JPH0412086B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a combine harvester, and more particularly, to a combine harvester that performs various automatic controls to perform a series of tasks including reaping while traveling in a field.

Traditionally, combine harvesters have generally been controlled in various ways, including cutting height control, but in fields with poor ground conditions such as wet fields, the left and right crawler running devices, which are the running devices, may sink in different ways on the left and right. , at that time, the aircraft tilted sharply to one side,
The work equipment attached to the machine as well as the machine was tilted significantly, which caused problems in the work.

In other words, the reaping section tilts with the machine body, the height above the ground differs between the left and right ends of the reaping section, making it impossible to control the cutting height normally, or the sorting device built into the machine body tilts, causing threshing. The drawback was that the performance for sorting and collecting grains deteriorated.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventional combine harvesters,
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a combine harvester that has a simple configuration and can perform normal work even in wet fields.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has a structure in which a reaping section is attached to a traveling machine body equipped with left and right traveling devices so as to be vertically movable, and the left and right traveling devices can independently move up and down with respect to the traveling machine body. At the same time, distance sensors for detecting the height above the ground are installed at two points on the traveling aircraft having different coordinates with respect to the horizontal coordinate axis of the traveling aircraft, and based on information from these sensors, the traveling aircraft is moved in the left and right direction. about,
Control is performed to adjust the vertical position of the ground-contacting parts of the left and right traveling devices with respect to the traveling machine body in order to maintain it at a predetermined height and horizontally, and a distance sensor for detecting the height above the ground is provided in the reaping part. The mowing height is controlled based on information from this sensor.

Because of this configuration, the combine harvester of the present invention can maintain the traveling machine at a predetermined height above the ground and in a nearly horizontal posture even when the left and right traveling devices sink in different ways in a field such as a wet field. The horizontal inclination and height displacement of the reaping section due to the difference in sinking of the device are reduced, and the reaping section itself is controlled to maintain its height above the ground at a predetermined value, so the height above the ground of the reaping section is reduced. This means that control can be performed more stably and with better responsiveness. In particular, since attitude control is performed by detecting the height above the ground at two points with different coordinates on the horizontal coordinate axis of the aircraft, the aircraft is more accurately positioned relative to the ground than when using a tilt sensor. This allows for more accurate cutting height control.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a combine harvester according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a machine body 1 in which working devices such as a threshing device and a sorting and collecting device and a drive source such as an engine are installed, and a machine body 1 disposed at the front of the machine body 1. The machine is comprised of a reaping section 2, and left and right crawler traveling devices 3, 3 for supporting the machine body 1, which are provided at the bottom of the machine body 1.

The reaping section 2 is connected to the front part of the machine body 1 by a pivot shaft 4 so as to move up and down with respect to the machine body 1, and a hydraulic cylinder 5 is provided between the machine body 1 and the reaping section 2.
It is configured so that it can be moved up and down with respect to the aircraft body 1 by.

The left and right crawler traveling devices 3, 3 are connected to the lower part of the machine body 1 by link mechanisms 6, 6, respectively, and are independently moved up and down relative to the machine body 1 by left and right hydraulic cylinders 7, 7. It is configured to move.

These left and right crawler traveling devices 3, 3 are provided on the respective crawler traveling devices 3, 3 so that the power from the engine on the aircraft body 1 side is transmitted regardless of changes in the relative position with respect to the aircraft body 1. The fuselage 1 is driven by hydraulic motors, and these hydraulic motors are connected to the engine by flexible oil pipes.
Connected to the side hydraulic pump.

Sensors 8, 8 for detecting the height above the ground are installed on both the left and right sides of the fuselage 1, and detect the height above the ground on both sides of the fuselage 1, and determine the attitude and height above the ground of the fuselage 1 as described later. It is configured to be controlled.
Further, a sensor 9 for detecting height above the ground is also attached to the reaping section 2, and the mowing height is controlled based on information from this sensor 9. These sensors 8, 8, and 9 are all distance sensors that utilize ultrasonic waves.

Next, the control for adjusting the posture and height above the ground of the machine body 1 and the cutting height control performed in connection therewith will be explained using FIG. 2 and subsequent figures.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2, information from the height detection sensors 8, 8, and 9 above the ground is inputted via an input interface 11 to the arithmetic unit 10 constituting the control system.

The arithmetic unit 10 determines the direction in which each hydraulic cylinder 5, 7, 7 should be operated based on the above information, and outputs the result to the output interface 13.

The output interface 13 is configured to supply operating current to the electromagnetic valves 14 interposed between each of the hydraulic cylinders 5, 7, 7 and the hydraulic pump based on the signal from the arithmetic unit 10. The operating direction of each hydraulic cylinder 5, 7, 7 is determined by the state in which these electromagnetic valves 14 are switched.

FIG. 3 is a basic flowchart showing the determination procedure of the arithmetic device 10. As shown in this flowchart, the arithmetic device 10 operates on each sensor 8,
The information from 8 and 9 is compared with a predetermined value given in advance, and the corresponding hydraulic cylinders 5, 7, and 7 are expanded and contracted.

As shown in this flowchart, the combine harvester of this embodiment is configured not only to maintain the machine body 1 horizontally in the horizontal direction, but also to keep the height of the machine body 1 constant from the ground. Therefore, by keeping the height of the machine body 1 constant from the ground as much as possible through the movement of the hydraulic cylinders 7, 7, not only will the cutting height be automatically controlled, but also the following effects will occur. This is what I did.

That is, since the reaping section 2 is configured to move up and down by rotating around the pivot 4 with respect to the machine body 1, if it is moved up and down too much, its direction will change, which is not preferable for the reaping operation. Therefore, aircraft 11
The above-mentioned configuration is adopted in such a way that not only eliminates such a weak point by moving the body 1 up and down, but also prevents the bottom of the body 1 from colliding with the ground at the same time.

In this embodiment, the ground height detection sensor of the aircraft body is provided outside the crawler traveling devices 3, 3, but this is for measuring without being influenced by the track of the crawler traveling devices. The installation location of the sensor is not limited to the rear of the aircraft, but also on the crawler traveling device 3,
It is possible to measure locations other than the travel traces in No. 3, and locations located in front and behind each other may be used as long as they are located in the lateral direction of the aircraft.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of a combine harvester according to the present invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the combine, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control system, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the arithmetic unit of the control system. 1... Traveling machine body, 2... Reaping section, 3... Crawler traveling device, 8, 9... Distance sensor for detecting height above ground.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The reaping section 2 is attached to a traveling machine body 1 equipped with left and right traveling devices 3, 3 so as to be vertically movable, and the left and right traveling devices 3, 3 are configured to be able to move up and down independently with respect to the traveling body 1. At the same time, the traveling aircraft 1
A distance sensor 8 for detecting height above the ground is installed at two points on the traveling aircraft 1 having different coordinates with respect to the horizontal coordinate axis.
8 are provided respectively, and based on the information from these sensors 8, 8, the traveling body 1 is moved in the left and right directions.
In order to maintain it at a predetermined height and horizontally, control is performed to adjust the vertical position of the ground contact portions of the left and right traveling devices 3, 3 with respect to the traveling machine body 1, and the reaping portion 2 is provided with a height detecting device for detecting the height above the ground. A combine harvester characterized in that a distance sensor 9 is provided, and cutting height control is performed based on information from this sensor 9.