JP7205847B2 - Agricultural electric trolley - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric cart for agricultural work, which is mainly used in a horticultural greenhouse.

When cultivating fruit vegetables such as tomatoes and paprika, and climbing vegetables such as cucumbers, bitter gourds, beans, etc. in a greenhouse or the like, it is effective to grow them tall in order to effectively utilize the greenhouse space. However, as the plant grows taller, a stepping stool is needed because it is difficult to reach the top of the plant to perform necessary work on the top of the plant, such as attracting and removing side buds. However, since the stepping stool must be manually moved by the operator one by one, the work efficiency is poor.

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 07-005308 Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 07-001704 Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 05-029308 JP 2011-148330 A

For such cases, electric trolleys for working at height are commercially available that can be used on farms. According to this, since the worker can move while riding, the burden on the worker is greatly reduced.
However, the electric trolleys currently on the market need to be manually operated and driven, so when moving, you have to let go of the crops. Therefore, it is inconvenient for ordinary work in a greenhouse, such as moving while holding an object. In addition, it is not possible to move while supporting fruits and branches.

Furthermore, the commercially available electric carts and any of the carts shown in the prior art documents require a combination of several motions when moving forward, backward, left turn, right turn, etc., so that the operator can operate the cart as desired. There is a problem that it is difficult to adjust the position.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an electric trolley that can be easily moved according to the operator's will without letting go of the work at the cultivation site of agricultural products. I will provide a.

An electric trolley for agricultural work according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above problems,
a) the trolley body;
b) two drive wheels mounted below the bogie body, which do not rotate about a vertical axis;
c) at least one driven wheel mounted below said bogie body rotatable about a vertical axis;
d) a fixed base provided on said carriage;
e) a movable base capable of tilting in two in-plane directions on the fixed base;
f) a sensor for detecting tilting of the movable base in the two directions;
g) a control unit for independently controlling the two driving wheels based on the output of the sensor.

Note that the above-mentioned "tilting" of the base includes very slight tilting that the operator can hardly recognize. In that case, the "sensor for detecting tilting" is called a "pressure sensor" or a "weight sensor".

In the electric trolley for agricultural work according to the present invention, when the operator stands on the movable base or the footboard fixed thereto and shifts his/her weight forward, backward, left, and right, the sensor detects tilting or pressure of the movable base. detected and the controller controls the two drive wheels independently. As a result, the operator does not need to use his or her hands to operate the cart, so the work necessary for the top of the head, such as pulling work and removing side buds, can be performed continuously while moving the electric cart. It will be possible to move while holding crops.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external view of the electric trolley which is one Example (1st Example) of this invention, (a) is an upper perspective view, (b) is a lower perspective view. FIG. 2 is a central vertical cross-sectional view for clearly showing an example of a control plate of the electric trolley of the embodiment and a weight shift detection mechanism provided thereon. It is a block diagram of the control circuit of the electric cart of an Example, (a) is a control circuit of 1st Example, (b) is a control circuit of 2nd Example. FIG. 2 is an external view of farm work using the electric cart of the present embodiment. Plan view (a), side view (b), and front view (c) of the electric trolley in working mode. The top view which shows a motion of the electric trolley at the time of folding in the edge part of a ridge. Plan view (a), side view (b), and front view (c) of the electric trolley in the transportation mode. FIG. 10 is a setting diagram of the response of the drive wheels to the shift of the weight of the worker on the control plate, where (a) is the right drive wheel and (b) is the left drive wheel. Fig. 10 is another setting diagram of the response of the drive wheels to the shift of the weight of the operator on the control plate, where (a) is the right drive wheel and (b) is the left drive wheel. FIG. 4 is an external view of an electric trolley that is another embodiment (second embodiment) of the present invention, where (a) is a right side view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a left side view, and (d) is a Rear view.

1(a) and 1(b) show the appearance of an electric trolley which is one embodiment (first embodiment) of the present invention. FIG. 1(a) is an upper perspective view, and FIG. 1(b) is a lower perspective view. The electric trolley 1 of this embodiment includes a trolley body 10, two drive wheels 11 (left drive wheel 11L, right drive wheel 11R) fixed around a vertical axis provided at one longitudinal end of the trolley body, Swivel caster 12 (left swivel caster 12L, right swivel caster 12R), which is a driven wheel rotatable around two vertical shafts provided at the other end, and a control plate provided on the top of the carriage body 10 20 and so on. One swivel caster 12 may be used. The two driving wheels 11L and 11R are provided with motors for driving them, respectively, and the driving wheels 11L and 11R are rotationally driven independently. Motors 14 (left drive wheel motor 14L, right drive wheel motor 14R) for driving these drive wheels and a control circuit 40 for controlling their operations are arranged in a control box 13 at the bottom of the bogie body 10. ing. The carriage body 10 has a height H of approximately 20 cm to 60 cm, a width W of approximately 30 cm to 60 cm, and a length L of approximately 60 cm to 100 cm. Of course, it can be made smaller or larger, depending on the object to be worked on and the place of work.

The movement of the electric cart 1 can be controlled by an operator standing on the control plate 20 and shifting his weight forward, backward, left and right on the control plate 20 (manipulating the electric cart 1). be able to). Its operation will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a central vertical cross-sectional view for clearly showing an example of the control plate 20 and the weight shift detection mechanism provided thereon. The control plate 20 is movable supported by a fixed base 21 that supports the whole and four rubber dampers 23a to 23d (23c and 23d are not shown in FIG. 2) arranged at the four corners of the fixed base 21. A base 22 is provided. Furthermore, pressure sensors 24a to 24d (24d is not shown in FIG. 2) are provided on the four sides of the fixed base 21 for detecting the amount of weight movement. The pressure sensors 24a to 24d are actually displacement sensors, but the amount of displacement of the rubber dampers 23a to 23d with respect to the weight shift (force) of the operator is set to a small value (for example, about 0.1 mm with a weight of 20 kg). . On the upper surface of the control plate 20, a picture of the right foot and left foot is drawn to indicate the standing position of the operator.

A fixing screw 29 protruding upward is provided at the center of the movable base 22, and four positioning pins 27a to 27d similarly protrude upward at equal distances in 90-degree units around the fixing screw 29. (27d is not shown in FIG. 2) and four downwardly extending push pins 25a to 25d (25b and 25d are not shown in FIG. 2). The four push pins 25a-25d are arranged at positions to press the four pressure sensors 24a-24d on the fixed base 21, respectively. When an operator stands on the control plate 20 placed on the movable base 22 supported by the rubber dampers 23a to 23d having an appropriate degree of flexibility and shifts his or her weight forward, backward, leftward, or rightward, the amount of weight shift is the rubber damper. The bending of the dampers 23a-23d is transmitted to the pressure sensors 24a-24d via the push pins 25a-25d, and the weight shift amount and direction can be detected.

Four positioning holes 28 a - 28 d are provided on the lower surface of the control plate 20 at positions facing the four positioning pins 27 a - 27 d projecting upward from the movable base 22 . These four positioning pins 27a to 27d are aligned with four positioning holes 28a to 28d, and the fixing screw 29 of the movable base 22 is inserted into the fixing hole 30 provided in the center of the control plate 20, and the fixing screw is tightened with the nut 31. The movable base 22 is fixed below the control plate 20 by tightening 29 .

Here, the four positioning pins 27a to 27d and the four positioning holes 28a to 28d are provided equidistantly from the center at 90 degree intervals, so that when inserting both, the control plate 20 and the movable base 22 can be inserted. can be changed in 90 degree increments. As a result, various maneuvering/driving operations, which will be described later, are possible.

The four pressure sensors 24a-24d and the motors 14L, 14R for driving the two drive wheels 11L, 11R are connected to a control circuit 40. FIG. FIG. 3(a) is a block diagram of the control circuit 40. Four pressure sensors 24a to 24d detect the weight shift amount of the operator on the control plate 20, and the rotational direction and rotation of the two driving wheels 11L and 11R are detected. A CPU section 41 for calculating speed and issuing instructions, ESCs (Electric Speed Controllers) 42 and 43 for rotating the driving wheels 11L and 11R according to instructions from the CPU section 41, and the electric cart 1 are controlled independently for a required time. It incorporates a power supply circuit 44 that can be operated by

A method of using the electric trolley 1 of this embodiment having such a structure is as follows. First, the control plate 20 can be turned in units of 90 degrees as described above, depending on the purpose of work. In the case of the work mode, as shown in FIG. 4 , in the work such as removal of side buds and attraction, which are the main work forms, the operator stands facing the plant body 2 on the ridge. is in its 90-degree direction. In this case, the orientation of the control plate is as shown in FIG.

In the case of this form (FIG. 5), when the weight is put on the right foot (the right foot in FIG. 5(a)) on the control plate 20, the electric trolley 1 moves forward (moves to the right in FIG. 5(a)), Put your weight on your left foot and move backwards. When moving forward or backward in this manner, the electric cart 1 turns left when weight is put on the toe side, and turns right when weight is put on the heel side.

On the other hand, when the electric cart 1 is in a stopped state and in a neutral state in the longitudinal direction (that is, no weight is applied to the left and right), and the weight is applied to the toe side, the electric cart 1 moves around the left drive wheel 11L. By turning left on the spot and similarly putting weight on the heel side, it is possible to turn right on the spot around the right drive wheel 11R. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when reaching the edge of the ridge and turning back, it is possible to make a small turn. Then, by further rotating there, the electric cart 1 naturally moves to a position for working on the plants on the ridge on the opposite side.

In the transport mode in which cargo is loaded behind the electric cart 1 and carried, the operator must stand at the front end of the electric cart 1, so the control plate 20 is oriented as shown in FIG. By placing the control plate 20 in this way, the luggage rack behind the carriage body 10 is widened so that a large luggage box 7 or the like can be placed there. Maneuvering in this case resembles an electric vehicle with two left and right wheels, such as a Segway (registered trademark) or a balance scooter (registered trademark). This mode also makes it easier to tow a trailer behind you, allowing you to carry more cargo.

In any case, if the response of the driving wheel 11 to the operation of the control plate 20 changes smoothly according to the weight shift, as shown in FIGS. Maneuvering is facilitated because the direction of travel turns to and smoothly transitions in accordance with human senses. (If the drive wheels 11 make abrupt ON/OFF operations or respond jerkyly, the operator on the electric cart 1 will experience sudden inertia, making it difficult to operate.)

Further, if the electric cart 1 moves even when a slight weight shift is sensed, it becomes difficult to maintain a stopped state during work or the like. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the pressure sensors 24a-24d should be provided with dead zones physically or by software. The center of the weight shift amount on the horizontal axis in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 described later is set at 1/4 of the total output values of all the pressure sensors 24a to 24d.

Furthermore, since there is a clear difference in the operation of the electric cart 1 between adjusting the position during work and running for movement, the relationship between the degree of weight shift on the control plate 20 and the rotational speeds of the drive wheels 11 and 12 is As shown in FIG. 8, rather than the direct proportional relationship, it is better to set the sensitivity to be low within a predetermined range near the neutral position and to be high when the weight shift is greater than that. The sensitivity setting can be changed linearly as shown in FIG. 8 or exponentially as shown in FIG.
However, it is better for the left and right direction turns to be directly proportional to the weight shift.

The control circuit 40 has four pressure sensors 24a to 24d so that the electric cart 1 does not suddenly move when the operator first gets on the control plate 20 of the electric cart 1 or when he gets off there. Based on the output of , the following start/stop control is performed. That is, when the sum of the output values of all the pressure sensors 24a to 24d is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value (operation reference value), both drive wheels 11L and 11R are not rotationally driven and the above control is not performed. . It is preferable that the operation reference value is about 2/3 of the assumed weight of an adult worker, but it is more preferable that the weight be adjustable by a knob or the like. Alternatively, both drive wheels 11L and 11R are maintained for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) after the control plate 20 transitions from the no-load state (the sum of the output values of all the pressure sensors 24a to 24d is almost zero) to the load state. You may disable it. Similarly, in consideration of when the operator gets off the control plate 20 or loses balance during work, it is desirable to take measures to prevent sudden balance fluctuations of the four pressure sensors 24a to 24d.
Although the cost is slightly increased, a separate sensor may be provided to detect when the operator gets on or off the control plate 20 .

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which the height of the control plate 20 on which the operator stands can be arbitrarily set according to the work height that differs depending on the work content. The height of the control plate 20 can be raised and lowered by means of a parallel screw 53 or the like which is loaded on the carriage body 10 via the 51 and driven by an elevating motor 52 such as a geared motor. The control circuit 60 of the electric cart 50 of this embodiment is as shown in FIG. 3(b). In this control circuit 60, a motor driver 46 for controlling the lifting motor 52 is connected to the CPU section 41 shown in FIG. Control.
There are many other means for changing the working height, and it is not limited to this embodiment.

The structure of the control plate 20 in FIG. 2 and the control circuits 40 and 60 in FIGS. By using one sensor each for left and right, it is possible to detect the weight shift in all directions by detecting the pressure of ± centering on zero. In any case, it is sufficient to detect the inclination of the movable base 22 with respect to the fixed base 21 in two in-plane directions, and various modes of sensor arrangement are possible.

The control circuits 40 and 60 shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) incorporate batteries so that the electric cart 1 according to the present invention can operate independently for the required time. The secondary battery 45 is better.
The secondary battery 45 can be charged by manually moving the electric cart 1 to the charging station or by connecting a power supply to the charging connector. It is convenient if the electric cart 1 is automatically self-propelled to the charging station.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 50... Electric truck 10... Truck body 11... Drive wheel 11L... Left drive wheel 11R... Right drive wheel 12... Swivel caster 12L... Left swivel caster 12R... Right swivel caster 13... Control box 14... Motor 14L... Left drive wheel Motor 14R Right drive wheel motor 2 Plant body 20 Control plate 21 Fixed base 22 Movable base 23a to 23d Rubber damper 24a to 24d Pressure sensor 25a to 25d Push pin 27a to 27d Positioning pin 28a ~ 28d... positioning hole 29... fixing screw 30... fixing hole 31... nut
40, 60... Control circuit 41... CPU section 42, 43... ESC (Electric Speed Controller)
44... Power supply circuit 45... Secondary battery 46... Lifting motor driver 47... Lifting switch 51... Parallel link 52... Lifting motor 53... Parallel screw 7... Packing box

Claims (5)

a) the trolley body;
b) two drive wheels mounted below the bogie body, which do not rotate about a vertical axis;
c) at least one driven wheel mounted below said bogie body rotatable about a vertical axis;
d) a fixed base provided on the bogie body;
e) a movable base capable of tilting on the fixed base in two directions of the front-rear direction and the left-right direction ;
f) a sensor for detecting a weight shift amount based on the tilting of the movable base in the two directions;
g) independently operating the two drive wheels based on the output of the sensor;
g-1) a dead zone in which the two driving wheels are not driven within a first moving amount range near the neutral position of the movable base;
g-2) When the weight shift amount in the longitudinal direction is within a second shift amount range exceeding the first shift amount range, the two driving wheels are rotated at a rotational speed within the first rotational speed range. a working band that rotates in a direction corresponding to its orientation and whose rotational speed changes within a first rotational speed change rate range with respect to changes in the weight shift amount;
g-3) When the weight shift amount in the longitudinal direction is within a third shift range exceeding the second shift range, the rotational speed of the two drive wheels is greater than the first rotational speed range. Rotates in a direction corresponding to the direction of weight shift at a rotational speed within a second rotational speed range, and a second rotational speed at which the rotational speed is greater than the first rotational speed change rate range with respect to a change in the amount of weight shift. An electric trolley for agricultural work, characterized by comprising: a control unit that provides and controls a running band that changes within a change rate range. 2. The electric cart for agricultural work according to claim 1, wherein the sensors are displacement sensors provided between the fixed base and the movable base in four directions around the center of both bases. 3. The movable base according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a mechanism is provided for fixing, in at least two in-plane directions, a tread for a worker to operate the electric cart for agricultural work while standing on both feet. Electric trolley for agricultural work. 4. The electric trolley for agricultural work according to claim 3, wherein a picture of the positions where the right and left feet of the worker should be placed is drawn on the upper surface of the tread. Furthermore,
h) The electric trolley for agricultural work according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an elevating mechanism for elevating the fixed base with respect to the trolley body.

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