Agricultural Attachment for Cultivating Row Crops

Abstract

The invention relates to an agricultural attachment for cultivating row crops, comprising a row-detection device designed to detect, during a cultivation process, locations and/or courses of rows of plants on farmland, and a signal generating device designed to generate steering commands for a drive vehicle to which the attachment is attached, in accordance with the locations and/or courses of the rows of plants detected by the row-detection device.

Claims

1. An agriculture attachment for cultivating row crops, comprising a row-detection device adapted to detect, during a cultivation process, locations and/or courses of rows of plants on farmland; characterized by a signal generating device adapted to generate steering commands for a drive vehicle to which the attachment is attached, in accordance with the locations and/or courses of the rows of plants detected by the row-detection device.

2. The agricultural attachment of claim 1, characterized by a communication device which is adapted to exchange data bidirectionally with a control unit the drive vehicle, wherein the steering commands for the drive vehicle generated by the signal generation device can be transmitted to the drive vehicle the communication device.

3. The agricultural attachment of claim 1, characterized by a plurality of soil cultivating tools spaced apart transversely to the direction of travel, wherein the signal generation device is adapted to generate the steering commands for the drive vehicle to correct relative positions between plant rows and soil cultivating tools.

4. The agricultural attachment of claim 1, characterized by a plurality of spreading elements spaced apart transversely to the direction of travel, wherein the signal generation device is adapted to generate the steering commands for the drive vehicle to correct relative positions between plant rows and spreading elements.

5. The agricultural attachment of claim 1, characterized in that the signal generation device is adapted to generate speed setting commands for the drive vehicle.

6. The agricultural attachment of claim 5, characterized in that the signal generation device is adapted to generate speed adjustment commands for the drive vehicle as a function of the locations and/or courses of plant rows detected by the row detection device.

7. The agricultural attachment of claim 5, characterized by an evaluation device which is adapted to evaluate the result of the cultivation of the row crops during a cultivation process with regard to at least one cultivation criterion which is dependent on the driving speed, wherein the signal generation device is adapted to generate speed setting commands for the drive vehicle as a function of the result of the processing of the row crops evaluated by the evaluation device.

8. The agricultural attachment of claim 1, characterized by a rotation rate sensor adapted to detect a change in alignment of the attachment relative to the longitudinal direction of the plant rows, wherein the row-detection device is adapted to detect the locations and/or courses of plant rows on the farmland taking into account the change in alignment of the attachment detected by the rotation rate sensor.

9. The agricultural attachment of claim 1, characterized by an inclination sensor which is adapted to detect an inclination of the attachment relative to a horizontal plane, the ground of the farmland, a leaf canopy and/or a crop top, characterized in that the signal generation device is adapted to generate the steering commands for the drive vehicle also as a function of the inclination of the attachment detected by the inclination sensor.

10. The agricultural attachment of claim 1, characterized in that the row-detection device comprises one or more cameras, one or more sensors and/or one or more sensing devices for row detection.

11. The agricultural machine assembly, comprising an agricultural attachment; and a drive vehicle on which the attachment is mounted; characterized in that the agricultural attachment is configured according to one of the preceding claims, and the drive vehicle is adapted to automatically perform a steering operation based on steering commands from the attachment.

12. A method for cultivating row crops by means of an agricultural machine assembly of claim 11, comprising the step: detecting locations and/or courses of plant rows on a farmland during a cultivation process by means of a row-detection device of an agricultural attachment of the agricultural machine assembly; characterized by the steps of: generating steering commands for a drive vehicle of the machine assembly, on which the attachment is mounted, as a function of the locations and/or courses of plant rows detected by the row-detection device y means of a signal generation device of the attachment; transmitting steering commands generated by the signal generation device to a control unit of the drive vehicle; and automatic execution of a steering operation by the drive vehicle based on the transmitted steering commands of the attachment.

13. The method of claim 12, characterized by the step of: generating speed setting commands for the drive vehicle by means of the signal generation device of the attachment; wherein generating said speed setting commands is preferably performed as a function of locations and/or courses of plant rows detected by said row-detection device.

14. The method of claim 13, characterized by the step of: evaluating the result of the cultivation of the row crops during a cultivation process with regard to at least one cultivation criterion dependent on the driving speed by means of an evaluation device of the attachment; wherein the generation of the speed setting commands for the drive vehicle preferably takes place as a function of the result of the cultivation of the row crops evaluated by the evaluation device.

15. The method of claim 12, characterized by the step of: detecting a change in the alignment of the attachment relative to the longitudinal direction of the plant rows by means of a rotation rate sensor of the attachment, wherein detecting the locations and/or courses of plant rows on the farmland is performed taking into account the change in alignment of the attachment detected by the rotation rate sensor.

Description

[0031] In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention are explained and described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therein:

[0032] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the agricultural machine assembly according to the invention during the cultivation of a farmland in a top view;

[0033] FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment of the agricultural machine assembly according to the invention during the cultivation of a farmland in a top view;

[0034] FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the agricultural machine assembly according to the invention during cultivation of a farmland in a top view; and

[0035] FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of the agricultural machine assembly according to the invention during the cultivation of a farmland in a top view.

[0036] FIG. 1 shows an agricultural machine assembly 100 having a drive vehicle 102 and an agricultural attachment 10. The drive vehicle 102 is a tractor, and the attachment 10 is mounted to a front coupling device of the drive vehicle 102. The attachment 10 is an agricultural hoe having a plurality of soil cultivating tools 14a-14m spaced equidistantly apart from each other. The soil cultivating tools 14a-14m are arranged side by side and equidistantly spaced apart from each other transversely to the direction of travel F. The soil cultivating tools 14a-14m are hoeing tools, which are attached to a cross member 12 of the attachment 10 extending transversely to the direction of travel F.

[0037] The cross member 12 is supported relative to the ground of the farmland 200 via the wheels 16a, 16b of the attachment 10. The cross member 12 is connected to the front coupling device of the drive vehicle 102 via an adjustment device 18 in the form of a displacement frame.

[0038] The adjustment device 18 may include one or more adjustment drives by which the cross member 12 may be moved and/or pivoted longitudinally and/or transversely to position the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m centrally between the plant rows 202a-202l. Further, the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m may be movable along the cross member 12 and/or pivotable relative to the cross member 12.

[0039] The attachment 10 is equipped with a row-detection device 20, via which the locations and courses of the plant rows 202a-202l on the farmland 200 can be detected during a cultivation process. The row-detection device 20 comprises a camera 22 for row detection. Alternatively or additionally, the row detection device 20 could also comprise one or more sensors and/or one or more sensing devices for row detection. The camera 22 has an imaging area 24, wherein the locations and courses of the plant rows 202b, 202c located in the imaging area 24 can be detected by the row-detection device 22. The location and course detection of the plant rows 202b, 202c is performed by an evaluation of the image recordings acquired by the camera 22.

[0040] The agricultural attachment 10 may include a rotation rate sensor for sensing a change in the alignment of the attachment 10 relative to the longitudinal direction of the plant rows 202a-202l. The change in alignment of the attachment 10 for results in a skewed position of the attachment 10, which changes the angle of view of the camera 22. Through the change in the alignment of the attachment 10 detected by the rotation rate sensor, the changed shooting angle of the camera 22 can be taken into account in the row detection so that the courses and locations of the plant rows 202b, 202c are determined with a higher degree of precision. Thus, the camera images of the camera 22 are evaluated taking into account the current skewed position of the attachment 10 and thus taking into account the current skewed position of the camera 22.

[0041] The agricultural attachment 10 further includes a signal generation device 26 that generates steering commands for the drive vehicle 102. The steering commands generated by the signal generation device 26 are transmitted to a control unit 104 of the drive vehicle 102 via the data link 106. For this purpose, the attachment 10 comprises a communication device that allows bidirectional data exchange with the control unit 104 of the drive vehicle 102. The data link 106 may be a wired data link or a wireless data link.

[0042] The signal generation device 26 generates the steering commands for the drive vehicle 102 as a function of to the locations and courses of the plant rows 202b, 202c detected by the row-detection device 20. Through the steering command generation, it is achieved that the attachment 10 traverses the plant rows 202a-202l of the farmland 200 in an intended manner, namely such that the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m are always arranged centrally between the plant rows 202a-202l. The steering commands generated by the signal generation device 26 ultimately cause a steering intervention on the drive vehicle 102 initiated by the attachment 10. Consequently, the drive vehicle 102 is steered externally so that no manual steering intervention by the vehicle driver is required. Furthermore, a lane detection system can be dispensed with on the drive vehicle 102, since an automatic steering system exclusively on the vehicle side is not required. The machine assembly 100 consisting of the drive vehicle 102 and the attachment 10 thus forms a so-called tractor implement management system.

[0043] When generating steering commands, the signal generation device 26 may take into account the dimensions and/or geometries of the drive vehicle 102 and/or the attachment 10. Further, the signal generation device 26 may take into account tire positions, caster properties, and/or pivot characteristics of the attachment 10 when generating steering commands.

[0044] The row-detection device 20 is attached to the cross member 12 of the attachment 10 and aligned in the direction of travel F. The detection range of the row-detection device 20 is arranged in front of the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m in the direction of travel F.

[0045] FIG. 2 also shows a machine assembly 100 comprising a drive vehicle 102 configured as a tractor and an attachment 10 configured as a hoe. In the embodiment shown, the attachment 10 is mounted on a rear coupling device of the drive vehicle 102.

[0046] In this case, the row-detection device 20 of the attachment 10 is arranged in a front area of the drive vehicle 102. For example, the row-detection device 20 is reversibly and non-destructively detachably attached to an engine cover of the drive vehicle 102. Alternatively, the row-detection device 20 may be reversibly and non-destructively detachably attached to the roof or a front power lift of the drive vehicle 102. The camera 22 of the row-detection device 20 is aligned in the direction of travel F, wherein the plant rows 202e-202h are located in the imaging area 24 of the camera 22. Via an image evaluation of the camera recordings, the locations and courses of the plant rows 202e-202h can be determined during the cultivation process.

[0047] The row-detection device 20 is again connected to a control unit 104 of the drive vehicle 102 via a communication module so that steering commands for the drive vehicle 102 generated by the signal generation device 26 can be transmitted to the drive vehicle 102 via the data link 106.

[0048] The signal generation device 26 is further adapted to generate speed adjustment commands for the drive vehicle 102. The speed adjustment commands are generated as a function of the locations and courses of the plant rows 202e-202h detected by the row-detection device 20. Consequently, through the speed adjustment commands, the attachment 10 can cause a change in the travel speed of the drive vehicle 102. When a straight row course is detected, the travel speed of the drive vehicle 102 can be increased without affecting the cultivation result because few critical steering interventions are required in this case. When a curved row course is detected, the travel speed of the drive vehicle 102 can be reduced to avoid affecting the cultivation result. In this case, the travel speed should be reduced at least enough to achieve a cultivation result that is within a tolerance range through steering interventions.

[0049] In order to check whether the cultivation result is within a tolerance range, the attachment 10 may further comprise an evaluation device, via which the result of the cultivation of the row crops during the cultivation process is evaluated with respect to a driving speed-dependent evaluation criterion. The evaluation device may be adapted to determine the degree of burial of the crops by the soil flow thrown up during the cultivation. The degree of burial of the plants by the thrown-up earth stream must not leave a tolerance range during the cultivation process. In the event that the degree of burial of the plants by the thrown-up earth stream leaves the tolerance range, the signal generation device 26 generates a speed adjustment command which results in a reduction in the travel speed of the drive vehicle 102.

[0050] FIG. 3 shows an undesirable skewed alignment of the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m with respect to the longitudinal axes of the plant rows 202a-202l. The skewed orientation a of the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m also results in the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m not being positioned centrally between the plant rows 202a-202l.

[0051] This mispositioning of the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m with respect to the plant rows 202a-202.sub.l is detected by the row-detection device 20 of the attachment 10. Based on the row detection that has occurred, the signal generation device 26 generates steering commands that are transmitted to a control unit 104 of the drive vehicle 102 via the data link 106. Based on the steering commands received, the control unit 104 causes a steering movement L at the front axle of the drive vehicle 102. Via the steering movement L at the front axle of the drive vehicle 102, a correction of the positioning of the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m is effected so that the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m again move centrally between the plant rows 202a-202l through the soil of the farmland 200 without skewing. The steering intervention on the drive vehicle 102 caused by the attachment 10 provides for the elimination of the skew a.

[0052] FIG. 4 shows a machine assembly 100 during cultivation of a farmland 200, wherein the machine assembly 100 approaches a bend section in which the plant rows 202a-202l follow bent row paths. In the bend section, there is a changing differential angle 13 between the longitudinal axis of the machine assembly 100 and the tangents that can be applied to the plant rows 202a-202l.

[0053] Through the row-detection device 20, the attachment 10 is capable of detecting the curved or arcuate path of the plant rows 202b-202d at an early stage and deriving the radius of the bend based on the path of the plant rows 202b-202d so that steering commands for the drive vehicle 102 can be generated through the signal generation device 26, taking into account the advance speed and control speed. The steering commands generated by the signal generation device 26 are transmitted to the drive vehicle 102 via the data link 106, wherein the drive vehicle 102 implements the steering commands so that a steering movement L is executed at the front axle of the drive vehicle 102. Through the steering movement L, the soil cultivating tools 14a-14m remain centered between the plant rows 202a-202l at all times, even within the bend area, without requiring manual steering intervention by the operator of the vehicle.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0054] 10 attachment [0055] 12 cross member [0056] 14a-14m soil cultivating tools [0057] 16a, 16b wheels [0058] 18 adjustment device [0059] 20 row-detection device [0060] 22 camera [0061] 24 imaging area [0062] 26 signal generation device [0063] 100 machine assembly [0064] 102 drive vehicle [0065] 104 control unit [0066] 106 data link [0067] 200 farmland [0068] 202a-202l plant rows [0069] F direction of travel [0070] L steering movement [0071] α skew [0072] β differential angle