Sugar cane harvester

Abstract

To provide a sugar cane harvester capable of cutting an area between a stem and a leaf part of a sugar cane by using a topper even during harvesting operation.SOLUTION: A sugar cane harvester includes: a reaping part which is provided on a machine body front part and reaps planted sugar canes; a transport device transporting sugar canes reaped by the reaping part to a machine body rear part; a topper placed above the reaping part so as to cut a leaf part of an upper part of the sugar cane; a topper lifting actuator 83 for lifting the topper; and a detection unit 9 for detecting a stem, a leaf part of the sugar cane or both thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sugarcane harvester that cuts and harvests planted sugarcane. [Background technology]

[0002] To improve sugarcane harvesting efficiency, some sugarcane harvesters are equipped with a topper that not only cuts the base of the sugarcane with a cutting unit but also cuts off the leaves at the top of the sugarcane. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a sugarcane harvester that includes a cutting unit that cuts the planted sugarcane, a topper that is positioned above the cutting unit so as to cut off the leaves at the top of the sugarcane, and a transport device that transports the sugarcane cut by the cutting unit and topper toward the rear of the machine. The height of this topper can be changed using a hydraulic cylinder. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-102281 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Although the sugarcane harvester of Patent Document 1 is equipped with a liftable topper, it is quite a tedious task to visually check the area between the stalks and leaves of the sugarcane to be cut by the topper from a location away from the machine body and adjust the topper to an appropriate height before driving for harvesting work. It is virtually impossible to visually check the area between the stalks and leaves of the sugarcane from the driver's seat while driving for harvesting work.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a sugarcane harvester that can recognize or confirm the area between the stems and leaves of sugarcane even while traveling during harvesting work, and that makes it easy to properly cut the sugarcane using a topper. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The sugarcane harvester of the present invention comprises a cutting unit provided at the front of the machine body for cutting planted sugarcane, a transport device for transporting the sugarcane cut by the cutting unit towards the rear of the machine body, a topper arranged above the cutting unit to cut the upper leaves of the sugarcane, a topper lifting actuator for raising and lowering the topper, and a detection unit for detecting the stems or the leaves or both of the sugarcane.

[0007] According to this configuration, the detection unit detects the stems or the leaves or both of the sugarcane, and based on the detection results, the control system of the sugarcane harvester or the driver can recognize or confirm the area that should be cut by the topper, which is located between the stems and leaves of the sugarcane, even while the machine is traveling during harvesting work.

[0008] When the topper is automatically adjusted to an appropriate height based on the detection result of the detection unit, the driver is freed from the task of adjusting the topper height and can concentrate on other tasks. For this reason, the present invention proposes providing an automatic control unit that automatically controls the lifting and lowering operation of the topper lifting actuator based on the detection result from the detection unit.

[0009] The function required of the automatic control unit that automatically controls the topper height is to position the topper at the boundary area between the leaves and stems of the sugarcane and cut and discard the leaves at this boundary area. To achieve this, the present invention proposes that the detection result is the height positional relationship between the boundary area between the leaves and stems and the topper, and that the automatic control unit automatically controls the topper lifting actuator based on this height positional relationship.

[0010] In order to easily and accurately detect the stems and / or leaves of sugarcane, i.e., the boundary region between the leaves and stems of sugarcane, it is preferable to use image recognition technology. For this reason, the present invention proposes that the detection unit is a camera and includes an image processing unit that detects the boundary region from an image captured by the camera.

[0011] If the driver (an example of an operator) can recognize the position (height above ground) of the boundary area between the leaves and stems of the sugarcane detected by the detection unit, the topper can be easily adjusted to an appropriate position. For this reason, the present invention proposes providing an alarm device that notifies the operator of the detection result by the detection unit, and a manual control unit that manually controls the topper lifting actuator based on an operation command from the operator.

[0012] Although audio and visual notifications can be used to notify the driver of the detection results of the detection unit, it is preferable to use visual notification means because sugarcane harvesters make a considerable amount of noise while operating. For this reason, the present invention proposes that the detection unit is a camera and the notification device is a camera monitor. The camera monitor may be a display installed in the driver's compartment or a goggle-type or eyeglass-type display worn by the driver.

[0013] When adjusting the topper to an appropriate position based on the detection results of the detection unit, using automatic control is advantageous as it reduces the burden on the driver. Furthermore, depending on the harvesting situation, it may be desirable for the driver to manually operate the topper at their discretion. For this reason, the present invention proposes providing a manual control unit that manually controls the lifting and lowering operation of the topper lifting and lowering actuator, and an automatic control unit that automatically controls the lifting and lowering operation of the topper lifting and lowering actuator. In this case, it is also preferable to provide a manual / automatic selection unit that selects between the lifting and lowering operation by the manual control unit and the lifting and lowering operation by the automatic control unit.

[0014] If the detection unit cannot detect the sugar cane (including the case where the detection unit detects the sugar cane but the detection result is clearly incorrect), the movement of the topper based on the detection by the detection unit may cause unexpected problems. To avoid such problems, in the present invention, if the detection unit does not detect the sugar cane, the operation of the topper is stopped. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a left side view of the sugarcane harvester. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sugarcane harvester. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a front view of a sugarcane harvester. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining topper control. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a control system of the sugarcane harvester. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The sugarcane harvester according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the direction of arrow F in the drawings will be referred to as the "front side," the direction of arrow B as the "rear side," the direction of arrow U as the "upper side," the direction of arrow D as the "lower side," the direction of arrow R as the "right side," and the direction of arrow L as the "left side."

[0017] [Overall structure] As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, the sugarcane harvester comprises a body 1, a traveling device 2 that supports the body 1, a cutting unit 3 that is provided at the front of the body and cuts the planted sugarcane, a conveying device 4 that transports the sugarcane harvested by the cutting unit 3 toward the rear of the body, a separating device 5 that sorts the sugarcane into harvested material and impurities using sorting wind, a rear conveying device 6 that transports the harvested material supplied from the separating device 5 rearward and then discharges it to the outside, a driving unit 7 in which the driver rides, a topper 8 that is provided above the cutting unit 3 so as to cut the upper leaves of the sugarcane, and an engine E supported by the body 1.

[0018] The traveling device 2 includes left and right front wheels 21 and left and right rear wheels 22 located rearward of the front wheels 21. The rear wheels 22 are supported by an axle case connected to the vehicle body 1. Power from the engine E is transmitted to the left and right rear wheels 22 via a transmission. In other words, the rear wheels 22 are driven by the engine E.

[0019] The front wheels 21 are supported by the body 1 so as to be able to move up and down and to be steerable. Power from the engine E is not transmitted to the front wheels 21.

[0020] The reaping unit 3 includes left and right dividing bodies 31 for separating the sugarcane to be reaped from the sugarcane to be left in the field, left and right dividers 32 for separating the sugarcane to be reaped from the sugarcane to be left in the field, an arm 33 for supporting the divider 32 on the machine body 1 in a state in which it can swing up and down, a knocking device 38 for knocking the sugarcane forward, and a cutting blade 39 for cutting the base of the sugarcane knocked down by the knocking device 38.

[0021] The transport device 4 is supported by the machine body 1 in a rear-up tilted position. Specifically, the lower part of the transport device 4 is supported by the machine body 1. In addition, the rear part of the transport device 4 is supported by the machine body 1 via an axle case or a transmission located below the rear part of the transport device 4.

[0022] The front part of the conveying device 4 is connected to the rear part of the reaping unit 3. As a result, the sugarcane harvested by the reaping unit 3 is transported by the conveying device 4 toward the rear of the machine body, more specifically, upward in the rear direction of the machine body 1.

[0023] The separator 5 is connected to the rear of the conveying device 4. The sugarcane transported by the conveying device 4 is shredded at the end of the conveying path of the conveying device 4 and supplied to the separator 5. The sugarcane supplied to the separator 5 falls downward from the end of the conveying path of the conveying device 4 while passing through the inside of the separator 5. The sugarcane passing through the separator 5 is sorted by the sorting wind blowing impurities outside the machine body 1. The sorted harvested product falls to the front of the rear conveying device 6.

[0024] The rear conveying device 6 extends diagonally upward and rearward in a rear-upward tilted position. The rear conveying device 6 conveys the harvested product in an upward and rearward direction. The conveyed harvested product is discharged from a discharge area provided at the rear of the rear conveying device 6 to the outside of the machine body 1. Specifically, the rear conveying device 6 discharges the harvested product onto the loading platform of a transport vehicle traveling alongside the sugarcane harvester.

[0025] [Topper] The topper 8 extends further forward from above the reaping unit 3. The topper 8 includes a support arm 81 (see FIG. 3) connected to the front end region of the machine body 1 so as to be able to swing up and down about a transverse axis, and a cutter 82 (see FIG. 1) provided at the tip of the support arm 81. The support arm 81 moves up and down by the extension and contraction of a hydraulic lifting cylinder 83 that functions as a topper lifting actuator. Although not shown in detail, the cutter 82 has a rotary blade that is rotatably supported about an axis along the vertical direction, and this rotary blade is rotationally driven by a hydraulic motor.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 4, the lifting cylinder 83 is operated by pressurized oil sent via a cylinder solenoid valve 83a, and the hydraulic motor of the cutter 82 is operated by pressurized oil sent via a cutter solenoid valve 82a. The cylinder solenoid valve 83a and the cutter solenoid valve 82a are controlled by a topper control unit 60 provided in the control unit CU of the sugarcane harvester. Furthermore, a topper height detector 84 is provided. The topper height detector 84 detects the height of the topper 8, more specifically, the height of the cutter 82 of the topper 8. In FIG. 4, the topper height detector 84 is disposed in the swing axis region of the support arm 81 and is configured to detect the height of the cutter 82 from the swing angle of the support arm 81. However, other configurations are also possible, such as a configuration in which the height of the cutter 82 is detected from the extension / contraction value of the lifting cylinder 83. Furthermore, a distance measuring device such as a laser may be used as the topper height detector 84.

[0027] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the topper 8 is provided with a detection unit 9 that detects the stalks and / or leaves of the sugarcane to be processed by the topper 8. The detection unit 9 includes a camera 90 and an image processing unit 91. Although the camera 90 is not shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, it is attached to the top end of the topper 8 or to the ceiling of the driver's compartment 7 so that the stalks and / or leaves of the sugarcane are within its imaging range. Of course, the camera 90 may be attached by a dedicated support member supported by the machine body 1. The image processing unit 91 has an image recognition function that detects the cutting point of the sugarcane by the topper 8, for example, the boundary area between the stalks and leaves of the sugarcane, from the image captured by the camera 90. Furthermore, the image processing unit 91 calculates the position of the detected boundary area based on the position and imaging direction of the camera 90 and provides the detection result to the control unit CU. If the positional relationship between the camera 90 and the topper 8 is set in advance, the detection result also includes the positional relationship (particularly the height positional relationship) between the boundary region between the leaf and stem and the topper.

[0028] 5 shows a functional block diagram of the control system of the sugarcane harvester, particularly the control system related to the topper 8. The control unit CU is the core element of the control system, and is substantially constructed by a computer system.

[0029] The control unit CU receives, via an input signal processing unit 51, the detection results from the detection unit 9 described above, operation signals from the manual operation tool group 40, detection signals from the topper height detector 84, and the like. The manual operation tool group 40 includes a topper operation tool 41 for manually raising and lowering the topper 8 and turning the cutter 82 on and off, a travel control tool, and a discharge operation tool for operating the rear conveying device 6. The topper operation tool 41 is disposed in the driver's section 7 so that it can be operated by the driver. The topper operation tool 41 may be a standalone operation tool, or may be combined with another operation tool, for example, a travel operation tool.

[0030] The control unit CU outputs, via the output signal processing unit 52, a control signal for operating the lifting cylinder 83, a control signal for operating the cutter 82, and an alarm signal for notifying the driver and surrounding people and animals of some information via the alarm device 70. Of course, control signals to other equipment (operating equipment such as the reaping unit 3 and the rear conveying device 6) are also output. The alarm device 70 includes a monitor 71 and a speaker 72 disposed in the driving unit 7. The monitor 71, which functions as a camera monitor, displays images captured by the camera 90 of the detection unit 9 and images captured by a surveillance camera monitoring the behavior of other equipment. Furthermore, the monitor 71 can also display data representing the vehicle status, such as vehicle speed and mileage. The speaker 72 issues various warnings and guidance by voice. The alarm device 70 also includes a buzzer, a lamp, and the like.

[0031] The control unit CU is equipped with a travel control unit 53, a work control unit 54, a notification control unit 55, and a topper control unit 60 as functional units. The travel control unit 53 controls the travel device 2 and the travel transmission device based on operation signals as operation commands from the manual operation tool group 40, thereby achieving the vehicle speed and steering desired by the driver. Furthermore, if an obstacle detection device is installed, the work control unit 54 controls the reaping unit 3, the conveying device 4, the separating device 5, the rear conveying device 6, and the like based on operation signals from the manual operation tool group 40. The notification control unit 55 generates (or transfers) a video signal for displaying the above-mentioned captured image on the monitor 71, and also generates a notification signal via the notification device 70 for notifying the travel state, work state, topper height, and the like detected by the functional units of the control unit CU. If an obstacle detection device is installed, the notification control unit 55 generates obstacle detection information and provides it to the notification device 70.

[0032] The topper control unit 60 includes a topper height calculation unit 61, a manual control unit 62, an automatic control unit 63, and a manual-automatic control unit 64. The topper height calculation unit 61 calculates the topper height (height from the ground or height from a predetermined location on the machine body 1) based on a detection signal from a topper height detector 84. The topper control unit 60 controls the lifting cylinder 83 based on the detection result from the detection unit 9 (the position of the boundary region between the leaves and stems, or the positional relationship between the boundary region and the topper 8) and the topper height calculated by the topper height calculation unit 61, so that the position of the topper 8, more specifically, the position of the cutter 82, is located at the position of the boundary region between the leaves and stems.

[0033] The control of the lifting cylinder 83 can be performed by manual control using the manual control unit 62 or automatic control using the automatic control unit 63. In manual control, the driver (operator) operates the topper operation tool 41 while watching the monitor 71, and the manual control unit 62 generates a control signal to the lifting cylinder 83 based on an operation signal from the topper operation tool 41, thereby operating the lifting cylinder 83, and the cutter 82 is positioned as desired by the driver (operator). In automatic control, the automatic control unit 63 generates a control signal to the lifting cylinder 83 based on the detection result from the detection unit 9 and the topper height calculated by the topper height calculation unit 61, and operates the lifting cylinder 83 so that the cutter 82 is located in the boundary region between the leaves and stems. If it is desired to offset the positional relationship between the boundary region and the cutter 82, the offset value can be set in the automatic control unit 63. This allows the cutter 82 to be positioned at a desired distance away from the boundary region.

[0034] Whether the topper 8 is controlled manually or automatically is determined by the harvesting work situation and the intentions of the driver (harvesting manager). Once the desired control mode (manual or automatic) is set, the manual / automatic selection unit 64 selects the manual control unit 62 or the automatic control unit 63 according to the setting. The selection of the control mode by the manual / automatic selection unit 64 can be performed automatically. For example, if a malfunction of the detection unit 9 is detected, a notification to that effect is issued and then the mode is forcibly switched to manual mode.

[0035] In this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the operation of the topper 8 is automatically stopped when no sugar cane is detected by the detection unit 9 or by another detector.

[0036] With the above configuration, as the machine advances, the top leaves of the sugarcane being cut by the reaping unit 3 are cut by the topper 8. Furthermore, while the sugarcane is felled forward by the falling device 38, the base of the sugarcane is cut by the cutting blade 39, and the sugarcane of the appropriate length is supplied to the conveying device 4.

[0037] The topper 8 is located directly in front of the driver in the forward direction of the machine, and so there is a possibility that it may obstruct the driver's forward visibility. For this reason, efforts have been made to miniaturize the topper 8, particularly the support structure for the cutter 82 located in the tip area of ​​the topper 8. This improves the visibility, comfort, and safety of the driver or operator of the driver's section 7. This miniaturization can be achieved by adopting an efficient rigid structure and by using thinner components.

[0038] [Another embodiment] (1) The term "sugarcane" in this specification is used as a general term for agricultural crops that are harvested after the tops are cut, or at the same time, the bases of the plants are cut off, like sugarcane. Therefore, the sugarcane harvester of the present invention is not only used for harvesting sugarcane in the narrow sense, but also for harvesting agricultural crops such as sugarcane.

[0039] (2) Although not explicitly stated in the above embodiment, this sugarcane harvester can be operated not only manually but also automatically or remotely.

[0040] (3) The cutter 82 of the topper 8 can be implemented in various forms, such as a scissors type or a slide type, in addition to a rotary type.

[0041] (4) The lifting mechanism of the topper 8 can be implemented in various forms other than a swinging type, such as a sliding type or a hanging type. Also, the lifting actuator may be an electric cylinder or an electric slider other than the hydraulic lifting cylinder 83.

[0042] (5) The functional block diagram shown in Figure 5 is a schematic configuration for the purpose of explanation. Each functional block shown may be integrated with other functional blocks, or one functional block may be further divided.

[0043] (6) A transparent resin material, a mesh material, or the like may be used for at least a portion of the structural members, such as the plate members, that make up the topper 8. This improves the deterioration of the forward visibility of the driver or operator caused by the topper 8.

[0044] The configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies below) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, as long as no contradiction arises. Furthermore, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are examples, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to these, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope that does not deviate from the purpose of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0045] The present invention is applicable to harvesters for agricultural crops such as sugarcane. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1: Aircraft 2: Running gear 3: Reaping part 4:Transportation device 5: Separation device 6: Post-transport device 8: Toppa 9:Detection unit 41: Topper operating tool 53: Driving control unit 54: Work control section 55: Notification control section 60: Topper control section 61: Topper height calculation unit 62: Manual control unit 63: Automatic control unit 64: Manual / automatic control section 70: Notification device 71: Monitor 72: Speaker 82: Cutter 83: Lifting cylinder (lifting actuator) 84: Topper height detector 90: Camera 91: Image processing section CU: Control unit

Claims

1. a reaping unit provided at the front of the machine body for reaping planted sugarcane; A conveying device that conveys the sugarcane harvested by the harvesting unit toward the rear of the machine body; a topper disposed above the cutting unit to cut the upper leaves of the sugarcane; a topper lifting actuator that lifts and lowers the topper; a detection unit for detecting the stems and / or the leaves of the sugarcane; Sugarcane harvester equipped with a

2. 2. The sugarcane harvester according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic control unit that automatically controls the lifting and lowering operation of the topper lifting actuator based on the detection result from the detection unit.

3. the detection result is a height positional relationship between a boundary region between the leaf portion and the stem portion and the topper, The sugarcane harvester according to claim 2, wherein the automatic control unit automatically controls the topper lifting actuator based on the height position relationship.

4. The sugarcane harvester according to claim 3 , wherein the detection unit is a camera, and the detection unit includes an image processing unit that detects the boundary area from an image captured by the camera.

5. The sugarcane harvester according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm device that notifies an operator of the detection results by the detection unit, and a manual control unit that manually controls the topper lifting actuator based on an operation command from the operator.

6. 6. The sugarcane harvester of claim 5, wherein the detection unit is a camera and the notification device is a camera monitor.

7. 2. The sugarcane harvester according to claim 1, further comprising: a manual control unit that manually controls the lifting and lowering operation of the topper lifting actuator; and an automatic control unit that automatically controls the lifting and lowering operation of the topper lifting and lowering actuator.

8. 8. The sugarcane harvester according to claim 7, further comprising a manual / automatic selection unit that selects between the lifting and lowering operation by the manual control unit and the lifting and lowering operation by the automatic control unit.

9. 9. A sugarcane harvester according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein operation of the topper is stopped if the detection unit does not detect the sugarcane.

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