Method and device for supporting tree felling.

Abstract

In logging operations involving overhead or downward loads, the ground routing of cables for wired power supply drones posed a risk of accidents such as damage, entanglement, and tipping, and also made power-saving operation difficult. [Solution] A wired drone is flown in from above or below the tree to be felled, and a power supply cable is routed through cable support bases installed on multiple tree tops in an aerial path. The drone lands on top of the tree using a net to ensure power saving, and a rope is lowered from a reel to secure the trunk with a double harness. Tension is applied from above or below during felling to prevent the tree from falling, and after felling, the collection of timber in the direction of the load is made easier.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a standing tree felling support drone and a felling support method implemented using the standing tree felling support drone.

Background Art

[0002] Forestry is an industry with the highest ratio of industrial accidents among all industries, and ensuring its safety is an extremely important theme. Many accidents occur during felling or when transporting (skidding) felled trees to the foot of the mountain.

[0003] Conventionally, standing tree felling operations have been carried out manually or by heavy machinery from the ground. Especially in sloping areas or forest-dense areas, there is a serious problem of frequent occurrence of injuries and deaths of workers during the felling of falling trees or when transporting felled trees to the foot of the mountain, and an effective method to reduce the accident rate has not yet been established.

[0004] On the other hand, due to the recent development of drone technology, aerial work support that is low-cost and enables precise control has become a practical reality. At the actual work site, there is a need to prevent unintended falling of trees during felling by suspending the felling target tree (200 to 300 kg) from above with a drone or applying upward tension.

[0005] However, even for drones with a high output of 110 to 160 kW that can handle such applications and are equipped with a lithium-ion battery (about 200 kg) with an increasing energy density in recent years, the flight time is limited to about 20 to 35 minutes. If continuous operation for more than one hour is to be achieved, it is necessary to additionally install a battery on the order of several hundred kilograms, which will result in an increase in the size and cost of the drone. Therefore, a radical improvement is required regarding the energy supply method and power consumption control in drones.

[0006] As an alternative, the use of wired-powered drones can be considered. Since standing trees are about 10 to 20 meters tall, continuous work would be possible if power could be supplied from above. However, generators capable of supplying more than 110 kW of power (150 kVA class) weigh about 2.5 tons and are 1 meter square in size, making them difficult to transport, install, and refuel in mountainous areas. Furthermore, laying cables on the ground increases the risk of entanglement with branches and rocks, leading to damage and accidents, and fuel storage also increases the risk of forest fires. Therefore, power saving in drones and innovation in cable routing are essential. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a cutting device that can be attached to a drone to select vegetation at high altitudes near power lines. This allows workers to maintain a safe distance from the electrical hazard zone. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020 / 0367441 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] However, the conventional technologies described above do not support the process of felling trees from the trunk and safely removing the felled trees; they only improve the safety of sweeping away tree branches. Based on these challenges, the present invention aims to provide a method for felling standing trees using a drone that can be carried out safely without compromising the efficiency of thinning work, and a standing tree felling support device using a wired power supply and tree-attaching drone necessary for realizing this method. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The method of the present invention includes the step of flying a drone from above (upper part of the mountain) or below (lower part of the mountain) the tree to be felled, and routing a power supply cable in the air via a cable support base provided on the top of the tree along the flight path. The drone lands on the target tree or surrounding trees using a mesh support structure to ensure power saving, and a rope is unfurled from a reel mechanism for a ground worker to attach a harness to the trunk. After attachment, the drone hovers directly above the target tree, applying tension to the rope to prevent the tree from unexpectedly falling after felling. With this configuration, logging operations can be safely carried out in the direction of upward or downward loading after felling.

[0010] The drone of the present invention is equipped with a wired power supply interface, a reel mechanism, a rope, multiple harnesses, and a mesh support structure for tree attachment, and is further configured to allow power supply cables to be sequentially placed on multiple cable support bases provided along the drone's flight path. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to this invention, cable damage and entanglement accidents can be avoided by using an overhead route that does not require cables to be laid on the ground. Power saving through tree attachment and overhead suspension holding significantly reduces the risk of tree fall accidents, enabling safe continuous work. Furthermore, efficiency and safety are greatly improved in both cases of overhead timber collection, where felled timber is lifted upwards, and downward timber collection, where it is safely transported downwards. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating the system structure according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram illustrates the state of tree attachment and rope descent. [Figure 3] The harness is installed and tensioned. [Figure 4] This is the overhead cable routing path. [Figure 5] The felled timber is being transported to the collection point by being suspended by a drone. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart of the logging method. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The system structure according to this embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The embodiments shown below are illustrative of one aspect of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention to the following aspects.

[0014] (Basic system configuration) Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the system configuration. The drone 10 comprises an arm 11, a tree-attaching net 12, and a reel mechanism 13. The reel mechanism 13 can wind up and unwind a rope 14 having harnesses 15 and 16. The drone 10 is connected to a power supply cable 19 and can receive power from a power supply device 18 via the power supply cable 19. The power supply cable 19 may be routed in the air using a cable support base 17 (not shown). The drone 10 may be controlled by an operator 31 via a controller 20 (not shown), or it may be configured to fly automatically through autonomous control.

[0015] (A structure that allows trees to attach to the target of felling.) Figure 2 illustrates the drone's landing operation on the tree to be felled. One or more arms 11, extended below the drone 10, hold the landing net 12. The landing net 12 consists of, for example, a 1-meter square frame made of metal, resin, or wood, with a mesh within the frame spaced 5 centimeters apart. The drone 10 descends from above the tree to be felled, and the landing net 12 makes contact with the branches and leaves at the top of the tree, allowing the drone 10 to land stably on the tree. The size of the frame and the spacing of the mesh can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the height of the tree and the spread of its branches.

[0016] (Fastening structure of the target of logging) The tying operation for felling will be described using FIG. 3. The reel mechanism 13 can wind and pay out the rope 14. The harnesses 15 and 16 each have a belt and a fastening structure, and can be wound around and fixed to the outer circumference of the tree by the operator 31 before felling. When the standing tree to be felled is felled while the drone is exerting lift, the lift of the drone applies tension to the rope 14, thereby preventing the standing tree to be felled from freely falling, and at least improving the safety of the operation.

[0017] (Power supply to the drone) The power supply operation to the drone 10 will be described using FIG. 4. The cable support base 17 is a base for aerial wiring of the power supply cable 19. For example, the operator 31 may operate the drone 10 to aerial wire the power supply cable 19 to the cable support base 17, or the drone 10 may achieve this by autonomous flight. Further, a sensor and a control device that enable alignment of the power supply cable 19 and the cable support base 17 may be attached to the drone 10.

[0018] (Cable stand) The cable support base shall be installed in the necessary location in advance. The power supply cable 19 may have a length that can supply power from the take-off point of the drone to directly above the standing tree to be felled. Regarding the power supply cable 19, the presence or absence of a reel or the like is not a problem as long as it does not get entangled before take-off. The drone 10 always receives wired power supply from the ground power supply device 18 via the power supply cable 19. The drone 10 flies from above or below the standing tree 21 to be felled to determine its position, and supports the power cable 19 in the air route by a plurality of cable support bases 17, thereby preventing the cable from contacting the ground or branches.

Embodiment

[0019] Next, the steps of felling a standing tree will be described using FIG. 6. Note that the drone 10 may be operated by the operator 31 using the controller 20, or the drone 10 may fly autonomously.

[0020] (preparation) Worker 31 identifies the trees to be felled. Worker 31 identifies the cable routing route from the power supply device 18 to the trees to be felled and installs cable support bases 17 along that route as appropriate. [Industrial applicability]

[0021] (Step 1) The drone 10 flies in such a way that the power supply cable 19 is suspended in the air from the cable support base 17, while flying the drone 10 to directly above the standing tree to be felled.

[0022] (Step 2) Drone 10, having flown to directly above the tree to be felled, descends to the height of the tree and lands on top of it.

[0023] (Step 3) The drone 10 lowers the harnesses 15 and 16 to a fixed position on the trunk of the tree to be felled using the rope 14.

[0024] (Step 4) Person 31 attaches the harnesses 15 and 16, which are attached to the ends of the rope 14, to the tree 21 to be felled.

[0025] (Step 5) The drone 10, which is attached to the tree, rises into the air and then hovers directly above the tree to be felled, while the reel mechanism 13 winds up the rope 14, applying upward tension to the rope 14.

[0026] (Step 6) Worker 31 cuts down the trees that are to be felled.

[0027] (Step 7) Drone 10 flies the felled trees, still suspended from them, to a predetermined collection point.

[0028] (Step 8) The drone 10 descends and lowers the tree, at which point the worker 31 removes the harnesses 15 and 16.

[0029] (Step 9) Drone 10 moves to the next work location.

[0030] By following the steps described above, worker 31 can safely carry out logging operations without compromising efficiency. This configuration is applicable to both upper and lower loading directions and allows for flexible operation according to the terrain and transport equipment at the work site.

[0031] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes and improvements can be made to the structure of the reel mechanism 13, the shape of the net for planting 12, the type of power supply device 18, etc., depending on the application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 10: Drone body 11: Arm 12: Net for planting 13: Reel 14: Rope 15: Harness 16: Harness 17: Cable support stand 18:Power supply device 19: Power supply cable 21: Trees to be felled 22: Surrounding trees 31: Worker

Claims

1. A wired power supply drone, It flew onto a standing tree, It grows attached to the aforementioned standing tree, The reel mechanism of the aforementioned wired power supply drone pays out a rope equipped with a harness that can be fixed to the standing tree. The aforementioned wired power supply drone further With the harness fixed to the tree, it hovers above the tree, generating tension in the rope. After the aforementioned trees are felled, the aircraft flies to the collection point with the trees suspended from the ground. A method for supporting tree felling, characterized by the following features.

2. The arms extended downwards, The tree-attaching net supported by the aforementioned arm, A reel mechanism capable of winding up and unwinding a rope equipped with at least two harnesses, A tree felling support drone equipped with these features.

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