Unmanned mobile grass cutting device

Abstract

The present invention provides an unmanned mobile grass cutting device that can effectively mow the tops of furrows on both sides without tipping over, even in a narrow configuration that allows it to travel between narrow rows. [Solution] An unmanned mobile grass cutting device having a body 1 and a wheel section 2 that can travel between rows, comprising a grass cutting unit 3 having a rotary grass cutting blade 3a for cutting weeds W on the top surfaces 10a of the left and right rows 10 between the rows being traveled, and a support section 4 that supports the grass cutting unit 3 with respect to the body 1, wherein the grass cutting unit 3 is configured to be able to adjust its distance from the top surfaces 10a, and the support section 4 is configured to support the grass cutting unit 3 in a state where the rotation axis of the grass cutting blade 3a intersects with the top surfaces 10a.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an unmanned mobile lawn mowing device capable of remotely manually operated driving or autonomous driving.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, some of the farm work has been replaced by robots. As an example, lawn mowing robots capable of remotely manually operated driving or autonomous driving are commercially available.

[0003] By the way, this type of lawn mowing robot is generally designed with the idea of being used on a flat ground that is open to a certain extent. For example, a lawn mowing robot suitable for mowing the grass on the ridges of a field where the need for mowing is high, especially for mowing the grass near the crops on the top surface of the ridges, has not been realized at present.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an unprecedented unmanned mobile lawn mowing device that can satisfactorily mow the grass on the top surfaces of the left and right ridges without falling even in a narrow form that can travel between the ridges.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The gist of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0007] An unmanned mobile lawn mowing device having a vehicle body 1 and a wheel portion 2 and capable of traveling between ridges, A grass cutting unit 3 has a rotary grass cutting blade 3a that cuts weeds W on the top surface 10a of the ridges 10 on the left and right sides of the ridges 10 as it travels, The grass-cutting unit 3 has a support unit 4 that supports it with respect to the vehicle body 1, The grass cutting unit 3 is configured to allow adjustment of the distance from the top surface 10a. The present invention relates to an unmanned mobile grass cutting device, characterized in that the support portion 4 is configured to support the grass cutting portion 3 in a state in which the rotation axis of the grass cutting blade 3a intersects the top surface 10a.

[0008] Furthermore, the present invention relates to an unmanned mobile grass cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the grass cutting unit 3 is configured to travel in close proximity to the top surface 10a.

[0009] Furthermore, the present invention relates to an unmanned mobile grass cutting device according to claim 2, characterized in that the wheel section 2 is provided at the front and rear of the vehicle body 1, respectively.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention relates to an unmanned mobile grass cutting device according to claim 3, characterized in that it has an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the distance between the grass cutting unit 3 and the top surface 10a by adjusting the height position of the vehicle body 1 relative to the wheel unit 2.

[0011] Furthermore, the present invention relates to an unmanned mobile grass cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the wheel portion 2 has a width that fits between the top surfaces 10a of the left and right ridges 10, the lower end position of the vehicle body 1 is provided at a position higher than the top surfaces 10a of the left and right ridges 10, and the overall shape of the device is such that the front-to-back length is longer than the left-to-right width. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] As described above, the present invention is an unprecedented unmanned mobile grass cutting device that can effectively mow the tops of the ridges on both sides without tipping over, even in a narrow form that allows it to travel between narrow rows. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] It is a schematic perspective view of this embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a schematic exploded perspective view of the wheel part of this embodiment. [Figure 3] It is a schematic sectional view of the height adjustment mechanism of this embodiment. [Figure 4] It is a schematic front view for explaining the weeding operation on the ridge top surface according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a schematic perspective view of another example.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention considered to be suitable will be briefly described based on the drawings while showing the operation of the present invention.

[0015] When traveling between the ridges of a field and mowing the weeds W on the top surfaces 10a of the left and right ridges 10 by the mowing part 3, for example, by bringing the mowing part 3 as close as possible to the top surface 10a, even if the vehicle body 1 tilts in the left - right direction, the mowing part 3 is prevented from falling by contacting the ridge (due to the rotation of the wheel part 2, even if it temporarily tilts slightly and contacts the ridge, it will return to a non - contact state after passing through the cause location of the tilt). Therefore, even if the wheel part 2 is made as narrow as possible so as to be able to correspond to various widths of ridge intervals, it does not fall in the left - right direction and become unable to travel during ridge - to - ridge travel, and it is possible to mow the weeds on the ridge top surface 10a.

Example

[0016] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

[0017] This embodiment is an unmanned mobile weeding device having a vehicle body 1 and a wheel part 2 and capable of traveling between ridges.

[0018] Specifically, it has a mowing part 3 having a rotary mowing blade 3a for mowing weeds W on the top surfaces 10a of the left and right ridges 10 of the running furrows, and a support part 4 for supporting the mowing part 3 with respect to the vehicle body 1. The mowing part 3 is configured to be able to adjust the distance from the top surface 10a, and the support part 4 is configured to support the mowing part 3 in a state where the rotation axis of the mowing blade 3a intersects the top surface 10a.

[0019] Each part will be specifically described.

[0020] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, it is a so-called bike shape in which the wheel parts 2 are respectively provided at the front and rear of the vehicle body 1. The vehicle body 1 is box-shaped, and a battery or the like for driving the wheel parts 2 and the mowing part 3 is housed inside. Arm-shaped support parts 4 with mowing parts 3 provided at their tips and extending downward are detachably provided at the left and right positions on the bottom surface of the vehicle body 1. Note that the attachment location of the support part 4 to the vehicle body 1 is not limited to the bottom surface, and it may be provided on the side surface, or may be provided over both the side surface and the bottom surface.

[0021] The mowing part 3 includes a motor, a mowing blade 3a that rotates around the rotation axis of the motor, and a holding part that holds the mowing blade 3a rotatably. As the mowing blade 3a, a metal disk cutter is adopted.

[0022] Note that other rotary mowing blades 3a such as a nylon cutter (nylon cord) may be adopted as the mowing blade 3a. Also, in order to perform initial weeding (raking the soil surface immediately before or after the weeds germinate, digging up the weeds with the soil while raising the soil to prevent growth) well instead of mowing weeds that have grown to a certain extent, a hedgehog-shaped mowing blade 3a as shown in a different example in FIG. 5 can also be adopted. Specifically, the different example is an example in which a large number of needle-shaped mowing blades 3a protruding in a direction intersecting (orthogonal) to the back surface are arranged side by side on the back surface of a disk part 20 rotatably held by the holding part. In FIG. 5, a large number of needle-shaped mowing blades 3a are provided by screwing a screw body to the disk part 20 so that the tail part (screw part) protrudes from the back surface of the disk part 20.

[0023] The grass cutting blade 3a is supported by the support part 4 so that its axis of rotation intersects (orthogonal in this embodiment) with the top surface 10a. Therefore, the weeds W on the top surface 10a can be cut effectively and nearly horizontally, and the anti-falling effect of the grass cutting part 3 is effectively exerted. In this embodiment, the grass cutting blade 3a is in contact with the top surface 10a, but if a nylon cutter is used, for example, the holding part will be in contact with the top surface 10a, and the anti-falling effect will be exerted.

[0024] The front and rear wheel sections 2 of the vehicle body 1 are each composed of a pair of left and right wheels 2a and 2b. Each wheel 2a and 2b is directly driven by an in-wheel motor consisting of a stator member 13 including a stator and a rotor member 14 including a rotor. Furthermore, each wheel 2a and 2b is supported by supports 11a and 11b respectively, with their orientation fixed relative to the supports 11a and 11b (they are configured to move only forward and backward and cannot rotate).

[0025] Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the wheel 2a is connected to the support 11a via a stator member 13 (fixed-side member) fixed to the support 11a and a rotor member 14 (rotating-side member) provided inside the fixed-side member and rotating around a horizontal axis of rotation. In the figure, reference numeral 15 denotes a connecting member that connects the rotating-side member and the wheel, and 16 and 17 denotes fixing screws.

[0026] Although Figure 2 illustrates the front wheel 2a of the vehicle body 1, the same applies to the rear wheel 2b. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the wheel section 2 is composed of a pair of wheels on the left and right sides (a total of 4 wheels), but it may also be composed of a single wheel on each side (a total of 2 wheels).

[0027] Furthermore, this embodiment includes an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the distance between the grass-cutting unit 3 and the top surface 10a by adjusting the vertical height of the vehicle body 1 relative to the wheel unit 2.

[0028] Specifically, a positioning member 33, which has multiple position adjustment recesses 32 (holes) provided vertically, and two rod-shaped guide members 34 are vertically mounted at the front and rear positions of the vehicle body 1. In the figure, reference numeral 38 denotes a connecting member that connects the lower ends of the positioning member 33 and the guide members 34.

[0029] The guide member 34 is inserted through an insertion hole in the guided member 35 (which is provided to surround the positioning member 33 and the guide member 34) and is integrally provided with the support member 31. The guided member 35 and the support member 31, which is integral with it, are configured to be able to move relatively vertically along the guide member 34 (and the positioning member 33).

[0030] Furthermore, the positioning member 33 is plate-shaped and is positioned between the support member 31 and the guide member 34, almost parallel to the guide member 34, with numerous recesses 32 arranged vertically in a row approximately in the center in the width direction. As shown in Figure 3, the upper part of the support member 31 is provided with an insertion hole 36 that can communicate with the recesses 32, and the upper part of the guided member 35 is provided with a recess 32 and an insertion hole 39 that can communicate with the insertion hole 36.

[0031] Therefore, by sliding the vehicle body 1 side and the support members 11a and 11b sides relatively up and down so that the insertion hole 36 of the support member 31 and the insertion hole 39 of the guided member 35 communicate with appropriate recesses 32, and by inserting the positioning pin 37 into the insertion holes 36 and 39 and the recess 32, the vehicle body 1 can be fixed at a desired height position.

[0032] In this embodiment, the adjustment mechanism is configured as described above, but it is not limited to this configuration. Other configurations are also possible, such as adjusting the vertical height of the grass cutting unit 3 by extending or retracting the support unit 4.

[0033] Furthermore, by preparing multiple types of grass-cutting units consisting of a support section 4 and a grass-cutting section 3 (with different lengths of support section 4, i.e., the length of the protrusion from the vehicle body 1 to the top surface 10a), the height of the grass-cutting section 3 (the distance from the top surface 10a of the furrow 10) can be adjusted by appropriately swapping these units according to the height position of the top surface 10a.

[0034] Therefore, in this embodiment, the height of the mowing unit 3 can be easily adjusted according to the height of the top surface 10a, and the mowing unit 3 can be brought as close as possible to the top surface 10a while driving between the rows, so that weeds W can be cut from the roots. At the same time, the mowing unit 3 can be brought into contact with the vehicle body 1 when it tilts to the left or right to effectively prevent it from falling over.

[0035] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the wheel section 2 has a width that fits between the top surfaces 10a of the left and right ridges 10, and the lower end position of the vehicle body 1 is set higher than the top surfaces 10a of the left and right ridges 10, so that the overall shape of the device is longer in front-to-back length than in left-to-right width. Therefore, while it is long and slender and can travel well between ridges, it is prone to tipping over to the left or right, but as described above, tipping over is prevented by the grass-cutting section 3 contacting the top surfaces 10a.

[0036] Specifically, the left-right width (maximum width) of the wheel section 2 in this embodiment should preferably be 80 cm or less, more specifically 60 cm or less, and even more specifically 30 cm or less. The width between rows in a field (pathway width) varies, but is usually around several tens of centimeters, and the narrower the left-right width, the more versatile the design will be.

[0037] Furthermore, this embodiment is configured to be driven by wireless remote manual operation (remote control operation). However, it is also possible to configure it to be driven by wired remote control operation, or to configure it to autonomously drive within a designated area by a control unit installed on the vehicle body 1, or to configure it so that remote control operation and autonomous driving can be selected and switched as appropriate.

[0038] By running the grass-cutting robot configured as described above between the rows of a field, it is possible to effectively mow the grass on the top surface 10a of the rows while preventing it from falling over (see Figure 4). Movement from row to row can be done using a transport vehicle for inter-row transport, or by a worker.

[0039] As this embodiment is configured as described above, when the vehicle travels between the rows of a field and the mowing unit 3 cuts the weeds W on the top surfaces 10a of the rows 10 on the left and right, the mowing unit 3 is brought as close as possible to the top surfaces 10a. This prevents the vehicle from tipping over even if the vehicle body 1 tilts to the left or right, as the mowing unit 3 will come into contact with the row. Therefore, even if the wheel section 2 is made as narrow as possible to accommodate rows of various widths, the vehicle will not tip over to the left or right and become unable to move when traveling between rows, and it will be possible to mow the grass on the top surfaces 10a of the rows.

[0040] Therefore, this embodiment provides an unmanned mobile grass cutting device that can effectively mow the tops of the ridges on both sides without tipping over, even in a narrow configuration that allows it to travel between narrow rows. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1. Vehicle body 2 Wheel section 3 Grass cutting department 3a grass cutting blade 4 Support part 10 ridges 10a top surface W Weeds

Claims

1. An unmanned mobile grass cutting device having a body and wheels and capable of traveling between rows, A grass cutting unit having a rotary grass cutting blade that cuts weeds on the tops of the ridges on both sides of the ridges as it travels, The grass-cutting unit has a support part that supports it with respect to the vehicle body, The grass-cutting section is configured to allow adjustment of the distance from the top surface. The unmanned mobile grass cutting device is characterized in that the support portion is configured to support the grass cutting portion in a state in which the rotation axis of the grass cutting blade intersects the top surface.

2. An unmanned mobile grass cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the grass cutting unit is configured to travel in close proximity to the top surface.

3. An unmanned mobile grass cutting device according to claim 2, characterized in that the wheel section is provided at the front and rear of the vehicle body, respectively.

4. An unmanned mobile grass cutting device according to claim 3, characterized in that it has an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the distance between the top surface of the grass cutting unit and the height position of the vehicle body relative to the wheel unit.

5. An unmanned mobile grass cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the wheel portion has a width that fits between the top surfaces of the left and right ridges, the lower end position of the vehicle body is set higher than the top surfaces of the left and right ridges, and the overall shape of the device is such that the front-to-back length is longer than the left-to-right width.

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