JPS6344323B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a harvesting machine, and in particular, it is equipped with a microcomputer, and is capable of automatically rotating in a field and fully automatically harvesting all grain culms in the field. We proposed a harvesting machine that does this.

The harvesting machine according to the present invention enables not only manual harvesting operations but also automatic harvesting operations using a microcomputer. The functions for automatic harvesting include an automatic steering function that allows the vehicle to follow the grain culm line to be harvested, and an automatic steering function that allows the vehicle to run in a manner that follows the grain culm line to be harvested. An automatic rotation function that turns the machine at the center of the harvest, a vehicle speed control function that slows down the vehicle speed depending on the harvesting situation, an automatic handling depth adjustment function that allows threshing to be performed according to the grain culm length,
It is equipped with an automatic cutting height adjustment function that keeps the cutting height constant, as well as an alarm function that detects clogging of the grain culm conveyance system, abnormalities in the swing sorting unit, etc., and issues an alarm. The harvesting machine of the present invention is characterized by the automatic rotation function described above. That is, the harvesting machine according to the present invention has an automatic steering function that detects the relative positional relationship between the machine body and the uncut grain culm using a sensor, and causes the machine to follow the uncut grain culm based on the detection result. In a harvesting machine equipped with an automatic rotation function that turns the machine body to advance in a direction perpendicular to the previous direction of movement of the machine body when it is detected that it has reached a corner of a group of uncut grain culms, Means for selectively performing circular mowing, in which row mowing and horizontal mowing are performed alternately, and reciprocating mowing, in which only row mowing is repeated, by means of an automatic rotation function; A means of measuring the time required for the journey;
The present invention is characterized by comprising means for comparing the measured value of the time with a set value during circular mowing, and means for performing reciprocating mowing after that when the measured value is smaller than the set value.

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the harvester, schematically showing the grass dividing plates 1l, 1r, etc. of the reaping section 1 and the sensors installed in the vicinity thereof, and the detection target of each sensor is the grain culm. . The sensor used is _{a combination} of a touch _rod and _a limit switch, or an optical sensor using a photoelectric _switch. I use a type one, and others use a combination of a touch rod and a limit switch.

The sensor S ₁ is attached to the mounting rod of the right grass divider plate 1r with its detection surface facing the outside of the machine, that is, to the right (generally towards the already cut side), and detects grain culms within its detection area. That is, it detects grain culms on the cut side that should not exist, that is, uncut grain culms, and is involved in the control for harvesting uncut grain culms.

Sensors S ₂ and S ₄ are installed on the right and left side grass dividers 1, respectively.
R and 1L are attached to the mounting rods with the respective touch rods facing inward of the machine body, and depending on the rotation angle when each touch rod contacts the grain culm and rotates, the grass dividing plate is The distance between 1r and the adjacent grain culm on the left, and the distance between the grass dividing plate 1l and the adjacent grain culm on the right, in other words, the distance between the machine body and the grain culm to be harvested. The sensor S4 detects the relative positional relationship between the two, and is mainly involved in control for automatic steering, but as will be described later, the sensor _S4 is also used to measure the time required for one stroke of horizontal mowing.

The sensor S ₃ is mounted behind the right grass dividing plate 1r with its contact rod facing inward of the aircraft body, and the length of its contact rod is shorter than that of the sensor S ₂ . This sensor S ₃ performs the function of supplementing the sensor S ₂ , and moves so close to the grass dividing plate 1r that the grain culm on the left side of the grass dividing plate 1r touches the short rod of the sensor S ₃ and moving backward. When the vehicle rotates, this proximity is detected in front of the sensor S ₂ and the detection signal is used to quickly correct the traveling direction to the right.

Sensors S ₅₁ and S ₅₂ are attached to the mounting rod of the grass divider plate 1l, back to back with sensor S ₄ , with their detection surfaces facing left, and are involved in control during reciprocating mowing.

The sensor _S6 is mounted on the left auxiliary cutting rod 1s at a position to the side of the cutting blade 1c with its detection surface facing left, and is involved in control during rotation.

The sensor S ₆₀ is installed at the lower left side of the vehicle body at a position slightly behind the rear end of the auxiliary splitting rod 1s with the detection surface facing left.
Involved in control during reciprocating mowing.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the control system of the harvester of the present invention. The microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) MCN, which is the core of the control system, has a central processing unit CPU, read-only memory ROM, random access memory RAM, and input/output ports I/O.
It consists of an OP and an interface PPI, and the CPU uses μCOM-80 manufactured by NEC Corporation.

The signals emitted by each of the sensors S ₁ , S ₂ ...S ₆₀ are I/
O port I/OP, via interface PPI
The CPU performs necessary calculations based on the programs prepared in advance in the ROM and signals input from sensors, etc., and sends the actuator drive circuit ACC to the actuator drive circuit ACC, which makes the aircraft move forward and backward and steer left and right. The necessary control signals are issued via the interface PPI and I/O port I/OP to perform automatic harvesting. Note that RAM is the program in ROM,
It is used for temporary storage of data during calculation.

Various actuators ACT, which are drive-controlled by the actuator drive circuit ACC, perform predetermined operations, causing the traveling section, reaping section, and threshing section to perform operations corresponding to signals issued from the CPU. The structure of the actuator related to the automatic rotation function and the traveling section controlled by the actuator is roughly as follows.

First, looking at the traveling section, gear changes are performed by a hydraulically controlled transmission such as a power shift transmission, and an electromagnetic directional control valve is installed in the hydraulic circuit for shifting gears. It is provided as the actuator. Therefore, the microcomputer
By issuing a predetermined signal from the MCN, the electromagnetic directional control valve is driven to select among reverse gear, neutral gear, and first to third forward gears. In addition, steering can be performed by operating the side clutches that connect and disconnect transmission to the left and right crawlers and the brakes for braking separately on the left and right sides using hydraulic circuits. The actuator is equipped with an electromagnetic directional control valve for switching the oil passage to cut off the brake and to operate the brake.

Next, regarding the reaping section 1, the entire reaping section is raised and lowered by a hydraulic circuit, and is provided with an electromagnetic directional control valve as the actuator to switch the oil passage for raising and lowering. In addition, the reaping clutch installed in the transmission system for the cutting blade 1c etc. consists of a belt stretched between a driving pulley on the engine side and a driven pulley on the reaping section side, and a tension pulley that tensions and loosens the belt. The actuator is a solenoid that moves the tension pulley to tension or loosen the belt.

Now, this harvester is designed so that it is possible to select a circular mowing mode or a reciprocating mowing mode regarding automatic rotation. In the reciprocating mowing mode, reciprocating mowing is performed from beginning to end, whereas in the circular mowing mode, when the horizontal mowing time becomes shorter than a set value, the mode is switched to reciprocating mowing after that. A digital switch DSW provided on an operation column 3 provided around the driver's seat 2 is used to set a set value, for example, in seconds, and in the embodiment is constituted by a three-digit thumbwheel switch.

This machine is based on the premise that circular mowing begins with row mowing. Figure 3 is a drawing schematically showing the movement trajectory of the machine when facing one corner of uncut grain culm group C and starting circular mowing from row cutting, and Figure 4 shows the rotation operation in this case. 3 is a flowchart showing a control sequence.

Set N on the digital switch DSW,
When instructed to start harvesting, the machine automatically steers itself and performs the first row mowing process. Note that N is selected as follows. In other words, as the number of uncut grain culms remaining decreases and the time for horizontal cutting becomes shorter, the time required to make complicated turns for horizontal cutting becomes relatively more important, and it becomes more difficult to perform horizontal cutting. This results in inefficiency, and reciprocating mowing, which does not involve horizontal mowing, is more efficient. Based on this viewpoint, N is appropriately determined based on the length of the uncut grain culm group in the horizontal cutting direction, the machine running speed, etc., which reverses the efficiency of circular cutting and reciprocating cutting.

During this time, the contact rods of sensors S ₂ and S ₄ are in contact with the grain culm and are pressed and rotated backwards, but when this row cutting process is finished, the contact rods are no longer in contact with each other, so both contact rods are becomes free. Microcomputer MCN
This detects the end of one row of row cutting, and starts the sequence for rounding. That is, first, the transmission is set to the first forward gear, the reaping section is raised and moved straight forward at low speed for a predetermined period of time (corresponding parts in Figs. 3 and 4 are given the same reference numerals; the same applies hereinafter), and then the reaping section is moved forward for a predetermined period of time. The vehicle is turned to the left, the reaping clutch is disengaged, the transmission is set to reverse gear, and the vehicle is driven forward for a short period of time, and then the right brake is activated to perform a left turn while traveling backward. Then, the sensor _S6 eventually detects the grain culm at the corner of the uncut grain culm group C and is activated, so that the machine moves forward for a predetermined period of time thereafter. If this happens, the aircraft will gradually move away from the uncut grain culm group C and will be out of the detection area of sensor S ₆ , so wait for a certain delay time to elapse from the point at which sensor S ₆ becomes inactive, and then apply the right brake again. Then, while moving backward for a predetermined period of time, make a left turn to point the nose in a direction approximately perpendicular to the previous row mowing stroke, then proceed straight ahead, lower the reaping section, engage the reaping clutch, and complete a series of rotations. After completing the sequence, the next horizontal cutting process begins. A counter within the microcomputer MCN is incremented at any step in this circular sequence. This counter counts the number of times, and is an even number when mowing in rows, and an odd number when mowing horizontally. In other words, it is possible to judge whether it is row cutting or horizontal cutting depending on whether the content is odd or even.

Now, when the next horizontal cutting process starts, sensor _S4 enters the grain culm group and becomes in a state to detect the presence of grain culms.
The timer is kept by the microcomputer MCN from this point until the sensor _S4 becomes free, that is, until the horizontal cutting process is completed. Therefore, this timer measures the time of the horizontal cutting process. Assume that the time value of the timer is expressed in seconds, and the value when the timer stops is t, then t is compared with the set value N, and if it is tN, circular mowing including the horizontal mowing process is still performed. As this is efficient, the timer is reset and the process moves on to transition from horizontal mowing to row mowing. The rotation sequence in this case is exactly the same as the rotation sequence from row mowing to horizontal mowing described above. After the rotation, the counter is incremented, but in this case it becomes an even number, so the machine recognizes that the next row cutting process is to be performed and starts the cutting work in the row cutting process without timing the timer.

As circular mowing is continued in this manner, when the number of uncut grain culms becomes small and t<N, a reciprocating mowing sequence described below is entered. FIG. 5 is a drawing schematically showing the locus of movement of the machine body during reciprocating mowing, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the control sequence of the rotation operation at this time.

As mentioned above, when t<N and the timer is reset, the transmission is first set to forward gear, the reaping section is raised and moved forward at low speed for a predetermined period of time, the reaping clutch is disengaged, and then the reaping section is turned to the left. Let it turn. Then, the sensor _S51 on the left side of the machine detects the grain culm at the end of the uncut grain culm group C and is activated. As a result, the left turning is stopped, and the vehicle is automatically steered by the sensors S ₅₁ and S ₅₂ to travel along the edge of the uncut grain culm group C. On the other hand, if the left turn continues for a certain period of time, there will be no grain culm on the left side of the aircraft.
That is, after all the harvesting work has been completed, it is assumed that the unharvested grain group no longer exists, and a work completion sequence is entered in which the engine is stopped.

Automatic steering using sensors S ₅₁ and S ₅₂ is performed as follows. That is, sensor S ₅₁ has a shorter grain culm detection range than sensor S ₅₂ , and sensor S ₅₁
If it detects the grain culm at the edge of the uncut grain culm group C, it is assumed that the aircraft is too close to the uncut grain culm group C, and it turns to the right, and only sensor S ₅₂ detects the grain culm. If the presence of _the grain culm is detected, it is determined that the grain culm is present, and the grain culm is detected, and the grain culm _is detected, and the grain culm is detected.

As the machine travels along the edge of the uncut grain culm group C in this way, it eventually reaches the corner of the uncut grain culm group C, and the sensor S ₆₀ located further behind the cutting blade 1c. becomes inactive and does not detect grain culms.
Immediately before that, both sensors S ₅₁ and S ₅₂ went into a state where they did not detect the presence of grain culms, so the aircraft had already started a left turn, but after sensor S ₆₀ became inactive, The steering by sensors S ₅₁ and S ₅₂ is stopped, the left turn is made again for a predetermined period of time, the high-speed gear is then set to reverse gear, and the steering is made to proceed immediately for a predetermined period of time, and then the left turn is made while the sensor S 6 is moving backward, and the sensor S ₆ makes a left turn again. The process is continued until the grain culm is detected and activated. After that, the sensor S ₆ moves away from the uncut grain culm group C and becomes inactive, then the sensor S 6 is moved forward until it becomes inactive, and after a certain delay time, the aircraft is made to turn backward while turning to the left, thereby turning the nose in the row cutting direction. The machine then moves straight forward, lowers the cutting section, and engages the cutting clutch, completing a series of rotation sequences and starting the cutting operation in the next row cutting process.

The rotation from the next row mowing to the next row mowing is carried out in exactly the same manner as described above, and reciprocating mowing is performed while repeating this rotation operation until the last row mowing is completed. At this time, the work termination sequence is entered as described above. Note that the reciprocating mowing mode in which only row mowing is performed from the beginning is performed in the same manner as described above.

Since the harvesting machine according to the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to perform fully automatic harvesting work extremely rationally and efficiently. In other words, if the entire harvest is carried out only by circular mowing, when the number of uncut grain culms becomes small and the horizontal mowing process becomes short, the process shifts from row mowing to horizontal mowing as described above. The time required for the turning operation, which involves repeatedly going straight and turning, will occupy a large proportion of the time, and the effect of reducing efficiency will exceed the efficiency improvement effect of horizontal mowing itself, making it extremely uneconomical. Become. However, in the case of the present invention, an appropriate time is set using a digital switch, and when the horizontal mowing time becomes shorter than the set time, the mowing is automatically changed to reciprocating mowing. Circular mowing is performed while efficiency can be expected to improve, and thereafter, reciprocating mowing is performed, which improves the working efficiency of the field as a whole, shortens harvest time, and saves fuel. Furthermore, since the horizontal mowing time is measured using the sensor _S4 for automatic steering, the present invention has excellent effects such as a simple configuration.

In addition, if a digital switch is provided as in the above embodiment and the set value to be compared with the time required for one stroke of horizontal mowing is made variable, the time can be set according to field conditions, but incorrect settings can be prevented. Of course, this setting value may be fixed to a standard value in order to do so.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a harvester showing the arrangement of sensors;
Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the main parts of the control system, Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the movement trajectory of the machine during mowing, Fig. 4 is a flowchart schematically showing the control sequence at that time, and Fig. 5 6 is a schematic diagram of the locus of movement of the machine during reciprocating mowing, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart schematically illustrating the control sequence at that time. S ₁ , S ₂ ,…S ₆₀ …Sensor, MCN…Microcomputer,
ACT...actuator, 1l, 1r...grazing board.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic steering function that uses sensors to detect the relative positional relationship between the aircraft and the uncut grain culms, and uses this detection result to drive the aircraft in a manner that follows the uncut grain culms. In a harvester equipped with an automatic rotation function that turns the machine when it detects that the machine has reached the target and moves in a direction perpendicular to the previous direction of movement of the machine, the automatic rotation function enables row mowing and means for selectively performing round mowing in which horizontal mowing is performed alternately and reciprocating mowing in which only row mowing is repeated; and means for measuring the time required for one horizontal mowing process based on the detection result of the sensor. , comprising means for comparing the measured value of the time with a set value during circular mowing, and means for causing reciprocating mowing to be performed thereafter when the measured value is smaller than the set value. harvesting machine.