JP2020103250A - Boom spray apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent uniform spraying in a spraying width from being hindered even when a boom length is adjusted in a boom spray apparatus that can arbitrarily control a spraying width by adjusting a boom length.SOLUTION: A boom spray apparatus is equipped with a plurality of booms in which a plurality of spray nozzles are arranged at equal intervals, and includes a boom length adjusting mechanism for adjusting a boom length by making an overlapping state along a longitudinal direction of the plurality of booms variable, and a control unit 24 for expanding and contracting the length of the booms in a unit of the arrangement interval of the spray nozzles by controlling the drive of the boom length adjusting mechanism.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a boom spraying device.

The boom spraying device is a self-propelled riding type, a tractor towing type, a tractor direct mounting type, etc., represented by a so-called boom sprayer, and is a boom that is developed in a substantially horizontal direction intersecting the traveling direction while traveling in a field scene. It is a working machine for spraying a spray material such as a chemical solution toward a field scene with a spray width corresponding to the length of. This boom spraying device performs spraying work while advancing in the field scene, spraying the area of movement distance x spraying width in one stroke, and repeating the reciprocating stroke to perform spraying work in the entire field scene. is there.

In such a boom spraying device, a boom (side boom) that deploys horizontally in the left-right direction is configured by a first boom and a second boom that is movable in the longitudinal direction of the first boom, and a second boom is provided with respect to the first boom. It is known that the spread width can be changed by arbitrarily adjusting the boom length determined by how much the boom is projected (see Patent Document 1 below).

JP, 2018-157775, A

According to the above-mentioned conventional technique, the boom length is set to an arbitrary value between the shortest length at which the second boom completely overlaps the first boom and the maximum length at which the first boom and the second boom overlap with each other. The length can be adjusted, and the spraying width can be variably adjusted according to the boom length.

However, the spray nozzles are provided in the first boom and the second boom at set intervals, respectively, and depending on the overlapping state of the first boom and the second boom, the maximum number of the spray nozzles opened in the first boom may be increased. The distance between the outer position and the innermost position of the spray nozzle opened in the second boom is different from the set spray nozzle interval, and the spray amount per unit area within the spray width is different at that portion. There was a problem that it became uneven.

The present invention has been proposed to address such a problem. That is, it is an object of the boom spraying device that adjusts the boom length to arbitrarily control the spraying width so that uniform spraying within the spraying width is not obstructed even when adjusting the boom length.

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention has the following configurations.
A boom sprayer including a machine traveling in a field scene and a boom deployable in a substantially horizontal direction intersecting the traveling direction of the machine, and spraying a spraying material toward a farm scene with a spraying width corresponding to the length of the boom. It is a device, comprising a plurality of booms in which a plurality of spray nozzles are arranged at equal intervals, and adjusting the boom length by varying the overlapping state along the longitudinal direction of the plurality of booms. A boom spraying device comprising: a mechanism; and a control unit that drives and controls the boom length adjusting mechanism to expand and contract the boom length in units of intervals at which the spraying nozzles are arranged.

According to the boom spraying device having such a characteristic, when the boom length is adjusted to arbitrarily control the spraying width, it is possible to perform uniform spraying within the spraying width even when adjusting the boom length.

It is explanatory drawing ((a) is a side view, (b) is a perspective view of a diagonal rear view) which showed the whole structure of the boom spraying apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematic structure of the boom length adjustment mechanism. It is explanatory drawing explaining the flow-path structure of a spraying apparatus, and control of a spraying nozzle. It is explanatory drawing which shows the function of a control part. It is explanatory drawing explaining the expansion-contraction control of a boom (side boom).

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate the parts having the same functions, and the duplicate description in each drawing will be appropriately omitted.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate parts having the same function, and redundant description in each drawing will be appropriately omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 1( a) and 1 (b ), a boom spraying device 1 includes a machine body 2 that travels in a field scene, a spraying device 3 that is mounted on the machine body 2, and a crossing direction that intersects the traveling direction of the machine body 2. The boom 4 that can be deployed in the horizontal direction is provided, and a spraying material such as a medicine is sprayed toward a field scene with a spraying width corresponding to the length of the boom 4. In the illustrated example, the machine body 2 is a towed machine body towed by a tractor (travel device), but is not limited to this, and is a direct-mounted machine body or a self-propelled vehicle mounted on a three-point link of the tractor. It may be an airframe.

The illustrated towed body 2 is equipped with traveling wheels 2A, and in front of the body 2, a connecting portion 2B connected to the tractor and a PTO of the tractor via a transmission means such as a universal joint. It has an input unit 2C to which power is input. The spraying device 3 mounted on the machine body 2 includes a pump 3A that is driven by power input to the input unit 2C, a tank 3B that stores a spraying material such as a drug, and the like.

The boom 4 includes a center boom 4A and left and right side booms 4B. The center boom 4A is supported by the machine body 2 via a horizontal device 5. The side boom 4B is connected to the left and right ends of the center boom 4A so as to be retractable and retractable, and is configured to expand and contract itself (in the figure, the side boom 4B is retracted to the shortest position when stored). Is shown). A pipe or a hose having a plurality of spray nozzles 6 is attached to the center boom 4A and the side boom 4B, and spray materials such as chemicals in the tank 3B are pumped by the pump 3A and sprayed from the plurality of spray nozzles 6. To be done.

The side boom 4B can be deployed in the horizontal direction intersecting the traveling direction of the machine body 2 and can be extended to the maximum length to realize the maximum spread width. By appropriately expanding and contracting the length, the spread width can be increased. Can be adjusted variably. Further, the side boom 4B can be put in a stored state by contracting to the shortest state (shortest length), folding along the traveling direction of the machine body 2, and raising and tipping the tip. The left/right side booms 4B can be stored/expanded/expanded/contracted individually by a boom operation mechanism (a boom accommodating mechanism, a boom expanding mechanism, a boom length adjusting mechanism) not shown.

FIG. 2 shows a boom length adjusting mechanism 10 for adjusting the boom length by expanding and contracting the side boom 4B. The side boom 4B includes a plurality of booms (boom 11 and boom 12). Although an example in which two booms are provided is shown here, a similar configuration may be provided in multiple stages to include three or more booms.

The boom length adjustment mechanism 10 is a mechanism that adjusts the boom length by varying the overlapping state of the plurality of booms (the boom 11 and the boom 12) along the longitudinal direction. The specific mechanism is the same as that of the prior art, and the boom 11 and the boom 12 are slidably supported along the longitudinal direction, and the sprocket 13 provided at the base end of the boom 11 on the base end side. Is connected to the output shaft of the motor 19. A chain 15 is wound around the sprocket 13, one end of the chain 15 is connected to one end of a wire 16 via a connecting portion 17, and the wire 16 is wound around a pulley 14 provided at the tip of the boom 11. The other end is connected to the other end of the chain 15 via the connecting portion 18. The base end of the boom 12 is connected to the wire 16.

The boom length adjusting mechanism 10 rotates the motor 19 to rotate the sprocket 13 and slide the wire 16 connected to the chain 15, so that the base end side is supported by the horizontal device 5. The length of the boom 4 (side boom 4B) is adjusted by moving the boom 12 in the longitudinal direction of the boom 11.

The control of the boom length is performed by controlling the rotation amount of the motor 19 with the output of the control unit 20. Detection signals from a shortest position sensor 21 including a proximity sensor and a rotation sensor 22 that detects rotation of the sprocket 13 are input to the control unit 20. The shortest position sensor 21 is attached to the base end side of the boom 11 and is a position sensor that detects that the base end of the boom 12 has approached and has reached the shortest position. The rotation sensor 22 detects a pulse (for example, an encoder pulse) generated by the rotation of the sprocket 13 and detects the rotation amount of the sprocket 13 (or the output shaft of the motor 19) to detect the displacement amount of the boom in the longitudinal direction. It is a displacement sensor for detecting.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the spraying device 3 that supplies the spraying material to the spraying nozzles 6 (6A, 6B). The spraying material in the tank 3B is pressure-fed to the spraying nozzle 6 (6A, 6B) by the pump 3A. The pumping flow passage 30 connected to the pump 3A is branched into a supply flow passage 32 and a return flow passage 33 via a three-way valve 31, and the return flow passage 33 is communicated with the tank 3B via an electric control valve 34. The supply channel 32 is connected to a flow divider 37 via a pressure gauge 35 and a flowmeter 36. The flow divider 37 divides the supply passage 32 into the three supply passages 32A, 32B, 32C via the opening/closing valves 37A, 37B, 37C. The supply channels 32A and 32C are connected to the channels 11A and 12A of the side boom 4B, respectively, and the supply channel 32B is connected to the channel 38 to which the spray nozzle 6 of the center boom 4A is connected.

Such a spraying device 3 can variably control the supply pressure of the spraying material by adjusting the open/close state of the electric control valve 34. Further, a flow path valve 6V is individually provided in the flow path leading to each spray nozzle 6 (6A, 6B), and by controlling the opening and closing of each flow path valve 6V by a control signal from the control unit 20, Each spray nozzle 6 (6A, 6B) can be opened or closed individually.

As shown in FIG. 4, the functions of the control unit 20 include a boom length control unit 24 that controls the operation of the boom length adjustment mechanism 10 described above, and a valve operating unit 25 that controls the opening and closing of the flow path valve 6V. ing.

The control operation by the boom length control unit 24 will be described. First, before the work, the motor 19 is rotated to move the boom 12 to the base end side, and the shortest position sensor 21 detects that the displacement amount of the boom 12 has been minimized and transmits a detection signal to the control unit 20. To do. Based on this detection signal, the control unit 20 recognizes that the boom 12 is at the shortest position. Then, by rotating the motor 19 in the reverse direction and detecting the amount of rotation (the number of pulses) by the rotation sensor 22, the control unit 20 causes the boom 12 to move by a predetermined displacement amount, and the boom 4 (side boom 4B). ) Has become a predetermined length. Thereby, the control unit 20 can control the displacement amount of the boom 12 and adjust the length of the boom 4 (side boom 4B) to an arbitrary length according to the input signal.

As described above, the boom 4 is provided with a plurality of spray nozzles 6. In the side boom 4B, the spray nozzles 6A and 6B are arranged in the boom 11 and the boom 12 at the same intervals. Further, the boom 11 and the boom 12 are provided with flow paths (hoses or pipes) 11A and 12A for supplying the spraying material to the spraying nozzles 6A and 6B.

The function of the valve operating unit 25 in the control unit 20 is provided in one of the spray nozzles 6A and 6B arranged in the overlapping portion of the boom 11 and the boom 12 when adjusting the boom length. The passage valve 6V to the spray nozzle is closed. Here, an example is shown in which the opening/closing control of the flow path valve 6V is performed by the operation of the control unit 20, but the opening/closing operation of the flow path valve 6V can be mechanically operated according to the adjustment of the boom length. ..

Then, the boom length control unit 24 adjusts the boom length in units of the intervals at which the spray nozzles 6A and 6B are arranged. When a signal for extending and retracting the boom is input to the control unit 20 from the operation unit 23, the boom length control unit 24 always changes the boom length at a displacement that is an integral multiple of the deployment interval D of the spray nozzles 6A and 6B. Make adjustments. As a result, the spray nozzles 6 arranged on the boom 4 are arranged at the set equal intervals regardless of the length of the boom 4.

The interval between the spray nozzles 6A and 6B can be set in the controller 20 in advance. The setting can be performed by a calibration operation before work. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the length of the booms 11 and 12 in the side boom 4B can be set to the shortest length. After the state, the motor 19 is driven until it reaches the maximum length as shown in (b), and the total displacement amount L during that time is counted by the pulse number of the rotation sensor 22. Then, the total displacement amount L is divided by the interval number n of the spray nozzles 6B provided on the displaced boom 12 to obtain the pulse number of the installation interval D (=L/n). The control unit 20 always drives the motor 19 with a pulse number that is an integral multiple of the deployment interval D to adjust the length of the boom 4 in units of the deployment intervals of the spray nozzles 6A and 6B.

According to the boom spraying device 1 described above, when the boom length is adjusted and the spraying width is arbitrarily controlled, no matter what the length of the boom is, the spraying device is arranged on the boom of that length. Since all the nozzles are arranged at equal intervals, uniform spraying can always be performed within the spraying width.

As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and changes in design within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. Even so, it is included in the present invention. Further, the respective embodiments described above can be combined by diverting each other's technology as long as there is no particular contradiction or problem in the purpose and configuration.

1: Boom spraying device,
2: Airframe, 2A: traveling wheel, 2B: connecting part, 2C: input part,
3: spraying device, 3A: pump, 3B: tank,
30: pressure feed passage, 31: three-way valve, 32, 32A, 32B, 32C: supply passage,
33: Return flow path, 34: Motorized control valve,
35: pressure gauge, 36: flow meter, 37: flow divider, 38: flow path,
37A, 37B, 37C: open/close valve,
4, 11, 12: Boom, 4A: Center boom, 4B: Side boom,
5: horizontal device, 6, 6A, 6B: spray nozzle, 6V: flow path valve,
10: boom length adjusting mechanism, 11A, 12A: flow path,
13: sprocket, 14: pulley, 15: chain,
16: wire, 17, 18: connecting part, 19: motor,
20: control unit,
21: shortest position sensor (position sensor), 22: rotation sensor (displacement sensor),
23: operation part, 24: boom length control part,
25: Valve operating part

Claims (4)

A boom sprayer including a machine traveling in a field scene and a boom deployable in a substantially horizontal direction intersecting the traveling direction of the machine, and spraying a spraying material toward a farm scene with a spraying width corresponding to the length of the boom. A device,
Equipped with multiple booms with multiple spray nozzles arranged at equal intervals,
A boom length adjusting mechanism for adjusting the boom length by making the overlapping state along the longitudinal direction of the plurality of booms variable,
A boom spraying device, comprising: a control unit that drives and controls the boom length adjusting mechanism to expand and contract the boom length in units of the intervals at which the spraying nozzles are arranged. The valve operation part which closes the flow path valve to the spray nozzle provided in one boom among the spray nozzles provided in the overlapping portion of the plurality of booms is provided. Boom spreader described. The boom length adjusting mechanism includes a position sensor for detecting the shortest position of the boom, and a displacement sensor for detecting a displacement amount along the longitudinal direction of the boom.
The boom spraying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit controls the boom length so that the displacement amount becomes a unit for disposing the spraying nozzles. In the calibration operation before work, the control unit obtains a total displacement amount from the shortest boom length to the maximum boom length, and the total displacement amount is applied to the displaced boom. The boom spreading device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the deployment interval unit is recognized by dividing it by the number of nozzle intervals.

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