valve, a sectioning
valve, an injector valve, a spraying frame provided with an axle and nozzles connected together, wherein the automatic electronic dosing unit is
connected to the injector valve, furthermore the injector valve is connected
to chemical agent tanks through a flow meter of chemical agents and a
chemical agent pump, and the axle of spraying frame of the spraying unit
respectively the one of the pre-spraying unit is connected to a position
sensor and the axles are coupled with tilting motors, which, in turn, are
connected to electronic tilting control units, furthermore the control switch
panel and the auxiliary control switch panel are connected to the pre-
spraying unit respectively to the spraying one through the electronic dosing
units.
The pre-spraying unit is configured so that the control valve is coupled to
the injector valve and the latter is coupled to the sectioning valve.
The spraying unit is configured so that the control valve is coupled to the
sectioning valve and the latter is coupled to the injector valve.
The weed recognising camera of the connection arrangement is a colour
camera and the species recognising camera is a colour camera, too,
provided with a special filter.
The subject matter of the invention is furthermore a weeding procedure
performed by the above mentioned apparatus wherein data collected by a
weed recognising camera are processed by a weed recognising PC, the
output signals thereof are transmitted to a control PC, the control PC
processes them taking into account also the signals of a meteorological unit and it controls the electronic control units and the dosing units of the pre-
spraying unit respectively of the spraying unit through the control switch
panel, so it controls in this way the herbicide quantity dosed through the
nozzles on the spraying frames provided with axle.
The characteristic feature of the procedure according to invention is that the
profile of the railway track is divided into sections and a sectioning valve is
assigned to each one. This valve either lets the herbicide to the actual
section or closes the way of the herbicide. The positions of the sectioning
valves are controlled by a series of switches on the control switch panel
respectively by another series on the auxiliary control switch panel. The
switches are operated either automatically or by hand. A weed species map
is drawn up simultaneously by the species recognising camera provided
with special filter, mounted onto front part of the railway vehicle viewing
into direction of movement and the species recognising PC so that the
species recognising program selects the sections covered by plants
according to species of weeds. The herbicide combination prescribed for the
found weed species is chosen for each section. The control PC controls the
automatic dosing units of the pre-spraying unit and the spraying unit, taking
into account the speed transducer signals. The pictures of the weed
recognising camera mounted on the front part of the railway vehicle and
viewing in the direction of movement are sent to weed recognising PC,
which selects those surfaces according to a previously defined division into sections where the area covered by plants surpasses a defined limit by
means of a recognising program and an opening command is sent to the
sectioning valves and to the control valves assigned to these sections and
closing command is sent to all other valves through the control PC taking
into account the signals of the speed transducer, as well. The relief is
followed by a laser signal transducer and a relief following laser camera
mounted on the front part of railway vehicle, which units serve to define the
height differences of several points of the railway track. The signals of the
relief following laser camera are sent to the relief following PC, and the
initially set division into sections are broadened or narrowed using its
program through the control PC. The electronic apparatuses of tilting
devices are simultaneously receive commands to set the axles of frames
holding the nozzles into adequate angle according to the position sensing
unit on the axle. The required quantity of water and chemical agent to be
mixed together are calculated on the base of the defined widths of sections,
the signals of the speed transducer and the prescribed doses of herbicides by
means of the electronic dosing units connected to the control switch panel
and to the auxiliary control switch panel. The injector valves, which serve
to mix water and the herbicides together, pertaining to the defined sections
are opened or closed according to the calculated values. An electiOnic
automatic dosing unit is assigned to each section, which is connected with
several chemical agent tanks containing different herbicides. The flow rates by minutes of required herbicides are calculated by the contiol PC
according to the division into sections set by hand on the control switch
panel and/or on the auxiliary control switch panel and taking into account
the signals of the speed transducer. The control PC compares these values
to the currently measured flow rates and the control valves and the
sectioning ones are opened or closed according to the results, then the
herbicide mixture of chosen quality and concentration and of defined flow
rate is delivered to the defined sections of the railway track divided into
sections through the pre-spraying unit and through the spraying unit.
The weed map made by the weed recognising PC and the weed species map
made by the weed species recognising PC are drawn up simultaneously
with the spraying stage in the procedure according to invention.
The nozzles are positioned so by means of the tilting motor of the axle that
the spraying is performed according to the slope of railway track.
The pre-spraying unit serves advantageously for spraying before raising of
weeds, the spraying unit serves advantageously for spraying the raised
weeds.
The treatment before raising and the one after raising of weeds can be
performed either in different points of time or in the same point of time.
The advantages of the apparatus and procedure according to invention are
as follows: The weed map and the weed species map are drawn up and the spraying is
performed at the same time (real time method).
The weeding is selective according to the weed species.
The spraying is performed in the angle adequate to the relief of the railway
track.
The different sections of railway track can be treated with herbicides of
different compositions and different concentrations.
The treatment before respectively after the raising of weeds can be
performed either in different points of time or in the same time point.
The herbicide solution is prepared in the injector valve, in the case of
breakdown of the apparatus the environment contamination can be avoided.
The different sections of the railway track can be selectively treated as
regards to the doses and concentrations of the herbicides, the load of the
environment with chemical agents can be reduced in this way.
The spraying procedure can be highly automated, the apparatus does not
require human intervention or it requires a very small amount thereof after
the start.
The Figure 1 shows the basic diagram of the connection arrangement of the
weeding apparatus according to invention.
The Figure 2 shows the spraying frame and the structural components
coupled with it in front view. The control PC 8 connected with a meteorological unit 7 is shown in the
Figure 1.
The weed recognising camera 1 is connected with the control PC 8 through
the weed recognising PC 4 in the connection arrangement.
The control PC 8 is connected with the species recognising camera 2
through the species recognising PC 5, with the relief following laser camera
3, which in turn is connected with a laser signal transducer 32 through the
relief following PC 6, furthermore with a speed signal transducer 9.
The contiol PC 8 and the speed signal transducer 9 connected with it are
connected with a control switch panel 11 and with an auxiliary contiol
switch panel 10.
The control PC 8 is furthermore connected to the electronic tilting control
units 13 and the electronic dosing control units 14 of both the pre-spraying
unit „A" and the spraying unit „B".
The spraying unit „B", as well as the pre-spraying unit „A" consist of a
water tank 17, a pump 18, a flow rate meter 19, a contiol valve 20, a
sectioning valve 21, an injector valve 22, a spraying frame 23 provided with
an axle 24 and nozzles 25 coupled together.
The electronic dosing unit 14 is connected to the injector valves 22 both in
the pre-spraying unit „A" and in the spraying unit „B".
The injector valve 22 is connected to chemical agent tanks 26 through a
chemical agent flow meter 28 and a chemical agent pump 27. The axles 24 of the spraying frames 23 of both the pre-spraying unit „A"
and the spraying unit „B" are provided with position sensors 16, which are
connected also to the electronic tilting control units 13.
The axle 24 is coupled with a tilting motor 15, which is also connected to
the electronic tilting contiol unit 13.
The control switch panel 11 and the auxiliary control switch panel 10 of the
connection arrangement are connected to the pre-spraying unit „A" and to
the spraying unit „B" through the sectioning valves 21 and the electronic
dosing control units 14.
The pre-spraying unit „A" is configured so that the control valve 20 is
coupled to the injector valve 22 and the latter is coupled to the sectioning
valve 21.
The spraying unit „B" is configured so that the control valve 20 is coupled
to the sectioning valve 21 and the latter is coupled to the injector valve 22.
The weed recognising camera 1 is advantageously a colour camera and the
relief following laser camera 3 is a colour camera provided with a special
filter.
The spraying frame 23 provided with the tiltable axle 24 and nozzles 25 is
shown in the Figure 2.
The tilting around the axle 24 enables to change the angle of the spray jet
31 outgoing from the nozzles 25 to the surface of soil as required. The choice of the adequate angle provides that both the environment of rails
29 both that of the railway track 30 are efficaciously treated with the
herbicide spray.
The subject matter of the present invention is fuιtfιeιτnore a weeding
procedure performed by the above mentioned connection arrangement.
According to the procedure the data collected by a weed recognising
camera 1 are processed by a weed recognising PC 4, the output signals
thereof are sent to a control PC 8, and the output signals of the control PC 8
taking into account the data of a meteorological unit 7 control the electronic
control units 12 and the electronic dosing units 14 of both the pre-spraying
unit „A" and the spraying unit „B" through a control switch panel 11, which
signals control the quantity of herbicide delivered through the nozzles 25 of
the spraying frame 23 provided with the axle 24.
In the procedure according to invention the profile of the railway track 30 is
divided into sections and a sectioning valve 21 is assigned to each section,
it lets the herbicide onto defined section or it closes the way of herbicide.
The positions of the sectioning valves 21 can be controlled by series of
switches on the control switch panel 11 respectively on the auxiliary control
switch panel 10, the switches can be operated either automatically or by
hand. A weed species map is drawn up by the species recognising PC 5 on the
base of pictures taken by the species recognising camera 2 mounted on the
front part of the railway vehicle and viewing to the direction of movement
in the way that the sections covered by plants are separated according to
weed species by the species recognising program.
The species recognising camera 2 is provided with a special filter.
After the selection according to the weed species the combination of
herbicides prescribed for the defined weed species is chosen for each
section then the electronic dosing units 14 of both the pre-spraying unit „A"
and the spraying unit „B" are controlled by the control PC 8 taking into
account the signals of the speed transducer 9.
A weed recognising camera 1 viewing to the direction of movement is
mounted on the front part of the railway vehicle. Its pictures are transmitted
to the weed recognising PC 4, wherein the areas with covering of plants
surpassing a defined limit are selected by a weed recognising program
according to a defined division into sections.
Opening commands relating to these sections are sent to the sectioning
valves 21 and to the contiol valves 20 in the appropriate time points through
the control PC 8 taking into account also the signals of the speed transducer
9, the control PC 8 sends closing commands relating to the other sections in
the same time points. The laser signal transducer 32 and the relief following laser camera 3 on the
front part of the railway vehicle follow the relief they measure the
differences of heights of several points of the railway track. The output
signals of the relief following laser camera 3 are sent to the relief following
PC 6 and the initially established division into sections is broadened or
narrowed by means of the program in the relief following PC 6 through the
control PC 8.
A command is sent thereafter to the electronic tilting control unit 13 to tilt
the axle 24 of the spraying frame holding the nozzles 25 into appropriate
angle on the base of the signals of the position sensor 16 on the axle 24 and
the required water and herbicide quantities are calculated with the
assistance of the electronic dosing unit 14 connected to the control switch
panel 11 and to the auxiliary control switch panel 10 taking into account the
widths of work sections, the output signals of the speed transducer 9 and the
previously established doses of the herbicides and the injector valves 22
assigned to the defined sections, which mix water with the chemical agent
are opened or closed in accordance with the results of calculation.
An electronic dosing control unit 14, which is connected to several
chemical agent tanks 26, is assigned to each section. The required flow rate
per minute is calculated by means of the control PC 8 according to division
into sections set by hand on the control switch panel 11 and/or on the
auxiliary control switch panel 10 and taking into account also the signals of the speed transducer 9 and the control PC 8 compares this flow rate to the
current flow rate per rninute measured by the chemical agent flow meter 28
and the control valves 20 and the sectioning valves 21 are opened or closed
on the base of results of the comparison.
The herbicide having quality, concentration and flow rate per minute, which
are chosen as described above is delivered through the pre-spraying unit
„A" and/or through the spraying unit „B" onto the defined sections of the
railway track 30 divided into sections so that the herbicide spray jet 31
reaches the area to be treated under the optimal angle.
The herbicides containing active agents Diuron or Linuron are
advantageously used for weeding treatment before raising of weeds, the
ones with active agents Glifosat or Triklopil are advantageously used for
weeding treatment after the raising of weeds.
The pictures taken by the weed recognising camera 1 and those of the
species recognising camera 2 are advantageously recorded in
videocassettes, too.
LIST OF THE NOTATIONS
Weed recognising camera
Species recognising camera
Relief following laser camera
Weed recognising PC
Species recognising PC
Relief following PC
Meteorological unit
Control PC
Speed transducer
Auxiliary control switch panel
Control switch panel
Electronic control unit
Electronic tilting unit
Electronic dosing unit
Tilting motor
Position sensor
Water tank
Pump Flow rate meter
Control valve 21 Sectioning valve
22 Injector valve
23 Spraying frame
24 Axle
25 Nozzle
26 Chemical agent tank
27 Chemical agent pump
28 Chemical agent flow meter
29 Rails
30 Railway track
31 Spray jet
32 Laser signal transducer
„A" Pre-spraying unit
„B" Spraying unit

Claims

1. A connection arrangement of a weeding machine mounted onto a
railway vehicle, which comprises a weed recognising camera (1), a
weed recognising PC (4) connected to it, a meteorological unit (7),
which all are connected with a control PC (8), the latter is connected
with a control switch panel (11) and the said control switch panel is
connected to a spraying unit, which in turn comprises a water tank
(17), a pump (18), a flow rate meter (19), a control valve (20), a
spraying frame (23) provided with an axle (24), nozzles (25),
furthermore one or more chemical agent tanks (26), a chemical agent
pump (27) and a chemical agent flow meter (28), through an
electronic control unit (12) and an electronic dosing unit (14),
characterised by that its control PC (8) is connected to a
meteorological unit (7), to a weed recognising camera (1) through a
weed recognising PC (4), to a species recognising camera (2)
through a species recognising PC (5), to a relief following laser
camera (3) connected with a laser signal transducer (32) through a
relief following PC (6), furthermore to a speed tiansducer (9), the
control PC (8) and the speed transducer (9) are connected to a
control switch panel (11) and an auxiliary control switch panel (10),
furthermore the control PC (8) is connected to the electronic tilting
control units (13) and electronic dosing units (14) of a spraying unit („B") and a pre-spraying unit („A") respectively, the pre-spraying
unit („A") respectively the spraying unit ("B") consist of a water
tank (17), a pump (18), a flow rate meter (19), a control valve (20), a
sectioning valve (21), an injector valve (22), a spraying frame (23)
provided with an axle (24) and nozzles (25) coupled together, where
the electronic dosing unit (14) is connected to the injector valve (22),
furthermore the injector valve (22) is connected to chemical agent
tanks (26) through a chemical agent flow meter (28) and a chemical
agent pump (27), the axles (24) of the spraying frames (23) of both
the pre-spraying unit („A") and the spraying unit („B") are coupled
with position sensors (16), which are connected also to the electronic
tilting control units (13), and with a tilting motor (15), which is also
connected to the electronic tilting control unit (13), furthermore the
control switch panel (11) and the auxiliary control switch panel (10)
are connected to the pre-spraying unit („A") and to the spraying unit
(„B") through the sectioning valves (21) and the electronic dosing
control units (14).
2. The connection arrangement according to the Claim 1
characterised by that the pre-spraying unit („A") is configured so
that its control valve (20) is coupled to the injector valve (22) and the
injector valve (22) is coupled to the sectioning valve (21).
3. The connection arrangement according to the Claim 1
characterised by that the spraying unit („B") is configured so that
its control valve (20) is coupled to the sectioning valve (21) and the
sectioning valve (21) is coupled to the injector valve (22).
4. The connection arrangement according to the Claim 1
characterised by that the weed recognising camera (1) is a colour
camera.
5. The connection arrangement according to the Claim 1
characterised by that the species recognising camera (2) is a
colour camera provided with special filter.
6. A weeding procedure performed with the apparatus according to
Claim 1, wherein the data collected by a weed recognising camera
(1) are processed by a weed recognising PC (4), the output signals
thereof are sent to a control PC (8), and the control PC (8) taking into
account the data of a meteorological unit (7) controls the electronic
control units (12) and the electronic dosing units (14) of both the pre-
spraying unit („A") and the spraying unit („B") through the control
switch panel (11), which control and dosing units contiol the
quantity of herbicide delivered through the nozzles (25) of the
spraying frame (23) provided with axle (24) characterised by that
the profile of the railway track (30) is divided into sections and a sectioning valve (21) is assigned to each section, it lets the herbicide
onto defined section or it closes the way of herbicide, the positions of
the sectioning valves (21) can be controlled by series of switches on
the control switch panel (11) respectively on the auxiliary control
switch panel (10), the switches can be operated either automatically
or by hand, a weed species map is drawn up simultaneously by the
species recognising PC (5) and the species recognising camera (2)
provided with a special filter and mounted on the front part of the
railway vehicle viewing to the direction of movement in the way that
the sections covered by plants are separated according to weed
species, the combination of herbicides prescribed for the defined
weed species is chosen for each section then the electronic dosing
units (14) of both the pre-spraying unit („A") and the spraying unit
(„B") are controlled by the control PC (8) taking into account the
signals of the speed transducer (9), furthermore the pictures of the
weed recognising camera (1) viewing to the direction of movement
and mounted on the front part of the railway vehicle are transmitted
to the weed recognising PC (4) wherein the areas with covering of
plants surpassing a defined limit are selected by a weed recognising
program according to a defined division into sections, opening
commands relating to these sections are sent to the sectioning valves
(21) and to the control valves (20) in the appropriate time points through the contiol PC (8) talcing into account also the signals of the
speed transducer (9), while the control PC (8) sends closing
commands relating to the remaining sections, the relief of the track is
followed by the laser signal tiansducer (32) and the relief following
laser camera (3) on the front part of the railway vehicle, which
measure the differences of height of several pomts of the railway
track, the output signals of the relief following laser camera (3) are
sent to the relief following PC (6) and the initially established
division into sections is broadened or narrowed by means of its
program through the control PC (8), a command is sent at the same
time to the electronic tilting control unit (13) to tilt the axle (24) of
the spraying frame holding the nozzles (25) into appropriate angle on
the base of the signals of the position sensor (16) on the axle (24),
fui"thermore the water and chemical agent quantities are calculated,
which are required to make the herbicide with the assistance of the
electronic dosing unit (14) connected to the control switch panel (11)
and to the auxiliary control switch panel (10) taking into account the
dimensions of the work sections, the output signals of the speed
transducer (9) and the previously established doses of the chemical
agents and the injector valves (22) assigned to the defined sections,
which mix water with the chemical agent are opened or closed in
accordance with the results of calculation, an electronic dosing control unit (14) connected to several chemical agent tanks (26) is
assigned to each section, the required flow rate per minute is
calculated by means of the contiol PC (8) according to division into
sections established by hand on the control switch panel (11) and/or
on the auxiliary control switch panel (10) and taking into account the
signals of the speed tiansducer (9), this flow rate is compared to the
current flow rates per minute measured by the flow meter (19) and
by the chemical agent flow meter (28) and the control valves (20)
and the sectioning valves (21) are opened or closed on the base of
results of the comparison, then in the spraying stage the herbicide of
quality, concentration and flow rate per minute chosen in the way as
described above is delivered through the pre-spraying unit („A")
and/or through the spraying unit („B") onto the defined sections of
the railway track (30) divided into sections.
7. The procedure according to Claim 6 characterised by that the
weed map made by the weed recognising PC (4) and the weed
species map made by the species recognising PC (5) are drawn up
simultaneously with the spraying stage.
8. The procedure according to Claim 6 characterised by that the
nozzles (25) are positioned by means of the tilting motor (15) so that the spraying is made under the angle appropriate to the slope of
railway track.
EP02777582A 2002-07-05 2002-10-30 Weeding procedure for a railway vehicle Expired - Lifetime EP1521885B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
HU0202205A HU224536B1 (en) 2002-07-05 2002-07-05 Connection arrangement of weeding equipment mounted onto a railway vehicle and weeding procedure
HU0202205 2002-07-05
PCT/HU2002/000110 WO2004005625A1 (en) 2002-07-05 2002-10-30 Weeding procedure for a railway vehicle

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1521885A1 true EP1521885A1 (en) 2005-04-13
EP1521885B1 EP1521885B1 (en) 2009-05-06

Family

ID=89980601

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP02777582A Expired - Lifetime EP1521885B1 (en) 2002-07-05 2002-10-30 Weeding procedure for a railway vehicle

Country Status (9)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1521885B1 (en)
CN (1) CN1298218C (en)
AT (1) ATE430841T1 (en)
AU (1) AU2002339205A1 (en)
DE (1) DE60232277D1 (en)
DK (1) DK1521885T3 (en)
ES (1) ES2327823T3 (en)
HU (1) HU224536B1 (en)
WO (1) WO2004005625A1 (en)

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EP2728068A1 (en) 2012-11-02 2014-05-07 JARO Ceska Skalice, s.r.o. Spray device
CN110612242A (en) * 2017-05-17 2019-12-24 拜耳股份公司 Weeding at high speed
US11071991B2 (en) * 2017-02-06 2021-07-27 Bilberry Sas Weed control systems and methods, and agricultural sprayer incorporating same
US11109585B2 (en) * 2017-02-24 2021-09-07 Bilberry Sas Agricultural spraying control system

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HU3056U (en) 2005-04-29 2006-03-28 G & G Noevenyvedelmi Es Keresk Construction for making weed map
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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2728068A1 (en) 2012-11-02 2014-05-07 JARO Ceska Skalice, s.r.o. Spray device
US11071991B2 (en) * 2017-02-06 2021-07-27 Bilberry Sas Weed control systems and methods, and agricultural sprayer incorporating same
AU2018215728B2 (en) * 2017-02-06 2022-09-01 Bilberry Sas Weed control systems and methods, and agricultural sprayer incorporating same
US11109585B2 (en) * 2017-02-24 2021-09-07 Bilberry Sas Agricultural spraying control system
AU2018224459B2 (en) * 2017-02-24 2023-02-16 Bilberry Sas Agricultural spraying control system
CN110612242A (en) * 2017-05-17 2019-12-24 拜耳股份公司 Weeding at high speed
CN110612242B (en) * 2017-05-17 2024-03-12 发现号收购集团 Weeding at high speed

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE60232277D1 (en) 2009-06-18
ATE430841T1 (en) 2009-05-15
HU224536B1 (en) 2005-10-28
CN1633536A (en) 2005-06-29
ES2327823T3 (en) 2009-11-04
HUP0202205A2 (en) 2004-08-30
WO2004005625A1 (en) 2004-01-15
CN1298218C (en) 2007-02-07
DK1521885T3 (en) 2009-08-31
AU2002339205A1 (en) 2004-01-23
EP1521885B1 (en) 2009-05-06
HU0202205D0 (en) 2002-09-28

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