Self-traveling vehicle for horticulture

Abstract

To provide a self-traveling vehicle which can always trace an intersection between a ridge wall and a passage surface at proper grip force, even at a speed exceeding the maximum speed of a conventional self-traveling vehicle.SOLUTION: A self-traveling vehicle comprises: a main body 1 having a pair of drive wheels and capable of self-traveling; and a pair of guide mechanisms arranged in front and behind the main body 1. The guide mechanism comprises: a movable plate 8 positioned below a bottom face 1a of the main body 1; a pivotal support shaft 7 for pivotally supporting a base end part of the movable plate 8 to the bottom face 1a of the main body; a pair of support arms 5 extending from a tip end part of the movable plate 8 outward in a lateral direction; and a pair of guide wheels 4 rotatably fitted to tip end parts of the pair of support arms 5 through a shaft 6. The tip end parts of the support arms 5 are folded obliquely downward, therefore the guide wheels 4 are inclined in a reversed V-shape in front view and are grounded. The guide mechanism further has a press spring 11 whose top end part is fixed to the bottom face 1a of the main body 1, and whose lower end part is fastened to the movable plate 8, and energizes downward elastic force to the movable plate 8.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an improvement of a gardening self-propelled vehicle used for self-running on the inter-row passage in a field or a greenhouse to carry harvested products or working tools, or to perform control work. More specifically, while the self-propelled vehicle is running on the inter-row passage, it relates to a gardening self-propelled vehicle that can run properly without climbing onto the ridges due to the uneven surface of the passage or the state of the ridge walls.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-253088) discloses a gardening self-propelled vehicle that sprays a chemical solution on agricultural crops while self-running on the inter-row passage in a field or a greenhouse. Further, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-042617) discloses a means for preventing abnormal running in which the traveling path is shifted due to the uneven surface of the passage or the like and the vehicle climbs onto the ridge while running on the inter-row passage. Guide wheels are attached to the left and right sides of both the front and rear ends of the vehicle body, and the front and rear guide wheels are interlocked via a connecting shaft so that they can rotate in conjunction with each other.

[0003] The ridges include various types such as low ridges, high ridges, ridges with steep ridge walls, and ridges with gentle ridge walls depending on the type of crop, soil quality, regionality, type of machine for making the ridges, etc. Also, the passages between the ridges are diverse, including wide and narrow ones.

[0004] Generally, many of the inter-row passages are not flat and have continuous uneven surfaces. The ridge walls may also have soft soil or a gentle slope angle.

[0005] For this reason, accidents may occur where the drive wheels of the self-propelled vehicle spin, the guide wheels climb onto the slope of the ridge, and the vehicle body topples over.

[0006] When the self-propelled vehicle climbs onto the ridge, it not only causes the vehicle body to topple over, but also damages the agricultural crops, tears the protective sheet provided on the surface of the ridge, and damages the roots of the agricultural crops.

[0007] Therefore, preventing the vehicle body from riding up on the ridges and enabling stable travel is an issue when developing this type of self-propelled vehicle.

[0008] Conventional self-propelled vehicles can only reach a speed of about 50 cm per second at most, and the working time is too long. Therefore, there is a strong demand for self-propelled vehicles that can move at higher speeds. More specifically, even when traveling at about 100 cm per second, which is twice the speed of conventional machines, the development of a self-propelled vehicle with stable running performance has become an issue.

[0009] Here, FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the operating state of a conventional guiding wheel, FIG. 11 is a front view showing the same operating state, and FIG. 12 is a side view showing the same operating state.

[0010] To obtain stable running performance, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, it can be said that mounting the guiding wheels in a V-shape when viewed from the front of the vehicle body is effective. However, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, depending on the shape of the ridges and the passage state, the guiding wheels may not be in contact with the ground and may float, and the guiding force cannot be exerted, resulting in accidents of riding up on the ridge wall 15.

[0011] Depending on the inter-ridge passage 14, the soil on the side of the ridge wall often collapses, and the intersection of the ridge wall 15 and the road surface is often deformed. As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, on the bottom surface of a self-propelled vehicle running with the front side of the vehicle body floating, the guiding wheels fixed by a V-shaped bracket are in a toe-out (turning the handlebar towards the ridge side) state in proportion to the backward tilt angle in the state where the front side of the vehicle body is floating. At the intersection of the ridge wall 15 and the road surface where the ridge wall 15 has collapsed and become gentle, the guiding wheels can easily ride up on the ridge wall 15, and the force to return the vehicle body in the passage direction does not act, resulting in the vehicle body riding up on the ridge.

[0012] Also, in the horticultural self-propelled vehicle of Patent Document 2, a structure is adopted in which the support arm of the guiding wheel is rotatable and is grounded on the road surface by a spring to provide a guiding force. Therefore, it can be said that a certain guiding effect is obtained.

[0013] However, when traveling at a high speed of 80 cm or more per second, unless the grounding position of the guiding wheels when the bicycle is stationary is always set to float above the road surface by the arm angle adjustment stopper, the driving wheels may spin because the road surface shape cannot be followed. Also, as in Patent Document 1, at the intersection of the ridge wall 15 and the road surface, the intersection may collapse, and on an irregular road surface with undulations of the gently sloping ridge wall, the vehicle body may climb onto the ridge wall 15. [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-253088 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-42617 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-75108 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-15267 [Disclosure of the Invention] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0014] In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a gardening self-propelled vehicle that can always trace the intersection of the ridge wall and the road surface with an appropriate gripping force even at a speed exceeding the maximum speed of a conventional self-propelled vehicle. [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0015] The gardening self-propelled vehicle according to the first invention includes a self-propelled body having at least a pair of drive wheels and a pair of guiding mechanisms disposed in front of and behind the body. Each of the guiding mechanisms includes a movable plate located below the bottom surface of the body, a pivot shaft that pivotally supports the base end portion of the movable plate so as to be swingable with respect to the bottom surface of the body, a pair of support arms extending laterally outward from the tip end portion of the movable plate, and a pair of guiding wheels rotatably attached to the tip end portions of the pair of support arms via a shaft. The tip end portions of the pair of support arms are bent obliquely downward, so that the pair of guiding wheels are inclined in a V-shape and grounded when viewed from the front. Each of the guiding mechanisms has an upper end portion fixed to the bottom surface of the body and a lower end portion fixed to the movable plate, and has a pressing spring that biases the movable plate with a downward elastic force.

[0016] In this configuration, the guide wheels that are inclined in a V-shape and grounded can swing integrally with the movable plate.

[0017] Also, since the compression spring biases the movable plate with a downward elastic force, a force in the direction of constantly pressing against the ground acts on the guide wheels.

[0018] As a result, even on the road surface of the irregular ridge wall where the intersection of the ridge wall and the road surface has collapsed and become smooth, the guide wheels that are inclined in a V-shape when viewed from the front of the vehicle body can obtain the elastic force of the compression spring while maintaining the toe-in (state where the steering wheel is turned toward the road side) angle, and constantly trace the intersection of the ridge wall and the road surface with an appropriate gripping force.

[0019] As a result, even when the self-propelled vehicle travels at a speed exceeding the maximum speed of a conventional self-propelled vehicle, the vehicle body is promptly guided toward the road side. Furthermore, even when traveling on a bumpy road surface or a steep slope surface, wheel spin of the drive wheels and riding onto the ridge are appropriately prevented.

[0020] In addition to the first invention, it is preferable to further include a fixing plate whose base end is pivotally supported by a pivot shaft and fixed to the bottom surface of the main body.

[0021] In this way, it can be appropriately arranged with respect to the bottom surface of the main body.

Effect of the Invention

[0022] According to the present invention, the compression spring biases the movable plate with a downward elastic force, and a force in the direction of constantly pressing against the ground acts on the guide wheels. Therefore, even on the road surface of the irregular ridge wall where the intersection of the ridge wall and the road surface has collapsed and become smooth, the guide wheels that are inclined in a V-shape when viewed from the front of the vehicle body can constantly and appropriately trace the intersection of the ridge wall and the road surface while maintaining the toe-in angle. Therefore, even when the self-propelled vehicle travels at a speed exceeding the maximum speed of a conventional self-propelled vehicle, the vehicle body is promptly guided toward the road side.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] (Embodiment 1) The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a self-propelled gardening vehicle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view (front view) showing the mounting structure of the guiding wheels, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view (side view) showing the mounting structure of the guiding wheels.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, the self-propelled gardening vehicle of this embodiment has a main body 1 that has at least a pair of drive wheels 2 and is capable of self-propulsion.

[0026] Here, the self-propelled gardening vehicle usually includes a spraying means or the like, but since the spraying means or the like is not related to the essence of the present invention, it is omitted.

[0027] Two drive wheels 2 are respectively provided on the left and right sides of the box-shaped main body 1, and the drive wheels 2 are driven via a battery, a motor, and a transmission mechanism (all not shown) housed in the main body 1, so that the self-propelled gardening vehicle has a structure capable of automatically traveling in both forward and backward directions as a whole. Further, an operation handle 3 is provided on the upper part of the main body 1, but this is not essential and may be omitted.

[0028] A pair of guiding mechanisms are arranged in front of and behind the main body 1. Since the front guiding mechanism and the rear guiding mechanism are basically the same, only the front guiding mechanism will be described hereinafter.

[0029] As shown enlarged in FIGS. 2 and 3, a horizontal fixing plate 9 is fixed to the bottom surface 1a of the main body 1 so as to be in close contact with the bottom surface 1a using bolts 10.

[0030] Further, a movable plate 8 is provided below the bottom surface 1a independently of the bottom surface 1a of the main body 1. A horizontal pivot shaft 7 is inserted through the base end portion on the back side of the movable plate 8 and the base end portion on the back side of the fixing plate 9, and the movable plate 8 is swingably supported in the direction of arrow N1 in FIGS. 2 and 3 with respect to the bottom surface 1a (the same surface as the fixing plate 9) of the main body 1.

[0031] The base ends of the pair of support arms 5 are fixed to the side of the movable plate 8 by bolts 12, and the pair of support arms extend laterally outward from the front end on the front side of the movable plate 8.

[0032] The front ends of the pair of support arms 5 are bent obliquely downward, and a pair of guide wheels 4 are rotatably attached to the bent front ends via a shaft 6.

[0033] Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pair of guide wheels 4 will be inclined in a V-shape in a front view and contact the ground.

[0034] Furthermore, the upper end 11a of the push spring 11 is fixed to the bottom surface 1a of the main body 1, and the lower end 11b of the push spring 11 is fixed to the central portion on the front side of the movable plate 8. As a result, the push spring 11 biases an elastic force that is always downward with respect to the bottom surface 1a of the main body 1 against the movable plate 8 (simultaneously, the support arms 5 and the guide wheels 4), and as a result, the guide wheels 4 are always pressed toward the ground.

[0035] That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when viewed from the front of the main body 1, the angle at which the guide wheels 4 form a V-shape is preferably about ±5° based on an inner angle of 45° with the ground set as 0° as a reference.

[0036] The connection between the support arm 5 and the movable plate 8 does not have to be by bolts 10, and welding or the like may also be used. However, as shown in the figure, it is desirable to provide a long hole 13 along the length direction of the support arm 5 so that the bolt 12 can slide within the long hole 13 to enable adjustment of the distance between the guide wheels 4.

[0037] If necessary, a spacer (not shown) may be sandwiched between the main body 1 and the fixed plate 9 to adjust the height position (the inclination angle of the movable plate 8: the toe-in angle) between the guide wheel 4 and the ground contact surface.

[0038] As described above, since the compression spring 11 is provided, it is possible to set the state in which the compression spring 11 is most contracted as shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), or it is possible to set the state in which the compression spring 11 is slightly extended as shown in FIGS. 7(c) and 7(d), or it is possible to set the state in which the compression spring 11 is most extended as shown in FIGS. 7(e) and 7(f).

[0039] As a result, the guide wheel 4 can follow and travel at an appropriate ground pressure at the intersection of the ridge wall and the road surface. Even when the front and rear of the main body 1 tilt up and down due to the unevenness of the inter-ridge passage 14 while the bicycle is traveling, due to the elastic force of the compression spring 11 that biases the movable plate 8, the guide wheel 4 always has an appropriate toe-in angle (when viewed from the upper side of the vehicle body, with the handle turned toward the inter-ridge passage side with respect to the traveling direction, assuming straight ahead as 0° and using a toe-in angle of 4° as a reference, approximately ±2°), and contacts the ridge wall 15.

[0040] Therefore, regardless of whether there are unevenness on the road surface of the inter-ridge passage 14, whether the ridge wall 15 has collapsed, or whether the rising part of the ridge wall 15 is smooth, the guide wheel 4 appropriately follows while swinging, quickly captures the intersection of the ridge wall 15 and the road surface, and can achieve both stable followability and high-speed travel.

[0041] Due to the relationship of the space of the spring mounting surface of the main body 1 or the movable plate 8, when a single large-sized compression spring 11 cannot be mounted, small-diameter compression springs can be combined in two or three and mounted. In that case, it is advisable to adjust the elastic force synthesized by the plurality of compression springs to be equivalent to the spring elastic force of a single mounted spring.

[0042] Even when the drive wheel 2 rides over a convex portion of the passage or falls into a concave portion at the uneven portion of the road surface, or encounters a steep uphill slope in the passage, the guide wheel 4 pivotally mounted on the support arm 5 by the shaft 6, when approaching the slope portion of the passage, is lifted upward as shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), and at the same time the movable plate 8 swings to the bottom surface side of the main body 1, compressing the compression spring, so that the drive wheel 4 does not spin.

[0043] When the drive wheel 2 gets over the uneven part or the uphill slope part, the elastic force of the push spring 11 (the elastic force of the spring is such that the guiding wheel 4 escapes upward due to the self-weight of the bicycle and does not cause the drive wheel to spin, and at the same time has a strength to firmly grip the road surface. For example, when the self-weight of the bicycle is 50 Kg, the elastic force of the push spring at the front and rear of the vehicle body may be set at about 6 Kg / cm as a guide.) mounted between the movable plate 8 and the bottom surface part of the main body 1 quickly returns the guiding wheel 4 to the running state on a flat road surface, and as shown in FIGS. 7(c) and 7(d), it can run while maintaining the inclination angle of the movable plate 8 and the toe-in angle of the guiding wheel 4.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), when the drive wheel 2 falls into the concave part of the road surface or encounters a steep uphill slope in the passage, the guiding wheel 4 is lifted upward by the self-weight of the bicycle, and at the same time the movable plate 8 is also lifted to the bottom surface side of the main body 1, and the push spring 11 is compressed.

[0045] As shown in FIGS. 7(c) and 7(d), when the bicycle normally runs on a flat road surface, the movable plate 8 is in an inclined state (about 8°), and the guiding wheel 4 is in a toe-in state (about 4°).

[0046] As shown in FIGS. 7(e) and 7(f), when the drive wheel 2 passes through the convex part of the passage 14 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the movable plate 8 on the front side of the vehicle body is in an inclined state (about 12°), and the guiding wheel 4 is in a toe-in state (about 6°).

[0047] As shown in FIG. 7(e), the relationship between the swing angle of the movable plate 8 and the toe-in angle of the guiding wheel 4 may be, for example, as follows. When the swing angle θ2 is 10° and the V-shaped angle of the support arm 5 is 45°, the toe-in angle of the guiding wheel 4 is 5°, which is 1 / 2 of the swing angle θ2.

[0048] The ratio of the length L from the pivot shaft 7 to the mounting position of the support arm 5 and the swing stroke θ1 of the movable plate 8 at the mounting position of the support arm 5 is preferably set to θ1:L≒1:3 to 4.

[0049] Of course, these numerical values are merely illustrative, and it must be understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of protection of the invention of this application.

[0050] As described above, in the self-propelled bicycle for gardening of the present invention, a pair of left and right support arms 5 and a shaft 6 are attached to the front and rear bottom surfaces of the main body 1 at an angle in a V-shape as viewed from the front of the vehicle body, and are pivotally attached to a fixed plate 9 together with a movable plate 8 by a pivot shaft 7 so as to be swingable, and are mounted on the bottom surface of the main body 1 at a position sandwiching the drive wheels 2 front and rear by bolts 10 or welding or the like.

[0051] Next, a compression spring 11 is provided between the bottom surface of the main body 1 and the movable plate 8 so that the guide wheels 4 can follow and run at an appropriate ground pressure at the intersection of the ridge wall and the road surface.

[0052] Therefore, even when the front and rear of the main body 1 tilt up and down due to the unevenness of the road surface between the ridges during the running of the bicycle, the guide wheels 4 always contact the ridge wall 15 at an appropriate toe-in angle, and even on a road where the unevenness of the road surface and the ridge wall 15 collapse and the rising part of the ridge wall 15 becomes gentle, the guide wheels 4 quickly capture the intersection of the ridge wall 15 and the road surface while swinging.

[0053] As a result, the main body 1 can be guided to the side of the path between the ridges with stable followability, and the vehicle can run stably on the path 14 between the ridges even at high speed.

[0054] Also, due to the structure of the movable plate 8, even when the drive wheels 2 ride over the convex part of the road surface or fall into the concave part, or encounter a steep uphill slope in the road, the guide wheels 4 pivotally attached to the support arm 5 by the shaft 6 are lifted upward by the weight of the main body 1 when approaching the slope part of the road. At the same time, the movable plate 8 swings to the bottom surface side of the main body 1 and compresses the compression spring 11, so that the drive wheels 2 can run without idling.

[0055] In this way, with this bicycle, the swing-type guide wheel 4, which has a zigzag shape and a toe-in angle, can accurately trace the unevenness of the furrow passage 14 and the irregular furrow walls 15 due to the elastic force of the push spring 11, and can always correct and guide the main body 1 toward the furrow passage side. Even when traveling at high speed, the vehicle body can be prevented from riding onto the ridges, so the farming work time can be significantly shortened, and damage to crops and their roots can be prevented. Furthermore, damage to the protective vinyl sheet of the ridges and damage to facilities can be prevented.

[0056] Also, as described above, even when lifting the rear end of the vehicle body during the inversion operation of the vehicle body by the guide wheel 4 that swings up and down with respect to the road surface, there is no need to perform the storage operation of the guide wheel 4. The inversion and turning operations of the vehicle body in the furrow passages with dozens of rows can be easily performed.

[0057] (Embodiment 2) FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the gardening bicycle according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a side view showing the operating state of the guide wheel.

[0058] In this embodiment, it is different from Embodiment 1 in that two pairs of drive wheels 2 are provided on the main body 1. That is, it must be understood that the protection scope of the present invention includes the case where two pairs or more of drive wheels 2 are provided on the main body 1.

[0059] The other points are the same as those in Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 9, also in Embodiment 2, due to the elastic force of the push spring 11, the drive wheels 2 of the guiding mechanism can smoothly follow the unevenness of the passage. This also holds true even at a speed exceeding the maximum speed (50 cm per second) of conventional bicycles.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0060]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Explanation of reference numerals

[0061] 1 Body 1a Bottom surface 2 Driving wheel 3 Operating handle 4 Guiding wheel 5 Support arm 5a Base end portion 5b Tip end portion 6 Shaft 7 Pivot shaft 8 Movable plate 9 Fixed plate 10, 12 Bolt 11 Pressing spring 11a Upper end portion Lower end of 11b 13 Long hole 14 Inter-ridge passageway 15 Ridge wall

Claims

1. a self-propelled body having at least a pair of drive wheels; and a pair of guiding mechanisms disposed in front of and behind the body, each of the guiding mechanisms comprising: a movable plate located below the bottom surface of the body; a pivot shaft pivotally supporting the base end of the movable plate so as to be swingable with respect to the bottom surface of the body; a pair of support arms extending laterally outward from the tip of the movable plate; a pair of guiding wheels rotatably attached to the tips of the pair of support arms via a shaft; the tips of the pair of support arms being bent obliquely downward so that the pair of guiding wheels are inclined in a V-shape in a front view and grounded; each of the guiding mechanisms further comprising: a pressing spring having an upper end fixed to the bottom surface of the body and a lower end fixed to the movable plate, and biasing the movable plate with a downward elastic force. A self-propelled gardening vehicle characterized by the above.

2. The self-propelled gardening vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing plate having a base end pivotally supported by the pivot shaft and fixed to the bottom surface of the body.

Images