JP7101647B2 - Grain harvester - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a grain harvester provided with a threshing device for performing a threshing process on a grain harvested from a field and a grain tank for storing grains sent from the threshing device.

Agricultural work management technology for managing production control and production history information from the production of agricultural products to the hands of consumers using a computer system is known from, for example, Patent Document 1. In the management system according to Patent Document 1, the growth diagnosis machine executes the growth diagnosis in a predetermined production unit section, and the measurement diagnosis result and the position information at each measurement point are recorded in the memory card. The recorded contents are later transmitted to the agricultural management computer system. In addition, in the harvesting work by the harvester in the work unit section, the yield of the work unit section is measured by the measuring device attached to the harvester, and the yield of the harvested work unit section and the position information obtained by the GPS module are used. Is recorded on the memory card, and the recorded contents are transmitted to the agricultural management computer system. Measurement is performed by, for example, irradiating a growing agricultural product with near-infrared rays and analyzing the reflected light in each working unit section in the production unit section. For example, in the case of rice, the measurement contents are leaf color, length, number of stems, number of ears, and the like. In this farm work management technique, since the position and the yield are recorded at the time of harvesting work, it is possible to grasp the relationship between the position of the field and the yield. However, it is not possible to grasp the relationship between the quality data related to the taste of agricultural products, which is important information for agricultural products, and the position of the field.

Further, a farm work machine management device for dividing a field and recording the work of a farm work vehicle in each section is known from Patent Document 2. In this management device, a work management terminal capable of communicating with the controller of the work vehicle is equipped with a DVD reader for storing map data, a GPS module, and a gyro sensor, and captures the outline of the work place from the map data. The captured map data of the workplace is partitioned and local information (existence of obstacles such as utility poles) is stored. For example, when the agricultural work vehicle is a combine harvester, the total amount of paddy discharged from the harvesting operation is input as the yield of the entire field. If the farming vehicle is a tractor, the tillage depth sensor detection value obtained in the tillage work is automatically recorded as the tillage depth value for each field section. However, although this management device also handles the yield of agricultural products, it does not handle quality data related to the taste of agricultural products.

Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a combine equipped with a detection device for detecting grain quality and notifying a combine operation state to be adopted based on the detection result by the detection device. Specifically, the optimum threshing value is displayed based on the detection result of the water content of the grain, and the operator can adjust the driving speed of the handling cylinder based on the display. It is not disclosed that the water content of the grains obtained during the harvesting operation is used as quality data related to the taste even after the threshing operation.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-149744 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-21239 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-32550

It is planned or practiced to carry out more efficient agricultural management by utilizing IT technology. The most important crops for such IT farming are rice and wheat, and there is a possibility that the quality of these crops is related to the harvest time and harvest location, so grain evaluation at the time of harvest is important. .. However, at present, the grains harvested by the grain harvester are once transported to a management center or the like, and the taste of the grains is evaluated for the first time there, and the grain evaluation at the time of harvest is realized. Not.
From this, it is an object of the present invention to provide a grain harvester capable of proceeding with a harvesting operation while immediately evaluating the yield and taste of the harvested grains.

The grain harvester according to the present invention stores the grains sent from the grain removal device that performs the grain removal treatment on the grain harvested from the field in the grain tank, and the yield measurement data and quality data of the harvested grains. Is a grain harvester that evaluates the yield and quality of the grains harvested in the minute section of the field, and is input to the measurement data management unit from the yield sensor that measures the yield of the grains. The yield measurement data and the quality data input to the measurement data management unit from the quality sensor for measuring the water content of the grain are time-series managed by the measurement data management unit, and the evaluation is performed by the measurement data management unit. It was performed by a harvest evaluation unit that generates harvested grain characteristic information by linking the microsection, the yield measurement data and the quality data, and was measured by a GPS module that measures the cutting position of the grain in the field. The cutting position is included in the harvested grain characteristic information, the yield and quality of the grain harvested in the micro-compartment are calculated based on the harvested grain characteristic information, and the grain harvested in the micro-compartment is calculated. The grain yield is calculated as the total value of the yield measurement data corresponding to the measurement points included in the micro-compartment, and the quality of the grains harvested in the micro-compartment is within the range of the micro-compartment. It is calculated as the average value of the quality data corresponding to the measurement points included in .

According to this configuration, the grain harvester is equipped with a yield sensor for measuring the yield of grains sent from the grain removal device and a quality sensor for measuring the water content of the grains, so that the grains are harvested at the time of harvesting. It is possible to measure the grain yield and water content . Moreover, since the yield measurement data and the quality data obtained by the measurement are managed in chronological order, it is possible to evaluate the grain at the time of harvest not only at the time of harvest but also at an appropriate time after harvest. Since such yield measurement data and quality data are linked to a small section of the field as a harvesting place and treated as harvested grain characteristic information, it can contribute to IT farming.

It is a schematic diagram explaining the basic structure of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining an example of the process of allocating the yield and the taste to a field area. It is a side view of the combine which is one of the specific embodiments of this invention. It is a plan view of a combine. It is a schematic diagram which shows the arrangement of a yield sensor and a taste sensor. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional part in the control system of a combine and the smartphone incorporated in this combine. It is a schematic diagram which shows another embodiment of the taste measuring mechanism.

Before explaining a specific embodiment of the grain harvester according to the present invention, the basic configuration that characterizes the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the grain harvester 1 has a threshing device 14 that performs a threshing process on a grain slab cut from a field by a cutting unit 12 while traveling, and a grain transport path 3 from the threshing device 14. It is equipped with a grain tank 15 for storing the sent grains. Further, a yield sensor 21 for measuring the yield of the harvested grains and a taste sensor 22 for measuring the taste of the grains are provided. The yield sensor 21 can be composed of a load cell provided in the grain tank 15. By providing the load cell so as to support the grain tank 15, the weight (yield) of the grains stored in the grain tank 15 can be measured. In this case, it is possible to obtain a yield per unit mileage that can be converted per unit time, that is, per unit area, from the yield measured by the load cell sequentially from the start of the harvesting operation. In the taste sensor 22, an optical non-contact sensor for measuring water content and protein of grains using spectroscopy is arranged in the grain tank 15 or in the grain transport path 3. The measurement by the taste sensor 22 is performed in batch or continuously by a sampling method. It may be configured to calculate the average of a plurality of measurement results.

In the electronic control unit (ECU) of the grain harvester 1, a measurement data management unit 61 and a harvest evaluation unit 62 are constructed by a program as functional units of the data processing module 6. The measurement data management unit 61 can manage the yield measurement data input from the yield sensor 21 and the taste measurement data input from the taste sensor 22 in time series. The harvest evaluation unit 62 generates the harvested grain characteristic information by linking the data regarding the field as the harvesting place, the yield measurement data, and the taste measurement data. Further, a harvested grain characteristic information recording unit 63 for recording the generated harvested grain characteristic information at least temporarily is also provided.

The data on the field includes the field name, the field position on the map, and the section number if the field is divided into predetermined sections. A harvest position acquisition unit 23 is provided in order to mechanically acquire the data related to the position among the data related to such a field, if not manually.

The yield measurement data and taste measurement data managed by the measurement data management unit 61, or the harvest grain characteristic information generated by the harvest evaluation unit 62, is transmitted from the line communication unit 66 to the remote management center 7 via a communication line. Can be sent to. In the management center 7, the received yield measurement data, taste measurement data, or harvested grain characteristic information is stored in a database of harvested grain characteristic information database 71, which can be utilized for farming management.

The general grain harvester 1 is not provided with a line communication unit 66 capable of data communication with the management center 7 via a communication line. In that case, the data processing module 6 is constructed with a mobile communication terminal such as a personal computer, a tablet, or a smartphone, and the data input / output unit 60 and the data input / output unit 50 of the electronic control unit of the grain harvester 1 are combined. It is possible to adopt a configuration that connects so that data can be transmitted. Wired communication such as USB connection and wireless communication such as Wi-Fi are suitable for connecting the data input / output unit 60 and the data input / output unit 50.

When the data processing module 6 is constructed by a portable communication terminal equipped with a GPS module, the harvest position acquisition unit 23 can also be constructed in the data processing module 6. Such a harvest position acquisition unit 23 acquires the position data by the GPS module of the mobile communication terminal as the harvest position. The GPS module can output position data in the field with fairly high accuracy. Therefore, since the cutting position of the grain as such an accurate harvest position can be included in the harvested grain characteristic information, the grain harvested in a predetermined area of the field based on the harvested grain characteristic information. It is also possible to calculate the yield and water content of the crop and utilize it for farming management.

It is convenient to use the GPS module for the position information regarding the cutting position or the harvesting position, but if the cutting traveling locus of the grain harvester 1 in the field is determined, the traveling locus and the traveling distance or the traveling time are used. , The cutting position can be calculated. As an example, using FIG. 2, a method of calculating the yield and taste (here, moisture) of grains harvested in a predetermined area of a field from the travel locus, the yield per unit mileage, and the average moisture. explain. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the grain harvester 1 performs a harvesting operation in a zigzag traveling locus by repeating a straight line traveling and a 180 ° turning in a field.
First, the field is divided into a plurality of micro-compartments: A1, A2, A3, .... Since the yield data and the water content data are input every predetermined time: t1, t2, t3, ..., Or every predetermined distance: D1, D2, D3, ..., along with the harvesting run of the combine 1. , Yield at that time interval: V1, V2, V3, ... And its water content: Q1, Q2, Q3, ... Are acquired.
Here, assuming that the time points in which the running of the grain harvester 1 belongs to the micro-section: A1 are t1, t6, and t7, the yield of the micro-section: A1: V [A1] is
V [A1] = V1 + V6 + V7
And
Micro-compartment: Average moisture content of A1: Q [A1] is
Q [A1] = (Q1 + Q6 + Q7) / 3
Will be.
Further, assuming that the time points belonging to the micro-compartment: A2 are t2, t5, and t8, the yield of the micro-compartment: A2: V [A2] is
V [A2] = V2 + V5 + V8
And
Micro-compartment: Average moisture content of A2: Q [A2] is
Q [A2] = (Q2 + Q5 + Q8) / 3
Will be. In this way, the yield and water content can be assigned to each micro-compartment.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the field surrounded by ridges and the like is divided into a plurality of minute sections, and the yield and quality are evaluated for each harvest position (field) by the harvest evaluation unit 62. Therefore, the harvested grain characteristic information allows micro-evaluation of yield and moisture in such fields. However, it is also possible to evaluate the fields of the entire area such as towns and villages as the fields to be treated. The harvested grain characteristic information in this case enables macro evaluation of yield and moisture in the field of the whole area.

Next, one specific embodiment of the grain harvester according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the grain harvester is a crawler-type self-removing combine (hereinafter simply referred to as a combine) 1. FIG. 3 shows a side view of the combine 1, and FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the combine 1.

The combine 1 includes an airframe frame 10 in which a plurality of steel materials such as a square pipe material are connected. A pair of left and right crawlers 11 are mounted on the lower part of the machine frame 10. The engine E is mounted on the front side of the right half portion of the airframe frame 10, and the driving portion 13 is formed on the upper portion thereof. A driver's seat 16, a control lever 17, and the like are arranged in the driver unit 13. The left front end portion of the machine frame 10 is provided with a cutting section 12 that cuts and transports the crop culm to be harvested located in front of the machine during work traveling to the rear. The left half of the machine frame 10 receives the cut grain culms carried by the cutting section 12 and carries them backward while threshing the grained portion of the cut grain culms, and the grains obtained by this threshing treatment are subjected to threshing treatment. A threshing device 14 that performs a sorting process is mounted. On the rear side of the right half of the machine frame 10, a sheet metal grain tank 15 for storing grains that have been lifted and carried out from the threshing device 14 via a screw lifting type supply conveyor 31 is mounted. The grain tank 15 is equipped with a grain discharging device 19 for discharging the grains stored in the grain tank 15 to the outside of the machine. Although only schematically shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a yield sensor 21 for detecting the weight of grains is provided at the bottom of the grain tank 15, and a taste sensor 22 is provided inside the grain tank 15. It is equipped with a built-in taste measuring mechanism 30. The taste sensor 22 outputs measurement data of the water value and the protein value of the grain as quality data.

As schematically shown in FIG. 5, the yield sensor 21 is a load cell attached to the machine frame 10, and the grain tank 15 is mounted on the load cell. That is, the yield sensor 21 measures the yield of the harvested grains by measuring the weight of the grains stored in the grain tank 15 including the grain tank 15. By calculating the increase amount by the yield sensor 21 for each predetermined sampling time, the yield per predetermined time can be obtained. At that time, if the traveling speed is taken into consideration, it is possible to obtain the yield per predetermined distance. As schematically shown in FIG. 4, the taste sensor 22 is incorporated in the taste measuring mechanism 30 mounted from the outside on the side wall of the grain tank 15 in this embodiment. The taste measuring mechanism 30 is provided with a measuring table 30a that opens and closes between a parallel posture and a hanging posture on the inner side of the grain tank. The measuring table 30a is covered with a cylindrical case having an upper opening and a lower opening. Further, the measuring table 30a is arranged at a position where a part of the grains transported from the threshing device 14 by the supply conveyor 31 and discharged from the input port 15a to the grain tank 15 by the impeller reaches. As a result, the measuring table 30a in the horizontal posture can receive the grains flying from the input port 15a. When a predetermined amount of grains are placed on the measuring table 30a, the measurement is performed by the taste sensor 22. Here, spectroscopic analysis is used, and it is possible to measure the grain water content and the protein value, and the taste value obtained from the water content, the protein, and the component ratio thereof can be used as the measured value. When the measurement by the taste sensor 22 is completed, the measuring table 30a is swayed in a hanging posture, whereby the grains on which the measuring table 30a is placed are released. When the grain is released and the next measurement sampling time is reached, the measuring table 30a is swung to the horizontal posture again.

The control system of this combine 1 is shown in FIG. This control system is substantially based on the basic principle shown in FIG. 1, but the data processing module 6 is constructed by a smartphone, which is a mobile communication terminal brought by the driver. Further, the harvest position acquisition unit 23 for acquiring the harvest position is substituted by the GPS module 65 mounted on the smartphone. Therefore, the control system on the combine 1 side is constructed of standard components connected by an in-vehicle LAN.

That is, the functional units related to the present invention constructed in the control system on the combine 1 side include a traveling control ECU (electronic control unit) 53, a working device ECU 54, a sensor management module 5, an in-vehicle display 18, and the vehicle-mounted display 18. The data input / output unit 50. The travel control ECU 53 is an ECU that handles various control information related to vehicle travel. For example, data such as travel speed, engine rotation speed, mileage, and fuel consumption acquired from the sensor management module 5 through an in-vehicle LAN is converted into travel information. The traveling information generation unit 53a is provided. The working device ECU 54 is an ECU that controls a harvesting device such as a harvesting unit 12 and a grain removal device 14, and obtains data indicating an operating state and an operating state of the harvesting device based on sensor information acquired from the sensor management module 5 to the ground. It is provided with a work information generation unit 54a for converting work information.

The sensor management module 5 inputs measurement signals from various sensors such as a traveling speed sensor and a mileage sensor in addition to the taste sensor 22 (taste measuring mechanism 30) and the yield sensor 21 described above, and transfers them to other functional units. Has the function of In particular, the sensor management module 5 has a yield measurement data generation unit 51 that generates yield measurement data based on the measurement signal from the yield sensor 21, and a taste based on the measurement signal from the taste sensor 22 (taste measurement mechanism 30). It is provided with a taste measurement data generation unit 52 that generates measurement data.

The data input / output unit 50 is a wireless communication unit that communicates at a relatively short distance for exchanging data with a smartphone brought by the driver, and operates with a protocol such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark). do.

The measurement data management unit 61 and the harvest evaluation unit 62 described in the basic principle of FIG. 1 are constructed here as smartphone applications. Further, the harvested grain characteristic information recording unit 63 for recording the harvested grain characteristic information generated by the harvest evaluation unit 62 is constructed in the external memory of the smartphone. Therefore, the measurement data management unit 61 receives the yield measurement data and the taste measurement data from the yield measurement data generation unit 51 and the taste measurement data generation unit 52 through the data input / output unit 50 and the data input / output unit 60 of the smartphone that can exchange data. And receive. The smartphone is essentially provided with an owner ID management unit 67 and a line communication unit 66. By authenticating the driver by using the function of the owner ID management unit 67, the security of the information generated by the combine 1 can be ensured. Further, the line communication unit 66 can be used to transmit the harvested grain characteristic information to the management center 7 and store it in the harvested grain characteristic information database 71.

In the above-described embodiment, the combine 1 is provided with a sensor for measuring the yield and taste of the harvested grains, and the harvested grain characteristics in which the yield measurement data and the taste measurement data are linked to the field as the harvesting place. Since the information can be generated during the harvesting operation, it is possible to evaluate the grains at the time of harvest.

[Another embodiment]
(1)

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the measuring table 30a of the taste measuring mechanism 30 incorporating the taste sensor 22 swings between the horizontal posture and the hanging posture, but other structures can also be adopted. Is. For example, as schematically shown in FIG. 7, a structure may be adopted in which the measuring table 30a is moved back and forth from the box-shaped case of the taste measuring mechanism 30. At that time, the taste measuring mechanism 30 is arranged so that the extended measuring table 30a can receive the grains transported from the threshing device 14 by the supply conveyor 31 and discharged from the input port 15a of the grain tank 15. Will be done. In this structure, when a predetermined amount of grains are placed on the measuring table 30a, the measuring table 30a is drawn into the taste measuring mechanism 30 and the measurement is performed by the taste sensor 22.
Further, the place where the taste measuring mechanism 30 is arranged is not limited to the grain tank 15, and it is also possible to arrange the taste measuring mechanism 30 at an appropriate place on the grain transport path 3 from the threshing device 14 to the grain tank 15. Further, when the taste measuring mechanism 30 capable of high-speed measurement processing is adopted, it is also possible to measure the grains in transit, particularly the grains in flight released from the input port 15a.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the yield sensor 21 is composed of a single load cell arranged near the center of the bottom surface of the grain tank 15, but in order to perform more accurate measurement, the grain tank is used. A configuration may be adopted in which load cells are arranged in each of the four corner regions on the bottom surface of the fifteenth.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the harvested grain characteristic information generated by the harvest evaluation unit 62 is recorded in the harvested grain characteristic information recording unit 63, but the generated harvested grain characteristic information is directly recorded in real time. It may be transmitted to the management center 7.
(4) In the above-described embodiment, the data processing module 6 is constructed in the control system built in the grain harvester 1 or the mobile communication terminal brought by the driver, but the data processing module 6 is installed from the field. It may be built in a computer system with a communication function installed in a remote place.
(5) In the above-described embodiment, the combine is taken up as a grain harvester, but it goes without saying that the present invention is applied to other grain harvesters. In addition, the grain harvester here has a broad meaning, and includes not only rice and wheat but also corn and other crops.

The present invention is applicable to a grain harvester provided with a sensor for measuring the yield, taste, etc. of the harvested grain.

1: Grain harvester (combine)
6: Data processing module 14: Threshing device 15: Grain tank 21: Yield sensor (load cell)
22: Taste sensor 23: Harvest position acquisition unit 61: Measurement data management unit 62: Harvest evaluation unit 63: Harvest grain characteristic information recording unit 65: GPS module 66: Line communication unit 7: Management center 71: Harvest grain characteristic information Database

Claims (1)

The grains sent from the threshing device that threshes the grains cut from the field are stored in the grain tank, and the yield measurement data and quality data of the harvested grains are acquired , and the micro-compartment of the field is obtained. A grain harvester that evaluates the yield and quality of the grains harvested in
The yield measurement data input to the measurement data management unit from the yield sensor for measuring the yield of the grain, and the quality data input to the measurement data management unit from the quality sensor for measuring the water content of the grain. , Are managed in chronological order by the measurement data management unit,
The evaluation is performed by a harvest evaluation unit that generates harvested grain characteristic information by linking the microsection, the yield measurement data, and the quality data.
The harvested grain characteristic information includes the harvested grain characteristic information measured by a GPS module that measures the cut position of the grain grain in the field, and the grain harvested in the microsection based on the harvested grain characteristic information. Grain yield and quality are calculated
The yield of the grains harvested in the micro-compartment is calculated as the total value of the yield measurement data corresponding to the measurement points included in the range of the micro-compartment.
A grain harvester in which the quality of the grains harvested in the micro-compartment is calculated as the average value of the quality data corresponding to the measurement points included in the range of the micro-compartment .

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