JPS6217483B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a system for automatically controlling the handling depth of a combine harvester that automatically reaps and threshes various grain culms such as rice and wheat.

Recently, small-sized combine harvesters suitable for small-scale agriculture in Japan have been developed and are gradually being used for general use, but the following structures are generally used.

That is, FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view mainly showing the part of such a combine harvester that performs reaping and threshing. It is fixed, and as the combine moves forward, the weeding body 2a ~
Grain culms pushed apart by 2e are separated culms 1a to 1e.
The grain is harvested by a clipper-like reaping section 3 installed just below the combine, and transported above the combine by a chain-like culm conveying device 4. After being supplied to the grain conveying chain 5, the grain is inserted into a threshing section 6 by its rotational movement, and the ears are threshed by a rotating handling cylinder 7 similar to a general threshing machine.

In addition, when threshing, if the relative relationship of the ears to the handling barrel 7 is too deep or too shallow, complete threshing will not be achieved. A spike sensor SFS and a spike sensor SFD are provided to detect the tip and root of the spike, and depending on the detection situation, the feed adjustment unit 8, which will be described in detail later, is controlled, and the grain culm is supplied to the grain culm conveyance chain 5. adjusting the situation.

In addition, in order to detect the presence or absence of grain culm supply to the threshing unit 6, a grain culm sensor SFF is provided on the same line as the ear tip sensor SFS and the ear head sensor SFD. In order to transfer the grain to the grain culm transport device 4, an auxiliary grain culm transport device 9 similar to the grain culm transport device 4 is provided.
is provided. Incidentally, reference numerals 10 and 11 are rotary wheels provided with protrusions for raking grain culms toward the respective grain culm conveying devices 4 and 9.

FIG. 2 shows details of the grain culm conveyance device 4 and the supply adjustment section 8, A is a plan view, B is a side view, and the chain 21 of the grain culm conveyance device 4 and the chain 22 of the supply adjustment section 8 are Each of the chains 21 and 22 is stretched around pulleys 23 to 26, and moves in the direction of the arrow as the pulleys 23 to 26 rotate.
Chains 21 and 2 are connected by springs opposite to
2 are provided with clamping culms 27-29 pressed against each other.

Further, the supply adjustment section 8 is connected to the shaft 3 of the support base 30.
1 is rotatably supported by a bearing 32,
As the rod 34 of the hydraulic cylinder 33 moves in and out, it rotates about the shaft 31 as shown by the arrow.

Note that the grain culm held by the chain 21 and the clamping culm 27 on the pulley 23 side of the grain culm conveying device 4 is
The grain culm 27 is opened at the end on the side of the supply adjustment section 8, but is received while being clamped by the chain 22 of the supply adjustment section 8 and the grain culm 29, and after reaching the pulley 26 side, it is transferred again to the grain culm conveying device 4. It is intended to be passed to the chain 21 and the clamping culm 28.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
When the grain culms 41A to 41D being conveyed in the direction of the arrow are delivered in the supply adjustment section 8 without changing the part held by the chain 21, the grain stems 41A to 41D conveyed in the direction of the arrow are delivered in the supply adjustment section 8, and The grain culm is sent out from the grain conveying device 4 with the length L ₁ to the tip of the grain kept constant, and is transferred to the grain culm conveying chain 5 in Fig. 1.
supplied to

On the other hand, when the feed adjustment section 8 is tilted to the state shown in FIG. Therefore, length L ₁
Here, the grain culm is reduced to L ₂ and becomes a grain culm 41D with a short grain culm length L ₂ , which is then supplied to the grain culm conveying chain 5 in FIG.

That is, if the grain is supplied to the grain conveying chain 5 in the state shown in FIG. 3A and then inserted into the threshing section 6,
In the state shown in Fig. 3B, the ear is treated shallowly, where the ear is inserted all the way to the back, and the grain is treated shallowly, and depending on the length L ₁ of the harvested grain culm 41A, By adjusting the inclination of the supply adjusting section 8 using the hydraulic cylinder 33 shown in FIG. 2B, the depth and shallowness of the ear tip inserted into the threshing section 6 can be controlled, and proper threshing can be performed.

In addition, in order to drive the hydraulic cylinder 33, a control device is separately provided, and automatic control is performed to achieve an appropriate handling depth based on the detected force of the ear tip sensor SFS or grain culm sensor SFF. There is.

This control device is activated on the condition that the grain culm sensor SFF is turned on, that is, the supply of grain culms to the threshing unit 6 is started, and when the ear head sensor SFD is turned off, that is, the ear does not contact the grain head sensor SFD, it is determined that the grain is being treated lightly. Then, a control output is given to the solenoid valve to control the hydraulic cylinder 3.
The rod 34 of No. 3 is extended and the feed adjustment unit 8 is controlled to the state shown in FIG. It is determined that the rod 34 is being handled properly, and a control output is given to the other solenoid valves to retract the rod 34, and the supply adjustment section 8 is controlled to the state shown in Fig. 3B, and the tip sensor SFS is turned off and the tip sensor SFD is turned off.
is on, that is, the ear is kept in a state between the two sensors SFS and SFD, and control according to the length of the grain culm ensures that the ear is always in a state of appropriate handling depth between the two sensors SFS and SFD. maintain.

However, since the length of the grain culm to be harvested varies greatly depending on the field, the allowable rotation range of the supply adjustment unit 8 is also set accordingly. When changing, control is repeated in the deep direction and shallow direction,
A phenomenon occurs in which the control operation is carried out at the full rotational permissible range, and in such a case, there is a drawback that some ears are left untreated due to the relationship with the follow-up speed. In addition, detection errors may occur depending on the state of contact of the ear with the ear tip sensor SFS and the ear head sensor SFD, and there are also drawbacks such as unhandled items due to unnecessary control operations.

The present invention aims to fundamentally eliminate such drawbacks of the conventional art, and includes a supply adjustment sensor that detects the adjustment status of the supply adjustment section and a cutting height sensor that detects the cutting height. Detect the cutting depth and cutting height during the forward movement of the cutting height sensor, calculate the average value of the cutting depth from these, and use the average value as the center after a certain section of movement, and the cutting height sensor. The allowable value of the control range is determined by the cutting height based on the detected force,
The treatment depth is controlled according to this condition.
Extremely reasonable and absolutely no leftovers,
This provides a method for controlling the handling depth of a combine harvester.

The details of the present invention will be explained below with reference to FIG. 4 and subsequent figures showing embodiments.

Figure 4 shows the ear tip sensor SFS to the grain culm sensor SFF.
and supply adjustment sensor S ₁ and cutting height sensor S ₂ described later.
This is a block diagram of a control unit CNT that generates a control output for the hydraulic cylinder 33 in order to control the supply adjustment unit 8 according to the detected force from the main unit, the processor CPU of the microprocessor valve that is the main body, and the control unit CNT that outputs commands for operating conditions. The first memory ROM stores
And, according to this instruction, the processor CPU
A second memory RAM is provided to temporarily store various data during operation, and data is exchanged between them via the bus.

In addition, the detection force and supply adjustment sensor S ₁ of the ear tip sensor SFS to the grain culm sensor SFF, and the cutting height sensor S ₂
The detected force from the input circuit IF undergoes waveform shaping, level matching, etc., and then becomes an input, and is applied to the bus line via the input/output circuit PIA _. , MV ₂
The control output for is sent via the input/output circuit PIA and driver DR.

The processor CPU is activated on the condition that the grain culm sensor SFF is turned on, that is, the supply of grain culms to the threshing unit 6 is started, and when the ear head sensor SFD is turned off, that is, when the grain does not come into contact with the grain head sensor SFD, it is treated as shallow handling. Then, a control output is given to the solenoid valve MV ₁ to extend the rod 34 of the hydraulic cylinder 33, and as shown in FIG.
Either control the supply adjustment unit 8 to the state of
Both SFD and tip sensor SFS are turned on, i.e.
When the ears come into contact with both sensors SFD and SFS, it is determined that the handling is too serious, and a control output is given to the solenoid valve MV ₂ to retract the rod 34, and after controlling the supply adjustment part 8 to the state shown in Fig. 3B, The tip sensor SFS is off, the tip sensor SFD is on, that is, both sensors SFS and
The grain is kept in the middle of the SFD, and the control according to the length of the grain culm keeps the ears at the appropriate handling depth, which is in the middle of both the sensors SFS and SFD. Note that the above control operation is the same as that of the conventional one.

On the other hand, the supply adjustment sensor S ₁ is connected to the shaft 31 of the support base 30, as shown in FIG. It has become something to give to people.

That is, the supply adjustment sensor S ₁ includes a plurality of combinations of light emitting elements such as light emitting diodes and light receiving elements such as photo transistors, which are arranged facing each other, and through holes drilled in a code shape. It is preferable that the optical path between the light emitting element and the light receiving element is interrupted by a rotating porous disk having a rotating porous disk, and the output of each light receiving element according to the rotation angle of the rotating porous disk is converted into an encoded signal of a predetermined number of bits. It is used as

Therefore, the length of the grain culm to be supplied to the grain conveying chain 5 is determined based on the adjustment status of the supply adjustment section ₈ based on the detected force of the supply adjustment sensor S1, and the length of the grain culm to be supplied to the grain culm conveyance chain 5 is determined based on the adjustment status of the supply adjustment section 8. The handling depth in section 6 can also be detected.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the tip of the combine showing how the cutting height sensor _S2 is installed, and shows the cutting culm 1, cutting body 2, reaping part 3, grain culm conveying device 4, and inverted grain culm raising. The arm 52 that includes and supports the lifting device 51 and the like having a movable protrusion is rotatably supported at its upper end, and includes a bearing 53 near the lower end of the arm 52 and a bearing fixed to the main body. 54
A support arm 57 is stretched between the rotary shafts 55 and 56, and the rod 5 of the hydraulic cylinder 58
When the arm 9 expands and contracts, the arm 52 also rotates as the support arm 57 rotates, so that the entire tip moves up and down as shown by the arrow.

Therefore, the reaping unit 3 also moves up and down by the drive of the hydraulic cylinder 58, thereby adjusting the reaping height relative to the grain culm 60, and the shaft 56 is connected to the support arm 5.
7, the cutting height can be detected by converting the rotation angle into an electrical signal using the cutting height sensor _S2 . Note that, as the cutting height sensor _S2 , a sensor similar to the above-mentioned supply adjustment sensor _S1 is suitable.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the present invention based on the detected forces of the above-mentioned supply adjustment sensor S ₁ and cutting height sensor S ₂ . 1st memory in Figure 4
The data is stored in the ROM, and the processor CPU performs arithmetic and control operations accordingly.

As shown in Figure 5, when the harvesting of the grain culm begins as the combine moves forward, the grain culm sensor
The SFF is turned on, and with SFF ON, ``certain area cutting'' is performed for a certain distance or a certain period of time, and the cutting depth is automatically controlled according to the control operation described above. Until the end of the section, the detection force d ₁ to d _o from the supply adjustment sensor S ₁
The detected forces h ₁ to _ho from the cutting height sensor S ₂ are sequentially stored in the second memory RAM.

Upon “end of a certain period”, the processor CPU calculates “d ₁ + d ₂ …d _o = D ₀ ” and “h ₁ + h ₂ + … h _o =
_H0 '' is added, and if the judgment as to whether it has been added n times is YES, then the predetermined address in the second memory RAM is M _S =0, that is, assuming that its contents have been cleared. (D ₀ +H ₀ )/n
= m ₀ ”, and the detection power d ₁ ~d _o and h ₁ ~
After finding the average value m ₀ of the sum with h _o , “m ₀ or m ₁
→M _S ”, the average value m ₀ is stored at a predetermined address M _S .

In other words, as a result of the above, the average value of the sum of the cutting depth and cutting height during the forward movement of "fixed section cutting" is
It was found as m ₀ .

Next, the grain culm sensor "SFF ON" and the predetermined address "M _S ≠ 0", that is, the average value as the content.
After checking that m ₀ is stored, the content of the predetermined address “M _S , that is, m ₀ is the center,
And the cutting height sensor S ₂ after a certain section of forward movement
``Depth control based on the contents of M _S ±h h+ _{1'' is performed by using the detected force h o+} 1 from h _o+1 as the allowable value of the control range.

The above control operation eliminates handling depth control to an unnecessary extent, and also
Erroneous control due to detection errors of the SFS and head sensor SFD is also stopped within the permissible value based on the cutting height, and the handling depth is controlled according to the grain culm length according to the cutting height of the grain culm. The occurrence of unhandled items is completely prevented. However, as shown in FIG. 6, if a function for updating the average value is added, it becomes more reliable.

That is, in the same figure, when "M _S = 0" is NO, that is, when the average value m ₀ has already been stored in the predetermined address M _S , the detections of the supply adjustment sensor S ₁ in the forward movement after "end of certain section" The force d _o+1 and the detected force h _o+1 of the cutting height sensor S ₂ are expressed as D ₀ +d _o+1 =
D ₁ , H ₀ +ho ₊₁ = H ₁ ”, this is calculated as a new average value m ₁ at “(D ₁ + H ₁ )/(n+1) = m ₁ ”, and “m ₀ or m ₁ → _MS ”
The contents of the predetermined address M _S are updated, and the _{predetermined} address “M _S
The processing depth control is performed within the range of ±h _o+1 , focusing on the contents of .

Note that the result of “Did it add n times?” is NO,
If “SFF ON” is also NO, it means that the grain culm has not been harvested, and the operation from the beginning is repeated, but
If "SFF ON" is YES, n additions have not been completed, so "d ₁ + d ₂ +...d _o = D ₀ , h ₁ + h ₂ +... h _o =
H ₀ ” and repeat this until n additions are completed.

Also, “m ₀ or m ₁ → “SFF ON” after M _S
When is NO, it means that the reaping of the grain culm has been interrupted, and "d ₁ + d ₂ +...d _o = D ₀ , h ₁ + h ₂ +... h _o = H ₀ "
The calculation of the average value m ₀ or m ₁ is performed again.

Therefore, by updating the average value, the central value for handling depth control is updated smoothly in accordance with the grain culm growth condition, the unevenness of the field, etc. This ensures that the processing depth is properly controlled.

In addition, as the control unit CNT shown in FIG. 4, a dedicated control circuit may be configured and used by combining various logic circuits without using the processor CPU, and the supply adjustment sensor S ₁ and the cutting height sensor S ₂ may be used. The configuration of the present invention can be arbitrarily modified depending on the conditions, such as using various types.

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the handling depth is controlled based on the average value of the reaping height and the reaped grain culm length, and the control range is restricted by the reaping height. There is no significant variation in depth, and the occurrence of untreated material can be completely prevented. Therefore, in a combine harvester that automatically reaps and threshes various grain culms, great effects such as an improvement in the threshing rate can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of the combine harvester, Fig. 2 shows details of the grain culm conveying device and the feed adjustment section, A is a plan view, B is a side view, and Fig. 3 is a side view showing the operation of the feed adjustment section. Figure 4 is a block diagram of the control section, and Figure 5 is a block diagram of the control section.
The figure shows how the cutting height sensor is installed, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the control operation. CNT...Control unit, CPU...Processor, ROM...First memory, RAM...Second memory, _S1 ...Supply adjustment sensor, _S2 ...Mowing height sensor, MV1 _{, MV2} ...Solenoid valve,
3... Reaping section, 6... Threshing section, 8... Supply adjustment section, 2
2... Chain, 25, 26... Pulley, 29... Clamping culm, 30... Support stand, 31, 55, 56... Shaft, 3
2,53,54...Bearing, 33,58...Hydraulic cylinder, 34,59...Rod, 52...Arm, 57...
support arm.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a combine harvester that automatically reaps and threshes grain culms as it moves forward, a feed adjustment system that detects the adjustment status of the supply adjustment section that adjusts the handling depth when feeding the harvested grain culms to the threshing section. a sensor, a cutting height sensor that detects the cutting height during the cutting, and a control that calculates the detected forces of the cutting height sensor and the supply adjustment sensor and generates a control output that controls the supply adjustment section. and determining an average value of the handling depth from the detected forces of the cutting height sensor and the supply adjustment sensor during forward movement in a certain section, and using the average value as the center of the handling depth control, In addition, after the certain period, an allowable value of a control range with respect to the center of the handling depth control is determined based on the detected force of the cutting height sensor.