EP1521885B1

EP1521885B1 - Weeding procedure for a railway vehicle

Info

Publication number: EP1521885B1
Application number: EP02777582A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jozsef Gaal
Original assignee: G And G Novenyvedelmi Es Kereskedelmi
Current assignee: G And G Novenyvedelmi Es Kereskedelmi
Priority date: 2002-07-05
Filing date: 2002-10-30
Publication date: 2009-05-06
Anticipated expiration: 2022-10-30
Also published as: EP1521885A1; CN1633536A; HU0202205D0; ATE430841T1; HU224536B1; CN1298218C; HUP0202205A2; DE60232277D1; DK1521885T3; AU2002339205A1; WO2004005625A1; ES2327823T3

Abstract

The subject matter of the invention is a connection arrangement of a weeding machine mounted onto a railway vehicle which is provided with a weed recognising camera, a PC connected to it for recognition of weeds, a meteorological unit, the said units are connected to a control PC. The control PC is connected to a control panel, which in turn is connected to a spraying unit through an electronic control unit and a dosing unit. The spraying unit consists of a water tank, a pump, a flow meter, a control valve, a spraying frame provided with an axle and nozzles furthermore a chemical agent tank, a chemical agent pump and a flow-meter of chemical agent, all the units are connected together. The connection arrangement is containing a species recognising camera connected to a species recognising PC and relief following laser camera connected to a relief following PC and is containing a pre-spraying unit and a spraying unit. The subject matter of the invention is furthermore a procedure for weeding with the above connection arrangement.

Description

The subject matter of the invention is a weeding apparatus for a railway vehicle and a procedure for weeding with this apparatus.
It is a difficult task for the specialists to make a selective and effective elimination of weeds along railway tracks.
The weeds grow between and along the rails and on the slopes on the sides of the tracks.
The pre-treatment of coming up weeds and the efficacious extinction of grown up weeds are separate tasks.
The published patent application DE 4 132 637 describes a procedure and an apparatus for a directed elimination of weeds. According to this procedure, optical sensors scan the soil covered with weeds and a map of weeds is drawn up. If the grade of covering with weeds surpasses a defined threshold, a herbicide is applied to the surface covered with weeds.
A video camera and optical sensors are used to sense the green colour of the vegetation and compose the weed map. Green pixels represent vegetation. The camera and the optical sensors on the moving vehicle are connected to a computer, which opens valves and nozzles for spraying a herbicide according to the sensed weed information.
The disadvantage of the described procedure is that it is not able to regulate the pressure, concentration and directed distribution of the herbicide applied on the surface.
Another disadvantage of the solution is that the species of weeds are not distinguished. Indeed the procedure does not enable to treat the different species of weeds with different herbicides.
The relief of the track is furthermore not taken into account according to this procedure.
The published patent application WO99/17606 discloses a procedure and an apparatus for the treatment of plant growth along railway sections. The vegetation along the railway is determined by means of a camera and a computation unit. Filters are used to make it possible to distinguish between plant types and to treat them differently. The individual nozzles of the spray bar can be controlled selectively and the treatment strategy for a given treatment area depends on the information which has been detected in the field of vision of the camera.
The disadvantage of this procedure is that the relief of the track is not taken into account during the treatment.
The aim of the present invention is to develop a weeding apparatus and procedure, which eliminate the above mentioned disadvantages.
The weeding apparatus and procedure according to the invention enable to perform extirpation of weeds by delivering herbicides specific to the detected weeds, the herbicides having different concentrations in different sections of tracks and being sprayed according to the shapes of the tracks. This aim is achieved by an apparatus according to appended claim 1 and a procedure according to appended claim 6.
The weeding apparatus for a railway vehicle according to the invention is provided with a weed recognising camera, a PC connected to it for recognition of weeds, a meteorological unit, said units being connected to a control PC. The control PC is connected to a control switch panel which, in turn, is connected to a spraying means through an electronic control unit and a dosing unit. The control PC is also connected to a species recognising camera through a species recognising PC, to a relief following laser camera with a laser signal transducer through a relief following PC and to a speed measuring transducer. The control PC and the speed transducer are connected to the control switch panel and an auxiliary control switch panel. The spraying means comprises a spraying unit and a pre-spraying unit. The control PC is furthermore connected to the electronic dosing unit and to the electronic tilting control unit of both the spraying unit and the pre-spraying unit. The spraying unit and the pre-spraying unit each comprise a water tank, a water pump, a water flow meter, a water control valve, a water sectioning valve, an injector valve, a spraying frame provided with an axle and nozzles connected together, wherein the automatic electronic dosing unit is connected to the injector valve. The injector valve of each spraying unit is connected to chemical agent tanks through a flow meter of chemical agents and a chemical agent pump. The axles of the spraying unit and of the pre-spraying unit are each connected to a position sensor and coupled with a tilting motor which, in turn, is connected to the electronic tilting control unit. The control switch panel and the auxiliary control switch panel are connected to the pre-spraying unit and to the spraying one through the electronic dosing units. The pre-spraying unit is preferably configured so that the control valve is coupled to the injector valve and the latter is coupled to the sectioning valve. The spraying unit is preferably configured so that the control valve is coupled to the sectioning valve and the latter is coupled to the injector valve.
Advantageously, the weed recognising camera of the weeding apparatus is a colour camera and the species recognising camera is a colour camera provided with a special filter.
In the weeding procedure according to the invention and performed by the above mentioned apparatus, data are collected by a weed recognising camera and processed by a weed recognising PC, the output signals thereof being transmitted to a control PC. The control PC processes them taking into account also the signals of a meteorological unit and it controls the electronic control units and the dosing units of the pre-spraying unit respectively of the spraying unit through the control switch panel. It controls in this way the herbicide quantity dosed through the nozzles on the spraying frames of the spraying units.
The profile of the railway track is divided into sections and a sectioning valve is assigned to each section. This valve either lets the herbicide to the actual section or closes the way of the herbicide. The positions of the sectioning valves are controlled by a series of switches on the control switch panel respectively by another series on the auxiliary control switch panel. The switches are operated either automatically or by hand. A weed species map is drawn up simultaneously by the species recognising camera provided with a special filter, mounted onto front pail of the railway vehicle viewing into direction of movement and by the species recognising PC, so that a species recognising program selects the sections according to weed species. A herbicide combination prescribed for the detected weed species is chosen for each section. The control PC controls the automatic dosing units of the pre-spraying unit and the spraying unit, taking into account the speed transducer signals. The pictures of the weed recognising camera mounted on the front part of the railway vehicle and viewing in the direction of movement which are sent to the weed recognising PC are used to select those surfaces according to the previously defined sections where the area covered by plants surpasses a defined limit by means of a recognising program. An opening command is then sent to the sectioning valves and to the control valves assigned to these sections and a closing command is sent to all other valves through the control PC taking also into account the signals of the speed transducer. The relief is followed by a laser signal transducer and a relief following laser camera mounted on the front part of railway vehicle. They serve to define the height differences of several points of the railway track. The signals of the relief following laser camera are sent to the relief following PC, and the initially set division into sections are broadened or narrowed using its program through the control PC. The electronic tilting units simultaneously receive commands to set the axles of the spraying frames holding the nozzles into adequate angle according to the position sensor on the axle. The required quantities of water and chemical agent to be mixed together are calculated on the basis of the defined widths of the sections, the signals of the speed transducer and the prescribed doses of herbicides by means of the electronic dosing units connected to the control switch panel and to the auxiliary control switch panel. The injector valves, which serve to mix water and the herbicides together, pertaining to the defined sections are opened or closed according to the calculated values. An electronic automatic dosing unit is assigned to each section and is connected with several chemical agent tanks containing different herbicides. The flow rates by minutes of required herbicides are calculated by the control PC according to the division into sections set by hand on the control switch panel and/or on the auxiliary control switch panel and taking into account the signals of the speed transducer. The control PC compares these values to the currently measured flow rates and the control valves and the sectioning valves are opened or closed according to the results. A herbicide mixture having specific quality, concentration and flow rate is delivered to the defined sections of the railway track through the pre-spraying unit and through the spraying unit.
According to the invention, the weed map made by the weed recognising PC and the weed species map made by the weed species recognising PC are preferably drawn up simultaneously with the spraying stage. Advantageously, the spraying nozzles are positioned in such a way by the tilting motor of the spraying axle that the spraying is performed according to the slope of railway track.
The pre-spraying unit serves advantageously for spraying before sprouting of weeds and the spraying unit serves advantageously for spraying the already sprouted weeds.
The treatment before sprouting and the one after sprouting of weeds can be performed either at different times or at the same time.
The advantages of the apparatus and procedure according to invention are as follows:

The weed map and the weed species map are drawn up at the same time as the spraying is performed (real time method).

The weeding is selective according to the weed species.
The spraying is performed in an angle adequate to the relief of the railway track.
The different sections of the railway track can be treated with herbicides of different compositions and different concentrations.
The treatment before and/or after the sprouting of weeds can be performed either at different times or at the same time.
Since the herbicide solution is prepared in the injector valve, the environment contamination can be avoided in the case of breakdown of the apparatus. Since the different sections of the railway track can be selectively treated with regards to the doses and concentrations of the herbicides, the load of the environment with chemical agents can be reduced.
The spraying procedure can be highly automated, such that the apparatus does not require human intervention or it requires a very small amount thereof after the start.
Figure 1 shows the basic diagram of the weeding apparatus according to invention.
Figure 2 shows the spraying frame and the structural components coupled with it in front view.
The weeding apparatus according to the invention is shown in Figure 1. The control PC 8 connected with a meteorological unit 7. The control PC 8 is also connected to:

a weed recognising camera 1 through a weed recognising PC 4;
a species recognising camera 2 through a species recognising PC 5;
a relief following laser camera 3 which, in turn, is connected with a laser signal transducer 32, through a relief following PC 6;
a speed signal transducer 9.

The control PC 8 and the speed signal transducer 9 connected with it are connected with a control switch panel 11 and with an auxiliary control switch panel 10.
The control PC 8 is furthermore connected to the electronic tilting control units 13 and the electronic dosing units 14 of both the pre-spraying unit "A" and the spraying unit "B". The spraying unit "B", as well as the pre-spraying unit "A", comprises a water tank 17, a water pump 18, a water flow rate meter 19, a water control valve 20, a water sectioning valve 21, an injector valve 22, a spraying frame 23 provided with an axle 24 and nozzles 25 coupled together.
In the pre-spraying unit "A" and in the spraying unit "B", the electronic dosing unit 14 is connected to the injector valves 22.
The injector valve 22 is connected to chemical agent tanks 26 through a chemical agent flow meter 28 and a chemical agent pump 27.
The axles 24 of the spraying frames 23 of both the pre-spraying unit "A" and the spraying unit "B" are provided with position sensors 16, which are also connected to the electronic tilting control units 13.
The axle 24 is coupled with a tilting motor 15, which is also connected to the electronic tilting control unit 13.
The control switch panel 11 and the auxiliary control switch panel 10 of the weeding apparatus are connected to the pre-spraying unit "A" and to the spraying unit "B" through the sectioning valves 21 and the electronic dosing control units 14.
The pre-spraying unit "A" is configured so that the control valve 20 is coupled to the injector valve 22 and the latter is coupled to the sectioning valve 21.
The spraying unit "B" is configured so that the control valve 20 is coupled to the sectioning valve 21 and the latter is coupled to the injector valve 22. The weed recognising camera 1 is advantageously a colour camera and the relief following laser camera 3 is a colour camera provided with a special filter.
The spraying frame 23 provided with the tiltable axle 24 and nozzles 25 is shown in Figure 2.
The tilting around the axle 24 enables to change the angle of the spray jet 31 outgoing from the nozzles 25 to the surface of soil as required.
The choice of the adequate angle provides that both the environment of the rails 29 and that of the railway track 30 are efficaciously treated with the herbicide spray.
The subject matter of the present invention concerns furthermore a weeding procedure performed by the above mentioned weeding apparatus.
According to the procedure data collected by the weed recognising camera 1 are processed by the weed recognising PC 4 and the output signals thereof are sent to the control PC 8. The output signals of the control PC 8 taking into account the data of a meteorological unit 7 control the electronic control units 12 and the electronic dosing units 14 of both the pre-spraying unit "A" and the spraying unit "B" through a control switch panel 11, which signals control the quantity of herbicide delivered through the nozzles 25 of the spraying frame 23 provided with the axle 24.
In the procedure according to invention the profile of the railway track 30 is divided into sections and a sectioning valve 21 is assigned to each section, which lets the herbicide onto defined section or closes the way of herbicide. The positions of the sectioning valves 21 can be controlled by series of switches on the control switch panel 11 respectively on the auxiliary control switch panel 10. The switches can be operated either automatically or by hand.
A weed species map is drawn up by the species recognising PC 5 on the basis of pictures taken by the species recognising camera 2 mounted on the front part of the railway vehicle and viewing to the direction of movement. The sections covered by plants are separated according to weed species by a species recognising program.
The species recognising camera 2 is provided with a special filter.
After the selection according to the weed species, the combination of herbicides prescribed for the defined weed species is chosen for each section and the electronic dosing units 14 of both the pre-spraying unit "A" and the spraying unit "B" are controlled by the control PC 8 taking also into account the signals of the speed transducer 9.
The weed recognising camera 1 viewing to the direction of movement is mounted on the front part of the railway vehicle. Its pictures are transmitted to the weed recognising PC 4, wherein the areas with covering of plants surpassing a defined limit are selected by the weed recognising program in the different sections.
Opening or closing commands relating to these sections are sent to the sectioning valves 21 and to the control valves 20 through the control PC 8 taking also into account the signals of the speed transducer 9.
The laser signal transducer 32 and the relief following laser camera 3 on the front part of the railway vehicle follow the relief and measure the differences of heights of several points of the railway track. The output signals of the relief following laser camera 3 are sent to the relief following PC 6 and the initially established division into sections is broadened or narrowed by means of a program in the relief following PC 6 through the control PC 8.
A command is sent thereafter to the electronic tilting control unit 13 to tilt the axle 24 of the spraying frame holding the nozzles 25 into an appropriate angle on the base of the signals of the position sensor 16 on the axle 24 and the required water and herbicide quantities are calculated with the assistance of the electronic dosing unit 14 connected to the control switch panel 11 and to the auxiliary control switch panel 10 taking into account the widths of the sections, the output signals of the speed transducer 9 and the previously established doses of herbicides. The injector valves 22 assigned to the defined sections, which mix water with the chemical agent, are opened or closed in accordance with the results of calculation.
The electronic dosing control unit 14, which is connected to several chemical agent tanks 26, is assigned to each section. The required flow rate per minute is calculated by means of the control PC 8 according to the division into sections set by hand on the control switch panel 11 and/or on the auxiliary control switch panel 10 and taking into account also the signals of the speed transducer 9. The control PC 8 compares this flow rate with the current flow rate per minute measured by the chemical agent flow meter 28 and the control valves 20 and the sectioning valves 21 are opened or closed on the basis of the results of the comparison.
The herbicide having its quality, concentration and flow rate per minute chosen as described above is delivered through the pre-spraying unit "A" and/or through the spraying unit "B" onto the defined sections of the railway track 30 so that the herbicide spray jet 31 reaches the area to be treated under an optimal angle.
Herbicides containing active agents Diuron or Linuron are advantageously used for weeding treatment before sprouting of weeds, and herbicides with active agents Glifosat or Triklopil are advantageously used for weeding treatment after the sprouting of weeds.
The pictures taken by the weed recognising camera 1 and those of the 15 species recognising camera 2 are advantageously recorded in video-cassettes.

LIST OF THE NOTATIONS

1: wee recognising camera
2: species recognising camera
3: relief following laser camera
4: weed recognising PC
5: species recognising PC
6: relief following PC
7: meteorological unit
8: control PC
9: speed transducer
10: auxiliary control switch panel
11: control switch panel
12: electronic control unit
13: electronic tilting unit
14: electronic dosing unit
15: tilting motor
16: position sensor
17: water tank
18: water pump
19: water flow rate meter
20: water control valve
21: water sectioning valve
22: injector valve
23: spraying frame
24: axle
25: nozzle
26: chemical agent tank
27: chemical agent pump
28: chemical agent flow meter
29: rails
30: railway track
31: spray jet
32: laser signal transducer
"A": pre-spraying unit
"B": spraying unit

Claims

A weeding apparatus for a railway vehicle, which comprises a weed recognising camera (1) connected to a weed recognising PC (4), and a control PC (8) connected to the weed recognising PC (4) and to a control switch panel (11), said control switch panel (11) being connected to a spraying means, characterised in that the control PC (8) is also connected to a speed transducer (9), to a meteorological unit (7), to a species recognising camera (2) through a species recognising PC (5), and to a relief following laser camera (3) through a relief following PC (6), said relief following laser camera (3) being also connected with a laser signal transducer (32), wherein the control PC (8) and the speed transducer (9) are also connected to the control switch panel (11) and to an auxiliary control switch panel (10), and
wherein the spraying means comprises a spraying unit ("B") and a pre-spraying unit ("A"), each comprising a water tank (17), a water pump (18), a water flow rate meter (19), a water control valve (20), a water sectioning valve (21), an injector valve (22) connected to an electronic dosing unit (14), and a spraying frame (23) which is provided with an axle (24) and nozzles (25) coupled together, the axle (24) being coupled with a position sensor (16) and with a tilting motor (15), which are both connected also to an electronic tilting control unit (13),
wherein the injector valve (22) is connected to one or more chemical agent tanks (26) through a chemical agent flow meter (28) and a chemical agent pump (27), the control switch panel (11) and the auxiliary control switch panel (10) being connected to the pre-spraying unit ("A") and to the spraying unit ("B") through the respective sectioning valves (21) and the respective electronic dosing units (14), and the control PC (8) being connected to the electronic tilting control units (13) and to the electronic dosing units (14) of both spraying units ("A", "B").
The weeding apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the pre-spraying unit ("A") is configured so that its control valve (20) is coupled to its injector valve (22) and its injector valve (22) is coupled to its sectioning valve (21).
The weeding apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the spraying unit ("B") is configured so that its control valve (20) is coupled to its sectioning valve (21) and its sectioning valve (21) is coupled to its injector valve (22).
The weeding apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the weed recognising camera (1) is a colour camera.
The weeding apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the species recognising camera (2) is a colour camera provided with a special filter.
A weeding procedure for a railway track performed with the apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the control PC (8), taking into account the data of the meteorological unit (7), controls the electronic control units (12) and the electronic dosing units (14) of both the pre-spraying unit ("A") and the spraying unit ("B") through the control switch panel (11), which control and dosing units (12, 14) control the quantity of herbicide delivered through the nozzles (25) of the spraying frames (23) of pre-spraying and said spraying units ("A", "B"),
wherein the profile of the railway track (30) is divided into sections and a sectioning valve (21), which lets the herbicide onto a defined section or closes the way of herbicide, is assigned to each section, the positions of the sectioning valves (21) being controlled by the series of manually or automatically operated switches on the control switch panel (11), respectively on the auxiliary control switch panel (10),
wherein a weed species map is drawn up simultaneously by the species recognising PC (5) and the species recognising camera (2) provided with a special filter and mounted on the front part of the railway vehicle viewing to the direction of movement in a way that the sections covered by plants are selected according to weed species, the combination of herbicides prescribed for the defined weed species being chosen for each section, and then the electronic dosing units (14) of both the pre-spraying unit ("A") and the spraying unit ("B") being controlled by the control PC (8) taking also into account the signals of the speed transducer (9),
wherein the pictures of the weed recognising camera (1) viewing to the direction of movement and mounted on the front part of the railway vehicle are transmitted to the weed recognising PC (4) and used to select the areas covered with plants surpassing a defined limit by a weed recognising program according to the sections, opening commands relating to these sections being sent to the sectioning valves (21) and to the control valves (20) through the control PC (8) taking also into account the signals of the speed transducer (9), while the control PC (8) sends closing commands relating to the remaining sections,
and wherein the relief of the track is followed by the laser signal transducer (32) and the relief following laser camera (3) on the front part of the railway vehicle, which measure the differences of height of several points of the railway track, the output signals of the relief following laser camera (3) being sent to the relief following PC (6) and the initially established division into sections being broadened or narrowed by means of its program through the control PC (8), wherein at the same time a command is sent to the electronic tilting control units (13) of the pre-spraying unit ("A") and/or the spraying unit ("B") to tilt the axles (24) of the spraying frames holding the nozzles (25) into an appropriate angle, the command being sent on the basis of the signals of the position sensors (16) on the axles (24),
wherein the water and chemical agent quantities required to make the herbicide are then calculated with the assistance of the electronic dosing unit (14) connected to the control switch panel (11) and to the auxiliary control switch panel (10) taking into account the dimensions of the sections, the output signals of the speed transducer (9) and the previously established doses of the chemical agents, and the injector valves (22) assigned to the defined sections, which mix water with the chemical agent, being opened or closed in accordance with the results of said calculation,
an electronic dosing unit (14) connected to several chemical agent tanks (26) being assigned to each section and the required flow rate per minute being calculated by means of the control PC (8) according to division into sections established by hand on the control switch panel (11) and/or on the auxiliary control switch panel (10) and taking into account the signals of the speed transducer (9), this flow rate being compared to the current flow rates per minute measured by the water flow meter (19) and by the chemical agent flow meter (28) for opening or closing the water control valves (20) and the water sectioning valves (21) on the basis of the results of the comparison,
then in the spraying stage the herbicide of quality, concentration and flow rate per minute chosen as described above is delivered through the pre-spraying unit ("A") and/or through the spraying unit ("B") onto the defined sections of the railway track (30) divided into sections.
The procedure according to Claim 6, characterised in that the weed map made by the weed recognising PC (4) and the weed species map made by the species recognising PC (5) are drawn up simultaneously with the spraying stage.
The procedure according to Claim 6, characterised in that the nozzles (25) are positioned by means of the tilting motors (15) so that the spraying is made under an angle appropriate to the slope of the railway track.