JP6088880B2 - Grain harvester - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a grain harvester including a threshing apparatus that performs a threshing process on a cereal that has been cut from a field, and a grain tank that stores the grains sent from the threshing apparatus.

  A farm work management technique for managing production management and production history information from the production of agricultural products to the hands of consumers using a computer system is known from Patent Document 1, for example. In the management system according to Patent Document 1, the growth diagnosis machine executes growth diagnosis in a predetermined production unit section, and the measurement diagnosis result and position information at each measurement point are recorded on the memory card. The recorded contents are later transmitted to the farm management computer system. In the harvesting work by the harvester in the work unit section, the yield of the work unit section is measured by a measuring device attached to the harvester, and the yield of the harvested work unit section and the position information obtained by the GPS module Is recorded on the memory card, and the recorded contents are transmitted to the farm management computer system. The measurement is performed by irradiating, for example, near-infrared rays to the growing agricultural products for each work unit section in the production unit section and analyzing the reflected light. For example, in the case of rice, the measurement contents are leaf color, length, number of stems, number of ears, and the like. In this farm work management technique, the position and yield are recorded at the time of harvesting work, so it is possible to grasp the relationship between the position of the farm field and the yield. However, the relationship between the quality data related to the taste of the agricultural product, which is important information for the agricultural product, and the position of the field cannot be grasped.

  Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133867 discloses an agricultural machine management device that partitions an agricultural field and records the work of an agricultural vehicle in units of sections. In this management apparatus, a work management terminal that can communicate with a controller of a work vehicle is provided with a DVD reader that stores map data, a GPS module, and a gyro sensor, and takes in the outline of the workplace from the map data. The captured map data of the workplace is sectioned and local information (presence of obstacles such as utility poles) is stored. For example, when the farm vehicle is a combine, the total discharge amount of straw obtained by the harvesting operation is input as the yield of the entire field. If the farm vehicle is a tractor, the plowing depth sensor detection value obtained by the plowing work is automatically recorded as the plowing depth value for each field section. However, this management apparatus handles the yield of agricultural products, but does not handle quality data related to the taste of agricultural products.

  Moreover, the combine which notifies the combine driving | running state which mounts the detection apparatus which detects grain quality and should be employ | adopted based on the detection result by this detection apparatus is known from patent document 3. FIG. Specifically, the optimum threshing value is displayed based on the detection result of the moisture content of the grain, and the operator can adjust the driving speed of the handling cylinder based on the value. It is not disclosed that moisture contained in the grain obtained during the harvesting operation is used as quality data related to the taste even after the threshing operation.

JP 2002-149744 A JP 2004-213239 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-32550

It is planned or practiced to make more efficient agricultural management by utilizing IT technology. The most important crops for IT conversion farming are rice and wheat. These crops may be related to quality, such as harvest time and place, and grain evaluation at the time of harvest is important. . However, at present, the grain harvested by the grain harvester is once transported to a management center and the like, and evaluation of the taste of the grain is performed for the first time, and grain evaluation at the time of harvest is realized. Not.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a grain harvester capable of proceeding with a harvesting operation while immediately evaluating the yield and taste of the harvested grain.

The grain harvester according to the present invention includes a grain tank that stores grains sent from a threshing device that performs threshing processing on cereals harvested from a field, a yield sensor that measures the yield of the grains, and A taste sensor for measuring the taste based on the moisture value and protein value of the grain, a measurement data management unit for managing time series of the yield measurement data input from the yield sensor and the taste measurement data input from the taste sensor; Harvest evaluation unit for generating harvested grain characteristic information by linking the small section of the field, the yield measurement data, and the taste measurement data, and evaluating the yield and taste of the grain harvested in the microsection ; comprising a, before the yield of grain harvested in the small compartment, said microcompartments, the traveling trace to be included within the scope of the microcompartments, a travel distance or travel time, which is time-series management The taste of the grain calculated based on the yield measurement data and harvested in the micro-compartment, the travel trajectory included in the micro-compartment, the travel distance or travel time, and the time It is calculated based on the taste measurement data managed in series .

  According to this configuration, the grain harvester includes the yield sensor that measures the yield of the grain sent from the threshing apparatus and the taste sensor that measures the taste of the grain. Yield and taste can be measured. Moreover, since the yield measurement data and the taste measurement data obtained by the measurement are time-sequentially managed, it is possible to evaluate the grain at the time of harvest as well as at the time of harvest. Such yield measurement data and taste measurement data are linked to a field as a harvesting place and are handled as harvested grain characteristic information, and thus can contribute to IT commercial farming.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the yield sensor is a load cell provided in the grain tank, and the taste sensor is an optical non-contact for measuring the moisture value and protein value of the grain. It is a sensor and the said taste sensor is arrange | positioned at the said grain tank, or is arrange | positioned at the grain conveyance path | route which reaches the said grain tank from the said threshing apparatus. Measuring the weight of the stored grain with a load cell installed in the grain tank, which is the storage location in the grain harvester, not only measuring the yield, but also the yield per hour or work run The increase in can also be calculated. In addition, by using an optical non-contact sensor, moisture important for the taste of the grain can be measured without damaging the grain. Moreover, since it is a non-contact sensor, the measurement place can also be freely selected from the grain conveyance path | route which reaches the grain tank from a threshing apparatus including the said grain tank.

By further subdividing the field and measuring the yield and moisture of the grains harvested in the specified areas, differences in environmental conditions such as sunlight in the field and differences in soil and fertilizer distribution in the field were considered. It is also important to conduct precise farming .
Similarly, as a more flexible technique for assessing the yield and moisture of the grain harvested in the segmented predetermined area, in another embodiment of the invention, the harvesting position of the cereal in the field A GPS module is provided for measuring the harvesting position, and the harvesting position is included in the harvested grain characteristic information, and the yield and taste of the grain harvested in the micro compartment are calculated based on the harvested grain characteristic information. By using the GPS module for position measurement, the cutting position can be reliably acquired without depending on the traveling locus of the grain harvester.

  If the harvested grain characteristic information is transmitted to the management center or the like using communication at the same time as generation, it is not necessary to store the harvested grain characteristic information on the grain harvester side. However, it is also preferable that a recording unit for recording the harvested grain characteristic information is provided in consideration of occurrence of communication failure or sequential confirmation on the grain harvester side.

  A general grain harvester is not provided with a line communication unit capable of data communication with a computer system of a remote management center through a communication line. In such a case, it is convenient to use the mobile communication terminal brought by the grain harvester driver as the line communication unit. At that time, data communication between the grain harvester and the portable communication terminal is performed between the data input / output unit provided in the in-vehicle LAN of the grain harvester and the data input / output unit provided in the portable communication terminal. Can be done. As such data communication, wired communication such as USB connection or wireless communication such as Wi-Fi can be used. In order to achieve such an object, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a data input / output unit capable of data communication with a mobile communication terminal is provided, and the measurement data management unit and the harvest evaluation unit are connected to the mobile communication terminal. The harvested grain characteristic information is sent to the management center via the line communication unit of the portable communication terminal.

It is a schematic diagram explaining the basic composition of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining an example of the process which allocates a yield and a taste to a field area | region. It is a side view of a combine which is one of the specific embodiments of the present invention. It is a top view of a combine. It is a schematic diagram which shows arrangement | positioning of a yield sensor and a taste sensor. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function part in the control system of a combine and the smart phone integrated in this combine. It is a schematic diagram which shows another embodiment of a taste measuring mechanism.

Before describing a specific embodiment of a grain harvester according to the present invention, a basic configuration characterizing the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the grain harvester 1 includes a threshing device 14 that performs a threshing process on the cereal that has been harvested from the field by the reaping unit 12 while traveling, and the threshing device 14 through the grain transport path 3. It is equipped with a grain tank 15 for storing the sent grain. Furthermore, a yield sensor 21 that measures the yield of the harvested grain and a taste sensor 22 that measures the taste of the grain are provided. The yield sensor 21 can be composed of a load cell provided in the grain tank 15. By providing the load cell so as to support the grain tank 15, it is possible to measure the weight (yield) of the grain stored in the grain tank 15. In this case, the yield per unit travel distance that can be converted per unit time, that is, per unit area, can be obtained from the yield measured by the load cell sequentially from the start of the harvesting operation. As for the taste sensor 22, the optical non-contact sensor which measures the water | moisture content and protein of a grain using spectroscopy is arrange | positioned at the grain tank 15, or is arrange | positioned at the grain conveyance path | route 3. The measurement by the taste sensor 22 is carried out batchwise or continuously in a sampling manner. The structure which calculates the average of a several measurement result may be sufficient.

  In the electronic control unit (ECU) of the grain harvester 1, a measurement data management unit 61 and a harvest evaluation unit 62 are constructed by a program as functional units of the data processing module 6. The measurement data management unit 61 can manage the yield measurement data input from the yield sensor 21 and the taste measurement data input from the taste sensor 22 in time series. The harvest evaluation unit 62 generates harvested grain characteristic information by linking data relating to a field as a harvesting place, yield measurement data, and taste measurement data. In addition, a harvested grain characteristic information recording unit 63 for recording the generated harvested grain characteristic information at least temporarily is also prepared.

  The data relating to the field includes the field name, the field position on the map, and the section number when the field is divided into predetermined sections. A harvest position acquisition unit 23 is provided in order to acquire the data related to the position among the data related to the field, not manually or mechanically.

  The yield measurement data and the taste measurement data managed by the measurement data management unit 61 or the harvested grain characteristic information generated by the harvest evaluation unit 62 is transmitted from the line communication unit 66 via the communication line to the remote management center 7. Can be sent to. In the management center 7, the received yield measurement data, taste measurement data, or harvested grain characteristic information is made into a database and stored in the harvested grain characteristic information database 71, so that it can be utilized for farm management.

  The general grain harvester 1 is not provided with a line communication unit 66 that can perform data communication with the management center 7 through a communication line. In that case, the data processing module 6 is constructed by a portable communication terminal such as a personal computer, a tablet, or a smartphone, and the data input / output unit 60 and the data input / output unit 50 of the electronic control unit of the grain harvester 1 are combined. A configuration in which data transmission is possible can be employed. For connection between the data input / output unit 60 and the data input / output unit 50, wired communication such as USB connection and wireless communication such as Wi-Fi are suitable.

  In addition, when the data processing module 6 is constructed | assembled with the portable communication terminal with a GPS module, the harvest position acquisition part 23 can also be constructed | assembled in this data processing module 6. FIG. Such a harvest position acquisition unit 23 acquires position data obtained by the GPS module of the mobile communication terminal as a harvest position. The GPS module can output position data in the field with considerably high accuracy. Therefore, the harvested grain characteristic position as such an accurate harvesting position can be included in the harvested grain characteristic information. Therefore, the grains harvested in a predetermined area of the field based on the harvested grain characteristic information. It is also possible to calculate the yield and water content of the plant and use it for farm management.

It is convenient to use the GPS module for the position information regarding the cutting position or the harvesting position. However, if the cutting trajectory of the grain harvester 1 in the field is determined, the travel trajectory and the traveling distance or the traveling time are determined. The cutting position can be calculated. As an example, with reference to FIG. 2, a method for calculating the yield and taste (in this case, moisture) of the grains harvested in a predetermined area of the field from the travel trajectory, the yield per unit travel distance, and the average moisture. explain. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the grain harvester 1 performs a harvesting operation in a zigzag traveling locus by repeating a straight traveling and a 180 ° turn in the field.
First, an agricultural field is divided into a plurality of minute sections: A1, A2, A3,. Yield data and moisture data are input every predetermined time: t1, t2, t3,... Or every predetermined distance: D1, D2, D3,. , Yield in the time interval: V1, V2, V3,... And moisture: Q1, Q2, Q3,.
Here, when the time points at which the grain harvester 1 travels belong to the micro compartment: A1, t1, t6, t7, the yield of the micro compartment: A1: V [A1] is
V [A1] = V1 + V6 + V7
And
Micro compartment: A1 average moisture: Q [A1]
Q [A1] = (Q1 + Q6 + Q7) / 3
It becomes.
Furthermore, if the time points belonging to the micro compartment: A2 are t2, t5, t8, the yield of the micro compartment: A2: V [A2] is
V [A2] = V2 + V5 + V8
And
Micro compartment: A2 average moisture: Q [A2]
Q [A2] = (Q2 + Q5 + Q8) / 3
It becomes. In this way, yield and moisture can be assigned to each micro compartment.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the harvest evaluation unit 62 evaluates the yield and quality for each harvest position (field) after dividing the farm field surrounded by straw or the like into a plurality of minute sections. Thus, the harvested grain characteristic information enables micro-evaluation of yield and moisture in such fields. However, it is also possible to evaluate a field in the entire region such as a town or village as a processing target field. The harvested grain characteristic information in this case enables macro evaluation of yield and moisture in the field in the entire region.

  Next, one specific embodiment of the grain harvester according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the grain harvester is a crawler type self-removing combine (hereinafter simply referred to as a combine) 1. FIG. 3 shows a side view of the combine 1 and FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the combine 1.

  The combine 1 includes a machine body frame 10 in which a plurality of steel materials such as a square pipe material are connected. A pair of left and right crawlers 11 are provided at the lower part of the body frame 10. An engine E is mounted on the front side of the right half of the body frame 10, and an operating unit 13 is formed on the upper side thereof. A driver's seat 16 and a control lever 17 are disposed in the driver 13. The front end portion on the left side of the machine body frame 10 is provided with a cutting unit 12 that cuts and harvests the crop culm to be harvested that is located in front of the machine body during operation. The left half of the machine frame 10 receives the harvested cereal meal conveyed by the reaping part 12 and applies the threshing process to the granulated part of the harvested cereal meal while transporting it backwards. A threshing device 14 for performing a sorting process is mounted. On the rear side of the right half of the machine body frame 10 is mounted a sheet metal grain tank 15 for storing the grains lifted and carried from the threshing device 14 via the screw feed type supply conveyor 31. The grain tank 15 is equipped with a grain discharging device 19 that discharges the grain stored in the grain tank 15 to the outside of the machine. Although only schematically shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a yield sensor 21 for detecting the weight of the grain is provided at the lower part of the grain tank 15, and the taste sensor 22 is provided inside the grain tank 15. An incorporated taste measurement mechanism 30 is provided. The taste sensor 22 outputs the measurement data of the moisture value and protein value of the grain as quality data.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 5, the yield sensor 21 is a load cell attached to the body frame 10, and the grain tank 15 is placed on the load cell. That is, the yield sensor 21 measures the yield of the harvested grain by measuring the weight of the grain stored in the grain tank 15 including the grain tank 15. The yield per predetermined time is obtained by calculating the increase amount by the yield sensor 21 at every predetermined sampling time. At that time, it is also possible to obtain the yield per predetermined distance in consideration of the traveling speed. As schematically shown in FIG. 4, the taste sensor 22 is incorporated in a taste measurement mechanism 30 attached to the side wall of the grain tank 15 from the outside in this embodiment. The taste measurement mechanism 30 includes a measurement table 30a that opens and closes between a parallel posture and a hanging posture on the grain tank inner side. The measuring table 30a is covered with a cylindrical case having an upper opening and a lower opening. Moreover, the measurement stand 30a is arrange | positioned in the position where a part of grain conveyed from the threshing apparatus 14 with the supply conveyor 31 and discharge | released from the inlet 15a to the grain tank 15 by the impeller reaches | attains. Thereby, the measuring stand 30a of a horizontal attitude | position can catch the grain which flies from the insertion port 15a. The measurement by the taste sensor 22 is performed at a stage where a predetermined amount of grain is placed on the measurement table 30a. Here, spectroscopic analysis is used, grain moisture and protein values can be measured, and the taste value obtained from the moisture and protein and their component ratio can be used as the measured value. When the measurement by the taste sensor 22 is completed, the measurement table 30a is swung in a hanging posture, and thereby the grains on the measurement table 30a are released. When the kernel is released and the next measurement sampling time is reached, the measurement table 30a is again swung into the horizontal posture.

  The control system of this combine 1 is shown in FIG. This control system is substantially based on the basic principle shown in FIG. 1, but the data processing module 6 is constructed by a smartphone which is a mobile communication terminal brought by the driver. Further, the harvesting position acquisition unit 23 that acquires the harvesting position is substituted by the GPS module 65 mounted on the smartphone. Therefore, the control system on the combine 1 side is constructed with standard components connected by the in-vehicle LAN.

  That is, the functional units related to the present invention, which are constructed in the control system on the combine 1 side, are a travel control ECU (electronic control unit) 53, a work device ECU 54, a sensor management module 5, an in-vehicle display 18, This is a data input / output unit 50. The travel control ECU 53 is an ECU that handles various control information related to vehicle travel. For example, the travel control ECU 53 converts travel speed, engine speed, travel distance, fuel consumption, and other data acquired from the sensor management module 5 through the in-vehicle LAN into travel information. A travel information generation unit 53a is provided. The work device ECU 54 is an ECU that controls the harvesting and harvesting device such as the harvesting unit 12 and the threshing device 14, and receives data indicating the operation state and operating state of the harvesting and harvesting device based on the sensor information acquired from the sensor management module 5. A work information generation unit 54a for converting to work information is provided.

  The sensor management module 5 inputs measurement signals from various sensors such as a traveling speed sensor and a traveling distance sensor in addition to the above-described taste sensor 22 (taste measuring mechanism 30) and the yield sensor 21, and transfers them to other functional units. It has the function to do. In particular, the sensor management module 5 has a yield measurement data generation unit 51 that generates yield measurement data based on a measurement signal from the yield sensor 21 and a taste based on a measurement signal from the taste sensor 22 (taste measurement mechanism 30). A taste measurement data generation unit 52 that generates measurement data is provided.

  The data input / output unit 50 is a wireless communication unit that performs communication at a relatively short distance for exchanging data with a smartphone brought by the driver, and operates with a protocol such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark). To do.

  Here, the measurement data management unit 61 and the harvest evaluation unit 62 described in the basic principle of FIG. 1 are constructed as smartphone applications. A harvested grain characteristic information recording unit 63 that records harvested grain characteristic information generated by the harvest evaluation unit 62 is constructed in an external memory of the smartphone. For this reason, the measurement data management unit 61 receives the yield measurement data and the taste measurement data from the yield measurement data generation unit 51 and the taste measurement data generation unit 52 through the data input / output unit 60 of the smartphone that can exchange data with the data input / output unit 50. And receive. The smartphone inherently includes an owner ID management unit 67 and a line communication unit 66. By using the function of the owner ID management unit 67 to authenticate the driver, the security of the information generated by the combine 1 can be ensured. Further, the harvested grain characteristic information can be transmitted to the management center 7 and stored in the harvested grain characteristic information database 71 using the line communication unit 66.

  In the above-described embodiment, the combine 1 is provided with a sensor for measuring the yield and taste of the harvested grain, and the harvested grain characteristics are obtained by linking the yield measurement data and the taste measurement data to the field as the harvest place. Since information can be generated during the harvesting operation, it is possible to evaluate the grain at the time of harvesting.

[Another embodiment]
(1)

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the measuring table 30a of the taste measuring mechanism 30 incorporating the taste sensor 22 swings between the horizontal posture and the hanging posture, but other structures can also be adopted. It is. For example, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 7, a structure in which the measurement table 30 a is moved forward and backward from the box-shaped case of the taste measurement mechanism 30 may be employed. At that time, the taste measuring mechanism 30 is arranged so that the measuring table 30a in the extended state can receive the grain conveyed from the threshing device 14 by the supply conveyor 31 and discharged from the inlet 15a of the grain tank 15. Is done. In this structure, when a predetermined amount of grain is placed on the measuring table 30a, the measuring table 30a is pulled into the taste measuring mechanism 30, and measurement by the taste sensor 22 is performed.
Moreover, the arrangement | positioning location of the taste measuring mechanism 30 is not restricted to the grain tank 15, It is also possible to arrange | position to the suitable location of the grain conveyance path | route 3 from the threshing apparatus 14 to the grain tank 15. FIG. Furthermore, when the taste measuring mechanism 30 capable of high-speed measurement processing is adopted, it is possible to measure the grain being transported, in particular, the flying grain released from the insertion port 15a.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the yield sensor 21 is composed of a single load cell arranged near the center of the bottom surface of the grain tank 15, but in order to perform more accurate measurement, the grain tank You may employ | adopt the structure which arrange | positions a load cell in four corner area | regions of the bottom face of 15 respectively.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the harvested grain characteristic information generated by the harvest evaluation unit 62 is recorded in the harvested grain characteristic information recording unit 63. However, the generated harvested grain characteristic information is directly recorded in real time. It may be transmitted to the management center 7.
(4) In the above-described embodiment, the data processing module 6 is constructed in a control system built in the grain harvester 1 or a portable communication terminal brought by the driver. It may be constructed in a computer system with a communication function installed in a remote place.
(5) Although combine was taken up as a grain harvester in embodiment mentioned above, it is needless to say that this invention is applied to other grain harvesters. Moreover, the grain harvester here has a broad meaning, and includes not only rice and wheat but also corn and other crops.

  The present invention is applicable to a grain harvester including a sensor that measures the yield, taste, and the like of harvested grain.

1: Kernel harvester (combine)
6: Data processing module 14: Threshing device 15: Grain tank 21: Yield sensor (load cell)
22: Taste sensor 23: Harvest position acquisition unit 61: Measurement data management unit 62: Harvest evaluation unit 63: Harvest grain characteristic information recording unit 65: GPS module 66: Line communication unit 7: Management center 71: Harvest grain characteristic information The database

Claims (5)

A grain tank for storing the grains sent from the threshing device for performing the threshing process on the cereals harvested from the field;
A yield sensor for measuring the yield of the grain;
A taste sensor for measuring the taste based on the moisture value and protein value of the grain;
A measurement data management unit for managing time-series yield measurement data input from the yield sensor and taste measurement data input from the taste sensor;
Harvest evaluation unit for generating harvested grain characteristic information by linking the small section of the field, the yield measurement data, and the taste measurement data, and evaluating the yield and taste of the grain harvested in the microsection ; equipped with a,
The yield of the grain harvested in the micro-compartment is the micro-compartment, the travel locus included in the range of the micro-compartment, the travel distance or travel time, and the yield measurement data managed in time series. Calculated based on
The taste of the grains harvested in the micro-compartments is the micro-compartment, the travel locus included in the range of the micro-compartments, the travel distance or travel time, and the taste measurement data managed in time series. Grain harvester calculated based on . The yield sensor is a load cell provided in the grain tank, the taste sensor is an optical non-contact sensor for measuring the moisture value and protein value of the grain, and the taste sensor is the grain sensor. The grain harvester according to claim 1, which is arranged in a tank or arranged in a grain conveyance path reaching the grain tank from the threshing device. A GPS module for measuring the harvesting position of the grain basket in the field is provided, the harvesting position is included in the harvested grain characteristic information, and the grain harvested in the micro-compartment based on the harvested grain characteristic information The grain harvester according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the yield and taste of the rice are calculated. The grain harvester as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3 provided with the recording part which records the said harvested grain characteristic information. A data input / output unit capable of data communication with a mobile communication terminal is provided, the measurement data management unit and the harvest evaluation unit are constructed in the mobile communication terminal, and the harvested grain characteristic information is stored in the mobile communication terminal The grain harvester as described in any one of Claim 1 to 4 sent to a management center via a line communication part.

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