Agricultural product management system

Abstract

To simplify the growing management of agricultural products grown on farms and enable more efficient farming operations.SOLUTION: Provided is an agricultural product management system characterized in that an observation base 2 is provided near agricultural products 1 within a farm, the weather around the agricultural products 1 is observed by a weather observation device 5 provided at the observation base 2, measured weather data is transmitted to a management database 4 and stored as farmland weather data, the growth of the agricultural products 1 is predicted by the management database 4 by using the farmland weather data, and harvesting time notification means 6 for informing a farm manager of a predicted harvesting time from the management database 4 is provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a harvest management system for agricultural products that manages the harvest of fruits, grains, and the like produced on farms. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of an agricultural product management system is the primary industry product information collection system disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-104045. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-104045 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The conventional primary industry product information collection system described above is an agricultural product management system that installs mobile monitoring devices on wires strung across the farm, observes the growth status of agricultural products using cameras and sensors installed on the mobile monitoring devices, reports the quality of the agricultural products via communication to a management database, and instructs the farm manager on appropriate agricultural work from the management database to carry out efficient agricultural work, so the mobile monitoring devices must be operated at specified time intervals.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to simplify the management of the growth of agricultural products grown on farms and enable agricultural work to be carried out efficiently. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The above-mentioned object of the present invention is achieved by the following technical means.

[0007] The invention of claim 1 is an agricultural product management system characterized by providing an observation base 2 near the agricultural products 1 within a farm, observing the weather around the agricultural products 1 using a meteorological observation device 5 installed at the observation base 2, transmitting the measured weather data to a management database 4 and storing it as farmland weather data, using the farmland weather data in the management database 4 to predict the growth of the agricultural products 1, and providing a harvest time notification means 6 that notifies the farm manager of the predicted harvest time from the management database 4.

[0008] The invention of claim 2 is the agricultural product management system according to claim 1, characterized in that the management database 4 outputs to the transport vehicle 3 an instruction to move to the observation base 2 at the appropriate time for harvesting the agricultural products 1.

[0009] The invention of claim 3 is an agricultural product management system as described in claim 2, characterized in that a load weight scale 7 is provided on the transport vehicle 3, and if additional loading is possible after loading agricultural products, it instructs the vehicle to move to the next observation base 2, and if additional loading is not possible, it instructs the vehicle to move to an unloading area 8. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In the invention of claim 1, weather information such as the hours of sunlight and outside temperature received by the agricultural produce 1 is observed by a meteorological observation device 5 at an observation base 2 set up near the agricultural produce 1, and sent to a management database 4 as agricultural land weather data.The management database 4 then uses the agricultural land weather data to predict the growth of the agricultural produce 1, and reports the predicted optimal harvest time to the manager via a harvest time notification means 6, allowing the manager to harvest the agricultural produce in a timely manner.

[0011] In the invention of claim 2, the transport vehicle 3 receives instructions to move to the observation base 2 at the appropriate time for harvesting the agricultural products, and the transport vehicle 3 displays a harvesting movement to the observation base 2 where the harvesting time is appropriate, or moves automatically to the vicinity of the observation base 2, thereby enabling the agricultural products 1 to be harvested accurately without any delays in harvesting.

[0012] In the invention of claim 3, the load weight meter 7 installed on the transport vehicle 3 determines the room for additional loading from the load weight of the agricultural products and accurately indicates whether the next place to move to is the next observation base 2 or the unloading area 8, so that harvesting work can be carried out efficiently without waste. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the operation of a transport vehicle on a farm. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of automatic control of a management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] Figure 1 shows the working state of a transport vehicle 3 on a farm. On the farm, fruit trees that produce many agricultural products 1 (such as persimmons, mandarin oranges, and apples) are planted at regular intervals, and observation stations 2 equipped with meteorological observation devices 5 are installed at distance intervals where weather conditions are similar. Each meteorological observation device 5 measures weather changes such as the temperature and sunshine hours around the agricultural products 1, which are wirelessly transmitted to a management database 4 and stored as farmland weather data. The management database 4 analyzes the farmland weather data to predict the maturation process of the fruits on the agricultural products 1, searches for an observation station 2 where the agricultural products 1 are located when it is time to harvest, and notifies the manager via harvest time notification means (e.g., mobile terminal 6). The harvest time notification means 6 may be a display provided in the management database 4 that indicates the appropriate harvest time.

[0016] The farm manager, who has learned from the harvest time notification means 6 that it is time to harvest the agricultural produce 1, drives the transport vehicle 3 to the observation base 2 where the agricultural produce 1 is located and harvests the fruit. The transport vehicle 3 is also provided with a load scale 7 that measures the weight of the agricultural produce 1 loaded, and displays instructions to head to the next observation base 2 if there is room in the load weight after harvest for more agricultural produce 1 to be harvested around one observation base 2, or to head to an unloading area 8 if there is not room.

[0017] The above explanation has been about managing agricultural products outdoors, but the agricultural product management system of the present invention can also be used when growing fruit trees 1 indoors, such as in a greenhouse, and an observation base 2 can be set up on each support pillar of the greenhouse.

[0018] The information from each pole is information about the area around the pole. Therefore, the information transmitted by each pole is different, and the vehicle is controlled based on this difference in information. For example, if an area with an average temperature of 25 degrees or higher is selected, the corresponding data is searched for, the corresponding pole is detected, and the vehicle's driving can be controlled so that it only stops within the range of that pole. Workers can harvest crops that meet the evaluation criteria by only harvesting crops where the work vehicle has stopped, without having to evaluate the crops each time.

[0019] Therefore, by searching for conditions suitable for harvesting, such as outside temperature, hours of sunlight, amount of light, and amount of watering, the crops to be harvested will be detected based on the database, and the worker can harvest the crops in this location without hesitation, allowing the work to be done rationally and quickly.

[0020] Existing technology includes a robotic invention in which a work vehicle automatically drives and acquires data on crop harvest judgment, and if the data is appropriate, harvests the crop; however, this system is expensive. This invention is characterized by its ability to automatically drive and guide the vehicle to the location of crops suitable for harvesting, using relatively easy-to-detect data such as temperature and light intensity. Although the actual harvesting is done by workers, if the harvesting cart automatically moves to the location at the appropriate time for harvesting, not only will the information be displayed visually, but it will also provide three-dimensional location guidance, enabling more reliable work.

[0021] It is also possible to provide a light source that illuminates the agricultural products 1, and control the irradiation observation device installed at the observation base 2 to irradiate light onto the agricultural products 1 that receive little sunlight, thereby promoting the growth of the agricultural products.

[0022] Figure 3 shows a transport vehicle 3 equipped with a main battery 10 as a power source and a cassette battery 11 for driving work equipment, both of which can be charged by a generator driven by the engine, and the cassette battery 11 can be removed and used to drive the work equipment, but the main battery 10 can be used as a drive power source for the traveling motor, and when the power of the main battery 10 is depleted, the vehicle can also travel using the power of the cassette battery 11. By sequentially using up the power of multiple cassette batteries 11, the depleted cassette batteries 11 can be removed and charged separately.

[0023] In Figure 3, if the cassette battery 11 used in the vegetable transplanter 20 runs out of power, the cassette battery 11 of the same specification used in the transport vehicle 3 can be removed and this cassette battery 11 with sufficient charge can be used in the vegetable transplanter 20. Conversely, if the cassette battery 11 used in the vegetable transplanter 20 has a sufficient charge, it can be exchanged with the transport vehicle 3 and used to power the transport vehicle 3, allowing for mutual use. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1. Agricultural products 2. Observation Base 3 Transport vehicle 4 Management Database 5. Weather observation equipment 6. Harvest time notification means (mobile terminal) 7 Load scale 8 Unloading area

Claims

1. An agricultural product management system characterized by providing an observation base (2) near agricultural products (1) on a farm, a meteorological observation device (5) installed at the observation base (2) observing the weather around the agricultural products (1), transmitting the measured meteorological data to a management database (4) and storing it as farmland meteorological data, the management database (4) using the farmland meteorological data to predict the growth of the agricultural products (1), and a harvest time notification means (6) for notifying the farm manager of the predicted harvest time from the management database (4).

2. 2. The agricultural product management system according to claim 1, wherein a management database (4) outputs instructions to a transport vehicle (3) to move the agricultural product (1) to an observation base (2) at the appropriate time for harvesting the agricultural product (1).

3. The agricultural product management system according to claim 2, characterized in that a load weight scale (7) is provided on the transport vehicle (3), and if additional loading is possible after loading the agricultural products, the transport vehicle is instructed to move to the next observation base (2), and if additional loading is not possible, the transport vehicle is instructed to move to an unloading area (8).

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