JP7665411B2 - Tree treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies. Publication date: October 19, 2020. Publication: Rural News Newspaper, Weekly, October 19, 2020, page 8. Publisher: International Agriculture Co., Ltd.

The present invention relates to a tree processing device that performs lumber processing work.

Conventionally, tree processing devices known as harvesters or processors have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Tree processing devices are attached to a work arm provided on a base machine such as a hydraulic excavator and are used in lumber processing. In lumber processing using a processor among tree processing devices, the work of de-branching felled trees and the cutting work of cutting the de-branched trees (lumber) to any length to form logs are carried out in succession. In lumber processing using a harvester, felling of standing trees can also be carried out.

A tree processing device mainly has a gripping unit, a material feeding unit, a length measuring unit, a branching unit, and a cutting unit. The gripping unit grips the tree that is to be processed. The material feeding unit sends the tree in the length direction by driving crawlers or the like that are in contact with the gripped tree using a hydraulic motor.

The length measuring unit measures the length of the tree (lumber) that has been sent out, i.e., the length of the lumber. The length measuring unit has, for example, an encoder that measures the number of rotations of the hydraulic motor that drives the crawler. The length measuring unit measures the length of the lumber, and when the lumber has been sent out to a preset length, the material feeding unit stops sending out the lumber.

The delimbing section delimbs the tree branches by bringing a cutter into contact with the branches of the tree that are being forcefully sent out by the feeding section. The cutting section cuts the sent out logs to a set length, forming logs of the desired length.

JP 2000-157075 A

When the tree (lumber) is sent out in the length direction by the feeding section, the crawler may temporarily spin freely on the surface of the lumber due to a large load being applied to the tree (lumber). Even when the crawler is spinning freely and the tree (lumber) is not being fed, the hydraulic motor is still rotating. In the case of a length measuring section that measures the lumber length based on the rotation speed of the hydraulic motor, the encoder detects the rotation speed of the hydraulic motor and adds the lumber length even when the crawler is spinning freely. For this reason, even if the log is cut based on the length measured by the length measuring section, the length may not be the desired length, resulting in an error in the log length.

The object of the present invention is to provide a tree processing device that can measure the length of trees (lumber) with high accuracy and perform lumber processing work with high accuracy.

The tree treatment device of the present invention comprises:
a plurality of feeding units that feed the trees in a length direction by driving a traveling unit that is in contact with the trees;
a length measuring unit for measuring the amount of tree feed;
A control unit that controls the driving of the plurality of material feeding units based on a detection signal detected by the length measuring unit,
the length measuring unit has a plurality of position information detecting units that detect position information related to the sending amount of the tree;
The control unit selects a detection signal from the multiple detection signals detected by the multiple position information detection units that has a small difference from the tree's sending amount, and controls the drive of the material sending unit based on the selected detection signal.

The tree processing device of the present invention can measure the length of trees (timber) with high accuracy, allowing for highly accurate timber processing work.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a tree processing device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view of the tree processing device. FIG. 3 is a top view of the tree processing device. FIG. 4 is a front view of the material feeding section. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which felling and timber processing work is carried out by the tree processing device. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which lumber processing work is carried out by the tree processing device. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state in which lumber processing work is carried out by the tree processing system. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a hydraulic circuit of the tree processing device. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control system of the tree processing device. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation unit in the control system of the tree processing device. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display unit of an operation unit in the control system of the tree processing device. FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the travel distance of the crawler (detected by the encoder) and the length of the material actually delivered. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the measurement of log length by the tree processing device and the control of the log feeding section. FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the travel distance of the crawler (detected by the encoder) and the length of the material actually delivered in the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the measurement of wood length and the control of the wood feeding section by the tree processing device of the second embodiment.

The tree processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes:
a plurality of feeding units that feed the trees in a length direction by driving a traveling unit that is in contact with the trees;
a length measuring unit for measuring the amount of tree feed;
A control unit that controls the driving of the plurality of material feeding units based on a detection signal detected by the length measuring unit,
the length measuring unit has a plurality of position information detecting units that detect position information related to the sending amount of the tree;
The control unit selects a detection signal from the multiple detection signals detected by the multiple position information detection units that has a small difference from the tree's sending amount, and controls the drive of the material sending unit based on the selected detection signal (first configuration).

According to the above configuration, the control unit selects, from the multiple detection signals detected by the multiple position information detection units, a detection signal that has a small difference from the tree's sending amount, and controls the drive of the material sending unit based on the selected detection signal.
This allows the length of trees (timber) to be measured with high accuracy, enabling timber processing work to be carried out with high precision.

In the first configuration,
The plurality of position information detection units are provided to detect position information related to a travel distance of the traveling unit,
The control unit may select the detection signal with the smallest detection amount from among the multiple detection signals detected by the multiple position information detection units as the detection signal with the smallest difference from the transmission amount of the tree (second configuration).

According to the above configuration, the control unit selects the detection signal with the smallest detection amount from among the multiple detection signals detected by the multiple position information detection units as the detection signal with the smallest difference from the tree's sending amount, and controls the drive of the material sending unit based on that detection signal.
Therefore, the drive of the material feeding section can be controlled based on the detection signal with the smallest error in the detected amount, enabling material-making operations to be carried out with high precision.

In the first configuration,
The plurality of position information detection units are provided to detect position information related to a travel distance of the traveling unit,
The control unit may select the detection signal with the smallest change in detection amount from among the multiple detection signals detected by the multiple position information detection units within a specified period of time, and may determine the sum of the changes in the selected detection signals as the detection signal with the smallest difference from the transmission amount of the tree (third configuration).

According to the above configuration, the control unit determines the sum of the changes in the selected detection signals as a detection signal that is less different from the feeding amount of the tree, and controls the drive of the feeding unit based on the detection signal.
This makes it possible to measure the length of the lumber with high accuracy while reducing errors in the detection amount that occur within a specified time, thereby enabling lumber production work to be carried out with high accuracy.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, the tree processing device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are given the same reference numerals and their description will not be repeated. In order to make the description easier to understand, the drawings referred to below show simplified or schematic configurations and omit some components. Furthermore, the dimensional ratios between components shown in each drawing do not necessarily represent the actual dimensional ratios. In the drawings, arrow F indicates the front and arrow B indicates the rear. Arrow L indicates the left and arrow R indicates the right. Arrow U indicates the upward direction and arrow D indicates the downward direction.

In this specification, a standing tree or a felled tree with branches (whole timber) is referred to as a tree W, a whole trunk timber from which branches have been removed is referred to as a timber W, and timber cut into logs is referred to as a log WL, but there are cases where these are not differentiated and are referred to as a tree W or timber W.

[Overall configuration]
Fig. 1 is a side view of a base machine 200 to which a tree processing device 100 according to embodiment 1 is attached. As shown in Fig. 1, a tree processing system 300 is configured by attaching the tree processing device 100 to the base machine 200.

The base machine 200 is a hydraulic excavator and includes a lower traveling body 110, an upper rotating body 120, a work arm 130, and a cab 150. Note that the base machine is not limited to a hydraulic excavator. For example, a wheeled base machine may be used.

The lower running body 110 has a track device 112. The track device 112 is a device that circulates the tracks with the drive wheels to allow the vehicle to run.

The upper rotating body 120 is supported so as to be freely rotatable with respect to the lower running body 110. The upper rotating body 120 is driven to rotate with respect to the lower running body 110 by a rotation device 114 equipped with a hydraulic actuator.

The working arm 130 is an articulated arm that extends from the upper rotating body 120 and can bend and extend. The tree processing device 100 is attached to the tip. The working arm 130 operates under hydraulic control and changes the direction and position of the tree processing device 100. The working arm 130 has a boom 131, an arm 133, and a tip arm 135 of the tree processing device 100.

The boom 131 is supported so that it can be raised and lowered at the front side of the upper rotating body 120. The boom 131 can be raised and lowered by a boom cylinder 141, which is a hydraulic actuator.

The arm 133 is connected to the tip of the boom 131 so that it can swing up and down. The arm 133 can be swung by an arm cylinder 143, which is a hydraulic actuator.

The distal arm 135 of the tree processing device 100 is connected to the tip of the arm 133 so that it can swing up and down. The distal arm 135 is connected to a first support pin 136 at the tip of the arm 133 and to a second support pin 137 provided at one end of a link member 138. The other end of the link member 138 is connected to the tip of the arm 133. The tip of the bucket cylinder 145 is connected to the link member 138.

The boom 131, arm 133, and tip arm 135 can be raised and lowered by the boom cylinder 141, arm cylinder 143, and bucket cylinder 145. The boom 131, arm 133, and tip arm 135 are rotated by rotating the upper rotating body 120 using the rotating device 114.

The cab 150 is provided on the upper rotating body 120. The operator sits in the cab 150 and operates the operating devices in the cab 150 to perform operations such as running the lower traveling body 110, rotating the upper rotating body 120, driving the working arm 130, and operating the tree processing device 100.

The tree processing device 100 is a harvester that grasps standing trees W to perform felling operations, and also performs timber processing operations while sending the trees W in the length direction. The tree processing device 100 also has a branching function that cuts the branches of the tree W, and a cutting function that cuts the tree W to a predetermined length. A control unit 60 that controls the drive of the tree processing device 100 is located in the driver's cab 150 of the base machine 200 and in the tree processing device 100. The configuration of the tree processing device 100 will be described in detail later.

Figure 2 is a front view of the tree processing device 100. Figure 3 is a top view of the tree processing device 100. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the tree processing device 100 has a tree processing device main body 11, a gripping unit 20, a tilt unit 25, a material feeding unit 30, a length measuring unit 38 (see Figure 4), a branching unit 40, a cutting unit 45, and a control unit 60.

The tree treatment device main body 11 is the base of the tree treatment device 100. The tree treatment device main body 11 is attached to the tip arm 135 via the tilt arm 27 of the tilt section 25 and the rotator 13.

The gripping unit 20 is a part that opens and closes the multiple material feeding units 30 to grip or release the tree W. The gripping unit 20 has an opening and closing mechanism 21. The opening and closing mechanism 21 is operated by an opening and closing hydraulic cylinder 23 (see Figure 8), and opens and closes the multiple material feeding units 30 to grip or release the tree W.

The tilt unit 25 is a part that switches the position of the tree processing device 100 to fell and grasp standing trees W. The tilt unit 25 has a tilt arm 27. The tree processing device main body 11 is attached to the tilt arm 27 so that it can be raised and lowered. The tilt unit 25 is operated by a tilt hydraulic cylinder 28 (see Figures 6 and 8) and raises and lowers the tree processing device main body 11 relative to the tilt arm 27. The tilt unit 25 allows the tree processing device main body 11 to switch its position between a first position P1 (see Figure 5a) facing up and down and a second position P2 facing horizontally (see Figures 2 and 5b).

The material feeding section 30 is a section that sends out the grasped tree W in the direction of the material length. In this embodiment, two material feeding sections 30 are provided. The two material feeding sections 30 are provided in the opening and closing mechanism 21 of the gripping section 20 so as to face each other. Each material feeding section 30 has a crawler 31, a frame 34, and a material feeding drive motor 35. The crawler 31 is formed of a chain-type crawler. The frame 34 is attached to the opening and closing mechanism 21. The drive sprocket 37 (see FIG. 4) and the driven sprocket (not shown) are supported by the frame 34. The crawler 31 is wrapped around the drive sprocket 37 and the driven sprocket. The material feeding drive motor 35 rotates the drive sprocket 37 to run the crawler 31. The tree W is gripped by the two feeding units 30, and the two crawlers 31 are moved in the same direction while in contact with the tree W, so that the gripped tree W can be sent out in the direction of the tree's length. The crawlers 31 correspond to the traveling units of the present invention.

The distance between the two crawlers 31 is variable. When the tree W is sent out, the diameter of the tree W changes depending on the position of the tree W, so the distance between the crawlers 31 changes depending on the diameter of the tree W due to hydraulic force. Also, when the diameter of the tree W becomes large and a force is applied to spread the crawlers 31, the crawlers 31 can open outward against the hydraulic force of the opening/closing mechanism 21.

The length measuring unit 38 is attached to the material feeding unit 30 (see FIG. 4) and measures the amount of tree W fed. The length measuring unit 38 has an encoder 39. The encoder 39 corresponds to the position information detection unit of the present invention. The length measuring unit 38 detects position information related to the distance traveled by the crawler 31 by detecting the rotation of the drive sprocket 37 (material feeding drive motor 35) using the encoder 39.

The branching unit 40 is a part that performs branching of the tree W sent by the material feeding unit 30. The branching unit 40 has an opening/closing body 41 and a cutter 43. The opening/closing body 41 can be opened and closed, and when closed, it is arranged so as to surround the outer surface of the tree W gripped by the gripping unit 20. The opening/closing body 41 is operated by an opening/closing body hydraulic cylinder 42 (see FIG. 8). The cutter 43 is attached to one side of the opening/closing body 41. The cutter 43 comes into sliding contact with the surface of the tree W sent by the material feeding unit 30 to cut the branches of the tree W. The opening/closing body 41 may open and close in response to a control signal input from the control unit 60, or may operate in conjunction with the gripping unit 20.

The cutting unit 45 is a section that cuts the material W sent out by the material feeding unit 30 to a predetermined length and cuts it into logs. The cutting unit 45 is provided at the end of the material feeding unit 30 opposite the branching unit 40. The cutting unit 45 has a cutting saw 46 (see Figure 6). The cutting unit 45 performs a cutting operation by driving the cutting saw 46 in response to a control signal input from the control unit 60.

Figure 4 is a front view of the material feeding section 30. In this embodiment, two material feeding sections 30 are provided, and Figure 4 shows one of them. In Figure 4, a part of the material feeding section 30 is broken away to show the internal structure. As shown in Figure 4, the material feeding section 30 has a crawler 31, a frame 34, and a material feeding drive motor 35.

The crawler 31 is composed of multiple crawler links 32 connected together in an endless fashion. A row of multiple spikes 33 is provided on the outer surface of each crawler link 32. The spikes 33 are used as transmission parts and anti-slip devices when the two material feed units 30 grip and send out the tree W.

The frames 34 are arranged to face each other and support a drive sprocket 37 and a driven sprocket (not shown). The crawler 31 is wound around the drive sprocket 37 and the driven sprocket. The frames 34 are attached to the opening/closing mechanism 21 of the gripping unit 20.

The material feeding drive motor 35 is attached to the frame 34, and the drive shaft 36 passes through the frame 34 and is connected to the drive sprocket 37. The material feeding drive motor 35 is a hydraulic motor driven by hydraulic oil, and rotates forward, reverse, and stops according to a control signal input from the control unit 60. The material feeding drive motor 35 drives the drive sprocket 37 to rotate, causing the crawler 31 to travel and send out the tree W.

An encoder 39 of the length measuring unit 38 is attached to the material feeding unit 30. In this embodiment, an encoder 39 is provided on each of the two material feeding units 30 and is attached coaxially to the drive shaft 36 of the material feeding drive motor 35. The detection signals from each encoder 39 are input to the control unit 60 (see FIG. 9). Based on the detection signals from each encoder 39, the travel distance of each crawler 31 can be calculated.

Here, when the two material feeding units 30 feed the tree W, if each crawler 31 does not spin idly relative to the tree W, the travel distance of each crawler 31 and the amount of tree W fed will match. However, each crawler 31 may spin idly relative to the tree W, and each crawler 31 has a different travel distance when spinning idly relative to the tree W. For this reason, the travel distance of each crawler 31 and the amount of tree W fed do not necessarily match. In this embodiment, the control unit 60 controls the drive of the material feeding unit 30 based on the detection signal that has the smallest difference between the travel distance of the crawler 31 and the amount of tree W fed out, out of the two detection signals detected by the two encoders 39. The content of the control based on the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 will be described in detail later.

Figure 5 shows the tree cutting and timber processing work being performed by the tree cutting equipment 100. Figure 5a shows the tree cutting equipment 100 cutting down a standing tree W. Figure 5b shows the tree cutting equipment 100 de-branching the tree W while feeding it in the direction D1.

As shown in Figure 5a, when felling a standing tree W using the tree processing device 100, the tilt unit 25 is operated to place the tree processing device main body 11 in a first position P1 facing up and down. In the first position P1, the branching unit 40 is at the top and the cutting unit 45 is at the bottom. While in this first position P1, the gripping unit 20 is operated to grip the base of the standing tree W with the two material feeding units 30, and in this state the cutting saw 46 of the cutting unit 45 is operated to cut the base of the standing tree W.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5b, while the cut tree W is still being held by the two feed units 30, the tilt unit 25 is operated to switch the position of the tree processing device main body 11 to the second position P2, which is oriented horizontally. This allows the tree W to be felled by the tree processing device 100.

After the tree W is felled by the tree processing device 100, the crawlers 31 of the two feeding units 30 are then driven and rotated in the same direction to feed the tree W in the direction D1. At this time, the cutter 43 of the branching unit 40 is brought into sliding contact with the surface of the tree W fed by the feeding units 30 to cut the branches of the tree W.

In this embodiment, the amount of movement of the tree W sent out is detected by each of the encoders 39 installed on the two material sending units 30, and the length from the cut end WP of the tree W to the cutting unit 45 is measured based on the detection signals from the two encoders 39. Then, when the material W has been sent out to a preset length, the material sending unit 30 is stopped, and the material W is cut by the cutting unit 45 to form a log WL of the desired length.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing the state in which lumber processing work is performed by the tree processing device 100. Figure 6 shows the state in which lumber W is cut by the cutting unit 45. The cutting unit 45 has a cutting saw 46, a driving motor 47 for the cutting saw, and a hydraulic cylinder 48 for the cutting saw.

The cut saw 46 is a chain saw and has a saw bar 461 and a saw chain 463. The saw bar 461 is a plate-shaped member that guides the saw chain 463. The saw bar 461 is supported by a support shaft 465 so that it can swing. The saw chain 463 is looped around the saw bar 461 and a sprocket (not shown). A cut saw drive motor 47 is connected to the sprocket. The cut saw drive motor 47 is a hydraulic motor. When the cut saw drive motor 47 is rotated by hydraulic oil, the saw chain 463 is rotated and the cutting operation is performed.

The cutting saw hydraulic cylinder 48 is an actuator that swings the cutting saw 46 back and forth in the radial direction of the material W. The cutting saw hydraulic cylinder 48 expands and contracts with hydraulic oil, causing the cutting saw 46 to swing back and forth in the radial direction of the material W, thereby performing the cutting operation.

Figure 6 shows the state in which the log WL cut by the cutting unit 45 has been detached from the material W held by the crawler 31. A new cut end WP has been formed in the material W held by the crawler 31. When the next log WL is to be formed, the length measuring unit 38 measures (measures) the length from the new cut end WP to the cutting unit 45 (cut saw 46) while the material W is being sent out by the material feeding unit 30. The length of the material W is measured by the length measuring unit 38, and when the material W has been sent out to a preset length, the material feeding unit 30 is stopped, and the material W is cut by the cutting unit 45 to form a log WL of the desired length.

Figure 7 is a plan view showing the state in which lumber processing work is performed by the tree processing system 300. Figure 7 shows the lumber processing work in which the length of the lumber W is measured by the length measuring unit 38 and a log WL of length LP is formed.

As shown in FIG. 7a, while the material W is being fed by the material feeding section 30, the length measuring section 38 measures the length from the cut edge WP to the cutting section 45. The material W has a cut edge WP formed thereon, which was previously cut by the cutting section 45. When the length of the material W measured by the length measuring section 38 reaches the preset length LP, the material feeding section 30 is stopped.

In the state shown in Figure 7a, by cutting the material W with the cutting section 45, a log WL of the desired length can be formed as shown in Figure 7b. The position of the newly formed cut end WP coincides with the position of the cutting saw 46 of the cutting section 45. When subsequently forming a log WL from the same tree W, the newly formed cut end WP is used as a reference to similarly measure the material length LP and cut into logs, allowing the logs WL to be formed continuously.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of the hydraulic circuit 50 of the tree processing device 100. As shown in Figure 8, the hydraulic circuit 50 is configured so that the rotator 13, gripping unit 20, tilt unit 25, material feed unit 30, branching unit 40, and cutting unit 45 are driven by hydraulic oil supplied from a hydraulic oil tank 51 and a hydraulic pump unit 52. In this embodiment, the drive of the rotator 13, gripping unit 20, tilt unit 25, material feed unit 30, branching unit 40, and cutting unit 45 can be controlled by operating an operating lever (not shown) or by a control signal from the control unit 60.

The rotator 13 has a rotator drive motor 14. The rotator drive motor 14 can be rotated forward, reverse, and stopped by hydraulic oil, thereby controlling the direction of the tree processing device 100.

The gripping unit 20 has an opening/closing hydraulic cylinder 23 that operates the opening/closing mechanism 21. The opening/closing hydraulic cylinder 23 expands and contracts with hydraulic oil, opening and closing the two material feeding units 30 to grip or release the tree W.

The tilt section 25 has a tilt hydraulic cylinder 28. The tilt hydraulic cylinder 28 extends and retracts with hydraulic oil, thereby raising and lowering the tree treatment device body 11 relative to the tilt arm 27, and switching the position of the tree treatment device body 11 between a first position P1 (see Figure 5a) and a second position P2 (see Figures 2 and 5b).

The material feeding section 30 has two material feeding drive motors 35. The material feeding drive motors 35 are rotated by hydraulic oil to rotate the crawler 31 and feed the tree W. In addition, the material feeding drive motors 35 are driven, decelerated, and stopped so that the material W can be cut into logs by the cutting section 45 at a position where a predetermined length of material W has been fed.

The branching unit 40 has a hydraulic cylinder 42 for opening and closing the opening and closing body 41. The hydraulic cylinder 42 for opening and closing expands and contracts with hydraulic oil, opening and closing the opening and closing body 41 and holding the tree W gripped by the gripping unit 20.

The cutting section 45 has a cutting saw drive motor 47 and a cutting saw hydraulic cylinder 48. The cutting saw drive motor 47 is rotated by hydraulic oil, which drives the cutting saw 46 to perform the cutting operation. The cutting saw hydraulic cylinder 48 is expanded and contracted by hydraulic oil, which causes the cutting saw 46 to swing back and forth in the radial direction of the material W, thereby performing the cutting operation.

Figure 9 is a block diagram showing the control system of the tree processing device 100. In Figure 9, the length of the material W is measured by two encoders 39 (first encoder 391, second encoder 392) of the length measuring unit 38 provided in the two material feeding units 30 (first material feeding unit 301, second material feeding unit 302) and the two material feeding units 30 (first material feeding unit 301, second material feeding unit 302) are controlled based on the measured length. Other configurations related to the control of the tree processing device 100 are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 60 is a device that processes information using a pre-recorded program and communicates information with each part of the tree processing device 100. The configuration of the control unit 60 is not limited, and a known computer device equipped with a central processing unit (CPU), memory, an external storage device, information communication means, etc. can be used. In this embodiment, the control unit 60 is arranged in the driver's cab 150 of the base machine 200 and the tree processing device 100, but it may also be arranged integrally with the tree processing device 100. The control unit 60 may also communicate information wirelessly with each part of the tree processing device 100.

The control unit 60 has a drive control unit 61, a travel distance calculation unit 62, a travel distance determination unit 63, and a material length determination unit 65. The control unit 60 is configured to receive output signals from the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391, second encoder 392) attached to the two material feeding units 30 (first material feeding unit 301, second material feeding unit 302) and the operation unit 90.

The crawlers 31 provided on each of the two material feeding units 30 (first material feeding unit 301, second material feeding unit 302) may each cause idling (slippage) with respect to the tree W. For this reason, the detection amounts of the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391, second encoder 392) may not match. In this case, the amount of tree W sent out calculated from the travel distance of the crawler 31 includes an error, and the error also differs for each crawler 31. In this embodiment, the detection signal with the smallest detection amount among the detection signals from the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391, second encoder 392) is set as the detection signal with the smallest difference between the travel distance of the crawler 31 and the actual amount of tree W sent out. Then, the drive of the two material feeding units 30 (first material feeding unit 301, second material feeding unit 302) is controlled based on the detection signal.

The drive control unit 61 is configured as part of the control unit 60. The drive control unit 61 controls the drive of the two material feeding units 30 based on the travel distance of the crawler 31 selected by the travel distance determination unit 63 from among the travel distances of each crawler 31 calculated by the travel distance calculation unit 62.

The travel distance calculation unit 62 calculates the travel distance of each crawler 31 based on the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391, second encoder 392).

The travel distance determination unit 63 determines the smaller travel distance of each crawler 31 calculated by the travel distance calculation unit 62. This is because, considering that the two crawlers 31 each cause different slippage (idling) on the tree W, the smaller calculated travel distance results in less slippage between the crawler 31 and the tree W, and therefore a smaller difference between the travel distance of the crawler 31 and the amount of tree W sent out. The travel distance of one crawler 31 selected by the travel distance determination unit 63 from the travel distances of each crawler 31 is set to the amount of tree W sent out (the length of lumber W).

The material length determination unit 65 determines whether the travel distance (= length of material W) of one of the crawlers 31 selected by the travel distance determination unit 63 has reached a preset length of material W. When the material length determination unit 65 determines that the travel distance (= length of material W) of one of the crawlers 31 selected by the travel distance determination unit 63 has reached a preset length of material W, the drive control unit 61 performs control to stop the drive of the two material feeding units 30 (first material feeding unit 301, second material feeding unit 302).

The operation unit 90 is a section for setting the processing contents to be performed by the tree processing device 100, such as setting an arbitrary length for the log WL formed by the lumber processing work, and setting a position for forward rotation, deceleration, stopping, or reverse rotation of the material feeding unit 30 so that the material feeding can be stopped at a position of an arbitrary length. The operation unit 90 has a display unit 91 and an input unit 93.

The display unit 91 is a part that displays the processing contents by the tree processing device 100, and may be an indicator using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or hardware such as a liquid crystal display device. The display unit 91 displays instruction information from the input unit 93 and the results of processing by the tree processing device 100.

The input unit 93 is where the operator inputs instructions regarding the processing content to be performed by the tree processing device 100. Input can be made by operating a physical switch, or by touching a specified image area by configuring the display unit 91 as a touch panel. The instructions inputted by the input unit 93 are transmitted to the control unit 60 as instruction information.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing the operation unit 90 in the control system of the tree processing device 100. Figure 11 is a diagram showing the display unit 91 of the operation unit 90 in the control system of the tree processing device 100. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, a virtual switch image is displayed on the touch panel type display unit 91, which partially functions as an input unit 93. The operator in the driver's cab 150 of the base machine 200 performs lumber work on the tree W by constantly checking the processing contents displayed on the display unit 91, and inputs instruction information from the input unit 93 as necessary.

Figure 10 shows the state in which the operation screen (normal screen) is displayed on the display unit 91. This operation screen shows that the measurement length setting value for cutting the material W into bucks is "205 cm."

Figure 11 shows the state in which the deceleration setting screen (setting menu) is displayed on the display unit 91. In this embodiment, during automatic length measurement, the material feed speed of the material feed section 30 is set to switch from normal speed to slow speed just before the length measurement setting value ("205 cm" in Figure 10), and two deceleration patterns (deceleration 1 and deceleration 2) are set as deceleration patterns. Note that each value displayed on the deceleration setting screen (setting menu) can be changed, and the changed value can be input into the input section 93 of each column of the display unit 91, which is a touch panel.

Here, we will use a diagram to explain that when the travel distances of the two crawlers 31 (amounts detected by the two encoders 39) are different, the smaller the travel distance of the crawler 31 (amount detected by the encoder 39), the less the amount of slippage (amount of idling) between the crawler 31 and the tree W, and the smaller the difference between the travel distance of the crawler 31 and the amount of tree W sent out. Figure 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the travel distance of the crawler 31 (amount detected by the encoder 39) and the length of the material W actually sent out. The vertical axis represents the travel distance of the crawler 31 (amount detected by the encoder 39), and the horizontal axis represents the length of the material W actually sent out.

Line R1 (solid line) in FIG. 12 indicates the travel distance of the crawler 31 of the first material feeding section 301 (amount detected by the first encoder 391), and line R2 (dashed line) indicates the travel distance of the crawler 31 of the second material feeding section 302 (amount detected by the second encoder 392). Line RC (virtual line) indicates an ideal state in which the crawler 31 does not spin freely and the travel distance of the crawler 31 matches the length of the material W actually sent out. Note that in FIG. 12, in order to make the spinning of the crawler 31 easier to understand, lines R1 and R2 show the amount of spinning of the crawler 31 to be larger than it actually is.

The sections of lines R1 and R2 whose inclination is the same as line RC are sections where the crawler 31 is not spinning freely relative to the tree W, and the travel distance of the crawler 31 matches the length of the lumber W actually sent out. In contrast, the sections of lines R1 and R2 whose inclination is greater than line RC are sections where the crawler 31 is spinning freely relative to the tree W, and the travel distance of the crawler 31 (amount detected by the encoder 39) is greater than the length of the lumber W actually sent out. The reason why the positions of spinning and the lengths of the sections differ on lines R1 and R2 is because the positions of spinning freely relative to the tree W and the amount of spinning freely differ for each crawler 31. For this reason, the travel distances of each crawler 31 (amount detected by the encoder 39) do not match each other, and do not match the actual amount of tree W sent out.

In line RC, when the travel distance of the crawler 31 reaches the set value LP (vertical axis), the length of the material W actually sent out also reaches LP (horizontal axis). In contrast, in lines R1 and R2, idling occurs, so the travel distance of the crawler 31 (detected by the encoder 39) is greater than the length of the material W actually sent out. For this reason, in lines R1 and R2, the travel distance of the crawler 31 reaches the set value LP (vertical axis) before the ideal state line RC. As a result, in line R1, even if the travel distance of the crawler 31 (detected by the first encoder 391) reaches the set value LP (vertical axis), the length of the material W actually sent out is LR1 (horizontal axis), which is shorter than LP. In addition, in line R2, even if the travel distance of the crawler 31 (detected by the second encoder 392) reaches the set value LP (vertical axis), the length of the material W actually sent out is LR2 (horizontal axis), which is shorter than LP. Also, when comparing LR1 and LR2, which are the lengths of the material W that was actually delivered, LR2 is closer to the set length LP (horizontal axis) of the material W than LR1, and the error is smaller.

In other words, comparing line R1 and line R2, line R2, in which the travel distance of the crawler 31 (detected by the encoder 39) is smaller, has less freewheeling of the crawler 31 and a smaller difference between the travel distance of the crawler 31 and the amount of tree W sent out.

However, when comparing lines R1 and R2 in more detail, there is no difference in the travel distance (detection amount of encoder 39) of crawler 31 for both lines R1 and R2 until the length of the lumber W actually delivered reaches L11 (horizontal axis). Also, in the section where the length of the lumber W is from L11 (horizontal axis) to L12 (horizontal axis), the travel distance (detection amount of encoder 39) of crawler 31 is smaller for line R1 (solid line) than for line R2 (dashed line), and it can be said that the error between the travel distance of crawler 31 and the delivered amount of tree W is smaller for line R1 (solid line). Then, in the section where the length of lumber W exceeds L12 (horizontal axis), lines R1 and R2 are reversed, and the travel distance (detection amount of encoder 39) of crawler 31 is smaller for line R2 (dashed line) than for line R1 (solid line), and it can be said that the error between the travel distance of crawler 31 and the delivered amount of tree W is smaller for line R2 (dashed line).

In this way, the error between lines R1 and R2 and the length of the material W actually sent out varies depending on the position where the idling occurs and the amount of idling. There are also sections where line R1 is more accurate than line R2, and conversely, sections where line R2 is more accurate than line R1, and there are also sections where the accuracy of lines R1 and R2 is equal. For this reason, the travel distances of the two crawlers 31 (detection amounts of the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) are compared, and the crawler 31 with the smaller travel distance (detection amount of the encoder 39) is selected, and the length of the material W is measured based on this, making it possible to measure the length of the material W with higher accuracy than when there is only one encoder.

Figure 13 is a flowchart showing timber length measurement by the tree processing device 100 and control of the timber feed unit 30. As shown in Figure 13, when timber length measurement is started, the target value (measurement setting value LP) is first set. The setting is performed with the setting menu displayed on the display unit 91, as shown in Figure 11.

After setting the measurement setting value, the operator checks that the cut end WP of the material W is located at the position of the saw bar 461 of the cutting section 45 (position of the cut saw 46), and performs the material feeding operation to start feeding the material W by the material feeding section 30 (driving the first material feeding section 301 and the second material feeding section 302).

When the sending out of the material W starts, the travel distance calculation unit 62 calculates the travel distance of each crawler 31 based on the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391, second encoder 392).

The travel distance determination unit 63 determines the smaller travel distance of each crawler 31 calculated by the travel distance calculation unit 62.

The material length determination unit 65 determines whether the travel distance (= length of material W) of one of the crawlers 31 selected by the travel distance determination unit 63 has reached a preset target value (measurement set value LP). If the target value (measurement set value LP) has not been reached (NO), material feeding is continued. If the target value (measurement set value LP) has been reached (YES), the material feeding unit 30 is stopped (first material feeding unit 301 and second material feeding unit 302 are stopped), and material length measurement is terminated.

In this embodiment, the travel distance of each crawler 31 is calculated based on the detection signals output from the two encoders 39, and then the travel distance determination unit 63 determines the smaller travel distance, but the order is not limited. The detection signals output from the two encoders 39 may be compared first, the detection signal with the smaller detection amount may be determined and selected, and the travel distance of the crawler 31 may be calculated based on the selected detection signal. In either case, the length of the material W can be measured more accurately by controlling the drive of the material feeding unit 30 based on a detection signal in which the difference between the travel distance of the crawler 31 and the amount of tree W sent out is small.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a tree processing device 100A according to embodiment 2 will be described. Fig. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the travel distance of the crawler 31 (amount detected by the encoder 39) and the length of the timber W actually delivered in embodiment 2. Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing timber length measurement and control of the timber delivery unit 30 by the tree processing device 100A according to embodiment 2.

As explained in the first embodiment, the error between the lines R1 and R2 in FIG. 12 and the length of the material W actually delivered varies depending on the position where the freewheeling of each crawler 31 occurs and the amount of freewheeling. There are also sections where the line R1 is more accurate than the line R2, and conversely, there are sections where the line R2 is more accurate than the line R1.

For this reason, in the second embodiment, the detection amounts of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) are compared every predetermined time (microtime), the encoder 39 with the smaller change in detection amount within the predetermined time (microtime) is selected, and the length of the material W is measured based on the integrated value of the change in the detection amount. This allows the length of the material W to be measured with higher accuracy.

Figure 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount detected by the encoder 39 (the amount of travel of the crawler 31) and the length of the material W actually sent out, with the vertical axis representing the amount detected by the encoder 39 (the amount of travel of the crawler 31) and the horizontal axis representing the length of the material W actually sent out. In addition, line R1 (solid line) and line R2 (thin dashed line) show the amount detected by the first encoder 391 (the amount of travel of the crawler 31 of the first material sending section 301) and the amount detected by the second encoder 392 (the amount of travel of the crawler 31 of the second material sending section 302).

Line R3 (thick dashed line) shows the value obtained by comparing the detection amounts (changes in the detection amounts over a given time) of the two encoders 39 at a given time (very short time) and integrating the smaller change in the detection amount. Line RC (imaginary line) shows the ideal state in which there is no slippage of the crawler 31 and the travel distance of the crawler 31 matches the length of the material W actually delivered.

In FIG. 14, in the section where the length of the material W actually delivered is from 0 to L21, line R1 and line R2 overlap, and the detection amount of the encoder 39 (the travel distance of each crawler 31) is the same. Therefore, line R3 overlaps with line R1 and line R2.

When comparing the detected amounts of the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391 and second encoder 392) for each specified time (micro time) in the section where the length of the material W is from L21 to L22, the change in the detected amount of the encoder 39 is smaller for line R1 (solid line) than for line R2 (thin dashed line). Therefore, when the detected amount of the encoder 39 with the smaller change in the detected amount for each specified time (micro time) is selected in the section where the length of the material W is from L21 to L22 and the change is accumulated, line R3 (thick dashed line) will overlap with line R1 (solid line) in the section where the length of the material W is from L21 to L22.

When comparing the detection amounts of the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391 and second encoder 392) for each specified time (microtime) in the section where the length of the material W is from L22 to L23, the change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 for line R1 (solid line) and line R2 (thin dashed line) is the same (the slope is the same). Therefore, when the change in the detection amount of one of the encoders 39 is selected for each specified time (microtime) in the section where the length of the material W is from L22 to L23 and the change amount is accumulated, line R3 (thick dashed line) will overlap with line R1 (solid line) in the section where the length of the material W is from L22 to L23.

In the section where the length of the material W is from L23 to L24, when comparing the detection amounts of the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391 and second encoder 392) for each specified time (micro time), the change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 is smaller for line R2 (thin dashed line) than for line R1 (solid line). Therefore, in the section where the length of the material W is from L23 to L24, if the detection amount of the encoder 39 with the smaller change in the detection amount for each specified time (micro time) is selected and integrated, the linearity of line R3 (thick dashed line) will be the same as line R2 (thin dashed line) in the section where the length of the material W is from L23 to L24. In addition, the magnitude of the integrated amount of line R3 in the section where the length of the material W is from L23 to L24 will be smaller than lines R1 (solid line) and R2 (thin dashed line) (closer to line RC).

In the section where the length of the material W is L24 or later, when comparing the change in the detected amount of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) for each predetermined time (micro time), the change in the detected amount is the same for lines R1 and R2 (the slopes of lines R1 and R2 are the same). Therefore, when the change in the detected amount of the encoder 39 is integrated for each predetermined time (micro time) in the section where the length of the material W is L24 or later, the linearity of line R3 (thick dashed line) is the same as line R1 (solid line) and line R2 (thin dashed line) in the section where the length of the material W is L24 or later. Furthermore, the magnitude of the integrated amount of line R3 in the section where the length of the material W is L24 or later is smaller than line R1 (solid line) and R2 (thin dashed line) (closer to line RC).

In line R3, when the travel distance of the crawler 31 calculated based on the integrated value of the change in the detected amount reaches the set value LP (vertical axis), the length of the material W actually sent out becomes LR3. Although there is an error in the length LR3 with respect to the set value LP (horizontal axis), it is closer to the set value LP (horizontal axis) than the case based on line R1 (solid line) (LR1) and the case based on line R2 (thin dashed line) (LR2), and is therefore more accurate.

In this way, the change in the detected amount of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) is compared every predetermined time (very short time), the encoder 39 with the smaller change in detected amount is selected, and the length of the material W is measured based on the integrated value of the change, thereby enabling more accurate measurement of the length of the material W.

Figure 15 is a flowchart showing timber length measurement by the tree processing device 100A and control of the timber feed unit 30. As shown in Figure 15, when timber length measurement is started, the target value (measurement setting value LP) is first set. The setting is performed with the setting menu displayed on the display unit 91, as shown in Figure 11.

After setting the measurement setting value, the operator checks that the cut end WP of the material W is located at the position of the saw bar 461 of the cutting section 45 (position of the cut saw 46), and performs the material feeding operation to start feeding the material W by the material feeding section 30 (driving the first material feeding section 301 and the second material feeding section 302).

When the delivery of the material W starts, the detection amounts of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) are compared every predetermined time (microtime), and the encoder 39 with the smaller change in detection amount within the predetermined time (microtime) is selected. The change in the selected detection amount is integrated.

The travel distance calculation unit 62 calculates the travel distance of the crawler 31 based on the integrated value of the change in the detected amount.

The material length determination unit 65 determines whether the travel distance (= length of material W) of the crawler 31 calculated by the travel distance calculation unit 62 has reached a preset target value (measurement set value LP). If the target value (measurement set value LP) has not been reached (NO), material feeding is continued. If the target value (measurement set value LP) has been reached (YES), the material feeding unit 30 is stopped (the first material feeding unit 301 and the second material feeding unit 302 are stopped), and material length measurement is terminated.

In this embodiment, the amount of change in the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 over a specified time period is compared, the value with the smallest amount of change is selected and accumulated, and the travel distance of the crawler 31 is calculated based on the accumulated value, but the order is not limited. The amount of change in the travel distance of each crawler 31 over a specified time period may be calculated based on the amount of change in the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 over a specified time period, and then the smaller amount of change in the travel distance may be selected and accumulated to calculate the travel distance of the crawler 31. In either case, the length of the material W can be measured more accurately by controlling the drive of the material feeding unit 30 based on a detection signal with a small difference between the travel distance of the crawler 31 and the amount of tree W sent out.

[Modification]
The tree processing device according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. In the present embodiment, two encoders are provided, but three or more encoders may be provided. In addition, the position information detection unit is not limited to an encoder, and may be any unit capable of detecting position information related to the travel distance of the crawler.

In addition, in the second embodiment, the amount of change in the encoder detection amount is selected at a predetermined time interval, but the predetermined time does not have to be at a constant interval.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples for implementing the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and it is possible to implement the above-mentioned embodiments by appropriately modifying them within the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

The present invention can be used in tree processing devices that use tree processing equipment.

100 Tree processing device 200 Base machine 300 Tree processing system 30 Material feeding unit 31 Travel unit (crawler)
38 Position information detection unit (encoder)
60 Control section W Trees, materials

Claims (3)

A plurality of feeding units each of which drives a traveling unit in contact with the tree to feed the tree in a length direction;
a length measuring unit for measuring the amount of tree feed;
A control unit that controls the driving of the plurality of material feeding units based on a detection signal detected by the length measuring unit,
the length measuring unit has a plurality of position information detecting units that detect position information related to the sending amount of the tree;
The plurality of position information detection units are provided to detect position information related to a travel distance of the traveling unit,
The control unit selects a detection signal that has a smaller difference from the amount of material sent from the tree among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of position information detection units, and controls the driving of the material sending unit based on the selected detection signal.
Tree treatment equipment. the control unit selects a detection signal having a smallest detection amount from among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of position information detection units as a detection signal having a small difference from the transmission amount of the tree.
The tree treatment device according to claim 1 . the control unit selects a detection signal having the smallest change in detection amount from among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of position information detection units within a predetermined time, and determines a sum of the changes in the selected detection signals as a detection signal having the smallest difference from the transmission amount of a tree.
The tree treatment device according to claim 1 .

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