JP6116173B2 - Farm management system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a farm management system for managing farmland information related to farmland where a harvesting operation is performed by a crop harvester and farmland information related to the crop obtained by the harvesting work. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to a crop harvester incorporated in such a farm management system.

  A farm work management technique for managing production management and production history information from the production of agricultural products to the hands of consumers using a computer system is known from Patent Document 1, for example. In the management system according to Patent Document 1, the growth diagnosis machine executes growth diagnosis in a predetermined production unit section, and the measurement diagnosis result and position information at each measurement point are recorded on the memory card. The recorded contents are later transmitted to the farm management computer system. In the harvesting work by the harvester in the work unit section, the harvest amount of the work unit section is measured by the measuring device attached to the harvester, and the harvested amount of the harvested work unit section and the position information obtained by GPS Are recorded on the memory card, and the recorded contents are transmitted to the farm management computer system. The measurement is performed by irradiating, for example, near-infrared rays to the growing agricultural products for each work unit section in the production unit section and analyzing the reflected light. For example, in the case of rice, the measurement contents are leaf color, length, number of stems, number of ears, and the like. In this farm work management technique, the position and the harvest amount are recorded at the time of harvesting work, so that it is possible to grasp the relationship between the position of the farm land and the harvest quantity. However, the relationship between the quality of agricultural products, which is important information for agricultural products, and the position of agricultural land cannot be grasped. Further, a specific method for generating crop information for each section in the harvesting operation is not disclosed.

  Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151867 discloses an agricultural machine management device that partitions agricultural land and records the work of agricultural vehicles in units of sections. In this management apparatus, a work management terminal that can communicate with a controller of a work vehicle is provided with a DVD reader, a GPS receiver, and a gyro sensor that store map data, and the outline of the workplace is captured from the map data. The captured map data of the workplace is sectioned and local information (presence of obstacles such as utility poles) is stored. For example, when the farm vehicle is a combine, the total discharge amount of the straw obtained by the harvesting operation is input as the harvest amount of the entire field. If the farm vehicle is a tractor, the plowing depth sensor detection value obtained by the plowing work is automatically recorded as the plowing depth value for each field section. Even with this management device, the yield of agricultural products is handled, but the quality of agricultural products is not handled.

  Furthermore, information obtained on the field as farmland, for example, temperature, sunshine amount, rainfall, crop growth information, etc., is registered in the information center, and the crop growth is based on the information during the harvesting operation by the combine. An agricultural machine that determines the state and optimizes the processing conditions of the harvesting unit and the threshing unit has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3). In the technique according to Patent Document 3, it is a precondition that the growth information and the like are individually acquired in advance and registered in the information center.

  Moreover, the combine which notifies the combine driving | running state which mounts the detection apparatus which detects grain quality and should be employ | adopted based on the detection result by this detection apparatus is known from patent document 4. FIG. Specifically, the optimum threshing value is displayed based on the detection result of the moisture content of the grain, and the operator can adjust the driving speed of the handling cylinder based on the value. It is not disclosed that the detection data related to the grain quality such as the moisture content of the grain obtained during the harvesting operation is used even after the threshing operation.

JP 2002-149744 A JP 2004-213239 A JP 2011-77980 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-32550

  In view of the above situation, at the time of harvesting crops by the harvester, farmland information including the location of the farmland where the harvesting work is being performed and crop information including the quality of the crop obtained by this harvesting work is generated, and the database is created. There is a need for an agricultural management system that can be used from time to time.

In the farm management system according to the present invention, in order to manage the farmland information related to the farmland where the harvesting work is performed by the combine and the farmland information related to the crop obtained by the harvesting work, the harvesting position indicating the harvesting work position as the farmland information A data input unit that receives data and quality data indicating quality including the yield value of the crops harvested on the farmland and the moisture value and protein value as the crop information from the combine; and the farmland A database server that records information and the crop information so as to be able to be associated with each other; and, based on the farmland information and the crop information, the harvest amount is compared with the target crop amount, and the quality is compared with the target quality. Te, and agricultural evaluation unit for performing agricultural evaluation of the agricultural land, said to be included within the scope of microcompartments in the farmland Ca working position the harvesting location data associated with the yield data and the illustrating a based on the quality data, and charts processing unit for charting the results of the agricultural evaluation in the microcompartments, generated by the crop evaluation unit And a data output unit for sending out the farming evaluation data and the charted data charted by the charting processing unit in response to a user request.

  According to this configuration, the harvest position data, the harvest amount data, and the quality data that are obtained as a result of the farm work by the combine can be associated with each other to form a database. Agricultural evaluation in units of farmland becomes possible by associating the farmland specified based on the harvesting position data with the harvest amount and quality of the crops harvested on the farmland. The farming evaluation data obtained by the farming evaluation is sent out in response to a request for data download. By displaying this farming evaluation data on the user terminal, the farmer who is the user can grasp not only the amount of crops harvested on the farmland of interest but also the quality thereof.

In order to feed back information on the yield and quality of each farmland to the next farming to achieve more efficient farming, even in the same farmland, the sunshine conditions and soil characteristics differ depending on slight differences in location. Considering that the yield and quality will vary . For example, if one side microcompartments is set as an area of several tens m from several m, a decrease in yield due to shade or local soil failure due huts and large trees can grasp the deterioration of the quality Such areas can be specially fertilized or soil improved. Also, experimental farming in a specific area is possible.

Since the combine performs a harvesting operation while traveling linearly (straight or curved), the harvest width is about 1 m to 3 m. Accordingly, the crop information acquired over time is sequentially obtained along the traveling locus having the harvest width .

  Conveniently, the yield data is generated from the amount of threshing processed per unit time, and the quality data is generated from the measurement result of the taste sensor unit equipped in the combine. The combine has a function of storing in a tank or bagging the grain obtained by threshing the harvested cereal. Therefore, the grain flow rate, that is, the yield can be easily measured during the work process. In addition, the grain quality data can be easily obtained by installing a taste sensor unit that measures the quality (taste) of the moisture and protein components by irradiating the flowing grain with a light beam. Can get to. For example, in a drying facility, when multiple dryers are set for each target moisture content, it is known in advance which dryer the grain harvested by the combine should be brought into, and the Efficient conveyance is possible.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the basic composition of the farming management system of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the flow of the information in an agricultural management system. It is the screen figure by which farming evaluation data was graphed and displayed on the display. It is a side view of a combine as an example of an agricultural machine. It is a schematic diagram which shows roughly the interior space of the cab of a combine. It is a schematic diagram explaining an example of the process which allocates crop information for every micro division. It is the screen figure by which farming evaluation data was graphed and displayed on the display in the large area of a town and village level. It is the screen figure by which farming evaluation data was chart-ized and displayed on the display in the farmland enclosed with the fence.

  Before describing specific embodiments of the present invention, the basic mechanism of the farming management system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of a farm management system. FIG. 2 shows the flow of information in the farm management system.

  In the farming work here, the harvesting work is performed on the entire farmland to be worked by repeating the linear traveling and the 180-degree turning traveling of the crop harvester (hereinafter simply referred to as a harvesting machine) 1. The crop harvesting machine 1 is equipped with a terminal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a terminal) 3 capable of data communication with the management computer system of the farm management center. The terminal 3 may be fixed to the harvester 1 or may be connected to the harvester 1 via a cradle or the like with a portable device such as a tablet computer or a smartphone.

  The harvesting machine 1 is provided with a yield sensor 21 for measuring the harvest amount of the crop harvested on the farmland to be worked, and a quality sensor 22 for measuring the quality of the harvested crop. The measurement result of the yield sensor 21 and the measurement result of the quality sensor 22 are sent to the terminal 3.

  The terminal 3 is provided with a positioning module 30 for measuring the current position, that is, the own position. As positioning module 30, what is known as a GPS module and built in a tablet computer or a smart phone can be used. When the terminal 3 that is not provided with the positioning module 30 is used, the harvesting machine 1 is equipped with the positioning module 30. Further, since the positioning module 30 is substantially the same as that used for car navigation, it can be used.

  In any case, the terminal 3 includes an agricultural land information generation unit 31, an agricultural product information generation unit 32, a transmission information management unit 33, and a communication module 34. The farmland information generation unit 31 generates harvesting position data indicating the harvesting work position from the measurement result of the positioning module 30. The harvest position data is incorporated into the farmland information together with the farmland name or farmland ID that identifies the work target farmland. Of course, the farmland name or farmland ID is not essential because it is possible to specify the farmland only by the harvest position data. The crop information generation unit 32 generates harvest data from the measurement result of the harvest sensor 21 and also generates quality data from the measurement result of the quality sensor 22. The yield data and quality data are handled as crop information. The transmission information management unit 33 creates transmission information by associating the generated farmland information with the crop information at the harvest position. The communication module 34 sends the transmission information to the farm management computer system of the farm management center.

  The farm management computer system includes an input / output server 4, an application server 5, and a database server 6. The input / output server 4 includes a data input unit 41 that transfers the farmland information and the crop information included in the transmission information received from the terminal 3 to the application server 5 and the database server 6. The application server 5 includes a farming evaluation unit 51 that performs farming evaluation of the farmland based on the farmland information and the crop information, and a charting processing unit 52 for charting the results of farming evaluation. Yes. The database server 6 includes a primary database unit 61, a farming evaluation database unit 62, and an agricultural land map database unit 63. The primary database unit 61 functions as a source data storage unit that can record or read the farmland information and the crop information sent from the harvesting machine 1 while maintaining the association with each other. The farming evaluation database unit 62 functions as a farming unit for each farmland performed by the farming evaluation unit 51 and a storage unit for chart data that charts the farming evaluation. The farmland map database unit 63 is basically the same as a general map database, but is a map database that can include attribute data peculiar to farmland, such as soil characteristics and drainage characteristics.

  The data output unit 42 included in the input / output server 4 sends the farm evaluation data generated by the farm evaluation unit 51 or the chart data obtained by graphicizing or plotting the farm evaluation data to the terminal 3 or the farm management system. Send to other registered devices upon request. An example of a screen displayed on the display of the terminal 3 based on such chart data is shown in FIG. In this example, a farmland information display field 8A for displaying information related to farmland information is arranged at the upper part of the screen, and a crop information display field 8B for displaying information related to agricultural product information is arranged at the lower part of the screen.

  The farmland information display field 8A includes a farmland ID 81 for identifying a farmland, a farmland name (town name, common name, etc.) 82, a farmland area 83, and a farmland map 84. Each farmland in the farmland map 84 can be identified (colored or patterned) by comparison with a reference value representing quality such as average yield or average taste value. The crop information display field 8B includes a crop type (for example, Koshihikari) 85, a harvest amount (whole farmland or per unit area) 86, and a crop quality value 87. Since rice crops are handled here, the average protein amount 87a and the average water content 87b of brown rice are displayed as the quality value 87 of the crop.

  By viewing a chart based on such farming evaluation data on a screen or by printing it out, the situation of the farmland can be grasped at a glance.

  Next, one specific embodiment of the farm management system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the harvesting machine 1 is a crawler-type self-removing combine 1, FIG. 4 is a side view of the combine 1, and the traveling mechanism includes a crawler traveling device 11 that is rotationally driven by an engine. The cab 13 and the grain tank 15 are provided in the operation part 13 in the part 12, the intermediate part, and the rear part. Although only schematically shown, a yield sensor 21 for detecting the weight of the grain is provided at the lower part of the grain tank 15, and a taste meter (an example of the quality sensor 22) is installed inside the grain tank 15. The taste sensor unit) 22 is equipped. The taste meter 22 outputs the measurement data of the moisture value and protein value of the grain as quality data.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the internal space of the cab 13. A driver's seat 16, various control levers, operation switches, a meter display panel, and the like are arranged in the cab 13. In this embodiment, the terminal 3 is composed of a portable tablet computer. Therefore, the terminal 3 is used by being mounted on a terminal mounting portion 3A provided near the driver's seat 16. The mounting unit 3A functions as a power supply connection unit and a data exchange connection unit for the terminal 3. In addition, it can replace with this tablet type computer and a smart phone can be employ | adopted.

  The terminal 3 is equipped with a GPS module that functions as a positioning module 30 and a communication module 34 that can be connected to the Internet via a mobile phone line. Moreover, the application which functions as the farmland information generation part 31, the crop information generation part 32, and the transmission information management part 33 is installed. Therefore, the harvest amount data from the harvest amount sensor 21, the moisture value data from the taste meter, and the protein value data are sent to the terminal 3 via the mounting unit 3 </ b> A. Furthermore, internal data is also sent from the various ECUs of the combine 1 to the terminal via the mounting portion 3A.

  When this combine 1 is put into a predetermined farmland to be harvested, the combine 1 continuously performs a mowing process and a threshing process while traveling on the farmland. At that time, the GPS module 30 of the terminal 3 generates positioning data (latitude / longitude) indicating the current position of the combine 1, and sends positioning information including the actual time and positioning data to the terminal 3. At the same time, yield data and quality data (grain moisture and protein values) are also sent.

  In the farmland information generation unit 31 of the terminal 3, the received positioning data becomes harvesting position data indicating the harvesting work position, and is handled as farmland information. At that time, the positioning data composed of the latitude value and the longitude is converted into a coordinate system having the predetermined position set in the farmland as the origin, and the harvesting position data is made the position data composed of the x coordinate value and the y coordinate value. Can do. In the crop information generation unit 32 of the terminal 3, the received yield data and quality data are handled as crop information. In the transmission information management unit 33, the farmland information and the crop information are related so that the relationship between the specific area and the harvest amount or quality in the farmland can be evaluated later. At that time, the time lag between the measurement time of the harvesting work position and the quality measurement of the grain harvested at that position is corrected in consideration of the time between the mowing process and the threshing process. The related farmland information and crop information are sent to the farm management center as transmission information, but the correlation between the farm land information and the crop information may be performed on the farm management center side.

  In general, the combine 1 performs a harvesting operation in a zigzag manner by repeating a straight run and a 180 ° turn on the farmland, so that the crop is harvested along a substantially straight running trajectory. On the other hand, the distribution of the soil quality of the farmland and the resulting distribution of the quality of the crop have a wide spread. For this reason, it is convenient to calculate and assign the crop information (amount of harvest and quality) for each minute section obtained by dividing the farmland to be worked into a predetermined size.

The process of assigning this yield: D and quality: Q to a small section of farmland will be described with a simple example. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the assignment process. First, the farmland is divided into a plurality of small sections: A1, A2, A3,. As the combine 1 is harvested, harvest amount data and quality data are input every predetermined time: t1, t2, t3,... Or every predetermined distance: D1, D2, D3,. Therefore, the harvest amount in the time interval: V1, V2, V3,... And the quality: Q1, Q2, Q3,.
Here, if the time points when the harvesting of the combine 1 belongs to the micro compartment: A1 are t1, t6, t7, the harvest amount of the micro compartment: A1: V [A1] is V [A1] = V1 + V6 + V7. ,
Minute section: Average quality of A1: Q [A1] is Q [A1] = (Q1 + Q6 + Q7) / 3.
Furthermore, if the time points belonging to the micro compartment: A2 are t2, t5, t8, the yield of the micro compartment: A2: V [A2] is V [A2] = V2 + V5 + V8,
Minute section: Average quality of A2: Q [A2] is Q [A2] = (Q2 + Q5 + Q8) / 3. In this way, crop information (amount of harvest and quality) can be assigned to each minute section.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the agricultural evaluation is performed by the agricultural evaluation unit 51 after dividing the farmland surrounded by the straws into a plurality of minute sections. Therefore, the farming evaluation data enables microevaluation of yield and quality on such farmland. However, it is possible to evaluate the farming by treating the farmland of the entire region such as a town or village as the farmland to be processed and treating the farmland surrounded by the straw as a minute section. The farming evaluation data in this case enables macroevaluation of the yield and quality on the farmland in the entire region.

  In any case, in the database server 6, the farmland information and the crop information sent from the combine 1 are recorded in the primary database unit 61 in a state where the association is maintained, and the farmland evaluation data generated by the farmland evaluation unit 51 is generated. Is recorded in the agricultural evaluation database section 62. Therefore, in response to a request from the user, information regarding the yield and quality of a specific area or farmland is given to the user. At that time, the charting processing unit 52 uses the map data stored in the farmland map database unit 63 to generate graphical information in which the yield and quality are charted in a macro or micro manner based on the map. be able to. In this embodiment, the input / output server 4 is constructed as a Web server. The Web server transmits and receives data to and from a Web browser installed on the terminal 3 using a communication protocol called HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol). Documents written in HTML (HyperText Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language), etc. are used to send and receive data to and from each other, but these documents include images, sounds, and programs that do some processing Can be made.

  HTML files and XML files can easily handle graphical images. FIG. 7 shows an example of a farming evaluation screen displayed by the Web browser of the terminal 3. The top screen of this farming evaluation screen is a map of an area including a large number of farmland bounded by fences. Each farmland is color-coded and its breakdown can be changed by selection. In the first selection, the farmland is color-coded by work completion farmland and unfinished farmland for harvesting work. In the second selection, the farmland is color-coded into farmland that is greater than or equal to the target yield and farmland that is less than the target yield. Furthermore, regarding the quality, for example, it is possible to color-code the farmland that has reached the target protein value and the farmland that has not reached the target protein value.

  In the top screen of FIG. 7, by clicking on a specific farmland ZZZ, a sub-window is displayed that displays farmland information and crop information about the farmland ZZZ, and optional agricultural machine information. Here, the farmland information includes farmland name, area, crop, work progress, fertilizer (type and amount), and pesticide (type and amount). The crop information includes brown rice yield, average protein, average Contains moisture. The agricultural machine information includes fuel consumption, work time, engine set speed, maximum water temperature, and average work speed. The farm machine information is transferred from the ECU of the combine 1 to the terminal 3 and further sent to the farm management computer system and recorded in the database server 6. On the top screen of FIG. 7, an icon indicating the current position of the agricultural machine 1 registered in the agricultural management center is also displayed.

  FIG. 8 shows a specific farmland ZZZ selected from a large number of farmlands shown on the top screen of FIG. 7, and this farmland ZZZ is divided into a large number of small sections obtained by dividing the farmland ZZZ into a predetermined size. It is composed of That is, the entire area on the top screen in FIG. 7 corresponds to one selected specific farmland ZZZ in FIG. 8, and a number of farmlands on the top screen in FIG. 7 correspond to minute sections in FIG. 8. Therefore, by clicking a specific minute section A1 on the screen of FIG. 8, farmland information and crop information about the minute section A1 are displayed. Based on this information, precise farming management becomes possible.

  In the embodiment described above, the crop yield and quality are sampled in units of work travel positions, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be one farmland unit surrounded by fences. Furthermore, since the harvester 1 is provided with a harvest tank for temporarily storing the harvest (for example, in the case of a combine, a grain tank is provided as a harvest tank). Sampling of crop yield and quality may be performed with the capacity of the crop tank as one unit.

  One of the preferred embodiments for performing sampling in a capacity unit smaller than the capacity of the grain tank 15 is to provide a temporary storage part of the harvest inside the grain tank 15. In other words, an opening / closing lid mechanism is provided at the bottom of the temporary storage unit, a sensor for detecting that the temporary storage unit is full, and a capacitive proximity sensor are provided, and the opening / closing lid is opened each time the temporary storage unit is full. The harvest amount is discharged to the grain tank 15. Quality data can be obtained by performing quality measurement by the quality sensor 22 at the time of discharge. By measuring the time when the temporary storage unit becomes full and the average vehicle speed at that time, the travel distance until the temporary storage unit becomes full can be obtained. This travel distance can be used as a yield index (a yield index). Alternatively, the yield per traveling distance, that is, the yield per unit area of farmland can be obtained. By visualizing on the map the indicators relating to the yield and / or quality obtained in this way, it is possible to create a yield map for each small area of the farmland.

  When a smartphone or a tablet computer is adopted as the terminal 3, these devices are usually provided with short-range communication functions such as a WiFi function and Bluetooth (trade name). It can be used as a remote control for operation. In particular, when the harvester 1 is a combine, it is convenient if the lifting / lowering of the unloader, turning left and right, and turning on / off of grain discharge can be controlled by operating the terminal 3. Furthermore, it is also possible to define the operation by the remote controller according to the current position of the unloader using the bidirectional data communication function between the combine ECU and the terminal 3. For example, an operation button can be given to the terminal 3 such that when the unloader is in the storage position, it projects in the counterclockwise direction to the rear of the machine body, and otherwise performs automatic storage. Such a remote control function in the terminal 3 is realized by an application.

  The present invention is applicable not only to the harvesting of grains such as rice, wheat and corn, but also to the field of harvesting vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and radishes, and fruit harvesting such as apples and tangerines. Furthermore, the present invention is applicable not only to a crawler-type self-removing combine but also to an ordinary combine and a wheel-type combine.

1: Agricultural crop harvester (combine)
3: Computer terminal (terminal)
21: Yield sensor 22: Quality sensor (taste meter, taste sensor unit)
30: Positioning module 31: Farmland information generation unit 32: Agricultural product information generation unit 33: Transmission information management unit 34: Communication module 4: Input / output server (Web server)
41: Data input unit 42: Data output unit 5: Application server 51: Farming evaluation unit 52: Chart processing unit 6: Database server 61: Primary database unit 62: Farming evaluation database unit 63: Farmland map database unit

Claims (2)

A farm management system that manages farmland information about farmland where harvesting is performed by a combine and farmland information about crops obtained by the harvesting,
Harvest position data indicating the harvesting work position as the farmland information, and yield data indicating the yield of the crop harvested on the farmland as the crop information, and quality data indicating the quality including the moisture value and the protein value, A data input unit that receives from the combine;
A database server that records the farmland information and the crop information so as to be associated with each other;
Based on the farmland information and the crop information, the crop evaluation unit that compares the yield and the target yield and compares the quality and the target quality, and performs the farm evaluation of the farmland;
Based on the harvest amount data and the quality data associated with the harvesting position data indicating the harvesting work position included in the range of the minute section in the farmland, the result of the farming evaluation in the minute section is charted. A charting processing unit;
A data output unit for sending out the farming evaluation data generated by the farming evaluation unit and the charting data charted by the charting processing unit in response to a user request;
Farm management system with The agricultural management system according to claim 1, wherein the yield data is generated from a threshing processing amount per unit time, and the quality data is generated from a measurement result of a taste sensor unit equipped in the combine.

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