An electrically powered, counter-rotating variable spray boom sprayer

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of agricultural plant protection machinery technology, specifically relating to an electric variable displacement boom sprayer. It includes a walking mechanism, a power mechanism, a spraying mechanism, a variable displacement spraying system, and a row-to-row spraying control system. The walking mechanism includes a frame, front and rear wheels located at the bottom of the frame, and a steering control mechanism. A base, a pesticide tank, and a plunger pump are also mounted on top of the frame. The pesticide tank and plunger pump are located behind the base. The plunger pump's inlet is connected to the pesticide tank, and its outlet is connected to a water pipe. Three application branches are connected in parallel to the water pipe, each equipped with a solenoid valve. The spraying mechanism includes a lifting assembly, a central spray boom, and side spray booms. This invention automatically adjusts the wheel steering and regulates the extension and retraction of the second electric push rod based on the row line fitted by an image processor, controlling the overall displacement of the entire spray boom to ensure it is aimed at the crop row for spraying, greatly improving pesticide utilization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of agricultural plant protection machinery technology, specifically relating to an electric variable displacement boom sprayer. Background Technology

[0002] A sprayer is a machine that disperses liquid into a mist. Spraying plant protection machinery has always been a major focus of agricultural plant protection machinery research and development. Pest and disease control is an important task in field management, and spraying chemical pesticides is the main means of controlling pests, diseases, and weeds in the field. However, the large-scale use or even abuse of pesticides can lead to pesticide residues in agricultural products, threatening human safety. In addition, when pesticides are sprayed on crops, a large amount of pesticides are dispersed into the air, water, and soil, causing serious pollution to the ecological environment.

[0003] Currently, a significant portion of plant protection operations still rely on manual pesticide application. This method is inefficient, labor-intensive, and prone to pesticide poisoning and other safety accidents. In recent years, universities and enterprises have developed various types and models of boom sprayers, providing favorable conditions for mechanized spraying of field crops. However, most existing mechanized spraying technologies employ uniform application, spraying pesticides evenly across the entire area without considering variations in plant location or other factors. This results in low automation, irrational pesticide application, poor pest and disease control, and pesticide waste. Furthermore, the row spacing between different crops varies, especially in experimental fields where multiple crops are grown in a single season, necessitating frequent adjustments to the nozzle spacing. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a boom sprayer that can improve pesticide utilization, reduce pesticide pollution, enhance automation, and automatically adjust nozzle spacing. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the existing defects and problems, the first objective of this invention is to provide an electric variable displacement boom sprayer that can perform variable application based on differences in plant position on the ground, has a high degree of automation, and saves on pesticides; the second objective is to provide a boom sprayer that can automatically adjust the nozzle spacing to accommodate different crop plant spacing in experimental fields.

[0005] The solution adopted by this invention to solve its technical problem is: an electric variable displacement boom sprayer, comprising a walking mechanism, a power mechanism, a spraying mechanism, a variable displacement spraying system, and a row-to-row spraying control system. The walking mechanism includes a frame, front-end moving wheels and rear-end moving wheels located at the bottom of the frame, and a steering control mechanism. A base, a medicine tank, and a plunger pump are also installed above the frame. The medicine tank and plunger pump are located behind the base. The inlet of the plunger pump is connected to the medicine tank, and the outlet of the plunger pump is connected to a water pipe. Three application branches are connected in parallel on the water pipe, and each of the three application branches is equipped with a solenoid valve. The spraying mechanism includes a lifting assembly, a center spray boom, and side spray booms. The lifting assembly includes a parallelogram-shaped lifting frame and a first electric push rod. The lifting frame includes a horizontal connecting rod and a vertical connecting rod. The two ends of the first electric push rod are respectively hinged to the frame and the horizontal connecting rod, and one end of the vertical connecting rod is hinged to the frame. At the front end, the other end of the vertical connecting rod is connected to a spray boom frame. A guide rail is provided on the spray boom frame. The central spray boom is located above the guide rail and is connected to the guide rail via a slider. The middle part of the rear end of the central spray boom is connected to the spray boom frame via a second electric push rod. There are two side spray booms, which are respectively located at both ends of the central spray boom and hinged to the central spray boom. The rear ends of the side spray booms and the rear ends of the central spray boom are connected via a third push rod. The front ends of the central spray boom and the two side spray booms are all provided with spray pipes. The spray pipes are respectively connected to three branches connected in parallel on the water pipe. Spray nozzles are evenly arranged on the spray pipes. The row spray control system includes an image acquisition device, an image processor, a control unit, and a speed unit. The image acquisition device transmits signals to the image processor. The image processor transmits the processed information to the control unit. The control unit drives the first electric push rod to make the central spray boom reciprocate on the guide rail and adjusts the steering of the wheel steering motor.

[0006] Furthermore, the power mechanism includes a battery that provides power to the drive motor, plunger pump, first electric actuator, second electric actuator, and third electric actuator.

[0007] Furthermore, a divider is provided on the front moving wheel.

[0008] Furthermore, the image acquisition device includes an industrial camera located at the center of the front end of the central spray bar for acquiring crop images; the image processor includes a computer for receiving crop images and processing them to obtain fitted row lines; the control unit includes an electronic control unit for controlling the offset of the side spray bar; and the speed unit includes a speed encoder for acquiring the sprayer's travel speed v1 and transmitting it to the electronic control unit, and obtaining the response speed v2 of the row mechanism according to the offset compensation model.

[0009] Furthermore, the electronic control unit uses pulse modulation to control the speed of the DC motor driven by the motor to adjust the lateral movement speed of the second push rod. The Hall encoder is used to obtain the push rod offset in real time and feed it back to the electronic control unit to realize closed-loop displacement control.

[0010] Furthermore, each of the two spray bars is equipped with a sliding sleeve, and a sliding rod is installed inside the sliding sleeve. One end of the sliding rod is connected to the end of the side spray pipe away from the center spray bar via a fourth electric push rod. Both ends of the center spray bar and both ends of the sliding rod are connected to a nozzle telescopic frame via telescopic sliding rods. The nozzle telescopic frame is composed of multiple quadrilaterals hinged diagonally. The diagonals of the quadrilaterals in the middle of the nozzle telescopic frame are connected by a fifth electric push rod. The nozzles are evenly fixed on the nozzle telescopic frame and connected to each other via spray pipes. A marker is provided in the middle of the nozzle telescopic frame on the center spray bar.

[0011] Furthermore, the nozzle is in the form of a flexible hose.

[0012] Furthermore, the number of nozzles is the same as the number of quadrilaterals.

[0013] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: 1. This invention uses a battery as a power source instead of a conventional engine. The battery serves as the power source for the drive motor, plunger pump, and push rod, reducing the overall weight of the equipment, minimizing soil compaction, improving the equipment's flexibility, and reducing environmental pollution. Based on the row lines fitted by the image processor, the invention automatically adjusts the wheel steering and regulates the extension and retraction of the second electric push rod, controlling the overall displacement of the spray boom to ensure it is aimed at the rows of crops for spraying, thus greatly improving pesticide utilization.

[0014] 2. This invention solves the problem of inconvenient nozzle spacing adjustment in existing systems by setting up a nozzle telescopic frame and adjusting the nozzle spacing according to different plant spacings via an electronic control unit that controls the fifth electric push rod. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 This is a top view of the structure of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the spraying mechanism of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 4 This is the front view of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 5 This is a system diagram of the spray control system of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing the state of the nozzle telescopic frame during extension and retraction in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the connection between the nozzle and the nozzle telescopic frame in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the connection between the side nozzle and the nozzle telescopic frame in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0023] In the diagram, 1. Frame; 2. Front drive wheel assembly; 3. Rear drive wheel assembly; 4. Steering control mechanism; 5. Base; 6. Medicine tank; 7. Lifting assembly; 71. Lifting frame; 72. First electric actuator; 8. Center spray boom; 9. Side spray boom; 10. Spray boom frame; 11. Guide rail; 12. Slider; 13. Second electric actuator; 14. Third electric actuator; 15. Spray nozzle; 16. Nozzle; 17. Industrial camera; 18. Computer; 19. Sliding sleeve; 20. Sliding rod; 21. Fourth electric actuator; 22. Telescopic sliding rod; 23. Nozzle telescopic frame; 24. Fifth electric actuator; 25. Marker. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0025] Example 1: This example aims to provide a row variable boom sprayer, mainly used in the field of agricultural plant protection machinery technology. It addresses the problem that existing plant protection machinery does not perform variable spraying based on differences in plant position and other conditions on the ground, has a low degree of automation, resulting in unreasonable pesticide application, poor pest and disease control, and pesticide waste.

[0026] A type of variable displacement boom sprayer, such as Figure 1 As shown in Figure 4, the system includes a walking mechanism, a power mechanism, a spraying mechanism, a variable spray system, and a row spraying system. The walking mechanism includes a frame 1, a drive motor, a front wheel assembly 2, a rear wheel assembly 3, and a steering control mechanism 4 mounted at the bottom of the frame. A divider is installed on the front wheel assembly 2. The steering control mechanism 4 is connected to the front moving wheel 2 via a transmission connection, and the rear moving wheel 3 is connected to the drive motor via a transmission connection. There are various methods for steering the wheels; in this embodiment, a steering motor drives a right-angle linkage to drive the oscillation. This structure is existing technology and will not be described in detail here. The power mechanism includes a battery, which provides power to the drive motor, plunger pump, first electric actuator, second electric actuator, and third electric actuator. This reduces the overall weight of the equipment, decreases soil compaction, improves the equipment's flexibility, and reduces environmental pollution.

[0027] Above the frame 1, a base 5, a medicine tank 6, and a plunger pump are also installed. The medicine tank 6 and the plunger pump are located behind the base 5. The inlet of the plunger pump is connected to the medicine tank 6, and the outlet of the plunger pump is connected to a water pipe. Three application branches are connected in parallel on the water pipe, and each of the three application branches is equipped with a solenoid valve. The spraying mechanism includes a lifting assembly 7, a center spray bar 8, and a side spray bar 9. The lifting assembly 7 includes a parallelogram-shaped lifting frame 71 and a first electric push rod 72. The lifting frame 71 includes a horizontal connecting rod and a vertical connecting rod. The two ends of the first electric push rod 72 are hinged to the frame and the horizontal connecting rod, respectively. One end of the vertical connecting rod is hinged to the front end of the frame 1, and the other end of the vertical connecting rod is connected to a spray bar frame 10. A guide rail 11 is provided on the spray bar frame 10. The central spray bar 8 is located above the guide rail 11 and is connected to the guide rail 11 via a slider 12. The middle part of the rear end of the central spray bar 8 is connected to the spray bar frame 10 via a second electric push rod 13. There are two side spray bars 9, which are respectively located at both ends of the central spray bar 8 and hinged to the central spray bar 8. The rear end of the side spray bar 9 and the rear end of the central spray bar 8 are connected via a third push rod 14. The front end of the central spray bar 8 and the two side spray bars 9 are each provided with a spray pipe 15. The spray pipe 15 is connected to three branches connected in parallel on the water pipe. Spray nozzles 16 are evenly arranged on the spray pipe 15. Solenoid valves are provided on the three branches. The solenoid valves can adjust the flow rate to the spray nozzles 16.

[0028] The variable spray system includes a variable spray controller and a monitoring module. The monitoring module includes a speed sensor, a flow sensor, and a pressure sensor, all of which are used to detect, collect, and display relevant parameters in a timely manner. The speed sensor is used to detect the vehicle speed, the flow sensor is used to detect the flow rate to the nozzle, and the pressure sensor is used to detect the pressure of the nozzle when spraying.

[0029] The row-to-row spray control system includes an image acquisition device, an image processor, an electronic control unit, and a speed unit. The image acquisition device, which can be an industrial camera 17, is installed in the middle of the central spray boom 8 to acquire crop information in real time. The image processor, which can be a computer 18, processes the captured images and transmits the processed information to the electronic control unit. Based on the acquired information, the electronic control unit controls the second electric push rod 13 to drive the central spray boom 8 to reciprocate on the guide rail 11 and adjusts the steering of the wheel steering motor. The speed module includes a speed encoder to acquire the sprayer's travel speed v1 and transmit it to the electronic control unit. The response speed v2 of the row-to-row mechanism is obtained based on the offset compensation model. The electronic control unit uses pulse modulation control of the DC motor speed driven by the motor to adjust the lateral movement speed of the second push rod. The Hall encoder is used to obtain the push rod offset in real time and feed it back to the electronic control unit to achieve closed-loop displacement control.

[0030] During row-to-row spraying, the row spacing, spray boom width, and pesticide application rate per acre are input via buttons on the variable spray controller. After the vehicle starts, speed, flow, and pressure sensors collect, monitor, and display relevant parameters on a regular basis. The variable spray controller periodically compares the actual pesticide application rate per unit area and the vehicle speed with the set values. By adjusting the speed of the electric plunger pump, it causes changes in the spray pipe pressure, ensuring the actual pesticide application rate per unit area matches the set value, thus achieving variable spraying. In the row-to-row spraying control system, an industrial camera captures images in real time and transmits them to a computer via USB. The computer's control system software calculates the crop row offset in real time and communicates with the electronic control unit (ECU) via a USB-CAN converter. The computer and ECU are connected via a USB-CAN conversion module. Simultaneously, an installed speed encoder collects the implement's travel speed v1 and transmits it to the ECU. Based on the offset compensation model, the response speed v2 of the row-to-row mechanism is obtained. The ECU uses pulse width modulation to control the speed of the DC motor driven by the motor to adjust the lateral movement speed of the second push rod. The Hall encoder obtains the push rod offset in real time and feeds it back to the ECU, realizing closed-loop displacement control and achieving variable spraying per row.

[0031] Example 2: This example is basically the same as Example 1, except that this example mainly provides a device that can adjust the nozzle distance according to different crop planting spacing.

[0032] Combined with appendix Figure 5 --6, Each of the two side spray bars 9 is provided with a sliding sleeve 19, and a sliding rod 20 is installed inside the sliding sleeve 19. One end of the sliding rod 20 is connected to the end of the side spray pipe 9 away from the middle spray bar 8 through a fourth electric push rod 21. When the spacing of the nozzles 16 is reduced, it is convenient to adjust the spacing between the nozzles 16 on the side spray bar 9 and the nozzles 16 on the middle spray bar 8. Both ends of the middle spray bar 8 and both ends of the sliding rod 20 are connected to the nozzle telescopic frame 23 through telescopic sliding rods 22. The nozzle telescopic frame 23 is composed of multiple quadrilaterals hinged diagonally. The diagonals of the quadrilaterals in the middle part of the nozzle telescopic frame 23 are connected through a fifth electric push rod 24. The nozzles 16 are evenly fixed on the nozzle telescopic frame 23. The spray pipe 15 is in the form of a flexible hose. A marker 25 is provided in the middle part of the nozzle telescopic frame 23 on the middle spray bar 8. The number of nozzles 16 is the same as the number of quadrilaterals.

[0033] In use, the industrial camera collects the distance between the marker and the nearest row of crops in real time, and transmits the collected information to the computer for processing. Based on the distance between the marker and the nearest row of crops, the computer controls the second electric slide bar to drive the central spray bar, so that the marker is aligned with the nearest row of crops. Then, the industrial camera collects the plant row spacing d and the nozzle gap e. The computer compares the plant row spacing d with the nozzle gap e, and the electronic control unit controls the fifth electric push rod to move so that the plant row spacing d is equal to the nozzle gap e, thereby achieving the purpose of adjusting the nozzle gap according to different crop row spacings.

[0034] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrically powered, variable width boom sprayer characterized by: The system includes a walking mechanism, a power mechanism, a spraying mechanism, a variable spray system, and a row spraying control system. The walking mechanism includes a frame, front and rear casters located at the bottom of the frame, and a steering control mechanism. Above the frame are a base, a pesticide tank, and a plunger pump. The pesticide tank and plunger pump are located behind the base. The plunger pump's inlet is connected to the pesticide tank, and its outlet is connected to a water pipe. Three application branches are connected in parallel to the water pipe, each equipped with a solenoid valve. The spraying mechanism includes a lifting assembly, a center spray boom, and side spray booms. The lifting assembly includes a parallelogram-shaped lifting frame and a first electric actuator. The lifting frame includes a horizontal connecting rod and a vertical connecting rod. The two ends of the first electric actuator are hinged to the frame and the horizontal connecting rod, respectively. One end of the vertical connecting rod is hinged to the front end of the frame, and the other end is connected to a spray boom frame. The spray boom frame is equipped with a guide rail. The central spray boom is positioned above the guide rail and connected to it via a slider. The middle of the rear end of the central spray boom is connected to the spray boom frame via a second electric push rod. There are two side spray booms, which are respectively positioned at both ends of the central spray boom and hinged to it. The rear ends of the side spray booms and the rear ends of the central spray boom are connected via a third push rod. The front ends of the central spray boom and the two side spray booms are each equipped with a spray pipe. The spray pipes are respectively connected to three parallel branches on the water pipe. The spray pipes are evenly equipped with nozzles. The row spray control system includes an image acquisition device, an image processor, a control unit, and a speed unit. The image acquisition device transmits signals to the image processor, which transmits the processed information to the control unit. The control unit drives the first electric push rod to make the central spray boom reciprocate on the guide rail and adjusts the steering of the wheel steering motor. The image acquisition device includes an industrial camera located at the center of the front end of the central spray bar for acquiring crop images; an image processor including a computer for receiving crop images and processing them to obtain fitted row lines; a control unit including an electronic control unit for controlling the offset of the side spray bar; and a speed unit including a speed encoder for acquiring the sprayer's travel speed v1 and transmitting it to the electronic control unit, and obtaining the response speed v2 of the row mechanism according to the offset compensation model. Both side spray bars are equipped with sliding sleeves, and sliding rods are installed inside the sliding sleeves. One end of the sliding rod is connected to the end of the side spray pipe away from the center spray bar via a fourth electric push rod. Both ends of the center spray bar and both ends of the sliding rod are connected to nozzle telescopic frames via telescopic sliding rods. The nozzle telescopic frame is composed of multiple quadrilaterals hinged diagonally. The diagonals of the quadrilaterals in the middle of the nozzle telescopic frame are connected by a fifth electric push rod. The nozzles are evenly fixed on the nozzle telescopic frame and connected to each other via spray pipes. A marker is provided in the middle of the nozzle telescopic frame on the center spray bar.

2. An electrically powered, variable-configuration boom sprayer as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The power mechanism includes a battery, which provides power to the drive motor, plunger pump, first electric actuator, second electric actuator, and third electric actuator.

3. An electrically powered, variable-configuration boom sprayer as claimed in claim 1, wherein: A divider is installed on the front moving wheel.

4. The electric variable displacement boom sprayer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electronic control unit uses pulse modulation to control the speed of the DC motor driven by the motor to adjust the lateral movement speed of the second push rod. The Hall encoder is used to obtain the push rod offset in real time and feed it back to the electronic control unit to realize closed-loop displacement control.

5. The electric variable displacement boom sprayer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The nozzle is in the form of a flexible hose.

6. The electric variable displacement boom sprayer according to claim 5, characterized in that: The number of nozzles is the same as the number of quadrilaterals.

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