KR102722509B1 - Weed removal apparatus for weed removal robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a weeding device for a weeding robot, which is equipped with a weeding robot and has a weeding unit fixedly installed in the center and weeding units installed on both the left and right sides to be able to move horizontally, so that the moving section is reduced, thereby drastically reducing the weeding time and enabling smooth removal of weeds by raising and lowering the weeding unit as needed.
A weeding device for a weeding robot, which includes a centrally arranged driving unit and a pair of driving units provided on both sides of the driving unit to move the driving unit back and forth using an endless track, and which removes weeds using a weeding unit that is detachably installed on the driving unit, comprises: a pair of weeding brackets each fixed to the driving unit; a center weeding unit fixed to a center member connecting the weeding brackets on both sides and moving a weeding blade up and down; a front weeding unit that moves horizontally in the width direction along the front member connecting the weeding brackets on both sides in front of the center member; and a rear weeding unit that moves horizontally in the width direction along the rear member connecting the weeding brackets on both sides in the rear of the center member; wherein the front weeding unit and the rear weeding unit are characterized in that they are arranged in opposite directions and move in the width direction.

Description

WEED REMOVAL APPARATUS FOR WEED REMOVAL ROBOT

The present invention relates to a weeding device for a weeding robot, and more specifically, to a weeding device for a weeding robot, which is equipped on a weeding robot and has a weeding unit fixedly installed in the center and weeding units installed on the left and right sides so as to be able to move horizontally, so that the moving section is reduced, the weeding time is significantly shortened, and the weeding unit can be raised and lowered as needed to smoothly remove weeds.

In field farming, weeds are one of the important factors that reduce yield along with pests and diseases. When weeds grow to a certain size, they take away nutrients from crops planted in the field, causing problems with growth and yield due to competition, so weed removal is essential.

In particular, there are hundreds of types of field weeds, and most of the weeds in agricultural fields are affected by sunlight, causing photo-germination or dark germination. Therefore, it is desirable to suppress or eliminate weed growth by partially plowing the topsoil before or at the early stage of weed growth.

Conventional methods for removing weeds include cutting the weeds directly, spraying chemicals on the weeds, and removing the roots.

However, recently, the public's preference for eco-friendliness is increasing, and agricultural technology is also making efforts to introduce eco-friendly farming methods. Accordingly, it is important to minimize the use of pesticides such as herbicides. Accordingly, methods such as cutting or pulling out the roots of weeds directly are preferred, but this has the disadvantage of requiring a lot of manpower.

However, current farms are having difficulty solving this problem due to the lack of young and elderly workers due to the aging phenomenon.

In addition, safety accidents occur frequently because sharp tools such as sickles are used to directly cut or pull out the roots of weeds, and as the area requiring weed removal increases, the work time inevitably increases, which is a great burden for aging farmers.

To solve this problem, various agricultural robots are being developed and applied in the field to remove weeds.

In relation to such agricultural weeding robots, Korean Patent No. 10-1156477 proposes and discloses a weeding robot comprising: a moving unit providing a moving function; a power supply unit using a hybrid power source; a weeding unit for weeding during the day or in the morning; and a control unit for controlling the functions of the moving unit, the power supply unit, and the weeding unit; wherein the power supply unit includes a battery for supplying power required for the moving unit and the weeding unit, and a hydrogen fuel cell for generating power using hydrogen and charging the battery with power, and a control unit for controlling whether the hydrogen fuel cell generates power according to the power amount of the battery, and using a belt-shaped wheel having uneven surfaces capable of a weeding function, using the battery and the hydrogen fuel cell as power sources.

Korean Patent No. 10-1573027 discloses a method for manufacturing a mobile communication system, comprising: a main body having a drivable wheel; a weeding unit having a weeding blade whose height can be adjusted up and down and is installed on the main body; a driving unit transmitting power to the wheels and the weeding blade so that the main body moves and the weeding blade rotates; a geographic information loading unit storing geographic information data necessary for the movement of the main body; a self-location recognition unit recognizing current location information of the main body while the main body moves using the geographic information data; a sensor unit having a vision sensor for recognizing an image while the main body moves and an obstacle detection sensor for detecting an obstacle; a map building unit recognizing an external environment using an image captured by the vision sensor and calculating a driving path necessary for the movement of the main body; and a control unit controlling the main body, the weeding unit, and the driving unit so that the main body moves autonomously along the driving path. Including, and capable of being controlled by an unmanned remote control method, and autonomously driving by generating an optimal path for obstacle avoidance through the installed geographical information and image recognition, an intelligent unmanned weeding robot is proposed and disclosed, which enables unmanned automatic weeding within a certain range set by the user, thereby ensuring the safety of the worker in bad weather conditions and enabling convenient weeding work, and preventing the worker from being exposed to danger from dust, noise, debris, etc. generated during weeding work, and also enabling a wide range of weeding work to be completed very conveniently and quickly compared to conventional manned weeding work, thereby relieving the worker's fatigue caused by high-intensity physical labor.

Korean Patent No. 10-2089299 discloses a vehicle comprising: a bogie that runs on the ground; a suspension unit that is installed on the lower side of the bogie and includes a plurality of suspension devices that operate independently to reduce shock transmitted from the ground and to respond to bends for the ground contact ability and rough terrain overcoming ability of the bogie for running; a plurality of driving force generating units that generate driving force by rotating wheels that are respectively mounted and coupled to the plurality of suspension devices constituting the suspension unit to provide driving force to the bogie; a weed recognition unit that is installed on the front side of the bogie and recognizes weeds located in front of the bogie while it runs, and when the weeds are recognized, measures the distance and direction between the recognized weeds and a weed removal robot and provides the results to the control unit; a weed removal unit that is installed on one side of the bogie and pulls out weeds in a hoe-like manner according to a control signal from the control unit; a posture detection unit that detects the equilibrium state of the bogie with respect to the ground in order to adjust the balance of the bogie with respect to the ground; A weed removal robot is proposed and disclosed, which includes a control unit that provides a control signal to the weed removal unit to remove weeds at the corresponding distance and direction when a weed recognition unit provides measurement information on the distance and direction between the recognized weeds and the weed removal robot, and that provides a control signal to the suspension unit and the driving force generation unit to allow the bogie unit to maintain the equilibrium with the ground when an attitude detection unit provides detection information on the equilibrium state, and automatically recognizes weeds even in irregular terrain such as an orchard rather than a paddy field, and thins out the weeds to the roots in a hoe-like manner to prevent the weeds from growing again, and applies a variable platform so that the wheel axle is appropriately adjusted according to the slope of the ground, and is equipped with various types of weed removal tools and can effectively perform weeding work by appropriately replacing the weed removal tools according to the condition and type of the weeds through a tool module.

However, the above-mentioned conventional weeding robot has a problem in that the weeding unit is fixed and thus may not accurately remove weeds, or in cases where the weeding unit moves back and forth to remove weeds, the weeding time becomes longer because the weeding unit moves back and forth at least to the center in the width direction.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-1156477 Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-1573027 Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2089299

Accordingly, the present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and take them into consideration, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a weeding device for a weeding robot, which is equipped on a weeding robot and has a weeding unit fixedly installed in the center and weeding units installed on the left and right sides so as to be able to move horizontally, thereby drastically reducing the moving section and greatly reducing the weeding time, and by raising and lowering the weeding unit as needed, weeds can be smoothly removed.

In order to achieve the above purpose, a weeding device for a weeding robot according to the present invention is provided in a weeding robot including a driving unit positioned in the center and a pair of driving units provided on both sides of the driving unit to move the driving unit back and forth using an endless track, and is a weeding device for a weeding robot that removes weeds using a weeding unit that is detachably installed on the driving unit.

A weeding apparatus comprises: a pair of weeding brackets each fixed to a driving body; a center weeding unit fixed to a center member connecting the weeding brackets on both sides and moving a weeding blade up and down; a front weeding unit that moves horizontally in the width direction along the front member connecting the weeding brackets on both sides in front of the center member; and a rear weeding unit that moves horizontally in the width direction along the rear member connecting the weeding brackets on both sides in the rear of the center member; wherein the front weeding unit and the rear weeding unit are characterized in that they are arranged in opposite directions and move in the width direction.

Here, the center weeding unit may include a fixed bracket installed vertically on the center member, an elevating member that moves up and down along the fixed bracket by an elevating cylinder, a weeding blade that removes weeds by rotation, a motor support unit that is integrally formed at an end of the elevating member and supports a motor that rotates the weeding blade, and a weeding blade fixing unit that fixes the weeding blade and is coupled to a motor shaft.

Here, the front weeding unit and the rear weeding unit may include a horizontal driving unit formed by a screw shaft and a motor arranged in parallel with the front member or the rear member, a screw coupling unit coupled to the screw shaft at an upper portion, a movable bracket that moves horizontally along the front member or the rear member, an elevating member that moves up and down along the movable bracket by an elevating cylinder, a weeding blade that removes weeds through rotation, a motor support unit that is integrally formed at an end of the elevating member and supports a motor that rotates the weeding blade, and a weeding blade fixing unit that fixes the weeding blade and is coupled to the motor shaft.

Here, the weeding blade is formed in a W shape with both ends extended long and is installed in a reverse direction so that both ends face the floor, and the weeding blade fixing part may include a pair of fixing plates respectively positioned on both sides of the weeding blade, and a pair of fixing bolts provided on the fixing plates so as to be inserted into the inside of the curved parts on both sides of the weeding blade.

Here, the weeding blade fixing member may further include an anti-twist pin provided on the fixing plate to be inserted into the outer side of the center bend of the weeding blade to prevent twisting of the weeding blade.

Here, the weeding blade of the center weeding unit can be formed relatively larger than the weeding blades of the front and rear weeding units.

Here, the center weeding unit, the front weeding unit, and the rear weeding unit may further include a protective cover to protect the weeding blade.

The weeding device for a weeding robot according to the present invention has a center weeding unit installed in the center to remove weeds within a weeding range, and the front weeding unit and the rear weeding unit provided on the front right and rear left move back and forth along the width direction to remove weeds, so that the weed removal efficiency is improved and the weed removal time is significantly shortened, thereby obtaining the useful effects.

According to the present invention, there is a useful effect in that the weeding blade of the center weeding unit is raised and lowered by the lifting cylinder, thereby changing the position of the weeding blade in consideration of the height of the weeds located near the center of the ridge, thereby removing the weeds.

According to the present invention, the manufacturing blades of the front weeding unit and the rear weeding unit move in the width direction by the horizontal driving unit and the lifting cylinder, and at the same time, the position of the weeding blades is changed in consideration of the position and height of the weeds located at the edge of the ridge, thereby removing the weeds, which has a useful effect.

According to the present invention, there is a useful effect in that a weeding blade formed of a W-shaped wire is placed between a pair of fixed plates and then fixed by a pair of fixed bolts, so that the weeding blade is firmly fixed and does not become detached during the weed removal process.

According to the present invention, since the anti-twist pin of the fixed plate is located outside the center bending part of the weeding blade, there is a useful effect of preventing twisting during the process of fixing the weeding blade.

According to the present invention, since the weeding blade of the center weeding unit is formed relatively larger than the weeding blades of the front and rear weeding units, the weeding range is widened, and thus the moving distance of the weeding blades of the front and rear weeding units is reduced, thereby achieving the useful effect of reducing the weeding time.

According to the present invention, since a protective cover is provided to protect the weeding blade, the useful effect of protecting the weeding blade and increasing its lifespan can be achieved.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a weeding robot to which a weeding device for a weeding robot according to the present invention is applied.
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the weeding robot of Figure 1 with the battery box removed.
Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating a weeding device for a weeding robot according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a bottom perspective view showing the disassembled state of the weeding unit in the weeding device for the weeding robot according to the present invention.
Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a weeding blade and a weeding blade fixing part in a weeding device for a weeding robot according to the present invention.
Figure 6 is a plan view and a bottom view of a weeding device for a weeding robot according to the present invention.
Figure 7 is a reference diagram for explaining the direction of movement of a weeding blade provided in a weeding unit in a weeding device for a weeding robot according to the present invention.
Figure 8 is a reference drawing showing the state of removing weeds using a weeding device for a weeding robot according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

The terms used in the present invention are terms defined in consideration of their functions in the present invention, and as these may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user or operator, the definitions of these terms should be interpreted as meanings and concepts that are consistent with the technical aspects of the present invention.

Figures 1 to 8 of the attached drawings are drawings illustrating a weeding device for a weeding robot according to the present invention.

A weeding device for a weeding robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device that is installed in a weeding robot including a driving body part (200) positioned in the center and a pair of driving parts (300) provided on both sides of the driving body part (200) to move the driving body part (200) back and forth using an endless track, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and removes weeds using a weeding unit that is detachably installed on the driving body part (200).

In addition, the weeding robot may be further equipped with a driving control unit that controls the driving unit to enable driving, and automatically controls the driving of the driving body (200) according to input information from various sensors and enables autonomous driving through following the path of the work site.

At this time, the driving control unit may include a battery box having a built-in battery for power supply and an openable cover, a power distribution device for distributing and supplying power to supply stable power to necessary components operated by power such as the power unit and sensors, a driving driver for controlling the operation of the motor on the power unit side, a remote controller for remote control, a camera sensor for obtaining front and rear image information of the driving body unit (200), a GPS sensor for location confirmation, a self-driving lidar sensor for mapping the surrounding environment of the driving body unit (200), obtaining driving environment information of the driving body unit (200) and guiding entry into a work space, a working path following lidar sensor for following a work path within a work area, checking whether there is a deviation from the path, and collecting signal information for driving control, and a driving controller for automatically controlling the autonomous driving of the weeding robot by an algorithm according to each input information sensed by various sensors.

And, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the weeding device (100) for the weeding robot of the present invention comprises a weeding bracket (110), a center weeding unit (120), a front weeding unit (130), and a rear weeding unit (140), and the front weeding unit (130) and the rear weeding unit (140) are arranged in opposite directions and configured to move in the width direction.

The weeding brackets (110) are each fixed to the driving body (200), and are formed as a left and right pair, and are connected to each other by the center member (111), the front member (112), and the rear member (113). At this time, the center member (111), the front member (112), and the rear member (113) are each formed in a square structure.

The center weeding unit (120) is fixed to the center member (111) and moves the weeding blade (123) up and down. It includes a fixed bracket (121) installed vertically on the center member (111), an elevating member (122) that moves up and down along the fixed bracket (121) by an elevating cylinder, a weeding blade (123) that removes weeds by rotating, a motor support member (124) that is integrally formed at an end of the elevating member (122) and supports a motor (125) that rotates the weeding blade (123), and a weeding blade fixing member (126) that fixes the weeding blade (123) and is coupled to a motor shaft.

Accordingly, after the lifting member (122) is moved up and down by the lifting cylinder, the weeds within the set weeding range are removed using the weeding blade (123) rotated by the motor (125).

And the front weeding unit (130) is configured to move horizontally in the width direction along the front member (112) located in front of the center member (111), and includes a horizontal driving unit formed by a screw shaft and a motor arranged parallel to the front member (112), a screw-joining unit coupled to the screw shaft at the upper portion, a movable bracket that moves horizontally along the front member (112), an elevating member that moves up and down along the movable bracket by an elevating cylinder, a weeding blade (133) that removes weeds through rotation, a motor support unit that is integrally formed at the end of the elevating member and supports a motor (135) that rotates the weeding blade (133), a weeding blade fixing unit (136) that fixes the weeding blade (133) and is coupled to the motor shaft, and a protective cover (138) for protecting the weeding blade (133). The rear weeding unit (140) is also configured with the same structure.

Accordingly, the movable bracket is moved horizontally along the front member (112) by the horizontal drive unit, the lifting member is moved up and down by the lifting cylinder, and then the weeds are removed using the weeding blade (133) rotated by the motor (135).

At this time, the horizontal drive unit removes weeds by moving the movable bracket only from the right end of the ridge to the boundary of the weeding range by the center weeding unit (120).

Specifically, the rear weeding unit (140) comprises, as shown in Fig. 4, a horizontal driving unit (147) composed of a screw shaft (147a) and a motor (147b) arranged in parallel with the rear member (113), a movable bracket (141) having a screw joint coupled to the screw shaft (147a) at the upper portion and horizontally moving along the rear member (113), an elevating member (142) that moves up and down along the movable bracket (141) by an elevating cylinder, a weeding blade (143) that removes weeds through rotation, a motor support member (144) that supports a motor (145) that is integrally formed at the end of the elevating member (142) and rotates the weeding blade (143), a weeding blade fixing member (146) that fixes the weeding blade (143) and is coupled to the motor shaft, and a protective cover (18) for protecting the weeding blade. It consists of including.

Accordingly, the movable bracket (141) is moved horizontally along the rear member (113) by the horizontal drive unit (147), the lifting member (142) is moved up and down by the lifting cylinder, and then the weeds are removed using the weeding blade (143) that is rotated by the motor (145).

At this time, the horizontal drive unit (147) moves the movable bracket (141) from the left end of the ridge to the boundary of the area where weeding has been done by the center weeding unit (120), thereby removing the weeds.

Meanwhile, the weeding blade (123)(133)(143) is formed by a W-shaped wire with both ends extended long, and is installed in the reverse direction so that both ends face the floor.

The weeding blade (123) of the center weeding unit (120) is formed relatively larger than the weeding blades (133)(143) of the front weeding unit (130) and the rear weeding unit (140), thereby removing weeds over a relatively wide range.

Accordingly, the distance that the weeding blades (133)(143) of the front weeding unit (130) and the rear weeding unit (140) move is reduced, and the weeding time is shortened. Of course, as shown in Fig. 4, the two weeding blades (133)(143) of the front weeding unit (130) and the rear weeding unit (140) may be connected to each other and used.

And the weeding blade fixing part for fixing the weeding blade is composed of a fixing plate, a fixing bolt, and an anti-torsion pin. Specifically, the weeding blade fixing part of the front weeding unit is described as follows with reference to Fig. 5.

The weeding blade fixing part (136) of the front weeding unit (130) comprises a pair of fixing plates (136a) arranged on each side of the weeding blade (133) and a pair of fixing bolts (136b) provided on the fixing plates (136a) so as to be inserted into the inside of the curved parts on both sides of the weeding blade (133).

Specifically, the weeding blade fixing part (136) of the front weeding unit (130) is provided on the fixing plate (136a) to be inserted into the outer side of the center bend of the weeding blade (123) and includes a twist prevention pin (136c) to prevent twisting of the weeding blade (133).

Accordingly, the removal of weeds from a ridge of a field using a weeding device for a weeding robot of the present invention having the above-described configuration is described as follows.

When the driving body (200) is moved by the driving unit (300), the weeding blade (133) of the front weeding unit (130) moves back and forth and rotates from the right end of the ridge to a set range to remove weeds, and then the weeding blade (123) of the center weeding unit (120) rotates to remove weeds near the center of the ridge.

Finally, the weeding blade (143) of the rear weeding unit (140) moves back and forth and rotates from the left end of the ridge to the set range to remove weeds, thereby completing the removal of weeds from the entire ridge.

At this time, each weeding blade (123)(133)(143) is raised to the weed removal position by the lifting cylinder, and for this purpose, a sensor that detects the position and height of the weeds is used.

Of course, each weed blade (123)(133)(143) can be raised and lowered manually.

The embodiments described above are merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention and are not limited thereto. Various modifications and variations may be made by those skilled in the art within the technical spirit and scope of the claims of the present invention, and these may fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

100 : Driving device 110 : Weeding bracket
111: Center member 112: Front member
113: Rear member 120: Center weeding unit
121: Fixed bracket 122: Lifting member
123: Weeding blade 124: Motor support
125: Motor 126: Weeding blade fixing part
128: Protective cover 130: Front weeding unit
133 : Weeding blade 135 : Motor
136: Weeding blade fixing part 136a: Fixing plate
136b: Fixed bolt 136c: Anti-twist pin
138: Protective cover 140: Rear weeding unit
141: Movable bracket 142: Lifting member
143: Weeding blade 144: Motor support
145: Motor 146: Weeding blade fixing part
147: Horizontal drive unit 147a: Screw shaft
147b: Motor 148: Protective Cover
200 : Driving body 300 : Driving body

Claims (7)

A weeding device for a weeding robot, which includes a centrally placed driving unit and a pair of driving units provided on both sides of the driving unit to move the driving unit back and forth using an endless track, and which is detachably installed on the driving unit and removes weeds using a weeding unit,
A pair of weeding brackets each fixed to the driving body;
A center weeding unit that is fixed to the center member connecting the weeding brackets on both sides and moves the weeding blade up and down;
A front weeding unit that moves horizontally in the width direction along the front member connecting the weeding brackets on both sides in front of the center member; and
Includes a rear weeding unit that moves horizontally in the width direction along the rear member connecting the weeding brackets on both sides at the rear of the center member;
A weeding device for a weeding robot, characterized in that the front weeding unit and the rear weeding unit are arranged in opposite directions and move in the width direction.
In claim 1,
A weeding device for a weeding robot, characterized in that the center weeding unit includes a fixed bracket installed vertically on a center member, an elevating member that moves up and down along the fixed bracket by an elevating cylinder, a weeding blade that removes weeds by rotation, a motor support section that is integrally formed at an end of the elevating member and supports a motor that rotates the weeding blade, and a weeding blade fixing section that fixes the weeding blade and is coupled to a motor shaft.
In claim 1,
A weeding device for a weeding robot, characterized in that the front weeding unit and the rear weeding unit include a horizontal driving unit composed of a screw shaft and a motor arranged in parallel with the front member or the rear member, a screw coupling unit coupled to the screw shaft at the upper portion, a movable bracket that moves horizontally along the front member or the rear member, an elevating member that moves up and down along the movable bracket by an elevating cylinder, a weeding blade that removes weeds through rotation, a motor support unit that is integrally formed at an end of the elevating member and supports a motor that rotates the weeding blade, and a weeding blade fixing unit that fixes the weeding blade and is coupled to the motor shaft.
In claim 2 or 3,
The weeding blade is formed by a W-shaped wire with both ends extended long, and is installed in the reverse direction so that both ends face the floor.
A weeding device for a weeding robot, characterized in that the weeding blade fixing part includes a pair of fixing plates arranged on each side of the weeding blade, and a pair of fixing bolts provided on the fixing plates so as to be inserted into the inside of the curved parts on both sides of the weeding blade.
In claim 4,
A weeding device for a weeding robot, characterized in that the weeding blade fixing part further includes a twist prevention pin that is provided on a fixing plate to be inserted into the outer side of the center bend of the weeding blade and prevents twisting of the weeding blade.
In claim 4,
A weeding device for a weeding robot, characterized in that the weeding blade of the center weeding unit is formed relatively larger than the weeding blades of the front weeding unit and the rear weeding unit.
In claim 4,
A weeding device for a weeding robot, characterized in that the center weeding unit, the front weeding unit, and the rear weeding unit further include a protective cover for protecting the weeding blade.

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