JP2013123386A - Chemical spraying vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chemical spraying vehicle, lessening the load of a worker by the boom elevating control using rotation synchronization without causing unexpected boom elevation while enabling the correction for the position and direction of a machine body at need, and also traveling to spray chemical with a uniform spray density on the whole surface of a field.SOLUTION: This chemical spraying vehicle includes right and left booms (9a, 9b) for spraying a chemical to be switched to a working position for spraying at a low position and a standby position for retreating to a high position, wherein in the boom elevation control using rotation synchronization, according to the detection of a rudder angle in rotational traveling at every field end for transition from the linear spraying travel to the linear spraying travel in the opposition direction for an adjacent region, lifting of the outside boom (9b) for the start of rotation and the lowering of the outside boom (9b) for the travel to the adjacent region and the end of rotation are sequentially performed, and in determining the above end of rotation, the application range of the synchronization control can be limited on the condition of a lapse of predetermined time from the traveling start at a predetermined speed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a medicine spraying vehicle that is provided with left and right booms for spraying medicine that can be moved up and down and that travels based on a travel position sensor.

  As described in Patent Document 1, there is known an autonomously traveling medicine spraying vehicle that includes left and right booms for spraying medicine that can be moved up and down and travels on a set route by a travel position sensor. This medicine distribution vehicle moves to the adjacent area along the set round-trip path sequentially based on the position information of the GPS radio wave, so that the entire field of the field can be covered without incurring any overlap or gaps between adjacent drug distribution areas. It is possible to travel with chemical spraying at a uniform spraying density.

  Also, in turning traveling when changing the direction of the aircraft at the field end that transitions from the forward journey to the adjacent return journey, at the start of turning to fold one of the turning outer booms of the left and right booms extending long on both sides of the aircraft The boom is raised from the working position for low-level spraying to the standby position for high-order evacuation by tilting in the upward direction, and then lowered to the working position by tilting in the downward direction from the standby position at the end of turning the aircraft. Because complicated operations associated with the change of direction in combination with pumps for drug spraying and other related operations and confirmation work of spraying resumption position are repeatedly required for each turn at the field end, Excessive load on the operator can be reduced by providing swivel-linked lift control that lifts and lowers the outer boom according to the turning operation of the aircraft. That.

  However, if the steering operation for correcting the position and direction of the airframe at the start of spraying travel is performed in order to travel and spray along the set stroke, an unexpected situation may be caused by the lifting and lowering of the boom associated with the application of the swivel interlocking lift control. On the other hand, if the detection sensitivity of the steering operation is set low so that the correction operation is not detected, the position accuracy of the boom raising / lowering accompanying the turning operation will be lowered, so that it overlaps with the adjacent drug spraying area. There is a problem that it is difficult to run the medicine spray with a uniform spray density on the entire field without causing any gaps.

JP 2004-8187 A

  The object of the present invention is to reduce the burden on the operator by adjusting the boom lifting and lowering by interlocking turning without causing an unexpected boom lifting and lowering the position and direction of the airframe as necessary. It is an object of the present invention to provide a medicine spraying vehicle capable of spraying medicine with a uniform spraying density over the entire field without causing any overlap or gap with the medicine spraying area.

  The invention according to claim 1 is provided so that each of the left and right booms (9b, 9b) for spraying medicine can be switched between a working position for low-level spraying and a standby position for high-level evacuation. By detecting the rudder angle at the time of turning traveling for each field end that shifts to the reverse linear spraying traveling, the turning outer boom (9b) rises by starting turning, travels to the adjacent area, and turns outer boom (9b) by finishing turning. In the medicine spreader vehicle equipped with the boom-linked boom up / down control that sequentially performs the descent, the determination of the end of the turn is made on the condition that a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of traveling at a predetermined speed.

  The invention according to claim 2 is provided so that the left and right booms (9b, 9b) for spraying medicine can be switched between a working position for low-level spraying and a standby position for high-level evacuation. By detecting the rudder angle at the time of turning traveling for each field end that shifts to the reverse linear spraying traveling, the turning outer boom (9b) rises by starting turning, travels to the adjacent area, and turns outer boom (9b) by finishing turning. In a medicine sprayer equipped with a boom-linked boom up / down control that sequentially moves down, the determination of the start of turning is characterized in that a predetermined time elapses after the condition for starting turning is satisfied.

  The invention according to claim 3 is provided so that the left and right booms (9b, 9b) for spraying medicine can be switched between a working position for low-level spraying and a standby position for high-level evacuation. By detecting the rudder angle at the time of turning traveling for each field end that shifts to the reverse linear spraying traveling, the turning outer boom (9b) rises by starting turning, travels to the adjacent area, and turns outer boom (9b) by finishing turning. In the medicine spreader including the boom raising / lowering boom raising / lowering control for sequentially lowering, the determination of the turning start is characterized in that a predetermined time elapses from the lowering of the turning outer boom (9b) due to the end of the turning.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the medicine spraying vehicle is configured so that the left and right booms (9b, 9b) provided to be switchable between the work position and the standby position are controlled by the boom-up / down boom-linked control from the linear spraying run to the field ends. By detecting the rudder angle at the time of turning, the outer boom (9b) is raised by starting turning, traveling to the adjacent area, and the outer boom (9b) being lowered by turning is sequentially performed, so that a straight line in the opposite direction of the adjacent area is obtained. In this case, since the turning end is not determined for the predetermined time range from the start of traveling at a predetermined vehicle speed, the boom is not lowered at the start of traveling or in the middle of the turning, and the travel is corrected in the meantime. Can be steered.
Therefore, while making it possible to correct the position and orientation of the aircraft as necessary, it is possible to reduce the burden on the operator by controlling the boom lifting and lowering by swiveling without causing unexpected boom lifting and It is possible to spray and travel the medicine at a uniform spray density over the entire field without any overlap or gaps.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the turning start determination is based on the passage of a predetermined time after the turning start condition is satisfied. The malfunction of the rise can be prevented.
Therefore, while making it possible to correct the position and orientation of the aircraft as necessary, it is possible to reduce the burden on the operator by controlling the boom lifting and lowering by swiveling without causing unexpected boom lifting and It is possible to spray and travel the medicine at a uniform spray density over the entire field without any overlap or gaps.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the next turn start is not determined for a predetermined time range from the start of travel after the end of turn, steering for correcting the travel direction including the steering wheel return operation after the end of turn is possible. It becomes.
Therefore, while making it possible to correct the position and orientation of the aircraft as necessary, it is possible to reduce the burden on the operator by controlling the boom lifting and lowering by swiveling without causing unexpected boom lifting and It is possible to spray and travel the medicine at a uniform spray density over the entire field without any overlap or gaps.

Side view (a) and plan view (b) of the riding type control machine when the boom is stored Front view when spraying a passenger type control machine Plan view of turning path of riding type control machine in field System configuration block diagram of spray control A sketch of the front panel of an example of the control instruction unit A sketch of the front panel of another example of the control instruction section Example of input configuration of aircraft position information by GPS Flow chart for handling at the beginning of travel Flowchart with distance as reference Flow chart for handling during turning Flow chart for handling after turning Flow chart for pump output OFF Flowchart for steering during running Flow chart of turning start determination based on actual travel distance Flow chart of boom automatic lift control including the first stroke Flowchart of control corresponding to steering wheel operation after running stop Flow chart of control based on the boundary line of the turning area Rotating motion area diagram First swivel flowchart Flow chart of another example of the first turning motion Flow chart for handling at the end of turning Area diagram of turning end operation Flow chart for handling until the next turn Turning area diagram before and after the spraying stroke

Embodiments specifically configured based on the above technical idea will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a side view (a) and a plan view (b) of a riding type control machine, which is an example of a medicine sprayer to which the present invention is applied, during boom storage.

  This medicine spraying vehicle 1 has a centrally arranged driver's seat 6 facing the steering handle 2 on a machine body supported by front and rear wheel steering type left and right front wheels 3 and 3 and left and right rear wheels 4 and 4 and a fixed amount. A rear-positioned medicine tank 5 having a discharge unit, a boom 9a at the front end of the machine body, left and right booms 9b and 9b that can be deployed on both sides thereof, and a controller that is a later-described various sensor and control means constituting the spraying control system C is provided.

  The handling of the left and right booms 9b, 9b in the spraying operation is as follows. As shown in FIG. 2, the front view at the time of spraying is extended to the working position for low-level spraying on both sides of the machine body. As shown in the plan view of FIG. 3, in order to secure the spraying to the vicinity of the farm field end, the boom 9b on the outer side of the turning is raised to the standby position for high-order evacuation, and the two times sandwiching the straight portion along the heel edge When the vehicle is turned, the boom 9b is lowered again and spraying is resumed so as to match the spraying end position. The spraying control system is configured on the premise of handling the booms 9b and 9b.

  The spray control system will be described in detail. As shown in the system configuration block diagram of FIG. 4, as the control target by the controller C, the telescopic drive unit 11 and the lift drive unit 12 of the booms 9 b and 9 b, the drug spray pump 13, Each device including the buzzer 14 for notification and the drive unit of the display tool 15 is connected, and as a control condition, a spray setting unit including an automatic lifting setting unit 21 for boom lifting control, a GPS unit 22 for device control, Signals from various sensors such as a steering angle sensor 23, a vehicle speed sensor 24, and a boom stroke sensor 25 are input.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the operation panel 31 for spray setting includes a display switching type spray setting switch and an automatic switch 32 for automatically spraying in accordance with the spray setting. To do. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a configuration example of another spray setting unit 41 is provided with an automatic switch 43 for automatically spraying along the spray setting together with an LCD display unit 42 that enables various display settings by switching the display. Configure.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the position sensor and the velocity data are input to the controller C by communication based on the position information of the body specified by the GPS radio wave received by the antenna 22a. The speed information obtained from the GPS unit 22 and the vehicle speed sensor 24 based on wheel rotation is defined as the vehicle speed. Based on the information from the GPS unit 22, autonomous driving may be performed by a selection switch for autonomous driving, or the information from the GPS unit 22 is displayed on the screen to display the traveling route, and the vehicle travels according to the traveling route. It is good also as a structure which carries out manual operation.

  The spraying control system calculates the set pressure from the set spraying amount according to the vehicle speed obtained from the GPS unit 22 and the vehicle speed sensor 24, performs the spraying amount control in conjunction with the vehicle speed, and further includes the boom 9b, 9b has the function of automatically raising and lowering, and the automatic raising raises the boom 9b outside the turning in conjunction with the start of turning, and the automatic lowering works in conjunction with the end of turning of the boom 9b outside the turning in the standby position. Lower to position.

(Initial response)
As described below, the swivel-linked lift control of each boom enables the boom to be lifted and swung in conjunction with the swivel while limiting the range of application of the boom lift and enabling the necessary travel correction.
Explaining in detail an example of the control for the correspondence at the beginning of traveling, as shown in FIG. 8, the flow chart shows the calculated vehicle speed (hereinafter abbreviated as “S1”) by reading the vehicle speed sensor (hereinafter abbreviated as “S1”). Counting is started (S2) with the time point (S1b) at which the vehicle speed is reached (S1b) as the travel start time point (S2). ) That is, if a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of traveling, a control process is configured to raise the boom 9b outside the turn to the standby position by clearing the count value (S3a to S3d) from turning direction determination as turning start at the field end. To do. The steering angle detection may directly detect the steering angle of the wheel, or may be configured to detect the amount of rotation of the steering handle 2.

  By the above control process, the turning start is not determined until a predetermined time has elapsed after the condition for starting the turning is satisfied. Therefore, steering can be performed to correct the traveling direction, and it is possible to cope with traveling adjustment required at the beginning of spray traveling.

  Therefore, while making it possible to correct the position and orientation of the aircraft as necessary, it is possible to reduce the burden on the operator by controlling the boom lifting and lowering by swiveling without causing unexpected boom lifting and It is possible to spray and travel the medicine at a uniform spray density over the entire field without any overlap or gaps.

  Further, when the application range of the boom raising / lowering is limited by the distance reference instead of the time reference, the travel distance and the cumulative distance are calculated by the count start (S11) as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 (S12). , S13), and performing the turning start determination (S16, S17) based on the accumulated distance, the same handling as described above is possible.

(Compatible during turning)
Next, a control example for handling during turning will be described. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, after the boom is raised (S21a, S21b), a predetermined vehicle speed is reached (S22 to S22b). If the count value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S23a to S23d) when the steering angle is detected to be equal to or greater than the predetermined angle θ1 after detection (S23a to S23d). A control process for lowering the boom 9b on the outer side of the turn to the working position by clearing the count value (S24a to S24d) from the turning direction determination as the end of turning is configured.

  Thus, since the end of turning is not determined for a predetermined time range from the start of traveling during turning, steering for traveling correction can be performed during that time without causing the boom to drop during turning. Also, by using the distance reference instead of the time reference, the same handling as described above can be performed as in the above example.

(Corresponding to the end of turning)
Next, a control example for the response after the end of the turn will be described. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, the boom starts after the end of the turn (S31) and the related process (S31a) starts counting (S32). Thereafter, if the count value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S33a to S33c) when the steering angle detection (S33) becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined angle θ1, that is, if a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of spray travel due to the boom descending after turning. Then, as the next turn start, the boom 9b is raised to the standby position (S34), and a control process is performed to perform the related processes (S34a, S34b).

  In this way, since the next turn start is not determined for a predetermined time range from the start of the boom descent after the turn is completed, steering for correcting the drive direction including the steering wheel return operation after the turn is completed is possible. Become. In this case, by using a distance reference instead of a time reference, the same handling as described above can be performed as in the above example. In addition, the reference distance can be appropriately set depending on the operator's operation method and the field condition by being configured to be separately settable.

(Compatible with pump operation)
Next, even when the pump output is turned off due to a decrease in the vehicle speed during spraying in conjunction with the vehicle speed, in order to continue turning the boom in conjunction with the turning of the boom, as shown in FIG. Even if the spray flow rate is “0” (S42a, S42b) in S41b), in the case of the vehicle speed interlocking stop in the automatic mode (S43a, S43b), the control process for continuing the boom turning interlocking elevation control (after S44). Configure. That is, in the control process that is limited to when the pump is on and the flow rate is not “0”, when the flow rate is “0” due to the pump output being turned off due to the vehicle speed drop during automatic spraying in conjunction with the vehicle speed, the control is continued to The swivel interlocking elevation can be continued.

Next, in order to prevent a malfunction of the boom rising even if the steering operation for correcting the traveling is performed during traveling, a flowchart for steering during the traveling is illustrated in FIG. 13 when the pump output is on (S51a, Counting is started from S51b and S52) (S53), and the boom is raised (S56a to S56d) only when the steering angle is equal to or larger than the predetermined angle θ1 (S54a and S54b) and the count value is equal to or larger than the predetermined value (S55a and S55b). Configure the control process to be performed.
Further, the same handling is possible even if the cumulative travel distance is used as the count value.

  In addition, by performing the turning start determination based on the actual travel distance, it is possible to prevent malfunction more accurately. That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14, the travel distance is calculated from when the pump output is turned on (S61a to S61f), and the turning travel distance is calculated and set based on the travel distance until the turning operation. (S62a-S62e) The control process which determines turning start (S64) by using this for the next process (S63a-S63e) is comprised.

  In this case, when applying the automatic boom raising including the first stroke, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15, control for setting initial value data (S 71 a to S 71 c) when there is no data on the turning distance. Configure the process. In this way, for the first stroke, the boom can be automatically raised by using a certain distance as a reference.

  In order to prevent the malfunction of the boom rising due to the steering operation in the traveling direction after the traveling stop, as shown in the flowchart in FIG. 16, when the vehicle speed sensor reaches the predetermined vehicle speed (S81a to S81c), the steering angle is not less than the predetermined value. If so, a control process for restricting the turning start process (S82a to S82c) is configured. In this way, it is possible to prevent malfunctions when the steering wheel operation is performed from the beginning at the start of traveling, and the same handling is possible by restricting the turning end determination instead of restricting the turning start process. It becomes.

(Swivel area compatible)
Next, the boom malfunction prevention control based on the turning area will be described.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17 which is a flowchart of control based on the boundary line of the turning region, the position of the start of spraying is recorded (S91) and the spraying process (S92) is performed based on GPS information. The position of the first turning motion is recorded (S93), and the area diagram of the turning motion is shown in FIG. 18 based on the position information of these two points, as shown in FIG. By calculating a line L2 (S94, S95, S95a) and configuring a control process for performing a turn determination for a range exceeding the turn boundary line L2, application of the turn interlocking lifting process is limited, so that the malfunction of the boom Prevention becomes possible.

  In this case, the turning interlocking process is limitedly applied to the turning boundary line L2 with the range of the predetermined distance A in front thereof as the forward direction area, and further, the range of the predetermined distance B in the lateral direction of the turning boundary line L2 is applied. By applying the swivel interlocking process in a limited manner in the horizontal direction area, high-precision boom malfunction prevention control based on the turning area is possible.

  As for the first turning operation as a reference for the above control, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 19, the GPS position information of the spray start position is read (S101), and the position area at a predetermined distance from the point is set as the first turning area. Is set (S102, S103), and the control process of determining the travel distance based on the GPS position information during the scattered travel and determining the appropriateness of the automatic climb (S104) is configured. In this way, it is possible to set the turning start position in the first stroke, and it is possible to prevent a malfunction of ascending / descending during spray traveling on the way to the first turning position.

  Further, in the first turning operation, as shown in a flowchart of another example in FIG. 20, the GPS position information of the spray start position is read (S111, S112), and then the travel distance by the vehicle speed sensor is calculated (S113). By configuring the control process to perform automatic ascent when the distance is exceeded (S114), it is possible to automatically raise and lower the first turn by traveling for a preset distance, and spraying on the way to the first turning position. It is possible to prevent the lifting and lowering malfunction during traveling.

(Compatible when turning is completed)
Next, regarding the response at the end of turning, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 21, the region diagram of the turning end operation is shown in FIG. 22 based on the predicted movement distance C after the boom is raised by the start of turning (S121, S122). Thus, the control process which sets the turning completion area | region in the running direction to a turning completion position is comprised. In this way, the turning end determination limited to the turning end area after the start of turning can be performed, so that the boom malfunction at the end of turning can be prevented.

(For next turn)
Next, regarding the correspondence to the next turn by the end of turning, as shown in the flowchart in FIG. 23 and the turning area diagram before and after the spreading stroke, in FIG. 22, the spray start position (S131) and the turning start position in the first stroke are shown. Based on the first turning area A1 (S132) by the first boundary line L2 obtained from the above and the GPS position information (S133, S134) of the spray start position at the end of the turning, the second boundary line for the next stroke By calculating the second turning area A2 by L3 (S135), it is possible to determine the application of automatic raising / lowering in the turning area A2 of the next stroke, and it is possible to prevent unnecessary automatic raising / lowering during spray traveling. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drug distribution vehicle 5 Drug tank 6 Driver's seat 9a Boom 11 Telescopic drive part 12 Lift drive part 13 Pump 21 Automatic raising / lowering setting part 22 GPS unit 23 Steering angle sensor 24 Vehicle speed sensor 31 Operation panel 32 Automatic switch 41 Spreading setting part 43 Automatic switch A Forward distance A1 Turning area A2 Turning area B Lateral distance C Expected movement distance L1 Traveling line L2 Turning boundary line θ1 Turning reference angle

Claims (3)

The left and right booms (9b, 9b) for spraying medicines can be switched between a working position for low-level spraying and a standby position for high-level evacuation. Rotation-linked boom that sequentially raises the turning outer boom (9b) at the start of turning, travels to the adjacent area, and lowers the turning outer boom (9b) at the end of turning by detecting the steering angle at the turn of each field end In a drug spreader with lift control,
The determination of the end of the turn is made on the condition that a predetermined time elapses from the start of traveling at a predetermined speed. The left and right booms (9b, 9b) for spraying medicines can be switched between a working position for low-level spraying and a standby position for high-level evacuation. Rotation-linked boom that sequentially raises the turning outer boom (9b) at the start of turning, travels to the adjacent area, and lowers the turning outer boom (9b) at the end of turning by detecting the steering angle at the turn of each field end In a drug spreader with lift control,
The determination of the turning start is based on a condition that a predetermined time has elapsed after the condition for starting the turning is satisfied. The left and right booms (9b, 9b) for spraying medicines can be switched between a working position for low-level spraying and a standby position for high-level evacuation. Rotation-linked boom that sequentially raises the turning outer boom (9b) at the start of turning, travels to the adjacent area, and lowers the turning outer boom (9b) at the end of turning by detecting the steering angle at the turn of each field end In a drug spreader with lift control,
The determination of the turning start is made on the condition that a predetermined time elapses from the lowering of the turning outer boom (9b) due to the end of turning.

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