WO2018041330A1

WO2018041330A1 - Universal robotized electrical itractor

Info

Publication number: WO2018041330A1
Application number: PCT/EP2016/070337
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gancho MITEV
Original assignee: Itractor Uk Ltd
Priority date: 2016-08-29
Filing date: 2016-08-29
Publication date: 2018-03-08

Abstract

iTractor is a robotized electrical universal tractor for work inside a yard or in a cattle farm. It can be operated manually as a standard garden tractor with steering wheel and driving instruments. In an autonomous mode iTractor has the following potentialities: • It charges the manger with food at a programmable interval; • Cleans the cattle shed at a programmable interval; • Mows the lawn using an ecologically friendly technology - mulching; • Regulates the depth of plowing; • Regulates the cutting height; • Stops the mowing when it is raining, due to the rain sensor; • It trains itself by scanning the new terrain; • It can till separate farm areas, divided by virtual walls; • No driving license is required - because of the lack of ICE; The operational safety is guaranteed by the quick stop and the in-built sensors, which scan the area more than once in a second. When approaching obstacles iTractor slows down and stops.

Description

Title: Universal Robotized Electrical iTractor

Field

The invention pertains to the field "Arrangement or mounting of electricity powered units" B60K1/00, B60K1/02, B60K1/04, as well as to:

A01 B69/00 - Steering of agricultural machines or implements

A01 B51 /00 - Undercarriages specially adapted for mounting on various kinds of agricultural tools or apparatus

Background

Robotics and automation can make the transport and agriculture more efficient. The first self-operating commercial truck (without a driver) in the world, got a full license to operate on public roads in the state of Nevada.

A self-steering tractor is known, which can automatically regulate the speed and the turning radius when on a programmed track in the field. For previous systems, manual calibration was necessary for the different types of grounds with hard and soft soil.

The following patents are also known:

US 4482960 A - Robot tractors - A method was discovered, based on electro-optical and microcomputer devices, for automatic guiding of agricultural machines for the purposes of automatic cultivation and harvesting. There are also systems for automatic picking, excavating and other activities.

US 4612996 A Robotic agricultural system with tractor supported on tracks - a robotic iTractor, which travels on rails, forming a grid on the field and automatically performs its tasks. The tractor is supported on extendable legs.

US 4769700 A - Robot tractors. A method was discovered, based on the electro- optical and microcomputer apparatus. The position of the machinery in the field is determined by electro-optical ly sensing the target with a sensor located on the machinery. A desired trajectory for the machinery is then determined and the machinery is steered automatically along this trajectory. The above inventions have the following disadvantages - powered by internal combustion engines; need of dedicated control -tower to be built; need of a direct line of sight with the tower, etc.

The drawbacks outlined above lower the customer value of the known solutions and are one of the reasons for the small range of distribution of this technology.

Any known technology of marginally similar nature to the current invention is described in the above-mentioned patents. None of them includes the system disclosed hereunder.

Statement of Invention

The invented iTractor is a robotized electrical universal tractor for work inside a farmyard or in an animal farm. The technological nature of the invention is in the widening of the range of application of the existing technologies. Robotized motor vehicles have been used by the army and in space from a long time. Cars and trucks for operation on public roads are being developed. Intelligent navigation technologies are known. So far they have had a limited domestic use because of their high prices.

This invention solves this problem. The solution has a reasonable price because of the use of a fully electric tractor - using electric motors, electric linear actuators and trailer control. They are precisely steered by frequency invertors with vector control. The use of vector steering with an open loop and motors with permanent magnets without reverse connection allow the quicker stopping by means of the high magnetic field. This is important for the safety. All these conditions are absent in tractors with hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems and internal combustion engines.

The technological effect is a result of the advantages of the invented system iTractor, as compared to the existing models:

• Easy to use

• No need to think where and when to charge the battery because it

automatically goes for charging;

• Quiet operation;

• Manoeuvrability - it has no universal or gearing from the internal combustion engine to the wheels; • Two kinds of accumulators - main and spare - portable;

• More than one charging stations in the set - in order to be charged during the breaks between two tasks at the closest charging station in the farm.

Detailed Description

We use universal micro-controller platforms (e.g. Arduino board plates or ,ARM9 S3C2440 GT2440) and laser, infrared and acoustic sensors with accuracy up to +/- 2 mm. They are already widely used (at affordable prices) in devices such as laser tape-measure, remote controllers and children^'s toys. The precision of these sensors is not appropriate for spacecraft or medical equipment, but is fully sufficient for the creation of ITractor. A GPS receiver of an ordinary tablet is sufficient for its

navigation. The computing power of the tablet is also sufficient - it is the board computer of the iTractor. Arduino boards provide the link between sensors and processor on one hand, and between the processor and the operating electric motors on other hand. The information for the hardware design is freely accessible. The applications for the tablet are available. The necessary special applications for movement control, breaks, forward and backward tilting system, and the other trailers for iTractors have been created.

Arduino boards are based on the micro-controllers kind, using various 8-bit microcontrollers Atmel AVR or 32-bit Atmel ARM processors. These systems provide a set of digital and analogue inlets and outlets, which set can be connected to different expansion plates (the so-called shields) and other circuits. The sensors, necessary for the localization, are plugged in there, from there the commands to the separate operational mechanisms of the iTractor are given - driving motors and linear actuators. The plates have serial communication interfaces included, including USB, which we use for connection with the board computer (tablet). For

microcontroller programming the platform Arduino offers an integrated development environment (IDE), which includes support of "C" and "C ++" programming

languages. There are other accessible microcontrollers or microcontroller platforms available for physical computing: Parallax Basic Stamp, Netmedia on BX-24, Phidgets, Handyboard of the Massachusetts Technology Institute, which offer a similar functionality. In its essence, this is a dynamic intuitive technology, which rapidly analyses the environment (more than once per second) to reacts in real time according to the preprogrammed behavioural scheme.

The safety at work is guaranteed by the quick stopping, as well as by a front sensitive bumper, equipped with built-in sensors, which scan the space more than once in a second. The iTractor slows down and stops when it approaches obstacles, or passes round them - depending on the mode, selected by the owner. The iTractor is a product of customer oriented design, led by user experience (UX).

The iTractor possesses simplicity and reliability owing to the high quality standard components used. The iTractor is a machine, simple to operate. The iTractor has attractive maintenance - just one look at the screen. The robotized iTractor makes life easier, saves time and makes the farm cleaner. The iTractor returns to the charging station at the end of the working cycle or when the battery runs low.

The structure of the separate elements of the system is known at the time of the invention. Nevertheless, the combination of the above-mentioned functions, characterizing the proposed iTractor system, is missing in the available information. That is why the previously inexistent combination of features allows the attainment of new characteristics of the iTractor, unknown in the available information, set forth in this description of invention. This combination of design features attributed new customer and user qualities, absent in the solutions already known, and eliminates their disadvantages.

Beside as a standard garden tractor with steering wheel and guiding instruments, iTractor possesses the following characteristics in automatic mode:

• It charges the manger with food at a programmable interval;

• Cleans the cattle shed at a programmable interval;

• Mows the lawn with an ecologically friendly technology - mulching, it is not necessary to collect the mown grass. Twigs, fir-cones, etc., do not hinder the mowing;

• Regulates the depth of ploughing;

• Regulates the cutting height; • Stops the mowing when it is raining owing to the rain sensor;

• It trains itself by scanning the new terrain - it can till separate farm areas;

• It has a PIN code and an anti-theft alarm;

• Safety functions - when it rolls over, the knives of the lawn mower stop

turning. There is a sound signalization at the starting, as well as child protection;

• Economic operation - the maintenance is identical to the maintenance of household electrical appliances.

• Accessibility for widespread use - no driving license required because of the lack of ICE (internal combustion engine)

Application of the Invention

In a sample application of the invention in a cattle farm, iTractor supplies the manager of the animals with food at a programmable interval.

In another sample application of the invention in a cattle farm iTractor cleans the cattle shed at a programmable interval.

In another sample application of the invention in a farm iTractor mows the part of the farm, selected on the screen. It regulates the cutting height. It mows along the edge of the meadow with an ecologically friendly technology - mulching, it is not necessary to collect the mown grass.

In another sample application of the invention in a farm, iTractor plows the part of the farm, selected on the screen. The owner chooses the depth of plowing and the system maintains it.

The described structure of iTractor allows the realization of each of the listed applications. It is created on the base of tests and analyses of the disadvantages of the systems, selected for prototypes. It is ready to be used in production.

With this, according to the author, uniqueness and utility of the proposed unitary technical solution is guaranteed. The specialist can easily accept the big number of modifications of the preferred sample operation of the invention, described in detail above. Therefore, the applicant intends to commit only to the scope of the appended claims. Description of the Preferred Operations

In a preferred operation of this invention, the navigation system of iTractor uses laser range-finders as sensors for finding the location of iTractor in the farmyard. The information, received by them, is processed by microcontrollers and is send to the board computer.

In another preferred operation of this invention the iTractor navigation system uses ultrasound scanning to localize the position of the iTractor in the farmyard.

This invention can be executed in many different forms and should not be considered limited to the operations, listed here.

Claims

1 . Robotized electrical universal tractor - iTractor comprising of transmission, electromotor driving and manual control, characterized by the presence of two separate control systems - manual and automatic with programmable autopilot, which autonomously guides the iTractor in automatic mode.

2. iTractor, according to Claim 1 , characterized by the programmable autopilot, includes a navigation system, microcomputers and programmable

microcontrollers, run by operational programmes for each separate element of the known trailers of an universal tractor, as well as a programme for control of the trajectory of movement of the iTractor itself, in the access areas in automatic mode, including the functions of navigating the iTractor to the charging station and plugging it in when the battery needs to be charged or when the iTractor completes its tasks.

3. iTractor, according to Claim 2, characterized by the incorporation of laser range-finders, infrared and ultrasound sensors, GPS receiver and

microcomputers, connected in a local network, forming a platform for dynamic localization which processes the data according to an interactive algorithm with feedback and receives the exact location of the iTractor.

4. iTractor, according to Claim 1 , characterized by the incorporation of built-in obstacle sensors, proximity sensors and touch sensors, which are switched on during automatic mode on operation and provide slowing down and stopping of the iTractor when it approaches people or obstacles.

5. iTractor, according to Claim 1 , characterized by a circuit breaker of the

charging system, connected in such a way as to ensure gradual switching off of the charging system before iTractor pulls off from the charging station.

6. iTractor, according to Claim 1 , characterized by the fact that all its systems are electrical, regardless of the power source, whether only batteries or a hybrid engine with a generator, powered by an internal compulsion engine.

7. iTractor, according to Claim 1 , characterized by a board computer PIN code and an anti-theft alarm.

8. iTractor, according to Claim 1 , characterized by more than one charging

station.

9. iTractor, according to Clainn 3, characterized by a programme for a "virtual wall", limiting the area of access and operation in automatic mode.

l O. iTractor, according to Claim 2, characterized by applications for iOS and Android, which allow change of settings and free editing of the tilled area.