JPH0147966B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention is a reaping and harvesting machine with a scanning sensor.
A first scanning sensor for row mowing and a second scanning sensor for horizontal mowing are provided to detect the position of the grain culm row introduced into the reaping section with respect to the machine body as it travels. The present invention relates to a reaping/harvesting machine with a scanning sensor, which is equipped with a control device for controlling the running direction.

Conventional reaping and harvesting machines with a scanning sensor of this type detect the rows of grain culms in the field and travel along the rows of grains in order to avoid leaving uncut crops when performing reaping and harvesting work. In order to do this, we installed a tracing sensor that can detect the deviation of the machine body relative to the row of grain culms that are introduced into the reaping section as the machine travels.

As this sensor, a contact bar whose inclination angle changes depending on the contact position with respect to the grain culm row is provided, and a switch is provided that turns ON/OFF according to the change in angle. Based on the ON/OFF state of this switch, It was designed to detect the deviation of the aircraft relative to the grain row.

By the way, grain culms planted in a field are usually planted in such a way that they are arranged densely in the row direction and coarsely in the horizontal direction at predetermined intervals, taking into account the ease of planting work and subsequent management. There is.

Therefore, in the reaping work, there is row mowing, which is performed sequentially along the above-mentioned row direction, horizontal mowing, which is reaped from the side of this row direction, and in-between cutting, which is performed to pre-divide the reaping work range of the field. There are three basic types of work, each with a different pattern of grain culm rows introduced into the reaping section.

Therefore, the optimal position of the grain culm row to follow the grain culm row introduced into the reaping section is different for each of the three types of work modes, since the cutting width of the reaping section is constant. .

Therefore, with the reaping/harvesting machine of the conventional configuration, for some tasks, the operator manually controls the movement based on visual inspection, or a separate dedicated sensor is installed to accommodate each type of work. Ta.

However, since it was not configured to automatically determine each type of work and automatically select control according to the type of work, there was a drawback that it was not possible to automate all the work.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a sensor with a simple structure that can be used to detect grains along the optimal grain row corresponding to each of the above-mentioned row cutting, horizontal cutting, and mid-splitting operations. An object of the present invention is to provide a reaping and harvesting machine capable of automatically following and traveling.

In order to achieve the above object, the reaping and harvesting machine with a copying sensor according to the present invention includes the first copying sensor,
A pair of rods protruding from both sides are configured to follow between the rows, and the second scanning sensor is configured to be able to detect the position of the grain culm based on the most cut side of the reaping section. When both of the rods come into contact with the grain culm, a horizontal mowing mode is set in which steering control is performed based on the detection result of the second scanning sensor, and the uncut side of the rods comes into contact with the grain culm. Without,
When the second scanning sensor detects a grain culm at a position on the cut side of the grain culm introduction path, the method is based on the detection result of the rod on the cut side of the first scanning sensor and the detection result of the second scanning sensor. Set to intermediate cutting mode, which performs steering control, and set to row cutting mode, which performs steering control based on the detection results of the first scanning sensor, when neither the horizontal cutting mode nor intermediate cutting mode conditions are satisfied. It has the feature that it is equipped with a control device to

Due to the above-mentioned characteristic structure, the following excellent functions and effects have been achieved.

In other words, in this harvester, when both rods of the first scanning sensor come into contact with the grain culm, it means that the distance between the plants is small, that is, the machine is running in a direction perpendicular to the row direction. , second
The horizontal cutting mode is set to perform steering control based on the detection results of the scanning sensor, and the rod of the first scanning sensor on the uncut side does not come into contact with the grain culm, and the second scanning sensor introduces the grain culm. When detecting grain culms on the mowed side of the route, the machine may be largely deviated to the uncut side (the uncut side of the machine during row mowing), and the machine may not be mowing horizontally. Therefore, the mode is set to an intermediate split mode in which steering control is performed based on the detection result of the rod on the uncut side of the first scanning sensor and the detection result of the second scanning sensor, and the above conditions are satisfied. If not, the row cutting mode is set, which performs steering control based on the detection results of the first scanning sensor, and can automatically respond to three types of work conditions. Since grain culm rows will be positioned on both sides of the side grain culm introduction route, two grain culm rows will be introduced into this route, and since the first scanning sensor is of the row-to-row tracking type, During the cutting operation, straight-line control is performed with both rods not in contact with the grain culm, so that even if there is a missing plant, there will be no adverse effects.

Therefore, there is no need to perform any special operations during work.
One of the three working modes is automatically selected, and even though the number of reaped rows increases by one in the middle splitting mode, the automatic operation runs smoothly, and there are no missing plants in the row cutting mode. The result was a reaping and harvesting machine that could run smoothly and automatically even when the machine was in use.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in Fig. 1, a weeding tool 2 is provided at the front of a cutting section 1 provided at the front of the machine, and a weeding tool 2 is provided in front of a central frame 2a of a support frame 2a that supports the weeding tool 2. , a first scanning sensor S ₁ for row cutting is provided to detect deviation of the machine body in the left-right direction with respect to the row spacing, and a second scanning sensor S ₂ for horizontal cutting is provided in front of the right end frame 2a. A control device 5 is provided to control ON/OFF the electromagnetic clutches 4, 4' of the left and right traveling crawlers 3, 3' based on the grain culm row position detection results of the sensor _S1 or sensor _S2 . A combine harvester for two-row reaping is configured as a reaping/harvesting machine that can automatically travel in a predetermined direction along grain culm rows.

The first scanning sensor _S1 is provided with rods 6 and 6' that are biased forward and protrude to the left and right, respectively, and rotate rearward when the rods 6 and 6' come into contact with the grain culm row. Encoders P ₁ and P ₂ are provided at the bases of the rods 6 and 6' to generate code outputs corresponding to this rotation angle.

The second scanning sensor _S2 is provided with a rod 7 similar to the first scanning sensor _S1 , and a potentiometer _P3 is provided at the base of the rod 7 to generate a voltage proportional to the rotation angle.

As shown in Fig. 2, when these tracing sensors S ₁ and S ₂ detect the shift of the grain machine, they detect the shift for a predetermined period of time that is longer than the time it takes for the machine to move between the grain culms. and continues to emit the detection signal,
In order to prevent malfunctions in areas where grain culms are not present, the detection signals are pre-processed by adding circuits with the following configurations.

That is, in the case of the first scanning sensor _S1 , the outputs D' _{1 and D'} 2 for detecting the grain row detection zones _A0 and _B0 of the encoders P1 and _P2 are at High level (hereinafter simply referred to as H). In other words, when zone _B0 is detected, delay circuits 8, 8 are provided to delay the change from High to Low (hereinafter simply referred to as L) in order to hold this output for a predetermined period of time.

On the other hand, outputs D ₁ and D ₂ are for generating signals for discriminating detection zones A and B, respectively.
It is configured to output an H signal in zone B and an L signal in zone B.

Next, in the case of the second scanning sensor _S2 , the voltage V generated by the potentiometer _P3 is averaged by the integrating circuit 9 and converted into a DC voltage V. , grain culm row detection zone,
Comparators 10 and 10 are provided to determine , and compared with the respective reference voltages ref1 and ref2,
Logic output D ₃ corresponding to the zone, ,
It is configured to obtain D ₄ .

If both outputs D ₃ and D ₄ are L, the zone
The output D ₃ is H, the output D ₄ is L, which corresponds to the zone, and both outputs D ₃ and D ₄ are H, corresponding to the zone.

The control device 5 includes an I/O port,
It is equipped with a CPU, memory, timer, counter, etc. (not shown), and is configured to function as a so-called microcomputer, and the first and second tracing sensors serve as the grain culm row position detection data.
Each output signal _{D 1 ,} D′ ₁ , D ₂ , D′ ₂ , D ₃ , D ₄ of S ₁ , S 2
Based on the combination state of the electromagnetic clutches 4,
4', the machine is controlled to automatically follow and travel along a predetermined row of grain culms.

Here, as shown in Figs. 3 to 5, the grain culm row position detection zone of the second copying sensor _S2 is set corresponding to each work mode of row cutting, horizontal cutting, and middle cutting (three-row cutting). to set the comparators 10, 10
The reference voltages ref1 and ref2 are configured to be automatically switchable by the control device 5 via the D/A converter 11.

That is, at the time of row mowing, as shown in FIG. The inter-row position of this grain culm row 12 is detected only by the scanning sensor _S1 .

When detecting the grain culm row position, detection zones A, B, A ₀ and B ₀ are detected by encoders P ₁ and P ₂ respectively.
Based on the zone detection result, that is, the combination state of the logic signals D ₁ , D ₂ , D′ ₁ , D′ ₂ , the deviation of the aircraft relative to the grain culm row 12 is detected. At the same time, it distinguishes between row mowing and horizontal mowing and controls the running direction.

Logic signals D ₁ , D ₂ ,
The combination state of D' ₁ and D' ₂ is configured to be determined based on Table 1 shown in FIG.
When A ₀ and A ₀ are detected, it goes straight, steers left and right in zones A ₀ and B, respectively (the above operation represents the row mowing state), and when it detects zones B ₀ and B ₀ , it remains constant. If the vehicle travels straight ahead and detects zones B and B for a predetermined time or longer, it is determined that horizontal mowing is being performed.

Next, when it is determined that horizontal mowing is being performed in this manner, the second scanning sensor _S2 is enabled to operate, and a detection zone is set in the horizontal mowing state shown in FIG. The logic signal D ₃ ,
Corresponding to the combination state of D ₄ , the vehicle is controlled to steer left in the zone, go straight in the zone, and steer right in the zone.

And the logic signal in this grain culm row position detection
The combination state of D ₃ and D ₄ is determined based on Table 2 shown in FIG. 6B.

On the other hand, the encoder of the first scanning sensor _S1
If P ₁ does not detect the grain culm row 12..., that is, it detects zone A ₀ , and the second scanning sensor S ₂ detects the zone, it is determined that it is mid-split (three-row cutting). .

In this way, if it is determined that it is mid-split (three-row mowing), the work mode is basically to reap three rows using the two-row cutting section 1, as shown in Fig. 5.
_Control is performed based on the results of grain culm row detection by the encoder _P2 of the first scanning sensor _S1 and the potentiometer _P3 of the second scanning sensor S2. Here, in the second scanning sensor _S2 , the reference voltages ref1, ref2 of the comparators 10, 10 are set in order to set the detection zones ', ', ', which are shifted by a predetermined amount from the detection zones .

Then, the traveling direction is controlled based on the result of grain culm row position detection, that is, the combination result of each state of the logic signals D ₂ , D ₃ , and D ₄ corresponding to the detection zones A, B, ′, ′, and ′. It is.

The running direction control corresponding to the detection zones A, B,',',' is configured to be performed based on the table 3 shown in FIG. 6C.

That is, when sensor S ₁ detects zone A and sensor S ₂ detects zone ′ or zone ′, it moves straight for a certain period of time, and even after this period of time has passed, it continues to travel in both zone A and zone ′ or zone ′. If sensors S ₁ and S ₂ detect each, the vehicle is controlled to steer slightly to the left, and when zone A and zone ′ are detected, the vehicle is steered to the right, and when zone B and zone ′ are detected, the vehicle is steered to the left. , and other combinations to control the vehicle to go straight.

Incidentally, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device 5 described above, and 13 in FIG. 2 is a switch for manually operating the steering direction.

Alternatively, the detection zones , , , and the detection zones ′, ′, and ′ may be set as the same detection zone for simplicity.

Furthermore, although the above-mentioned scanning sensor S ₁ has a configuration that employs encoders P ₁ and P ₂ that can directly digitally detect the grain culm row position, it also employs a potentiometer P ₃ like the scanning sensor S ₂ . The grain culm row position may be detected in an analog manner.

Furthermore, although the second scanning sensor S ₂ has been described as a contact sensor type, the present invention may also be applied as a non-contact sensor type such as an ultrasonic sensor capable of detecting the distance from the sensor mounting position to the grain culm row. is possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the reaping/harvesting machine with a scanning sensor according to the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of a combine harvester, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a control device, and Fig. 3 shows a detection zone during row cutting. Schematic diagram, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the detection zone during horizontal cutting, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the detection zone during intermediate cutting, Figure 6 A, B, and C are control directions based on the grain culm row position. and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device. 1... Reaping section, 5... Control device, 6, 6'...
Rod, _S1 ...first copying sensor, _S2 ...second copying sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A first scanning sensor S 1 for row cutting and a second scanning sensor S ₂ for side cutting _, which detect the position of the grain culm row introduced into the reaping section 1 with respect to the machine body as it travels.
The reaping/harvesting machine with a scanning sensor is provided with a control device 5 that controls the traveling direction based on the detection results of the grain culm row positions of the sensors S ₁ and S ₂ , wherein the first scanning sensor S ₁ is equipped with a _pair of rods 6 and 6' projecting out on both sides, and is configured to follow between rows. In addition, when each of the rods 6 and 6' comes into contact with the grain culm, it is set to a horizontal cutting mode in which steering control is performed based on the detection result of the second scanning sensor _S2 . ,
When the rod 6 on the uncut side of the rods 6 and 6' does not come into contact with the grain culm and the second scanning sensor _S2 detects the grain culm at the position on the cut side of the grain culm introduction path, the second 1
Set to intermediate cutting mode, which performs steering control based on the detection result of rod 6' on the mowed side of scanning sensor S ₁ and the detection result of second scanning sensor S ₂ , and set to horizontal cutting mode and intermediate cutting mode. A reaping/harvesting machine with a scanning sensor, which is equipped with a control device 5 that sets a row cutting mode in which steering control is performed based on the detection result of the first scanning sensor _S1 when any of the conditions is not satisfied.