JP5649036B2 - Tea garden management machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tea garden management machine that can travel across a teacup and can automatically steer the direction of travel, and in particular, has a sensing mechanism that is fixed, can move backwards well, and can provide a simple configuration.

  Conventionally, a portal frame, a traveling device provided on the legs, and a management unit such as a tea cutter, a fertilizer spreader, and a control machine at the center of the portal frame. A tea garden management machine that runs while straddling a teacup is popular. The change of the course of the tea garden management machine is controlled by the steering handle by the driver. The teacups are not necessarily arranged in a straight green, but they are often curved depending on the topography, compartments, or the growth of each tea tree in the teacup, and proceed without changing the direction of travel. The tea garden management machine damaged the tea tree, mixed old leaves, shallow picking, and deep picking.

  For this reason, the driver must always finely operate the vertical handle by visual observation, and skill is required for driving. Therefore, a tea garden management machine equipped with an automatic steering mechanism that detects the relative position of the tea bowl with respect to the tea garden management machine, controls the traveling direction of the tea garden management machine based on this information, and accurately travels along the tea bowl. Have been proposed in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and the like.

  In Patent Document 1, in order to detect the position of both ends of the teacup, a pair of sensing plates extending inward in the width direction of the tea garden management machine in contact with the side surface of the teacup are provided on the leg portions on both sides of the portal frame. It is attached to a rotating shaft that is rotatable about a provided rotation center axis extending vertically, and the traveling direction is controlled based on the rotation angle of the rotation shaft. Moreover, in patent document 2, the space | interval of a teacup is detected with an optical sensor instead of a physical contact method, and the advancing direction is controlled based on it.

JP-A-9-322628 JP 2004-222534 A

  Here, it is assumed that the sensing plate that moves inside the tea garden management machine as in Patent Document 1 is used in the forward direction for performing the management work. As shown in B). In other words, when the tea garden management machine is moved backward, such as changing the movement of the teacup, the end of the sensor plate that is in contact with the teacup will move against the teacup, and the sensor plate will become an obstacle to movement. There was a serious drawback. Therefore, before performing the reverse operation, it is necessary to perform an operation of fixing the sensing plate and the swing link L to the portal frame so that the swing plate L does not swing. The reverse operation is not automatic and requires an operation by an operator. It was.

  In addition, since the sensing plate requires an area on the inside and outside of the fuselage that can rotate around the rotation axis, especially in the small type, other components cannot be placed in the rotation area, and the layout of the aircraft is limited. End up. On the other hand, in patent document 2, the unevenness | corrugation of a teacup side end shape is detected sensitively, and it does not become a smooth automatic driving | running | working. Also, in tea gardens where tea leaves are covered between teacups, the judgment of the furrows may be distorted, and automatic driving may be hindered.

  Therefore, there is a need for a tea garden management machine that can be moved forward and backward without obstacles by a physical contact method that is not easily affected by the spacing between teacups, and that can be easily and inexpensively. The problem (technical problem or object) to be solved by the present invention is to realize these.

  In view of the above, the inventor has intensively studied to solve the above-mentioned problems. As a result, the invention of claim 1 is provided with traveling devices at the left and right lower ends of the front portal frame and the rear portal frame straddling the teacup. In the tea garden management machine that performs the work along the bowl, the central part bulges toward the bowl side while contacting the left and right sides of the bowl when viewed in plan on the inner sides of the opposite left and right sides of the front gate frame. The left and right side forward tea tree sensing means having an arc-shaped sensing plate and a pressure sensor provided in the arc-shaped sensing plate is provided, and the contact pressure from the side surface of the teacup applied to the left and right arc-shaped sensing plates is measured. By making the tea garden management machine characterized in that it is controlled by the automatic travel control unit so that the contact pressure on each of the left and right sides becomes equal at the time of forward movement and is automatically advanced along the teacup. Solved the problem.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a reverse tea tree sensing means having the arc-shaped sensing plate and the pressure sensor is provided on the opposite side of the rear portal frame, similarly to the front portal frame. By the tea garden management machine, which is controlled by the automatic travel control unit so that the left and right contact pressures are equalized at the time of reverse travel, it automatically travels along the teacup. Solved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the left and right traveling devices are driven by a hydraulic motor, and the automatic traveling control unit performs hydraulic fluid flow control to the left and right hydraulic motors to automatically The problem was solved by using a tea garden management machine characterized by running control. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tea garden management according to the first or second aspect, wherein the left and right traveling device is driven by the electric motor, and the automatic driving control is performed by electrically controlling the left and right electric motor. The problem was solved by using a machine. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tea garden management machine according to any one of the first, second, third, and fourth aspects, wherein the pressure sensor is a load cell. is there.

  In the invention of claim 1, in addition to being able to run while always making the center of the tea garden management machine and the center of the teacup coincide, there is no movable range of the tea tree sensing means, so that the arc-shaped sensing plate is a tea tree. It is possible to avoid troubles such as damage caused by being caught on the surface. In addition, the absence of the movable range of the tea tree sensing means is advantageous in that it can be sufficiently attached to a small tea garden management machine and the degree of freedom of the attachment position can be increased. In the invention of claim 2, in particular, it is possible to easily attach an automatic traveling device for not only forward movement but also backward movement, or to fix a rotating sensing plate for forward movement so as not to obstruct traveling during backward movement. The operation can be performed without complicated work, and the burden on the operator can be remarkably reduced. In the invention of claim 3, the tea garden management machine can be controlled by the hydraulic motor. In invention of Claim 4, a tea garden management machine can be controlled with an electric motor. In the invention of claim 5, there is an advantage that it can be satisfactorily handled by an inexpensive member.

(A) is a perspective view of the tea garden management machine provided with the forward tea tree sensing means, (B) is a partial perspective view seen from the lower side of the tea garden management machine provided with the forward tea tree sensing means and the backward tea tree sensing means. It is. (A) is an exploded perspective view of the main part of the present invention, (B) is a plan view with a partial cross section of (A), and (C) is an enlarged plan view of the main part of (B). The hydraulic circuit and control circuit diagram which are used for the automatic traveling device of the embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a schematic plan view showing the left-turned state, and (B) is a hydraulic circuit diagram in the state (A). The block diagram of the hydraulic control circuit used for the automatic traveling apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the electronic control circuit structure used for the automatic traveling apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the working condition of the tea garden management machine on a tea garden when a forest etc. exists in the edge of a tea garden. (A) is a schematic diagram of a state in which the teacup can be moved forward and backward in the present invention, and (B) is an enlarged view of a plurality of main portions of (A) part of (A). (A) is a schematic view of a state in which the vehicle can move forward according to the prior art but cannot move backward, and (B) is an enlarged view of a plurality of main parts of (A) in (A).

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a traveling type riding tea garden management machine, which is provided at an appropriate interval (tea bowl 90). The crawler-type traveling devices 1 and 1 are fixed to a machine base member 3 on which a worker or the like rides and works through the front and rear portal frame 2A and the rear portal frame 2B. A traveling unit is configured. The distance between the traveling devices 1 and 1 may be adjusted as appropriate, and may be provided so as to correspond to the width of the tea bowl 90. In this embodiment, the tea cutter 7 is mounted, but it may be a tea garden management machine equipped with a management unit such as another fertilizer spreader or control machine.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (A), forward tea tree sensing means A and A are provided on the left and right sides of the front gate-type frame 2A. Yes. The forward tea tree sensing means A includes a load cell 4 that generates an electric signal by pressure, a mounting bracket 41, a second mounting bracket 43, and a mounting angle 44 for mounting the load cell 4 to a pillar portion of the front portal frame 2A. And an arc-shaped sensing plate 5 and a support 42 provided with the arc-shaped sensing plate 5 and the load cell 4 in contact with each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 (A) to (C), the load cell 4 has a square shape, and has a bowl-shaped gap formed therein. When the pressure is applied to the support member 42, the load cell 4 is slightly deformed. The strain is converted into an electrical signal, and the pressure measurement is measured by the control means. The mounting bracket 41 is formed with a U-shaped portion 41a for attaching the load cell 4 and end rising edges 41b and 41c, and a locking hole 41d is formed in the end rising edge 41c. An end portion of the H-shaped portion 41a of the mounting bracket 41 is fixed to the mounting angle 44, and the mounting angle 44 is fixed to the front portal frame 2A with screws.

  The second mounting bracket 43 is fixed to the back side of the mounting bracket 41. In any case, as long as the load cell 4 and the arc-shaped sensing plate 5 can be attached to the inner side (tea bowl side) of the front portal frame 2A, the shape and structure of the members are not limited. In particular, the reverse tea tree sensing means B, B is the same for attaching to the rear portal frame 2B, but an oil tank 8 for a gasoline engine or a hydraulic motor may be used.

  The support 42 is configured such that the cross section is Z-shaped, the attachment piece 42 a is fixed to the end of the load cell 4, and the other contact piece 42 b is in contact with the arc-shaped sensing plate 5. The arc-shaped sensing plate 5 is curved when viewed in a plan view, and is in contact with both side surfaces 91, 91 of the teacup 90 as shown in FIGS. 4 (A) and 8 (A). Of course, it is formed so as to come into contact with the arcuate surface so as not to bite into or damage the tea plantations of both teacup side surfaces 91 and 91 even when moving backward (back running).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, an attachment flat surface 52 at one end and an arcuate surface 51 having an appropriate curvature radius are formed continuously from the attachment flat surface 52, and the arcuate surface 51 is engaged from the end of the arcuate surface 51. A stop 53 is integrally formed. When viewed from the front side of the arc-shaped sensing plate 5 of the forward tea tree sensing means A, the locking portion 53 of the arc-shaped sensing plate 5 is locked in the locking hole 41d of the mounting bracket 41, and the arc-shaped sensing plate 5 The rear side is fixed to the rear portion of the second mounting bracket 43. Alternatively, it may be fixed immediately above the traveling device 1 and to the machine base member 3 or the like.

  As described above, the arc-shaped sensing plate 5 is generally fixed only on one side when viewed in a plan view, and a slight gap is formed between the arc-shaped sensing plate 5 and the support 42. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2C, when an appropriate contact pressure is applied to the arc-shaped surface 51 of the arc-shaped sensing plate 5, a slight change of the arc-shaped surface 51 presses the support tool 42. Then, the displacement can be transmitted to the load cell 4 and the accurate contact pressure can be measured. Although a slight displacement occurs physically, the appearance structure exists as a fixed structure that does not have a link or the like.

  Further, the forward tea tree sensing means A, A are symmetric, are provided with the same constituent members, and the electric signal for pressure sensing is constituted by the load cell 4, but may be constituted by a pressure sensor. Further, reverse tea tree sensing means B, B are also provided in the rear portal frame 2B. The parts and structure of the subsequent tea tree sensing means B, B are the same as the parts and structure of the forward tea tree sensing means A, A, and the description thereof is omitted. In the embodiment, the forward tea tree sensing means A and A and the backward tea tree sensing means B and B are provided on the front gate-type frame 2A and the rear gate-type frame 2B. If there is, it is not limited to this.

  The circuit diagram shown in FIG. 3 is a hydraulic circuit and an automatic travel control circuit diagram. The automatic traveling control unit C is connected to the left and right forward tea tree sensing means A and A and the left and right backward tea tree sensing means B and B. In this case, the reverse switch is switched by the selector switch S so that the reverse tea tree sensing means B and B operate. Further, the hydraulic closed circuit on the left and right sides is provided with a variable jet pump 64 and an oil pump 65 for supplying driving oil, and hydraulic motors 61 and 61 for driving the traveling devices (crawlers) 1 and 1. Furthermore, rotation direction switching valves 62 and 62 are provided, and the rotation direction switching valve 62 is an electromagnetic valve that controls the amount of oil supplied to the hydraulic motor 61.

A throttle valve 63 (check valve) is provided in the oil passage communicating with the rotation direction switching valve 62. When the communication state of the port is switched and the oil passage communicates, the hydraulic motor 61 is provided.
The oil supply amount to is reduced. When the rotation direction switching valve 62 goes straight straight, as shown in FIG. 3, the communication of the oil passage having the normal throttle valve is normally blocked. In this case, the rotation direction switching valve 62 is controlled by the oil pump 65. The hydraulic motor 61 rotates at a predetermined rotational speed.

The left and right advancing tea tree sensing means A, A or the left and right advancing tea tree sensing means B, B are connected to an automatic running control unit C by a CPU, and an electrical signal from a load cell 4 as a pressure sensor is digitized. Control is performed so that the pressure difference between the left and right sides of the lever is averaged by the automatic traveling control unit C. The numerical values of the pressures in contact with the arc-shaped sensing plates 5 and 5 placed on the left and right of the symmetrical teacup 90 and the teacup sides 91 and 91 of the teacup 90 are controlled to be equal left and right.

  During forward travel, as shown in FIG. 4, when turning leftward, the pressure that contacts the left teacup side surface 91 of the teacup 90 with respect to the traveling direction is the pressure that contacts the right teacup side surface 91 of the teacup 90. When stronger is input to the automatic travel control unit C via the load cell 4 in the isolated sensing plate 5 of the left and right forward tea tree sensing means A, A, the rotation direction switching valve 62 on the left side in the traveling direction. And the port changes (see FIG. 4 (B)), the bypass circuit is opened and the oil is returned to the tank so that the amount of oil supplied to the hydraulic motor 61 is reduced. Control.

The above description is for the case of turning to the left side, but when turning to the right side, the control is opposite to that described above. Further, in the case of reverse travel (back travel), control is performed using the reverse tea detection means B, B, etc., as in the case of forward travel. As shown in FIG. 7, the reverse (back travel) is particularly effective when there are forests, rivers, roads, etc. at the end of the tea garden, and there is little space to reverse the tea garden management machine of the present invention. it can. In this way, when the rotation direction switching valve 62 operates, a part of the oil leaks, so that the oil for traveling forward or backward decreases, so the rotational speed of the hydraulic motor 61 for traveling decreases, Speed also decreases.

  Particularly in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8A, the forward tea tree sensing means A or the backward tea tree sensing means B is not limited to the case of moving forward, but the backward tea tree detecting means B is arcuate even in reverse (back travel). Since it is covered with the sensing plate 5, it does not occur at all to get into the teacup and get in the way. In the past, this was controlled by measuring the pressure by swinging the link L. As shown in FIG. In the invention, it can be avoided reliably.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the automatic travel device. On the input side of the automatic traveling control section C, forward tea tree sensing means A and reverse tea tree sensing means B are provided, which correspond to forward and reverse. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the automatic travel device, which is another embodiment in which electronic control is performed. In this case, an electric motor 67 is used instead of the hydraulic motor 61 for hydraulic control. A travel controller 66 for the electric motor 67 is required. In this case, there is a case where the tea garden management machine is wirelessly operated as an unmanned type instead of a passenger type.

A: Forward tea tree sensing means, B: Backward tea tree sensing means, C: Automatic travel control unit,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Traveling device, 4 ... Load cell, 5 ... Arc-shaped sensing plate, 61 ... Hydraulic motor,
67: Electric motor, 2A: Front portal frame, 2B: Rear portal frame,
90 ... Teacup, 91 ... Teacup side.

Claims (5)

In a tea garden management machine that is equipped with a traveling device at the left and right lower ends of the front gate-type frame and the rear gate-type frame straddling the teacup and works along the teacup, on the inner sides of the opposite left and right sides of the front gate-type frame, respectively The left and right sides of the forward tea tree have an arc-shaped sensing plate whose center portion bulges toward the teacup side while touching the left and right sides of the teacup in plan view, and a pressure sensor provided in the arc-shaped sensing plate. Measures the contact pressure from the sides of the teacup applied to the arc-shaped sensing plates on both the left and right sides , and controls the automatic travel controller to make the contact pressures on the left and right sides equal when moving forward. A tea garden management machine characterized in that it automatically moves forward along.   The reverse tea tree sensing means having the arc-shaped sensing plate and the pressure sensor as in the front gate-type frame is also provided on the inner side of the rear gate-type frame facing each other. A tea garden management machine, wherein the automatic running control unit controls the running pressure so that the contact pressure becomes equal and automatically runs along the teacup.   The automatic travel control is performed according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the left and right traveling devices are driven by a hydraulic motor, and the automatic traveling control unit performs hydraulic fluid flow control to the left and right hydraulic motors. Tea garden management machine. 3. The tea garden management device according to claim 1, wherein the left and right traveling device is driven by an electric motor, and automatic traveling control is performed by electrically controlling the left and right electric motors.   5. The tea garden management machine according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor is a load cell.

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