JP6418375B2 - Field observation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a field observation device that observes the state of a field to support farm work.

  In recent years, various research and development have been promoted on sensing technology for observing the state of fields in order to improve the efficiency of crop cultivation.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a soil temperature measuring device that includes a heater device embedded in the soil and a measuring device capable of measuring the soil temperature and calculates the heat transfer coefficient of the soil. Patent Document 2 discloses a moisture sensor in which a sensor head including a light emitting unit that emits light of a short wavelength and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light is embedded in the soil in a house field to determine the moisture content of the soil. Has been.

JP 2012-200194 A JP 2007-333705 A

  For example, the inventors of the present application regularly measure data such as underground temperature and water content, or temperature, humidity, illuminance, etc. by an observation device embedded in the field, and collect measurement data, for example, wirelessly. A system has been proposed. In such a system, it is difficult to supply power from the outside to the observation device embedded in the field. Therefore, it is necessary to supply a power to a sensor, a processing circuit, etc. with a built-in battery.

  However, the field can be a poor environment for batteries. For example, the temperature inside the field observation apparatus is assumed to rise above the air temperature because the air temperature becomes very high under the hot summer sun. In such a high-temperature environment, the battery life is likely to be shortened and defects such as liquid leakage are likely to occur, so that it is necessary to frequently replace the battery. This is not preferable in terms of the maintenance cost of the field observation system.

  The present invention suppresses a decrease in the life and occurrence of defects of a built-in battery in a field observation device for observing a field environment.

  In one aspect of the present invention, a field observation device for observing a field environment is provided with a sensor that measures a predetermined physical quantity related to the field environment and at least a part of a processing unit that processes the output of the sensor. A main body, and an underground embedment unit that is embedded in the ground and used, and a battery that supplies electric power to the sensor and the processing unit. It is the inside of an underground burying part, Comprising: It is arrange | positioned in the place located in the ground when the said underground burying part is embed | buried in the ground.

  According to the present invention, the battery that supplies power to the sensor and the processing unit that processes the output of the sensor is inside the underground unit, and is located in the ground when the underground unit is embedded in the ground. It is arranged where. Since the underground temperature is more stable than the air temperature, the battery temperature is stabilized by the influence of the underground temperature by such an arrangement. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the decrease in battery life and the occurrence of defects.

External view of an example of a field observation apparatus according to an embodiment Example of internal structure of field observation device according to embodiment It is a figure which shows the detail of the internal structure of a measurement part, (a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, (b) is a cross-sectional view. Graph showing changes in temperature and ground temperature observed in the field An example of the cross-sectional shape of the cylindrical part Other examples of the cross-sectional shape of the cylindrical part The image figure which shows an example of the field observation system using the field observation apparatus which concerns on embodiment Image of configuration using cloud computer Other examples of appearance of field observation device concerning an embodiment Example of internal structure of field observation device according to another embodiment Example of internal structure of field observation device according to another embodiment Example of internal structure of field observation device according to another embodiment Example of internal structure of field observation device according to another embodiment

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of an example of a field observation apparatus according to an embodiment. A field observation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with an apparatus main body 2 and an apparatus main body 2, and includes an underground burying section 3 that is embedded in the ground and used. The underground burying section 3 includes a cylindrical section 4 having a circular cross section, for example, and a measuring section 5 in which a sensor 7 for measuring a predetermined physical quantity related to the field environment is built. Examples of the physical quantity measured by the sensor 7 include temperature, moisture content, and electrical conductivity. Here, the sensor 7 is assumed to be a temperature sensor. The cylindrical portion 4 is formed so as to extend in the underground depth direction when the underground portion 3 is embedded in the ground, and a reference line 9 serving as a guide for the embedded depth is attached to the surface thereof. Has been. When the user embeds the underground burying section 3 up to the position of the reference line 9, the position of the measurement point of the sensor 7 becomes a desired underground depth h assumed in advance. The cylindrical part 4 is comprised with resin, for example. In FIG. 1, the cylindrical portion 4 is formed in a cylindrical shape, but is not limited thereto. For example, even if the cross-sectional shape is an ellipse, a polygon such as a quadrangle, a hexagon, or the like, It doesn't matter.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the agricultural field observation apparatus 1. The inside of the apparatus main body 2 is functionally illustrated by a block diagram. As shown in FIG. 2, the measurement unit 5 includes a sensor housing 6 that houses a measurement module 8. The measurement module 8 has, for example, a glass epoxy substrate on which the sensor 7 is mounted, and a circuit pattern is formed on the substrate. The measurement module 8 needs to operate correctly in the underground environment containing moisture, chemicals such as agricultural chemicals and fertilizers. In addition, it may contain a substance that may contaminate the field, such as a metal forming a circuit pattern. For this reason, the sensor housing 6 is preferably formed of a resin resistant to chemicals, a coated metal, or the like. As the resin, for example, polyethylene (PE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), or the like is used.

  3A and 3B are diagrams showing details of the internal structure of the measuring section 5, wherein FIG. 3A is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 3B is a transverse sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. The measurement module 8 is provided at a position where the sensor 7 contacts the smooth inner wall surface of the sensor housing 6. In order to prevent displacement of the measurement module 8, for example, a filler 12 such as silicone is provided inside the sensor housing 6. Further, the sensor housing 6 is formed to be thinner than the wall thickness t2 of the other wall within a range in which the wall thickness t1 with which the sensor 7 abuts can be maintained in view of measurement sensitivity. It is preferable. For example, when the sensor housing 6 is formed of a resin such as polyethylene, t1 = about 0.3 to 1 mm is preferable.

  Further, in the apparatus main body 2, as an example of a processing unit that processes the output of the sensor 7, the control unit 13 that controls the sensor 7 and acquires the measurement data, and the measurement data of the sensor 7 are stored. A memory 14 and a communication unit 15 that transmits / receives measurement data of the sensor 7 to / from the outside are provided. The farm field observation apparatus 1 includes a battery 10 that supplies power to the sensor 7, the control unit 13, the memory 14, the communication unit 15, and the like. The battery 10 may be installed in the field observation device 1 by the user if there is no problem such as waterproofing.

  In the present embodiment, the battery 10 is not inside the apparatus main body 2 but inside the underground burying portion 3, and when the underground burying portion 3 is buried in the ground, Has been placed. In the structure of FIG. 2, the battery 10 is positioned around the center of the cylindrical portion 4 and is accommodated in a holding portion 11 fixed to the inner wall surface of the cylindrical portion 4.

  FIG. 4 is a graph showing changes in air temperature and ground temperature (15 cm underground) observed in the field. In FIG. 4, the housing temperature of the device body 2 of the field observation device 1 is also shown. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the field temperature changes greatly in the range of about 7 to 34 ° C., while the change in the ground temperature is much smaller, changing only in the range of about 15 to 20 ° C. . Moreover, the temperature of the apparatus main body 2 changes greatly with the change of the air temperature, and particularly when the air temperature rises, it reaches a temperature far exceeding the air temperature.

  On the other hand, the battery 10 is usually not so high in heat resistance. When the battery 10 is exposed to a high temperature in the summer, the life of the battery 10 is reduced or a defect such as liquid leakage occurs. For this reason, as can be seen from the graph of FIG. 4, when the battery 10 is provided inside the apparatus main body 2, the casing temperature rises to the external air temperature or higher, leading to a reduction in life and occurrence of defects. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the battery 10 is disposed inside the underground buried portion 4 and located in the ground where the temperature change is small. Underground, since the temperature change is extremely small compared to the temperature on the ground, it can be said that it is suitable as an environment for holding the battery 10.

  Further, in the present embodiment, in order to further reduce the influence of the temperature change on the battery 10, a device is added to the position where the battery 10 is held. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional shape of the position (line AA in FIG. 2) where the battery 10 is held in the cylindrical portion 4. As shown in FIG. 5, the battery 10 is arranged not at the center of the tubular portion 4 but at a position near a partial region of the inner wall surface 4 a of the tubular portion 4 in the cross section of the tubular portion 4. ing. Thus, by bringing the battery 10 close to the inner wall surface 4a of the cylindrical portion 4, a stable underground temperature is easily transmitted to the battery 10, and therefore the environment of the battery 10 can be maintained in a more preferable state.

  FIG. 6 is another example of the cross-sectional shape of the position where the battery 10 is held in the tubular portion 4 (line AA in FIG. 2). In FIG. 6, the thickness (X) of the cylindrical portion 4 in the region where the battery 10 has approached is thinner than the thickness (for example, Y) of other regions. Thereby, since the stable underground temperature becomes easy to be transmitted by the battery 10, the environment of the battery 10 can be kept in a more preferable state. Note that the method of changing the thickness of the cylindrical portion 4 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 6. For example, only the region where the battery 10 is offset is formed thin, and the other regions are uniform. It may be formed to a thickness of.

  FIG. 7 is an image diagram showing an example of a field observation system using the field observation apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, the field observation device 1 measures the temperature in the ground by the sensor 7 and transmits the measurement data wirelessly from the communication unit 15. The management device 20 is carried by, for example, a user 51 who performs farm work, and operates as a parent device of the farm field observation device 1. When the user 51 carrying the management device 20 approaches the field observation device 1, a transmission request is made from the management device 20 to the field observation device 1, and the field observation device 1 transmits data to the management device 20. Such a communication mode can be realized by existing short-range wireless communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication) or specific low-power wireless communication. Further, for example, in the initial setting of observation, the setting data is transmitted from the management device 20 to the field observation device 1.

  In the field observation system as shown in FIG. 7, for example, the underground temperature of the field is automatically measured at a predetermined cycle by the field observation device 1, and the measurement data is easily collected by the management device 20 via radio. Can do. Then, for example, an integrated ground temperature can be calculated from the collected measurement data, and this can be used to predict the harvest time of the crop.

  A cloud computer can also be used. FIG. 8 is an image diagram of a configuration in which the farm field observation system uses a cloud computer. In the configuration of FIG. 8, for example, the management device 20 transmits the collected temperature data to the service provider server 55 via the Internet 54. Then, the service provider server 55 calculates, for example, an integrated ground temperature, predicts a crop harvesting time based on the integrated ground temperature, and transmits the processing result to the management device 20 via the Internet 54. The service provider server 55 may transmit a URL for notifying the processing result. Alternatively, the collected temperature data may be input from the management device 20 to the PC 53 owned by the user and transmitted from the PC 53 to the service provider server 54 via the Internet 54.

  FIG. 9 is another example of the appearance of the field observation device according to the present embodiment. The field observation apparatus in FIG. 9 includes a display unit 18 such as a liquid crystal screen on the outer surface of the apparatus body 2. The display unit 18 can display, for example, calculated accumulated ground temperature data and the like.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the battery 10 that supplies power to the sensor 7 and the processing unit such as the control unit 13 that processes the output of the sensor 7, the memory 14, and the communication unit 15 is provided in the underground burying unit 3. And when the underground burying portion 3 is embedded in the ground, it is disposed in the ground. Since the underground temperature is much more stable than the air temperature, the temperature of the battery 10 is stabilized by the influence of the underground temperature. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the battery 10 from being reduced in life and occurrence of defects. Thereby, since it becomes unnecessary to replace the battery 10 frequently, the maintenance cost of a field observation system can be suppressed significantly.

(Other embodiments)
10 to 13 are examples of the internal structure of a field observation device according to another embodiment. Also in these field observation devices, as in the above-described embodiment, it is possible to suppress a reduction in the life of the battery 10 and occurrence of defects.

  In the structure of FIG. 10, the battery 10 is accommodated in a holding portion 11 </ b> A installed in the apparatus main body 2. Since the holding part 11A is configured to extend inside the cylindrical part 4, the battery 10 is disposed at a position located in the ground when the underground buried part 3 is buried in the ground. Also in the structure of FIG. 10, similarly to the structure of FIG. 2, the battery 10 is disposed not at the center of the tubular portion 4 but at a position close to the inner wall surface of the tubular portion 4. In the structure of FIG. 10, for example, when the battery is replaced with the apparatus main body 2 and the underground buried portion 3 removed, the battery 10 can be easily replaced as compared with the structure of FIG.

  In the structure of FIG. 11, a sensor 7 </ b> A is provided in the apparatus main body 2, and the sensor 7 and the measurement module 8 inside the sensor housing 6 are omitted. Examples of the physical quantity measured by the sensor 7A include air temperature, humidity, and illuminance. Here, the sensor 7A is assumed to be an illuminance sensor. As described above, even when the sensing target of the field observation device 1 is not a physical quantity in the ground, the battery 10 can be intentionally positioned in the ground to suppress a decrease in the life of the battery 10 and the occurrence of defects. In addition, you may provide a sensor in both the apparatus main body 2 and the underground burying part 3.

  In the structure of FIG. 12, a filler 31 is provided inside the holding portion 11 so as to cover the battery 10. That is, the filler 31 is disposed in the gap between the battery 10 and the holding unit 11 inside the holding unit 11. Thereby, since the underground temperature can be efficiently transmitted to the battery 10, for example, even when the internal temperature of the apparatus main body 2 suddenly increases, the temperature change of the battery 10 can be suppressed. Moreover, even if the battery 10 has a liquid leak, it is possible to prevent the field from being contaminated.

  In the structure of FIG. 13, the filler 41 is arranged from the measuring unit 5 to the tubular part 4 in the underground buried part 3. That is, the filler 42 is provided inside the underground buried portion 3 so that the filler 31 inside the holding portion 11 and the filler 12 inside the sensor housing 6 in the structure of FIG. Thereby, the same effect as the structure of FIG. 12 is obtained, and the effect that the filler 42 can be formed efficiently is obtained.

  In the above-described embodiments, the configuration in which the control unit 13, the memory 14, and the communication unit 15 are provided as processing units for processing the outputs of the sensors 7 and 7A inside the apparatus main body 2 is shown. It is not something that can be done. For example, the control unit 13, the memory 14, and the like may be provided inside the underground burying unit 3, and components other than the control unit 13, the memory 14, and the communication unit 15 may be provided inside the apparatus main body 2. However, since it is better not to embed the communication unit 15 in the ground from the viewpoint of communication sensitivity, the communication unit 15 is preferably provided inside the apparatus main body 2.

  In the present invention, in the field observation device for observing the field environment, it is possible to suppress a decrease in battery life and occurrence of defects, which is effective for reducing maintenance costs in a field observation system, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Field observation apparatus 2 Apparatus main body 3 Underground burying part 4 Tubular part 4a Inner wall surface 5 Measuring part 6 Sensor accommodating body 7, 7A Sensor 10 Battery 11, 11A Holding part 12, 31, 41 Filling material 13 Control part 14 Memory 15 Communication department

Claims (4)

A field observation device for observing a field environment,
A sensor for measuring a predetermined physical quantity relating to the field environment;
An apparatus main body provided with at least a part of a processing unit for processing the output of the sensor;
Provided integrally with the device main body, and embedded underground portion used by being embedded in the ground,
A battery for supplying power to the sensor and the processing unit,
The battery is disposed inside the underground portion, where the underground portion is located in the ground when the underground portion is embedded in the ground.
The underground buried portion has a tubular portion formed so as to extend in the underground depth direction when buried in the underground,
The battery is disposed inside the tubular portion, and is disposed at a position near a partial region of the inner wall surface of the tubular portion in a cross section of the tubular portion,
The field observation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical portion is formed so that a thickness in the partial area where the battery is approached is thinner than a thickness in other areas. A field observation device for observing a field environment,
A sensor for measuring a predetermined physical quantity relating to the field environment;
An apparatus main body provided with at least a part of a processing unit for processing the output of the sensor;
Provided integrally with the device main body, and embedded underground portion used by being embedded in the ground,
A battery for supplying power to the sensor and the processing unit,
The battery is disposed inside the underground portion, where the underground portion is located in the ground when the underground portion is embedded in the ground.
The underground buried portion has a tubular portion formed so as to extend in the underground depth direction when buried in the underground,
The battery is disposed inside the cylindrical part, and is housed in a holding part fixed to the inner wall surface of the cylindrical part,
The field observation device according to claim 1, wherein a filler is provided inside the holding unit so as to cover the battery. In the field observation device according to claim 2 ,
The underground portion includes a sensor storage body that stores the sensor at the tip of the cylindrical portion,
The inside of the sensor housing is provided with a filler so as to cover the sensor,
The filler is provided in at least a part of the inside of the cylindrical portion so that the filler in the holding portion and the filler in the sensor housing are integrated. Field observation device. A field observation device for observing a field environment,
A sensor for measuring a predetermined physical quantity relating to the field environment;
An apparatus main body provided with at least a part of a processing unit for processing the output of the sensor;
Provided integrally with the device main body, and embedded underground portion used by being embedded in the ground,
A battery for supplying power to the sensor and the processing unit,
The battery is disposed inside the underground portion, where the underground portion is located in the ground when the underground portion is embedded in the ground.
The underground buried portion has a tubular portion formed so as to extend in the underground depth direction when buried in the underground,
The battery is disposed inside the cylindrical part, and is housed in a holding part that is installed in the apparatus main body and configured to extend inside the cylindrical part. Field observation device.