Mobile weeding device

Abstract

To provide a mobile weeder capable of removing unnecessary plants by laser irradiation while enhancing safety.SOLUTION: A mobile weeder includes: a laser irradiation device configured so as to radiate laser beams to a plant from above the plant; a cylindrical light shielding shield wall disposed so as to surround a laser beam irradiation space; and a device body for holding the laser irradiation device and the shield wall, which includes a moving mechanism.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a mobile weeding device. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known weeding devices that use laser irradiation to remove unwanted plants (i.e., weeds) in farmland (see Patent Documents 1 to 3). These weeding devices irradiate unwanted plants with laser light from above, damaging and killing the plants. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-53941 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-53942 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-62412 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Laser light used to damage unwanted plants is harmful to the human body (especially the retina), so weeding devices that use laser light must protect nearby workers from scattered laser light.

[0005] An object of one aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a mobile weeding device that can remove unwanted plants by irradiating them with a laser while increasing safety. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure is a mobile weeding device that includes a laser irradiator configured to irradiate a plant with laser light from above the plant, a light-shielding cylindrical shielding wall arranged to surround the laser light irradiation space, and a device main body that holds the laser irradiator and the shielding wall and has a movement mechanism.

[0007] According to this configuration, the light-blocking shielding wall prevents the laser light from scattering outside the irradiation area, thereby protecting the worker from the laser light and improving safety during weeding work.

[0008] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the shielding wall may be disposed so as to provide a vertical gap between the shielding wall and the ground at least when the mobile weeding device is moving. This configuration prevents the shielding wall from coming into contact with the crops when the mobile weeding device is moving, thereby reducing damage to the crops.

[0009] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the shielding wall may have an opening and an inclined portion extending from above the opening toward the inside and downward in the radial direction of the shielding wall and overlapping with the opening in the vertical direction. With this configuration, scattering of the laser light is suppressed and an operator can view the inside of the shielding wall from the opening along the extension direction of the inclined portion. Therefore, the operator can check the operating status of the mobile weeding device while maintaining safety.

[0010] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the inclined portion may overlap the opening in the horizontal direction. This configuration suppresses leakage of laser light irradiated from above through the opening, thereby improving safety.

[0011] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the shielding wall may have an angle adjustment mechanism configured to swing the inclined portion up and down. With this configuration, the distance at which the worker can see inside the shielding wall can be adjusted, thereby promoting improved safety. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile weeding device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device in the mobile weeding device of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a shielding wall in the mobile weeding device of FIG. [Figure 4] 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams showing openings and shielding portions in the shielding wall of FIG. [Figure 5] 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams showing an angle adjustment mechanism in the shielding wall of FIG. [Figure 6] 6A and 6B are schematic diagrams showing the upper and lower parts of the shielding wall of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments to which the present disclosure is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. [1. First embodiment] [1-1.Configuration] The mobile weeding device 1 shown in Figure 1 is a device for removing unwanted plants P2 (i.e., weeds) that have grown around crops P1 in farmland. The mobile weeding device 1 includes a device main body 2, a laser irradiator 3, a camera 4, a control device 5, and a shielding wall 6.

[0014] <Device body> The device main body 2 is a housing that holds the laser irradiator 3, the camera 4, the control device 5, and the shielding wall 6. The device main body 2 also has a movement mechanism.

[0015] The movement mechanism of this embodiment is composed of a plurality of wheels 21. The device body 2 is configured to travel on farmland using the plurality of wheels 21. The movement mechanism may be an electric type in which the wheels 21 are rotated by a motor, or a manual type in which the device body 2 is moved by an operator pushing or pulling it. Furthermore, the device body 2 may be equipped with one or more electric crawlers instead of the wheels 21 as the movement mechanism.

[0016] <Laser irradiator> The laser irradiator 3 is configured to irradiate the unwanted plants P2 with laser light L from above the unwanted plants P2. The laser irradiator 3 may be configured to irradiate the unwanted plants P2 with laser light L from above by changing the direction of the laser light L using an optical element such as a mirror.

[0017] The laser irradiator 3 damages (specifically burns) the unwanted plants P2 with the laser light L, thereby causing the unwanted plants P2 to wither and die. The laser light L is irradiated onto, for example, the growing point of the unwanted plants P2. The growing point of the unwanted plants P2 is determined by the control device 5 based on the image captured by the camera 4.

[0018] A known laser irradiation device including a battery, an oscillator, and a focusing unit can be used as the laser irradiator 3. The frequency of the laser light from the laser irradiator 3 is, for example, not less than 430 nm and not more than 675 nm.

[0019] The laser irradiator 3 may irradiate the laser while the device main body 2 is moving, or may irradiate the laser while the device main body 2 is stationary. The laser irradiator 3 sequentially irradiates the laser onto the plurality of unwanted plants P2 identified by the control device 5.

[0020] <Camera> The camera 4 is configured to acquire an image of farmland containing a mixture of crops P1 and unwanted plants P2 photographed from above.

[0021] The images captured by camera 4 include at least one crop P1, at least one unwanted plant P2, and other objects (for example, structures such as fences, obstacles such as stones, etc.). The imaging range of camera 4 changes as device main body 2 moves.

[0022] <Control device> The control device 5 mainly controls the laser irradiator 3. The control device 5 is configured by a computer including, for example, a processor, a storage medium such as RAM and ROM, a communication unit, and an input / output unit. As shown in Fig. 2, the control device 5 has an image processing unit 51 and a laser control unit 52.

[0023] The image processing unit 51 is configured to identify unwanted plants P2 from the image captured by the camera 4. The image processing unit 51 identifies unwanted plants P2 using AI (artificial intelligence) constructed using a known statistical method.

[0024] Statistical methods include, for example, supervised machine learning, multivariate analysis, etc. In supervised machine learning, a decision formula (i.e., a classifier) ​​is constructed by analyzing a large number of labeled plant images (i.e., training data) using a machine learning circuit.

[0025] The image processing unit 51 also determines the growing point of the unwanted plant P2 identified by AI. The growing point is a part that mainly contains tissue with active cell division at the tip of the plant stem, and can be identified depending on the type of plant.

[0026] The laser control unit 52 instructs the laser irradiator 3 to irradiate the coordinates of the unwanted plants P2 identified by the image processing unit 51 with laser light. The laser control unit 52 inputs the irradiation coordinates, irradiation time, irradiation intensity, etc. to the laser irradiator 3.

[0027] <Shielding wall> As shown in FIG. 3, the shielding wall 6 is a cylindrical member arranged to surround the space irradiated with the laser light L from the laser irradiator 3.

[0028] The shielding wall 6 is made of a light-shielding material such as a steel plate or a resin plate. From the viewpoint of weather resistance and durability, a stainless steel plate or a plated steel plate is suitable as the material for the shielding wall 6. The weather resistance and durability can be improved by surface treatment such as painting. In this embodiment, the shielding wall 6 has a rectangular cylindrical shape that surrounds the irradiation space of the laser light L from all sides. However, the shielding wall 6 may have a polygonal cylindrical shape other than a rectangular cylindrical shape, or a cylindrical shape.

[0029] The shielding wall 6 has a plurality of openings 61 and a plurality of inclined portions 62. The openings 61 are slits that connect the outside and inside of the shielding wall 6. The inclined portions 62 are plate-shaped portions that block the line of sight of the worker W into the inside of the shielding wall 6.

[0030] 4A, opening 61 is a space that extends from a hole provided in vertical portion 63 extending in the up-down direction of shielding wall 6 to between inclined portion 62 and vertical portion 63. Opening 61 allows a line of sight from above at a certain incline with respect to the horizontal direction to pass through to the inside of shielding wall 6. Note that a light-transmitting member may be disposed inside opening 61.

[0031] The inclined portion 62 extends from above the opening 61 radially inward and downward of the shielding wall 6. Specifically, the inclined portion 62 extends from the upper end of the opening 61 (i.e., the lower end of the vertical portion 63). However, the inclined portion 62 does not necessarily have to extend from the upper end of the opening 61. In other words, the inclined portion 62 does not necessarily have to extend from the end of the vertical portion 63.

[0032] The inclined portion 62 has an inner surface that can be seen from above inside the shielding wall 6, and an outer surface that faces the opening 61 inside the shielding wall 6 and is inclined relative to the horizontal direction. The inclined portion 62 has a shape in which a part of the shielding wall 6 is cut and bent inward.

[0033] The shielding wall 6 has a plurality of openings 61 and a plurality of inclined portions 62 arranged alternately in the vertical direction. The plurality of openings 61 and the plurality of inclined portions 62 form louvers that allow the interior of the shielding wall 6 to be viewed from a certain angle. Note that the components of the louvers may be made of a material different from the material of the other portions of the shielding wall 6.

[0034] 4A, the inclined portion 62 prevents the laser light L irradiated from above from leaking from the opening 61. This contributes to improving safety. The louver structure may be provided on at least one surface of the shielding wall 6.

[0035] 4B, the shielding wall 6 may have a plate-shaped connecting portion 64 that connects the lower end of the inclined portion 62 and the vertical portion 63. In this case, the opening 61 is formed by a hole provided in the connecting portion 64. The opening 61 is formed, for example, by punching the connecting portion 64. The connecting portion 64 extends from the lower end of the inclined portion 62 radially outward and downward of the shielding wall 6.

[0036] 5A, the inclined portion 62 may overlap the opening 61 in both the vertical and horizontal directions. Furthermore, the lower end of the inclined portion 62 may overlap the vertical portion 63 in the horizontal direction.

[0037] The shielding wall 6 has an angle adjustment mechanism 65 shown in Fig. 5A. The angle adjustment mechanism 65 is configured to swing the inclined portion 62 up and down. In other words, the angle adjustment mechanism 65 changes the inclination angle Θ formed between the outer surface of the inclined portion 62 and the inner surface of the vertical portion 63. The angle adjustment mechanism 65 is a hinge that swingably connects the upper end of the inclined portion 62 to the vertical portion 63.

[0038] The angle adjustment mechanism 65 allows the shielding wall 6 to be displaced between an open state in which the opening 61 is present as shown in FIG. 5A and a closed state in which the opening 61 is not present (i.e., the opening 61 is blocked) as shown in FIG. 5B.

[0039] Therefore, the shielding wall 6 can be closed during weeding work, and opened when checking the inside of the shielding wall 6. Furthermore, by adjusting the inclination angle Θ of the inclined portion 62, the distance at which the inside of the shielding wall 6 can be seen can be changed to suit, for example, the height of the worker W. A preferable range for the inclination angle Θ is, for example, 15° to 45°.

[0040] Furthermore, the brightness of the area photographed by the camera 4 during the day can be adjusted by adjusting the tilt angle Θ of the tilted portion 62. As a result, the accuracy with which the image processing unit 51 recognizes the unwanted plants P2 can be improved.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 6A, shielding wall 6 has an upper portion 6A connected to device body 2 and a lower portion 6B connected to upper portion 6A from below. The lower end of lower portion 6B is positioned away from the ground of the farmland. Specifically, the lower end of lower portion 6B is located above crops P1.

[0042] Shielding wall 6 is configured so that lower portion 6B can be moved up and down. Therefore, as shown in Figure 6B, when crop P1 is taller than in Figure 6A, lower portion 6B can be moved upward more than in Figure 6A.

[0043] Furthermore, the shielding wall 6 may be configured so that the lower end of the lower portion 6B contacts the ground when the device body 2 is stopped, and so that the lower portion 6B moves upward when the device body 2 is moving. In other words, the shielding wall 6 only needs to be arranged so that a vertical gap is provided between the shielding wall 6 and the ground at least when the device body 2 is moving.

[0044] Mobile weeding device 1 may be equipped with a sensor that detects the size of crops P1 present in the traveling direction of device body 2. Control device 5 may be configured to automatically raise and lower lower portion 6B of shielding wall 6 based on the detection result of this sensor.

[0045] [1-2.Effects] According to the embodiment described above in detail, the following effects can be obtained. (1a) The light-shielding shielding wall 6 prevents the laser light from scattering outside the irradiation area. This protects the worker from the laser light, thereby improving safety during weeding work.

[0046] (1b) By arranging the shielding wall 6 so that a vertical gap is provided between the shielding wall 6 and the ground when the device body 2 is moving, the shielding wall 6 is prevented from coming into contact with the crops when the mobile weeding device 1 is moving, thereby suppressing damage to the crops.

[0047] (1c) The shielding wall 6 has the opening 61 and the inclined portion 62, which suppresses scattering of the laser light and allows the operator to view the inside of the shielding wall 6 from the opening 61 along the extension direction of the inclined portion 62. Therefore, the operator can check the operating status of the mobile weeding device 1 while maintaining safety.

[0048] (1d) The angle adjustment mechanism 65 can adjust the distance at which the worker can see inside the shielding wall 6. As a result, safety can be improved.

[0049] 2. Other Embodiments Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can take on various forms.

[0050] (2a) In the mobile weeding device of the above embodiment, the shielding wall does not necessarily have to have an opening and an inclined portion.

[0051] (2b) In the mobile weeding device of the above embodiment, the mode of movement of the device body is not limited to traveling. The mobile weeding device may move by flying, for example.

[0052] (2c) The mobile weeding device of the above embodiment does not necessarily have to include an image processing unit. For example, the laser irradiator may irradiate laser light based on the position of unwanted plants input by an operator.

[0053] (2d) The function of one component in the above embodiments may be distributed among multiple components, or the functions of multiple components may be integrated into one component. Also, part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be omitted. Furthermore, at least part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be added to or substituted for the configuration of another of the above embodiments. All aspects included in the technical idea identified by the wording of the claims are embodiments of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1...mobile weeding device, 2...device body, 3...laser irradiator, 4...camera, 5...control device, 6...shielding wall, 6A...upper part, 6B...lower part, 21...wheel, 51...image processing part, 52...laser control section, 61...opening section, 62...inclined section, 63...vertical section, 64...connecting section, 65...Angle adjustment mechanism.

Claims

1. a laser irradiator configured to irradiate a laser beam toward the plant from above the plant; a light-shielding cylindrical shielding wall arranged to surround the laser light irradiation space; an apparatus main body that holds the laser irradiator and the shielding wall and has a movement mechanism; Equipped with The shielding wall is An opening; an inclined portion that extends from above the opening toward the inside and downward in the radial direction of the shielding wall and overlaps with the opening in the up-down direction; A mobile weeding device having:

2. The mobile weeding device according to claim 1, The mobile weeding device is arranged so that a vertical gap is provided between the shielding wall and the ground at least when the device body is moving.

3. The mobile weeding device according to claim 1 or 2, The mobile weeding device, wherein the inclined portion overlaps with the opening in the horizontal direction.

4. A mobile weeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The shielding wall has an angle adjustment mechanism configured to swing the inclined portion in the up and down direction.

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