ES2955231A1 - WET SEED DISTRIBUTION EQUIPMENT (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Gel-wet seed distribution equipment attachable to a flight drone and incorporating a distribution chamber; and coupled internally in said distribution chamber or conveyor screw, with rotary movement around its own axis facilitated by a motor group, which pushes and distributes said wet seeds out of the equipment towards a field, controlling the distribution process through a display module. that takes images of the land and sends them to a remote control module to facilitate the task of depositing seeds for a user. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

WET SEED DISTRIBUTION EQUIPMENT

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is related to the technical field of the agricultural industry, specifically in the sector of seed distribution equipment.

The present invention relates to a wet seed distribution equipment that can be attached to a flying drone and that incorporates a dispenser that pushes and distributes said wet seeds out of the equipment towards a field and a camera system used to control the area of the land where the seeds are deposited.

Likewise, the parts that make up the equipment are made of a plastic material manufactured using 3D printing so that the load does not affect the flight stability or the angle of deposition of the seeds, while complying with the regulations of drone flight.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Flight drones are known in the state of the art, that is, an aircraft that flies without a crew, performing its function remotely and powered, capable of autonomously maintaining a controlled and sustained flight level, powered by an engine. explosion, electrical or reaction.

Flying drone designs come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, configurations, and features. There are two variants: those controlled from a remote location and those with autonomous flight based on pre-programmed flight plans through dynamic automation.

In principle, its main use has been in the military sector, however, this use has currently evolved to be used in the civil sector with broad advantages such as the possibility of use in high-risk or difficult-to-access areas and the application in sectors industrial, productive and innovation processes.

The evolution in the civil sector is such that, currently, they are used in agricultural tasks, either to fertilize a field or deposit seeds on said surface of land autonomously, making the work easier for a user.

Within the agricultural sector, these flight drones have a fertilizer or seed tank, these tanks being of a limited weight to comply with international flight legislation, each country having its own legislation regarding the total weight of the drone along with with the elements attached to it.

The deposits located in these flight drones within the agricultural sector that store seeds deposit them in an uncontrolled manner in terms of knowledge of the terrain, without differentiating fertile areas from non-fertile areas, and their deposition is carried out remotely, controlling the flight drone through a remote controller and the user being in charge of distributing the product from the warehouse.

Likewise, the tanks can be coupled to dispensers, which control the deposition of the seeds, however, the existing dispensers are used with dry seeds, presenting the problem of not offering said internal elements that allow greater control of the seed deposit due to to the possibility of their blockages, damaging the dispenser or obstructing the seed outlets to the ground.

There are dispensers with internal elements that allow this deposition, but they cannot be attached to flying drones due, on the one hand, to the material, since they are made of a metallic material to provide them with robustness, but they affect the flight law of flying drones. mentioned previously due to mass issues. In addition, there is the possibility of destabilizing its flight, allowing failures in the flight drone itself or the seeds being deposited imprecisely on the ground.

The aforementioned dispensers are for static use, supported on a surface or towed by industrial vehicles such as tractors or other types of machines in the agricultural sector, without the possibility of exercising total control by a user.

As for wet seeds in gel, of greater agricultural efficiency than dry seeds, no tools have been located that allow the distribution of their mass in a manner homogeneous, because they are seeds with a gel coating for better conservation in the soil, protection against falling soil and substances

The use of the type of dispensers existing in the state of the art does not include any part that can regulate the distribution of said gel mass, being simply pipes oriented towards the ground from the tank of the flight drone where the product is located.

On the other hand, dispensers that have extra elements used with dry seeds and where these elements allow the regulation of the distribution in a more homogeneous way suffer the risk of clogging as they are a gel mass, not seeds arranged in a unitary manner, grouped and separable. between each other due to the coefficient of friction, being more expensive equipment due to the precision in the manufacturing of the parts and their tolerances to reduce the friction of the seeds, if they were used with wet seeds of the gel type, during the circulation of the same inside said dispenser.

Finally, due to the need for robustness, the elements or pieces that make up these dispensers must be joined together using screws, being extra elements that make it possible to block the system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to solve the proposed problems by means of a seed dispenser whose main parts are made of a thermostable plastic material made by 3D printing, so that the weight limit stipulated by the international flight law for flying drones is not reached.

Likewise, the equipment is attachable to the tank without the need to use screws or other elements that cause wear, reducing mechanical deterioration of the equipment object of the invention.

In addition, the equipment is used for the distribution of wet seeds in gel, presenting a Teflon coating in the distribution area (distribution chamber) that favors the circulation of the mass of the wet seeds in gel; and also presents a display system close to the output from said equipment through which the seeds on the ground and associated with the remote control by which the flight drone is directed to make it easier for a user to identify the ground and be able to disperse the seeds precisely.

Specifically, the distribution equipment object of the invention is attachable to a tank of wet seeds in gel incorporated into a flight drone, equipped with an electronic unit that can be connected remotely with a remote control module, using radio frequency. The invention comprises a frame provided with a front area, a rear area, an upper area and a lower area, a distribution chamber enclosed by the frame and where the seeds from the drone tank are deposited in a first place, a load located in the upper area of the frame and a discharge mouth located in the lower area of the frame, through which the seeds are expelled from said distribution chamber.

To direct the seeds that precipitate from the loading mouth to the discharge mouth inside the distribution chamber, the equipment incorporates a conveyor screw, manufactured together with the frame, of a plastic material using 3D printing, with the possibility of supporting the impact and wear of the seeds precipitated in the distribution chamber due to the flexibility of the material compared to the rigidity of other materials such as iron or steel, absorbing the impact of the mass of wet seeds in gel.

The conveyor screw has the capacity to rotate around its own axis, located in the distribution chamber and supported by rotating bearings or bearings between the front and rear areas of the frame. The rotation of the conveyor screw is caused by a motor group, arranged in any of the extreme areas of the frame, front or rear, and which connects with said screw. The motor unit is electronically linked through connection elements with the electronic unit of the flight drone and, therefore, with the remote control module. The rotation speed transmitted by the motor group to the conveyor screw is regulated remotely through the remote control module to which it is linked.

Promoting the circulation of the wet seeds in gel through the distribution chamber, the internal walls of said chamber and the conveyor screw are covered with a Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene) coating that avoids the use of lubricants between pieces and It reduces the friction of the seeds during their transport to the discharge mouth of the frame.

On the other hand, facilitating the distribution of seeds to a user, the equipment incorporates a visualization module, specifically, a set of cameras, located near the discharge mouth and which are also electronically linked with the electronic unit of the drone. flight and, consequently, with the remote control, used to take images of the terrain and facilitate the identification of fertile areas of the same aerially, avoiding the manual action of the user to access them.

For the precipitation of seeds into the distribution chamber, in a guided manner, the invention incorporates an adapter that starts vertically from the loading mouth and that can be coupled by rotating it with the tank of the flight drone, with an essentially truncated-conical geometry and that have an upper sector and a lower sector, ramps extended from the upper sector to the lower sector and that favor the precipitation of the seeds in gel, avoiding damage due to falls on the conveyor screw and in the distribution chamber as well as achieving the use total of the seeds from the deposit.

Likewise, the adapter is equipped with a groove that allows the union of the upper sector with the tank of the flight drone by means of twisting and fitting, said union being bayonet, so that the equipment object of the invention is unified with the tank and with the flight drone, achieving a single body.

Regarding the conveyor screw, it comprises a cylinder, which may be solid, and ribs that start transversely and are distributed in a helical manner along the cylinder, distinguishing between thrust ribs and at least one cutting rib, this being the closest to the discharge mouth, responsible for cutting the mass of wet seeds in gel displaced by the rest of the nerves in order to avoid obstructions during their escape, favor the distribution of the seeds in a field and avoid accumulation of load in areas of the distribution chamber that may alter the stability of the drone during the flight action, modifying the total center of gravity of the complete assembly.

The motor group mentioned above is equipped with a rotation motor that connects with the cylinder and transmits the rotation movement to said cylinder, a motor controller, associated to the rotation motor and which is electronically linked with the remote control module associated with the electronic unit of the drone, receiving orders to modify the rotation speed remotely from a user.

In turn, both the rotation motor and the controller are powered by at least one battery, which may be of the 3S Lipo type. The rotation motor that makes up the motor group is, preferably, a 12V motor with brushes, whose movement speeds vary between 60 and 100 rpm of movement, transmitting the movement torque to the conveyor screw.

The motor unit, as described above, can be located in the front or rear area of the frame, having to be mounted against the direction of the drone. To facilitate the movement of the conveyor screw, it is supported between the front and rear areas of the frame by including some bearings, so that it is seated on a bench.

To provide this support, the front and rear area of the frame includes two holes, one in each area, which allow the incorporation of the bearings and the support of the conveyor screw cylinder.

The distribution of the seeds, therefore, is regulated depending on the rotation speed transmitted by the motor group to the conveyor screw and by the separation between ribs of said conveyor screw, defined by the distance between pairs of ribs of the conveyor screw.

Finally, to help precipitate the wet seeds in gel from the distribution chamber to the ground through the discharge mouth, said distribution chamber incorporates a lower slope that flows into the improved discharge mouth, so that precipitation is carried out with additional guidance that favors the circulation of the wet seed mass, preventing blockages of the elements that make up the distribution equipment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation of the same, is accompanied as an integral part of said description, a set of drawings where, with an illustrative and non-limiting nature, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a top perspective view of the wet gel seed distribution equipment.

Figure 2.- Shows a lower perspective view of the wet gel seed distribution equipment.

Figure 3.- Shows a sectional perspective view of the gel-wet seed distribution equipment.

Figure 4.- Shows a detailed view of the conveyor screw.

Figure 5.- Shows a block diagram of the interaction between the mechanical-electronic components of the gel-wet seed distribution equipment.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

With the help of Figures 1 to 5, an example of a preferred embodiment of the equipment object of the invention is described.

Figure 1 shows a top perspective view of the gel-wet seed distribution equipment attachable to a seed tank of a flight drone (26) and electronically connectable with said flight drone (26) which is equipped with an electronic unit. (27) intended to connect with a remote control module (28), which comprises a frame (1), of essentially parallelepiped geometry, which is provided with an upper area (2), a lower area (3), a front area (4) and a rear area (5).

The invention is also provided with a distribution chamber (6) located internally in the frame (1), a loading mouth (7) located in the upper area (2) of the frame (1) and that communicates with the distribution chamber (6), said loading mouth (7) intended to allow access of the wet seeds in gel from the tank of the flight drone (26) to said distribution chamber (6) and a conveyor screw (9) with capacity of rotation around its own axis and which is incorporated longitudinally in the distribution chamber (6) between the front and rear areas (4, 5) of the frame (1).

Likewise, the invention additionally comprises a motor group (10) coupled to the conveyor screw (9) to which it transmits rotation movement, provided with first elements of wireless connection connectable with the electronic unit (27) of the flight drone (26) and, consequently, with the remote control module (28);

With the help of Figure 2, a lower perspective view of the gel-wet seed distribution equipment is observed, which additionally comprises a discharge mouth (8) located in the lower area (3) of the frame (1) and in the vicinity of the front area (4) or rear area (5) of said frame (1), which communicates with the distribution chamber (6) and which is intended to allow the deposition of wet seeds in gel to a ground from said chamber distribution (6).

The conveyor screw (9) is configured to push the wet seeds entering the distribution chamber (6) through the loading mouth (7) towards the discharge mouth (8).

Favoring the control of the deposition of the seeds from the distribution chamber (6) towards a field, the equipment object of the invention additionally comprises at least one display module (11) located in the vicinity of the discharge mouth (8) and which is equipped with second wireless connection elements connectable with the remote control module (28), said display module (11) configured to transmit images of the land where the seeds are deposited to facilitate the control of deposition of said seeds to a user. .

The first and second wireless connection elements can be radio frequency transmitter-receivers, which communicate with the remote control module (28) and with the electronic unit (27) of the flight drone (26).

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the distribution equipment, where it can be seen how the equipment additionally comprises an adapter (12) with an essentially truncated-conical geometry that starts essentially vertically from the loading mouth (7) of the frame (1).

The adapter (12) is equipped with an upper sector (13) that can be coupled with the seed tank of the flight drone (26), a lower sector (14) that connects with the loading mouth (7) of the frame (1), ramps (15) extended from the upper sector (13) to the lower sector (14) that facilitate the circulation of seeds from the tank of the flight drone (26) to the loading mouth (7). Likewise, it may include a groove (16) arranged internally in the first sector (13). intended by rotation to join said first sector (13) with the seed tank of the flight drone (26).

The circulation of wet seeds in a last section of the distribution chamber (6) is facilitated because it can incorporate a lower slope (24) that ends at the discharge mouth (8) intended to facilitate the movement of the seeds. wet in gel towards said discharge mouth (8).

Complementary to Figure 3, Figure 4 offers a perspective view of the conveyor screw (9), said conveyor screw (9) comprising a cylinder (17) supported between the front area (4) and the rear area (5) of the frame. (1), and a set of ribs (18) that start transversely from the cylinder (17) and arranged helically along said cylinder (17).

The set of ribs (18) is formed by pushing ribs (19) configured to push the wet gel seeds deposited in the distribution chamber (6) towards the discharge mouth (8) of the frame (1), and to the at least one cutting rib (20) next to the discharge mouth (8) configured to cut the group of wet seeds in gel in order to avoid obstructions in said discharge mouth (8).

The conveyor screw (9) is supported between the front and rear areas (4, 5) of the frame (1) thanks to the fact that the frame (1) additionally comprises, in said front and rear areas (4, 5) a hole (25). ) that allows the insertion of the cylinder (17) and holding it suspended in the distribution chamber (6), exerting the frame (1) as a bed.

Figure 5 shows a block diagram of the interaction between the mechanical-electronic components of the gel-wet seed distribution equipment, whose functions have been defined previously and where specifically the motor group (10) comprises a rotation motor (21) that connects with the cylinder (17) of the conveyor screw (9) and transmits rotation movement, a speed controller (22) linked to the first wireless connection elements and the rotation motor (21) and which receives orders from the control module. remote control (28) to vary the rotation speed of the motor and a power module (23) that connects with the rotation motor (21), with the speed controller (22) and with the first wireless connection elements. The power module (23) is preferably 3S Lipo type batteries.

Finally, the frame (1), the conveyor screw (9) and the adapter (12) are made of a plastic material using 3D printing. The distribution chamber (6) is coated internally with a Teflon coating and the conveyor screw (9) is coated externally with a Teflon coating.

Claims (13)

1. - Wet gel seed distribution equipment attachable to a seed tank of a flight drone (26) and electronically connectable with said flight drone (26), which is equipped with an electronic unit (27) linked to a remote control module (28) that allows a user to control said flight drone (26), where the equipment comprises: - a frame (1) that is provided with an upper area (2), a lower area (3), a front area (4) and a rear area (5), - a distribution chamber (6) located internally in the frame (1), - a loading mouth (7) located in the upper area (2) of the frame (1) and that communicates with the distribution chamber (6), said loading mouth (7) intended to allow access to the wet seeds in gel from the tank of the flight drone (26) to said distribution chamber (6), - a discharge mouth (8) located in the lower area (3) of the frame (1) and in the vicinity of the front area (4) or rear area (5) of said frame (1), which communicates with the chamber distribution chamber (6) and which is intended to allow the deposition of wet seeds in gel to a field from said distribution chamber (6), - a conveyor screw (9), with the capacity to rotate around its own axis and which is incorporated longitudinally in the distribution chamber (6) between the front and rear area (4, 5) of the frame (1), configured to push the wet seeds entering the distribution chamber (6) through the loading mouth (7) towards the discharge mouth (8), - a motor group (10) coupled to the conveyor screw (9) to which it transmits rotation movement, equipped with first wireless connection elements connectable with the electronic unit (27) of the flight drone (26) and, consequently, with the remote control module (28); characterized in that it additionally comprises at least one display module (11) located in the vicinity of the discharge mouth (8) and is provided with second wireless connection elements connectable with the remote control module (28), configured said display module (11) to transmit images of the land where the seeds are deposited to facilitate the control of deposition of said seeds to a user. 2. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 1 wherein the display module (11) is a set of cameras. 3. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 1 wherein the frame (1) is essentially parallelepipedal in geometry. 4. - Gel-wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 1, which additionally comprises an adapter (12) with an essentially frustoconical geometry that starts essentially vertically from the loading mouth (7) of the frame (1) that is equipped with: - an upper sector (13) that connects with the seed tank of the flight drone (26), - a lower sector (14) that connects with the loading mouth (7) of the frame (1), - ramps (15) extended from the upper sector (13) to the lower sector (14) that facilitate the circulation of seeds from the tank of the flight drone (26) to the loading mouth (7). 5. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 4 wherein the adapter (12) additionally comprises a groove (16) arranged internally in the first sector (13) and which is configured to join said first sector (13). with the seed tank of the flight drone (26) by rotation. 6. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 1 wherein the conveyor screw (9) comprises: - an axle (17) supported between the front area (4) and the rear area (5) of the frame (1), and - a set of ribs (18) that start transversely from the axis (17) and arranged in a helical manner along said axis (17), said set of ribs (18) being formed by at least one cutting rib (20) in an arrangement close to the discharge mouth (8) that facilitates the cutting of the wet seeds in gel in order to avoid obstructions in said discharge mouth (8). 7. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 6 wherein the set of ribs (18) comprises pushing ribs (19) that push the wet seeds through the distribution chamber (6) to the discharge mouth. (8). 8. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 7 wherein the frame (1) is provided with a hole (25) in the front area (4) and in the rear area (5), between which is supported the shaft (17) of the conveyor screw (9). 9. - Gel-wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 1 wherein the motor group (10) comprises a rotation motor (21) that connects with the cylinder (17) of the conveyor screw (9) and transmits movement of rotation, a speed controller (22) linked to the first wireless connection elements and the rotation motor (21) and that receives orders from the remote control module (28) to vary the rotation speed of the motor and a power module (23) that connects with the rotation motor (21), with the speed controller (22) and with the first wireless connection elements. 10. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 1 wherein the first and second wireless connection elements are radio frequency transmitter-receivers. 11. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 1 wherein the distribution chamber (6) comprises a lower slope (24) that ends at the discharge mouth (8) to facilitate the movement of the wet seeds in gel towards said discharge mouth (8). 12. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 5 in which the frame (1), the conveyor screw (9) and the adapter (12) are made of a plastic material by 3D printing. 13. - Gel wet seed distribution equipment according to claim 1 wherein the distribution chamber (6) is internally covered by a Teflon coating and the conveyor screw (9) is externally coated by a Teflon coating.