JP2013074797A - Crop harvester - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To take a picture of a carrot conveyed by a conveyance mechanism with a camera and accurately decide the quality of the carrot.SOLUTION: The crop harvester includes a separation unit for taking a picture of a carrot X conveyed in a state that the foliage portion W of the carrot is nipped with a conveyance mechanism Ca, with a camera 21 from a side position, deciding the grade of the carrot X on the basis of the taken result, and then cutting off the carrot X of a low grade from the foliage portion W with an unloading cutter 25. The separation unit is provided with a shading mechanism G having openable or closable shading plates 28 on the upstream and downstream sides of a direction for conveying the carrot X, and can take a picture of the carrot X with a camera 21 in a state of shading light from the outside to achieve the accurate decision.

Description

  The present invention relates to a crop harvester equipped with a transport mechanism that pulls out the underground mass portion of the crop from the field by applying a transport force toward the rear upper part of the crop body to the foliage portion of the crop as the aircraft runs. Further, the present invention relates to an improvement in technology for performing selection based on the quality of crops conveyed by a conveyance mechanism.

  As a crop harvester configured as described above, in Patent Document 1, the length is detected by contacting an underground mass portion (root vegetables in the literature) conveyed by a transport mechanism (drawn transport body in the literature). A configuration is shown in which a plurality of sensors are provided, a movable cutter is disposed at a position slightly behind the detection position by the sensor in the transport direction of the transport mechanism, and a fixed cutter is disposed at the transport end position of the transport mechanism.

  In this patent document 1, when it is determined by the sensor that the length is inferior, the ground lump portion is separated from the foliage portion by a movable cutter and dropped into a container for collecting defective products in the lower position. On the contrary, if the sensor determines that the length is good, the ground block is cut off from the foliage by a fixed cutter at the end position of the transport path and dropped into a container for collecting good products. The control form to be collected is described.

  Further, Patent Document 2 includes a camera that photographs an underground mass portion (root vegetables in the literature) conveyed by a conveyance mechanism (a nipping conveyance belt in the literature), a cutter at a terminal position of the conveyance mechanism, and a position below this A container for collecting defective products is arranged in the container, a container for collecting good products is arranged in a position parallel to the container, and a separation guide for guiding the root vegetables falling from the cutter to one of the two containers described above. The configuration provided is described.

  In this patent document 2, when the underground mass portion is determined to be defective by photographing with the camera, the underground mass portion cut by the cutter is guided to the container for collecting the defective product by the separation guide, When the part is determined to be a non-defective product, a control form is described in which the underground lump portion cut by the cutter is guided to a non-defective product collection container by a separation guide and collected.

JP-A-9-308349 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-220010

  For example, when considering the work of harvesting carrots with a crop harvester, what sorts non-defective and defective carrots when transported by the transport mechanism is effective in that the subsequent sorting work can be omitted. . In addition, as described in Patent Document 1, in order to determine whether a product is non-defective or defective, only a dimensional measurement can be performed using a contact-type sensor. Therefore, it is not possible to make a determination when there is a crack, and as described in Patent Document 2, it is desired to determine the quality by photographing with a camera.

  Due to advances in image processing technology, it is possible not only to measure the shape and size of the underground mass from image information taken with the camera, but also to determine the surface state from the color density distribution form in a short time processing, It is effective to judge the quality by shooting with a camera.

  However, in the case where the underground mass portion transported by the transport mechanism is simply photographed with a camera, there is a possibility of inaccurate determination due to the influence of light from the outside, and there is room for improvement.

  The objective of this invention exists in the point which comprises rationally the crop harvester which image | photographs the underground mass part of the crop conveyed with a conveyance mechanism with a camera, and performs quality determination correctly.

A feature of the present invention is a crop harvesting machine provided with a transport mechanism that pulls out the ground mass portion of the crop from the field by applying a transport force directed upward and rearward of the crop body to the foliage of the crop as the vehicle runs. And
The image capturing device includes an image capturing unit that captures the ground mass portion of the crop conveyed by the transport mechanism, and allows the movement of the ground mass portion to the image capturing region of the image capturing unit, while externally entering the image capturing region. It is in the point provided with the shading mechanism which intercepts a light ray.

According to this configuration, when the underground mass portion is moved to the imaging region of the camera by the transport mechanism, this movement is allowed by the light shielding mechanism, and when the underground mass portion is moved to the imaging region, the light shielding mechanism is allowed. Since the mechanism blocks light rays from the outside to the photographing region, it is possible to photograph the underground mass portion by the photographing means in a state where the influence of the light rays from the outside is excluded.
Therefore, a crop harvesting machine has been constructed that can accurately determine the quality by photographing the ground mass portion of the crop conveyed by the conveyance mechanism with a camera.

  According to the present invention, the imaging unit is disposed at a position where the underground mass portion is imaged from a side position of a conveyance path of the conveyance mechanism, the conveyance upstream side of the imaging region of the imaging unit, a conveyance downstream side, The light shielding mechanism may be provided at each position.

  According to this, photographing in a state in which the light shielding mechanism suppresses a phenomenon in which light beams from the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport mechanism enter the photographing region is realized.

  In the present invention, the light shielding mechanism is opened by the contact of the underground mass portion conveyed by the conveying mechanism to allow the passage of the underground mass portion, and is closed by an urging force after the passage. It may be configured to have two light-shielding plates that return to.

  According to this, the passage of the underground block is permitted by the opening operation of the two light shielding plates, and after passing, the light shielding plate is returned to the closed posture by the two urging forces, so that the light from the outside is photographed. Reduce the inconvenience of entering the area. Further, in this configuration, since the two light shielding plates are used, the swinging region of the light shielding plate is smaller than that using one light shielding plate. In particular, when the light shielding plate comes into contact with the underground mass portion, the light shielding plate removes the soil adhering to the underground mass portion, and suppresses shaking of the underground mass portion by contact with the light shielding plate, The surface soil is removed, and the underground mass portion in which the shaking is suppressed is photographed by the photographing means, thereby improving the accuracy of the quality determination.

It is a whole side view of a carrot harvester. It is a whole top view of a carrot harvester. It is a rear view of a carrot harvester. It is a side view which shows the discharge | emission state of the carrot from a crop accommodation part. It is a side view which shows the conveyance form of the carrot in a conveyance mechanism. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning with a light-shielding mechanism, a camera, and a discharge cutter. It is a rear view which shows arrangement | positioning of a discharge cutter and a discharge guide. It is a figure which shows a control structure typically.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
〔overall structure〕
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the boarding operation part B is arranged on the front right side of the traveling machine body A that travels with the pair of left and right crawler traveling devices 1, and the harvesting conveyance part C is arranged on the left side of the traveling machine body A, The separation part D is disposed at the rear position, and the carrot X transported by the lateral conveyance conveyor 2 is provided with the horizontal conveyance conveyor 2 that conveys the carrot X as a harvested product separated by the separation part D in the right direction of the machine body. Of the crop harvester including the discharge conveyor 4 for discharging the leaf and leaf portion W separated by the separation unit at the rear position of the traveling machine A in the form of dropping to the right side of the machine. As an example, a carrot harvester for single-row harvesting is configured.

  In the present invention, the ground part including the stems and leaves of the crop is referred to as the stem and leaf part W, and the underground part including the root vegetables, corms, rhizomes, or mosses in the ground is used as the ground mass part. A specific example of the underground lump will be described below simply as carrot X.

  In this carrot harvester, the driver's seat 5, the steering handle 6 and the like are disposed in the boarding driver B, and the engine E is disposed below the driver's seat 5. Although not shown in the drawings, a traveling transmission system that transmits the driving force of the engine E to the left and right crawler traveling apparatuses 1 and a harvesting transmission system that supplies the harvesting conveyance unit C, the separation unit D, and the like are provided.

  The harvesting conveyance unit C includes a soy mechanism 11 on the lower side of the front end for cutting the field of carrots X by vibration and softening the soil surface, and a pair of left and right pulling devices 12 on the upper side. A pair of left and right transport belts that pull out the carrot X as an underground mass part of the crop from the field by applying a transport force toward the rear upper part of the body by pressing the foliage W from the left and right as the traveling body A travels. A transport mechanism Ca having 13 is provided.

  The separation part D conveys the left and right harvesting cutters 15 formed in a drive-rotating disk shape as a second cutting mechanism at the end position of the conveyance mechanism Ca and the foliage W after the carrot X is cut off. A pair of left and right foliage removal belts 16 are provided.

  At the lower position of the separation part D, there is provided a rear transfer conveyor 17 that receives the carrot X at the front part and receives the foliage part W at the rear part, and the carrot X that is conveyed at the front part of the rear transfer conveyor 17 is placed sideways. A transverse feed roller 18 that feeds to the conveyance start end position of the conveyance conveyor 2 is provided in an oblique posture in plan view on the upper surface of an intermediate position in the conveyance direction of the rear conveyance conveyor 17. In addition, a guide chute 19 is provided at the rear position of the rear conveyor 17 for feeding the foliage W sent from the foliage removal belt 16 to the rear part of the rear conveyor 17 (rear position from the lateral feed roller 18) to the discharge conveyor 4. ing.

  From this configuration, the soy mechanism can be obtained by moving the traveling machine body A along the strip in a state where the tip position of the harvesting conveyance unit C is set on the strip where the carrot X is planted in the field. Since the soil surface is softened by the vibration of 11, the foliage device W causes the foliage W, and the foliage W is sandwiched by the conveyance belt 13 of the conveyance mechanism Ca and conveyed to the rear upper side of the machine body. Is extracted from the field, and in the separation part D, the foliage part W and the carrot X are separated by the harvesting cutter 15. Thereafter, the carrot X that has fallen downward from the separation unit D falls to the front end position of the rear transfer conveyor 17, and is sent out from the horizontal transfer roller 18 to the horizontal transfer conveyor 2, and from the horizontal transfer conveyor 2 to the harvest storage unit R. Be contained. The foliage W is sent from the foliage removal belt 16 through the guide chute 19 to the rear end side of the rear conveyor 17 and sent from the rear conveyor 17 to the discharge conveyor 4. Released.

[Crop harvesting department]
In particular, in this carrot harvesting machine, the horizontal conveyor 2 has a structure in which a large number of conveyor bars are provided in a parallel posture with respect to the endless chain, and the carrot X placed on the conveyor bar is conveyed obliquely upward along with the conveyance. As a whole, an oblique posture is set. In addition, a configuration in which a downstream conveying end portion 2B in the conveying direction and a upstream conveying end direction 2B in the conveying direction of the horizontal conveying conveyor 2 are refractably connected around a refractive axis P in a front-rear orientation. And an elevating cylinder 41 for setting the posture of the conveyance end portion 2B is provided. Further, a support shaft 43 is provided at the front end position of the conveyance end portion 2B via a pair of connecting arms 42, and a frame-like hanger 44 is provided on the support shaft 43.

  The harvest container R has a side wall body 46 formed in a rectangular tube shape with a cloth-like flexible material that opens in the vertical direction, and a rectangular bottom disposed at a position that closes the opening at the bottom of the side wall body 46. The side wall body 46 is supported in a state in which the opening portion at the upper end thereof is suspended from the hanger 44.

  The bottom wall body 47 is swingably supported around the dump shaft core Q in the lateral orientation at the rear position of the support base 48, and the bottom wall body 47 is surrounded by an opening edge at the lower end of the side wall body 46. A lower wall body 49 surrounding the lower end portion of the side wall body 46 is formed so as to prevent leakage of the crop (carrot X). Of the lower wall body 49, the one on the rear side of the machine body is supported so as to be openable and closable around the opening and closing axis T. Further, an electric cylinder 50 that swings the bottom wall body 47 about the dump shaft core Q is provided in the support base 48, and the piston rod of the electric cylinder 50 is connected to the arm portion 47A of the bottom wall body 47. .

  With this configuration, when the carrot X is stored in the harvest storage unit R, the bottom wall body 47 is swung upward and maintained in a horizontal posture. By lowering the second conveyance end portion 2B, the side wall body 46 is folded in a bellows shape, and accommodation in a state in which the drop to the bottom wall body 47 is reduced and the carrot X is prevented from being damaged is realized. Further, in association with an increase in the amount of carrot X stored in the harvest storage unit R, the upper end of the side wall body 46 is pulled up by raising the transport terminal 2B by the lifting cylinder 41, so that the capacity that can be stored is increased. It becomes possible.

  When the carrot X (harvested product) is discharged from the harvested container R, the lower wall body 49 is set in an open posture (not shown) as shown in FIG. By swinging the wall body 47 about the dump shaft core Q, the carrot X is discharged by its own weight with the inclined posture in which the rear end side of the bottom wall body 47 is directed downward.

[Selection unit]
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, in the ginseng harvesting apparatus of the present invention, the ginseng X transported by the transport mechanism Ca is photographed by a digital still type camera 21 as an imaging means, and a photographed image photographed by the camera 21. The processing unit F performs image processing based on the information, and when it is determined that the carrot X is of low quality as a result of the image processing, the sorting unit that separates the carrot X from the foliage W and discharges it downward. It has.

  The sorting unit has a camera 21 that captures an image from the lateral direction (from the side position of the transport path) perpendicular to the transport direction of the carrot X in the transport mechanism Ca. The camera 21 includes a photographic lens 21A and a CCD or CMOS type image sensor 21B that acquires photographic image information of the color of carrot X. A photographic light beam is provided at a position surrounding the outer periphery of the photographic lens 21A. Is provided with a photographing light source 22 having an LED. Note that the photographing direction of the carrot X by the camera 21 is not limited to the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and the photographing direction may be set so as to look up from an obliquely lower side on the conveyance downstream side.

  Of the both sides of the transport mechanism Ca, a black light-shielding wall body 23 is arranged at the left side position where the camera 21 is arranged and the right side position which is the background of the imaging area, and the imaging area of the camera 21 is used as a reference. The light shielding mechanism G is arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport mechanism Ca. Further, as a non-contact type position sensor 24 that detects that the carrot X has reached the center photographing position of the photographing region, a light source 24A is provided in one of the pair of light shielding walls 23, and a light receiving sensor 24B is provided in the other. Yes.

  The position sensor 24 is disposed at a position where the carrot X is detected at a position where the pair of light shielding plates 28 of the light shielding mechanism G reaches the closed posture after the carrot X passes through the upstream light shielding mechanism G in the transport direction. Shooting by the camera 21 at the timing when the light shielding plate 28 is in the closed posture is realized. The position sensor 24 may be a contact type that detects the carrot X from the swinging amount of the sensor rod that is in contact with the carrot X conveyed by the conveyance mechanism Ca, and the photographing light source 22 may be provided with a strobe light. .

  In addition, the left and right discharge cutters 25 formed in a drive-rotating disc shape as a first cutting mechanism on the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the photographing area of the carrot X and upstream in the conveyance direction from the harvesting cutter 15; And an operating device 26 for operating the pair of discharge cutters 25 to the cutting position. The actuating device 26 is composed of swinging left and right actuating arms 26A that support the left and right discharge cutters 25, and left and right electric actuators that swing the actuating arms 26A. The actuator 26 </ b> A is moved by the electric actuator so as to be operated to the conveyance path side of the conveyance mechanism Ca and to be operated to a position where the left and right discharge cutters 25 do not contact the foliage W when not cut. In particular, the discharge cutter 25 is disposed at a position where the carrot X can be separated immediately after passing through the light shielding mechanism G on the downstream side in the transport direction, and it is determined that the carrot X taken by the camera 21 is of low quality. In such a case, it is configured so that it can be separated and discharged from the foliage W immediately after being sent out from the light shielding mechanism G.

  As described above, the sorting unit includes the camera 21, the light shielding wall body 23, the light shielding mechanism G, the position sensor 24, the discharge cutter 25, the operating device 26, and the processing device F.

  The conveyance path of the conveyance mechanism Ca is arranged outside the crawler traveling device 1 on the left side in a plan view, and the carrot X cut off from the foliage W by the discharge cutter 25 enters the field scene outside the crawler traveling device 1 by its own weight. It becomes the positional relationship to drop. In addition, a discharge guide body 27 that sends out the carrot X cut off from the foliage W by the discharge cutter 25 along the discharge path H that guides the carrot X out of the conveyance path is disposed below the discharge cutter 25, whereby the crawler traveling device 1. It is configured to reliably discharge carrot X in a farm scene that cannot be stepped on.

  The light shielding mechanism G is disposed at an interval at which one carrot X is introduced into the photographing region. The light shielding mechanism G is made of rubber and is paired with black and left and right at positions sandwiching the conveyance path of the carrot X by the conveyance mechanism Ca. The light shielding plate 28 is configured to include a coil-type spring 29 that supports the light shielding plate 28 in a swingable manner about a swinging support shaft 28a in a vertically oriented posture and biases the light shielding plate 28 to a closed posture. In this light shielding mechanism G, when the left and right light shielding plates 28 reach the closed position, the relative positional relationship is set so that the swinging end sides of the left and right light shielding plates 28 overlap in a close contact state. It is configured to satisfactorily block the entry of light from the outside. Thus, since the pair of light shielding plates 28 are biased to the closed posture by the springs 29, the pair of light shielding plates 28 are brought into the closed posture in a very short time by the biasing force of the springs 29 after the carrot X has passed. Restore to achieve light shielding. Note that a plate spring or a torsion spring may be used as the spring 29.

  The processing device F is configured such that processing can be executed by software (program) like a microprocessor or DSP, and image information acquisition means 31 made of software, area information extraction means 32, and shape / size grade determination Means 33, color density distribution extraction means 34, surface state grade determination means 35, and discharge control means 36 are provided. These may be configured by hardware, or may be configured by a combination of hardware and software.

  The image information acquisition unit 31 performs a process of capturing the captured image information by capturing the camera 21 at the timing when the position sensor 24 detects the carrot X. The region information extraction unit 32 extracts the region information corresponding to the shape of the carrot X included in the captured image information from the background by binarization processing of the image information acquired by the image information acquisition unit 31 or contour extraction processing. Perform the process.

  The shape / size grade determining means 33 determines the grade as the quality information of the carrot X from the shape and size of the area information extracted by the area information extracting means 32. Specifically, the shape of the carrot X is extracted from the contour of the region information, and when this shape is bifurcated, if there is a chip, if there is a deformation exceeding the threshold, give the grade that is the largest numerical value, For those whose shape is included in an appropriate value, a process of giving a smaller numerical grade as the length value and the thickness value are larger.

  The color density distribution extraction means 34 gives a small number of grades as quality information to the area information extracted by the area information extraction means 32 and has a surface quality peculiar to ginseng, which is of high quality. When there is a typical color density distribution indicating cracks, decay, etc. at a different color density, processing for giving a grade that is the largest value as quality information is performed.

  As described above, the grade determined from the outer shape and the grade determined from the color density on the surface indicate better quality as the value is smaller, and the quality is lower as the value is larger. Accordingly, the discharge control means 36, when the grade given by the shape / size grade judgment means 33 or the color density distribution extraction means 34 is the carrot X to which a grade larger than a preset grade is given. A process of separating the carrot X from the foliage W by the discharge cutter 25 is performed, and when the carrot X is given a grade smaller than the set grade, no discharge is performed. Thereby, the carrot X accommodated in the harvest accommodation part R is only the thing of the favorable quality exceeding the set grade, and it is not necessary to select this carrot X anew.

[Operation / Effect of Embodiment]
With such a configuration, the carrot X pulled out from the field by the transport of the transport mechanism Ca is introduced into a photographing region that is a space surrounded by the left and right light shielding wall bodies 23 and the front and rear light shielding mechanisms G, and is detected by a sensor. The image is taken by the camera 21 at the same timing. Only one carrot X is introduced into the photographing region, and unnecessary light rays from the outside are blocked at the time of photographing. Therefore, a photographed image of one carrot X is acquired only by irradiation of light rays from the photographing light source 22. In the processing device F, the external configuration is not included in the photographed image information, and only one carrot X is photographed. Therefore, inconvenience that leads to an inaccurate determination when performing the process of determining the grade (process of determining the quality). Can be used to accurately determine the quality.

  In addition, since the camera 21 captures the carrot X from the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the transport mechanism Ca, even if mud is scattered during transport of the carrot X, it is difficult to adhere to the photographing lens 21A of the camera 21. Continuous shooting is possible in a clean state. When the shooting direction of the camera 21 is compared with, for example, a shooting direction from a direction parallel to the conveyance direction of the carrot X, a part of the carrot X immediately before or after the carrot X to be shot may enter the shooting area. Even if it exists, a part of the carrot X which invaded in this way does not overlap with the carrot X to be photographed, and appropriate determination is realized. In particular, even if a part of the carrot X conveyed immediately before or immediately after the captured image information is captured, it can be easily removed by image processing and does not affect the quality determination.

  The light shielding mechanism G is composed of two light shielding plates 28 arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side of the imaging region in the transport direction of the transport mechanism Ca, and the ginseng X abuts on the swinging support shaft 28a as a center. By swinging, it opens to allow the carrot X to pass, and after passing, the oscillating end of the light shielding plate 28 immediately reaches the closed position due to the biasing force of the spring 29. Good light shielding to prevent. Further, when the light shielding plate 28 comes into contact with the carrot X, the light shielding plate 28 removes the soil adhering to the carrot X, and the shaking of the carrot X is suppressed by the contact with the light shielding plate 28. Thereby, the surface soil is removed, and the carrot X, in which the shaking is suppressed, is photographed by the camera 21, and the accuracy of quality determination is improved.

  The photographed image information photographed by the camera 21 is given to the processing device F, and the processing device F gives a grade based on the shape and size for each carrot X and a grade based on the distribution of color density on the carrot surface. The carrot X which is given the lowest grade among the two grades thus given is separated from the foliage W by the discharge cutter 25 and falls along the discharge route H in the field scene. Discharged. Thereby, for example, in comparison with the configuration in which the carrot X having no commercial value is accommodated in the harvest container R, not only can the time until the harvest container R is full be increased, Unnecessary carrot X is not transported, and energy for traveling the traveling machine body A is not wasted. Further, since the carrot X determined to be of low quality is cut off from the foliage W by the discharge cutter 25 immediately after passing through the light shielding mechanism G on the downstream side in the transport direction, the carrot X is a target of this cut-off. There is no error in the identification of the carrot X, and early discharge is realized without wastefully transporting along the transport path of the transport mechanism Ca.

[Another embodiment]
The present invention may be configured as follows in addition to the embodiment described above.

(A) As the light shielding mechanism G, a light shielding plate 28 similar to that described in the embodiment is slidably supported in the left-right direction, and an actuator for driving the left and right light shielding plates 28 in the sliding direction is provided. Includes a sensor unit that detects that the carrot X has approached the light shielding mechanism G, and includes a control unit that opens the left and right light shielding plates 28 at the timing when the carrot X is detected by the sensors, allows the carrot X to pass, and closes after passing. May be. With this configuration, the carrot X can be opened and closed without the light shielding plate 28 being in contact with the carrot X, and the opening and closing time can be shortened without damaging the surface of the carrot X.

(B) As a configuration in which the light shielding plates are operated by an actuator as in the above-described another embodiment (a), the operation direction of the light shielding plates may be the vertical direction. You may employ | adopt the thing of the structure opened and closed by.

(C) The light shielding mechanism G is arranged at the same position as the light shielding plate 28 of the embodiment using two pieces of cloth, and the passage of the carrot X is allowed by the deformation of the cloth like a warm bath. The cloth is configured to reach a closed state by sagging under its own weight. By configuring in this way, it is possible to configure the configuration with a simple configuration that does not include the swing support shaft 28a of the light shielding plate 28 of the embodiment, and with a small number of parts.

(D) A digital movie camera that shoots a moving image is provided as a photographing unit so that captured image information of a plurality of frames is acquired. As described above, in the configuration in which the captured image information of a plurality of frames is acquired, the quality is determined based on the captured image information best captured from the captured image information of the plurality of frames, or the captured image information of the plurality of frames is recorded. The quality can be determined based on the combination of the two, and the determination accuracy can be improved.

(E) As a photographing means, a plurality of cameras 21 that photograph the underground mass portion (carrot X) from different directions are provided. The camera 21 may be a digital movie camera as in another embodiment (d). Thus, by photographing the underground mass portion (carrot X) with a plurality of cameras 21, for example, it is possible to grasp the three-dimensional shape of the underground mass portion (carrot X) and improve the accuracy of quality determination. It becomes.

(F) In addition to carrots X, crops that grow in the ground such as radish, beef bowl, onion, and potatoes may be harvested.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a crop harvester that harvests a ground lump portion from a field by applying a conveying force to the foliage portion of the crop.

21 Shooting means (camera)
28 Shading plate A Airframe (Running Airframe)
Ca transport mechanism G Shading mechanism W Stem and leaf part X Underground lump part (carrot)

Claims (3)

A crop harvester equipped with a transport mechanism that pulls out the ground mass part of the crop from the field by applying a transport force toward the rear upper part of the body with the traveling of the machine body,
The image capturing device includes an image capturing unit that captures the ground mass portion of the crop conveyed by the transport mechanism, and allows the movement of the ground mass portion to the image capturing region of the image capturing unit, while externally entering the image capturing region. A crop harvester equipped with a light-shielding mechanism that blocks light.   The photographing means is disposed at a position where the underground mass portion is photographed from a side position of a transport path of the transport mechanism, and each position of the transport upstream side and the transport downstream side of the photographing region of the photographing means The crop harvester according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding mechanism is provided.   The shading mechanism is opened by the contact of the underground mass portion conveyed by the conveying mechanism to allow the passage of the underground mass portion, and after passing, returns to a closed posture by an urging force 2 The crop harvesting machine according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a single light shielding plate.

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