RU2750543C1 - Complex with automatically flying sprinklers and sprayers for irrigation and chemical treatment of agricultural crops (automatically flying expanders of the coverage of the area of irrigation and chemical treatment of agricultural crops for agricultural machinery) - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to agriculture, in particular to devices designed for irrigation and chemical treatment of field crops and crops. A complex with automatically flying sprinklers and sprayers is a flexible pipeline with a control and power cable, with controlled sprayers, which is automatically carried by one or more vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles connected to it, placed in a transport position on a transport platform and receiving from it during the flight, power supply, working fluids and control commands of the control system, providing in general automatic spraying over the treated area of land of targeted volumes of working fluid consumed from the tanks available on the transport platform and connected to it on trailers during the movement of the complex along a given trajectories.

EFFECT: invention provides an increase in the width of coverage of the cultivated area of crops, work on soils with a low bearing capacity without damaging the seedlings of growing crops and disturbing the fertile layer.

1 cl, 1 dwg

Description

The invention relates to agriculture, in particular, to devices designed for irrigation and chemical treatment (including weeding, application of mineral fertilizers and means of protecting crops from pests) of field crops and crops grown on checks, fruit, shrubs, trees and etc.

The proposed technical solution provides: an increase in the width of coverage of the cultivated area of crops than traditional systems of processing and irrigation have; significant increase in productivity per unit of equipment; work on soils with low bearing capacity without damaging the seedlings of growing crops and disturbing the fertile layer; work on difficult terrain, where growing crops are located on an inclined or non-straight surface (including mountains, hills, checks, embankments, etc.); precisely targeted (if necessary and sufficient) volumes of working fluids application.

Relevance of the invention

1. The intensity of land use and the increasing role of agricultural products in the GDP of developing countries currently leads to an increase in the role of chemical treatment of crops in increasing their productivity. So, in the cost of one ton of agricultural products, plant protection products can occupy 20-30%, and if the year is unfavorable, then all 50% of the costs of crop production.

2. Global warming is developing at a record rate. An increasingly hot summer in different parts of the planet leads to drought, which can last for several years in a row, for example, in California (USA), a record dry land over the past 1200 years lasted from 2011 to 2017. A severe drought, in addition to harm to the agricultural sector, creates favorable conditions for the spread of fire, which leads to catastrophic fires in different parts of the world: in Australia, the USA, Russia and other countries.

Modern conditions require an increasingly intensive approach to the issue of irrigation of land with water and mineral fertilizers, the proposal of new, more effective ways of this work.

Description of the technical solution of the invention

The technical solution of the complex with automatically flying sprinklers and sprayers for chemical treatment of agricultural crops (on a transport platform) consists of the following components:

(1) - a base in the form of a tractor, pneumatic drive or other transport platform (controlled by a driver, remotely controlled or unmanned), by the design of its chassis, has a minimal mechanical effect on the underlying surface and vegetation of the cultivated field (without disturbing the fertile layer). As a platform, for example, pneumatic ducts of various brands or trailers for them, including those already available in the agricultural sector, can be used.

On such a platform or on a trailer, the following are installed:

(2) - a supply tank (or a system of several tanks) for water or liquid fertilizers (hereinafter referred to as "liquids", "working fluids"), a pumping unit (3) for pumping them into the spray system pipeline (5);

the pipeline (5) consists of flexible hoses connected to each other and containing, in addition to the pipes, also sprayers (6) located at a certain distance from each other, having electric control of the spraying of liquids and its cutting off, and also a cable (8) runs parallel to the pipeline power supply (from the on-board network of the transport platform) and control (from the control system of the complex), a pipeline with a cable is attached to the UAV (4) at periodic distances provided by the carrying capacity of the UAVs used (for example, every 10 m of a 3/4 "pipeline, in the case of UAV carrying capacity 3 kg), the pipeline with the cable can be wound on transport drums (7) for compact transportation;

for transportation on the basis of a transport platform, the pipeline is wound onto transport drums (7), on which platforms for their basing are provided for all UAVs.

To ensure greater effect and maximum performance of the complex, in addition to one trailer (9) or one transport platform with a tank of liquids, additional trailers with tanks (10) can be docked to the complex by a road train, connected by pipelines with power and control cables (11) to each other in a unified system. The number of trailers is limited by the condition of ensuring the movement of the road train with the speed, maneuverability and safety required for the processing mode. Pumping liquid between several trailers with connected tanks and a supply tank can be carried out by additional pumps installed both on the transport platform and on trailers (12), and automatically controlled as the supply tank is emptied on the platform.

The number of UAVs included in the complex is limited by the capabilities of the power system of the vehicle and the capabilities of the pressure pump to ensure the operating mode of spraying liquids through the spray nozzles along the entire pipeline. At the same time, to increase the head and compensate for pressure losses in a long pipeline, small electric back-up pumps can be installed at its end sections.

A distinctive feature of the tanks for working fluid used in the complex is their equipment with level sensors of the liquid in them, information from the sensors is transmitted to the control system of the complex.

As the tanks are emptied, these trailers can be replaced with similar ones filled with working fluids, by transporting them by a supply vehicle, without leaving the vehicle with sprayers from the working trajectory, reducing the number of intermediate stops and returns to the base for refueling.

The control panel of the complex control system can be placed both on board the transport platform, and remotely, at the location of the operator of the complex, while the control system of the complex has the following functionality:

- planning the trajectory of the complex along the field (parallel tracks, the distance between which is determined by the length of the sprayer pipeline with the UAV), with the calculation of the liquids used for processing in the required processing mode, while on the information panel (display) this trajectory is shown with the marks of the stops of the complex along the end of the liquid in the supply tanks, when the complex will stop to refuel with a new volume of liquid, or when the trailers with tanks in the road train will change. Information about the imminent end of the working fluid is transmitted to the base of the transport vehicle, for its advanced readiness for transportation and replacement of trailers with empty tanks, excluding the downtime of the complex while waiting for their delivery.

- be able to automatically set the operating modes of each sprayer in the system according to the picture of the vegetation indices of the vegetation of the cultivated field loaded into the system, obtained earlier from aerial or space photography;

- indication on the information panel (display) to the driver (or operator) of the complex, what area of treatment has been performed and what is still to be done with the specified current flow rate of the applied liquid, how long and how much distance along the trajectory is left to drive until the next stop to fill the supply tanks

- the establishment by the operator when refueling the tank and indication during operation of the type of liquids used for processing, their volume on board the complex at the time of refueling and their current volume during operation;

- remote communication between the transport platform and the location of the remote operator of the complex.

The design of unmanned aerial vehicles has the following distinctive features:

- anti-corrosion protection of all elements of the UAV from liquids used during operation;

- the presence on board each UAV of a control system that allows piloting and control of the vehicle in an autonomous mode within the specified loads and restrictions; at the same time, the coordination of its position relative to the design of the sprayer and the transport platforms on the drum can be provided by the UAV control system autonomously and without geographical reference to the terrain (according to the pipeline geometry loaded into the system and the monitored position of the UAV during operation);

- the UAV control system maintains the constancy of the specified altitude, direction and speed of flight, depending on the terrain loaded into the system and the program of their flight along the trajectory of the complex;

- the presence of a connection between the onboard control systems of the UAV and the unified control system of the complex, including for the purpose of deploying the system to the operating mode and folding it into the transport mode, as well as monitoring the location of the UAV relative to the transport platform and transport drums.

In addition to the above configuration, the complex can work together with a boom sprayer located on the same transport platform. In this case, the pipeline of the complex is connected to the terminal section of the boom sprayer pipeline and becomes its coverage expander, while the work is carried out by both spray systems.

The following patents in this area are known:

1. A vehicle with a sprayer containing; a frame with an engine, a transmission, a suspension of wheels with ultra-low pressure tires, a body and a boom sprayer, the body is equipped with a compartment in which the sprayer tank is located on a stretcher and a pump (Patent for utility model RU No. 138934 MPK В60Р 3/00; A01G 25/09, 2014).

The disadvantages of this vehicle with a sprayer are: limited width of coverage of the treatment area with a boom sprayer, limited volume of working fluid tanks, as a result of which a significant investment of time and high labor intensity of its maintenance are required.

These disadvantages are due to the following. Filling the sprayer tank with working fluid is performed while the vehicle is stopped with the sprayer. At the same time, the execution of the technological process is interrupted - spraying. The design of the known vehicle with a sprayer does not allow for the combination of tank filling and spraying. This increases maintenance time, reducing shift time utilization and therefore lowering sprayer performance.

The consumable working fluid in the sprayer tank during the operation of the vehicle with the sprayer can run out in the field anywhere. To fill the tank with working fluid, you need to drive to the edge of the field, and then drive up to the place of filling or a mobile unit for preparing working fluids must drive up to a vehicle with a sprayer. It also increases the time spent on the maintenance of the sprayer vehicle and the labor intensity of its maintenance.

The known vehicle with a sprayer, performing the technological operation of applying fertilizers or chemical plant protection agents, breaks the stems of growing crops and compacts the soil of the field while driving across the field, which ultimately reduces the yield.

The operator moves across the field while treating plants with liquid pesticides. Therefore, a sealed operator's cabin or respiratory protection for the operator from exposure to pesticides is required.

The potential working width of the known sprayer is limited by the structural strength of the horizontal boom distributing device, and hence the sprayer performance.

2. Known is a flying sprayer in the form of a vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle carrying a payload in the form of a liquid reservoir and a nozzle for spraying liquid from the reservoir (International application No. PCT / CN 2015/080528, 06/01/2015, patent for invention US 2017043870 A1, 16.02.2017);

3. A similar patent is known describing a vehicle with flying sprayers, comprising: a vehicle (a tractor with a trailer with a large supply tank) having a front platform with a front tank, on which vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles are located, which are mobile sprayers, refueling internal tanks of which occurs periodically when they are returned to the platform, and connected to the front tank located on the front platform (Patent for invention RU No. 2712710 IPC А01М 7/00, B64D 1/18);

4. There is also known a patent describing "A robotic complex for automated aviation chemical processing of plants and a method for its use" (Patent for invention RU No. 2586142 IPC A01M 7/00).

These flying sprayers have a number of disadvantages that hinder their widespread industrial use, namely:

- short time of their operation, caused, on the one hand, by the short flight time of the UAV and. on the other hand, the low possible weight of its payload (the small volume of its working fluid tank), as a result of which the UAV often returns for refueling, significant time is wasted unproductively and is spent on servicing the UAV (time for returning to base, refueling with working fluid, charging or replacement of batteries, return to the working flight trajectory), which, due to frequent repetitions, has a significant laboriousness;

- the coverage of the flying sprayer is also very small compared to the used ground sprayers, which leads to a high frequency of parallel headlines along the cultivated field.

Both of these disadvantages result in poor performance of the flying sprayer.

Due to the immaturity of the legislation regulating the use of UAVs in the civilian economy, at present, the operation of heavy UAVs (with a takeoff weight of more than 30 kg) is limited, which excludes the practical possibility of leveling the mass-geometric limitations of flying sprayers by increasing their size.

The present invention is close in technical essence and the achieved result of a widespread agricultural machine with a boom sprayer, moved on the machine itself or on its trailer, where, in addition to the sprayer, there are supply tanks, a pump unit and all the necessary piping for work, but without its drawback, namely: limitation of the width of the coverage of the processing area and its productivity, due to the large time spent on its maintenance and greater labor intensity, due to frequent stops for refueling with working fluids and the trajectory of movement with a smaller step (coverage) and lower speed, i.e. with more frequent running around the field than the solution proposed in the present invention.

If it is necessary to promptly process a large area of land, for the above reasons, agricultural producers are forced to use several pieces of equipment with sprayers at a time.

During the operation of a widespread agricultural machine with a boom sprayer, the working fluid in the sprayer supply tank periodically runs out and its operation stops, which can occur at any place in the field. To fill the tank with working fluid, you need to stop work, drive up to the filling point, or a mobile filling container with ingredients for preparing working fluids must drive up to a vehicle with a sprayer in the field, and fill the working tanks of an agricultural machine with a sprayer, after which it can continue work.

For known agricultural vehicles with sprayers, these operations have to be done more often, and therefore the time required for their maintenance and labor intensity of maintenance is higher than for the solution proposed in the present invention.

With an increase in the working width of the sprayer, the dimensions and weight of the rods required for it increase, and their deflection increases. In order to avoid malfunctions and breakdowns of the structure due to its deflection and grazing on the soil, the end sections of the sprayer boom are equipped with additional crutch supports, which makes the sprayer structure less maneuverable, reduces the speed of its working stroke and limits productivity.

The wider and heavier the sprayer boom, the more the vehicle with the sprayer compresses the soil of the field, which reduces the yield of the crops being treated.

In addition, the well-known agricultural machines with boom sprayers cannot be used on difficult or hilly terrain, in the mountains.

The technical result from the introduction of the invention is formed from several factors:

- ensuring the maximum coverage and area of one-time processing of land, comparable to stationary irrigation systems,

- reduction of unproductive time spent on servicing a vehicle with a sprayer,

- reduction of the area of mechanical impact on seedlings from the wheels of heavy agricultural machinery,

- saving working fluids, due to the exact volume of fertilization, regulated by the need for agricultural crops growing on the cultivated area, determined by the distribution pattern of vegetation indices,

- obtaining the possibility of processing lands with difficult terrain, where growing crops are located on an inclined or non-straight surface (including mountains, hills, checks, embankments, etc.).

The technical result is achieved by the fact that the expansion of the coverage of the area of spraying and irrigation of land, as well as work with difficult terrain, is carried out using automatically flying UAVs (networks of several UAVs), carrying a flexible pipeline of the spraying system connected to the transport platform; reducing the time for maintenance is achieved by using a road train with the supply of working fluids by a supply machine, and savings from the accuracy of introducing working fluids - using a developed control system of the complex that works with maps of vegetation indexes, which controls the operation modes of the sprayers, which form targeted accurate (if necessary and sufficient) volumes introduction of working fluids.

The essence of the invention is shown in Fig. 1, where the front and side views schematically show a complex on a transport platform with a sprayer; also shows the UAV in the operating position in flight, front view, with a section of the pipeline and working sprays. In fig. 1, for greater clarity, only those elements are summarized that are necessary to understand the essence of the technical solution, and auxiliary details known to those skilled in the art are not shown.

Complex functioning algorithm

The complex with automatically flying sprinklers and sprayers for chemical treatment of agricultural crops functions as follows.

Trailers with additional tanks are attached to the transport platform assembled with a spraying system (pumping unit, pipeline, drums, UAVs) and the entire road train is filled with working fluid (liquids). In the control system, according to the loaded map of vegetation indices of vegetation of the cultivated lands and according to the tasks of the agrotechnical service, a program is formed with the modes of operation of sprayers and the trajectory of the complex.

The road train of the complex goes to the starting point of the trajectory of the cultivation of the land. The operator starts the operating mode of the complex control system.

There is a prelaunch check of the system components and the sequential launch and takeoff of unmanned aerial vehicles with a gradual unwinding of the pipeline until the entire system is fully deployed into an operating position, while all UAVs in flight are lined up in a working configuration (at specified distances between each other and the transport platform, at the required height and azimuth from the platform).

The control system checks and fixes the initial position of all UAVs in the deployed state, transmits a signal to the operator to the control panel about readiness for work.

The operator of the complex starts the movement of the transport platform along the planned working trajectory, together with it, the UAVs with the pipeline begin to fly at the same speed, the sprayers spray the area.

In the process of movement, the flight trajectories and location of all UAVs are monitored and their automatic correction, if necessary. Also, there is an automatic control of the trajectory of the transport platform, indicating to the operator the directions of its correction, if necessary. The control system algorithm has the ability to work with autonomous transport platforms, in this case, the motion trajectory correction is performed by the motion control system automatically.

In the process of moving the transport platform and UAV, spraying (irrigation) of the treated area occurs through the deployed pipeline of the system.

As the tanks of the road train are emptied, the remote operator of the system receives messages about the need to ensure the supply of such and such working fluids in such and such a volume after a certain time. He gives the command to the supply vehicle to deliver liquids from the base (where the ingredients for working fluids are stored and / or their solutions are prepared) to the place of operation of the complex (where the trailers with empty tanks are uncoupled from the complex and the filled ones are connected). After the replacement of trailers, the processing of the land by the complex continues.

Upon completion of the work of the complex or when moving equipment to another field for work, the unmanned aerial vehicles sequentially return each to its platform with the reeling of the spraying system pipeline onto the drums. The complex returns to the transport position and moves to the base or other field for work.

Claims (1)

A complex with automatically flying sprinklers and sprayers is a flexible pipeline with a control and power cable, with controlled sprayers, which is automatically carried by one or more vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles connected to it, placed in a transport position on a transport platform and receiving from it during the flight, power supply, working fluids and control commands of the control system, providing in general automatic spraying of targeted volumes of working fluid over the treated land area, consumed from the tanks available on the transport platform and connected to it on trailers during the movement of the complex along a given trajectory.

Images