JP7590218B2 - Crop harvesting equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a crop harvesting device that harvests crops in a farm field.

In some cases, harvesting of scattered crops in fields must be done manually, such as harvesting pumpkins.
Pumpkins grow on vines that crawl along the ground, and the fruits roll on the surface. The harvesting process begins by cutting the fruits off the vines and manually carrying them into steel containers that can hold about one ton of pumpkin. The containers are then loaded onto trucks using forklifts or other tools.
Each pumpkin weighs about 1.5 to 3 kg. The fruits must be cut off from the vine, picked up, and carried one by one by hand to the container. This work puts a lot of physical strain on the back and arms. It is very hard work.

The applicant is aware of the following patent documents 1 to 7 as prior art documents addressing the above problem.

Patent Document 1 relates to a "pumpkin harvester" and includes the following description:
[0009]
As shown in Figure 1, the pumpkin storage machine of this invention is composed of two sets of transport units 1, each consisting of a transport conveyor 1a for moving pumpkins from the harvesting point to the vicinity of a container 4 and a roller-mounted platform 1b attached to the rear of the transport conveyor 1a, and a flat transport pallet 3. These two sets of transport units 1 are arranged symmetrically on the flat transport pallet 3 with an appropriate distance between them, such as a space for a harvester to ride on, and a space between them and the tractor to store the container 4.
[0010]
An embodiment in which three workers harvest using the pumpkin harvester of the present invention (excluding the tractor driver) will be described below. As shown in Fig. 2, of the three agricultural mulch films 5 used for planting, the two agricultural mulch films 5 on the left and right have pumpkins cut from the vines placed on them, and a tractor carrying a container 4 runs on the central agricultural mulch film 5 on which no pumpkins are placed. One worker is placed on each of the two agricultural mulch films 5 on the left and right, and while walking in accordance with the movement of the tractor, he places the pumpkins scattered on the agricultural mulch films 5 on the end of the transport conveyor 1a. The remaining worker rides between the two sets of transport units 1 on the transport flat pallet 3, and performs the task of placing the pumpkins brought to the roller-equipped platform 1b into the container 4.

Patent Document 2 relates to a "crop picking harvester" and includes the following description:
[Claim 1]
This crop picking and harvesting machine is characterized in that a raking device (55) and a picking and conveying device (22) are provided on a machine body frame (1) that is made movable by a traveling device (9), and crops in a field are placed on the picking and conveying device (22) and conveyed to a crop storage section (38) at the rear of the machine body, and the crop storage section (38) can be raised by a lifting mechanism (44).
[0028]
Furthermore, transport driven sprockets 19, 19 are rotatably provided on the front side of the left and right transport frames 18, 18, i.e., on the front end side, and transport transmission chains 20, 20 are endlessly wound around the left and right transport driven sprockets 19, 19 and the left and right transport drive sprockets 17, 17. Furthermore, a plurality of transport bars 21 for carrying and transporting crops are arranged at predetermined intervals in the front-to-rear direction between the left and right transport transmission chains 20, 20, thereby forming a pick-up and transport device 22.
[0060]
The raking device 55 rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the side, and uses the raking plate 54 to push the crops at the starting end of the conveying direction of the picking up and conveying device 22 up to the downstream side in the conveying direction of the picking up and conveying device 22, ensuring that the crops are transported reliably.

Patent Document 3 relates to a "head vegetable harvester" and includes the following description:
[0019]
A harvesting section 13 is disposed to the left of the steering section 4, which pulls out head vegetables A such as cabbages and transports them backward. The harvesting section 13 of the embodiment is equipped with a pulling-out conveying device 14 that pulls out head vegetables A, holds the heads, and transports them backward. The pulling-out conveying device 14 is equipped with a pair of left and right pick-up wheels 16L, 16R located at the front end side, a pair of left and right root stalk conveying bodies 17L, 17R, and a pair of left and right vertical conveying belts 18L, 18R inclined to be low in the front and high in the rear above the root stalk conveying bodies 17L, 17R. A cutting device 19 that cuts the root stalks of the head vegetables A being transported is disposed between the vertical conveying belts 18L, 18R and the root stalk conveying bodies 17L, 17R in a side view.
[0021]
The root stalk conveying bodies 17L, 17R rotate inwardly to hold the root stalk of the head vegetable A from the left and right and guide the root stalk toward the cutting device 19. The root stalk conveying bodies 17L, 17R are also provided in an inclined posture with a low front and a high rear. The vertical conveying belts 18L, 18R rotate inwardly to hold the head of the head vegetable A from the left and right and convey it diagonally upward toward the rear. The vertical conveying belts 18L, 18R of the embodiment are arranged parallel to the root stalk conveying bodies 17L, 17R in a side view. Therefore, the vertical conveying belts 18L, 18R are also provided in an inclined posture with a low front and a high rear, similar to the root stalk conveying bodies 17L, 17R.

Patent Document 4 relates to a "head vegetable harvester" and contains the following description:
[0019]
A harvesting section 13 is disposed to the left of the steering section 4, which pulls out the head vegetables A and transports them backward. The harvesting section 13 includes a pulling-out conveying device 14 that pulls out the head vegetables A, clamps the head parts and transports them backward, and a cutting device 19 that cuts the root parts of the head vegetables A during transport. The pulling-out conveying device 14 includes a pair of left and right raking wheels 16L, 16R located at the front end side, a pair of left and right root stalk conveying belts 17L, 17R, and a pair of left and right head conveying belts 18L, 18R that are inclined to the upper rear of the root stalk conveying belts 17L, 17R with a low front and high rear. The cutting device 19 is disposed between the head conveying belts 18L, 18R and the root stalk conveying belts 17L, 17R in a side view.
[0022]
The root stalk conveying belts 17L, 17R are driven inwardly to clamp the root stalk of the head vegetable A from the left and right and guide the root stalk toward the cutting device 19. The root stalk conveying belts 17L, 17R are also provided in an inclined posture with a low front and a high rear. The head conveying belts 18L, 18R are driven inwardly to clamp the head of the head vegetable A from the left and right and convey it diagonally upward toward the rear. The head conveying belts 18L, 18R of the embodiment are arranged parallel to the root stalk conveying belts 17L, 17R in a side view. Therefore, the head conveying belts 18L, 18R are also provided in an inclined posture with a low front and a high rear, similar to the root stalk conveying belts 17L, 17R.

Patent Document 5 relates to a "harvesting machine" and contains the following description:
[0047]
(Configuration of the reaping unit)
As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the cutting unit 4 has a skeletal frame body 9, and the frame body 9 has a bottom portion 10, side portions 11 connected to the right and left of the bottom portion 10, and a rear side portion 12 connected to the rear of the bottom portion 10 and the side portions 11.
[0050]
1, 2 and 3, in the frame body 9, a lateral conveyor 17 is supported by the lateral side portion 11 so as to be rotatable about an axis P2 in the left-right direction. The lateral conveyor 17 includes a cylindrical body portion 17a, a right-handed helical portion 17b and a left-handed helical portion 17c connected to the outer periphery of the body portion 17a, and a rod-shaped raking portion 17d.
[0051]
2, the right spiral portion 17b of the horizontal conveyor 17 is located to the right of the entrance 3a of the conveying section 3, and the left spiral portion 17c of the horizontal conveyor 17 is located to the left of the entrance 3a of the conveying section 3. The raking portion 17d of the horizontal conveyor 17 is located in front of the entrance 3a of the conveying section 3.

Patent Document 6 relates to a "bulb vegetable harvesting device" and contains the following description:
[0018]
An input port 11 is formed at one end of the long side of the machine body 1, opening upward, and a discharge port 12 is formed at the other end of the long side opposite the input port 11, opening toward the other side, and a conveying path section 13 is provided inside the machine body 1, connecting the input port 11 and the discharge port 12, and a pair of conveying rollers 15 are provided facing each other as a work conveying means along the conveying direction A on the conveying path section 13. The pair of conveying rollers 15 are disposed on the underside of the machine body 1 from one end of the long side to the vicinity of the other end, and the onions T are conveyed along the conveying path section 13 by the pair of conveying rollers 15. A discharge chute 14 is connected to the discharge port 12.
[0025]
On the other hand, the pair of conveying rollers 15 of the working unit 10 rotate synchronously in opposite directions, i.e., both rotate inward and downward, pulling in the stems T2 of the onions T downward while pointing their roots T3 upward, and conveying the onions T along the conveying path section 13 along the conveying direction A. Each conveying roller 15 has a rotating shaft 41 that is arranged horizontally along the long side direction of the body 1, and a cylindrical body 42 is fixed to this rotating shaft 41. A thin, band-shaped conveying ridge mounting groove (not shown) is formed in a spiral shape on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 42, and an elongated elastic conveying ridge member 43 made of a rubber material or the like is fixed to this conveying ridge mounting groove. The cross section of this elastic conveying ridge member 43 is formed into a substantially trapezoidal shape, and the pitch between the spirals of this elastic conveying ridge member 43 is a pitch that enables the onions T to be conveyed by the rotation of the pair of conveying rollers 15, and is a dimension slightly smaller than the diameter of the solid part T1 of the onion T.

Patent Document 7 relates to a "grain stalk transport device for a whole stalk input combine" and includes the following description:
[0010]
[Embodiment] The embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 7 shows a whole stalk input type combine harvester according to the present invention. This combine harvester is configured by mounting a threshing device 3 on a traveling machine body 2 equipped with a crawler traveling device 1, disposing a riding driver's section 4 on the front side of the threshing device 3, and connecting a pre-harvesting processing section 5 to the front of the machine body so that it can be raised and lowered. The threshing device 3 is equipped with a threshing body 6 that is rotated around an axis along the front-rear direction of the machine body to thresh the grain, and below that is a sorting section 7 that sorts the threshed material into grains and straw dust, etc., and the sorted grains are collected in a grain tank 8 disposed on the side of the threshing device 3. The pre-harvesting processing section 5 comprises a harvesting section 5A which is composed of a raising device 9 which raises the planted culms into an upright position, a clipper-type first harvesting device 10A which cuts the base side of the planted culms, a clamping and transporting device 11 which clamps and transports the harvested culms whose bases have been cut to the rear, and a second harvesting device 10B which cuts the lower side of the tip of the harvested culms which are clamped and transported, as well as an auger 12 which gathers the tip sides of the harvested culms to the center and sends them to the rear, and a feed conveyor 13 which rakes up and transports the culms sent out from the auger 12 towards the entrance of the threshing device 3.
[0012]
As shown in Figure 4, a plurality of canvases 21 are attached to the guide surface 19 in the lateral transport area of the auger 12, extending laterally to a position almost in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the spiral blade 20, thereby acting as a scraper to prevent the straw from getting wrapped around the auger 12.

Utility Model Registration No. 3211730 JP 2017-175997 A JP 2014-18084 A JP 2017-153449 A JP 2019-4867 A JP 2000-157022 A Utility Model Registration No. 2528413

The pumpkin harvester of Patent Document 1 can move pumpkins from a harvesting point to near a container 4 using a transport conveyor 1a.
However, with this pumpkin harvester, the pumpkins that have fallen to the ground must be picked up manually, which is still heavy work that places a heavy physical strain on the back and arms.

The crop picking and harvesting machine of Patent Document 2 picks up and harvests crops in a field using a raking device (55) and a picking and conveying device (22).
However, in this crop picking and harvesting machine, the raking device (55) and the picking and conveying device (22) are provided across the entire width of the machine frame (1). In other words, the equipment itself is large-scale, the equipment efficiency is poor, and it is disadvantageous in terms of cost.

The head vegetable harvester of Patent Document 3 conveys the head portion of head vegetable A by clamping it from the left and right with a pair of left and right vertical conveyor belts 18L, 18R. In other words, it is suitable for harvesting relatively light head vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, and Chinese cabbage, and is difficult to apply to harvesting heavy agricultural products such as pumpkins. Furthermore, the head vegetable harvester of Patent Document 3 is suitable for sequentially harvesting rows of head vegetables A in a field where the head vegetables A are grown in rows spaced at regular intervals. In other words, it is difficult to apply to picking up and harvesting agricultural products such as pumpkins that are scattered across the field.

The head vegetable harvester of Patent Document 4 transports the head vegetable A while clamping the head portion of the head vegetable A from the left and right using a pair of left and right head vegetable conveying belts 18L, 18R. In other words, like Patent Document 3, it is difficult to apply this to harvesting heavy agricultural crops such as pumpkins. The head vegetable harvester of Patent Document 4 is also suitable for sequentially harvesting rows of head vegetables A in a field where the head vegetables A are lined up in rows at regular intervals. In other words, like Patent Document 3, it is difficult to apply this to picking up and harvesting agricultural crops such as pumpkins that are scattered across a field.

In the harvester of Patent Document 5, the horizontal conveyor 17 is disposed so as to extend to the left and right perpendicular to the traveling direction of the machine body. The horizontal conveyor 17 rotates in a direction to rake in the crops in the field (the direction in which the front surface moves downward). At that time, the right helical portion 17b and the left helical portion 17c supply the crops to the central inlet 3a.
The structure of Patent Document 5 is for harvesting stalks using a combine harvester, and is difficult to apply to picking up agricultural products such as pumpkins scattered in a field. Even if the structure of Patent Document 5 is applied to picking up pumpkins, the pumpkin being transported will rub against the horizontal transport body 17, the right spiral portion 17b, and the left spiral portion 17c, causing damage to the surface.

The harvester of Patent Document 6 rotates a pair of conveying rollers 15 with onions T to be transported thereon, and sends the onions T by a spiral elastic conveying protrusion member 43.
The device disclosed in Patent Document 6 is for cutting the stems and roots of bulb vegetables such as onions, and is difficult to apply to picking up and harvesting agricultural products such as pumpkins scattered in a field. Even if the structure of Patent Document 6 is applied to picking up pumpkins, the pumpkin being transported will rub against the transport roller 15 and the elastic transport rib member 43, causing damage to the surface.

The harvester of Patent Document 7 uses an auger 12 with a spiral blade 20 to gather the tips of the culms toward the center and send them out rearward.
The technique disclosed in Patent Document 7 involves the use of a combine harvester to harvest stalks, and is difficult to apply to picking up agricultural products such as pumpkins scattered in a field. Even if the structure disclosed in Patent Document 5 were to be applied to picking up pumpkins, friction would occur between the transported pumpkin and the horizontal conveyor 17, the right helical portion 17b, and the left helical portion 17c, causing damage to the surface of the pumpkin.

An object of the present invention is to provide a crop harvesting device which overcomes the above-mentioned problems.
In other words, the present invention provides a crop harvesting device that automates the picking up of crops in a farm field.

In order to achieve the above object, the crop harvesting device according to claim 1 has the following configuration.
The present invention is provided with a scraping means for scraping crops, the fruits of which are scattered on the ground surface of the field so as to roll, toward a predetermined pickup area in front of a traveling body capable of traveling in the field, and a pick-up means for picking up the crops scraped by the scraping means in the pick-up area,
The scraping means is
At least one of the left and right sides of the pickup area includes a scraping roller arranged obliquely so that the pickup area side approaches the traveling machine body,
The scraping roller is
The front surface is rotated in a direction to move to the upper surface,
A protrusion is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller for rolling the crop forward when the crop comes into contact with the scraping roller in the field as the traveling body travels and the scraping roller itself rotates .
The scraping means is
The device is configured to include a regulating member disposed above the scraping roller for regulating the crops .

The crop harvesting device according to claim 2 employs the following features in addition to the features according to claim 1.
The protrusion is made of an elastic material.

The crop harvesting device according to the present invention has the following features in addition to the features according to the first or second aspect.
The protruding portion is set so that the dimension of the protrusion from the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller is equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the stalk of the crop.

The crop harvesting device according to claim 4 has the following configuration in addition to the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .
The protrusions are disposed along the longitudinal direction of the scraping roller.

The crop harvesting apparatus according to claim 5 has the following features in addition to those of claim 4 .
The protrusion is formed in a spiral shape on the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller.

The crop harvesting device according to claim 6 has the following configuration in addition to the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 5 .
The regulating member is set so that the gap between the regulating member and the protruding portion is equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the stem of the crop.

The crop harvesting device according to claim 7 has the following configuration in addition to the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 6 .
The regulating member is disposed so as to be located forward of the rotation axis of the scraping roller.

The crop harvesting device according to claim 1 includes a scraping means and a pickup means in front of a traveling body capable of traveling in a field. The traveling body travels in a field. The scraping means scrapes crops present in the field toward a predetermined pickup area. The pickup means picks up the crops scraped by the scraping means in the pickup area. The scraping means includes a scraping roller. The scraping roller is disposed obliquely on at least one of the left and right sides of the pickup area so that the pickup area side approaches the traveling body. The scraping roller is also driven to rotate in a direction in which its front surface moves to the upper surface. Furthermore, the scraping roller is provided with a protruding portion on its outer circumferential surface. When the crops present in the field come into contact with the protruding portion as the traveling body travels and the scraping roller itself is driven to rotate, the protruding portion rolls the crops forward.
This allows all agricultural products in the field to be scraped and picked up. This eliminates the need for the extra task of manually collecting agricultural products remaining in the field. In addition, the agricultural products are rolled forward by the travel of the traveling body and the rotation of the scraping roller. The rolled agricultural products are scraped toward the pickup area along the scraping roller, which is disposed at an angle so that the pickup area side approaches the traveling body. This eliminates friction between the scraped agricultural products and the scraping roller, and causes little damage to the scraped agricultural products.
In the crop harvesting device according to claim 1, the scraping means includes a regulating member. The regulating member is disposed above the scraping roller to regulate the crops. This prevents losses such as crops being crushed by the traveling machine body after climbing over the scraping roller.

In the crop harvesting device according to a second aspect of the present invention, the protrusions are made of an elastic material.
The protrusions formed from an elastic material have a large frictional resistance against the crops, and can effectively roll the crops forward while flicking them.

In the crop harvesting device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the protruding portion is set so that the protruding dimension from the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller is equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the stalk of the crop.
By doing so, the crop can be effectively rolled forward while preventing the stalks of the crop from getting caught in the scraping roller. In other words, if the protruding dimension is too small, the crop cannot be rolled forward. On the other hand, if the protruding dimension is too large, the stalks of the crop will get tangled in the scraping roller, making it impossible to continue operation.

In the crop harvesting device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the protrusions are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the scraping roller.
The protrusions that run along the longitudinal direction of the scraping roller allow the crops to roll forward over the entire length of the scraping roller, scraping the crops into a pickup area.

In the crop harvesting device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the protrusion is formed in a spiral shape on the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller.
The protrusion formed in a spiral shape on the outer peripheral surface of the scraping roller allows the crops to roll forward over the entire length of the scraping roller, scraping the crops into a pickup area.

In the crop harvesting device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the regulating member is set so that the gap between the regulating member and the protruding portion is equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the stalk of the crop.
This prevents the stalks of the crops from getting tangled in the scraping roller and from interfering with the protrusions and the regulating member, and allows the crops to roll forward effectively. In other words, if the gap is too small, the protrusions and the regulating member are likely to interfere with each other. On the other hand, if the gap is too large, the stalks of the crops will get tangled in the scraping roller, making it impossible to continue operation.

In the crop harvesting device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the regulating member is disposed so as to be located forward of the rotation axis of the scraping roller.
The regulation by the regulating member works effectively, and there is no loss of crops that have passed over the scraping roller due to the traveling machine body crushing them.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a crop harvesting device as viewed from above a vehicle body. FIG. 2 is a view of the above-mentioned crop harvesting device as seen from the left side of the vehicle body. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the scraping means. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the scraping means, in which (A) is a side view and (B) is a front view. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the cross-sectional shape of a protrusion. FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a function of the scraping means. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the function of the scraping means, in which (A) is a side view and (B) is a perspective view. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a guide member and a cutting means. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the functions of a guide member and a cutting means.

First Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 8 are diagrams for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment describes an example in which the present invention is applied to a harvesting device that harvests pumpkins as an example of an agricultural crop 5.

[Summary]
1 and 2 are diagrams illustrating the overall structure of the harvesting device.
This harvesting device comprises a traveling body 1, a pick-up means 10, a scraping means 70, a conveying means 50 and a storage container 60.
1 and 2, the left side of the drawing is the front of the traveling body 1, and the right side of the drawing is the rear of the traveling body 1. Therefore, in Fig. 1, the top of the drawing corresponds to the right side of the traveling body 1, and the bottom of the drawing corresponds to the left side of the traveling body 1.

The traveling machine body 1 is provided with the pickup means 10 and scraping means 70 at the front of the vehicle body, the transport means 50 is located on the vehicle body, and the storage container 60 is located at the rear of the vehicle body.

In the harvesting device, as the traveling body 1 travels, the agricultural products 5 present in front of the traveling body 1 in the width direction are scraped toward a specified pickup area 2 by the scraping means 70. The agricultural products 5 gathered in the pickup area 2 are picked up by the pickup means 10 at the front of the vehicle body. The agricultural products 5 picked up by the pickup means 10 are transported to the rear of the traveling body 1 by the transport means 50 and stored in a storage container 60.

[Running machine 1]
The traveling machine body 1 has caterpillar tracks 3 on the bottom of the body, and a seat 4 is provided on the top of the body. The caterpillar tracks 3 function as a traveling means for the traveling machine body 1 to travel in a field. The seat 4 is for an operator to sit on when performing operations such as driving. The traveling machine body 1 is equipped with a drive engine, a battery, a hydraulic mechanism, etc. (none of which are shown in the figures).

The transport means 50 is provided on the upper part of the traveling machine body 1. The transport means 50 transports the picked up agricultural products 5 from the front of the vehicle body to the rear of the vehicle body. In other words, the transport means 50 is provided from the front of the vehicle body to the rear of the vehicle body.

In the harvesting device, the seat 4 is arranged on one side of the traveling body 1, either to the left or right. The transport means 50 is arranged in an area opposite the seat 4, avoiding the seat 4. In this example, the seat 4 is arranged on the right side of the traveling body 1. The transport means 50 is arranged to pass by the left side of the traveling body 1.

A pickup means 10 is provided in front of the traveling machine body 1. The pickup means 10 is disposed at the front end portion of the conveying means 50.

A pickup area 2 is provided in a portion of the width of the traveling body 1. The pickup area 2 is an area that corresponds to the front end of the pickup means 10. In other words, in this example, the pickup area 2 is an area provided in a portion of a specified width on the left side of the width (vehicle width) of the traveling body 1.

[Scraping means 70]
The scraping means 70 is provided in a portion other than the pickup area 2 (in this example, the area on the front right side of the vehicle body) in front of the traveling body 1. When the agricultural crops 5 present in the field approach the front of the scraping means 70 as the traveling body 1 travels, the scraping means 70 scrapes the agricultural crops 5 toward the pickup area 2. The scraping means 70 can be provided on at least either the left or right side of the pickup area. In other words, the scraping means 70 can be provided on the front left side of the pickup area 2, or on both sides of the pickup area 2.

Figure 3 is a diagram explaining the arrangement of the scraping means 70. The scraping means 70 is arranged diagonally so that the pickup area 2 side is closer to the traveling machine body 1.

As shown in Figures 3(A) and 3(B), the angle of the scraping means 70 relative to the traveling direction of the traveling machine body 1 can be configured to be variable. Specifically, the distance between the side of the scraping means 70 farther from the pickup area 2 and the traveling machine body 1 can be changed by extending and retracting the cylinder 73.

Figure 3 (A) shows an example of a deep inclination angle, and Figure 3 (B) shows an example of a shallow inclination angle. When the condition of the field or crops 5 makes it difficult for the crops 5 to roll toward the pickup area 2, the inclination angle can be set to be deep. When it is easy for the crops 5 to roll toward the pickup area 2, the inclination angle can be set to be shallow.

Figure 4 is a diagram explaining the specific configuration of the scraping means 70, (A) being a side view and (B) being a view seen from the front. In Figure 4 (A), the arrow F indicates the traveling direction of the traveling machine body 1, i.e., forward.

The scraping means 70 includes a scraping roller 71 and a regulating member 72. The scraping roller 71 is driven to rotate, causing the crops 5 in the field to roll when it comes into contact with the scraping roller 71. The regulating member 72 regulates the crops 5 so that they do not climb over the scraping roller 71.

[Scraping roller 71]
The scraping roller 71 is a cylindrical metal roller that is rotated in a direction in which its front surface moves to the upper surface. In other words, the front surface in the traveling direction F of the traveling body 1 moves to the upper surface, then moves to the rear surface, the lower surface, and then returns to the front surface. In the figure, the rotation direction of the scraping roller 71 is indicated by an arrow R.

The scraping roller 71 has a protrusion 75 on its outer circumferential surface. When the protrusion 75 comes into contact with the crops 5 present in the field as the traveling body 1 travels and the scraping roller 71 itself rotates, the protrusion 75 causes the crops 5 to roll forward.

In this example, the protrusion 75 is present along the longitudinal direction of the scraping roller 70, and specifically, is formed in a spiral shape on the outer peripheral surface of the scraping roller 71.

[Protruding portion 75]
5 is a diagram illustrating the cross-sectional shape of the protrusion 75. In this example, the protrusion 75 is formed to have an elongated trapezoidal cross-sectional shape. In this example, the protrusion 75 is formed from an elastic material. Specifically, it is a rubber material.

It is preferable that the dimension of the protrusion 75 protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller 71 (i.e., the height of the trapezoid) is set to 1 to 40 mm. In this way, the dimension of the protrusion 75 protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller 71 is set to be equal to or less than the outer diameter of the stem 6 of the crop 5.

The spiral protrusion 75 is formed to send the crops 5 that come into contact with it as the traveling machine body 1 travels and the scraping roller 71 itself rotates toward the pickup area 2.

[Operation]
6 to 8 are perspective views for explaining the function of the scraping means 70. Fig. 7(A) is a side view, and Fig. 7(B) is a perspective view.

When the scraping roller 71 is rotated and comes into contact with the crop 5 in the field, the protrusion 75 of the scraping means 70 moves from bottom to top on the front surface of the scraping roller 71. At this time, the protrusion 75 flips the surface of the crop 5 from bottom to top. This causes the crop 5 to roll forward. In the figure, the direction in which the crop 5 rolls is indicated by arrow H. At this time, the rotation of the spiral protrusion 75 provided on the scraping roller 71 sends the crop 5 that has come into contact with the scraping roller 71 while rolling in the direction of arrow P, and the crop is scraped toward the pickup area 2.

In the figure, arrow P indicates the direction in which the crops 5 are sent towards the pickup area 2. In other words, the traveling machine body 1 travels in the direction of arrow F, and the scraping roller 71 rotates in the direction of arrow R. At this time, the spiral protrusion 75 sends the crops 5 that come into contact with the scraping roller 71 in the direction of arrow P. The spiral direction of the protrusion 75 is set in this way.

[Regulation member 72]
The restricting member 72 is disposed above the gathering roller 71 and restricts the crop 5 from climbing over the gathering roller 71 .

In this example, the regulating member 72 is a metal strip-shaped plate, and is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the scraping roller 71 with its plate surface facing forward. In this example, the regulating member 72 is arranged to be located forward of the rotation axis of the scraping roller 71.

The restricting member 72 is preferably set so that the gap between the restricting member 72 and the protruding portion 75 is 1 to 40 mm. In this way, the restricting member 72 is set so that the gap between the restricting member 72 and the protruding portion 75 is equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the stem 6 of the crop 5.

The restricting member 72 prevents the crop 5, which moves in the direction of the arrow F and hits the scraping roller 71 that rotates in the direction of the arrow R, from climbing over the scraping roller 71.

As a result, the crops 5 in the field approach the front of the scraping roller 71 as the traveling body 1 travels, and when they hit the scraping roller 71, they roll in the direction of arrow P and are scraped toward the pickup area 2.

The direction and speed of rotation of the scraping roller 71 can be changed according to the condition of the crops 5 in the field.

[Treatment of stem 6]
8 and 9 are diagrams for explaining the guide member 31 and the cutting means 41. FIG.
The scraping means 70 includes a guide member 31 and a cutting means 41 for processing the stems 6 .

[Guide member 31]
The guide member 31 is provided near the end of the scraping roller 71 on the opposite side to the pickup area 2. The guide member 31 is a rod-shaped body arranged obliquely above the scraping roller 71 so as to approach the scraping roller 71 as it goes downward. The guide member 31 guides the stalk 6 of the crop 5, which climbs over the scraping roller 71 as the traveling machine body 1 travels, toward the lower side of the scraping roller 71. In other words, since the scraping roller 71 rotates in the direction of arrow R, the stalk 6 of the crop 5 tries to climb over the scraping roller 71 when the traveling machine body 1 travels. This is guided toward the lower side of the scraping roller 71 as shown by arrow S. This makes it possible to prevent problems caused by the stem 6 getting entangled in the scraping roller 71.

[Cutting means 41]
The cutting means 41 is provided near the end of the scraping roller 71 on the opposite side to the pickup area 2. In the illustrated example, the cutting means 41 is a disk-shaped cutter. A circular saw may also be used. The cutting means 41 cuts the stalk 6 of the crop 5 that is dragged along with the traveling machine body 1 traveling. That is, when the traveling machine body 1 travels, the scraping roller 71 rotates in the direction of arrow R, so that the stalk 6 of the crop 5 is scratched by the guide member 31 as described above. If the traveling machine body 1 continues traveling in this state, the stem 6 is dragged along, and is cut by the cutting means 41. This makes it possible to prevent trouble caused by the stem 6 getting tangled in the scraping roller 71.

[Pickup means 10]
The pick-up means 10 picks up the crops 5 present in the field in the pick-up area 2 as the traveling machine body 1 travels.

The pick-up means 10 includes a bottom feed means 11 and a loading means 21 .
Bottom feeding means 11 is a conveyor for loading crops 5 and directing them rearward. Loading means 21 is for sandwiching crops 5 and loading them onto bottom feeding means 11. Loading means 21 is made up of left and right conveyor belts 21A, 21B.

[Transportation means 50]
The transport means 50 transports the agricultural crops 5 picked up by the pickup means 10. The transport means 50 transports the agricultural crops 5 picked up in the pickup area 2 at the front of the vehicle body to a storage container 60 at the rear of the vehicle body.

In this example, the conveying means 50 includes a first conveyor 51, a second conveyor 52, and a third conveyor 53.

The first conveyor 51 extends forward and backward on the left side of the vehicle body, and is positioned so that its front end is located close to the ground and slopes upward. The rear end of the first conveyor 51 is at the same height as the top opening of the storage container 60. The front end of the first conveyor 51 is the pickup area 2. For example, a belt with a sunroof can be used with the first conveyor 51 to prevent the crops 5 from rolling off even when the conveyor slopes upward.

The second conveyor 52 is disposed at the rear end of the first conveyor 51 so as to extend in the left-right direction of the vehicle body. The second conveyor 52 temporarily changes the transport direction of the agricultural products 5 transported by the first conveyor 51.

The third conveyor 53 is disposed at the downstream end of the second conveyor 52 so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. The rear end of the first conveyor 51 reaches the upper opening of the storage container 60. This allows the agricultural products 5 transported by the third conveyor 53 to be stored in the storage container 60.

In the pickup area 2 at the front end of the first conveyor 51, the pickup means 10 places the agricultural products 5 on the first conveyor 51, thereby picking up the agricultural products 5. The first conveyor 51 carries the picked up agricultural products 5 rearward and places them on the second conveyor 52. The second conveyor 52 temporarily changes the transport direction of the agricultural products 5. The agricultural products 5 handed over from the second conveyor 52 to the third conveyor 53 are transported by the third conveyor 53 to the storage container 60 at the rear of the vehicle body.

[Storage container 60]
The storage container 60 stores the crops 5 transported by the transport means 50. The storage container 60 is disposed at the rear of the vehicle body of the traveling machine body 1. The storage container 60 is a box-shaped container with an opening at the top. The storage container 60 is mounted on a lift mechanism 61 that can rise and fall. In addition, a tilting mechanism (not shown) is provided that tilts the storage container 60 so that the crops 5 fed from the third conveyor 53 are not damaged by a difference in height.

[Harvesting operation]
With the harvesting device of this embodiment, for example, the crops 5 can be harvested as follows.

For example, when harvesting pumpkins as crop 5, the stems 6 are first cut at the stems to separate the pumpkins and place them in different locations in the field.

The traveling machine body 1 is caused to travel in the field. As it travels, pumpkins scattered across the field approach the front of the traveling machine body 1, and when they hit the scraping roller 71, they are scraped toward the pickup area 2. Some pumpkins do not hit the scraping roller 71 and head directly toward the pickup area 2.

In the pickup area 2, a pumpkin that enters the open section at the front between the left and right conveyor belts 21A, 21B is sandwiched between the conveyor belts 21A, 21B and sent to the rear, where it is picked up and placed on the bottom sending means 11. The left and right conveyor belts 21A, 21B and the bottom sending means 11 then send the pumpkin toward the rear. At this time, the pumpkin is held from three sides by the three conveyor belts and sent toward the rear through the triangular passage.

The pumpkins are then transported further toward the rear of the vehicle by the transport means 50 and placed in a storage container 60 for harvesting.

〔summary〕
The agricultural crop harvesting device of the above embodiment can be used to harvest pumpkins, for example, to harvest the pumpkins without manually picking them up. In this case, the pumpkins are first cut from the vines with scissors and scattered across the field. By running the device across the field, the pumpkins are picked up from the ground and stored in the storage container 60. In this way, the first embodiment mechanizes the work of lifting pumpkins from the ground and carrying them into the container during pumpkin harvesting, thereby achieving labor and manpower savings.

When a pumpkin comes into contact with the scraping roller 71, the protrusions 75 push the pumpkin up from below, and the pumpkin is bounced forward and scraped into the pickup area 2. This prevents small pumpkins and pumpkins stuck in depressions in the ground from being missed by the scraping roller 71 climbing over them. Also, because the pumpkin is scraped up while intermittently contacting the scraping roller 71, there is little damage caused by rubbing. Furthermore, the regulating member 72 prevents the stem 6 from getting entangled in the scraping roller 71, preventing problems that would occur if the stem 6 were to get wrapped around the scraping roller 71 and cause the rotation drive means to stop due to overload.

[Effects of the embodiment]
The above embodiment provides the following advantages.

The agricultural crop harvesting device of the above embodiment is provided with a scraping means 71 and a pickup means 2 in front of a traveling machine body 1 that can travel in a field. The traveling machine body 1 travels in a field. The scraping means 71 scrapes the agricultural crops 5 present in the field toward a predetermined pickup area 2. The pickup means 10 picks up the agricultural crops 5 scraped by the scraping means 70 in the pickup area 2. The scraping means 70 is configured to include a scraping roller 71. The scraping roller 71 is disposed obliquely on at least one of the left and right sides of the pickup area 2 so that the pickup area 2 side approaches the traveling machine body 1. The scraping roller 71 is also driven to rotate in a direction in which its front surface moves to the upper surface. Furthermore, the scraping roller 71 is provided with a protruding portion 75 on its outer circumferential surface. When the protrusion 75 comes into contact with the crops 5 present in the field as the traveling body 1 travels and the scraping roller 71 itself rotates, the protrusion 75 rolls the crops 5 forward.
Therefore, all the crops 5 in the field can be scraped and picked up. Therefore, there is no need to perform the extra task of manually collecting the crops 5 remaining in the field. Furthermore, the crops 5 are rolled forward by the travel of the traveling machine body 1 and the rotation of the scraping roller 71. The rolled crops 5 are scraped toward the pickup area 2 along the scraping roller 71, which is disposed at an angle so that the pickup area 2 side approaches the traveling machine body 1. Therefore, there is no friction between the scraped crops 5 and the scraping roller 71, and the scraped crops 5 are hardly damaged.

In the harvesting device for crops 5 in the above embodiment, the protrusions 75 are formed from an elastic material.
The protrusions 75 made of an elastic material have a large frictional resistance against the crops 5, and can effectively roll the crops 5 forward while flicking them.

In the harvesting device for crops 5 of the above embodiment, the protrusion 75 is set so that the protruding dimension from the outer peripheral surface of the scraping roller 71 is equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the stems 6 of the crops 5 .
In this way, the crops 5 can be effectively rolled forward while preventing the stalks 6 of the crops 5 from getting caught in the scraping roller 71. In other words, if the protruding dimension is too small, the crops 5 cannot be rolled forward. Conversely, if the protruding dimension is too large, the stalks 6 of the crops 5 will get entangled in the scraping roller 71, making it impossible to continue operation.

In the harvesting device for crops 5 of the above embodiment, the dimension of protrusion 75 protruding from the outer circumferential surface of scraping roller 71 is set to 1 to 40 mm.
In this way, the crops 5 can be effectively rolled forward while preventing the stalks 6 of the crops 5 from becoming entangled in the scraping roller 71. In other words, if the protruding dimension is too small, the crops 5 cannot be rolled forward. Conversely, if the protruding dimension is too large, the stalks 6 of the crops 5 will become entangled in the scraping roller 71, making it impossible to continue operation.

In the harvesting device for agricultural crops 5 in the above embodiment, the protrusions 75 are present along the longitudinal direction of the scraping roller 71 .
The protrusions 75 that run along the longitudinal direction of the scraping roller 71 allow the crops 5 to roll forward over the entire length of the scraping roller 71 , scraping the crops 5 into the pickup area 2 .

In the harvesting device for agricultural crops 5 of the above embodiment, the protrusion 75 is formed in a spiral shape on the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller 71 .
The protrusion 75 formed in a spiral shape on the outer peripheral surface of the scraping roller 71 allows the crops 5 to roll forward over the entire length of the scraping roller 71, thereby scraping the crops 5 into the pickup area 2.

In the above embodiment, the harvesting device for agricultural products 5 is formed in such a spiral shape that the agricultural products 5 that come into contact with the running of the running body 1 and the rotational drive of the scraping roller 71 itself are sent toward the pickup area 2.
As the traveling body 1 moves and the scraping roller 71 itself rotates, the agricultural products 5 that come into contact with the protrusion 75 are sent toward the pickup area 2 by the spiral shape of the protrusion 75 while rolling, and are quickly scraped up.

In the harvesting device for crops 5 of the above embodiment, the scraping means 70 is configured to include a regulating member 72. The regulating member 72 is disposed above the scraping roller 71 and regulates the crops 5.
There is no loss of the crops 5 that have passed over the scraping roller 71 due to being crushed by the traveling machine body 1.

In the harvesting device for crops 5 of the above embodiment, the regulating member 72 is set so that the gap between the regulating member 72 and the protrusion 75 is equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the stem 6 of the crop 5 .
This prevents the stalks 6 of the crops 5 from becoming entangled in the scraping roller 71 and from interfering with the protrusions 75 and the regulating member 72, allowing the crops 5 to effectively roll forward. In other words, if the gap is too small, interference is likely to occur between the protrusions 75 and the regulating member 72. Conversely, if the gap is too large, the stalks 6 of the crops 5 will become entangled in the scraping roller 71, making it impossible to continue operation.

In the harvesting device for crops 5 of the above embodiment, the gap between the restricting member 72 and the protruding portion 75 is set to 1 to 40 mm.
This prevents the stalks 6 of the crops 5 from becoming entangled in the scraping roller 71 and from interfering with the protrusions 75 and the regulating member 72, allowing the crops 5 to effectively roll forward. In other words, if the gap is too small, interference is likely to occur between the protrusions 75 and the regulating member 72. Conversely, if the gap is too large, the stalks 6 of the crops 5 will become entangled in the scraping roller 71, making it impossible to continue operation.

In the harvesting device for crops 5 in the above embodiment, the regulating member 72 is disposed so as to be located forward of the rotation axis of the scraping roller 71 .
The regulation by the regulating member 72 works effectively, and there is no loss such as the traveling body 1 crushing the crops 5 that have climbed over the scraping roller 71 .

In the harvesting device for agricultural crops 5 of the above embodiment, a guide member 31 is provided near the end of the scraping roller 71 opposite the pickup area 2. The guide member 31 guides the stalks 6 of the agricultural crops 5 that climb over the scraping roller 71 as the traveling body 1 travels, toward the underside of the scraping roller 71.
This prevents the stalks 6 of the crops 5 from becoming entangled in the scraping roller 71, and prevents problems caused by the entanglement of the stems 6.

In the harvesting device for the agricultural crops 5 of the above embodiment, a cutting means 41 is provided near the end of the scraping roller 71 opposite to the pickup area 2. The cutting means 41 cuts the stems 6 of the agricultural crops 5 that are dragged along with the traveling machine body 1 traveling,
This prevents the stalks 6 of the crops 5 from becoming entangled in the scraping roller 71, and prevents problems caused by the entanglement of the stems 6.

[Modifications]
Although a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the illustrated embodiment. In other words, the present invention is intended to include various modified embodiments based on the technical concept of the present invention.

For example, in the present invention, the crop 5 to be harvested is not limited to pumpkins, and various crops 5 that are placed on the ground's surface can be targeted. For example, crops 5 that have vines that grow along the ground and whose fruit roll on the ground, such as bonito flakes and watermelons, can be targeted. Also, crops 5 that are dug up and placed on the ground, such as onions and potatoes, can be targeted.

1: Traveling body 2: Pick-up area 3: Caterpillar tracks 4: Seat 5: Crop 6: Stem 10: Pick-up means 11: Bottom feed means 21: Loading means 21A: Conveyor belt 21B: Conveyor belt 31: Guide member 41: Cutting means 50: Transporting means 51: First conveyor 52: Second conveyor 53: Third conveyor 60: Storage container 61: Lift mechanism 70: Scraping means 71: Scraping roller 72: Regulating member 73: Cylinder 75: Protruding portion

Claims (7)

The present invention is provided with a scraping means for scraping crops, the fruits of which are scattered on the ground surface of the field so as to roll, toward a predetermined pickup area in front of a traveling body capable of traveling in the field, and a pick-up means for picking up the crops scraped by the scraping means in the pick-up area,
The scraping means is
At least one of the left and right sides of the pickup area includes a scraping roller arranged obliquely so that the pickup area side approaches the traveling machine body,
The scraping roller is
The front surface is rotated in a direction to move to the upper surface,
A protrusion is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller for rolling the crop forward when the crop comes into contact with the scraping roller in the field as the traveling body travels and the scraping roller itself rotates .
The scraping means is
a restricting member disposed above the scraping roller for restricting the crops , 2. The crop harvesting device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are made of an elastic material. 3. The crop harvesting device according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion has a protruding dimension from an outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller that is set to be equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the stalk of the crop. The crop harvesting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the protrusions are arranged along a longitudinal direction of the scraping roller. 5. The crop harvesting device according to claim 4 , wherein the protrusion is formed in a spiral shape on the outer circumferential surface of the scraping roller. The crop harvesting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the regulating member is set so that a gap between the regulating member and the protruding portion is equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the stem of the crop. The crop harvesting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the regulating member is disposed so as to be located forward of a rotation axis of the scraping roller.

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