JP7503966B2 - combine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a combine harvester that harvests and threshes stalks and stores the thresher grains.

A commonly known combine harvester is one that harvests crops in a field, threshes them as it harvests, and stores the grain in a grain tank. The grain stored in the grain tank is discharged from the machine through a discharge auger, and undergoes an inspection to confirm its quality before being shipped to the market. This inspection detects cracks or breaks in the grains, the presence of foreign matter, etc., and assesses the quality of the harvest.

Conventionally, a combine harvester has been proposed that is provided with a temporary storage section that temporarily stores some of the grains supplied to the grain tank, and that measures the grains stored in this primary storage section with a quality measurement sensor and captures images with a camera, making it possible to check the condition of the grains in the grain tank and whether any foreign matter has been mixed in, without having to carry out post-harvest inspection (see Patent Document 1).

This combine harvester has a temporary storage section near the top plate of the grain tank that temporarily stores some of the grain discharged from the grain lifting tube, and when a position sensor detects that grains have been stored in the temporary storage section, it activates a quality measurement sensor and camera to measure the properties of the grains and capture an image. Then, by analyzing the analysis result data obtained from the quality measurement sensor and the image captured by the camera, it is possible to measure the moisture and protein content of the grains, as well as to determine the amount of foreign matter such as green leaves and weeds, and the amount of damaged rice.

JP 2019-10075 A

However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, a temporary storage section for storing grains for sampling is provided in the grain tank, and so when the height of the grains stored in the grain tank reaches the position sensor or the quality measurement sensor, it becomes difficult to measure the grains using the quality measurement sensor. In addition, it is desirable that the grains that have been measured by the quality measurement sensor be returned to the grain tank without any grain loss.

The present invention aims to provide a combine harvester that can measure the quality of grain regardless of the amount of grain stored in the grain tank and prevents grain loss, thereby resolving the above-mentioned problems.

The present invention relates to a threshing device (6) for threshing harvested stalks, the threshing device (6) having a threshing chamber (22) extending in the front-rear direction, a threshing drum (23) rotatably supported within the threshing chamber (22), and a swinging sorting body (27) disposed below the threshing chamber (22 ) ,
A grain tank (11) for storing grains;
A lifting device (36) for transporting the grains threshed by the threshing device (6) to the grain tank (11);
A measurement storage section (53) is arranged outside the grain tank (11) and takes in and temporarily stores a portion of the grain transported by the lifting device (36);
A grain measuring device (54, 55) that measures the quality of the grains stored in the measurement storage section (53);
a return path (48) for returning the second-class products that could not be completely separated by the oscillating separator (27) to the oscillating separator (27) ;
The lifting device (36) has a conveying section (39) that conveys upward the grains threshed by the threshing device (6), a case body (38a) that houses the conveying section (39), and a connection section (38b) that connects the upper end of the case body (38a) to the grain tank (11) and communicates with the upper end of the case body (38a) and the grain tank (11),
A portion of the grains transported by the transport section (39) to the upper end of the case body (38a) and transported toward the grain tank (11) is supplied to the measurement storage section (53) through a supply port (53a) provided in the connection section (38b),
Both grains whose quality has been measured by the grain measuring device (54, 55) in the measurement storage section (53) and grains whose quality has not been measured by the grain measuring device (54, 55) are discharged onto the oscillating sorting body (27) via the reduction path (48).

The symbols in parentheses above are for comparison with the drawings, but do not affect the description of the claims in any way.

According to the invention of claim 1, a portion of the grains transported by the lifting device are temporarily stored in a measurement storage section located outside the grain tank, and the grains are measured by a grain measuring device, so that the quality of the grains can be measured regardless of the amount of grain stored in the grain tank.Furthermore, since the grains discharged from the measurement storage section after measurement are returned to the oscillating sorting body via a return path, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of grain loss, which would occur if the grains were discharged outside the machine after measurement.

In addition , when the grains discharged from the measurement storage section are discharged onto the oscillating sorting body, a return path is utilized to return the second-best grains that were not completely sorted by the oscillating sorting body to the oscillating sorting body , thereby simplifying the configuration .

FIG. 2 is a left side view showing the combine harvester according to the present embodiment. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the lifting device and the measurement unit. A rear view showing the measuring unit and the threshing device. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the mounting structure of the measurement unit. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the mounting structure of the measurement unit from a different direction. Control block diagram of a combine harvester. 4 is a flowchart showing the control of the measurement unit.

The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a general-purpose combine 1, which is a type of combine harvester, has a traveling body 3 supported by a pair of left and right crawler traveling devices 2 and equipped with an engine (not shown). In front of the traveling body 3, a reaping unit 5 that harvests stalks and transfers them to a threshing device 6 is provided so as to be able to move up and down and open and close in the left and right directions. On one side of the traveling body 3, a threshing device 6 is provided that threshes and sorts the stalks harvested and transported by the reaping unit 5, and on the other side, a driving operation unit 7 is provided where an operator rides and operates the combine.

As shown in FIG. 2, the driving operation unit 7 has a main travel speed change lever 9, which can be operated forward or backward from a neutral position to adjust the forward or reverse vehicle speed steplessly, and an auxiliary speed change lever 10, which can be operated to switch between a low-speed working range and a high-speed driving range, on the left side of the driver's seat 8 located in the center of the driving operation unit 7.

A grain tank 11 is located behind the operation unit 7 to store the grains threshed and sorted by the threshing device 6, and a discharge auger 12 that can be raised and lowered and rotated is provided behind the grain tank 11 to discharge the grains stored in the grain tank 11 outside the machine. After threshing by the threshing device 6, the waste straw is cut by a straw waste processing unit 13 provided at the rear of the threshing device 6, and then dispersed and discharged to the harvested area behind the traveling body 3.

The harvesting unit 5 has a divider 14 in front that divides the stalks in the field, and above the divider 14 is a raking reel 15 with multiple tines attached. Behind the raking reel 15 is a platform auger 16 that transports the stalks cut by a cutting blade (not shown) to the left, and is arranged in a horizontal position perpendicular to the direction of travel. Behind the platform auger 16 is a transport feeder 17. The transport feeder 17 has a feed chain 4 that transports the stalks transported by the platform auger 16 backwards to the threshing device 6, and the stalks transported to the end by the feed chain 4 are fed into the threshing device 6.

As shown in FIG. 3, the threshing device 6 has a threshing section 20 for threshing stalks, a sorting section 21 located directly below the threshing section 20, and a straw waste processing section 13 located behind the threshing section 20 and the sorting section 21. The stalks transported from the transport feeder 17 enter the threshing section 20 and are threshed. The processed material, consisting of the grains threshed in the threshing section 20 and impurities such as straw fragments generated during threshing, leaks from the threshing section 20 to the sorting section 21, where it is shaken and air-sorted, and only the grains are stored in the grain tank 11. The straw waste after threshing in the threshing section 20 is transported to the straw waste processing section 13, where it is cut or tied.

To explain in more detail, the threshing section 20 has a threshing chamber 22 into which the stalks transported from the conveying feeder 17 are fed, and a cylindrical threshing body 23 that is disposed inside the threshing chamber 22 and rotatably supported by the threshing chamber 22 and extends in the front-rear direction. The outer peripheral surface of the threshing body 23 is formed with helical threshing teeth 24 extending in the front-rear direction, and the front end of the threshing body 23 is formed with helical blades 25 to scrape the stalks transported from the conveying feeder 17 into the back of the threshing chamber 22. Below the threshing body 23, a receiving net 26 formed in an arc shape in a front view is detachably disposed along the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the threshing body 23. As the threshing body 23 rotates, the threshing teeth 24 thresh the grains off the stalks and thresh them. The threshed grains and straw are sieved in a mixed state by the receiving net 26 and roughly sorted.

The sorting section 21 has a oscillating sorting body 27 arranged below the receiving net 26, and a winnowing fan 28 and a blowing fan 29 that blow sorting air from the lower front side of the oscillating sorting body 27 to the upper rear side. The oscillating sorting body 27 has a two-tiered structure, with a feed pan 30 and chaff sieve 31 in the upper tier and a grain sieve 32 and straw rack 33 in the lower tier, which are arranged in succession and oscillate back and forth to sieve and sort the processed materials. The feed pan 30 is a corrugated transport plate that receives the processed materials that have leaked from the receiving net 26 and transports them backwards. The processed materials transported backwards are sieved and sorted by the oscillating sorting body 27, and are also wind-sorted by the sorting air generated by the winnowing fan 28 and the blowing fan 29.

The chaff sieve 31 is arranged behind the feed pan 30 and is composed of multiple fins arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the front-to-rear direction so that it can be opened and closed. As it swings, it separates the processed material from the handling chamber 22 from the leaking material between the multiple fins. The grain sieve 32 is made of a wire mesh member with a predetermined mesh size arranged below the chaff sieve 31 and, as it swings, the threshed grains from the processed material that have leaked from the chaff sieve 31 fall into the first helix 34 as the first grain. The straw rack 33 is arranged behind the grain sieve 32 and allows a portion of the processed material that has not leaked from the grain sieve 32 to leak into the second helix 35 as the second grain.

The processed material that reaches the rear end of the feed pan 30 is wind-sorted by the sorting wind, and is also filtered by the chaff sieve 31, the grain sieve 32, and the straw rack 33. The processed material that is prevented from falling by the chaff sieve 31 is transported by the sorting wind and reaches the rear end of the chaff sieve 31, and then falls into the straw rack 33. The processed material, such as long straw, that is prevented from falling by the straw rack 33 is transported by the sorting wind to the end of the oscillating sorting body 27, and is discharged outside the machine from the waste straw processing section 13 as straw chips.

The first grains that fall into the No. 1 helix 34 are transported by the No. 1 transport device 36 toward the grain tank 11. The No. 1 transport device 36 has a No. 1 recovery port 37, which is a valley-shaped groove located at the starting end 36a, which is the lower end of the No. 1 transport device 36, a No. 1 helix 34 located at the bottom of the No. 1 recovery port 37 and extending in the left-right direction, and a No. 1 transport conveyor case 38 that extends upward from the right end of the No. 1 helix 34 between the threshing device 6 and the grain tank 11. Grains that have fallen from the oscillating sorting body 27 fall into the No. 1 recovery port 37 and are collected, and are transported to the right by the rotating No. 1 helix 34. The No. 1 transport device 36 also has a No. 1 transport conveyor 39 that is stored in the No. 1 transport conveyor case 38 and transports grains transported by the No. 1 helix 34 upward. The grains transported by the No. 1 spiral 34 are transported upward by the No. 1 transport conveyor 39 from the starting end 36a to the ending end 36b of the No. 1 transport device 36. A spiral-shaped transport helix 40 extending to the right is disposed on the top of the No. 1 transport device 36. The grains transported to the ending end 36b of the No. 1 transport device 36 are transported by the rotating transport helix 40 and stored in the grain tank 11 on the right.

Of the processed materials that have leaked through the oscillating sorting body 27 and been sorted, those that have not yet been fully threshed are returned to the handling chamber 22 by the No. 2 lifting device 41. The No. 2 lifting device 41 has a No. 2 recovery port 42, which is a valley-shaped groove located at the starting end 41a, which is the lower end of the No. 2 lifting device 41, a No. 2 screw 35 that is located at the bottom of the No. 2 recovery port 42 and extends in the left-right direction, and a No. 2 return conveyor case 43 that extends upward from the right end of the No. 2 screw 35 between the threshing device 6 and the grain tank 11. A portion of the processed materials that did not leak through the No. 1 recovery port 37 from the oscillating sorting body 27 falls into the No. 2 recovery port 42 and is collected, and is transported to the right by the rotating No. 2 screw 35.

The second lifting device 41 also has a second reduction conveyor 44 that transports the processed material transported by the second helix 35 upward, and a driven sprocket 45 that is arranged at the terminal end 41b, which is the upper end of the second lifting device 41. The second reduction conveyor 44 has a second reduction chain 46 that is an endless roller chain that is wound around the right end of the second helix 35 and the driven sprocket 45 and is driven by the second helix 35, and a transport body 47 that is supported by the second reduction chain 46 and transports the processed material. The transport body 47 is a plate-shaped member that is arranged at a predetermined interval on the outside of the second reduction chain 46, and circulates inside the second reduction conveyor case 43 as the second reduction chain 46 is driven. The processed material transported by the second helix 35 is transported upward by the second return conveyor 44 from the starting end 41a of the second lifting device 41 to the upper end, that is, the terminal end 41b, and is then fed back into the handling chamber 22 via the return path 48 that extends in the front-to-rear direction. In addition, the processed material that does not leak from the oscillating sorting body 27 to either the first recovery port 37 or the second recovery port 42 is transported to the straw waste processing section 13 as straw waste.

Next, the first conveying device 36 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 4 and 5. As shown in Figure 5, the terminal end 36b, which is the upper end of the first conveying device 36, is provided with a driven sprocket 49 that is rotatably supported around an axis of rotation that is approximately parallel to the axis of rotation of the first helix 34 (see Figure 3) that is located at the starting end 36a. The first conveying conveyor 39 has a first reduction chain 50, which is an endless roller chain, and a plurality of buckets 51 that are supported by the first reduction chain 50 and transport grains outside the annular first reduction chain 50. A plurality of buckets 51 are arranged at predetermined intervals on the first reduction chain 50.

The No. 1 reduction chain 50 is wound around the No. 1 helix 34 and the driven sprocket 49, and is driven by the driving force of the No. 1 helix 34. The buckets 51 are container-shaped members arranged at predetermined intervals on the outside of the No. 1 reduction chain 50, and circulate inside the No. 1 transport conveyor case 38 as the No. 1 reduction chain 50 is driven. The No. 1 helix 34 rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 5, and the buckets 51 circulate inside the No. 1 transport conveyor case 38, forming a transport path T along which grains are transported upward by the buckets 51 from the starting end 36a to the ending end 36b of the No. 1 transport device 36.

The No. 1 conveyor case 38 has a case body 38a formed in a rectangular cross section that covers the front, rear, left and right sides of the No. 1 conveyor 39, a connecting part 38b formed to protrude forward from the upper end of the case body 38a, and a maintenance cover 38d that covers an opening 38c formed at the bottom of the case body 38a. As shown in FIG. 4, the No. 1 conveyor case 38 is arranged using the closed space S that exists between the threshing device 6 and the grain tank 11, and the No. 2 return conveyor case 43 of the No. 2 lifting device 41 is arranged behind it. In addition, most of the connecting part 38b is arranged at a position that protrudes upward from the top surface 6a of the threshing device 6 (see FIG. 3).

The maintenance cover 38d is removably attached to the case body 38a using multiple bolts 39e, and is removed by the worker to open the opening 38c when removing grains that have fallen from the bucket 51 and accumulated inside the case body 38a, or when checking the condition inside the No. 1 transport conveyor case 38, etc.

The conveying helix 40 is disposed at the connection portion 38b of the No. 1 conveyor case 38, and the measuring unit 52 is disposed in front of the conveying helix 40. The conveying helix 40 is constituted by a screw conveyor extending to the right, and the grains conveyed to the terminal end 36b of the No. 1 conveying device 36 are transported by the conveying helix 40 and stored in the grain tank 11 on the right. In addition, some of the grains conveyed to the terminal end 36b of the No. 1 conveying device 36 pass over the conveying helix 40 and are taken into the measuring unit 52. In this embodiment, the No. 1 conveying device 36 constitutes a lifting device that conveys the grains threshed by the threshing device 6 to the grain tank 11.

6 and 7, the measuring unit 52 includes a measurement storage section 53 that takes in and temporarily stores a portion of the grains transported by the first transport device 36, and a moisture sensor 54 and a camera 55 that are arranged at positions facing each other on the left and right sides of the measurement storage section 53 and measure the quality of the grains taken into the measurement storage section 53. The measurement storage section 53 is formed with a supply port 53a through which grains are supplied and a discharge port 53b through which the grains supplied from the supply port 53a are discharged into the threshing device 6, and a shutter 56 is supported between the supply port 53a and the discharge port 53b so as to be rotatable about a rotating shaft 56a. The shutter 56 can be moved by a shutter opening/closing motor 107 (see FIG. 10) between an open position that opens the discharge port 53b and a closed position that closes the discharge port 53b.

The moisture sensor 54 has a casing 54a that forms an exterior and a pair of screws 54b (only one of which is shown) that protrude from one side of the casing 54a into the measurement storage section 53, and these screws 54b are arranged on the upstream side in the vertical direction of the measurement storage section 53. The moisture sensor 54 is a single-grain crushing type quality measurement sensor that takes in grains one by one with the rotating screw 54b and measures the moisture. The camera 55 is arranged on the downstream side in the vertical direction of the measurement storage section 53, and is an imaging means that captures grains that have fallen off the screw 54b of the moisture sensor 54 or grains placed on the shutter 56 and measures the rough taste of the grains from the analysis result data obtained from the captured image. In this embodiment, the moisture sensor 54 and the camera 55 constitute a grain measuring device that measures the quality of the grains stored in the measurement storage section 53.

As shown in FIG. 6, a recovery path 53c is formed between the discharge port 53b of the measurement storage section 53 and the threshing device 6, and the grains discharged from the discharge port 53b are returned to the threshing device 6 via the recovery path 53c. At that time, the crushed grains after being measured by the moisture sensor 54 are also merged with the normal grains in the measurement storage section 53 and discharged from the discharge port 53b. However, since the crushed grains (crushed grains, cracked grains, crushed grains, etc.) are lighter than the normal grains, they are sieved or air-screened on the oscillating sorting body 27 and discharged outside the machine.

Here, the above-mentioned threshing device 6 side refers to the threshing device 6 (threshing section 20 and sorting section 21), the first conveying device 36, and the second lifting device 41, and is intended to return and recover the sampled grains stored in the measurement storage section 53 somewhere in the path through which the processed material flows on the threshing device 6 side. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the grains discharged from the discharge port 53b are configured to be returned to the threshing section 20 of the threshing device 6, so that the grains after sampling are discharged outside the machine and grain loss can be prevented. In addition, a return path 48 that returns the second grains that could not be completely sorted by the oscillating sorting body 27 to the oscillating sorting body 27 may be used, and the grains discharged from the discharge port 53b may be returned to the return path 48. In this case, the recovery path 53c includes the return path 48, and the configuration of the recovery path 53c that returns the grains discharged from the measurement storage section 53 to the threshing device 6 side can be simplified. The crushed grains may be discharged directly from the moisture sensor 54 to the outside of the general-purpose combine 1.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the measuring unit 52 is supported by the No. 1 conveyor case 38 of the No. 1 conveyor 36 and the auger receiver 57 via a bracket, and the mounting strength is increased by using the auger receiver 57 provided on the side of the threshing device 6. The auger receiver 57 has a support post 57a that is erected on the base member 58 and extends upward, and a V-shaped receiver 57b formed on the upper end of the support post 57a, and the receiver 57b allows the discharge auger 12 to be held in a storage position inside the machine body.

In addition, a setting switch operation device 59 for setting the crop to be threshed by the threshing device 6 is provided on the upper surface of the casing 54a of the moisture sensor 54 of the measurement unit 52 (see FIG. 9). Here, the threshing device 6 and the grain tank 11 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction of the traveling machine body 3, and the top surface 6a of the threshing device 6 is located lower than the top surface 11a of the grain tank 11 (see FIG. 6). In addition, the first conveying device 36 is extended to a position higher than the top surface 6a of the threshing device 6. The moisture sensor 54 and the camera 55 of the measurement unit 52 are attached to the connecting part 38b of the first conveying device 36 so as to be exposed above the top surface 6a of the threshing device 6 when viewed in the width direction of the machine body. In other words, the moisture sensor 54 and the camera 55 are arranged outside the grain tank 11 and near the upper end of the first conveying device 36. The vicinity of the upper end of the first conveying device 36 may be, for example, above the center of the first conveying device 36 in the vertical direction. In addition, it is preferable that the moisture sensor 54 and the camera 55 are located in a position that overlaps with the top surface 6a of the threshing device 6 in the vertical direction. In addition, the connecting part 38b to which the measurement unit 52 is attached is located in a position close to the front end of the grain tank 11. In other words, the setting switching operation tool 59 is located in a position where the operator can operate it from the driving operation unit 7. In addition, the setting switching operation tool 59 may be located in a position that is reachable by the operator seated in the driver's seat or in a position that is reachable by the operator not seated in the driver's seat, as long as the operator is on board the driving operation unit 7. Therefore, when the operator is on board the driving operation unit 7 installed in front of the grain tank 11, the operator can easily operate the setting switching operation tool 59 by reaching out from the driving operation unit 7.

Figure 10 shows a control block diagram of this embodiment. The general-purpose combine harvester 1 is equipped with a control device 100 consisting of a microcomputer or the like, and the control device 100 has a data storage unit 100a and a communication unit 100b. The input side of the control device 100 is connected to a travel detection means 101, a reaping/threshing drive means 102, a stalk detection means 103, a shutter position detection means 104, a sampling grain amount detection means 105, a moisture sensor 54, a camera 55, a machine position detection means 106, etc. In addition, the output side of the control device 100 is connected to a shutter opening/closing motor 107, an external server 108, a liquid crystal monitor 109, etc.

The travel detection means 101 consists of a vehicle speed sensor or a main shift lever potentiometer, the reaping/threshing drive means 102 consists of a power clutch switch or a clutch on/off detection sensor, and the culm detection means 103 consists of a culm sensor that detects the transported culm. The control device 100 determines whether harvesting is in progress based on the detection results of the travel detection means 101, the reaping/threshing drive means 102, and the culm detection means 103.

The shutter position detection means 104 is composed of a switch or potentiometer that detects the opening and closing operation of the shutter 56. When the control device 100 determines that harvesting is in progress, it drives the shutter opening and closing motor 107 until the shutter position detection means 104 detects that the shutter 56 is closed, and starts measuring the grains using the moisture sensor 54 in time with the shutter 56 being closed.

The sampling grain quantity detection means 105 is composed of a switch or potentiometer that detects the amount of grains stored in the measurement storage section 53. When the sampling grain quantity detection means 105 detects that the amount of grains (sampled grains) stored in the measurement storage section 53 after closing the shutter 56 has reached a predetermined amount, the control device 100 captures an image of the sampled grains using the camera 55, which is an imaging means.

The control device 100 is connected to an external server 108 via the communication unit 100b, and the control device 100 and the external server 108 are configured to be able to communicate with each other. The control device 100 associates grain quality information generated from images captured by the camera 55, grain moisture content (average value) information generated from the measurement results of the moisture sensor 54, and machine position information obtained from machine position detection means 106 consisting of GNSS or the like, and stores them in the data storage unit 100a, and displays this information on the liquid crystal monitor 109 arranged on the driving operation unit 7.

Next, the control of the measuring unit 52 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11. As shown in FIG. 11, when the control of the measuring unit 52 is started, the control device 100 first determines whether the general-purpose combine 1 is performing a reaping (harvesting) operation based on the detection results of the travel detection means 101, the reaping/threshing drive means 102, and the stalk detection means 103 (step S1).

If it is determined that harvesting is in progress (step S2: YES), the control device 100 determines whether the shutter 56 of the measurement storage unit 53 is in the closed position based on the detection result of the shutter position detection means 104 (step S2). If the shutter 56 is not in the closed position (step S2: NO), the control device 100 drives the shutter opening/closing motor 107 so that the shutter 56 is in the closed position (step S3), starts measuring the grains with the moisture sensor 54 in time with the shutter 56 being in the closed state (step S4), and then proceeds to step S5.

If the shutter 56 is in the closed position in step S2 (step S2: YES), the control device 100 determines whether the amount of sampled grains stored in the measurement storage section 53 since the shutter 56 was closed is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount based on the detection result of the sampled grain amount detection means 105 (step S5), and ends control if the amount of sampled grains has not reached the predetermined amount (step S5: NO).

If the amount of sampled grains in the measurement storage unit 53 is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount (step S5: YES), the control device 100 operates the camera 55 to capture an image of the grains (step S6). The image of the grains by the camera 55 may be captured once or multiple times, and the data obtained by capturing the multiple images may be averaged.

When the operation of capturing images of the grains by the camera 55 (step S6) is completed, the control device 100 calculates the grain moisture content from the measurement results of the moisture sensor 54 (step S7), and then associates the grain quality information generated from the image captured by the camera 55 with the grain moisture content (average value) information generated from the measurement results of the moisture sensor 54 and stores them in the data storage unit 100a (step S8).

The control device 100 transmits the associated information to the external server 108 via the communication unit 100b (step S9), displays the information on the liquid crystal monitor 109 arranged on the operation unit 7, and then drives the shutter opening/closing motor 107 so that the shutter 56 is in the open position (step S10), terminating the control. When the shutter 56 is opened in step S10, the sampled grains stored in the measurement storage unit 53 are returned to the threshing device 6 side via the discharge outlet 53b and the recovery path 53c.

If it is determined in step S1 that harvesting is not in progress (step S1: NO), the control device 100 determines whether the shutter 56 of the measurement storage unit 53 is in the open position (step S11). If the shutter 56 is not in the open position (step S11: NO), the control device 100 drives the shutter opening/closing motor 107 so that the shutter 56 is in the open position (step S12), and then proceeds to step S13.

If the shutter 56 is in the open position (step S11: YES), the control device 100 stops measuring the grains using the moisture sensor 54 and ends control (step S13).

The above control is repeated while the threshing clutch of the general-purpose combine harvester 1 is ON. In other words, during harvesting, the storage of grains in the measurement storage section 53, measurement and imaging of the moisture content of the grains, and discharge of the grains to the threshing device 6 are repeated.

In this embodiment, which is configured as described above, some of the grains transported by the first conveying device 36 are temporarily stored in the measurement storage section 53 located outside the grain tank 11, and the grains are measured by a grain measuring device (moisture sensor 54 and camera 55). This makes it possible to measure the quality of the grains regardless of the amount of grain stored in the grain tank 11. Furthermore, since the grains discharged from the measurement storage section 53 after measurement are returned to the threshing device 6 side via the recovery path 53c, it is possible to prevent grain loss caused by the measured grains being discharged outside the machine.

The moisture content of the grains taken into the measurement storage section 53 of the measurement unit 52 is measured by the moisture sensor 54, and the moisture content of the grains can be measured from the analysis result data. In addition, from the image data analysis result data obtained from the image captured by the camera 55, the rough taste of the grains and the amount of impurities such as straw and weeds can be recognized based on the color, size, shape, etc. In this embodiment, a single grain crushing type moisture sensor 54 and a camera 55 are used as the grain measuring device incorporated in the measurement unit 52, but this is not limited to these, and a capacitance spectroscopy type moisture sensor, a near-infrared spectroscopy type taste sensor, etc. may also be used.

In addition, in this embodiment, the grains discharged from the measurement storage section 53 are discharged onto the oscillating sorting body 27 of the threshing device 6. By using a single-grain crushing type moisture sensor 54 as a grain measuring device, even if the grains discharged from the measurement storage section 53 contain a mixture of crushed grains and normal grains, the crushed grains are lighter than the normal grains, so the normal grains can be selected and collected on the oscillating sorting body 27.

In addition, in this embodiment, the threshing device 6 side refers to the threshing device 6 (threshing section 20 and sorting section 21), the first conveying device 36, and the second lifting device 41, and it is intended that the sampled grains stored in the measurement storage section 53 are returned and collected somewhere in the path along which the processed material on the threshing device 6 side flows. In particular, if a return path 48 is used to return second grains that could not be completely sorted by the oscillating sorting body 27 to the oscillating sorting body 27, and the grains discharged from the discharge port 53b are returned to the return path 48, the configuration of the recovery path that returns the grains discharged from the measurement storage section 53 to the threshing device 6 side can be simplified.

In this embodiment, a general-purpose combine harvester has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to a head-feeding combine harvester.

1. General-purpose combine harvester (combine harvester)
6 Threshing device 11 Grain tank 20 Threshing section 21 Sorting section 22 Handling chamber 23 Handling drum 27 Swinging sorting body 36 No. 1 conveying device (lifting device)
48 Return path 52 Measurement unit 53 Measurement storage section 53c Recovery path 54 Moisture sensor (grain measuring device)
55 Camera (grain measuring device)
56 Shutter

Claims (1)

A threshing device that threshes the harvested stalks, the threshing device having a threshing chamber extending along the front-rear direction, a threshing drum rotatably supported within the threshing chamber, and a rocking sorting body disposed below the threshing chamber ;
A grain tank for storing grains;
A lifting device that transports the grains threshed by the threshing device to the grain tank;
A measurement storage section arranged outside the grain tank, which takes in and temporarily stores a portion of the grains transported by the lifting device;
A grain measuring device that measures the quality of the grains stored in the measurement storage section;
A return path for returning the second-class products that could not be completely separated by the oscillating separator to the oscillating separator ,
The lifting device has a conveying section that conveys the grains threshed by the threshing device upward, a case body that accommodates the conveying section, and a connecting section that connects the upper end of the case body to the grain tank and communicates with the upper end of the case body and the grain tank.
A portion of the grains transported by the transport unit to the upper end of the case body and transported toward the grain tank is supplied to the measurement storage unit through a supply port provided in the connection unit,
The grains whose quality has been measured by the grain measuring device in the measurement storage unit and the grains whose quality has not been measured by the grain measuring device are both discharged onto the oscillating sorting body via the reduction path.
A combine harvester characterized by the above.

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