Wood Utilization System

Abstract

To reduce variations in moisture content of wood transported to wood utilization facility.SOLUTION: The wood transportation method comprises: a step of transporting woods from a mountain yard 110 to a city yard 120, a step of storing the woods in the city yard 120, a step of transporting woods that have a storage period of a predetermined length or more from the city yard 120 to a wood utilization facility 130.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This disclosure ,tree Regarding material utilization systems. [Background technology]

[0002] Thinned timber felled in forests is transported to wood utilization facilities via mountain yard and street yard (intermediate yard). Mountain yard is an open space located near the felling site. Transport equipment used for secondary transportation (e.g. trailer trucks) cannot enter mountain yard. Street yard is a facility where wood can be dried naturally and which transport equipment used for secondary transportation (e.g. trailer trucks) can directly access from the road. Street yard is located near the felling site in some cases, and mountain yard is not located near the felling site in other cases. Wood utilization facilities crush wood, burn wood, produce chemical raw materials from wood, and produce paper raw materials from wood.

[0003] As an example of wood utilization equipment, a power plant has been disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1). The technology in Patent Document 1 includes a grinding device, a drying device, a combustion kiln, and a steam turbine generator. The grinding device grinds wood into chips. The drying device dries the chips. The combustion kiln burns the dried chips to generate steam. The steam turbine generator generates electricity by using the steam generated in the combustion kiln. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-13552 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Conventionally, wood was transported from a random lumberyard to a wood processing facility. This resulted in variations in the moisture content of the wood received at the wood processing facility. This resulted in problems such as difficulty in crushing the wood at the wood processing facility, increased load on the drying equipment, and reduced heat generation during combustion.

[0006] The present disclosure makes it possible to reduce the variation in moisture content of wood transported to wood utilization facilities. Tree The purpose is to provide a material utilization system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problems, a wood management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a moisture content meter that measures the moisture content of timber transported from a mountain yard to a street yard; a reduction rate estimation unit that estimates a reduction rate of the moisture content of timber stored at the street yard based on the measurement results of the moisture content meter; and a moisture content estimation unit that estimates an estimated moisture content of timber stored at the street yard based on the reduction rate of the moisture content. Among the several landslide sites, Estimation The system includes a lumber yard extraction unit that extracts one or more lumber yards storing lumber with a moisture content of 50% or less, an instruction unit that outputs an instruction to transport lumber from the lumber yard extracted by the lumber yard extraction unit to a wood utilization facility, and a transport device that transports lumber from the lumber yard extracted by the lumber yard extraction unit to the wood utilization facility in accordance with the instruction output by the instruction unit.

[0011] In addition, the town yard extraction section Estimation If there are multiple lumber yards storing lumber with a moisture content of 50% or less, the moisture content of the lumber stored in the mountain lumber yard that is the source of the lumber to be transported to the lumber yards is determined as follows: Estimation One lumber yard may be selected from multiple lumber yards that store lumber with a moisture content of 50% or less.

[0013] Also ,luck The transport device may include one or more traction engines, and a number of racks that are detachable from the traction engines and on which the timber is loaded.

[0014] Also, the number of racks may be greater than the number of traction engines.

[0015] In addition, the instruction unit The instruction unit outputs an instruction to the traction engine of the transportation device, and the instruction unit further At the yard 、 A stand with timber piled up to the traction engine. connection The towing engine is instructed to , a platform on which timber was piled Connected Traction engine but, For wood utilization facilities Issue an instruction to the towing engine to move. , in wood utilization facilities, From the towing engine, A rack with timber piled up The table Separated The towing engine is instructed to , Empty racks after timber has been unloaded at timber utilization facilities of , traction engine To connection The towing engine is instructed to , an empty platform Connected Traction engine but, To be sent to the yard, the traction engine Output instructions to You may do so.

[0016] The lumber yard extraction unit may also extract a new lumber yard when the amount of wood stored in the lumber yard falls below a value obtained by multiplying the number of empty racks parked in the lumber yard by the load capacity of the racks.

[0017] In addition, the command unit controls the towing engine to send the loading grappler to a new lumber yard when all the lumber stored in the lumber yard is loaded onto the rack by the loading grappler. Output instructions to You may do so. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce variation in moisture content of wood transported to wood utilization facilities. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wood utilization system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a timber management device. [Diagram 3] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of a wood management method according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a wood transport method according to a comparative example. [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of a wood transporting method according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating processing at a lumber yard according to an embodiment of the lumber transport method. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating processing in a wood utilization facility according to an embodiment of the wood transport method. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the transport device at the start of work on the Nth day. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the transportation work on the Nth day. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the transport device at the start of work on the N+1th day. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the transportation work on the N+1th day. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the transport device at the start of work on the N+2th day. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the transportation work on the N+2 day. [Figure 15] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating the difference between a wood transporting method according to an embodiment and a wood transporting method according to a comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values ​​shown in the embodiment are merely examples for ease of understanding, and do not limit the present disclosure unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid repeated explanation. Elements not directly related to the present disclosure are not shown.

[0021] [Wood Utilization System 100] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wood utilization system 100 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 1, arrows indicate the flow of wood. As shown in FIG. 1, the wood utilization system 100 includes a plurality of mountain land yard 110, a plurality of city land yard 120, wood utilization equipment 130, transport devices 140 and 150, a loading grappler 160, and a wood management device 200. Note that the loading grappler 160 is omitted in FIG. 1 for ease of understanding.

[0022] The mountain land yard 110 is a collection site provided near the forest harvesting site 10. The mountain land yard 110 is, for example, several hundred meters away. 2 More than a few thousand meters 2 The area is as follows: Timber felled in the forest (for example, thinned timber) is first collected in the mountain yard 110, where it is de-branched, cut into logs of appropriate length, and piled up. Hereinafter, timber that has been de-branched and cut into logs of appropriate length may be referred to as "short stem timber." The short stem timber accumulated in the mountain yard 110 is transported to the city yard (intermediate yard) 120.

[0023] The lumberyard 120 is a collection point provided between the mountain lumberyard 110 and the wood utilization facility 130. Short logs are transported from the mountain lumberyards 110 to one lumberyard 120. The lumberyard 120 is, for example, 20,000 m 2 The lumber yard 120 has an area of ​​about 2 hectares. In this embodiment, the lumber yard 120 is adjacent to a public road and is located in a location that can be reached by a trailer vehicle (a towing vehicle, for example, the transport device 150 described below). Public roads are, for example, city roads, metropolitan roads, prefectural roads, and other roads that are paved with asphalt or crushed stone. The lumber yard 120 stores short stems. The short stems accumulated in the lumber yard 120 are transported by the transport device 150 to the wood utilization facility 130.

[0024] The wood utilization facility 130 is a facility for crushing wood, burning wood, producing chemical raw materials from wood, producing paper raw materials from wood, etc. Examples of wood utilization facilities are pellet manufacturing plants, thermal power plants, biofuel manufacturing plants, paper mills, and plants that synthesize raw materials.

[0025] The transport device 140 transports the short logs from the mountain yard 110 to the city yard 120. The transport device 140 is, for example, a 10 ton truck.

[0026] The transporting device 150 transports short-stemmed timber from the lumber yard 120 to the wood utilization facility 130. In this embodiment, the transporting device 150 is a trailer vehicle. The trailer vehicle includes a trailer head 152 (traction engine) and a rack 154. The trailer head 152 is a vehicle equipped with an engine. The rack 154 is detachably connected to the trailer head 152. Timber (short-stemmed timber) is loaded on the rack 154. There is no limit to the transporting capacity of the transporting device 150, but the transporting device 150 is, for example, a 30-ton trailer vehicle or a 52-ton trailer vehicle. In this embodiment, the number of racks 154 is greater than the number of trailer heads 152.

[0027] The timber management device 200 manages the entire timber utilization system 100. Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the timber management device 200. As shown in Fig. 2, the timber management device 200 includes a communication unit 210, a central control unit 220, and a memory 230.

[0028] The communication unit 210 communicates with external servers 30, 40, and 50 via the communication network 20. The external server 30 is provided in the wood utilization facility 130. The external server 40 is provided in a logging company. The external server 50 is provided in a transport company.

[0029] The central control unit 220 is composed of a semiconductor integrated circuit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The central control unit 220 reads out programs and parameters for operating the CPU itself from the ROM. The central control unit 220 manages and controls the entire timber management device 200 in cooperation with the RAM as a work area and other electronic circuits.

[0030] The memory 230 is composed of a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, a HDD, etc. The memory 230 stores programs and various data used by the central control unit 220, such as timber storage information, delivery plans, daily report information, order information, distance information, etc., which will be described later. The distance information is information that indicates the distance between each lumber yard 120 and the wood utilization facility 130.

[0031] In this embodiment, the central control unit 220 also functions as an information acquisition unit 222 , a yard extraction unit 224 , and an instruction unit 226 .

[0032] The information acquisition unit 222 acquires timber order information from an external server 30 provided in the timber utilization facility 130. The order information includes the volume of the timber and the date and time of delivery to the timber utilization facility 130.

[0033] The information acquisition unit 222 also acquires information indicating the planned consumption amount of wood over several years from an external server 30 installed in the wood utilization facility 130. The information acquisition unit 222 then transmits the information indicating the planned consumption amount to the external server 40.

[0034] The information acquisition unit 222 acquires lumber storage information, a delivery plan, and daily report information for the lumber yard 120 from the external server 40. The lumber storage information, a delivery plan, and daily report information for the lumber yard 120 acquired by the information acquisition unit 222 are stored in the memory 230.

[0035] The lumber storage information includes at least the amount (volume) of lumber stored in the lumber yard 120 and the moisture content [%] of the stored lumber. The moisture content is calculated using the following formulas (1) and (2). Ud = (W-W0) / W0 × 100 …Equation (1) W = W0 + W1 + W2…Equation (2) In the above formula (1), Ud represents the moisture content of the wood. In formulas (1) and (2), W represents the total weight of the wood. In formulas (1) and (2), W0 represents the dry weight of the wood (bone dry weight). In formula (2), W1 represents the weight of free water contained in the wood. Free water is water that exists as liquid in the gaps in the wood tissue. Free water is removed by natural drying. In formula (2), W2 represents the weight of bound water contained in the wood. Bound water is water that has penetrated the wood tissue. Bound water is difficult to remove by natural drying.

[0036] The external server 40 creates a felling plan based on the local forest production plan acquired from the forest producer (for example, a forestry association) and the planned timber consumption amount transmitted from the information acquisition unit 222.

[0037] The harvesting plan includes the location of the forest to be harvested, the harvesting period, the harvesting area, the degree of harvesting (degree of thinning, clear-cutting, etc.), the species of trees to be harvested, the average size of the species, tree height, diameter at breast height, and classification by use. The number of trees to be harvested is determined based on the forest to be harvested, the harvesting area, and the degree of harvesting. In addition, the volume of each tree is calculated based on the species of trees to be harvested, the average size of the species, tree height, and diameter at breast height.

[0038] Then, the external server 40 creates a delivery plan to the city landslide yard 120 based on the felling plan. The delivery plan associates one or more mountain landslide yard 110 with the city landslide yard 120 of the delivery destination. The delivery plan also includes the delivery time to the city landslide yard 120 and the delivery volume.

[0039] The felling company fells timber at the felling site 10 based on the felling plan and stores the timber in the mountain yard 110. The felling company attaches an IC tag to the timber while it is still in the mountain yard 110 or while it is still in the mountain yard 110. For example, the felling company attaches an IC tag to one piece of timber for every 100 pieces of timber stored in the mountain yard 110. The felling company also inputs the felling date, felling location, information on the heavy machinery used for felling, and information on the felled timber into the daily report for the day of work. Information on the heavy machinery includes the type of machine (including attachments), number of machines, energy consumption [kWh], fuel consumption, etc. Information on the timber includes information on the standing trees at the felling site 10 (tree species, breast height diameter, tree height, forest age, felling history), diameter, length, initial moisture content of the felled timber, identification number stored in the IC tag, etc. The felling operator inputs information into the daily report and the IC tag via a personal computer (e.g., a notebook PC or tablet PC). The information (daily report information) input into the daily report via the personal computer is transferred to and stored in the external server 40. Among the timber information, the forest age and felling history at the felling site 10 are linked to the forest register.

[0040] Further, the felling company or the transport company transports timber from the mountain yard 110 to the city yard 120 based on a delivery plan to the city yard 120. Then, for example, the felling company measures the moisture content of timber with an IC tag attached at the city yard 120, creates timber storage information, and inputs it to the external server 40. For example, the felling company periodically measures the moisture content of timber with an IC tag attached using a contact moisture content meter, and inputs the measurement results to the external server 40. The external server 40 estimates the rate of decrease in moisture content based on the measurement results. Note that, among the timber storage information, the moisture content may be estimated based on the storage period. To be more specific, the longer the storage period at the city yard 120, the lower the moisture content of the timber. For example, if the storage period is 360 days, the moisture content of the timber will be 25% or less.

[0041] The lumber yard extraction unit 224 references the lumber storage information, delivery plan, and daily report information held in the memory 230, and extracts one or more lumber yard(s) 120 from the multiple lumber yard(s) 120 based on the moisture content (or storage period) of the stored lumber. The lumber yard extraction unit 224 extracts, for example, lumber yard(s) 120 that store lumber with a moisture content of 50% or less (preferably 30% or less, more preferably 25% or less), or lumber that has been stored for a predetermined period or more. The predetermined period is the period from when the lumber is transported to the lumber yard 120 until the moisture content of the lumber falls to 50% or less. If the storage period is one year, the moisture content of the lumber will be 30% or less.

[0042] The instruction unit 226 creates transport instruction information based on the lumber yard 120 extracted by the lumber yard extraction unit 224. The transport instruction information is information that indicates an instruction to transport lumber from the lumber yard 120 extracted by the lumber yard extraction unit 224 to the wood utilization facility 130. The transport instruction information includes the lumber yard 120 extracted by the lumber yard extraction unit 224 and the wood utilization facility 130 to which the lumber is to be transported. The instruction unit 226 outputs the transport instruction information to an external server 50 provided at the transporter.

[0043] [Street yard extraction processing S100] Next, the city lumber yard extraction process S100 by the central control unit 220 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the flow of the city lumber yard extraction process S100 according to this embodiment. The city lumber yard extraction process S100 is started when a city lumber yard 120 is extracted for the first time, or when the amount of remaining lumber in the city lumber yard 120 to which lumber is currently being transported falls below a predetermined amount as a result of the lumber amount determination process S210 described later. As shown in FIG. 3, the city lumber yard extraction process S100 according to this embodiment includes a moisture content extraction step S110, a first determination step S120, a second determination step S130, a mountain lumber yard extraction step S140, a third determination step S150, a distance extraction step S160, a fourth determination step S170, a minimum moisture content extraction step S180, and an instruction step S190. Each step will be described below.

[0044] [Moisture content extraction step S110] The lumber yard extraction unit 224 extracts, from among a plurality of lumber yards 120, those in which the average moisture content of the stored lumber (hereinafter simply referred to as "moisture content") is 50% or less (lumber has been stored for a specified period of time or longer).

[0045] [First judgment step S120] The city lumber yard extraction unit 224 judges whether or not there is a city lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content of stored lumber is 30% or less among the city lumber yard 120 extracted in the moisture content extraction step S110. If it is judged that there is a city lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content is 30% or less (YES in S120), the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 moves the process to the second judgment step S130. On the other hand, if it is judged that there is no city lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content is 30% or less (NO in S120), the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 moves the process to the fourth judgment step S170.

[0046] [Second judgment step S130] The city lumber yard extraction unit 224 judges whether there are multiple city lumber yards 120 where the moisture content of stored lumber is 30% or less. If it is judged that there are multiple city lumber yards 120 (YES in S130), the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 transfers the process to the mountain lumber yard extraction step S140. On the other hand, if it is judged that there is only one city lumber yard 120 (NO in S130), the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 transfers the process to the instruction step S190.

[0047] [Yamadoba extraction process S140] The city lumber yard extraction unit 224 extracts city lumber yard 120 based on the moisture content of lumber brought in from the mountain lumber yard 110. More specifically, the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 refers to the delivery plan and checks multiple mountain lumber yard 110 that are the source of the city lumber yard 120 where the moisture content of stored lumber is 30% or less. The city lumber yard extraction unit 224 then refers to daily report information and obtains the average moisture content of lumber stored in the multiple source mountain lumber yard 110. For example, the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 obtains the average moisture content (or initial moisture content) of lumber when it is received at the city lumber yard 120 from the source mountain lumber yard 110.

[0048] The lumber yard extraction unit 224 extracts the lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content of stored lumber is the highest in the mountain lumber yard 110 from among the lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content of stored lumber is 30% or less.

[0049] [Third judgment step S150] The city landslide yard extraction unit 224 judges whether or not there are multiple city landslide yard 120 extracted in the mountain landslide yard extraction step S140. As a result, if it is judged that there are multiple city landslide yard 120 (YES in S150), the city landslide yard extraction unit 224 transfers the process to the distance extraction step S160. On the other hand, if it is judged that there is only one city landslide yard 120 (NO in S150), the city landslide yard extraction unit 224 transfers the process to the instruction step S190.

[0050] [Distance extraction process S160] The city landslide yard extraction unit 224 extracts one city landslide yard 120 based on the distance information. The city landslide yard extraction unit 224 extracts, for example, the city landslide yard 120 that is the furthest from among the city landslide yard 120 extracted in the mountain landslide yard extraction step S140.

[0051] [Fourth judgment step S170] The city lumber yard extraction unit 224 judges whether or not there is a city lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content of the stored lumber is 50% or less among the city lumber yard 120 extracted in the moisture content extraction step S110. In other words, the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 judges whether or not there is a city lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content of the stored lumber is more than 30% and less than 50%. As a result, if it is judged that there is a city lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content is 50% or less (YES in S170), the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 moves the process to the minimum moisture content extraction step S180. On the other hand, if it is judged that there is no city lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content is 50% or less (NO in S170), the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 ends the city lumber yard extraction process S100.

[0052] [Minimum water content extraction process S180] The lumber yard extraction unit 224 extracts the lumber yard 120 with the lowest moisture content from among the lumber yard 120 in which the moisture content of stored lumber is 50% or less.

[0053] [Instruction process S190] The instruction unit 226 creates transport instruction information based on one of the extracted landslide sites 120. Then, the instruction unit 226 outputs the transport instruction information to an external server 50 provided in the transporter.

[0054] Then, the transporter who has received the transport instruction information arranges for a transport device 150 (a platform 154 and a trailer head 152 ) and a loading grappler 160 to transport the timber from the extracted lumber yard 120 to the timber utilization facility 130 .

[0055] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a timber transport method of the comparative example. As shown in FIG. 4, the timber transport method of the comparative example uses a truck 15. First, at a lumber yard 120, a loading grappler 160 loads timber onto the truck 15 (FIG. 4(a)). Next, the truck 15 loaded with timber moves to the parking lot of the timber utilization facility 130 (FIG. 4(b)). Then, a measuring device 132 provided at the timber utilization facility 130 measures the weight of the timber loaded onto the truck 15 (FIG. 4(c)). Next, the grappler 16 provided at the timber utilization facility 130 unloads the timber loaded onto the truck 15 (FIG. 4(d)).

[0056] After the timber has been unloaded, the empty truck 15 is sent to the lumberyard 120 (FIG. 4(e)). Then, steps (a) to (e) shown in FIG. 4 are repeated until all the timber is removed from the lumberyard 120.

[0057] For this reason, in the conventional lumber transport method, the loading grappler 160 can only load lumber onto the truck 15 while the truck 15 is parked at the lumber yard 120. Therefore, in the conventional lumber transport method, even if multiple trucks 15 are used, the loading grappler 160 cannot function if there are no trucks 15 at the lumber yard 120 due to traffic congestion or the like.

[0058] Meanwhile, in the wood utilization facility 130, the wood unloaded by the grappler 16 is loaded onto the on-site transport truck 17 by the grappler 16 (FIG. 4(f)), and the wood is transported to a roofed overhead crane 134 provided near the location where the wood is to be used. Then, the wood is unloaded from the on-site transport truck 17 by the roofed overhead crane 134 (FIG. 4(g)).

[0059] Therefore, in this embodiment, a transport device 150 (trailer vehicle) is used to transport wood from the lumber yard 120 to the wood utilization facility 130. FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the process flow of the wood transport method of this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the process at the lumber yard 120A of the wood transport method of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the process at the wood utilization facility 130 of the wood transport method of this embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the transport route. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the transport device 150 at the start of work on the Nth day. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the transport work on the Nth day. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the transport device 150 at the start of work on the N+1th day. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the transport work on the N+1th day. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the transport device 150 at the start of work on the N+2th day. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the transport work on the N+2th day. 9, 11, and 13, the rack 154 on which wood has already been mounted is shown in black, and the rack 154 on which no wood has been mounted (empty) is shown in white.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 5, the timber transportation method includes a process for determining the amount of timber stored S210, a process for extracting lumber yard S100, a process for determining the number of vehicles required S220, a process for determining whether loading is complete S230, a process for sending grapplers S240, a process for determining the number of vehicles already loaded S250, and a process for transporting lumber from the lumber yard S260.

[0061] Hereinafter, the landslide site 120 currently being transported is referred to as landslide site 120A, and the landslide site 120 to be extracted next is referred to as landslide site 120B. In addition, three trailer heads 152 and 21 racks 154 are provided, and the loading capacity of the racks 154 is 40 m 3As shown in FIG. 9, at the start of work on the Nth day, the remaining amount of lumber in the lumberyard 120A is 280 m 3 Assume also that at the start of work on the Nth day, five racks 154 (#1 to #5) parked at the lumber yard 120A already have lumber loaded on them, and five racks 154 (#6 to #10) have not yet had lumber loaded on them. Assume also that five racks 154 (#21 to #25) parked at the wood utilization facility 130 already have lumber loaded on them, and five racks 154 (#40 to #44) have not yet had lumber loaded on them. Assume also that rack 154 (#30) with lumber already loaded on it is parked at the unloading location of the wood utilization facility 130.

[0062] [Wood storage amount determination process S210] The instruction unit 226 continues transporting lumber from the lumber yard 120A to the lumber utilization facility 130 until the amount of lumber remaining in the lumber yard 120A falls below a predetermined remaining amount (YES in S210). The predetermined remaining amount is the sum of the number of racks 154 that have no lumber loaded on them (empty racks 154) among the racks 154 parked in the lumber yard 120A and the loadable amount of the racks 154.

[0063] As shown in Fig. 6, the loading grappler 160 loads (loads) timber onto a plurality of racks 154 (Fig. 6(A)). The trailer head 152 is connected (coupled) to the rack 154 on which the timber has been loaded (Fig. 6(B), for example, 20 minutes), and the transport device 150 moves to the timber utilization facility 130 (Fig. 6(C), transportation route X1).

[0064] Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the transport device 150 arrives at the wood utilization facility 130, the weight of the wood loaded on the transport device 150 is measured by the measuring device 132, as in the comparative example (FIG. 7(D)).

[0065] Next, in this embodiment, the loaded platform 154 is detached from the trailer head 152 in the parking lot of the wood utilization facility 130 (FIG. 7(E)). In other words, the wood is transported together with the platform 154 to the wood utilization facility 130. The loaded platform 154 is connected to the towing vehicle 136 provided in the wood utilization facility 130 (FIG. 7(F)), and is moved from the parking lot to the roofed overhead crane 134 (FIG. 7(G)). Next, the wood is unloaded from the platform 154 by the roofed overhead crane 134 (FIG. 7(H)).

[0066] After the timber has been unloaded, the empty rack 154 is moved by the towing vehicle 136 to the parking lot of the wood utilization facility 130 (FIG. 7(I)), and then the empty rack 154 is detached from the towing vehicle 136 (FIG. 7(J)). As a result, multiple loaded racks 154 and empty racks 154 are parked in the parking lot of the wood utilization facility 130.

[0067] Then, an empty platform 154 is connected to the trailer head 152 detached in Fig. 7(E) (Fig. 7(K)), and the empty transport device 150 is forwarded to the lumberyard 120 (Fig. 7(L), transport route X2). The time required for the detachment in (E) and the connection in (K) is, for example, 20 minutes.

[0068] As shown in Fig. 6, the empty transport device 150 that has arrived at the yard 120 is separated into a trailer head 152 and an empty platform 154 (Fig. 6(M)). In this manner, Fig. 6(A), (B), (C), Fig. 7(D), (E), (F), (G), (H), (I), (J), (K), (L), Fig. 6(M) are repeated.

[0069] Note that (A) of Figure 6, (F) of Figure 7, (G) of Figure 7, (H) of Figure 7, (I) of Figure 7, and (J) of Figure 7 are performed independently of (B) of Figure 6, (C) of Figure 6, (D) of Figure 7, (E) of Figure 7, (K) of Figure 7, (L) of Figure 7, and (M) of Figure 7.

[0070] The instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer head 152A to transport the platform 154(#1) to the wood utilization facility 130 (transportation route X1) by the trailer head 152A until the remaining amount of lumber stored in the city lumber yard 120A falls below a predetermined remaining amount (YES in S210), for example, on the Nth day as shown in Fig. 10. Similarly, the instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer head 152B to transport the platform 154(#2) to the wood utilization facility 130 (transportation route X1) by the trailer head 152B.

[0071] Returning to Fig. 5, when the amount of remaining lumber in the city lumber yard 120A falls below a predetermined remaining amount (NO in S210), the instruction unit 226 shifts the process to the city lumber yard extraction process S100. For example, as shown in Fig. 10, on the Nth day, when the trailer head 152C starts transporting the platform 154 (#3) to the wood utilization facility 130, the instruction unit 226 shifts the process to the city lumber yard extraction process S100.

[0072] [Street yard extraction processing S100] The instruction unit 226 executes the above-mentioned lumberyard extraction process S100 to extract the next lumberyard 120B.

[0073] [Process for determining the number of units required S220] The instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer head 152 to transport empty racks 154 from the wood utilization facility 130 to the city yard 120A (transportation route X2) until the number of additional empty racks 154 required becomes 0 (YES in S220) in order to load all the lumber remaining in the city yard 120A, excluding the empty racks 154 currently parked in the city yard 120A. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer head 152A to forward the rack 154 (#40) to the city yard 120A (transportation route X2).

[0074] Then, when the number of empty racks 154 required to be added becomes 0 (NO in S220), the instruction unit 226 shifts the process to the loading completion determination process S230. For example, on the Nth day, when the forwarding (transportation route X2) of the rack 154 (#41) to the city yard 120A by the trailer head 152B is completed, the instruction unit 226 shifts the process to the loading completion determination process S230.

[0075] [Loading completion determination process S230] The instruction unit 226 instructs the loading grappler 160 to load timber onto the racks 154 until loading of timber onto all the racks 154 in the lumber yard 120A is completed (NO in S230).

[0076] Then, when loading of lumber onto all of the racks 154 at the lumber yard 120A is completed (YES in S230), the instruction unit 226 shifts the process to the grappler forwarding process S240.

[0077] 10, the instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer head 152A to transport the platform 154 (#4) from the wood utilization facility 130 to the city yard 120A (transportation route Y1). The instruction unit 226 also instructs the trailer head 152A to transport the platform 154 (#43) from the wood utilization facility 130 to the city yard 120B (transportation route Y2). Furthermore, the instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer head 152A to send only the trailer head 152A to the city yard 120A for the N+1th day (transportation route Y3).

[0078] Similarly, the instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer head 152B to transport the platform 154 (#5) from the wood utilization facility 130 to the town yard 120A (transportation route Y1). The instruction unit 226 also instructs the trailer head 152B to transport the platform 154 (#44) from the wood utilization facility 130 to the town yard 120B (transportation route Y2). Furthermore, the instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer head 152B to send only the trailer head 152B to the town yard 120A for the N+1th day (transportation route Y3).

[0079] Further, the instruction unit 226 issues an instruction to the trailer head 152C so that the platform 154 (#42) is transported from the wood utilization facility 130 to the lumber yard 120B (transportation route Y2).

[0080] The instruction unit 226 also instructs the trailer head 152C to send only the trailer head 152C to the lumber yard 120A (transportation route Y3). The instruction unit 226 then instructs the trailer head 152C to transport the rack 154 (#6) from the lumber yard 120A to the wood utilization facility 130 (transportation route Z1).

[0081] [Grappler Forwarding Processing S240] The instruction unit 226 issues an instruction to the trailer head 152 to forward the loading grappler 160 of the city yard 120A to the city yard 120B. To be more specific, as shown in FIG. 10, the instruction unit 226 first issues an instruction to the trailer head 152C to forward the trailer head 152C to which the platform 154 (#30) is connected to the city yard 120A (transportation route Z2). Then, in the city yard 120A, the loading grappler 160 is mounted on the platform 154 (#30). Then, the instruction unit 226 issues an instruction to the trailer head 152C to forward the platform 154 (#30) on which the loading grappler 160 is mounted from the city yard 120A to the city yard 120B (transportation route Z3).

[0082] [Installed number determination process S250] As shown in Fig. 12, on the N+1th day, the instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer heads 152A to 152C to transport the loaded platforms 154 to the wood utilization facility 130 until the number of loaded platforms 154 parked at the city yard 120A becomes 0 (YES in S250). At this time, the instruction unit 226 instructs the trailer heads 152A to 152C to forward the empty platforms 154 parked at the wood utilization facility 130 to the city yard 120B (transportation routes Y2 and AA2). Also, on the N+1th day, the loading grappler 160 at the city yard 120B loads wood onto the empty platforms 154.

[0083] Then, when the number of mounted racks 154 parked in the landslide yard 120A becomes 0 (NO in S250), the instruction unit 226 shifts the process to the landslide yard transportation process S260.

[0084] [Street yard transportation processing S260] The instruction unit 226 issues instructions to the loading grappler 160 and the trailer heads 152A-152C so that the lumber is transported from the lumber utilization facility 130 to the lumber yard 120B (transportation route AB1). The instruction unit 226 also issues instructions to the trailer heads 152A-152C so that the empty platform 154 is forwarded from the lumber utilization facility 130 to the lumber yard 120B (transportation route AB2).

[0085] Figure 15 is a diagram explaining the difference between the wood transporting method of this embodiment and a wood transporting method of a comparative example. Figure 15(a) is a diagram explaining the wood transporting method of the comparative example. Figure 15(b) is a diagram explaining the wood transporting method of this embodiment.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 15(a), the wood transportation method of the comparative example required a predetermined time for each of loading the wood at the lumber yard 120 (e.g., 60 minutes), transporting the wood (e.g., 60 minutes), unloading the wood from the truck 15 at the wood utilization facility 130 (e.g., 60 minutes), and sending the truck 15 back (e.g., 60 minutes).

[0087] In contrast, as shown in FIG. 15(b), the wood transport method of this embodiment allows wood to be loaded onto the platform 154 while the transport device 150 is transporting wood and while the transport device 150 is being sent out. Therefore, the wood transport method of this embodiment allows the trailer head 152 to function even while wood is being loaded. In other words, the wood transport method of this embodiment can reduce the time during which the trailer head 152 does not function while wood is being loaded. Furthermore, in the wood utilization facility 130, wood can be delivered to the wood utilization facility 130 simply by detaching the platform 154 from the trailer head 152. Therefore, the wood transport method of this embodiment allows the time during which the trailer head 152 does not function while wood is being unloaded to be reduced. As a result, the wood transport method of this embodiment can substantially reduce the waiting time required for loading and unloading in one transport device 150 (trailer head 152) to zero.

[0088] Therefore, the wood transport method of this embodiment can increase the number of times wood is transported from the lumber yard 120 to the wood utilization facility 130 per unit time (e.g., per day). Therefore, the wood transport method of this embodiment can transport a large amount of wood more quickly than the comparative example.

[0089] Furthermore, if the loading capacity of the platform 154 is larger than that of the comparative example truck 15, it is expected that the amount of goods carried (transported) per driver can be more than doubled, which is likely to reduce the unit shipping cost and carbon dioxide emissions, etc.

[0090] In the comparative example, the unloaded short logs (Fig. 5(d)) had to be piled up, and it took 20,000 m 2 In contrast, the wood transport method of the present embodiment requires only that the amount of wood used in one day at the wood utilization facility 130 be stored on the rack 154, and unloading can be omitted, so the parking space for the rack 154 alone can be reduced to, for example, 5,000 m 2 It will be possible to reduce the area to around 0.5 ha.

[0091] Furthermore, the wood transport method of this embodiment allows the wood storage function of the wood utilization facility 130 to be distributed to lumber yards 120 scattered throughout the collection area. Therefore, the wood utilization facility 130 only needs to temporarily store a few days' worth of raw materials on the racks 154.

[0092] Moreover, the wood transport method of this embodiment is different from the comparative example in that it does not require the unloading of (d) in Fig. 4. Therefore, it is possible to omit the grappler 16 and the operator of the grappler 16 in the wood utilization facility 130.

[0093] As described above, the lumber yard extraction unit 224 of the lumber management device 200 according to this embodiment extracts one or more lumber yard locations 120 from the multiple lumber yard locations 120 based on the moisture content of the stored lumber. The transporter 150 then transports the lumber from the extracted lumber yard location 120. This enables the lumber management device 200 to reduce variation in the moisture content of lumber transported to the wood utilization facility 130. Therefore, the lumber management device 200 can reduce the amount of lumber processing (drying, etc.) required at the wood utilization facility 130 and reduce the load required for processing.

[0094] In addition, the lumber yard extraction unit 224 of the wood management device 200 extracts lumber yards 120 that store lumber with low moisture content. This enables the wood utilization system 100 to transport lumber with low moisture content to the wood utilization facility 130 in a stable manner.

[0095] Furthermore, the timber management apparatus 200 can cause the transport device 150 to transport timber with a relatively low moisture content. Therefore, the timber management apparatus 200 can improve the transportation unit (carbon dioxide emissions) of the transport device 150 compared to the case of transporting timber with a high moisture content.

[0096] Furthermore, the city lumber yard extraction unit 224 extracts the city lumber yard 120 based on the moisture content of lumber brought in from the mountain lumber yard 110 in addition to the moisture content of lumber at the city lumber yard 120. This enables the lumber management device 200 to quickly move lumber from the mountain lumber yard 110, where lumber with a high moisture content is stored, to the city lumber yard 120. This makes it possible to start drying the lumber early in the city lumber yard 120.

[0097] In addition, the wood management device 200 transmits the planned wood consumption amount of the wood utilization facility 130 to the external server 40. This allows the harvesters and forest producers to understand the demand for wood and plan forest operations accordingly.

[0098] Although one embodiment has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can think of various modified or altered examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0099] For example, in the moisture content extraction step S110 of the above-described embodiment, the lumber yard extraction unit 224 extracts lumber yards 120 in which the moisture content of stored wood is 30% or less. Therefore, the wood utilization facility 130 is a facility that uses wood as fuel, such as a pellet manufacturing plant or a thermal power plant. However, the lumber yard extraction unit 224 may extract lumber yards 120 in which wood with a moisture content of 50% or less is stored. In this case, the wood utilization facility 130 may be a facility that produces chemical raw materials from wood or produces papermaking raw materials from wood, such as a biofuel production plant, a paper mill, or a plant that synthesizes raw materials.

[0100] In the above embodiment, the wood utilization system 100 includes the mountain yard 110. However, the wood utilization system 100 does not have to include the mountain yard 110. In this case, wood is transported directly from the felling site 10 to the city yard 120.

[0101] In the above embodiment, the first determination step S120 is exemplified as a case where it is determined whether or not there is a street landslide 120 with a moisture content of 30% or less. However, there is no limitation on the moisture content in the first determination step S120. For example, it may be determined whether or not there is a street landslide 120 with a moisture content of 40% or less in the first determination step S120. Similarly, the fourth determination step S170 is exemplified as a case where it is determined whether or not there is a street landslide 120 with a moisture content of 50% or less. However, there is no limitation on the moisture content in the fourth determination step S170. For example, it may be determined whether or not there is a street landslide 120 with a moisture content of 45% or less in the fourth determination step S170.

[0102] In the timber transporting method of the above embodiment, the instruction unit 226 directly issues instructions to the transporting device 150 (trailer head 152) and the loading grappler 160. However, the instruction unit 226 may issue instructions to the transporting device 150 (trailer head 152) and the loading grappler 160 via an external server 50 provided in the transport company. [Industrial Applicability]

[0103] The present disclosure can be used in a wood transport method and a wood management device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 150 Transport Equipment 152 Trailer head (traction engine) 154 Mount 160 Loading Grappler 200 Wood management equipment 224 Town land extraction part 226 Instruction section

Claims

1. A moisture content meter that measures the moisture content of wood transported from the mountain lumberyard to the city lumberyard; a reduction rate estimation unit that estimates a reduction rate of the moisture content of the wood stored in the lumber yard based on the measurement result of the moisture content meter; a moisture content estimating unit that estimates an estimated moisture content of the wood stored in the lumber yard based on the rate of decrease in moisture content; a lumber yard extraction unit that extracts one or more lumber yard(s) storing lumber having an estimated moisture content of 50% or less from among a plurality of lumber yard(s); an instruction unit that outputs an instruction to transport the wood from the lumber yard extracted by the lumber yard extraction unit to a wood utilization facility; a transport device that transports the wood from the lumber yard extracted by the lumber yard extraction unit to the wood utilization facility in response to the instruction output by the instruction unit; A wood utilization system equipped with:

2. The wood utilization system of claim 1, wherein, when there are multiple lumber yards storing lumber with an estimated moisture content of 50% or less, the lumber yard extraction unit extracts one of the multiple lumber yards storing lumber with an estimated moisture content of 50% or less based on the moisture content of wood stored in a mountain lumber yard from which the lumber is brought to the lumber yard.

3. The conveying device is one or more traction engines; 3. The wood utilization system according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of racks detachable from the traction engine and on which wood is loaded.

4. The wood utilization system according to claim 3 , wherein the number of said racks is greater than the number of said traction engines.

5. The instruction unit outputs the instruction to the traction engine of the transport device, The instruction unit further includes: outputting an instruction to the towing engine to connect the rack on which the lumber is loaded to the towing engine at the lumber yard; outputting an instruction to the towing machine to which the rack on which the timber is loaded is connected so that the towing machine moves to the timber utilization facility; In the wood utilization facility, an instruction is output to the towing machine so that the rack on which the wood is loaded is detached from the towing machine; outputting an instruction to the towing machine to connect the empty rack after the wood has been unloaded in the wood utilization facility to the towing machine; The wood utilization system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the towing engine connected to the empty platform outputs an instruction to the towing engine so that the empty platform is forwarded to the street yard.

6. The wood utilization system according to claim 5, wherein the lumber yard extraction unit extracts a new lumber yard when the amount of lumber stored at the lumber yard falls below a value obtained by multiplying the number of empty racks parked at the lumber yard and the load capacity of the racks.

7. The wood utilization system according to claim 6, wherein the instruction unit outputs an instruction to the towing engine to send the loading grappler to the new lumber yard once all of the lumber stored in the yard has been loaded onto the platform by the loading grappler.

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