Agricultural machinery, a system for generating cutting point data for fruit tree branches, and a method for generating cutting point data for fruit tree branches.

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for generating cutting point data, a system for generating cutting point data, and agricultural machinery, which can be used to promote the automation and unmanned operation of fruit tree pruning while maintaining fruit yield and quality, and which includes information indicating the three-dimensional position of the points on which fruit tree branches should be cut. [Solution] A method for generating cutting point data, including information indicating the three-dimensional position of the point to be cut on a fruit tree branch, using one or more computing devices, includes obtaining information on a pruning mode selected by the user from a plurality of pruning modes, each having a different method for determining the point to be cut on a fruit tree branch, and determining one or more points to be cut based on sensor data of the fruit tree branch and the selected pruning mode. The second pruning mode has the same priority settings for two or more attributes of the fruit tree branch as the first pruning mode, and the enable / disable settings for one or more switchable setting parameters are different from those of the first pruning mode.

Claims

1. A method for generating cutting point data, which includes information indicating the three-dimensional position of the point on which a fruit tree branch should be cut, using one or more computing devices, The method for determining the point on which the fruit tree branches should be cut involves obtaining information on the pruning mode selected by the user from a plurality of different pruning modes, Based on sensor data of the fruit tree branches acquired by one or more sensors, and the selected pruning mode, one or more points to be cut are determined for the fruit tree branches. To generate the cutting point data for each of the one or more points to be cut. Includes, The aforementioned multiple pruning modes are, The first pruning mode, In the determination of the points to be cut, the setting of priority for two or more attributes of the fruit tree branch is the same as in the first pruning mode, and the setting of enable / disable one or more switchable setting parameters in the determination of the points to be cut is different from that of the first pruning mode, in the second pruning mode. Methods that include...

2. Determining the one or more points to be cut means Based on the sensor data, measurement values ​​for each of the two or more attributes of one or more branches of the fruit tree are obtained. Based on the measured values ​​and the priority of the two or more attributes, it is determined whether each of the one or more branches should be removed or kept. For each of the branches designated as to be removed, determine the point at which to cut. The method according to claim 1, including the method described in claim 1.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising inputting the generated cutting point data into a control device that controls the three-dimensional position of a cutter for cutting the branches of the fruit tree.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of pruning modes further include a third pruning mode in which the priority setting differs from that of the first pruning mode and the enable / disable setting of the one or more setting parameters is the same as that of the first pruning mode.

5. The two or more attributes mentioned above include attributes related to the vigor of the fruit tree, The method according to claim 4, wherein in the third pruning mode, the priority of attributes related to the vigor of the fruit tree is higher than in the first pruning mode.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the attributes related to the vigor of the fruit tree include at least one of the thickness of the branches, the size of the buds on the branches, and the length of the internodes of the branches.

7. Determining the one or more points to be cut means Based on the aforementioned measurement values, the number of buds to be left on the branch that has been determined to remain is determined, Based on the number of buds to be left, the point to be cut on the branch that has been decided to be left is determined. It further includes, The method according to claim 5, wherein in the third pruning mode, the setting for enabling / disabling the adjustment of the number of buds to be left on the branches determined to be left based on the measured values ​​relating to the vigor of the fruit tree is enabled.

8. The two or more attributes mentioned above include attributes related to the tree shape of the fruit tree, The method according to claim 4, wherein in the third pruning mode, the priority of attributes related to the shape of the fruit tree is higher than in the first pruning mode.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the attributes relating to the shape of the fruit tree include at least one of the direction in which the branches grow, the height of the base of the branches, the direction in which the buds on the branches face, and the length of the branches.

10. The two or more attributes mentioned above include attributes related to the health status of the fruit tree, The method according to claim 4, wherein in the third pruning mode, the priority of attributes related to the health of the fruit tree is lower than in the first pruning mode.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the attributes related to the health of the fruit tree include the color of the branches.

12. The setting of enabling / disabling the one or more setting parameters mentioned above is as follows: After determining the one or more points to be cut, the setting of whether or not to determine the one or more points to be cut again. The generated cutting point data is presented to the user, and the ability to receive user instructions is enabled or disabled. In generating the aforementioned cutting point data, the setting to enable / disable generating the cutting point data so that the branch is cut by a plane perpendicular to the direction in which the branch is growing, Setting whether to enable / disable the determination of which branches to keep from two or more branches of the fruit tree to be treated, In determining the number of buds to leave on the branches of the fruit tree that have been selected to remain, the setting of whether or not to include the bud closest to the base of the branch, The setting to enable / disable the removal of non-candidate branches that should not be selected as branches to be kept from one or more branches of the fruit tree to be processed, before deciding which branches to keep, and After deciding whether to remove or keep one or more branches of the fruit tree to be treated, the setting enables / disables the determination to maintain or change the decision on whether to remove or keep the branches, based on the distribution of buds on the branches that have been decided to keep. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising at least one of the following.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the user can change and save the settings for the priority of the plurality of pruning modes and the settings for enabling / disabling one or more setting parameters.

14. A system for generating cutting point data that includes information indicating the three-dimensional position of the point on which a fruit tree branch should be cut, One or more sensors that acquire sensor data from the branches of the fruit tree, A data processing device that generates the cutting point data of the fruit tree branches based on the sensor data, Equipped with, The aforementioned data processing device is The method for determining the point to cut the fruit tree branches obtains information on the pruning mode selected by the user from a plurality of different pruning modes, Based on the sensor data and the selected pruning mode, one or more points to be cut are determined for the fruit tree branch. For each of the one or more points to be cut, the cutting point data is generated. The aforementioned multiple pruning modes are, The first pruning mode, In the determination of the points to be cut, the setting of priority for two or more attributes of the fruit tree branch is the same as in the first pruning mode, and the setting of enable / disable one or more switchable setting parameters in the determination of the points to be cut is different from that of the first pruning mode, in the second pruning mode. A system that includes this.

15. A system for generating cutting point data that includes information indicating the three-dimensional position of the point on which a fruit tree branch should be cut, One or more sensors that acquire sensor data from the branches of the fruit tree, Means for carrying out the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1 to 3 A system that has

16. The system further comprises a cutter for cutting the branches of the fruit tree and a control device for controlling the three-dimensional position of the cutter. The data processing device inputs the generated cutting point data to the control device. The system according to claim 14, wherein the control device controls the three-dimensional position of the cutter based on the cutting point data.

17. An agricultural machine having the system described in claim 16.

18. The system further comprises an arm that supports the cutter, a support that supports the arm, and a drive device that moves the support. The agricultural machine according to claim 17, wherein the control device controls the three-dimensional position of the cutter by controlling the movement of the arm.

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