JPH07121744A - Data gathering device of agricultural machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability by temporarily interrupting data gathering when main-machine side power supply is cut in the data gathering operation and turning OFF the power source of a management terminal device when the main-machine side power supply is cut not in the data gathering operation. CONSTITUTION:When an operator operates input keys to select data gathering, a communication is made between the main machine and management terminal device 20 and operation data are gathered and recorded. At this time, when the operator turns OFF the key switch on the main machine side without pressing the power-OFF switch 31 of the management terminal device 20, an operation interruption mode is entered. Selected operation is performed when a mode of, for example, initial registration other than the data gathering is set on a menu screen and when the main-machine side power source 15 is turned OFF, namely, when the key switch is turned OFF, the power source of the management terminal device 20 is also turned OFF. Consequently, even if the management terminal device 20 is held at powered ON not in the operation data gathering, an internal battery 26 is never consumed in the power-ON state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data collecting device for collecting sensor information of agricultural machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters in order to grasp the working status of such machinery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the rationalization of agricultural management and the high performance of agricultural machinery, various work data such as mileage per field or day, work area, fuel consumption, etc. are collected and used. It is becoming more and more important to weigh and compare the above items and use them for future work plans. The method that has been conventionally used to collect these data is to read the values of the fuel gauge and rangefinder attached to the agricultural machine at the start and end of the work and calculate the difference. The accuracy of the obtained data is low, and the data collection work and the rearranging of the data after the collection are troublesome.

[0003]

By the way, the applicant has previously tried to propose a data collecting device. In this data collecting device, an SRAM type card is inserted in a management terminal device. The data is stored in the main body when the work end switch or the work interruption switch is pressed by communicating between the machine and the management terminal in a fixed cycle. Of the work RAM, the data is temporarily stored in the card.

In the case of this method, when the data collection work is completed, or when the data collection work is not performed, other registration modes such as the worker name and machine number are initially registered,
When switching to the print mode for printing data or the utility mode, the operator may forget to turn off the power after the mode is completed. There was a problem that the battery was exhausted and it interfered with the data collection work at a later date.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is proposed in view of the above problems, and is intended to prevent consumption of a built-in battery due to forgetting to turn off the power of a management terminal.
At the same time, the operation is simplified and the operability is remarkably improved. Therefore, the present invention takes the following technical means.

That is, the configuration is such that the data of the main unit side is transmitted to the management terminal device via the communication line,
In the data collection device configured to be operated by the built-in battery of the management terminal when the power supply of the machine is cut off, it is detected whether the power of the machine is supplied to the management terminal. A power supply voltage detection circuit is installed to temporarily stop data collection when the power supply to the machine is cut off during data collection work. When the power supply is cut off, the data collecting device of the agricultural machine is characterized in that the power supply of the management terminal is cut off.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data collection device. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a control device for an agricultural machine (for example, a tractor), and is responsible for overall control of a traveling unit and each operating part. Various sensors 2 ... Operation switches 3 ...
And signals from the setters 4 ... Are input interface 6
Is input to the CPU 7 via the output interface 9, and the CPU 7 outputs the motor based on the input signal via the output interface 9.
An output signal is output to the actuator 10 such as a solenoid or a valve. Necessary input information and output information are displayed on display devices 11 such as meters and lamps.

Among the sensors, a vehicle speed sensor 2A, a fuel flow rate sensor 2B, and a chemical spray amount sensor 2 provided on a working machine.
C generates a sensor pulse according to the vehicle speed, the fuel flow rate, and the instantaneous value of the amount of sprayed chemicals, and transmits the sensor pulse count numbers n ₁ , n _2, ... Within a fixed period T to the CPU 7 as a communication pulse. (See FIG. 2).

Other sensors include a lower link sensor, a lift arm angle sensor and a horizontal sensor in the case of a tractor, and a cutting width sensor in the case of a combine. Since the detection signals of these sensors are DC currents, the detection signals are converted by the A / D converter 13 and then input to the CPU 7. Reference numeral 20 in FIG. 1 is a data collection device (management terminal device), which is connected to the control device 1 so as to be communicable. The data collecting device 20 has a CPU 2
1, operation unit 22, display unit 23, RAM (work RAM)
It comprises a main body 20a having 25 and the like, a ROM card (PROM) 28 and a RAM card (SRAM) 29 as a storage medium selectively mounted on the main body. The ROM card 28 stores a data collection program for each model and model of the agricultural machine. Also, RA
The M card 29 can store data for each predetermined item. Reference numeral 15 in FIG. 1 is a power supply terminal on the tractor side. 12V DC power is supplied to this terminal 15 and is interlocked with a key switch (not shown). When the key switch is turned on, power is supplied to this terminal, and when the key switch is turned off, the power is cut off. To be done. Reference numeral 16 in FIG. 1 denotes a power supply voltage detection circuit of the present apparatus, 1
Reference numeral 7 is a constant voltage power supply circuit, and 18 is a power supply control circuit. The power supply voltage detection circuit 16 of this machine is a circuit for detecting whether or not power is supplied from the tractor-machine to the management terminal 20. The power supply control circuit 18 controls the power supply of the management terminal device 20, and the power supply ON switch 31 described later.
When the power is turned on, the power control circuit 18 is held in the on state, and when the power off switch 32 is pressed, the hold state is released and the power of the management terminal device 20 is turned off.
Reference numeral 26 denotes a built-in battery, and when the power is not supplied from this unit, the power of the built-in battery 26 is supplied to each part of the management terminal device 20.

The management terminal 20 has an external appearance as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, for example. On the front of the box-shaped main body 20a, the power ON / OFF switch 3 as the operation unit 22
1, 32, various operation switches 33, an input key 34 for inputting kana and numbers, and a display unit 23 by a liquid crystal display, and a ROM card 28 and an insertion port 36 for a RAM card 29 on one side. 37 and a printer connector 38 are provided. Among the operation switches 33 are a work start switch 33a which is pushed when starting data collection, a work stop switch 33b which is pushed when work is temporarily stopped, and a work end switch 33c which is pushed when work is finished. There is.

Communication between the control device 1 and the data collection device 20 is performed via the communication interfaces 40 and 41. The example shown in the figure is a method by optical communication, in which an optical interface 41 is provided on the bottom surface of the mounting groove 43 of the main body of the data collecting device and the communication interface of the control device. The unit 44 (see FIG. 6) is also provided with a similar optical interface. When the data collecting device main body 20a is attached to the communication interface 44, both optical interfaces come to face each other, and information can be exchanged between both devices. When the optical communication is performed as described above, the data collection device 20 can be easily attached to and detached from the agricultural machine, and it is possible to perform good communication because it is not easily affected by vibration. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 50 is a handy printer, 51 is a card reader, 52 is a personal computer, and 53 is a printer.

The installation location of the data collecting device 20 and its surrounding structure when the agricultural machine is a tractor will be described. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the data collecting device 20 is attached to the cockpit 59 in the cabin 58 of the tractor. Inclinometer 60, radio 61, digital clock 62
At the same time, the data collecting device 20 is detachably attached. Since the data collecting device 20 is attached to the front part of the cockpit near the ceiling of the cabin 58, the display of the liquid crystal display 23 can be easily confirmed.

Here, a method of operating the data collecting device 20 and a method of recording data will be briefly described. First, the data collecting device 20 is attached to the communication interface unit 44 and the power ON switch 31 is pressed (power ON). Then, the communication between the data collection device 20 and the control device 1 is started. At this time, prior to collecting the work data, the operation
For the data, items such as a field number, a worker name, and a machine number, which are search keys (header portion) are input, and a new data file is created. Then, the work is started. Work data
The collection and recording of data is started by pressing the work start switch 33a. At this time, the created file name is registered in the file list in the RAM card 29. Then, the work data is recorded on the management terminal side at the start of the work, and the obtained data such as mileage, fuel consumption,
The work area and the like are temporarily stored in the RAM 25. At this time, when the work interruption switch 33b is pressed, processing based on the switch is performed. Specifically, the work interruption switch 33b is used when temporarily stopping the agricultural machine due to meals or the like.
By pressing, the work data up to that point can be retained. When restarting work, interrupt switch 3
Press 3b again. When the work end switch 33c is pressed, the data written in the RAM 25 is transferred to the RAM card 2
9 and is stored as it is.

The flowchart of FIG. 9 illustrates the operation of the power supply processing operation according to the present invention. Management terminal 2
When the power of 0 is turned on, a menu is displayed on the liquid crystal display 23, and the operator operates the input key to select a number.
When the data collection work is selected, communication is performed between the main unit and the management terminal device 20 according to the procedure described above, and the work data is collected and recorded. At this time, the management terminal 2
If the operator turns off the key switch on the main body side without pressing the power OFF switch 32 of 0, the operation shifts to the operation interruption mode. If the menu screen is set to a mode other than data collection, such as initial registration mode or print mode,
The selected work is executed, and when the power of the main unit is turned off, that is, when the key switch is turned off, the power of the management terminal device 20 is also cut off. This power off
The operation is performed by software.

With this configuration, even when the management terminal unit 20 is forgotten to turn off the power supply in the case other than the work data collection such as the setting registration mode and the printing mode, the key of the main unit is lost. -Management terminal device 20 in conjunction with switch OFF operation
Power is cut off, so if you forget to turn it off, the built-in battery 2
There is a feature that operability is improved without consuming 6.

Next, the circuit configuration of the partially improved device will be described. FIG. 10 shows a partially improved configuration of the management terminal device 20. Specifically, the memory interface on the output side has an EE.
The PROM 70 is connected so that the items displayed when the power is turned off are recorded. Display items include slip rate, vehicle speed, chemical spray rate, fuel consumption, mileage, work area, work time, etc., but the items that the operator wants to see are often the same at certain times. . That is, when the plow work is performed for 2 to 3 days, the data that the operator wants to see is the vehicle speed and the slip rate, and in the case of the chemical spraying work, the spray rate. In this way, when performing the same work continuously for 2 to 3 days, it is more convenient to display the same data. Therefore, in this improved device, the data items displayed when the power is turned off will be displayed next time. The item is recorded in the EEPROM 70 for display. FIG. 11 is a flowchart thereof, in which the corresponding item is displayed when the display item is recorded, and the default (default) display item is displayed when the display item is not recorded. FIG. 12 shows an improved program so that the data collection work can be performed without first performing the header input operation. When starting the data collection work using the management terminal device 20 described above, the data collection will be started only after the headers such as the field number, the worker name, the machine number, and the work type are input. This was not possible, but this improved program allows header input to be done even at the end of work. This program searches for whether all header items have been entered at the end of the work, requests input if there are any items that have not been entered in the data file, and once there is an input operation, the menu screen is displayed once. Then, the end switch 33c is pushed here to finish the work. In the flowchart, items other than "Data collection" on the menu screen include "initial registration", "printing", and "utility".

13 and 14 relate to improvement of illumination of the liquid crystal display section 23. Management terminal 20 in the cabin
It is desirable that the liquid crystal display unit 23 be illuminated when installing the device or when performing work after dark. There is no problem when power is supplied from this unit, but when lighting with the built-in battery, the battery immediately becomes empty because the lighting of EL (electroluminescence), cold cathode discharge tube, lamp, etc. consumes a large amount of power. It may happen. Therefore, in this improved device, the power switch of this machine is connected and the key switch is turned on.
The illumination is possible only when it is set to N. In FIG. 13, 72 is a transflective LCD of the liquid crystal display unit 23, 73 is an LCD control lab, and 74 is an EL.
It is a panel.

In the block diagram of FIG. 14, reference numeral 75 is a stabilized power supply circuit, 76 is a built-in battery charge control circuit, 77,
Reference numeral 78 is a diode, 79 is a DC-AC inverter, and this DC-AC inverter 79 is from DC 5V to AC 100.
The voltage is converted into V, and characters are displayed on the EL panel 74. According to the above configuration, when the key switch of the main unit is OFF and power is not supplied to the management terminal device 20, the control CPU of the management terminal device 20 is controlled by the built-in battery.
21 is supplied with power, but the diode 77 blocks the supply of power to the EL panel side of the built-in battery 26, so that the illumination is turned off. However, in this embodiment, since a semi-transmissive LCD is used, the display content can be confirmed during the day regardless of whether the EL is on or off.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, the data on the main unit side is transmitted to the management terminal unit via the communication line, and the power supply on the main unit side is cut off. Sometimes, in a data collection device configured to be operated by the built-in battery of the management terminal, a power supply voltage detection circuit for detecting whether or not the power of the main unit is supplied is provided in the management terminal, If the power supply to the machine is cut off during data collection work, the mode is set to temporarily suspend data collection, and if the power supply to the machine is cut off except for data collection work, Since it is configured to shut off the power of the management terminal, even if you forget to turn off the power of the management terminal in other modes that do not aim to collect data, it will automatically Because the power of the management terminal is shut off, the built-in battery may be consumed. Problem does not occur, thereby improving the operability Hakare simplification of operations.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detection method of a sensor.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the data collection device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a data collection device.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the data collection device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a management system.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which a data collecting device is installed in the cabin.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the structure of a data file.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a management terminal device.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for displaying a liquid crystal display unit with priorities.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining header input.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of illumination (EL).

FIG. 14 is a block diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 control device 2 sensor 3 operation switch 4 setting device 20 data collection device (management terminal device) 21 CPU 22 operation part 23 display part 25 RAM 26 ROM 28 ROM card (PROM) 29 RAM card (SRAM) 33a work start switch 33b work interruption switch 33c work end switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A structure in which data on the main unit side is transmitted to a management terminal unit via a communication line, and a built-in battery of the management terminal unit when power supply to the main unit side is cut off. In a data collection device configured to operate by
A power supply voltage detection circuit is installed in the management terminal to detect whether or not the power of the machine is being supplied.If the power supply of the machine is cut off during data collection work, the data collection is temporarily performed. The agricultural machine data is characterized in that it is configured to shut off the power supply of the management terminal when the power supply to the machine is cut off except for the data collection work. Data collector.