JPH0520044B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a seeding processing section of a seeding plant used in a pre-process of growing pine-like seedlings for a rice transplanter.

[Conventional technology]

As for the above-mentioned seeding plant, the Utility Model 56-111716
As shown in the publication, a bed soil supply device, an irrigation device, a seeding device, and a soil covering device are arranged in line above the transport device that transports the seedling raising boxes, and the sowing process from supplying the bed soil to covering the soil is carried out in an assembly line. I have configured it so that it can be done.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In this way, conventional seeding plants are able to sow large quantities of seeds with almost no human intervention. Seeds often get stuck in the seedlings or cause bridging depending on the moisture level, and the amount of supply to each nursery box and distribution on the soil surface are difficult to be uniform, often resulting in poor sowing. be.

Therefore, it was necessary to have a worker stand nearby to constantly monitor the soil surface on which the seeds were sown, to judge whether the sowing conditions were appropriate, and to take immediate action if any defects were found. This became the key to making the seeding process completely unmanned.

An object of the present invention is to promote complete unmanned sowing by entrusting the monitoring of the soil surface to electrical means.

[Means for solving problems]

The characteristic configuration of the present invention is that an imaging device for capturing images of the soil surface is provided between the seeding device and the soil covering device, and the sowing situation is analyzed based on image information captured by this imaging device to determine whether the seeding situation is appropriate. The present invention is equipped with an image processing device that determines the image, and its functions and effects are as follows.

[Effect]

That is, before the soil is covered with soil, the soil surface on which the seeds are sown is imaged by the imaging device. Then, the image processing device analyzes the sowing situation based on this captured image information and determines whether the sowing situation is appropriate.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As a result, it became possible to monitor the sowing status on the soil bed using electrical means instead of using workers, making a significant step toward completely unmanned sowing.

〔Example〕

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

As shown in FIG. 1, a seeding plant for producing pine-shaped seedlings is constructed by connecting a seedling box supply section A, a seeding processing section B, and a seedling box stacking device C.

The seedling box supply unit A includes a feed conveyor 2 that sends 1 g of stacked seedling boxes, and an elevator unit 3 that lowers the 1 g of seedling boxes from the feed conveyor 2 to a working level in a suspended state. and a seedling box feeding device 4 which takes out the seedling growing boxes 1 one by one from the group of seedling growing boxes 1g from the elevator unit 3 and sends them out laterally.

The seeding processing section B includes a conveyor 5 that transports the seedling growing boxes 1 from the seedling growing box feeding device 4 in a mounted state.
and a bed soil supply device 6 that supplies bed soil to the seedling raising box 1.
, an irrigation device 7 that sprays water onto the bed soil, a sowing device 8 that sows rice seeds onto the bed soil, and a soil covering device 9 that covers the seedling raising box 1 with soil after sowing.

The seedling box stacking device C includes a lift mechanism 10 that holds the seedling boxes 1 continuously fed in by the transport conveyor 5 in a substantially horizontal shelf shape and lifts them upward; A transverse feed mechanism 11 with a reciprocating structure sends out the seedling boxes 1 in a substantially horizontal state to a stacking work position, and a transverse feed mechanism 11 that sends out the seedling boxes 1 from the lift mechanism 10 by the transverse feed mechanism 11 at approximately the level at which they were sent out. An opening/closing shelf mechanism 12 that holds the seedling box 1 in a horizontal state and opens on both sides to allow the seedling box 1 to fall after the full width of the seedling box 1 reaches approximately above the stacking position in the feeding direction of the seedling box 1; In order to sequentially place the seedling raising boxes 1 from the mechanism 11 on the transporting cart 13 at the stacking work position, the elevator mechanism 14 is configured to move downward every time a seedling raising box 1 is stacked on the transporting cart 13. There is.

This seeding plant is configured to continuously send out seedling raising boxes 1, sowing seeds in the seedling raising boxes 1, and stacking the seedling raising boxes 1 after sowing, so that seedling raising can be carried out in a stacked manner until germination. , the seedling raising boxes 1 stacked on the transport trolley 13... are the transport trolley 1
As shown in FIG. 2, the seedlings are sent to the budding unit 15, where they are allowed to germinate under predetermined humidity and temperature conditions, and then transferred to the greening seedling shelf 17 by the seedling box loading device 16 for further growth. It is becoming more and more like this.

Between the seeding device 8 and the soil covering device 9, an image is taken of the soil surface each time the seedling raising box 1 is transported;
A color video camera CA is provided as an imaging device that outputs captured image information. This color video camera CA quantizes the image information and converts it into a binary pigment image that only corresponds to the color of the rice seeds on the soil surface, and calculates the number of seeds in the image.
An image processing device 18 is connected to determine whether the number of rice seeds is within a set quantity range. Furthermore, this image processing device 18 includes an alarm device 19 that sounds a buzzer BZ when it is determined that the number of rice seeds is not within the set quantity range, and a stop device that automatically stops the operation of the sowing processing section B. 20 are connected.

In other words, if the supply amount of seed rice changes during the sowing process and a sowing failure occurs, the image processing device 18 will immediately determine this and issue an alarm, informing the worker of the occurrence of the problem, and at the same time Processing section B is deactivated to prevent continued poor seeding.

In order to cope with the height difference between the height level of the seeding processing section B and the height level of the seedling box stacking device C, the lower side portion of the conveyor 5 located behind the seeding processing section B has an inclined conveyance system. A conveyor 5a is interposed. This inclined conveyor 5a essentially connects the seeding processing section B and the seedling box stacking device C, and is preferably as short as possible considering the size of the entire seeding plant. However, if it is too short, the angle of inclination will become steep, and when the seedling raising box 1, which has been conveyed in a horizontal position by the sowing processing section B, reaches the front end of the inclined conveyor 5a, it will fall significantly downward, causing the bed soil to shift. It is necessary to determine the length so that the angle of inclination is not too steep, as this may cause it to bounce.

A hydraulic cylinder Cy is provided at the lower front end of the inclined conveyor 5a to change the inclination angle using the rear end portion as a fulcrum. This hydraulic cylinder Cy
When the inclined conveyance device 5a is placed in a horizontal position by shortening, the conveyor 5 in the seedling box stacking device C is
As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. becomes possible. Further, an operating switch SW for an operation control valve (not shown) of the hydraulic cylinder Cy is attached to the rear end of the inclined conveyor 5a. Then, when the seedling box stacking device C is moved and a part of it comes into contact with the operation switch SW, it is turned ON.
The hydraulic cylinder Cy is automatically shortened, and the inclined transport conveyor 5a is switched to the same height level as the transport conveyor 5 of the seedling box stacking device C.

Incidentally, in order to analyze the seeding situation based on the captured image information, the brightness and darkness on the soil surface may be used. In this case, the seed rice will be bright and the bed soil will be dark. In addition, if it is difficult to capture the seed rice on the top surface of the bed using the color video camera CA, you can change the brightness or angle of the light irradiated onto the soil surface, or attach a color filter or polarizing filter to the color video camera CA. You may.

Incidentally, although reference numerals are written in the claims section for convenient comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings by the reference numerals.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the seeding processing section of the seeding plant according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the processing system up to the stacking process of the seeding plant, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the processing from the stacking process of the seeding plant to the greening process. It is a diagram showing a system. 1... Seedling raising box, 5... Transport device, 6... Soil supply device, 8... Seeding device, 9... Soil covering device, CA... Imaging device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Above the conveyance device 5 that transports the seedling raising box 1 in a loaded state, there is a bed soil supply device 6 that supplies bed soil to the seedling raising box 1, a sowing device 8 that sows seeds on the bed soil surface, and a seedling device 8 that sows seeds on the bed soil surface, and A seeding processing section of a seeding plant in which a soil covering device 9 for covering soil on the bed soil is sequentially arranged from the upper side to the lower side in the conveyance direction, and between the seeding device 8 and the soil covering device 9. Imaging device for floor and soil surface imaging
A sowing processing section of a sowing plant that is provided with a CA and an image processing device 18 that analyzes the sowing situation based on image information captured by the imaging device CA and determines whether the sowing situation is appropriate.