DK3014969T3 - Fremgangsmåde til styring af en landbrugs-fordelingsmaksine på et landbrugsområde - Google Patents

Description

METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AN AGRICULTURAL DISTRIBUTION MACHINE ON AN AGRICULTURAL AREA

Description [0001] The invention relates to a method for controlling an agricultural distribution machine on an agricultural area according to the preamble of the independent patent claim.

Such a distribution machine may be designed for example as a centrifugal spreader for applying agricultural fertilizer. This has preferably two centrifugal discs outfitted with throwing shovels which are loaded with the fertilizer to be spread by means of suitable feeding devices. But they may also involve for example a field sprayer or a sowing machine.

When distributing fertilizer or spraying agent on agricultural areas one must take care to avoid environmental damage, so that the respective agents do not end up on adjoining areas, according to the legal regulations. Thus, for example, it may be prescribed that marginal areas near bodies of water must be excluded from the distribution in order to prevent the agent from getting into the bodies of water.

This is normally ensured by reducing the working width and/or throwing range of the fertilizer particles in proximity to field boundaries, for example by reduction of the centrifugal disc rotational speed, modification of throwing shovels, switching off one of the centrifugal discs or the use of a special margin/boundary spreader device.

The precautions which are taken in this case differ according to the type of adjoining area. Thus, for example, in proximity to bodies of water more stringent conditions must be observed than for adjoining agricultural areas.

In order to prevent wrong fertilizing or overfertilizing in these regions, and furthermore make possible easier work for the farmer, the use of an electronic control of the working width is desirable.

[0002] A device for performing such a control is known for example through the laid open patent application DE 42 23 585 Al. This publication describes a machine for the distribution of agricultural material, such as fertilizer. The machine has a position sensor for determining the current location of the machine and a memory for storing map material or contour data of an agricultural area. It is proposed that the control of the metering elements and/or the working width in accordance with the field margin contour may be carried out. Furthermore, it is provided to automatically adjust the metering elements in accordance with the field margin contour.

[0003] DE 10 2005 008 105 A1 as well as the advertising brochure “Amazone ZA-M ZA-M Profis”, August 2014 (2014-08), generally describe a control system for preventing the distribution of fertilizers on adjacent areas by using map data and a position acquisition system, which can also be carried out prospectively.

[0004] For an effective prevention or reduction of environmental harm, however, it is necessary to restrict and adapt the treatment with fertilizer or spray agents already at a certain distance from the field boundary. Thus, for example, it is forbidden according to current fertilizer regulations to apply fertilizer at a distance of less than 3 m from a body of water or at a distance of less than 1 m if a boundary spreader device is present. It is therefore not enough to only regard the field boundary itself as the margin contour of the region being worked.

The problem of the present invention is therefore to carry out an automatic treatment of an agricultural area whereby especially in regions near the border, i.e., those where the boundary of the agricultural area is roughly half of a working width of the distribution machine away from the distribution machine, the distribution of the material is adapted to the near field boundary.

According to one method for controlling a machine for the distribution of agricultural material, a signal is generated by the program stored on the job computer and/or the terminal if there is at least one second area at a distance which is equal to or less than a predefined value from the agricultural area just sprayed directly by the field sprayer or spread with scattered material by means of the fertilizer spreader in the travel direction to the right and/or left, which is outside the bounds of the agricultural area being worked, and this signal is used in order to control the processing of the boundary region of the agricultural area being worked in accordance with the stored rule. By means of this method, it can be advantageously assured that field boundaries situated at a distance from the working machine which is less than or equal to a predefined value are given consideration in the distribution of the agricultural material.

[0005] In one embodiment it may be provided that the distance between the machine and the field boundary is ascertained so as to advantageously determine the distance to the adjacent area and to adjust the metering elements accordingly.

[0006] In one embodiment, said rule serves to control a margin spreading device of a fertilizer spreader and/or to control the rotational speed of the spreading plate and/or to control a switching device of the throwing shovels and/or to control the metering gate of a fertilizer spreader and/or to control the spray nozzles and/or the marginal nozzles of a field sprayer and/or a metering device of a sowing machine and/or the raising or lowering of a track marker of a sowing machine.

[0007] In one advantageous modification, in addition to the field boundary other position data within the field boundary is stored in the memory of the job computer and/or the terminal, which should be excluded from a processing, such as preferably the position or regions of bodies of water, trees and/or tree groups or other areas not to be processed, so that not only areas adjoining the field boundary on the outside are considered for the processing, but also objects which are situated inside the agricultural area.

[0008] In one embodiment, the largest area enclosed by a closed line corresponds to the area being worked, while all smaller areas enclosed by lines are excluded from the processing, so that the distinction between the area to be worked and the area to be excluded from the working is advantageously automated.

[0009] In another embodiment, information is additionally stored for each cohesive area and/or each coordinate as to whether the respective area or the respective coordinate should be worked or not. Thus, in departure from the previously described embodiment, a manual determination is made as to which areas are to be worked and which excluded from the processing.

[0010] In one advantageous embodiment, for each area and/or coordinate not to be worked, information is saved to the effect that this is not to be worked and/or with regard to what type of area this area and/or coordinate is assigned to, preferably water area and/or green area and/or forest area and/or adjoining agricultural area and/or residential area and/or traffic area, and the processing of the margin region of the agricultural area is controlled in accordance with this area type. In this way, not only can the processing occur according to the distinction between area to be worked and area to be excluded, but also in addition the processing can be controlled with the aid of the type of neighbouring area, for example in accordance with legal provisions.

[0011] In another advantageous embodiment, the instruction for the processing of the margin region of the agricultural area is applied on the basis of the information of a second area, which is situated at an established distance to the right and/or left alongside and furthermore in the direction of travel in front of the currently worked agricultural area, i.e., directly sprayed by the field sprayer or spread with spreading material by the fertilizer spreader in the direction of travel, and the distance in the travel direction between the second area and the currently worked agricultural area is chosen such that the time until this second area, located to the right or left alongside the worked area, is sufficient to perform the appropriate adjustment of the field sprayer and/or the fertilizer spreader based on the rule for working the margin areas. Thus, for example, an upcoming adjacent agricultural area or water area can be taken into account in an advantageous manner by setting up the machine in a timely manner according to the time required for this.

[0012] In one advantageous extension, at least two different area types are each assigned at least one distance and at least one processing rule, so that different processing rules are employed for different area types, in dependence on the respective distance of the machine from the boundary of the agricultural area, while the stored distances and/or the stored processing rules may also be the same for two or more different area types. Thus, different types of areas can be advantageously taken into account at different distances in the processing of the margin regions, since for example a greater distance of fertilizing must be maintained from the field boundary in proximity to bodies of water than that for neighbouring agricultural areas.

[0013] A further method for controlling a machine for the distribution of agricultural material according to the preamble of the independent claim makes it possible to process field boundary regions and furthermore carry out processes for the preparation of the spreading of agricultural material, wherein a signal is generated by the program which is stored in the job computer and/or the terminal if, at a distance which is equal to or less than a previously defined value from the distributor machine in any direction, there is a second area, which area is preferably outside the boundaries of the agricultural area which is to be worked and/or marks an area which has already been worked or not yet worked, and this signal is used to set the setting parameters of the agricultural machine, preferably a boundary spreader device of a fertilizer spreader and/or nozzles of a field spray preferably for working edge regions of an agricultural area and/or metering elements of a sowing machine, corresponding to the stored rule. The rule for setting the setting parameters is configured in such a way that an exclusion zone is defined which is arranged on at least one side of the agricultural machine, with the result that when a signal is present which preferably signals a field boundary and/or adjoining area and/or worked and/or unworked area, the exclusion zone for material which is to be distributed, preferably crop protection agent and/or fertilizer and/or seeds, remains free. In this way, a region can be advantageously defined which is kept clear of the material being distributed. For example, an exclusion zone of distribution may thus be manually defined in an easy manner at the margin of the area being worked, similar to the minimum distances set forth in the fertilizer regulation.

[0014] Furthermore, according to the invention, the exclusion zone is positioned in front of the distributor elements of the agricultural machine in the direction of travel, with the result that before the field boundary of an agricultural area is reached, a region at the edge of the agricultural area in the direction of travel, referred to as a headland, is excluded from the distribution of the agricultural material. In this way, the establishing of a headland region is advantageously done in an automated manner with position control. Also in this way a desired overlap or underlap, i.e., regions lacking distribution, can be achieved during the working of the headland region and the rest of the agricultural area, so that either a narrow strip in the transition from the larger normally worked portion of the agricultural area to the headland portion is worked double or not at all. This may also be realized, for example, by deliberately choosing the safety zone for establishing the headland to be larger or smaller than the width of the actual headland requires.

For example, this may be desired in order to absolutely rule out processing defects in the transitional region of headland and remaining area, which may be produced for example by slight inaccuracy in the position determination by means of GPS. The latter, however, may also be realized alternatively by manually defining and providing to the GPS-controlled partial width circuit, i.e., the automatic activating and deactivating of the distribution in individual segments of the working width, an overlap or underlap region in the context of a function provided especially for this. This would generate overlaps or underlaps in the distribution in the vicinity of already worked partial areas, such as also wedge areas, not only in headland situations, but also at any given positions of the agricultural area.

[0015] Furthermore, it would be helpful in establishing such exclusion zones or also for the regular position-controlled partial width circuit to make manually deactivated partial widths distinctly visible on a display device to the driver of the agricultural machine/tractor. In this way, by calling the attention of the driver, it can be prevented that, for example, partial widths that were previously manually deactivated remain accidentally switched off upon leaving the headland region, when the automatic partial width circuit activates the distribution, because the driver has forgotten to manually activate these partial widths once more.

[0016] The realization of such methods may be achieved in an advantageous manner with the aid of virtual partial widths, preferably with the aid of so-called Data Dictionary Identifiers in the context of the Isobus standard ISO 11783. Such partial widths in the case of a field sprayer or a sowing machine are preferably coordinated with the respective spreading assemblies, such as spray nozzles or coulters, it being possible to bring together increasingly many of these assemblies into a partial width. In the case of the fertilizer spreader, preferably the working width is divided into a fixed number of partial widths, which can then be switched on and off by changing the distribution characteristics, as in the case of the field sprayer and sowing machine. These partial widths move in accordance with the geometrical dimensions and the distribution characteristics of the agricultural machine and the position-determining signals received over the agricultural area, so that the worked area can be detected. In addition, the current position of the partial widths and also the worked area are typically indicated on a display device to the operator of the agricultural distribution machine. For the present subject matter of the disclosure, such virtual partial widths may be used to locate a boundary of the agricultural area or an adjacent area situated at a fixed distance from the agricultural machine. For this, the respective partial width needs to be assigned an attribute which would identify it as inside or outside the agricultural area. Furthermore, it is conceivable to define an overlap or underlap region in this way, or to assign an attribute to the respective partial widths, providing information as to whether or not a partial width has been manually deactivated by the driver of the machine.

In addition, a further attribute could identify the area type, such as agricultural area, water area, tree group, road or the like, so that in this way a processing of the margin region could be done in dependence on the type of the adjacent area, preferably on the basis of legal regulations. An additional attribute could serve to determine whether the partial width is indicated on a display device to the operator of the agricultural machine.

It is also possible to employ an application of virtual partial widths in a speed-dependent time interval in front of the partial widths covering the working width for a detecting of worked and unworked areas and thus for a forward-looking control of preparatory processes such as the raising or lowering of a spray boom.

Further details of the invention will be found in the description of examples and in the drawings. Herein

Fig. 1, shows an agricultural distribution machine, using a reduced working width for the distributing of agricultural material in the vicinity of a field boundary,

Fig. 2, shows an agricultural distribution machine in the vicinity of a field boundary, bordering on two areas of different type,

Fig. 3, shows an agricultural distribution machine for which an exclusion zone is defined around the working region, and

Fig. 4, shows an agricultural distribution machine for which an exclusion zone is defined around the working region and used to spare a headland from being worked.

[0017] The method according to the invention is explained here as an example for the use with a fertilizer spreader. The invention is also equally applicable to other agricultural distribution machines, such as field sprayers or sowing machines.

Fig. 1 shows in schematic representation an agricultural distribution machine/fertilizer spreader 1, which is hooked up to an agricultural tractor 2 with direction of travel R. The latter furthermore has a position determination module 3, such as a GPS antenna, although this may also be matched up with the distribution machine. By means of the distribution machine, agricultural material is spread out over an agricultural area 4, with the distribution machine 1 being located in the vicinity of a second agricultural area 5. The working width A of the fertilizer spreader 1 designates the maximum width of the spread fan 6 which, given the current position of the distribution machine, would result in material being spread out onto the neighbouring area 5.

Instead of this, by means of the method according to the invention a verification is done permanently or at established intervals of time as to whether an adjoining area is present at the left or right up to a distance B from the middle of the distribution machine 1 at the height of the front end of the spread fan in a region up to the location P, and if so then how large is the distance C between the centre axis M of the distribution machine, extending in the direction of travel, and the field boundary. According to this value, the distribution characteristic of the distribution machine is then adapted, for example by using a boundary/margin spreading device and/or by adapting the centrifugal disc rotational speed and/or by modifying the centrifugal shovels and/or by switching off a centrifugal disc, so that a modified spread fan 7 is formed, resulting in no spreading material being placed on the neighbouring field. The critical location P at which the verification is done as to whether a distribution is occurring in the immediate vicinity of an adjacent area may border directly on the maximum distribution region at the side or be situated at a certain distance away. In a standard driving lane system, which by contrast with Fig. 1 is designed such that the driving lane situated next to the field boundary is laid out at a distance from the field boundary corresponding to half the working width, the point P is advantageously placed such that it is positioned to the side at a distance B from the centre axis M.

Given such a driving lane position and leaving out of consideration the type of the adjacent area, the mere information as to whether the point P is located within the area 4 or 5 would be enough to control the boundary spreading process.

[0018] Fig. 2 shows again schematically the distribution machine 1, pulled by an agricultural tractor 2, which has a position determination system 3 and is spreading agricultural material onto an agricultural area 4. The spread fan 7 as in Fig. 1 is adapted in accordance with the distance C between the centre axis M and the margin of the agricultural area so as not to place any spreading material onto the neighbouring agricultural area. In addition, in this example there is represented a water area 8 immediately bordering on the agricultural area in front of the distribution machine in the direction of travel. This may require, for example due to provisions of law, that a safety zone 9 be observed at the field margin, where no agricultural material may be applied, so that the spread fan has to be adapted according to the stored instructions. According to the invention, this can be achieved by means of two or more stored instructions for setting the setting parameters of the agricultural machine, whereby the distribution characteristic of the distribution machine is adjusted in dependence on the particular type of area currently located up to a distance B from the centre axis of the distribution machine.

[0019] In addition, this may occur with an optional time buffer, to allow for the time needed to adjust the machine, which in the present example is accomplished by means of the distance D between the front end of the spread fan 7 in the direction of travel R and the measurement point P, which is the definitive location for the adjustment of the spread fan. This distance may furthermore be variable in dependence on the speed, in order to ensure a constant time interval between the respective location of the spread fan and its passing through the current location of P. It is also possible in an advantageous manner to define different distances at which the type of area is determined from the centre axis and these different distances are each assigned different instructions for adjusting the setting parameters. This may be used on the one hand to adapt the treatment of margin regions of the agricultural area according to the particular type, such as a water area or agricultural area, it being provided advantageously that the treatment of the margin region is adapted if the particular type is located at a distance which is less than or equal to the corresponding distance. Thus, it can be provided that the area type is located at a distance of 15 m or less from the centre axis for a fertilizer spreader with 30 m working width and as soon as the distance of the centre axis of the spreader is less than 15 m from the field boundary, an adjustment of the distribution characteristic of the fertilizer spreader is done. In addition, a verification can be done, for example still at a distance of 16 m or less from the centre axis of the fertilizer spreader, as to whether a body of water is present, so that a safety zone of 1 m could be maintained upon detecting a body of water in this way by appropriate adapting of the spreading characteristic. If the type of area were only verified up to a distance of 15 m, for example, a water area at 15.5 m would not be detected.

[0020] On the other hand, with a verification of the type of area at different distances from the centre axis and distinguishing between worked and unworked area, and provided at least two of these distances are located within the working width, a prospective control such as a volume control could also be carried out, for example for individual partial widths, such as individual spray nozzles, or at least individually for the two sides of a spray boom.

Fig. 3 shows a distribution machine 1 connected to an agricultural tractor 2 with a position determination system 3 during the working of an agricultural area 4 for which a zone 10 is kept clear of the working, by defining an exclusion zone 9 around the working region 7 of the distribution machine 1. As long as or as soon as this area is situated outside of the area being worked, the distribution process is accordingly interrupted and thus a zone at the margin of the agricultural area corresponding to the width E of the exclusion zone in front of the distribution machine or the difference between the radii of working width 7 and exclusion zone 9 alongside and behind the distribution machine is kept clear of the working.

Depending on how the geometry of this exclusion zone is designed, for example with at least partly round exclusion zones, rounded profiles 11 of the worked area 4 may occur in corner regions of the agricultural area, according to the direction of travel. The choice of the exclusion zone geometry is therefore normally dependent on the geometry of the agricultural area and the particular direction of working, in particular, the geometry of the exclusion zone might be a circle, a semicircle, a square, a rectangle, or any given polygon.

The described exclusion zone may be especially advantageously used, as represented in Fig. 4, to keep a headland 10 situated at the end sides of the agricultural area 4 in and against the direction of travel R clear from the processing, for example with the sowing machine 1, and to work this region only at the end of the working process for the agricultural area. For this, an exclusion zone 9 is defined in front of and behind the distribution machine such that an unworked zone 10 of width E is produced during the working of the agricultural area, while sides of the agricultural area situated perpendicular to the end sides are worked up to the margin. Slanted sides 12 are worked in the described manner such that an unworked strip is created and additionally unworked triangles, at least one side of which has the length of the working width A of the distribution machine.

[0021] Alternatively, the working of the entire working width may advantageously not be switched on all at once, but instead individual partial widths such as individual sowing assemblies can be activated in regard to the exclusion zone, so that the stepwise trend of the processing which occurs at the slanted side 12 is moderated or avoided.

[0022] The above mentioned exemplary embodiments of the invention are equally applicable in the same or similar manner to other distribution machines, such as crop protection sprayers, which likewise need to be controlled in a special manner when treating margins and which sometimes also possess special margin treatment devices, such as margin nozzle.

Claims (1)

1. Fremgangsmåde til styring af en maskine (1) til fordeling af landbrugsmateriale, fortrinsvis en marksprøjte og/eller en gødningsspreder på et første langbrugsområde (4) omfattende en arbejdscomputer og/eller terminal arrangeret på landbrugsmaskinen (1) og/eller et trækkørestøj (2) tilforordnet dertil og et program, der er lagret på arbejdscomputeren og/eller terminalen, og som har til formål at styre landbrugsmaskinen (1) og et elektronisk placeringsbestemmelsessystem (3) og positionsdata, som er lagret i hukommelsen af arbejdscomputeren og/eller terminal og relateret til grænselinjen af området, som skal bearbejdes og mindst en regel, der er lagret i hukommelsen af arbejdscomputeren og/eller terminalen, og som angår indstillingen af indstillingsparametrene af landbrugsmaskinen (1), fortrinsvis grænselinje sprederindretninger af en gødningsspreder og/eller kantdysser af en marksprøjte, fortrinsvis til behandling af kantområder af et landbrugsområde (4), hvor et signal er genereret af det program, som er lagret i arbejdscomputeren og/eller terminalen hvis, ved en afstand, som er lig med eller mindre end en tidligere defineret værdi fra fordelingsmaskinen (1) i enhver retning, der er et andet område (10), hvilket område (10) fortrinsvis er udenfor grænselinjerne af landbrugsområdet, der skal bearbejdes og/eller afmærke et område, som allerede er blevet bearbejdet eller endnu ikke bearbejdet, og dette signal anvendes til at indstille indstillingsparametrene af landbrugsmaskinen fortrinsvis en grænselinje-sprederindretning af en gødnings spreder og/eller dysser af en markspreder fortrinsvis til bearbejdelse af kantområder af et landbrugsområde og/eller udmåleelementer af en såmaskine svarende til den lagrede regel, hvor reglen til indstilling af indstillingsparametrene er konfigureret på en sådan måde, at en eksklusionszone (9) er defineret, som er arrangeret ved mindst en side af landbrugsmaskinen (1) med det resultat, at når et signal er tilstede, som fortrinsvis signalerer en markgrænselinje og/eller et tilstødende areal og/eller bearbejdet og/eller ubearbejdet område (10), eksklusionszonen for materiale, som skal fordeles, fortrinsvis afgrødebeskyttelsesmiddel og/eller gødning og/eller sædekorn forbliver fri, kendetegnet ved, at eksklusionszonen (9) er positioneret foran i bevægelsesretningen af fordelingselementerne af landbrugsmaskinen (1) med det resultat, at der inden markgrænselinjen af et landbrugsområde (4) opnås et område af kanten af landbrugsområdet i bevægelsesretningen - refereret til som en forager (10) - der er ekskluderet fra fordelingen af landbrugsmaterialet.