WO2015115078A1

WO2015115078A1 - Agricultural field observation device and agricultural field observation system

Info

Publication number: WO2015115078A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/000314
Authority: WO
Inventors: 宮田　肇; 慎中野; 秀樹定方; 結輝竹中; 道子新居; 柏本　隆
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2014-01-28
Filing date: 2015-01-26
Publication date: 2015-08-06
Also published as: JP6446671B2; CN105848467A; JPWO2015115078A1; CN105848467B

Abstract

An agricultural field observation device (100) is provided with: an in-ground unit (110) that is embedded in an agricultural field; a measurement unit (10) provided in the in-ground unit and having sensors that measure prescribed physical quantities; and a storage unit. The device is also provided with: a control unit that stores measured data acquired by the measurement unit (10) in the storage unit in a prescribed cycle; and a communications unit that sends the measured data stored in the storage unit to a master unit.

Description

Field observation device and field observation system

The present invention relates to a field observation device and a field observation system for observing the state of a field to support agricultural work.

Heretofore, in cultivation of agricultural products such as melons, various measures have been made to efficiently produce high quality crops. However, it is not easy to stably produce high-quality crops and supply them to the market, because they rely largely on the grower's knowledge and experience.

Patent Document 1 discloses a method of measuring the degree of ripeness of fruits using infrared spectroscopy to determine the harvest time so that stable top-quality melon can be supplied in various environments.

However, the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires the introduction of an expensive measurement system in order to measure the degree of fruit ripeness. In addition, since it is necessary to continuously measure the degree of ripeness of fruits, a large number of work steps are required. Therefore, it is not preferable because equipment cost and work man-hours increase.

JP, 2006-191816, A

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is a field observation device and a field observation system capable of predicting the harvest time, etc., which is simple, inexpensive, and does not require a large number of operation steps. To provide

The field observation device of the present invention includes a underground burial unit buried in a field, a measuring unit provided in the underground burial unit and having a sensor for measuring a predetermined physical quantity, and a storage unit. Further, the control unit stores the measurement data acquired by the measurement unit in the storage unit at a predetermined cycle, and the communication unit transmits the measurement data stored in the storage unit to the parent device.

Moreover, the field observation system of this invention is equipped with the above-mentioned field observation apparatus as a child machine, and a parent machine.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to automatically measure the physical quantity related to the field by the field observation device at a predetermined cycle, and to collect the measurement data in the parent device via radio. Therefore, it is possible to predict, for example, the harvest time of a crop such as melon based on the collected measurement data.

FIG. 1 is an image diagram of a field observation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing an appearance of a field observation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of the field observation system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4: is a figure which represents typically the relationship between integration ground temperature and the sugar content of melon in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the observation operation and the melon cultivation operation in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing temperature data observed by the field observation device and stored in the memory according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a view schematically representing accumulated land temperature data held by the management device which is a parent device in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when the integrated ground temperature reaches a target value in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the field observation device in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10A is a diagram showing another configuration example of the underground burial portion of the field observation device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10B is a diagram showing another configuration example of the underground burial section of the field observation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an image diagram of a field observation system 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the field observation system 300 includes a field observation device 100 and a management device 200.

The field observation device 100, which is a slave unit, is buried in a field where crops such as melon are grown, for example, measures the temperature in the ground, and wirelessly transmits measurement data. The management device 200 is carried by, for example, the user 1 who performs agricultural work, and operates as a parent device of the field observation device 100.

When the user 1 carrying the management apparatus 200 approaches the field observation apparatus 100, a transmission request is made from the management apparatus 200 to the field observation apparatus 100, and the field observation apparatus 100 transmits data to the management apparatus 200. Such a communication form can be realized by existing near field communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication). Also, for example, in the initial setting of observation and the like, setting data is transmitted from the management device 200 to the field observation device 100. The management device 200 has a touch panel 50 so that data display and operation input can be performed.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the appearance of the field observation apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the field observation device 100 includes the underground buried portion 110 buried in the field and the device body 120. The underground burial unit 110 incorporates a measuring unit 10 provided with four

temperature sensors

11, 12, 13, 14. Further, on the surface of the underground burial portion 110, a reference line 18 is attached which serves as a measure of the burial depth.

When the user 1 embeds the underground burial portion 110 in the ground to the depth of the reference line 18, the measurement points of the

respective temperature sensors

11, 12, 13, 14 are located in the underground depth assumed in advance. become. By selecting the temperature sensor to be measured among the

temperature sensors

11, 12, 13, 14, it is possible to set the underground depth at which the temperature is measured. Moreover, the field observation apparatus 100 incorporates a battery, and it shall operate | move with this battery.

FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of a field observation system 300 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the field observation device 100 includes the measurement unit 10 described above, a control unit 20, a memory 30 as a storage unit, and a communication unit 40. The control unit 20 selects a temperature sensor for storing measurement data in the memory 30 among the plurality of

temperature sensors

11, 12, 13 and 14 in the measurement unit 10. Then, the control unit 20 stores the measurement data acquired by the selected temperature sensor in the memory 30 at a predetermined cycle. The communication unit 40 transmits the data stored in the memory 30 to the management device 200. Further, the communication unit 40 receives setting data and the like transmitted from the management device 200. The operation processing unit 25 indicated by a broken line is an arbitrary configuration and is not essential. The operation will be described later.

The management device 200 includes a communication unit 60, a control unit 70, a memory 80, and an arithmetic processing unit 90. The communication unit 60 receives the data transmitted from the field observation device 100. Also, the communication unit 60 transmits setting data to the field observation apparatus 100. The control unit 70 stores the data received by the communication unit 60 in the memory 80. The arithmetic processing unit 90 performs arithmetic processing such as integration calculation of temperature values included in the measurement data stored in the memory 80. The management apparatus 200 further includes a display unit 51 and an operation input unit 52. In the present embodiment, the display unit 51 and the operation input unit 52 are realized as the touch panel 50, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In the present embodiment, cultivation of melon is performed as an example of a crop. In conventional melon cultivation, the harvest time is determined by adjusting the number of days according to the difference in season, temperature, etc. based on the basic number of days from mating to harvest. However, this decision depends on the grower's intuition and experience, so it is difficult to tell if the harvest time is appropriate. On the other hand, according to the experiments of the present inventors, it has been confirmed that there is a correlation between the change in sugar content of melon fruit and the accumulated soil temperature. That is, it has been confirmed that the sugar content of the melon starts to rise when the accumulated temperature reaches a certain value, and the sugar content of the melon stops rising when the accumulated temperature reaches a certain value.

FIG. 4: is a figure which represents typically the relationship between integration ground temperature and the sugar content of melon in embodiment of this invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sugar content of the melon does not change significantly until the accumulated ground temperature reaches a certain large value, and then gradually increases with the increase of the accumulated ground temperature, and reaches the target value Tf of the accumulated ground temperature Almost saturated. For this reason, it is preferable to perform a harvesting operation when the integrated ground temperature reaches the target value Tf. This makes it possible to harvest the melon at the right time. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the field observation system 300 recommends the user 1 to perform the harvesting operation when the integrated ground temperature after the mating operation reaches the target value Tf. In addition, the target value Tf here may set the general numerical value described in the farming operation manual etc., and the user 1 may set the value as original know-how.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the observation operation and the melon cultivation operation in the embodiment of the present invention.

The user 1 embeds the field observation device 100 in the field where the melon is grown, and turns on the power (S11). Then, a mating work of melon is performed (S12). The mating operation may be performed manually or, for example, may be performed by releasing bees in the house.

Then, the user 1 performs initial setting of observation using the management device 200 (S13). In the initial setting, the management apparatus 200 transmits, to the field observation apparatus 100, setting data selected from a cycle of observation and a temperature sensor to be selected. In addition, regarding the period which observes, a default value is beforehand set in each field observation apparatus 100, and the user 1 may be comprised so that initialization may be performed only when changing the default value.

Further, the initial setting of observation may be performed by the field observation device 100 itself instead of performing communication from the management device 200. For example, the field observation apparatus 100 may be provided with an operation unit capable of inputting a cycle of observation and selection of a temperature sensor, and the user 1 may operate the operation unit to perform initial setting.

Thereafter, the user 1 performs an operation of instructing start of observation (S14). The user 1 may also perform this instruction from the management device 200 via communication or may use the field observation device 100 itself.

When the observation is started, the field observation device 100 continuously observes the underground temperature (S15). That is, in the field observation apparatus 100, the control unit 20 stores the measurement data of the temperature sensor selected in the initial setting in the memory 30 in the cycle set in the initial setting. Further, while the observation is continued, the communication unit 40 checks whether there is a data transmission request from the management device 200 (S16). When there is a data transmission request from the management device 200 (S16, Yes), the field observation device 100 transmits unsent data among the measurement data stored in the memory 30 to the management device 200 (S17).

FIG. 6 is a view schematically showing temperature data observed by the field observation device 100 and stored in the memory 30 in the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, each temperature data includes an observed day and time, a value of the observed temperature, and a transmission flag. The transmission flag indicates whether the data has been transmitted to the management apparatus 200 in the past. Here, it is assumed that “1” indicates that it has been transmitted and “0” indicates that it has not transmitted.

When there is a data transmission request from the management device 200, the field observation device 100 transmits, to the management device 200, temperature data whose transmission flag is “0”. When the capacity of the memory 30 is insufficient, new temperature data may be overwritten in order from the old temperature data.

The management device 200 stores the temperature data transmitted from the field observation device 100 in the memory 80. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 90 integrates the temperature values from the date and time when the observation was started, and obtains the integrated ground temperature (S18). The obtained integrated ground temperature is displayed on the display unit 51.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing integrated land temperature data held by the management device 200 which is a parent device in the embodiment of the present invention.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, each integrated ground temperature data includes a child device ID (ID for specifying the field observation device 100), an integrated ground temperature value, an update date and time, a start date and time, and a cycle.

Then, the control unit 70 of the management device 200 determines whether the calculated integrated ground temperature has reached the target value Tf (S19). If it has reached (S19, Yes), the management device 200 displays a signal for notifying the user 1 that the accumulated ground temperature has reached the target value Tf. For example, the screen of the display unit 51 may be blinked, or one selected from specific characters and marks may be displayed on the display unit 51. On the other hand, when the target value is not reached (S19, No), the management device 200 continues the observation (S15).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when the integrated ground temperature reaches a target value in the embodiment of the present invention.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the integrated ground temperature of the three field observation devices 100 is displayed on the touch panel 50 of the management device 200. And, for example, No. Since the integrated ground temperature of the field observation apparatus 100 of 02 has reached the target value, the integrated ground temperature is highlighted and a message indicating that a harvest is recommended is displayed.

When the user 1 confirms that a signal as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, the user 1 performs a harvesting operation (FIG. 5, S21).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the underground temperature of the field is automatically measured at a predetermined cycle by the field observation device 100 embedded in the field, and the measurement data is wirelessly transmitted to the management device 200. It can be easily collected. Then, the integrated ground temperature can be calculated from the collected measurement data to predict the melon harvest time.

Although the four temperature sensors 11 to 14 are provided in the measurement unit 10 in the above description, the number of temperature sensors provided in the measurement unit 10 is not limited to this. When there is only one temperature sensor, the process of selecting the temperature sensor in the initial setting is unnecessary.

In the above description, only the measurement data of the temperature sensor selected in the initial setting is stored in the memory 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the measurement data of all the

temperature sensors

11, 12, 13, 14 are stored in the memory 30, and when transmitting to the management apparatus 200, only the measurement data of the temperature sensor selected in the initial setting is transmitted. It does not matter. However, in this case, a larger memory capacity is required.

As indicated by the broken line in the configuration of FIG. 3, the field processing apparatus 100 may be provided with the arithmetic processing unit 25, and the arithmetic processing unit 25 may execute integration calculation of the temperature value included in the measurement data. Absent. In this case, the integrated land temperature data obtained by the calculation is transmitted from the field observation device 100 to the management device 200.

Further, in this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the field observation apparatus 100 may be provided with the display unit 130, and the display unit 130 may display the integrated ground temperature.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the agricultural field observation apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, the display of the accumulated ground temperature may be performed, for example, only during a specific time (for example, the daytime when working), or when the management apparatus 200 approaches the field observation apparatus 100 and data transmission is performed. You may do it only Also, the field observation apparatus 100 determines whether the calculated integrated ground temperature has reached the target value Tf, and if it has, the display unit 130 indicates that the integrated ground temperature has reached the target value Tf. It does not matter if a signal to be transmitted to 1 is displayed.

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are figures which show the other structural example of the underground burial part 110 of the agricultural field observation apparatus 100 in embodiment of this invention.

In FIGS. 10A and 10B, it is assumed that one temperature sensor 15 is provided in the

underground burial portions

111 and 112.

In the configuration of FIG. 10A, a scale 19 is attached to the surface of the underground buried portion 111. The user can adjust the depth of the underground burial portion 111 into the ground based on the scale 19. Thereby, the measurement point of the temperature sensor 15 can be set to a desired depth.

In the configuration of FIG. 10B, on the surface of the underground burial portion 112, a guide portion 140 is provided which indicates a measure of the burial depth. Specifically, for example, the guide portion 140 is a light emitting element configured to be able to adjust the light emission range, and the light emission range can be adjusted by the control unit 20. In this case, the field observation apparatus 100 receives data on the depth of the measurement point of the underground temperature from the management apparatus 200, and the light emission range of the guide unit 140 is received from the measurement point to the upper end of the light emission range Adjust to match the depth indicated by the data. The user 1 puts the underground burial part 112 in the ground to a position where the light emission range of the guide part 140 just disappears. Thereby, the measurement point of the temperature sensor 15 can be easily set to a desired depth.

According to the configuration shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the depth of the underground temperature measurement point can be easily set and changed even if there is only one temperature sensor 15 built in the underground embedded

portions

111 and 112. Can. Therefore, the internal configuration of the field observation apparatus 100 can be simplified, and the process of selecting the

temperature sensors

11, 12, 13, 14 can be omitted. Furthermore, a configuration as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B is provided with a plurality of

temperature sensors

11, 12, 13, 14 as described in the above embodiments, and a configuration for selecting any one of the temperature sensors It is also possible to combine with

In the above-described embodiment, in the cultivation of melon, the integrated land temperature starting from the mating operation is observed to inform the user of the harvest time. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the target crops are not limited to melon. Further, the starting point for observing the accumulated soil temperature is not limited to the breeding work, and what is notified to the user is not limited to the harvest time.

Also, the measured temperature data can be utilized by methods other than integration calculation. For example, it is possible to find out a change selected from the change in soil temperature in at least one of daytime and night and the daily change of soil temperature at a specific time, and use it in the schedule of cultivation work etc. is there.

In addition, a predetermined physical quantity other than the temperature may be measured. For example, by measuring at least one of the amount of moisture in the soil and the PH value and collecting measurement data, it is possible to utilize it in a schedule of cultivation work or the like.

As described above, the field observation device 100 according to the present embodiment is provided in the

underground burial units

110, 111 and 112 and the

underground burial units

110, 111 and 112 buried in the field, and the predetermined physical quantities are calculated. A measurement unit 10 having a sensor to be measured, and a memory 30 which is a storage unit are provided. In addition, the control unit 20 stores the measurement data acquired by the measurement unit 10 in the storage unit at a predetermined cycle, and the communication unit transmits the measurement data stored in the storage unit to the management apparatus 200 as a parent device. And 40.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to automatically measure the physical quantity related to the farm field by the farm field observation apparatus 100 at a predetermined cycle, and to collect the measurement data in the management apparatus 200 which is the parent machine via radio. Therefore, it is possible to predict, for example, the harvest time of a crop such as melon based on the collected measurement data.

The communication unit 40 may be configured to transmit unsent measurement data among the measurement data stored in the storage unit to the parent device when a transmission request is received from the parent device.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the capacity of the memory 30 which is a storage unit can be effectively used.

In addition, the control unit 20 may be configured to set a predetermined cycle in accordance with setting data received from the parent device via the communication unit 40.

According to such a configuration, since the user 1 does not need to perform setting and the cycle can be automatically set, a configuration easy for the user 1 to use can be realized.

Moreover, the measurement part 10 has several sensors from which the depth from the ground surface mutually differs, when the

underground burial parts

110, 111, 112 are embed | buried in a field, and the control part 20 is the inside of several sensors. From the above, the configuration may be such that a sensor that transmits measurement data to the parent device is selected.

According to such a configuration, the configuration capable of measuring the physical quantity at the most desirable position can be realized without bothering the user 1.

In addition, the control unit 20 may be configured to select a sensor according to setting data received from the parent device via the communication unit 40.

According to such a configuration, a configuration capable of measuring the physical quantity under the conditions set on the management apparatus 200 side can be realized without bothering the user 1.

The sensors are temperature sensors 11 to 15 that measure temperature, and further include an arithmetic processing unit 25 that integrates the temperature value included in the measurement data stored in the storage unit at a predetermined cycle from a predetermined date and time. The communication unit 40 may be configured to transmit the data of the integration result by the arithmetic processing unit 25 to the parent device when there is a transmission request from the parent device.

According to such a configuration, since integration can be performed on the field observation device 100 side, it is possible to realize a configuration capable of reducing the processing on the management device 200 side which is the parent device.

Furthermore, the display unit 130 may further include a display unit 130 that displays the integration result of the arithmetic processing unit 25. The display unit 130 may be configured to display a signal when the integration result exceeds the target value.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the harvest time can be determined even when the user 1 does not have the management device 200.

Moreover, the guide part 140 which shows the standard of the burial depth is provided in the surface of the underground burial part 112, and the standard of the burial depth which the guide part 140 shows can be adjusted by the control part 20, The unit 20 is configured to adjust the standard of the embedding depth indicated by the guide unit 140 so that the measurement point of the measuring unit 10 has a predetermined depth according to the setting data received from the parent machine via the communication unit 40. It may be.

According to such a configuration, the measurement point of the sensor can be set to a desired depth, and a highly convenient configuration that does not burden the user 1 can be realized.

In addition, a field observation system 300 of the present embodiment is a system provided with the field observation apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration and a management apparatus 200 which is a master unit.

Also, the sensors are temperature sensors 11 to 15 that measure temperature, and the master unit is an arithmetic processing unit 90 that integrates the temperature value included in the measurement data transmitted from the field observation apparatus 100 from a predetermined date and time. May be provided.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the temperature value is integrated on the side of the management device 200 which is the parent device. Moreover, the structure which can lighten the calculation burden by the field observation apparatus 100 side can be implement | achieved.

Further, the master unit further includes a display unit 51 for displaying the integration result by the arithmetic processing unit 90, and the display unit 51 is configured to display a signal when the integration result exceeds the target value. Good.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to further notify the user 1 having the management device 200 of necessary information, such as harvest time and the like. In particular, when there are a plurality of field observation apparatuses 100, information from a plurality of field observation apparatuses 100 can be known by one management apparatus 200.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to achieve the remarkable effect that it is possible to predict the harvest time etc. without requiring a simple, inexpensive, and a large number of operation steps. Therefore, the present invention is useful as a field observation device, a field observation system and the like for observing the state of a field to support agricultural work.

Reference Signs List 1 user 10

measurement unit

11, 12, 13, 14, 15 temperature sensor 18 reference line 19 scale 20 control unit 25 calculation processing unit 30 memory 40 communication unit 50 touch panel 51 display unit 52 operation input unit 60 communication unit 70 control unit 80 memory DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 90 operation processing part 100

field observation apparatus

110, 111, 112 underground burial part 120 apparatus main body 130 display part 140 guide part 200 management apparatus 300 field observation system

Claims

Underground burial section buried in the field,
A measuring unit provided in the underground burial unit and having a sensor for measuring a predetermined physical quantity;
A storage unit,
A control unit which stores measurement data acquired by the measurement unit in the storage unit at a predetermined cycle;
A field observation device comprising a parent unit and a communication unit for transmitting the measurement data stored in the storage unit.
The field observation according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit transmits unsent measurement data among the measurement data stored in the storage unit to the parent device when there is a transmission request from the parent device. apparatus.
The field observation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the predetermined cycle in accordance with setting data received from the parent device via the communication unit.
The measurement unit includes a plurality of sensors having different depths from the ground surface when the underground burial unit is buried in the field.
The field observation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit selects a sensor that transmits the measurement data to the parent device from the plurality of sensors.
The field observation device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit selects the sensor according to setting data received from the parent device via the communication unit.
The sensor measures the temperature,
The arithmetic processing unit further integrates a temperature value included in the measurement data stored in the storage unit in the predetermined cycle from a predetermined date and time.
The agricultural field observation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit transmits data of an integration result by the operation processing unit to the parent device when the transmission request is received from the parent device.
The display device further includes a display unit that displays an integration result by the arithmetic processing unit,
The field observation device according to claim 6, wherein the display unit displays a signal when the integration result exceeds a target value.
The surface of the underground burial portion is provided with a guide portion that indicates a measure of the burial depth,
The indication of the burial depth indicated by the guide portion is adjustable by the control portion,
The control unit adjusts an indication of the embedment depth indicated by the guide unit so that the measurement point of the measurement unit has a predetermined depth according to the setting data received from the parent device via the communication unit. The field observation device according to claim 1.
The field observation system provided with the field observation device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and the parent device.
The sensor measures the temperature,
The field observation system according to claim 9, wherein the parent device comprises an arithmetic processing unit that integrates the temperature value included in the measurement data transmitted from the field observation device from a predetermined date and time.
The parent machine is
The display device further includes a display unit for displaying an integration result by the arithmetic processing unit,
The field observation system according to claim 10, wherein the display unit displays a signal when the integration result exceeds a target value.