KR102557171B1 - Unmanned chemical mixing apparatus and method for smart farm and a smart farm system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

By applying the control function to the smart farm service, determining the need for control through data analysis, and adding the function of mixing or dispensing drugs according to the determined control prescription, farmers can directly mix or It is an invention to solve the problems that occur in the case of preparation. The smart farm environment control system of the present invention includes a sensor capable of measuring the internal environment of the greenhouse, such as temperature and humidity, and an external weather measurement sensor capable of measuring external temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, and amount of light, etc. . It is possible to diagnose diseases and pests by analyzing collected environmental information and greenhouse crop images. When pests are diagnosed, the required amount of required medicine is transmitted to the medicine mixing device, and the medicine mixed with the raw water is sent to the valve of the unmanned pest control machine and operates the unmanned control machine.

Description

Unmanned chemical mixing apparatus and method for smart farm and smart farm system using the same {Unmanned chemical mixing apparatus and method for smart farm and a smart farm system using the same}

The present invention relates to an unmanned drug mixing device and method for unmanned pest control or control in facility agriculture or smart farm, and a smart farm system using the same.

Recently, domestic agricultural technology has been evolving from labor-intensive agriculture to smart farms for labor reduction by combining various IT technologies. Information collected through IoT-based sensing technology can provide new smart farm services by integrating data analysis technology with experience-based agricultural knowledge. For example, based on the collected environmental information and image analysis of crops, it is possible to forecast the occurrence of pests in agriculture, and farmers can be notified of the occurrence of pests. However, since the current unmanned control function is provided independently, it is impossible to provide a service linked to the disease occurrence situation in the smart farm service. In addition, there is a problem in that even if the occurrence of the disease is monitored and a notification service is received, it is difficult to supply drugs necessary for control and control cannot be performed immediately.

On the other hand, in the current unmanned control function, pest control is performed through an unmanned control machine when a pest control command is issued after a farmer mixes and prepares necessary chemicals when a pest occurs or is predicted. However, even though it is effective to control the disease immediately when it occurs, damage to farmers may increase because there are many cases in which immediate action cannot be taken because the user is in a remote location. In addition, in the case of microcontrolling (unmanned) sprayers currently being supplied to farms, the amount of chemicals used can be reduced, but excessive spraying may occur due to the need for farmers to directly prepare the exact amount of chemicals.

The present invention, as a complement to the control function in the smart farm service, determines the need for control through data analysis for the control function in the smart farm service, and automatically mixes or prepares drugs according to the determined control prescription By performing the function, Its purpose is to solve problems that arise when farmers directly mix or prepare pesticides that may occur during existing pesticides.

The smart farm environment control system includes a sensor that can measure the environment inside the greenhouse, such as temperature and humidity, and an external meteorological sensor that can measure external temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, and amount of light. It is possible to diagnose diseases and pests by analyzing collected environmental information and greenhouse crop images. When pests are diagnosed, the required amount of required medicine is transmitted to the medicine mixing device, and the medicine mixed with the raw water is sent to the valve of the unmanned pest control machine and operates the unmanned control machine. According to the present invention, a device and method for automatically mixing drugs according to a smart farm function provided by diagnosing pests connected to an unmanned pest control system are provided so that they can be linked with an unmanned control system.

By analyzing the environmental information and greenhouse crop images collected through the sensor, it is possible to predict the occurrence of pests and some diagnoses. When the possibility of pest occurrence is predicted or the occurrence is diagnosed and it is determined that spraying of chemicals is necessary, the required amount of medicine is sent to the medicine mixing device, and the medicine mixed with the raw water is sent to the valve of the unmanned sprayer to spray the medicine unattended. . According to the present invention, the operation of the unmanned pest control system is controlled by the device and method for automatically mixing the drugs by the pest diagnosis smart farm function, and the mixed drugs by this function can be transferred to the unmanned control system so that they can be sprayed immediately. has been

Specifically, the unmanned drug mixing device for smart farms according to one aspect of the present invention receives commands related to drug mixing from the integrated controller installed in the smart farm facility, and also transmits data related to drug mixing to the integrated controller of the facility. ; A mixing unit including a plurality of drug containers containing drugs and a drug mixing container for mixing the drugs, and bringing the drugs from each drug container according to a command from the control unit and mixing them in the drug mixture container.

In addition, the unmanned drug mixing method for smart farm according to another aspect of the present invention, receiving a command related to drug mixing from the integrated controller installed in the smart farm facility, and transmitting data related to drug mixing to the integrated controller of the facility; and mixing the medicines according to the medicine mixing related command.

The configuration and operation of the present invention introduced above will become more clear through specific embodiments to be described later along with the drawings.

The present invention can eliminate the risk caused by existing farmers directly preparing drugs, and can reduce environmental pollution and cost problems due to excess drugs due to accurate mixing. Since farmers can spray pesticides due to outbreaks anytime, anywhere, or spray fertilizer and / or water appropriate to the situation, efficiency improvement, safety guarantee, and economic benefits in smart farms or facility agriculture can be obtained. If environmental information can be additionally utilized in conjunction with smart farm services, and accuracy can be predicted in advance and accuracy can be increased by diagnosing in parallel with environment-based crop pest forecasting service, various combinations of diseases are possible through the drug mixer.

And in the future, because the drug information supplied to the smart farm service is recorded and stored, it can be used for drug information and data analysis. The used drug information can be used by farmers to submit information such as eco-friendly certification.

1 is a block diagram of a smart farm system to which the drug mixer 19 of the present invention is applied
Figure 2 is another configuration modified from Figure 1
3 is a component explanatory diagram of the greenhouse integrated controller 23
4 is a configuration diagram of the drug mixer 19
5 is an exemplary view of the mixing unit 49 of the drug mixer 19
6 is a configuration diagram of an unmanned release machine 21
7 is an operational flow of a smart farm for explaining the action of the drug mixer of the present invention

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods of achieving them, will become apparent with reference to the detailed description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in a variety of different forms, and only these embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and those skilled in the art in the art to which the present invention belongs It is provided to fully inform the person of the scope of the invention, and the invention is defined by the description of the claims.

On the other hand, terms used in this specification are for describing the embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, singular forms also include plural forms unless specifically stated otherwise in a phrase. As used herein, "comprises" or "comprising" means the presence or absence of one or more other elements, steps, operations and/or elements other than the recited elements, steps, operations and/or elements; do not rule out additions.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, the same numerals are assigned to the same components as much as possible even if they are displayed on different drawings, and in describing the present invention, specific descriptions of related known configurations or functions are given. In cases where the gist of the present invention may be obscured, the detailed description thereof is omitted.

1 is a greenhouse configuration diagram of a smart farm environment to which an unmanned drug mixing device and method according to the present invention are applied. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with '... unit' and '... unit', which are the component names of the device side, but the description of the invention in this configuration aspect can cover the description of the invention in the method aspect. will be.

The greenhouse 11 includes a greenhouse control device 12 for controlling all facilities of the greenhouse (skylights, wall windows, sprinklers, screens, etc.), and a device for measuring the indoor environment of the greenhouse 11, such as indoor temperature, humidity, and soil conditions. An internal sensor 13, an external meteorological sensor 15 that measures the external temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, and amount of light of the greenhouse 11, crop images or soil images inside the greenhouse 11, and / Alternatively, a crop image collector 17 such as a camera for photographing a subject of interest outside the greenhouse 11, a drug mixer 19 for mixing or preparing pesticides, fertilizers, and other drugs necessary for smart farms, and spraying or It includes an unmanned control device 21 that sprays to control pests and/or controls greenhouses or crops.

The environmental information and/or crop image information in the greenhouse collected by the internal sensor 13, the external weather measurement sensor 15, and the crop image collector 17 are transmitted to the greenhouse integrated controller 23 outside the greenhouse. The greenhouse integrated controller 23 analyzes the received information and diagnoses pest occurrence in the greenhouse. When the outbreak of pests is diagnosed, a command signal is transmitted to the greenhouse 11 so that the drug mixer 19 unmannedly mixes and/or prepares the required drug type and required amount of drug. The medicines mixed and/or prepared in the medicine mixer 19 are delivered to the unmanned pest control machine 21. Accordingly, the unmanned sprayer 21 operates unattended to spray the mixed/prepared drug.

The greenhouse integrated controller 23 may interact with the operation terminal 25 connected through a communication network. A smartphone can also be used as the terminal 25 . In the past, even though it is effective to control pests and diseases immediately when they occur, there are many cases in which immediate action cannot be taken due to the user being in a remote location, which could increase the damage to farmers. By selecting, the unmanned drug mixer 19 can mix/prepare the drug so that the unmanned sprayer 21 can spray it.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram of another type of greenhouse modified from FIG. 1 .

In the case of FIG. 1, each component installed in the greenhouse 11 is configured to exchange data by communicating with the greenhouse integrated controller 23 by itself, but in the case of FIG. 2, an interface or A gateway 22 is installed so that all or a plurality of components in the greenhouse 11 integrally exchange data with the greenhouse integrated controller 23 . The interface or gateway 22 serves to collect the data of each of the components and send them to the integrated greenhouse controller 23 and to send the data received from the integrated greenhouse controller 23 to each component.

1 and 2, the greenhouse integrated controller 23 is outside the greenhouse 11 in terms of the representation of the figure, but the greenhouse integrated controller 23 may be directly attached to the outside and inside of the greenhouse 11, or the greenhouse It may be located inside (11).

The greenhouse integrated controller 23 may include functional elements as shown in FIG. 3 .

- Cultivated land database 27: A database regarding the soil and climate of cultivated land where crops are grown is established. By analyzing the characteristics of the greenhouse soil and the current weather and reflecting them on spraying, data is stored to determine the time and amount of spraying that can maximize the efficacy and minimize the damage. A database inquiry function and a history provision function may be included.

- Crop database 29: It is necessary to monitor the growing state of crops by reading crop images, etc., and to determine appropriate drugs. In addition, it is necessary for the purpose of automatically spraying fertilizers according to the nutritional status of crops. A database inquiry function and a history provision function may be included.

-Pharmaceutical database 31 and control history database 33: each, drug type (type of drug) such as pesticides or fertilizers, information related to preparation / mixing or spraying (eg, drug preparation date, spray date, preparation / sprayed Drug information, data on the amount of prescribed drugs, etc.) and control history data are stored. A database inquiry function and a history provision function may be included.

- Pest diagnosis unit 35: Analyzes the information collected by the internal sensor 13, the external weather measurement sensor 15, and the crop image collector 17 to diagnose whether pests have occurred in the greenhouse.

- Drug selection unit 37: Refers to the drug database 31 and compares the status of pests diagnosed in the pest diagnosis unit 35 to automatically determine / select the optimal control agent or manually determine / select the operator. make it possible In addition, by diagnosing diseases and pests as well as nutritional status of crops, appropriate fertilizers can be determined/selected automatically or manually by the operator. In addition, in order to suppress drug resistance, the drug database 31 categorizes and stores pesticides, acaricides, nutrients, fertilizers, etc. used or to be used as drugs, databases the history of drug spraying, and reads the control ability according to drug spraying An algorithm is included to allow automatic selection of the most appropriate drug.

- Control time determination unit 39: In the case of facility cultivation or open field cultivation, the control time can be determined by predicting weather conditions. In addition, it is possible to proceed with emergency control according to the forecast of the disease.

- Control command unit 40: When the control-related decisions, such as the control timing, are determined, control control commands are issued to the chemical mixer 19 or the greenhouse control device 12 to perform the functions assigned to each.

4 shows the configuration of the drug mixer 19.

The drug mixer 19 is responsible for mixing or preparing the necessary drugs, mixing the drugs stored in the drug tank and the water stored in the raw water tank and delivering them to the unmanned sprayer. The chemical mixer has the necessary chemical information to mix the necessary chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, etc.). In addition to supplying chemicals, the unmanned sprayer can also be used for water spray, and washing to prevent mixing of different types of chemicals at each pest control period. It may include a functional unit (not shown).

The drug mixer 19 includes a drug mixer control unit 47 that communicates data with the greenhouse integrated controller 23 and a mixing unit 49 that actually mixes or prepares drugs.

The drug mixer controller 47 receives commands related to drug mixing from the external greenhouse integrated controller 23 as in the configuration of the smart farm system of FIG. 1 or 2, and data related to drug mixing through the greenhouse integrated controller 23 (For example, the state of the mixing unit 49, the state of the drug, the drug mixing history, etc.) are transmitted.

An example of the mixing unit 49 included in the drug mixer 19 is shown in FIG. 5 . The mixing unit 49 of this example has a plurality (eg, 10) of drug containers 41 and each includes a flow meter (not shown) and a shut-off valve 43 for controlling the required amount. In addition, the drug mixer 19 has a raw water tank 45, and there is also a flow meter and a shut-off valve for supplying appropriate water (not shown). The necessary drugs and raw water are mixed in the drug mixing container (not shown) of the mixing unit 49 and delivered to the drug supply container (not shown) of the unmanned pest control machine 21. Although not shown, the drug mixer 19 detects the state of the device or the drug and sends it to the greenhouse integrated controller 23, 1) a method of mounting a sensor in the drug container 41 or 2) a drug container The method of measuring the weight of (41) can be applied. In addition, when the control unit 47 is complete, the controller 47 issues a washing command and turns on the raw water valve to include a washing unit (not shown) that cleans the drug mixture container using the raw water discharged.

Referring to FIG. 6, the unmanned sprayer 21 is connected to the above-described unmanned chemical mixer 19 and includes a drug spraying unit 51 for the purpose of receiving and spraying the mixed drug or spraying fertilizer , In addition, it may include a water spraying unit 53 for spraying water for the purpose of temperature control in the facility (greenhouse), such as in summer. In addition, a washing unit 55 is required to wash the other types of chemicals attached to related devices (eg, spray nozzles, hoses, etc.) with water or detergent after control by spraying the chemicals.

Figure 7 describes the operational flow of environmental control or unmanned control in the smart farm system to which the drug mixer 19 of the present invention is applied.

110 (Status Notification): When there is no proper amount of drug in the drug container 41 of the drug mixer 19, a notification is provided to the user (or drug supplier) through a status notification to the control unit 47 of the mixer so that the drug is supplied make it possible

120 (preparation step): The controller 47 of the chemical mixer 19 controls the greenhouse control device (eg, 12 in FIGS. 1 and 2) in the greenhouse for effective control. For example, by operating a flow fan and closing open windows (skylights, wall windows, etc.), control can be made uniformly.

130 (Mixing step): Controls the valve 43 of the medicine container 41 necessary to spray the selected medicine when it is time to supply the medicine. At this time, it can be controlled through a command to turn on the valve of the drug container for a time calculated according to the required amount and then turn it off.

140 (control step): Control the inside of the facility by driving the connected unmanned sprayer 21. At this time, the control unit 47 may process the control as finished when all of the mixed/prepared drugs are consumed. Alternatively, a specific control time may be determined and this time may be counted.

150 (washing step): When the disinfection is completed, the control unit 47 issues a washing command and turns on the raw water valve to wash the drug mixing container in the mixing unit 49 using the raw water discharged. In order to clean the drug mixing container, the source water valve may use a structure similar to that of a sprinkler to facilitate cleaning. Unlike the case of supplying chemicals by connecting to an unmanned control system in the control step, in the washing step, only raw water may be supplied to the medicine mixing container for cleaning and the pump may be operated to discharge through the drain pipe.

160 (return step): When all processes are completed, the greenhouse control device 12 returns the flow fan or ventilation window to the pre-discharge step.

As an option to the above process, the following steps can be added.

State view: A function for viewing the current progress of the drug mixer 19 and the state (standby step, preparation step, mixing step, control step, washing step, return step in FIG. 7) may be provided.

History inquiry: You can check and print the control progress schedule through the stored drug and control history database.

As described above, according to the present invention, problems that occur when farmers directly mix or prepare pesticides, fertilizers, water, etc., which may occur in the past, can be solved as follows.

1) Permanent accessibility of pesticide spraying: Although it is effective to control pests and pests immediately upon occurrence, damage to farmers may increase due to the occurrence of many cases in which immediate action cannot be taken due to the user being in a remote location. Using the present invention, it is possible to spray the necessary drugs at any time by connecting to a smartphone.

2) Prevention of overuse of drugs: When farmers mix drugs themselves, it is difficult to calculate the exact amount required, so they mix more drugs than necessary, which can cause a rise in management costs and environmental pollution. In this system, it is designed to calculate the exact amount required by combining the control area and the growth stage of the crop.

3) Inhibiting the appearance of drug resistance: Another problem with the current drug spraying is that continuous spraying of the same systemic drug causes resistance to the drug, thereby reducing the effect of the drug. It can be said that it is a problem that occurs. Therefore, the present invention is designed to make a database of drug spraying history and read the control ability according to drug spraying to select the most appropriate drug.

4) Minimization of drug side effects: When spraying drugs in high temperature or low temperature, when crops are weak or when the stress index is high, crops are also affected by the drug and show side effects such as drying of leaves. When operating the drug mixer, it is possible to minimize the side effects of the drug by automatically selecting the appropriate time to spray the drug by analyzing the weather conditions and the condition of the crop.

5) Elimination of redundancy with automatic fertilizer application and chemical spraying: When spraying pesticides in farmhouses, fertilizers are often added to pesticides to be sprayed, and this aims to reduce fertilizer application efforts. However, when fertilizers and pesticides are mixed and sprayed, there are often side effects such as drying of the leaves. Since the present invention is designed to automatically spray fertilizer, it is possible to reduce fertilizer application effort and prevent harm caused by fertilizer application alone.

The present invention described above can be implemented in terms of a device or a method. In particular, the function or process of each component of the present invention is a digital signal processor (DSP), processor, controller, application-specific ASIC (ASIC) IC), a programmable logic device (FPGA, etc.), at least one of other electronic devices, and a hardware element including a combination thereof. In addition, it can be implemented as software combined with hardware elements or independently, and this software can be stored in a recording medium.

Above, the configuration of the present invention has been described in detail through the preferred embodiments of the present invention, but those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will not change the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention without changing the contents disclosed in this specification. It will be appreciated that it may be embodied in other specific forms. It should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of protection of the present invention is determined by the following claims rather than the detailed description above, and all changes or modifications derived from the scope of the claims and equivalent concepts should be construed as being included in the technical scope of the present invention. .

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Claims (10)

A device that mixes drugs according to the drug mixing command generated by the facility integrated controller from information collected from inside and outside the smart farm facility,
a controller that receives a command related to drug mixing from the facility integrated controller, transmits data related to drug mixing to the facility integrated controller, and commands a mixing command to a mixing unit and a washing command to a cleaning unit below;
A raw water tank for supplying raw water that includes a flow meter and a shut-off valve, and is mixed with the medicine in the medicine mixing container of the mixing section below;
It includes a plurality of drug barrels containing drugs, a flowmeter and a shut-off valve for controlling the required amount of each drug, and a drug mixing container for mixing the drugs received from the drug container, from the drug container selected by the mixing command from the control unit. Mixing unit for bringing the medicine and mixing in the raw water of the raw water tank and the medicine mixing container; and
An unmanned drug mixing device for a smart farm, including a washing unit that receives a washing command from the control unit and uses raw water discharged by opening a valve of the raw water tank to wash the drug mixing container. delete A greenhouse control device for controlling facilities in the greenhouse;
An internal sensor for measuring the environment inside the greenhouse;
An external weather measurement sensor for measuring the weather outside the greenhouse;
A crop image collector for collecting images of crops or soil inside the greenhouse;
A drug mixer for mixing or preparing drugs;
An unmanned sprayer for receiving and spraying a drug from the drug mixer;
Receiving the information collected by the internal sensor, the external meteorological sensor, and the crop image collector, analyzing the received information to diagnose the occurrence of pests in the greenhouse, and when the occurrence of pests is diagnosed, a command signal is sent to the drug mixer to Including a greenhouse integrated controller that allows the drug mixer to mix or prepare drugs,
The drug mixer
a control unit that receives a command related to drug mixing from the greenhouse integrated controller, transmits data related to drug mixing to the greenhouse integrated controller, commands a mixing command to a mixing unit below, and commands a washing command to a washing unit below;
A raw water tank for supplying raw water that includes a flow meter and a shut-off valve, and is mixed with the medicine in the medicine mixing container of the mixing section below;
It includes a plurality of drug containers containing drugs, a flowmeter and a shut-off valve for controlling the required amount of each drug, and a drug mixing container for mixing the drugs received from the drug container, and from the drug container selected by the mixing command from the control unit. Mixing unit for bringing the medicine and mixing in the raw water of the raw water tank and the medicine mixing container; and
A smart farm system comprising a washing unit that receives a washing command from the control unit and opens a valve of the raw water tank to wash the drug mixing container using the raw water discharged. The smart farm system according to claim 3, further comprising an operating terminal connected to the greenhouse integrated controller and operating the smart farm system. The method of claim 3, wherein the greenhouse integrated controller
By analyzing the characteristics of the soil in the greenhouse and the weather outside the greenhouse and reflecting them in the drugs to be mixed or prepared in the drug mixer, a farmland database for storing data for determining the time and amount of spraying that can maximize efficacy and minimize damage,
A crop database necessary to monitor the growing state of crops by reading crop images and to determine drugs to be mixed or prepared in the drug mixer;
A drug database that stores drug type, drug dispensing, mixing, and dispensing information;
A control history database that stores control history data;
A pest diagnosis unit that diagnoses the occurrence of pests in the greenhouse by analyzing the information collected by the internal sensor, the external weather measurement sensor, and the crop image collector;
A drug selection unit for selecting the optimal control agent by referring to the drug database and comparing the status of pests diagnosed by the pest diagnosis unit;
A control time determination unit that determines the control time by predicting weather conditions, and
A smart farm system comprising a control command unit for directing a control command to at least one of the drug mixer and the greenhouse control device when the control time is determined. The method of claim 3, wherein the unmanned sprayer
A drug spraying unit connected to the drug mixer to receive and spray the mixed drug;
A water spraying unit for spraying water for the purpose of temperature control in the greenhouse, and
Smart farm system including a washing unit for washing the drug spraying unit and the water spraying unit after control by spraying the drug. The method of claim 3, further comprising an interface allowing at least one of the greenhouse control device, an internal sensor, an external weather measurement sensor, a crop image collector, a chemical mixer, and an unmanned sprayer to exchange data with the greenhouse integrated controller. farm system. As an unmanned control method performed in the smart farm system according to claim 3,
A status notification step of providing a notification to the user through a status notification when there is no appropriate amount of drug in the drug mixer;
A preparation step of allowing the chemical mixer to control the greenhouse control device;
A mixing step of controlling the drug mixer to mix the drugs in order to spray the selected drug when the drug supply time comes;
A control step of driving the unmanned control machine to perform greenhouse control, and
When the control is completed, an unmanned control method performed in a smart farm system comprising a washing step of generating a washing command to perform washing of the drug mixer. According to claim 8,
The unmanned control method performed in the smart farm system, further comprising a status viewing step for viewing at least one of the status notification step, preparation step, mixing step, control step, and washing step. According to claim 8,
An unmanned control method performed in a smart farm system, further comprising a history inquiry step that allows you to check and output the progress history of the control step.

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