JP2022178822A - Tree processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a device for accurately measuring a length of a tree (material) and accurately performing material production work.SOLUTION: There is provided a tree processing device comprising: a plurality of material feeding parts 30 which drives a travel part 31 which contacts a tree W for feeding the tree W in a material length direction; a length measurement part 38 for measuring a delivery amount of the tree W; and a control part 60 for controlling drive of the plurality of material feeding parts 30 on the basis of detection signal detected by the length measurement part 38. The length measurement part 38 has a plurality of position information detection parts 39 which detects positional information related to a delivery amount of the tree W, the control part 60 selects the detection signal at which, a difference with the delivery amount of the tree W is small, out of a plurality of detection signals detected by the position information detection parts 39, then, on the basis of the selected detection signals, controls the driving of the material feeding parts 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

There is an application for exception to loss of novelty

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tree processing device for tree construction work.

Conventionally, tree processing devices called harvesters or processors have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A tree processing device is attached to a working arm provided on a base machine such as a hydraulic excavator and used for tree construction work. Among the tree processing devices, in the timber construction work using a processor, the delimbing work of felled trees and the cutting work of cutting the delimbed trees (timber) into arbitrary lengths to form logs are performed in succession. is done. In timber construction work using a harvester, standing tree felling work can also be performed.

A tree processing apparatus mainly has a gripping section, a feeding section, a length measuring section, a branching section, and a cutting section. The gripping portion grips a tree that is a target of construction work. The material feeding unit feeds the tree in the material length direction by driving a crawler or the like in contact with the grasped tree by a hydraulic motor.

The length measuring unit measures (measures) the length of the delivered tree (timber), that is, the length of the timber. The length measuring unit has, for example, an encoder that measures the number of revolutions of a hydraulic motor that drives the crawler. The length of the material is measured by the length measuring unit, and the material feeding unit stops feeding the material when the material is fed up to the preset length.

The delimbing unit performs delimbing by bringing the cutter into contact with the branch of the tree vigorously sent out by the feeding unit. The cutting section forms a log of desired length by cutting the delivered material to the set length.

JP-A-2000-157075

By the way, when the tree (timber) is fed in the length direction by the lumber feeding unit, the crawler may temporarily idle on the surface of the lumber due to a large load applied to the tree (timber). The hydraulic motor is rotating even when the crawler is idling and the tree (timber) is not fed. In the case of the length measuring unit that measures the material length based on the number of revolutions of the hydraulic motor, the encoder detects the number of revolutions of the hydraulic motor and adds the material length even when the crawler is idling. Therefore, even if the log is cut based on the length measured by the length measuring unit, the length of the log does not reach the desired length, resulting in an error in the length of the log.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a tree processing apparatus capable of accurately measuring the length of a tree (timber) and performing highly accurate timber building work.

The tree processing device of the present invention is
a plurality of material feeding units for feeding trees in the material length direction by driving traveling units that are in contact with the trees;
a length measuring unit for measuring the output amount of trees;
a control unit that controls driving of the plurality of material feeding units based on a detection signal detected by the length measuring unit;
The length measuring unit has a plurality of positional information detecting units for detecting positional information related to the amount of trees sent,
The control unit selects, from among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of positional information detection units, a detection signal having a smaller difference from the output amount of trees, and based on the selected detection signal, the Controls the drive of the material feeding section.

According to the tree processing apparatus of the present invention, the length of a tree (timber) can be measured with high accuracy, and high-precision timber building work can be performed.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a tree processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of the tree processing device. FIG. 3 is a top view of the tree treatment device. FIG. 4 is a front view of the material feeding section. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the felling lumber work is performed by the tree processing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which tree construction work is performed by the tree processing apparatus. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state in which tree construction work is performed by the tree processing system. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a hydraulic circuit of the tree processing device. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the control system of the tree processing device. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation unit in the control system of the tree processing device. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display section of an operation section in the control system of the tree processing apparatus. FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of travel of the crawler (the amount detected by the encoder) and the length of the material actually delivered. FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing material length measurement and control of the material feeding unit by the tree processing apparatus. FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of travel of the crawler (the amount detected by the encoder) and the length of the material actually delivered in the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing material length measurement and control of the material feeding unit by the tree processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

A tree processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
a plurality of material feeding units for feeding trees in the material length direction by driving traveling units that are in contact with the trees;
a length measuring unit for measuring the output amount of trees;
a control unit that controls driving of the plurality of material feeding units based on a detection signal detected by the length measuring unit;
The length measuring unit has a plurality of positional information detecting units for detecting positional information related to the amount of trees sent,
The control unit selects, from among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of positional information detection units, a detection signal having a smaller difference from the output amount of trees, and based on the selected detection signal, the It controls the driving of the material feeding section (first configuration).

According to the above configuration, the control unit selects, from among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of positional information detection units, a detection signal that has a smaller difference from the amount of tree output, and based on the selected detection signal to control the drive of the material feeding unit.
Therefore, the length of the tree (timber) can be measured with high accuracy, and the timber construction work can be performed with high accuracy.

In the above first configuration,
The plurality of position information detection units are provided so as to detect position information related to the amount of travel of the travel unit,
The control unit may select, from among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of positional information detection units, the detection signal with the smallest detection amount as the detection signal with the smallest difference from the amount of trees sent ( second configuration).

According to the above configuration, the control unit selects the detection signal with the smallest detection amount from among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of positional information detection units as the detection signal with the smallest difference from the tree transmission amount. , based on the detection signal, controls the drive of the material feeding unit.
Therefore, it is possible to control the drive of the material feeding unit based on the detection signal with the smallest error in the amount of detection, and it is possible to perform highly accurate material construction work.

In the above first configuration,
The plurality of position information detection units are provided so as to detect position information related to the amount of travel of the travel unit,
The control unit selects a detection signal with the smallest change in detection amount from among the plurality of detection signals detected within a predetermined time by the plurality of position information detection units, The sum of the amounts may be used as a detection signal with a small difference from the output amount of the trees (third configuration).

According to the above configuration, the control unit sets the total amount of change in the selected detection signal as a detection signal having a small difference from the delivery amount of trees, and controls the driving of the material feeding unit based on the detection signal. .
As a result, it is possible to accurately measure the length of the material while reducing the error in the amount of detection that occurs within a predetermined period of time, so it is possible to perform highly accurate construction work.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, the tree processing device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated. In addition, in order to make the description easier to understand, in the drawings referred to below, the configuration is shown in a simplified or schematic form, or some constituent members are omitted. Also, the dimensional ratios between the constituent members shown in each drawing do not necessarily indicate the actual dimensional ratios. In the figure, arrow F indicates the front and arrow B indicates the rear. Arrow L points to the left and arrow R points to the right. Arrow U points upward and arrow D points downward.

In this specification, a standing tree or a tree with branches (whole lumber) that has been cut down is referred to as a tree W, a whole trunk member whose limbs have been removed is referred to as a lumber W, and a log that has been cut into pieces is referred to as a log WL. However, they may be referred to as trees W or lumber W without distinguishing between them.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a base machine 200 to which a tree processing device 100 according to Embodiment 1 is attached. As shown in FIG. 1, a tree processing system 300 is configured by attaching the tree processing device 100 to a base machine 200 .

The base machine 200 is a hydraulic excavator and includes a lower running body 110 , an upper revolving body 120 , a working arm 130 and an operator's cab 150 . Note that the base machine is not limited to a hydraulic excavator. For example, a wheeled base machine may be used.

The undercarriage 110 has a track drive 112 . The crawler track device 112 is a device for running by circulating crawler belts with driving wheels.

The upper revolving body 120 is rotatably supported with respect to the lower traveling body 110 . The upper revolving structure 120 is driven to revolve with respect to the lower traveling structure 110 by a revolving device 114 having a hydraulic actuator.

The working arm 130 is a multi-joint arm that extends from the upper revolving body 120 and performs bending and extending operations. A tree processing device 100 is attached to the tip. The work arm 130 operates under hydraulic control to change the direction and position of the tree treatment device 100 . The working arm 130 has a boom 131 , an arm 133 and a tip arm 135 of the tree treatment device 100 .

The boom 131 is supported on the front side of the upper rotating body 120 so as to be able to rise and fall. The boom 131 can be raised and lowered by a boom cylinder 141, which is a hydraulic actuator.

The arm 133 is connected to the tip of the boom 131 so as to be vertically swingable. Arm 133 is swingable by arm cylinder 143, which is a hydraulic actuator.

The tip arm 135 of the tree processing apparatus 100 is connected to the tip of the arm 133 so as to be vertically swingable. The tip arm 135 is connected to a first support pin 136 at the tip of the arm 133 and a second support pin 137 provided at one end of a link member 138 . The other end of link member 138 is connected to the tip of arm 133 . A tip of a bucket cylinder 145 is connected to the link member 138 .

Boom 131 , arm 133 and tip arm 135 can be raised and lowered by boom cylinder 141 , arm cylinder 143 and bucket cylinder 145 . The boom 131 , the arm 133 , and the tip arm 135 are turned by turning the upper turning body 120 with the turning device 114 .

The operator's cab 150 is provided in the upper revolving body 120 . The operator rides in the operator's cab 150 and operates the operation devices in the operator's cab 150 to perform traveling operation of the lower traveling body 110, turning operation of the upper revolving body 120, driving operation of the work arm 130, and tree processing. The device 100 is operated and the like.

The tree processing device 100 is a harvester, and is a device that performs felling work by gripping a tree W that is a standing tree, and also performs tree construction work while sending out the tree W in the length direction. The tree processing apparatus 100 also has a branching function for cutting the branches of the tree W and a cutting function for cutting the tree W to a predetermined length. A control unit 60 that controls driving of the tree processing device 100 is arranged in the driver's cab 150 of the base machine 200 and the tree processing device 100 . The configuration of the tree processing device 100 will be described later in detail.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the tree processing apparatus 100. FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the tree processing apparatus 100. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tree processing apparatus 100 includes a tree processing apparatus main body 11, a gripping section 20, a tilt section 25, a material feeding section 30, a length measuring section 38 (see FIG. 4), a branching section 40, It has a cutting section 45 and a control section 60 .

The tree processing device main body 11 is a part forming the base of the tree processing device 100 . The tree processing apparatus main body 11 is attached to the tip arm 135 via the tilt arm 27 of the tilt section 25 and the rotator 13 .

The gripping portion 20 is a portion that opens and closes the plurality of feeding portions 30 to grip or release the tree W. As shown in FIG. The grip part 20 has an opening/closing mechanism 21 . The opening/closing mechanism 21 is operated by an opening/closing hydraulic cylinder 23 (see FIG. 8) to open and close the plurality of feeding parts 30 to grip or release the tree W. As shown in FIG.

The tilt part 25 is a part for switching the attitude of the tree processing device 100 in order to cut down the standing tree W and grip the tree W. As shown in FIG. The tilt section 25 has a tilt arm 27 . The tree processing apparatus main body 11 is attached to the tilt arm 27 so as to be able to be raised and lowered. The tilting part 25 is operated by a tilting hydraulic cylinder 28 (see FIGS. 6 and 8) to raise and lower the tree processing apparatus main body 11 with respect to the tilting arm 27 . The tree processing apparatus main body 11 can be switched between a first posture P1 directed vertically (see FIG. 5a) and a second posture P2 directed horizontally (FIGS. 2 and 4). 5b).

The material feeding unit 30 is a part for feeding the gripped tree W in the material length direction. In this embodiment, two material feeding units 30 are provided. The two feeding units 30 are provided in the opening/closing mechanism 21 of the gripping unit 20 so as to face each other. The material feeding section 30 has a crawler 31, a frame 34, and a driving motor 35 for material feeding. The crawler 31 is formed of a chain type crawler. The frame 34 is attached to the opening/closing mechanism 21 . A drive sprocket 37 (see FIG. 4) and a driven sprocket (not shown) are supported by frame 34 . A crawler 31 is wound around the drive sprocket 37 and the driven sprocket. The material feeding drive motor 35 causes the crawler 31 to travel by rotationally driving the drive sprocket 37 . The tree W is gripped by the two feeding units 30, and the two crawlers 31 are caused to travel in the same direction while being in contact with the tree W, thereby feeding the gripped tree W in the material length direction. can. The crawler 31 corresponds to the traveling section of the present invention.

The interval between the two crawlers 31 is variable. When sending out the tree W, the diameter of the tree W changes depending on the position of the tree W, so the interval between the crawlers 31 changes according to the size of the diameter of the tree W depending on the hydraulic pressure. In addition, when the diameter of the tree W increases and a force that pushes the crawlers 31 apart acts, the crawlers 31 can open outward against the hydraulic force of the opening/closing mechanism 21 .

The length measuring unit 38 is attached to the material feeding unit 30 (see FIG. 4) and measures the amount of the tree W to be fed. The length measuring section 38 has an encoder 39 . The encoder 39 corresponds to the position information detector of the present invention. The length measuring unit 38 detects the position information about the traveling amount of the crawler 31 by detecting the rotation of the drive sprocket 37 (the material feeding drive motor 35 ) by the encoder 39 .

The delimbing unit 40 delimbs the tree W delivered by the lumber feeding unit 30 . The branching section 40 has an opening/closing body 41 and a cutter 43 . The openable/closable body 41 can be opened and closed, and is arranged so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the tree W gripped by the gripper 20 in the closed state. The opening/closing body 41 is operated by an opening/closing body hydraulic cylinder 42 (see FIG. 8). The cutter 43 is attached to one side of the opening/closing body 41 . The cutter 43 slides on the surface of the tree W delivered by the material delivery unit 30 and cuts the branches of the tree W. As shown in FIG. The opening/closing body 41 may be opened/closed in response to a control signal input from the control section 60 or may be operated in conjunction with the grip section 20 .

The cutting part 45 is a part that cuts the material W fed by the material feeding part 30 by a predetermined length and cuts into pieces. The cutting section 45 is provided at the end of the material feeding section 30 opposite to the branching section 40 . The cutting part 45 has a saw 46 (see FIG. 6). The cutting unit 45 performs a cutting operation by driving the cutting saw 46 in response to a control signal input from the control unit 60 .

4 is a front view of the material feeding section 30. FIG. In this embodiment, two material feeding units 30 are provided, and FIG. 4 shows one of them. In FIG. 4, a part of the material feeding section 30 is broken to show the internal structure. As shown in FIG. 4, the material feeding section 30 has a crawler 31, a frame 34, and a driving motor 35 for material feeding.

The crawler 31 is configured by connecting a plurality of crawler links 32 in an endless manner. A plurality of spikes 33 are arranged on the outer surface of each crawler link 32 . The spikes 33 are transmission parts and anti-slips when the trees W are gripped and delivered by the two feeding parts 30 .

The frames 34 are provided so as to face each other, and support a driving sprocket 37 and a driven sprocket (not shown). A crawler 31 is wound around the drive sprocket 37 and the driven sprocket. The frame 34 is attached to the opening/closing mechanism 21 of the grip portion 20 .

The material feed drive motor 35 is attached to the frame 34 , and the drive shaft 36 passes through the frame 34 and is connected to the drive sprocket 37 . The feeding material drive motor 35 is a hydraulic motor driven by hydraulic oil, and rotates forward, reverse, and stops according to a control signal input from the control section 60 . The crawler 31 travels and the tree W is sent out by rotating the drive sprocket 37 by the material-sending drive motor 35 .

An encoder 39 of a length measuring section 38 is attached to the material feeding section 30 . In this embodiment, the encoder 39 is provided in each of the two material feeding units 30 and is attached coaxially with the drive shaft 36 of the driving motor 35 for material feeding. A detection signal from each encoder 39 is input to the control section 60 (see FIG. 9). Based on the detection signal from each encoder 39, the travel distance of each crawler 31 can be calculated.

Here, when the trees W are delivered by the two feeding units 30, if the crawlers 31 do not idle with respect to the trees W, the travel distance of the crawlers 31 and the delivery distance of the trees W match. However, each crawler 31 may idle with respect to the tree W, and furthermore, the traveling amount of idle rotation with respect to the tree W differs for each crawler 31 . Therefore, the traveling distance of each crawler 31 and the feeding distance of the tree W do not necessarily match. In this embodiment, the control unit 60 selects the feed material based on the detection signal with a small difference between the traveling amount of the crawler 31 and the feeding amount of the trees W, out of the two detection signals detected by the two encoders 39. It controls driving of the unit 30 . Details of the control based on the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 will be described later in detail.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the tree processing apparatus 100 performs felling lumber work. FIG. 5a shows a state in which a standing tree W is felled by the tree processing apparatus 100. FIG. FIG. 5b shows a state in which the tree processing apparatus 100 delimbs the tree W while feeding it in the direction D1.

As shown in FIG. 5a, when a standing tree W is felled by the tree processing device 100, the tilting unit 25 is operated to bring the tree processing device main body 11 into a first posture P1 in which it faces up and down. In the first posture P1, the delimbing part 40 faces upward and the cutting part 45 faces downward. While maintaining this first posture P1, the gripping unit 20 is operated to grip the vicinity of the root of the tree W with the two feeding units 30, and in this state, the saw 46 of the cutting unit 45 is operated to grip the root of the tree W. disconnect.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5B, while the cut trees W are held by the two feeding units 30, the tilt unit 25 is operated to orient the body 11 of the tree processing apparatus in the horizontal direction. Switch to 2-posture P2. As a result, the standing tree W can be felled by the tree processing device 100 .

After the trees W are cut down by the tree processing device 100, the crawlers 31 of the two feeding units 30 are driven and rotated in the same direction to feed the trees W in the direction D1. At this time, the cutter 43 of the limbing section 40 is brought into sliding contact with the surface of the tree W delivered by the material feeding section 30 to cut the branches of the tree W. As shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the encoders 39 provided in the two material feeding units 30 respectively detect the amount of movement of the tree W sent out, and based on the detection signals from the two encoders 39, the movement of the tree W is detected. The length from the incision WP to the cut portion 45 is measured (measured). Then, when the material W is delivered to a preset length, the material feeding unit 30 is stopped, and the material W is cut by the cutting unit 45 to form a log WL of a desired length.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the tree processing apparatus 100 performs tree construction work. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the material W is cut by the cutting portion 45 . The cutting section 45 has a cutting saw 46 , a cutting saw driving motor 47 , and a cutting saw hydraulic cylinder 48 .

The cutting saw 46 is a chainsaw and has a saw bar 461 and a saw chain 463 . The saw bar 461 is a plate-like member that guides the saw chain 463 . The saw bar 461 is swingably supported by a support shaft 465 . The saw chain 463 is wound around the saw bar 461 and a sprocket (not shown). A cutting saw driving motor 47 is connected to the sprocket. The cut saw drive motor 47 is a hydraulic motor. When the cutting saw drive motor 47 is rotated by the hydraulic oil, the saw chain 463 is rotationally driven to perform the cutting operation.

The cutting saw hydraulic cylinder 48 is an actuator that rocks the cutting saw 46 in the radial direction of the material W so as to move forward and backward. When the hydraulic cylinder 48 for cutting saw is expanded and contracted by hydraulic oil, the cutting saw 46 is rocked so as to move forward and backward in the radial direction of the material W, and the cutting operation is executed.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the log WL cut into pieces by the cutting section 45 is separated from the material W gripped by the crawler 31 . A new cut edge WP is formed in the material W gripped by the crawler 31 . When forming the next log WL, the length from the new cut end WP to the cutting portion 45 (cut saw 46) is measured by the length measuring portion 38 while the material W is fed by the material feeding portion 30 (length measurement). do. The length of the material W is measured by the length measuring unit 38, the material feeding unit 30 is stopped when the material W is fed out to a preset length, and the material W is cut by the cutting unit 45 to obtain a desired length. Form a log WL.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state in which the tree processing system 300 performs construction work. FIG. 7 shows a construction work in which the length of the material W is measured by the length measuring unit 38 and the log WL having the length LP is formed.

As shown in FIG. 7a, the length from the cut end WP to the cut portion 45 is measured by the length measuring unit 38 while the material W is fed by the material feeding unit 30. As shown in FIG. The material W is formed with a cut edge WP that has been previously cut by the cutting unit 45 . When the length of the material W measured by the length measuring unit 38 reaches a preset length LP, the material feeding unit 30 is stopped.

By cutting the material W with the cutting part 45 in the state shown in FIG. 7a, a log WL having a desired length can be formed as shown in FIG. 7b. The position of the newly formed incision WP matches the position of the cutting saw 46 of the cutting portion 45 . When the logs WL are subsequently formed from the same tree W, the logs WL are continuously formed by similarly measuring the length LP and cutting the logs with reference to the newly formed cut end WP. be able to.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the hydraulic circuit 50 of the tree processing device 100. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8 , in the hydraulic circuit 50 , the rotator 13 , the gripping portion 20 , the tilting portion 25 , the material feeding portion 30 , the branching portion 40 , and the cutting portion 45 are driven. In this embodiment, the rotator 13, the gripping unit 20, the tilting unit 25, the material feeding unit 30, the branching unit 40, and the cutting unit 45 are operated by operating an operation lever or the like (not shown) or by a control signal from the control unit 60. It is possible to control the drive of

The rotator 13 has a rotator drive motor 14 . The direction of the tree processing apparatus 100 can be controlled by rotating the rotator driving motor 14 forward, reverse, and stopping with the hydraulic oil.

The gripping portion 20 has an opening/closing hydraulic cylinder 23 that operates the opening/closing mechanism 21 . The opening and closing hydraulic cylinder 23 expands and contracts with the hydraulic oil, thereby opening and closing the two feeding units 30 to hold or release the tree W. As shown in FIG.

The tilt section 25 has a tilt hydraulic cylinder 28 . Hydraulic oil expands and contracts the hydraulic cylinder 28 for tilting, thereby tilting the tree processing device main body 11 with respect to the tilt arm 27, and changing the posture of the tree processing device main body 11 between the first posture P1 (see FIG. 5a) and the second posture P1 (see FIG. 5a). and P2 (see FIGS. 2 and 5b).

The material feeding section 30 has two driving motors 35 for material feeding. The tree W is sent out by rotating the crawler 31 by rotating the feeding drive motor 35 with the hydraulic oil. Further, drive control is performed to drive, decelerate, and stop the material feeding drive motor 35 so that the material W can be cut by the cutting unit 45 at a position where the material W has been fed out by a predetermined length.

The branching part 40 has an opening/closing body hydraulic cylinder 42 for opening/closing the opening/closing body 41 . The opening and closing body hydraulic cylinder 42 expands and contracts with the operating oil, thereby opening and closing the opening and closing body 41 to hold the tree W gripped by the gripping portion 20 .

The cutting section 45 has a cutting drive motor 47 and a cutting hydraulic cylinder 48 . When the cutting saw driving motor 47 is rotated by the hydraulic oil, the cutting saw 46 is driven to perform the cutting operation. Further, when the hydraulic cylinder 48 for cutting saw is expanded and contracted by hydraulic oil, the cutting saw 46 is rocked so as to move forward and backward in the radial direction of the material W, and the cutting operation is executed.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the control system of the tree processing device 100. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391, second encoder 392) of the length measuring unit 38 provided in the two material feeding units 30 (first material feeding unit 301, second material feeding unit 302) are shown. ) to measure the length of the material W, and control the two material feeding units 30 (the first material feeding unit 301 and the second material feeding unit 302) based on the measured length. A configuration related to control of the device 100 is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the control unit 60 is a device that performs information processing according to a prerecorded program and communicates information with each unit of the tree processing device 100 . The configuration of the control unit 60 is not limited, and a known computer device equipped with a central processing unit (CPU), memory, external storage device, information communication means, etc. can be used. In this embodiment, the controller 60 is arranged in the driver's cab 150 of the base machine 200 and the tree processing device 100 , but it may be arranged integrally with the tree processing device 100 . Further, the control unit 60 may perform information communication with each unit of the tree processing device 100 via radio.

The control unit 60 has a drive control unit 61 , a travel amount calculation unit 62 , a travel amount determination unit 63 and a material length determination unit 65 . The control unit 60 includes two encoders 39 (a first encoder 391 and a second encoder 392) attached to the two material feeding units 30 (a first material feeding unit 301 and a second material feeding unit 302), and It is configured to receive an output signal from the operation unit 90 .

The crawlers 31 respectively provided in the two material feeding units 30 (the first material feeding unit 301 and the second material feeding unit 302) may cause the trees W to spin (slip). Therefore, the detection amounts of the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) may not match each other. In this case, the feed amount of the tree W obtained from the traveling amount of the crawler 31 includes an error, and the error also differs for each crawler 31 . In this embodiment, of the detection signals from the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392), the detection signal with the smaller detection amount is compared with the travel amount of the crawler 31 and the actual delivery amount of the tree W. A detection signal with a small difference in Based on the detection signal, the driving of the two material feeding units 30 (the first material feeding unit 301 and the second material feeding unit 302) is controlled.

The drive control section 61 is configured as part of the control section 60 . The drive control unit 61 determines the travel amount of the crawler 31 selected by the travel amount determination unit 63 from among the travel amounts of the crawlers 31 calculated by the travel amount calculation unit 62 . control the drive.

The travel distance calculator 62 calculates the travel distance of each crawler 31 based on the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391 and second encoder 392).

The travel amount determination unit 63 determines the smaller travel amount among the travel amounts of the crawlers 31 calculated by the travel amount calculation unit 62 . This is because, when considering that the two crawlers 31 cause different slips (idling) on the tree W, the smaller the calculated travel amount, the smaller the amount of slip between the crawler 31 and the tree W. , the difference between the traveling amount of the crawler 31 and the feeding amount of the tree W becomes smaller. The travel amount of one crawler 31 selected by the travel amount determination unit 63 from the travel amounts of the crawlers 31 is used as the delivery amount of the tree W (the length of the material W).

The material length determination unit 65 determines whether or not the travel distance (=length of the material W) of one crawler 31 selected by the travel distance determination unit 63 has reached a preset length of the material W. . When the material length determining unit 65 determines that the traveling distance (=length of the material W) of one crawler 31 selected by the traveling distance determining unit 63 has reached the preset length of the material W. , the drive control unit 61 performs control to stop the driving of the two material feeding units 30 (the first material feeding unit 301 and the second material feeding unit 302).

The operation unit 90 rotates, decelerates, stops, and rotates the material feeding unit 30 so that an arbitrary length can be set for the log WL formed by the construction work, and the material feeding unit 30 can be stopped at an arbitrary length position. Alternatively, it is a part for setting processing contents by the tree processing device 100, such as setting a reverse position. The operation unit 90 has a display unit 91 and an input unit 93 .

The display unit 91 is a part that displays the processing contents of the tree processing device 100, and hardware such as an indicator using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or a liquid crystal display device can be used. The display unit 91 displays instruction information from the input unit 93 and results of processing by the tree processing device 100 .

The input unit 93 is a part for the operator to input an instruction regarding the processing contents of the tree processing apparatus 100. Input by operating a physical switch, or input by operating the display unit 91 with a touch panel to display an image in a predetermined image area. input by touch can be used. The instruction input by the input unit 93 is transmitted to the control unit 60 as instruction information.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the operation unit 90 in the control system of the tree processing device 100. As shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the display section 91 of the operation section 90 in the control system of the tree processing apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a virtual switch image is displayed on a touch panel type display section 91 to partially function as an input section 93 . An operator in the driver's cab 150 of the base machine 200 checks the processing contents displayed on the display unit 91 at any time, performs tree construction work for the tree W, and inputs instruction information from the input unit 93 as necessary. .

FIG. 10 shows a state in which an operation screen (normal screen) is displayed on the display unit 91. As shown in FIG. This operation screen indicates that the length measurement set value for cutting the material W is "205 cm".

FIG. 11 shows a state in which the deceleration setting screen (setting menu) is displayed on the display section 91 . In this embodiment, during automatic length measurement, the material feeding speed of the material feeding unit 30 is set to switch from the normal speed to the slow speed before the length measurement set value (“205 cm” in FIG. 10). Two deceleration patterns (deceleration 1 and deceleration 2) are set as patterns. Each numerical value displayed on the deceleration setting screen (setting menu) can be changed, and the changed numerical value can be input to the input section 93 of each column of the display section 91 which is a touch panel.

Here, when the travel distances of the two crawlers 31 (the detection amounts of the two encoders 39) are different, the smaller the travel distance of the crawler 31 (the detection amount of the encoders 39), the smaller the crawler 31 and the tree W. The amount of slippage (the amount of idling) is small, and the difference between the travel amount of the crawler 31 and the feed amount of the tree W is small. FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of travel of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the encoder 39) and the length of the material W actually delivered. The vertical axis represents the amount of travel of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the encoder 39), and the horizontal axis represents the length of the material W actually delivered.

The line R1 (solid line) in FIG. 12 indicates the amount of travel of the crawler 31 of the first material feeding section 301 (the amount detected by the first encoder 391), and the line R2 (broken line) indicates the travel amount of the second material feeding section 302. The amount of travel of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the second encoder 392) is shown. A line RC (virtual line) indicates an ideal state in which the crawler 31 does not idle and the travel distance of the crawler 31 matches the length of the material W actually delivered. In addition, in FIG. 12, in order to make it easier to understand the idling of the crawler 31, the idling amount of the crawler 31 is shown larger than the actual amount for the lines R1 and R2.

The sections of the lines R1 and R2 that have the same slope as the line RC are sections in which the crawler 31 does not idle against the tree W and the traveling amount of the crawler 31 matches the length of the material W actually delivered. is. On the other hand, in the section between the lines R1 and R2 where the slope is greater than the line RC, the crawler 31 is idling against the tree W, and the travel amount of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the encoder 39) is actually This section is longer than the length of the material W delivered. Further, the reason why the idling positions and the lengths of the sections of the lines R1 and R2 are different is that each crawler 31 has a different idling position and idling amount with respect to the tree W. FIG. For this reason, the amount of travel of each crawler 31 (the amount detected by the encoder 39) does not match each other, and does not match the actual amount of trees W delivered.

In the line RC, when the travel distance of the crawler 31 reaches the set value LP (vertical axis), the length of the material W actually delivered reaches LP (horizontal axis). On the other hand, since idling occurs on the lines R1 and R2, the amount of travel of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the encoder 39) is greater than the length of the material W actually delivered. Therefore, on the lines R1 and R2, the travel amount of the crawler 31 reaches the set value LP (vertical axis) before the ideal state line RC. As a result, on the line R1, even if the travel amount of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the first encoder 391) reaches the set value LP (vertical axis), the length of the material W actually delivered is LR1, which is shorter than LP. (horizontal axis). Further, in the line R2, even if the travel amount of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the second encoder 392) reaches the set value LP (vertical axis), the length of the material W actually delivered is LR2 ( horizontal axis). Comparing LR1 and LR2, which are the lengths of the material W actually delivered, LR2 is closer to the set length LP (horizontal axis) of the material W than LR1, and has a smaller error.

In other words, when the line R1 and the line R2 are compared, the line R2, in which the travel amount of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the encoder 39) is smaller, has less idling of the crawler 31, and the travel amount of the crawler 31 and the feed amount of the tree W are smaller. It can be said that the difference between

However, when the lines R1 and R2 are compared in more detail, both the lines R1 and R2 indicate that the travel distance of the crawler 31 (encoder 39 detection amount). In addition, in the section where the length of the material W is from L11 (horizontal axis) to L12 (horizontal axis), the travel amount of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the encoder 39) is shown by the line R1 (solid line) rather than by the line R2 (broken line). is small, and it can be said that the line R1 (solid line) has a smaller error between the traveling amount of the crawler 31 and the feeding amount of the tree W. In the section where the length of the material W exceeds L12 (horizontal axis), the line R1 and the line R2 are reversed, and the line R2 (broken line) indicates the travel amount of the crawler 31 (encoder 39 ) is small, and it can be said that the line R2 (broken line) has a smaller error between the traveling amount of the crawler 31 and the feeding amount of the tree W.

As described above, the line R1 and the line R2 vary in error from the length of the material W actually delivered due to the difference in the position where the slip occurs and the amount of slip. Also, there are sections where the line R1 has higher accuracy than the line R2, conversely, there are sections where the line R2 has higher accuracy than the line R1, and there are sections where the accuracy of the lines R1 and R2 is the same. For this reason, the traveling distances of the two crawlers 31 (detected amounts by the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) are compared, and the smaller traveling distance (detected amount by the encoder 39) of the crawler 31 is selected. By measuring the length of the material W based on this, the length of the material W can be measured with higher precision than when only one encoder is used.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing material length measurement by the tree processing apparatus 100 and control of the material feeding section 30 . As shown in FIG. 13, when material length measurement is started, first, a target value (measurement set value LP) is set. The setting is performed while the setting menu is displayed on the display unit 91 as shown in FIG.

After setting the length measurement set value, the operator confirms that the cut end WP of the material W is positioned at the position of the saw bar 461 of the cutting unit 45 (the position of the cutting saw 46), and performs the material feeding operation to feed the material. Delivery of the material W by the unit 30 is started (driving of the first material feeding unit 301 and the second material feeding unit 302).

When the delivery of the material W is started, the travel distance calculation unit 62 calculates the travel distance of each crawler 31 based on detection signals output from the two encoders 39 (first encoder 391 and second encoder 392). calculate.

The travel amount determination unit 63 determines the smaller travel amount among the travel amounts of the crawlers 31 calculated by the travel amount calculation unit 62 .

The material length determination unit 65 determines whether the travel amount (=length of the material W) of one crawler 31 selected by the travel amount determination unit 63 has reached a preset target value (length measurement set value LP). determine what If the target value (measurement set value LP) has not been reached (NO), feeding continues. If the target value (measurement set value LP) is reached (YES), stop the material feeding unit 30 (stop the first material feeding unit 301 and the second material feeding unit 302), and end the material length measurement. do.

In the present embodiment, after calculating the travel amount of each crawler 31 based on the detection signals output from the two encoders 39, the travel amount determination unit 63 determines a smaller travel amount. Not limited. The detection signals output from the two encoders 39 are first compared, the detection signal with the smaller detection amount is determined and selected, and the traveling distance of the crawler 31 is calculated based on the selected detection signal. good. In any case, the length of the material W is measured with higher accuracy by controlling the driving of the material feeding unit 30 based on the detection signal in which the difference between the travel amount of the crawler 31 and the amount of the tree W delivered is small. be able to.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a tree processing apparatus 100A according to Embodiment 2 will be described. FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of travel of the crawler 31 (the amount detected by the encoder 39) and the length of the material W actually delivered in the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing material length measurement and control of the material feeding unit 30 by the tree processing apparatus 100A according to the second embodiment.

As described in the first embodiment, the lines R1 and R2 in FIG. 12 show variations in error from the length of the material W actually delivered due to differences in the positions and amounts of idle rotation of the crawlers 31. there is Also, there are sections where the line R1 has higher accuracy than the line R2, and conversely, there are sections where the line R2 has higher accuracy than the line R1.

For this reason, in the second embodiment, the detection amounts of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) are compared every predetermined time (minute time), and the encoder 39 within the predetermined time (minute time). is selected, and the length of the material W is measured based on the integrated value of the detected amount of change. This makes it possible to measure the length of the material W with higher accuracy.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount detected by the encoder 39 (travel distance of the crawler 31) and the length of the material W actually delivered. , and the horizontal axis is the length of the material W actually delivered. A line R1 (solid line) and a line R2 (thin dashed line) indicate the detection amount of the first encoder 391 (travel amount of the crawler 31 of the first material feeding unit 301) and the detection amount of the second encoder 392 (second feeding unit 301). The amount of travel of the crawler 31 of the material portion 302) is shown.

Line R3 (thick dashed line) is obtained by comparing the detected amounts of the two encoders 39 (amount of change in the detected amount in a predetermined period of time) at predetermined time intervals (minute time), and integrating the smaller amount of change in the detected amount. value. A line RC (virtual line) indicates an ideal state in which the crawler 31 does not idle and the travel distance of the crawler 31 matches the length of the material W actually delivered.

In FIG. 14, the line R1 and the line R2 overlap in the section where the length of the material W actually delivered is from 0 to L21, and the detection amount of the encoder 39 (travel amount of each crawler 31) is the same. there is Therefore, line R3 overlaps line R1 and line R2.

In the section where the length of the material W is from L21 to L22, comparing the detection amounts of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) every predetermined time (minute time), line R1 (solid line) , the amount of change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 is smaller than that of the line R2 (thin dashed line). For this reason, in the section where the length of the material W is from L21 to L22, if the amount of change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 is selected every predetermined time (minute time) and the amount of change is integrated, the length of the material W is In the section from L21 to L22, the line R3 (thick dashed line) overlaps the line R1 (solid line).

In the section where the length of the material W is from L22 to L23, comparing the detection amounts of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) every predetermined time (minute time), line R1 (solid line) and the line R2 (thin dashed line) have the same amount of change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 (equal slope). For this reason, when the amount of change in the detection amount of one of the encoders 39 is selected for each predetermined time (minute time) in the section from L22 to L23 in which the length of the material W is, and the amount of change is integrated, the length of the material W can be calculated as follows: In the section from L22 to L23, the line R3 (thick dashed line) overlaps the line R1 (solid line).

In the section where the length of the material W is from L23 to L24, comparing the detection amounts of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) for each predetermined time (minute time), line R2 (thin broken line ) has a smaller amount of change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 than the line R1 (solid line). For this reason, in the section where the length of the material W is from L23 to L24, the one with the smaller amount of change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 is selected every predetermined time (very small time), and when these are integrated, the length of the material W is In the section from L23 to L24, the linearity of line R3 (thick dashed line) is the same as line R2 (thin dashed line). In addition, the magnitude of the integrated amount of line R3 in the section from L23 to L24 of the material W is smaller (closer to line RC) than lines R1 (solid line) and R2 (thin broken line).

In the section where the length of the material W is L24 or later, comparing the amount of change in the detection amount of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) every predetermined time (minute time), line R1 and The amount of change in the detected amount is the same for the line R2 (the slopes of the lines R1 and R2 are the same). For this reason, when the amount of change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 is integrated every predetermined time (minute time) in the section where the length of the material W is L24 or later, the line R3 The linearity of (thick dashed line) is the same as line R1 (solid line) and line R2 (thin dashed line). In addition, the magnitude of the integrated amount of line R3 in the section after length L24 of material W is smaller (closer to line RC) than lines R1 (solid line) and R2 (thin dashed line).

In the line R3, when the travel amount of the crawler 31 calculated based on the integrated value of the amount of change in the detection amount reaches the set value LP (vertical axis), the length of the material W actually delivered is LR3. becomes. Although the length LR3 has an error with respect to the set value LP (horizontal axis), the set value LP (horizontal axis) and high accuracy.

In this way, the amount of change in the detection amount of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) is compared for each predetermined time (minute time), and the amount of change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 is smaller. By selecting the above method and measuring the length of the material W based on the value obtained by integrating the amount of change, the length of the material W can be measured with higher accuracy.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing material length measurement and control of the material feeding unit 30 by the tree processing apparatus 100A. As shown in FIG. 15, when material length measurement is started, first, a target value (measurement set value LP) is set. The setting is performed while the setting menu is displayed on the display unit 91 as shown in FIG.

After setting the length measurement set value, the operator confirms that the cut end WP of the material W is positioned at the position of the saw bar 461 of the cutting unit 45 (the position of the cutting saw 46), and performs the material feeding operation to feed the material. Delivery of the material W by the unit 30 is started (driving of the first material feeding unit 301 and the second material feeding unit 302).

When the delivery of the material W is started, the detection amounts of the two encoders 39 (the first encoder 391 and the second encoder 392) are compared every predetermined time (very short time), and within the predetermined time (very small time) The one with the smaller amount of change in the detection amount of the encoder 39 is selected. The amount of change in the selected detection amount is integrated.

The travel amount calculation unit 62 calculates the travel amount of the crawler 31 based on the integrated value of the amount of change in the detected amount.

The material length determination unit 65 determines whether or not the travel amount of the crawler 31 (=the length of the material W) calculated by the travel amount calculation unit 62 has reached a preset target value (length measurement set value LP). judge. If the target value (measurement set value LP) has not been reached (NO), feeding continues. If the target value (measurement set value LP) is reached (YES), stop the material feeding unit 30 (stop the first material feeding unit 301 and the second material feeding unit 302), and end the material length measurement. do.

In this embodiment, the amount of change in the detection signals output from the two encoders 39 is compared over a predetermined period of time, a value with a small amount of change is selected and integrated, and the crawler 31 travels based on the integrated value. Amounts are calculated, but the order is not limited. Based on the amount of change in the detection signal output from the two encoders 39 in the predetermined time, the amount of change in the travel amount of each crawler 31 in the predetermined time is calculated, and then the smaller amount of change in the travel amount is selected. The amount of travel of the crawler 31 may be calculated by integrating. In any case, the length of the material W is measured with higher accuracy by controlling the driving of the material feeding unit 30 based on the detection signal in which the difference between the travel amount of the crawler 31 and the amount of the tree W delivered is small. be able to.

[Modification]
The tree processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Although two encoders are provided in this embodiment, three or more encoders may be provided. Further, the position information detection unit is not limited to an encoder, and may be any device that can detect position information related to the amount of travel of the crawler.

Further, in the second embodiment, the amount of change in the detected amount of the encoder is selected every predetermined time, but the predetermined time does not have to be at regular intervals.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments are merely examples for carrying out the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented by appropriately modifying the above-described embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be utilized for the tree processing apparatus using a tree processing apparatus.

100 Tree processing device 200 Base machine 300 Tree processing system 30 Material feeding unit 31 Running unit (crawler)
38 position information detector (encoder)
60 control unit W tree, wood

Claims (3)

a plurality of material feeding units for feeding the trees in the material length direction by driving the traveling units that are in contact with the trees;
a length measuring unit for measuring the output amount of trees;
a control unit that controls driving of the plurality of material feeding units based on a detection signal detected by the length measuring unit;
The length measuring unit has a plurality of positional information detecting units for detecting positional information related to the amount of trees sent,
The control unit selects, from among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of positional information detection units, a detection signal having a smaller difference from the output amount of trees, and based on the selected detection signal, the to control the drive of the material feeding section,
Tree processing equipment. The plurality of position information detection units are provided so as to detect position information related to the amount of travel of the travel unit,
The control unit selects, from among the plurality of detection signals detected by the plurality of positional information detection units, the detection signal with the smallest detection amount as the detection signal with the smallest difference from the amount of trees sent.
The tree treatment device according to claim 1. The plurality of position information detection units are provided so as to detect position information related to the amount of travel of the travel unit,
The control unit selects a detection signal with the smallest change in detection amount from among the plurality of detection signals detected within a predetermined time by the plurality of position information detection units, Let the sum of the amounts be a detection signal with a small difference from the output amount of the trees,
The tree treatment device according to claim 1.

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