Autonomous machine system and harvesting method

Abstract

The invention pertains to the area of harvesting large plots of land with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preventing permanent soil compaction, reducing labor and removing weed plants and seeds from the plot. The invention proposes a system integrated by a swarm of autonomous vehicles that perform the function of harvesting and transporting the harvested material to a thresher that is positioned in a strategic location within the plot where it works statically. The harvesters travel through the plot, taking defined paths while conveyors define the optimal route between the harvester and thresher to transport the crop and return empty. A master control coordinates information from the computers involved in the swarm to ensure that the routes of each autonomous vehicle are perfectly established.

Description

[0001] TITLE OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Autonomous machine system and harvesting method.

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The invention is located in the field of agricultural crop harvesting systems and methods for large plots of land, which is generally carried out with harvesting machines called combines, because they collect the crop from the plot and thresh it by separating the seed from the rest of the biomass within the same vehicle while advancing through the plot.

[0005] STATE OF THE ART AND PROBLEMS TO RESOLVE

[0006] In the origins of extensive machine agriculture, the harvest was predominantly developed in two steps, where various machines came into play. On the one hand, the plant was cut with a reaper, binder or gleaner, and then threshed with another mechanical instrument.

[0007] The grain was expected to be well-ripened and the goal was to harvest and bale it as quickly as possible in order to avoid atmospheric accidents. The reaper required only one driver and one boy on horseback and was pulled by 2 animals that had to move twice a day. To transport the ears of grain, 2 carts or wagons were needed, pushed by 4 oxen or horses that were changed twice a day and were driven by their respective drivers, and for the construction of the vineyard, 2 loaders, a stacker, and a helper were required.

[0008] It was recommended that the best way to start cutting is from one of the sides of the seedbed, continuing around it, always turning to the right and approaching the center. This would avoid wasting time and trampling the harvested product.

[0009] Another of the machines that was introduced later was the gleaner. It was an easy-to-use instrument with a mechanism similar to the reaper. The gleaner mowed the plant and carried the cut ears to an elevator that deposited them on a wagon running in tandem. Once the wagon was full, it was replaced by another wagon, while the first one went directly to the stack to unload and restart the circuit. Its operation required the participation of 6 to 9 people, since it was necessary to have a machinist, a reaper, a stacker’s assistant, 2 or 3 wagon drivers, loaders and a quartermaster.

[0010] Gathering was done by hand, requiring the assistance of a large number of temporary workers. Full family groups participated in these tasks. Men, women, children, and the elderly took part in this demanding task under inhumane conditions. The gathering took place during the worst weather period (fall / winter): the days were short, there was dew, rain, low temperatures, mist and humidity that made the task difficult.

[0011] Once the grain had been cut and baled or gathered, it was time for threshing. These machines were used to receive the ears of wheat and return the clean, whole kernels. These machines worked steadily and needed a crew of about 25 day laborers and a steam engine. This operation resulted in wheat that was bagged and ready for sale.

[0012] The machine operator had to place the threshing machine next to the bale on the side where the wind favored the threshing forks, offered easy exit of the straw and avoided sparks from the engine onto the bale, and was also in charge of leveling the threshing machine, looking for an even spot. The boiler of the powerful steam engine was placed about 15 to 20 meters from the threshing machine and transmitted the power for its operation through a wide cross belt. The fuel needed for the steam engine came from dried wheat or flax straw, corn husks and, to a lesser extent, the coal that the stoker would bring in and bum continuously. A water carrier was in charge of carrying the water needed for the steam engine boiler and the crew, including the cook. A horse-drawn cart was used to carry the containers from the nearest mill and tank in the field to the place where the threshing was done. Two baggers, two harvesters and 6 to 8 forkmen had the task of feeding the machine’s bagger with the crop to be threshed. The “plowman” was in charge of removing the straw from the rear of the machine; there was also the “patroller”, who took care of the animals, and the “gatherer” and the “sewer” completed the crew.

[0013] The engine that powered the threshing machine could lack traction on the rear wheels, and therefore, in order to transport it from place to place, it had to be pulled with oxen or horses. Over the years, the use of portable steam engines that had this traction became generalized and were called locomotives. They were the first “tractors”, but they were very impractical as they had very rudimentary steering. The development in agricultural harvesting machinery was the combine, so called because it performed the three tasks of reaping, threshing and cleaning. Its heyday was delayed until the arrival of the internal combustion engine because it required a great deal of draft power by animal traction. It quickly went from reducing animal-powered traction to being pulled by a tractor, and soon after to being an autonomous machine. Such machining changed the way grains are handled in bags or sacks to doing them in bulk, which also resulted in significant labor savings because the bagger, bag sewer and staff who harvested the bags in the stubble were eliminated. The continuous improvement of the combine and the diesel engine has increased its productive capacity, and with the help of current GPS-assisted automatic driving technologies and sensors that report the yield, grain moisture, and operation of the different mechanisms, the number of workers required for harvesting and threshing in the past has been reduced to only two operators in the best of cases, the driver of the combine and the tractor driver who transports the grains in bulk.

[0014] Even so, the agri-food sector faces a severe labor and skills shortage that can hinder its productivity, resilience and sustainable development of the sector. This shortage is affected by policies that affect many different areas, such as education and training, labor markets, migration, and regional and rural development policies.

[0015] Agricultural labor is characterized by relatively low educational levels, relatively low remuneration, poor working conditions, and geographic isolation. Other important industry characteristics are the constant aging of the workforce and the unappealing nature of careers in the industry for young and qualified individuals.

[0016] The technological shift led to a major mismatch between industry needs and the supply of skilled labor. This means that people working in this sector need to continue to develop and update their technical skills to be able to understand and operate today’s agricultural machines.

[0017] Despite a shortage of labor and skilled personnel, agricultural production and productivity have continued to increase. Constant improvement in the power of the internal combustion engine allowed for increasingly larger and more productive autonomous combines.

[0018] The food industry is facing increasing challenges. These very characteristics of large, high-energy machinery and power requirements make it very difficult to incorporate renewable energy. In the most general sense, the incorporation of renewable energy through the electrification option involves the limitation of the accumulation of said energy. These large, energy-demanding machines complicate the energy transition. The process of working with smaller machinery and decoupling the collection system from the threshing process allows us to incorporate renewable energy in a viable way.

[0019] The industrial sector, which designs, manufactures, and sells rural machinery, is largely aimed at increasing operational capacity, precision agriculture equipment, and reducing energy consumption. The machine-soil relationship and its impact on the soil is not a primary design objective. As a result, machines are becoming increasingly larger, heavier, with wider working widths, and equipped with large tires to improve support and rolling.

[0020] The use of heavy machinery that exceeds the intrinsic capacity of soils to withstand traffic is dangerously affecting their edaphological architecture, represented by the porous space caused by the texture and structure of the soil.

[0021] Thus, soil compaction is the process caused by the displacement or transit of machinery with a heavy load, whereby soil particles are spatially rearranged in a way that increases the apparent density. As a result, a reduction in infiltration, gaseous diffusion, and hydraulic conductivity of the soil occurs, as well as an increase in mechanical resistance. This compaction restricts the functions and growth of the roots, and consequently, crop yield.

[0022] The negative effects caused by soil compaction are described below, first in the production operations themselves, and then those that affect the environment.

[0023] The surface compaction of the seedbed, the first 5 to 10 centimeters of the harvester tracks and, in a heterogeneous pattern, the tracks of the tractorharvester combination, generate two effects: less infiltration of rainwater or irrigation water and deficiencies in planting the new crop. The first is reduction of the rate of water entry into the soil, which generates a sheet of excess water and in turn reduces the use of rainfall. If the soil is on an undulating rise, it runs off or produces waterlogging in soils without slopes, and is lost through evaporation. Secondly, depending on the differences in moisture in the area inside and outside the furrow, on the hardness of the compacted sectors compared to the non-compacted ones, and on the seeding train, the seed may not be at a very homogeneous depth, and the furrow may be partially closed. On the one hand, heterogeneity in seeding depth leads to differences in the rate of seedling emergence. On the other hand, the permanence of compacted areas saturated with moisture or waterlogged due to lack of porosity affects germination and emergence, as well as exposing the seedlings to the action of pathogenic fungi. On sloping soils, this excess water runs off, causing the process of water erosion with the subsequent loss of soil particles and mulch in the case of direct sowing, with the carryover of fertilizers and pesticide residues that may have been applied, thus reducing their use.

[0024] The reduction of porosity, from the surface and at depth, reduces the capacity for accumulation of rain or irrigation water in the soil. The water accumulated in the soil is critical for the life of the crop during periods when rainfall does not occur to alleviate deficits. In addition, when the penetration resistance reaches values of 2 to 2.5 MPa, the growth of the roots and the volume of soil to be explored by them is limited, reducing the use of water and nutrients. In turn, the higher the apparent density of the soil, the less porous space, the less presence of O2 for the biological processes of the micro flora and plants.

[0025] The sum of these factors applied to the structure of the soil results in a level of reduction in crop yields, which can reach up to 80% in extreme cases.

[0026] Soil compaction also causes environmental damage such as gas emissions (greenhouse and other) and contamination of surface waterways and other crop or recreational sites.

[0027] The reduction in crop growth under compacted soil conditions means less photosynthesis and less CO2 binding of the atmosphere, and finally, less carbon sequestration in the soil. Under compacted soil conditions, at the lowest O2 concentration, more Methane (CH4) is produced and oxidation of the same is reduced; thus, the compacted soil releases more CH4 into the atmosphere than unaffected soil. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is 298 times more efficient than CO2 in increasing the greenhouse effect and agriculture accounts for about 58% of total emissions of this gas, caused by human activity. The formation of N2O in cultured soils arises from the microbial transformation of ammonium in the nitrification and de-nitrification processes. The application of nitrogen fertilizers and the mineralization of organic N from biomass are the main sources of ammonium, which, due to reduced root growth due to soil compaction, limits the use of fertilizer by plants, thus leaving more residue in the soil to be transformed to N2O. This excess N added to the low porosity of the soil compacted to absorb ammonia increases the emission of ammonia (NH3) to the atmosphere, which can precipitate in surface waters causing eutrophication that affects biodiversity.

[0028] The runoff mentioned above transports soil particles, nutrients, and agrochemicals which are deposited into other soils or watercourses, causing soil deposits, eutrophication, and eco-toxicity to biodiversity.

[0029] Because the soil increases its mechanical resistance to the action of implements, soil compaction involves greater use of fossil fuel for general tillage and cultivation operations, but even more so because it involves periodic deep tillage operations, to loosen the soil.

[0030] Compaction in layers or strata close to the surface is largely determined by the pressure in the tire-soil contact zone, while compaction at greater depths is primarily determined by load. The compaction generated by vehicles of less than 10 tons per axle reaches a depth of up to 15 or 20 cm and can be loosened or removed with simple tillage operations. On the other hand, when equipment reaches a weight of up to 18 or 40 tons per axle, as is the case with today’s combine harvesters, where not only are they increasingly larger and heavier, but also where most of their weight is applied to the front axle of the machine, regardless of its wheels, tracks or tires, compaction can reach a depth of up to 90 cm. This compaction in the subsoil is so severe that nothing can be done mechanically to correct it and it may take up to 10 years to disappear.

[0031] Another challenge that seems to be more important after each harvest is the spread of weeds, which, in the absence of control or management, yields losses due to weed competition reaching values between 30% and 60%, depending on the crop and the weed. The total cost of herbicide products used in major grain crops (excluding application costs) represents about 10% of the gross value of production of such crops.

[0032] The main mechanism of weed propagation is “seeding by combine”, which returns to the field all biomass that is not grain from the crop to be harvested, including weed seeds that number in the hundreds of thousands per plant, and worse yet, the weed plant that survived herbicide control carries herbicide- resistant genetics in its seeds, resulting in an incremental problem.

[0033] That is, that there are many inconveniences that the current system of harvesting with combines cannot solve, since it would be necessary to increase labor to reduce the excessive weight generated by compaction, but that is opposed to the permanent increase in the size of the machine to improve productivity without incorporating labor as is currently done, thanks to the available power of the internal combustion diesel engine, which makes it possible to perform all the processes in a single combined machine, at the expense of the emission of greenhouse gases.

[0034] There are some solutions that are not autonomous, but instead of using combined machines to harvest, they use another type of machine to cut the crop and deliver it to a truck which takes it out of the plot and delivers it to a threshing mill. For example, we see in patent “US5873226”, which provides a system for harvesting and cleaning a crop of plants, including a harvesting unit pulled by a tractor, for cutting a crop from a field area and for threshing that crop to produce straw, which it returns to the same field area, and a mixture including grains, straw, and weed seeds, harvested inside the harvesting unit, and when the harvesting unit is full, it delivers this mixture to a dump truck for transport to a cleaning mill located in a yard area away from the field area, cleaning the mixture to produce clean grain and a product that is a mixture of straw and weed seeds.

[0035] In a second patent from the same applicant “W02000076294A2”, the information about this system is expanded, stating that the capacity of the collection unit to contain the mixture is equal to or lower than the capacity of the vehicle used for delivery, and that the rate at which the mixture is cleaned by the mill is equal to or greater than the rate at which it leaves the field of the plot. It also adds that as the distance between the field plot and the mill yard area increases, more mixture transport vehicles can be provided, but that at around 6 km of physical separation, a limit is reached where it is either too costly or impossible to provide enough vehicles to maintain the minimum required rate of mix collection and delivery.

[0036] Finally, a third patent from the same applicant “W02003101181A2” contemplates the establishment of a plurality of optimal sites for the cleaning mill determined by groups of lands non-adjacent to harvest crops. Then, an optimal site is established to clean the mixture from a group of field plots grouped by their relative proximity; once the cleaning of that group of plots is completed, the mill is moved to another optimal site to clean the mixture from another group of plots with crop to harvest; and thus moving the mill from one group to another to maximize the efficiency of the harvesting system.

[0037] Another example is patent publication “AR112882A1” which presents a procedure for collecting and processing weed seeds, which remove the weeds from the field plot, by means of a stripper head assembly with a power pack or tool carrier and a conveyor that transports it to a stationary processing plant where the material extracted from the field lot is threshed, separated, cleaned and unloaded. The main material is stored in silos or silo bags, and the material other than grain, which includes weed seeds, enters a grinder where they lose their germination power, thus avoiding the risk of their spread, then enters a densification unit, or if necessary, a mixer to add vitamins, drugs or dietary supplements, obtaining a product for livestock feed, which may consist of pellets, briquettes or extrudates.

[0038] Although they propose a different method of harvesting, they do not solve all the problems posed, and in addition, they are not the same method of harvesting, nor the same machine system that is proposed in the present invention.

[0039] Therefore, there is a need to generate innovations that allow for better use of soil in large plots, the crop, and the rest of the biomass extracted in the harvesting process, the working time of the machines within the plot, and that in turn help reduce soil compaction, the emission of greenhouse gases, and the subsequent use of agrochemicals.

[0040] It is therefore an object of the invention to make it possible for seed harvesting in large plots to be performed in a different manner than the traditional combine machine harvesting system.

[0041] Another object of the invention is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, distributing and / or reducing the amount of energy necessary to harvest the plot.

[0042] It is another object of the invention to reduce labor in working with machines within the plot by reducing occupational accidents in this process.

[0043] It is another object of the invention to reduce the impact of soil compaction by preventing working on a combined vehicle implement exceeding 10 tons of weight per axis, to avoid permanent compaction.

[0044] It is another object of the invention to increase the daily working hours of the machines on the plot.

[0045] It is another object of the invention to reduce the total time of the grain harvest campaign and increase the number of hectares worked per harvest window. It is another object of the invention to perform weed control by removing plants and seeds from the plot, dramatically reducing the use of agrochemicals for future applications.

[0046] And it is still another object of the invention to reuse the biomass extracted from the plot and separated from the grain so that it can be converted into useful or biofertilizing energy.

[0047] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0048] To achieve the objects of the invention, it is necessary to change the traditional harvesting method with combined machines and divide it into several steps. The vehicle that runs through the plot cutting the crop to be harvested is removed from the threshing unit, due to its high weight and high power cost required to operate it while moved throughout the plot, then the threshing unit is mounted on a chassis with wheels and placed in a strategic position on the plot. To continue reducing the weight and power requirement, two types of units, vehicle-implementation combine, will travel through the plot to collect the crop. A mowing unit will travel through the plot on a predetermined route to cut the crop and a transport unit will move the crop cut by the mowing unit from the mowing unit to where the threshing unit is located to deliver the crop to be statically processed at that location.

[0049] To carry out the harvesting method with separate threshing and fulfill the objects of the invention, it is necessary to implement a system of autonomous machines so as not to increase the need for human labor. The autonomous machine system proposed by the invention is executed and monitored by a single person suitable for the job, from a master control that can be accessed from their personal computer or other suitable device such as a tablet or smartphone.

[0050] The crop plot is then harvested by a swarm of autonomous vehicles with agricultural implements for this purpose and at least one threshing unit that works statically, intercommunicating with each other through a local communication network, managed by a master control that acts as the top-level control system of the swarm of autonomous machines.

[0051] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic sketch illustrating the crop harvesting method according to a preferred form of the present invention.

[0052] Figure 2 is a top front perspective view of the tandem harvester.

[0053] Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the tandem thresher.

[0054] Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the harvester unit.

[0055] Figure 5 is a front perspective view of the transport unit.

[0056] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the static thresher.

[0057] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0058] The invention relates to an autonomous crop harvesting system to be used in the harvesting of large plots of land by means of a harvesting method with separate threshing; where they occur, a threshing unit strategically positioned within the plot, receiving the biomass harvested from it by means of transport units, one or more harvester units are advanced over the crop, they cut it and deposit it inside the transport units, which are the agile and intelligent logistics link that takes the crop from the mobile collection point to the fixed point of the thresher.

[0059] The autonomous machine system will be coordinated by a master control that will act as the control system at the highest level of the swarm. We are calling “master control” the software modules running inside an industrial computer, i.e. , the “data center”, installed on or near the threshing unit, e.g. a trailer outside the plot. It will be tasked with managing the actions of the autonomous vehicle swarm, and will consist of several submodules running in the data center with processing capacity and speed in terms of communication networks such as to be able to send and receive information from the autonomous vehicles’ navigation computers. This system is considered local and part of the software / hardware group that will travel alongside autonomous vehicles to perform the work to be carried out on the plots to be harvested. It will also be tasked with managing the work to be performed by the agricultural implements mounted on the autonomous vehicles and the threshing unit, as well as being the means through which the user will interact with them. Provides quick access assistance to the user, technician, or field engineer in order to operate, diagnose, and perform maintenance of any of the autonomous vehicles, implements, or the swarm if necessary, through this they may be displayed in real time, provided that there is communication between the machines that are active and working. The autonomous machine system proposed by the invention is run and monitored by a single person from the master control which can be accessed from their personal computer or other suitable device such as a tablet or smart phone.

[0060] Figure 1 is a schematic sketch illustrating the crop harvesting method according to a preferred form of the present invention, in which it is observed a plot of a field (10) wherein crop harvesting is being performed by means of Gentle Farming’s de-combined harvesting system and method.

[0061] In this preferred form of the present invention, the working method of a swarm of six autonomous units for processing the plot (10) is detailed by the simplicity of explaining in a simple and practical way the role each of them plays and the method itself. This preferred form should not be limited to the expressed quantities of the autonomous units because such swarming may be smaller or larger, and the machines may be positioned in different ways according to particular conditions which will be detailed below.

[0062] So, Figure 1 is a schematic sketch that can be interpreted as a photo taken at a certain time of harvesting work on the plot (10). Within it, six autonomous units can be observed performing the work and three areas that divide the plot (10), these are: the tandem harvesters (13) and (13’) consisting of two autonomous units each that serve the purpose of advancing by collecting the crop along a predetermined route ranging from point (A) to (A’) for the tandem harvester (13) and point (B) to (B’) for the tandem harvester (13’), the threshing unit (14) strategically positioned within the plot (10) receives and separates the seed from the biomass, the transport unit (15) that at that time is observed delivering the crop to the threshing unit (14) and then made available to the tandem harvester (13) or (13’), whichever is required first, thus receiving the name “wild card”, the processed area (11) free of biomass where the transport units (15) can freely transit, the crop area (12) that is assigned to the tandem harvester (13) and the crop area (12’) that is assigned to the tandem harvester (13’).

[0063] Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the tandem harvester (13) that is tasked with harvesting the crop found on the plot and where it is observed that said tandem is composed of two autonomous units working in synchrony for this purpose. The harvesting unit (20) consisting of an autonomous vehicle (22) of the tool holder type, a harvesting head (23) suitable for cutting the crop in question and a feeder implement (24) carrying the cut crop to be deposited in the transport unit (15) consisting of an autonomous vehicle (22) of the same type but carrying the tool belonging to the transport unit, which is a hopper (25) that receives and contains the harvested biomass while the transport unit (15) is linked to the tandem harvester (13).

[0064] The harvester unit (20) follows the route defined for the tandem harvester (13) that goes from point (A) to (A’) from the beginning to the end, cutting and hauling the crop from the plot, but the transport unit (15) only follows that route from the time it is linked to the harvester unit (20), to form the tandem harvester

[0065] (13), with the hopper (25) empty until the time it is full and must abandon the link with the harvester unit (20). At this time when the tandem harvester (13) is separated, the transport unit (15) is found at a point X, determined by the geoposition of the “Global Navigation Satellite System” (hereinafter “GNSS”) receiver on the autonomous vehicle (22), within the processed area (11) and it must calculate the optimal route to reach the position of the thresher (14) in order to go to unload the contents of the hopper (25).

[0066] Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the tandem thresher whose linkage is generated when a transport unit (15) approaches the threshing machine (14) with the hopper (25) full of biomass to unload. Then, the autonomous vehicle (22) of the transport unit (15) that disengaged from the tandem harvester (13) when the hopper (25) was filled, is arriving at the receiving area (33) of the thresher (14) to unload the contents of its hopper (25), after traveling an optimal route inside the processed area (11).

[0067] The unloading of the hopper (25) must be done quickly so that the transport unit (15) is available immediately and calculates a new optimal route to replace the transport unit (15) of the tandem harvester (13) or (13’), whichever is expected to be filled first. In this preferred form of the invention, the unloading of the hopper (25) is performed by the lower part dropping the product contained therein onto the receiving area (33), another preferred form may be carried out by tipping the hopper (25).

[0068] The receiving area (33) enters the product into a buffer (34) that has the thresher (14) to separate the seed from the harvested biomass. The thresher

[0069] (14) has two product outlets, one being the grain unloader (31) and the second being the biomass residue unloader (32). All of these named components comprising the thresher (14) are powered by the power unit (30) which is detailed in depth below. Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the harvester unit (20) where it can be seen to be comprised of an autonomous vehicle (22) and two agricultural implements, a harvesting head (23) and a feeder (24), as mentioned above.

[0070] The master control uploads a file to the computer (44) of the autonomous vehicle (22), belonging to a harvester unit (20), with the route to be taken, starting at point (A) and ending at point (A’). This route, generated with personal computer software, must consider the working width (W) of the harvester head (23) in order to optimize production using all the available working width (W) of the same, and considering that the harvester head (23), used for com crops and shown as an example in the figures of the present invention, is not the only one used, but that any type of head can be used depending on the crop to be harvested, being able to have different working width (W); therefore, the route may be different for each type of harvester head (23).

[0071] Any harvester head (23) on the market may be used because the hauler (40) of the feeder implement (24) has the same characteristics as those found in current combine machines. One particularity is that in order to use the harvester head (23) with the system of the present invention, all commands of the motors, its moving parts, or the actuators to control the attack height or angle, must be able to be activated electronically.

[0072] When the harvester unit (20) is traveling the programmed route from (A) to (A’), it cuts the crop with the harvester head (23) that delivers it to the hauler (40) of the feeder implement (24), which in turn deposits it onto a conveyor belt (42) belonging to the same implement. It transports the harvested biomass to the drop point (43) at the rear of the harvester unit (20). When below the drop point (43) is a transport unit (15) and the tandem harvesters linkage (13) is formed, the conveyor belt (42) operates at a speed that depends on the yield and feed rate of the autonomous vehicle (22), causing the biomass harvested by the harvester head (23) to exit through the drop point (43). When the hopper (25) of the transport unit (15) is filled with biomass, an electronic signal is sent to the harvester unit (20) to stop the conveyor belt (42) and the conveyor unit can be unlinked without loss of crop. For times when there is no tandem harvester linkage (13) and for the harvester unit (20) to continue to work harvesting the crop, the feeder implement (24) must have a buffer (41) to be able to store biomass until an empty hopper (25) is positioned below the drop point (43). At this time, when the tandem harvester linkage (13) is re-formed by the arrival of an empty transport unit (15), the conveyor belt (42) is actuated at full speed until the buffer (41) is completely emptied, and then returns to the speed regulated by the feed rate and yield.

[0073] Figure 5 is a front perspective view of the transport unit (15) where it can be seen to be comprised of an autonomous vehicle (22) and a hopper (25) as an agricultural implement, as mentioned above. This unit fulfills the function of containing the biomass that is harvested from the plot and transporting it from where it is linked to a harvester unit (20) to where the thresher (14) is located.

[0074] When a transport unit (15) approaches a harvester unit (20) to form the tandem harvester linkage (13), it positions the hopper collection area (25) below the drop point (43) of the feeder (24) so that the biomass that is harvested from the plot with the head (23) can be contained inside. Thereafter, the autonomous vehicle (22) of the transport unit (15) pursues the autonomous vehicle (22) of the harvester unit (20), taking care to keep the hopper collection area (25) always below the drop point (43). Using its navigation system, it can use the short and medium range sensors to follow the harvester unit (20) without collision and use the video cameras to advance or delay the hopper collection area (25) with respect to the drop point (43) so that it fills evenly.

[0075] The tandem harvester (13) advances along the route assigned to the harvester unit (20) from (A) to (A’) collecting the crop belonging to the crop area (12), depositing it inside the transport unit (15). In front of the harvester head (23) is the crop area (12) that is reduced as the harvester unit (20) advances, and behind it the worked area (11) is enlarged, leaving it free of crops. When the hopper (25) of the transport unit (15) is filled, a signal is sent to the harvester unit (20) to stop the conveyor belt (42) so that it can be removed, avoiding losses. When the tandem harvester (13) is separated, the transport unit (15) is full in the worked area (11), and since it does not exceed the weight proposed as the object of the invention, it can travel anywhere in said area without creating permanent soil compaction. The navigation computer (44) of the autonomous vehicle (22) must calculate the fastest and safest route to reach from point X where it is located to the geopositioned biomass receiving area (33) of the thresher (14), this being a critical logistics function so that the relays of the conveyor units arrive on time and the system works without stopping.

[0076] In the vicinity of the thresher (14) the autonomous vehicle (22) must use the sensors and cameras to position the hopper (25) over the biomass reception area (33), at that time, the vehicle stops and the hopper (25) is unloaded, so that the logistics of the relays of the transport units are agile, it is necessary that the unloading mechanism of the latter takes as little time as possible and thus, all the biomass contained therein leaves quickly. After emptying, the transport unit (15) is removed, freeing the biomass receiving area (33).

[0077] When the transport unit (15) leaves the thresher (14) with the hopper (25) completely empty, it becomes a wild card transport unit (15), so called because based on the real-time information provided by the tandem harvester (13) and (13’), in terms of feed rate, the yield of the plot sector in which it is located, the hopper fill level (25), among others, it must estimate which hopper (25) of the transport unit (15) will be filled first, tandem harvester (13) or (13’), to approach this sector to relieve the transport unit (15) that is expected to fill up first. This decision-making function based on real-time data, provided by the master control, makes each transport unit (15) able to relieve any tandem harvester (13) or (13’), thus becoming a wild card transport unit (15). If such versatility of wild card transport unit (15) is not possible, then transport units (15) that can only always relieve the same tandem harvester (13) or (13’) must be multiplied, increasing the cost of production by the increase of the necessary machinery and equipment.

[0078] When the wild card transport unit (15) has already determined which tandem will need it, the computer (44) must calculate the route to go from point X where it is located to a point Y that corresponds to the position in which the harvester unit (20) is to be found when the link between them occurs. Since the harvester unit (20) is constantly moving, it is not yet above said point Y, but with real-time feed rate information, the yield of the plot sector in which it is located and the filling level of the buffer (41 ) of the feeder (24), among others, the computer (44) of the wild card transport unit (15) may estimate a first Y position to establish the route and speed to transit within the worked area (11), and then on the fly, every so often, recalculates the Y-point position with real-time data from the harvester unit (20) to update the route and speed, precisely producing the meeting between the two.

[0079] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the thresher (14) showing the power unit (30) that provides power to the thresher unit (60) that separates the grains from the rest of the biomass, which has similar characteristics to a threshing unit of a combined machine but mounted on a wheeled chassis (61) to transport and strategically position it to work statically within the plot, and so, define the geolocation for the biomass receiving area (33) to which the transport units (15) will be directed to unload the contents of their hoppers (25). Prior to the work, a strategic position is defined for the thresher (14) which may depend on different factors such as the size of the swarm to reduce distances and optimize relay times, the physical condition of the plot to reduce the energy expenditure of autonomous vehicles, the optimal conditions of communication between all the actors in the swarm with the smallest possible obstruction and blind spots, the availability of energy are some examples of this, [s / c] It is also possible to have more than one strategic position, if the above-mentioned plot conditions require it, to which the thresher (14) will be moved at the appropriate times. This strategic position defines the geolocation of the biomass reception area (33) referenced by the GNSS receiver that the thresher (14) has and communicates it to the rest of the swarm so that the transport units (15) use it to calculate the routes as an arrival point when they have to unload the hopper (25), or as an exit point when they have to go to meet a harvester unit (20) to relieve it.

[0080] Then, in order to start working, the thresher (14) is transported with a vehicle that pulls it from its wheeled chassis (61) to the predetermined position. Once positioned in the correct place and direction, the power unit (30), which may be of different types, is turned on. It enables the biomass receiving area (33) so that the transport unit (15) can arrive to unload the material contained in its hopper (25). The biomass receiving area (33) receives the material and is tasked with feeding it into the thresher unit (60) to process it, separating the grains from the rest of the biomass that may be composed of leaves, seed husks, sticks or rods, weed seeds, among other things. The separated grains of the biomass are discharged by the action of a screw or auger (31) that raises the material to a height necessary to load the trailer of a truck or a grain hopper that removes it from the plot, and the biomass remaining from the threshing process is unloaded through a conveyor belt (32) for the same purpose of removing it from the plot with a suitable means of transport, depending on its composition.

Claims

CLAIMSHaving described and determined the nature and scope of the present invention and the way it is to be implemented, it is hereby declared that the following is claimed as an invention of exclusive ownership:

1. An autonomous machine system and harvesting method applicable to a field plot of large extensions of land with crop ready for harvesting that utilizes a multiplicity of autonomous tool holder vehicles equipped for cutting and moving harvested material to a thresher, characterized in that it comprises a master control that is continuously related to each of the artificial intelligence computers (44) that are mounted on each of the autonomous tool holder vehicles (22), which are configured as at least one or more harvester units (20), each comprising an agricultural harvest head (23) and a feeder implement (24) that unloads the harvested material into the hopper (25) from at least one or more transport units (15), which is moved and unloaded into the material receiving area (33) of at least one or more threshers (14), each comprising a thresher unit (60) mounted on a wheeled chassis (61), a grain unloader (31) and a biomass unloader (32), which is located within the same plot on which it is worked, and that once unloaded, is linked again to one of the harvester units (20).

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each harvester unit (20) has a route delimited by a start point and an end point, preset on its computer (44).

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the tandem harvester (13) is formed when the hopper collection area (25) is positioned below the drop point (43) of the harvester unit (20).

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the transport unit (15) is linked to the drop point (43) of the harvester unit (20) through a route determined by its computer (44).

5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein any transport unit (15) relates to any harvester unit (20) as established by its computer (44).

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the transport unit (15) is linked to the thresher (14) through a route determined by its computer (44).

7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the transport unit (15) is detached from the harvester unit (20) as established by its computer (44).

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the transport unit (15) is detached from the thresher (14) as established by its computer (44).

9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the thresher (14) is relocatable within the plot in which it is worked.

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