JP7601326B2 - Weeding device for farm fields and farm management method using the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a weeding device for farm fields that performs one or more of weeding, sterilization, and insect killing in farm fields such as tea fields, and a farm management method using the same.

In agricultural and horticultural fields (tea and mulberry fields, vegetable gardens, etc. collectively referred to as fields), the task of removing weeds that hinder crop growth is constantly underway. In many cases, taking into consideration the amount of work involved, the method of killing weeds is by spraying herbicides. Naturally, these herbicides have been improved in accordance with stricter legal regulations than before, and herbicides that are highly diluted and effective with a small amount sprayed are now used. However, even so, it cannot be said that there is no impact on the environment from herbicides remaining in the ground.

Naturally, the preparation of such herbicides increases farming costs, and great care must be taken when storing them, placing a heavy burden on farmers.
For this reason, a method has been proposed and is already known in which moist heat such as steam or hot water is sprayed onto the weeds to kill them with the heat (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

However, in order to increase the efficiency of weed control, this method sprays moist heat over a relatively wide area, and while it is effective in fields where no crops have yet been planted, it cannot be used in places such as tea fields where crops are planted throughout the year.
Furthermore, when the moist heat injection device described in Patent Document 1 is applied to weeding in fields, etc., the passages between the rows are narrow, so there is a risk that the moist heat generating device itself will come into contact with the tea leaves and damage them, or that the high-temperature steam discharged from the moist heat generating device will come into contact with the tea leaves, which are a product, and the tea leaves will wither due to the heat of the steam.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-335344

The present invention was made in recognition of this background, and its technical objective is to develop a weeding device for farm fields that can effectively perform one or more of weeding, sterilization, and/or insect killing using moist heat in the narrow, long inter-row areas of farm fields, as well as a farm management method using the same.

That is, the weeding device for farm fields according to claim 1 is
A mobile weeding unit capable of moving between furrows in a field;
and a moist heat blowing body for blowing moist heat toward the furrows, the moist heat blowing body having an upper surface plate,
The mobile weeding unit is equipped with a moist heat shield that covers the moist heat blowing body, and this moist heat shield has a lower peripheral edge that is made of a flexible sheet member and is configured to expand the range of action of the moist heat around the moist heat blowing body .

In addition to the above requirements, the weeding device for farm fields according to claim 2 has the following features:
The flexible sheet member is characterized in that a rear portion thereof in the moving direction of the movable weeding unit is longer rearward than a front portion thereof .

Furthermore, the weeding device for farm fields according to claim 3 satisfies the above requirements in addition to the above requirements.
The moist heat blowing body is characterized in that a nozzle hole for blowing out moist heat is formed substantially parallel to the upper surface plate .

Furthermore , the weeding device for farm fields according to claim 4 satisfies the above requirements in addition to the above requirements.
The moist heat blowing body is provided in a moving weeding unit,
The moist heat supply device that supplies moist heat to the moist heat blowing body is characterized in that it is provided on a cart that incorporates the mobile weeding unit, or on a driving traveling body for moving the mobile weeding unit.

Furthermore, the weeding device for farm fields according to claim 5 satisfies the above requirements in addition to the above requirements.
The moist heat shield is characterized in that it is provided with a flow guide for generating a recirculating flow of the moist heat blown out to the inside thereof.

Furthermore, the weeding device for farm fields according to claim 6 satisfies the above requirements in addition to the above requirements.
The weeding device for farm fields is characterized in that, when the weeding device for farm fields turns, the moist heat is discharged from a vent pipe provided midway in the moist heat supply pipe connected to the moist heat blowing body.

Furthermore, the farm management method according to claim 7 further comprises:
The mobile weeding unit of the farm weeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is moved within the furrows and blows moist heat into the furrows to perform one or more of the following: weeding of weeds that have grown in the furrows, or sterilization or killing of insects on the soil surface or in the soil.

First, according to the invention described in claim 1, the moist heat shield covering the moist heat emitter is made of a flexible sheet material at its lower edge so that it comes into contact with the inter-row soil, thereby enabling effective weeding suited to the field shape to be performed without the use of chemicals.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 2, since the rear portion of the flexible sheet member is longer rearward than the front portion in the moving direction of the mobile weeding unit, effective weeding suited to the shape of the field can be performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the moist heat blowing body is configured to blow moist heat from the nozzle holes substantially parallel to the upper plate, so that effective weeding suited to the shape of the field can be achieved.

According to the invention described in claim 4 , when blowing out moist heat, the moist heat blowing nozzle and the moist heat supply device that supplies moist heat to the nozzle are provided on a movable cart or a driving body that drives the cart, and since the equipment required for weeding is integrated, it is easy to handle and work with.

According to the invention described in claim 5, the moist heat shield is equipped with a flow guide, so that the moist heat that has been blown out can be recirculated, and the thermal energy can be effectively directed to the weeding work.

According to the invention described in claim 6, when the garden weeding device rotates, the moist heat is discharged from a vent pipe provided in the moist heat supply pipe, so that the moist heat does not come into contact with the crops in the field and is not inadvertently applied to tea ridges, etc.

According to the invention described in claim 7, it is possible to carry out one or more of weeding, sterilization and/or insecticide in the areas between the furrows without using chemicals and without damaging the tea furrows.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the weeding device for farm fields of the present invention is used. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mobile weeding unit. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing a movable weeding unit; FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing another embodiment 1 of the weeding device for use in a farm field according to the present invention. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment 2 of the weeding device for use in a farm field of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment 3 of the weeding device for use in a farm field of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment 4 of the weeding device for farm fields according to the present invention. 13A and 13B are a cross-sectional view and a plan view showing another embodiment 5 of the weeding device for use in a farm field according to the present invention.

The best mode of the weeding device for farm fields and the farm management method using the same of the present invention is as shown in the following example, but it is possible to make appropriate modifications to this example within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention.

The present invention will be specifically described below based on the illustrated embodiment. The basic components of the weeding device 1 for farm fields of the present invention are a mobile weeding unit 2 that can move across the furrows E in a tea field F, which is an example of a farm field, and a moist heat blowing body 3 that blows moist heat S toward the furrows E. The mobile weeding unit 2 is equipped with a moist heat shield 4 that covers the moist heat blowing body 3, and this moist heat shield 4 can set the range of action of the moist heat S supplied by the moist heat supply device 5; specifically, the dimension L in the direction of movement along the furrows E in a plan view is longer than the dimension D in the width direction.

The specific configuration will be explained further below, but first, a brief description will be given of the shape of a tea field F, which is an example of a farm field. To put it simply, the shape of a tea field F is such that numerous tea ridges T are formed almost parallel to one another, and between these ridges E are formed furrows for work management. Weeds G, which are the subject of the work of the present invention, tend to grow in these furrows E.

In the tea field F described above, the device of the present invention is used to perform one or more of the following: weeding, sterilization on the soil surface or in the soil, and/or killing insects. First, the mobile weeding unit 2, which was mentioned as a basic component, can be constructed by being integrated into a movable cart or the like, but considering the actual conditions of farm management, one of the preferred forms is to move it by a drive-running body 10 as shown in Figures 1 and 2, for example.

First, the driving and running machine body 10 will be described. This machine runs across the tea ridges T and has a similar configuration to riding tea plantation management devices that are already in widespread use, and it is actually possible to attach the mobile weeding unit 2 to existing devices as an attachment. That is, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the driving and running machine body 10 has a running device 12, such as a crawler, below the leg frame 11A of a rear-view gate-shaped frame 11, and runs across the tea ridges T. The upper frame 11B of the frame 11 is configured like a deck, so to speak, and is equipped with a prime mover 13 that serves as the driving source, a cockpit 14, an operating handle 15, etc., and further equipped with a moist heat supplying device 5. The moist heat supplying device 5 will be described later.

The mobile weeding unit 2 is attached to the rear leg frame 11A so as to be pulled by the drive traveling body 10. That is, the subframe 16 provided along the leg frame 11A serves as a support member to support the mobile weeding unit 2 so as to be pulled upward and rotatable.
In this embodiment, the mobile weeding unit 2 is attached to the rear leg frame 11A, but it may also be attached to the front leg frame 11A, or to both the rear leg frame 11A and the front leg frame 11A.

The mobile weeding unit 2 and the moist heat blowing body 3 and moist heat shield 4 attached thereto will be described below.
First, the mobile weeding unit 2 has as its main member a hood body 21, which can be expressed as a rectangular lid shape in plan view, for example, and a moist heat blowing body 3, which is, for example, a square frame shape in plan view, formed around the lower surface of the upper plate 21a of the hood body 21. The lower surface of the hood body 21 is formed in an open state, and a shift receiving bracket 22 is formed protrudingly on the upper surface of the upper plate 21a. The shift receiving bracket 22 is supported rotatably on the subframe 16 at a rotating shaft 22a at its front end, and the mobile weeding unit 2 is pulled up rearward by the shift cylinder 23. That is, the upper end of the shift cylinder 23 is pin-connected to the upper part of the subframe 16, and the lower end of the slider of the shift cylinder 23 is pin-connected to the shift receiving bracket 22. The subframe 16 that supports these members may be fixedly attached to the frame 11, i.e., the leg frame 11A, or may be one that can be freely changed in vertical position.

Furthermore, the hood body 21 is provided with a connection pipe 24 for connecting a moist heat supply pipe 57 near the shift receiving bracket 22. The lower end side of this connection pipe 24 opens to the inside of the hood body 21, and a moist heat receiving chamber 31 communicating with the moist heat blowing body 3 is provided here. Moist heat S is introduced into this moist heat receiving chamber 31 from the lower end open part of the connection pipe 24, and the moist heat S is introduced into the square frame-shaped moist heat blowing body 3 from a moist heat receiving port 30 opening on the inside surface of the moist heat blowing body 3. A large number of nozzle holes 32 are opened on the inside of the side surface 21b of the moist heat blowing body 3.

Furthermore, the mobile weeding unit 2 is provided with a moist heat shield 4 for applying the moist heat S from the moist heat blowing body 3 to a certain range. Since the moist heat shield 4 functions as described above, the hood body 21 in the mobile weeding unit 2 already described also substantially constitutes a part of the moist heat shield 4.
Considering that the moist heat shield 4 will come into contact with the furrows E, at least the lower portion is constructed from a flexible cover sheet 41. Also, its shape in plan view can be expressed as a rectangle or ellipse whose longitudinal direction along the furrows E is longer. That is, the moist heat shield 4 has a moving direction dimension L set longer than its width direction dimension D, and the range of action of the moist heat S substantially regulated by this shield is also the same range.
With this configuration, it is possible to weed within the action range suitable for the furrow land E, and suppress the regrowth of grass. Furthermore, it is possible to kill and sterilize insects or insect eggs living on the soil surface or in the soil within the action range.

Next, the moist heat supplying device 5 that supplies the moist heat S that performs this weeding action will be described. In this embodiment, the field weeding device 1 is configured by incorporating the mobile weeding unit 2 into the drive-running body 10, and the moist heat supplying device 5 is also mounted on the upper frame 11B of the drive-running body 10. In other words, its main component is a moist heat generator, which is a general term for devices that generate thermal energy (moist heat S) in a moist state such as steam or hot water, and is a concept that also includes so-called boilers that burn fuel and use the thermal energy to heat water or the like in a sealed container to obtain high-temperature, high-pressure steam. Therefore, detailed explanations and illustrations will be omitted, and the moist heat generator, which is the main component, will be described in general terms.

The moist heat generator is provided with a burner 52 for burning fuel (such as diesel) supplied from a fuel tank 56 on the side of a moist heat box body 51, and water in a water supply tank 55 is supplied to the moist heat box body 51 through a water supply pipe, and the moist heat S is generated by using the combustion heat of the burner 52 to supply the supplied water. An exhaust pipe 54 is connected to the burner 52.

The moist heat S stored in the moist heat box body 51 is led to the connecting pipe 24 in the mobile weeding unit 2 by the moist heat supply pipe 57. Of course, an appropriate automatic or manual valve or the like is provided on the way. Furthermore, in the present invention, a vent pipe 57A is provided by branching a part of the moist heat supply pipe 57 on the way.

The present invention has the basic configuration as described above, and the operation of the weeding device for use in farm fields 1 will be described below by following the working mode, and also a practical method will be described.
〔1. Preparation〕
The main part of the preparation work is the generation of moist heat S. This work is carried out in the usual way by supplying sufficient water from the water supply tank 55 to the moist heat pipe body 51, then igniting the burner 52 to boil the water in the moist heat box body 51 and storing sufficient moist heat S such as steam in the gas-liquid separation tank 53 or an appropriate surge tank. In addition, a start-up inspection of related equipment including the drive and traveling machine body 10 is of course carried out.

2. Entering the mobile weeding unit into the furrows
The entry into the furrow land E is the same as in a typical riding tea field management device, in which the driving body 10 enters by straddling the tea ridges T. In this embodiment, the mobile weeding unit 2 is attached in a towing state to both the left and right leg frames 11A of the driving body 10, so that the mobile weeding unit 2 is guided to the furrow land E on both sides of a single tea ridge T.

[3. Weeding work]
In this way, when the mobile weeding unit 2 enters the furrow land E, the moist heat S from the moist heat supplying device 5 is guided through the moist heat supply pipe 57 to the moist heat receiving chamber 31 of the moist heat blowing body 3, and is then blown out from the nozzle hole 32 onto the furrow land E. At this time, since the mobile weeding unit 2 is equipped with the moist heat shield 4, the moist heat S is prevented from dissipating to the outside by this moist heat shield 4, and acts on the weeds G in the area covered by the moist heat shield 4, so that the heat energy causes the weeds G to wither. At this time, the action range of the moist heat S is set so that the moving direction dimension L is larger than the width direction dimension D, so that the working range can be sufficiently secured, and the moist heat S is not applied to the tea ridges T formed on both sides, and no adverse effect is caused on the tea ridges T.

[4. Turning operations]
When the weeding work for one ridge is completed in this way, the weeder turns around at the so-called pillow area at the end of the tea ridge T toward the next ridge to be worked on. At this time, the outlet of the moist heat S is switched to a vent pipe 57A provided midway along the moist heat supply pipe 57 so that the moist heat S is not inadvertently applied to the tea ridge T.

Other Examples
The embodiment described above is one basic and preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the following embodiment can also be mentioned within the technical concept of the present invention.
In the above-described embodiment, tea ridges T are given as an example of ridges, but the present invention is not limited to tea ridges T, and it is also suitable for mulberry fields and the like as long as the driving and traveling body 10 straddles the crops.

[Another Example 1]
This is what is called a simple structure, and as shown in Fig. 5, a relatively simple carriage 10A is used as the means for moving the mobile weeding unit 2. The carriage 10A may be configured so that it can move between one row of furrows E by narrowing the width of the machine body sufficiently, or it may be configured so that it can move across the tea furrows T and perform weeding work in the two rows of furrows E.
The cart 10A may be moved by pushing it manually, or may be driven by a small prime mover or electric motor. The necessary moist heat supply device 5 is mounted on the cart 10A, and the mobile weeding unit 2 equipped with the moist heat shield 4 and moist heat blowing body 3 is provided below, and weeding is performed by blowing out moist heat S from here.

[Another Example 2]
This embodiment is shown in Fig. 6(a) and is intended to more actively avoid adverse effects of the blowing out of the moist heat S on the tea ridges T. That is, the blowing range of the moist heat S is restricted by the moist heat shield 4 so that the moist heat S does not adversely affect the tea ridges T, and to further ensure this, for example, a water spray nozzle 25 is provided on the outside of the hood body 21. As a result, when the moist heat S is blown out from below to perform weeding work, a cold water mist M is sprayed toward the outside of the mobile weeding unit 2, creating a cool air atmosphere around the tea ridges T, particularly around the lower stems.

[Another Example 3]
Furthermore, the embodiment shown in FIG. 6(b) is an improvement that enables the movement of the mobile weeding unit 2 to be made smoother.
That is, the furrow ground E is inevitably uneven, even if not extremely so. In order to allow smooth movement on such a ground surface, a sled-shaped skid plate 26 is provided below the hood body 21. Specifically, the skid plate 26 is supported rotatably below the hood body 21 at the longitudinal center, and balance springs 27 are provided at the front and rear, allowing the hood body 21 to smoothly follow the unevenness of the furrow ground E.

[Another Example 4]
7 is an improvement to more effectively use the thermal energy of the moist heat S blown into the hood body 21 or moist heat shield 4. That is, a flow guide 28 is provided on the inside of the hood body 21, so that the moist heat S remains inside the hood body 21 and moist heat shield 4 as much as possible, allowing the high-temperature moist heat S to act on the weeds G for a long period of time.

[Another Example 5]
In this embodiment, the moist heat blowing body 3 and the mobile weeding unit 2 are completely separate structures.
That is, in the already described embodiment, the moist heat blowing body 3 is provided in the mobile weeding unit 2, but in this embodiment, moist heat pipes 33 are installed as equipment on both sides of the furrow land E in advance as the moist heat blowing body 3, and moist heat S is blown out from them. Specifically, automatic return type cocks 34 are provided at regular intervals in the moist heat pipes 33, and when the mobile weeding unit 2 moves, a part of them is pushed from the closed state to the open state. As a result, moist heat S is supplied from the moist heat pipes 33 to the inside of the mobile weeding unit 2 in a blowing state at the part of the cock 34 that is pushed out, thereby aiming to wither the nearby weeds G. As can be understood from this embodiment, the claims and claim 1 do not limit the mobile weeding unit 2 and the moist heat blowing body 3 to being integrated.

Reference Signs List 1: Weeding device for farmland 10: Driven traveling body 10A: Carriage 11: Frame 11A: Leg frame 11B: Upper frame 12: Traveling device (crawler)
13 Prime mover 14 Cockpit 15 Control handle 16 Subframe

2 Mobile weeding unit 21 Hood body 21a Upper plate
21b side
22 Shift receiving bracket 22a Rotating shaft 23 Shift cylinder 24 Connecting pipe 25 (Water) spray nozzle 26 Skid plate 27 Balance spring 28 Flow guide

3 Moist heat blowing body 30 Moist heat receiving port 31 Moist heat receiving chamber 32 Nozzle hole 33 Moist heat piping 34 Cock

4 Moisture heat shield 41 Cover sheet

5. Moist heat supply device 51. Moist heat box body 52. Burner
53 Gas-liquid separation tank 54 Exhaust stack 55 Water supply tank 56 Fuel tank 57 Moist heat supply pipe 57A Vent pipe

D Width direction dimension E Furrow space F Tea field G Weeds L Travel direction dimension M Cold water mist S Moist heat T Tea furrow

Claims (7)

A mobile weeding unit capable of moving between furrows in a field;
and a moist heat blowing body for blowing moist heat toward the furrows, the moist heat blowing body having an upper surface plate,
This weeding device for fields is characterized in that the mobile weeding unit is equipped with a moist heat shield that covers the moist heat blowing body, and the moist heat shield has a lower peripheral edge that is made of a flexible sheet material and is configured to expand the range of action of the moist heat around the moist heat blowing body .
2. The weeding device for use in a farm field according to claim 1, wherein the flexible sheet member is configured so that a rear portion thereof in the moving direction of the movable weeding unit is longer rearward than a front portion thereof.
3. The weeding device for use in a farm field according to claim 1, wherein the moist heat blowing body is formed with nozzle holes for blowing out moist heat substantially parallel to the upper surface plate.
The moist heat blowing body is provided in a moving weeding unit ,
A weeding device for use in a farm field according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that a moist heat supplying device for supplying moist heat to the moist heat blowing body is provided on a carriage incorporating the mobile weeding unit, or on a driving traveling body for moving the mobile weeding unit.
5. A weeding device for use in a field according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the moist heat shield is provided with a flow guide for generating a recirculating flow of the moist heat blown out to the inside thereof.
A weeding device for use in a farm field according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that when the weeding device for use in a farm field turns, the wet heat is discharged from a vent pipe provided midway in a wet heat supply pipe connected to the wet heat blowing body.
A method for managing a field, comprising moving a mobile weeding unit of a field weeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 through a furrow and blowing moist heat into the furrow to weed weeds growing in the furrow or to sterilize or kill insects on the soil surface or in the soil.

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