KR20090109173A - An automatic weeds removal apparatus and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An automatic weed removal apparatus and a method for use thereof are provided to reduce maintenance expenses for lawn to improve profitability. CONSTITUTION: An automatic weed removal apparatus comprises a moving unit, removing unit(400), first picturing unit(200), second picturing unit(300), pulling unit, data recording and storing unit, and a controller. The moving unit is a vehicle. The removing unit adheres to the moving unit. The first picturing unit is mounted on the front of the moving unit. The first picturing unit senses the existence of obstacles, and the slope of a ground. The second picturing unit is mounted on the front of the removing unit. The second picturing unit senses the existence of weeds, and the location and height of the weeds. The pulling unit is mounted to the removing unit. The pulling unit is operated side to side and up and down in order to remove the weeds. The data recording and storing unit stores the data of the pulling unit such as operating distance and speed. The controller compares the data inputted by the first and second picturing units to the data stored in the data recording and storing unit. The controller operates the moving unit and pulling unit properly.

Description

Automatic weed removal device and its method {AN AUTOMATIC WEEDS REMOVAL APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to an automatic weed removal device and a method thereof, and more particularly, to efficiently remove weeds by installing a specific device in a vehicle in a wide area such as a golf course and automatically removing and recognizing the weeds as the vehicle travels. The present invention relates to an automatic weed removal device and a method for allowing the operation to be made.

At present, the number of new golf courses is increasing year by year with the rapid increase of golf population in Korea.

However, the golf course uses a very large amount of pesticides for the management of the turf due to the climate and environment of our country, resulting in pollution of various environments including soil and water quality, as well as the use of golf courses Their health is also threatening, and it is not only causing other social problems in the excessive use of pesticides, but also raising the negative view of the golf course, which is a major obstacle to the popularization of domestic golf.

In recent years, various efforts have been made to avoid the use of excessive pesticides for the maintenance and management of golf course turf. One of the methods is mowing and weeding through a large number of manpower.

However, the weeding work through the manpower work is excessive cost in accordance with the increase in labor costs, the effect is insignificant.

An object of the present invention has been proposed in order to solve the conventional problems as described above, the object is to install a specific device in the vehicle after the running of the vehicle at the same time to automatically recognize the weeds to remove the grass management The present invention provides an automatic weed removal device and method for realizing the automation.

      Automatic weed removal device according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a driving means for driving in a predetermined area consisting of a vehicle capable of driving manned or unmanned; A removal device main body provided detachably to the traveling means; A plurality of first photographing means mounted on a front surface of the driving means for detecting presence or absence of obstacles in the traveling direction, bending and inclination of the ground; A plurality of second photographing means mounted on a front surface of the main body of the removing apparatus and configured to detect the presence, location, frequency, size, etc. of the weed to be removed; Drawing means for removing the corresponding weeding target to be removed, which is embedded in the main body of the removal apparatus and is driven to the left, right and up and down; Storage means for recording various data such as information on the target weed to be removed, such as an operation distance and a speed of the drawing means for removing the weed; Control means for performing control over the apparatus to remove weeds while properly operating the traveling means and the drawing means after comparing and calculating the input data from the first and second photographing means with the data recorded in the storage means. It characterized by comprising;

Preferably, the removal device main body, characterized in that the height of the height adjustable through a plurality of main cylinders are installed on the lower surface of the bracket installed on the front of the vehicle.

Also preferably, the drawing means is composed of a plurality of drawers arranged in two lines inside the removal apparatus main body, each pair of moving shafts are arranged before and after each pair of moving shafts through the upper and lower drive cylinders In addition to being installed in a state capable of lower flow, each of the moving shaft is installed in the movable state left and right through the motor unit, a plurality of tongs on the lower end of the drawing body on the solenoid and the opening and closing member It is configured to remove the weeds while being selectively opened and closed, characterized in that the tongs portion is installed in a state capable of selectively up and down flow through the tongs cylinder.

Preferably, the removal device body is provided with a suction body is provided with a plurality of fans, each drawing body is connected to the suction body via a suction pipe, the weeds removed through the forceps through the suction pipe suction body It is characterized in that configured to be guided to the side.

More preferably, the suction body is provided inside the suction screw and the weed guided therein is moved to one side through the transfer screw is collected in the collecting container, and the inner side of the suction body is provided with a perforated plate, The soil outlet of the lower surface of the suction body is configured to be selectively opened through the opening and closing cylinder, characterized in that the soil sucked with the weeds is configured to be discharged to the outside through the soil outlet after separating from the inside of the suction body.

      And, the weed removal method using the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention, weed removal preparation step of starting the operation of the vehicle after inputting various data including data on the weed information to the storage unit; An image capturing step of capturing an image of the presence or absence of obstacles and ground conditions in the vehicle traveling direction through the first photographing unit, and an image of the presence, location, frequency, and size of the weeds to be removed through the second photographing unit; Wow; A weed discrimination step of discriminating whether or not weeds are present based on the image data from the image photographing step; As a result of the determination in the weed discrimination step, when weeds do not exist, vehicle driving and image photographing are continuously performed. When weeds exist, the vehicle traveling speed and drawing are performed after setting control values based on the image data. Characterized in that consisting of; weed removal step of controlling the drive of the device to remove the weeds.

According to the automatic weed removal device and the method according to the present invention made as described above, after installing a specific device in the vehicle so that it is possible to automatically recognize and remove the weeds at the same time as the driving of the vehicle, a large area such as a golf course Implements the automation of lawn management, and the economic cost can be greatly improved through the reduction of management cost.

In addition, there is an effect that can always maintain the optimal turf state, it is possible to prevent the accident of the worker in the golf course in advance, and also to minimize the inconvenience of the user.

In addition, it is effective to improve the negative recognition of golf courses by creating a climate for eco-friendly golf courses, and to contribute to the popularization of golf by greatly reducing negative public opinions caused by the approval and establishment of new golf courses. It will also work.

Hereinafter, the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention, Figures 2a to 2b is an upper perspective view and a lower perspective view showing the appearance of the automatic weed removal device according to the invention, Figures 2c and 2d 3A and 3B are partial enlarged perspective views and partial enlarged side views illustrating a configuration of a drawing means provided in the automatic weed removing device according to the present invention, FIGS. 4A and FIG. 4b is a bottom view and a plan view showing the configuration of the drawing means provided in the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention, Figures 5a to 5c is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the configuration of the drawing means provided in the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention And partial enlarged front cross-sectional view and partial enlarged side cross-sectional view, FIG. 6 is a drawing constituting the drawing means of the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the operation state of a machine.

The automatic weed removal device according to the present invention includes traveling means for traveling a weed removal area such as a golf course, a removal device body coupled to the traveling means, first and second photographing means, drawing means, storage means and It comprises a control means.

First, the driving means is made of a vehicle 100 capable of driving manned or unmanned, and is made to travel within a predetermined area for weed removal with the automatic weed removal device mounted, the driving means is a golf cart or tiller Of course, it can be implemented in various vehicles such as tractors.

The removal device main body 400 is installed on the front surface of the vehicle 100 via a bracket 410, and includes a drawing means for removing a predetermined weed therein, having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having an open bottom surface. Each device provided in the automatic weed removal device is installed.

At this time, the removal device main body 400 is installed on the front of the vehicle 100 via the bracket 410, the height adjustment means are provided through a plurality of main cylinders 420, according to the environment for removing weeds It is configured to adjust its height.

The first photographing means is a plurality of first photographing units (cameras) 200 attached to the front of the vehicle 100 constituting the driving means, the presence or absence of obstacles in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, the bent state of the ground and , To take an image of the inclination and the like and transmit it to the controller (800).

The second photographing means is a plurality of second photographing units (cameras) 300 installed on the front surface of the removing device main body 400, the presence or absence of the target weeds to be removed, the location and frequency of the weeds, the size, etc. Takes an image of the and transmits it to the control unit (800).

The drawing means includes a plurality of drawers 500 and is built in the removal device main body 400, the control unit 800 based on the input image from the first and second photographing unit (200,300) And selectively driven in the left, right, and up and down directions according to the control of) to remove the corresponding weeds to be removed.

At this time, the plurality of drawers 500 constituting the drawing means, as a pair of moving shaft 600 is disposed before and after each inside the removal device main body 400 of the removal device main body 400 It is installed in a state arranged in two lines inside, the moving shaft 600 is capable of up and down flow through the vertical drive cylinder 610, the hinge portion 620 provided between the moving shaft 600. Installed in a state, the pair of moving shaft 600 arranged before and after is configured to be connected via the interconnection rod 650.

In addition, the drawing machine 500 has a drawing body 510 constituting each drawing machine is coupled to the moving shaft 600, the motor unit 630 provided on the drawing body 510 upper side of the motor guide As it travels along 640, the movable shaft 600 is installed in a state capable of moving left and right.

In addition, after the plurality of tongs 550 are installed at the lower end of each of the drawing bodies 510, the drawer 500 is provided with the plurality of tongs 550 via the solenoid 540 and the opening / closing member 530. As it is selectively opened and closed it is configured to move the inside of the drawing body 510 after grabbing and pulling the weeds.

At this time, the tongs 550 portion is also configured to be installed in a state capable of selectively up and down flow under the control of the control unit 800, via the tongs cylinder 520.

In addition, the predetermined weeds removed according to the operation of the drawer 500 under the control of the controller 800 are collected at a predetermined point inside the removal device main body 400, for this purpose of the removal device main body 400. The suction body 700 having a plurality of fans 730 installed therein is installed with a predetermined space along the longitudinal direction of the removal device main body 400, and each drawing body 510 is flexible. Is connected to the suction body 700 via the suction pipe 710 of the material, the weed pulled through the forceps 550 is moved to the suction body 700 side through the suction pipe 710.

In addition, the suction body 700 is provided with a feed screw 740 rotated by a feed motor 742 to feed the weeds in a predetermined direction, one end of the feed screw 740 is the transferred weeds Collector 720 having a weed outlet 722 is installed so that is collected.

The inner lower side of the suction body 700 is provided with a perforated plate 750 along the longitudinal direction, so that the soil separated during the transfer of the transfer screw 740 is configured to fall to the lower side of the perforated plate 750, the perforated plate (750) After the soil outlet 760 is formed on the lower surface of the suction body 700 corresponding to the lower side, the soil outlet 760 is selectively opened through the opening and closing cylinder 762, the soil is the suction body 700 is separated from the weeds in the interior is configured to be discharged to the outside through the soil outlet 760.

On the other hand, the storage unit 900 constituting the storage means is stored in the image information for the various weeds to be removed, various data such as the root depth of the weeds, etc., and a drawer for removing the weeds Various data such as an insertion depth and an operating distance of the 500 and a traveling speed of the vehicle for controlling the same are recorded.

In addition, the control unit 800 constituting the control unit has a predetermined value for comparing and calculating the image data from the first image pickup unit 200 and the second image pickup unit 300 with the data recorded in the storage unit 900. In addition to the built-in program, a control program for applying a predetermined control signal for removing a specific weed, such as controlling the traveling speed of the vehicle 100 and the operating distance of the drawer 500 for removing the weed, is embedded. It is composed.

In this case, the storage unit 900 and the control unit 800 may be selectively configured in the vehicle 100 or the removal unit main body 400, and the like, and may be provided in the storage unit 900 and the control unit 800. Of course, data and programs can be selectively replaced and upgraded according to the working environment.

Next, the operation of the present invention made as described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

      First, in order to remove weeds distributed in a specific area such as a golf course using the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention, the removal device main body 400 is provided with a predetermined drawing means at a certain point of the vehicle 100. In addition, the storage unit 900 and the control unit 800 start the operation of the vehicle 100 in a predetermined region for removing the weeds in a state in which data and programs for removing specific weeds are embedded (S) One).

      When the driving of the vehicle 100 starts, the first photographing unit 200 and the second photographing unit 300 photograph the corresponding image and transmit the captured image to the controller 800 (S 2).

      That is, the first photographing unit 200 composed of a plurality of cameras installed on the front of the vehicle 100 controls the controller 800 by capturing an image such as the presence or absence of obstacles in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, the bending state of the ground, the inclination, and the like. The second photographing unit 300 is composed of a plurality of cameras installed on the front of the removal device main body 400, the presence or absence of the target weed to be removed, the location, frequency, size, etc. of the weeds Photographed and transmitted to the control unit 800 side.

      In this case, the controller 800 receiving the image compares the data stored in the storage unit 900 with the input image to determine whether there is a weed to be removed (S 3), and when it is determined that there is no weed to be removed. Return to 'S 2' and continue to receive and compare the image data values of the first and second photographing unit (200,300) and perform calculation, and if it is determined that there is a removal target weed 'S 4 The control proceeds to 'to remove the weeds.

      That is, the controller 800 combines various information data about the weeds to be removed stored in the storage unit 900 and data such as the curvature or the slope of the terrain that the vehicle 100 is currently in progress. The control signal is applied by calculating control values related to the driving direction, the distance, and the traveling speed of the vehicle 100 for smooth removal of the weeds (S 4 and S 5).

      Accordingly, the vehicle 100 is controlled to travel at a corresponding speed as a control signal of the controller 800 is transmitted to the vehicle driver 110, while the drawer 500 is controlled by the controller 800. In accordance with the control signal from the start of driving to remove the weed to be removed (S 6).

      First, in response to a control signal from the controller 800, the corresponding up and down driving cylinders among the plurality of up and down driving cylinders 610 provided in the moving shaft 600 are operated by a predetermined distance toward the weeds. At the same time, the drawing body 510 of the plurality of drawing body 510 is moved to the removal target weed while moving left and right through the motor unit 630 and the motor guide 640.

      When the drawer 500 is located above the weeds, the tongs 550 are lowered through the tongs cylinder 520 and at the same time, the drawers are pulled out by the solenoid 540 and the opening / closing member 530. A plurality of forceps 550 provided in the machine 500 are inserted into the soil in which the corresponding weeds are located in the open state, and grasp the root portion of the weeds, while holding the forceps cylinder 520 as a medium to grip the forceps 550 Harvested weeds are extracted from the soil.

      At this time, the drawing body 510 may be selectively flowed through the flow shaft 512 provided to have a predetermined elastic force and rotational force in the center thereof, it is possible to perform a smooth weed removal operation.

      In addition, according to the operation of the fan 730 provided in the suction body 700, the suction body 700 generates a strong suction force to suck the weeds removed through the drawer 500 through the suction pipe 710. The weeds guided to the suction body 700 are transferred to one side of the suction body 700 by the rotation of the transfer screw 740 by the transfer motor 742 and collected in the collecting container 720.

      In addition, the soil separated from the weeds in the transfer process of the weeds through the transfer screw 740 is dropped through the lower perforated plate 750, and again through the soil outlet 760 is opened through the opening and closing cylinder 762 every predetermined time. It will be discharged to the outside.

      Therefore, the driving speed of the vehicle 100 and the drawing machine 500 are automatically controlled under the control of the controller 800 based on the image data from the first and second imaging units 200 and 300. It is possible to remove the weeds while being controlled repeatedly, so that weeds in a large area such as a golf course can be removed very efficiently without a separate manpower.

On the other hand, even if the modified embodiments different from the contents described in the present invention is not to be individually understood from the technical spirit or prospect of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic weed removal device according to the present invention;

2a to 2b is an upper perspective view and a lower perspective view showing the appearance of the automatic weed removal device according to the invention,

2c and 2d is a side view and a front view showing the appearance of the automatic weed removal device according to the invention,

3a and 3b is a partially enlarged perspective view and a partially enlarged side view showing the configuration of the drawing means provided in the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention;

4a and 4b is a bottom view and a plan view showing the configuration of the drawing means provided in the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention;

5a to 5c is a partially enlarged perspective view and a partially enlarged front cross-sectional view and a partially enlarged side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the drawing means provided in the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention;

6 is a view showing the operating state of the puller constituting the drawing means of the automatic weed removal device according to the invention,

7 is a flowchart showing a weed removal method using the automatic weed removal device according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: vehicle, 110: vehicle operation unit,

200: the first photographing unit, 300: the second photographing unit,

400: removal device body, 410: bracket,

420: main cylinder, 500: drawing machine,

510: drawing body, 512: fluid shaft,

520: tong cylinder, 530: opening and closing member,

540: solenoid, 550: tongs,

600: moving shaft, 610: vertical drive cylinder,

620: hinge portion, 630: motor portion,

640: motor guide, 650: connecting rod,

700: suction body, 710: suction pipe,

720: collector, 722: weed outlet,

730: fan, 740: transfer screw,

742: transfer motor, 750: perforated plate,

760: soil outlet, 762 opening and closing cylinder,

800: control unit, 900: storage unit.

Claims (6)

A driving means configured to drive a manned or unmanned vehicle and driving in a predetermined area; A removal device main body provided detachably to the traveling means; A plurality of first photographing means mounted on a front surface of the driving means for detecting presence or absence of obstacles in the traveling direction, bending and inclination of the ground; A plurality of second photographing means mounted on a front surface of the main body of the removing apparatus and configured to detect the presence, location, frequency, size, etc. of the weed to be removed; Drawing means for removing the corresponding weeding target to be removed, which is embedded in the main body of the removal apparatus and is driven to the left, right and up and down; Storage means for recording various data such as information on the target weed to be removed, such as an operation distance and a speed of the drawing means for removing the weed; Control means for performing control over the apparatus to remove weeds while properly operating the traveling means and the drawing means after comparing and calculating the input data from the first and second photographing means with the data recorded in the storage means. Automatic weed removal device characterized in that configured to include. The method of claim 1, The removal device main body, characterized in that the automatic weed removal device is installed on the lower surface of the bracket installed on the front of the vehicle in a state capable of adjusting the height through a plurality of main cylinders. The method of claim 1, The drawing means is composed of a plurality of drawers arranged in two lines inside the removal device body, After a pair of moving shafts are arranged before and after, each moving shaft is installed in a state capable of moving up and down by means of an up and down driving cylinder, and a plurality of drawing bodies are provided on each moving shaft through a motor unit. I am installed in the state movable right At the bottom of the drawing body, a plurality of tongs are selectively opened and closed by the solenoid and the opening and closing member to remove weeds, The tongs portion of the automatic weed removal device, characterized in that installed in the state capable of selectively up and down flow through the tong cylinder. The method of claim 1, Inside the removal device body is provided with a suction body in which a plurality of fans are installed, Each of the drawing body is connected to the suction body via the suction pipe, Weeds removed through the forceps is characterized in that the automatic weed removal device configured to be guided to the suction body side through the suction pipe. The method of claim 4, wherein The suction body is provided inside the suction screw and the weeds guided therein are collected in the collecting container after moving to one side through the conveying screw. A perforated plate is installed in the lower side of the suction body, and the soil outlet of the bottom of the suction body is made to be selectively opened through the opening and closing cylinder, Soil sucked with the weeds are separated from the inside of the suction body, characterized in that the automatic weed removal device, characterized in that configured to be discharged to the outside through the soil outlet.       A weed removal preparation step of starting a vehicle by inputting various data including data on weed information to a storage unit;       An image capturing step of capturing an image of the presence or absence of obstacles and ground conditions in the vehicle traveling direction through the first photographing unit, and an image of the presence, location, frequency, and size of the weeds to be removed through the second photographing unit; Wow;       A weed discrimination step of discriminating whether or not weeds are present based on the image data from the image photographing step;       As a result of the determination in the weed discrimination step, when weeds do not exist, vehicle driving and image photographing are continuously performed. When weeds exist, the vehicle traveling speed and drawing are performed after setting control values based on the image data. Automatic weed removal method comprising the; weed removal step of removing the weeds by controlling the operation of the device.

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