JPH09275742A - Fill detector for thatch collecting vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fill detector with which the fill of a thatch storage bag can be detected without stopping the suction and collection of thatch. SOLUTION: A pressure sensor 15 is fitted to a conveyance duct, and the fill of a thatch storage bag 17 is detected by the fluctuation of air pressure inside the duct. Besides, as for the fill detector, a pressure detection hole is pierced on the side face of the conveyance duct, and the pressure sensor 15 is fitted through a connection cylinder 14, on which an air release window is pierced, to this pressure detection hole. The air release window, with which the opening area can be freely adjusted, is opened on the connection cylinder 14 on which the opening area of the pressure detection hole or the air release window can be freely adjusted, and the fluctuation of air pressure is sensitively detected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a full-state detector for a thatch collection vehicle.

[0002]

In order to control the quality of a wide lawn at a golf course or the like with good quality, maintenance work such as cutting the lawn with a lawn mower to adjust the height of the lawn is performed regularly. If the shavings or thatch after mowing the lawn is left on the ground as it is, it hinders the growth of the turf and interferes with the competition. Therefore, immediately after the lawn mowing, the thatch is sucked and collected by the thatch collection vehicle and eliminated. The sucked thatch is sent to the thatch storage bag attached to the bag filling device of the collection vehicle and packed in it. When the bag is full, drop it on the ground and replace it with a new bag one after another. Here, the fullness of the bag can be detected by the weight sensor, but when the thatch is wet it is heavier than when it is dry.Therefore, when the thatch is wet, the sensor operates before the bag is full when the thatch is wet. There is a problem that the detection accuracy is low, such as the sensor being erroneously operated due to the bag being shaken by the vibration of the collection vehicle while the vehicle is running.

The present invention solves this problem.
The purpose is to detect with high precision whether the thatch storage bag is full.

[0004]

The invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a pressure sensor is attached to a transfer duct for sending the sucked thatch to the storage bag, and fullness of the that storage bag is detected from fluctuations in air pressure inside the duct. And The invention of claim 2 is
A pressure detection hole is bored on the side of the transfer duct, and a pressure sensor is attached to this pressure detection hole via a connecting tube with an air relief window.The air relief pressure of the pressure detection hole or the air relief window can be adjusted. It is characterized by

[0005]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a thatch truck embodying the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. At the front of the traveling vehicle 1,
The thatch collecting unit 2 that collects thatch is equipped, and the transport duct 4 is connected to this. Reference numeral 3 denotes a transport fan device. The transport fan device 3 may be provided not only in the middle of the transport duct 4 but also at the start end portion thereof, that is, immediately after the thatch collection unit 2. The thatch bagging portion 6 is connected to the rear portion of the traveling vehicle 1 via the connecting mechanism 5. The terminal end of the main duct 4a of the transport duct 4 branches into a bag mouth duct 4b and a spare duct 4c. 7
Is a reference wheel that supports the thatch collecting unit 2, and adjusts the height of the wheel in advance corresponding to the inclination or unevenness of the ground, and the thatch collecting rotor 9 with the auxiliary wheel 8 has a predetermined height with respect to the ground. Keep on. Reference numeral 10 is a drive wheel of the traveling vehicle 1, and 11 is a driven wheel.

A switching shutter 12 is provided at the branch portion between the bag mouth duct 4b and the spare duct 4c, and the spare duct 4c is normally closed. Bag mouth duct 4b and spare duct 4c
Pressure sensors 15, 15 for detecting the air pressure in the duct are attached to the respective side surfaces of.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the bag packing portion, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view thereof. Reference numeral 16 denotes an underframe of the thatch bag packing unit 6, which is connected to the rear portion of the traveling vehicle 1 by a connecting mechanism 5 and a number of thatch storage bags 17 are hung below the underframe 16. The bag 17 is supported by inserting the bag support rod 18 into the support hole 19 thereof. 20
Is a bag mouth support rod, which prevents the bag mouth from becoming loose and narrowing. Reference numeral 21 denotes a bag pressing spring, which holds the upper part of the bag 17 and supports the bag 17 so that the bag 17 will not be pulled out of the bag supporting rod 18 unintentionally.

Reference numeral 22 is an opening portion for opening the opening of the bag, and while pressing the upper portion of the bag 17 with the slide shaft 23, the bag opening claw 25 is operated by the electromagnetic cylinder 24 and the front surface of the bag 17 is hooked. Open your mouth. Reference numeral 26 is a weight sensor. A guide 31 made of soft vinyl chloride or the like is provided at the lower end of the bag mouth duct 4b so that the bag 17 can be seen near the bag mouth. Then, the thatch on the ground surface is picked up by the rotation of the thatch collection rotor 9 and flipped up, sucked up by the transfer fan device 3, sent out to the thatch bagging section 6 through the transfer duct 4, and the thatch is thrown into the bag 17 from the bag mouth duct 4b. .

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show a bag mouth duct 4b.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the pressure detecting portion provided in the auxiliary duct 4c, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the pressure sensor 15. The pressure detection holes 13 are provided on the bag mouth duct 4b and the spare duct 4c, respectively.
Is provided, and the connection cylinder 14 is attached to the pressure detection hole 13,
A pressure sensor 15 for detecting the air pressure in the duct at its tip
Install each. The pressure detection hole 13 is provided with a slide plate 32 for adjusting the opening area thereof. The connecting cylinder 14 is provided with an air escape window 28 toward the upstream side of the air flow in the duct, and a window shutter 33 for adjusting the opening area thereof.

The pressure sensor 15 is composed of an elastic plate 29 for closing the upper end of the connecting cylinder 14 and a micro switch 30 provided in the closed space.
The operating piece 30a of is brought into contact with the elastic plate 29. When the transport fan device 3 is operated, wind flows in the bag mouth duct 4b, and the wind force causes the thatch to be transported and accumulated in the bag 17. As a result, when the bag 17 becomes full, the air pressure in the duct becomes high and the elastic plate 29 of the pressure sensor 15 is pushed to push the dent operation piece 30a and turn on the microswitch 30 to output a full detection signal. This full detection signal sounds a buzzer to instruct the operator to replace the bag 17 or to open the bag 2
2 is started and the bag is changed automatically. The air release pressure is changed by adjusting the opening areas of the pressure detection hole 13 and the air release window 28 in accordance with the dry or wet state of the thatch to be collected, and the fluctuation of the air pressure acting on the elastic plate 29 is mitigated. The sensitivity of the pressure sensor 15 is adjusted. The window adjusting plate 3 is bent in a V shape as shown in FIG. 9 without directly closing the opening area of the air escape window 28 with the window shutter 33.
It is also possible to apply 4 to the air escape window 28, press the V-shaped tip on the air escape window 28 side with the adjusting screw 35, and adjust the air escape pressure to adjust the sensitivity of the pressure sensor 15.

Depending on the dry or wet state of thatch, the bag 1
7 is different in the way of clogging. When it is dry, it is clogged from the inside of the bag 17, and when it is damp, it is clogged from the bottom of the bag 17. As described above, depending on the state of the thatch, the pressure sensor 15 may detect before the bag 17 is full or after it is overly clogged. Therefore, an appropriate full state is detected by adjusting the opening area of the pressure detection hole 13 or the air escape window 28 to accelerate or delay the rise of the air pressure acting on the elastic plate 29. By the way, if the opening area of the pressure detection hole 13 is widened, full detection will be accelerated, and if the opening area is narrowed, full detection will be delayed. On the other hand, the air escape window 2
If the opening area of 8 is widened or the air escape pressure of the air escape window 28 is lowered, the fullness detection becomes slower. On the contrary, if the opening area is narrowed or the air escape pressure of the air escape window 28 is increased, it becomes faster.

When the fullness of the thatch storage bag 17 is detected by the pressure sensor 15 in this way, the shutter 12 is switched and the thatch is sent to the auxiliary bag attached to the auxiliary duct 4c. Meanwhile, the thatch bag filling unit 6 is driven to remove the full thatch storage bag 17. At the same time, a new thatch storage bag 17 is installed, the shutter 12 is returned from the spare duct 4c to the bag mouth duct 4b, and the bag packing operation for the thatch is continued.
Further, by mounting the pressure sensor 15 also on the spare duct 4c, the fullness of the spare thatch storage bag 17 can be detected in advance. With this information, thatch bagging section 6
The spare thatch storage bag 17 can be replaced in advance so that the thatch does not get caught in the spare thatch storage bag 17 while the full thatch storage bag 17 is being replaced.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, a pressure sensor is attached to the conveying duct for conveying the that air, and the fullness of the thatch storing bag is detected from the fluctuation of the air pressure inside the duct. The fullness of the thatch storage bag can be reliably detected without being influenced by the dry state of the thatch, etc. Also,
By similarly attaching the pressure sensor to the spare duct, it is possible to prevent an accident that the spare thatch storage bag overflows and the collection of thatch is stopped, and to improve the efficiency of thatch collection work.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a thatch collection vehicle embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a thatch collection vehicle embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the bag filling device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an essential part of the same.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view in the flow direction showing the details of the pressure sensor.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view in the direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the same.

FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view in the distribution direction of the above.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing an example of the structure of a pressure sensor.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the structure of the pressure sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Traveling vehicle 2 Thatch collecting part 3 Conveying fan device 4 Conveying duct 4a Main duct 4b Bag mouth duct 4c Spare duct 5 Coupling mechanism 6 Thatch bagging part 7 Reference wheel 8 Auxiliary wheel 9 Thatch collecting rotor 10 Driving wheel 11 Driven wheel 12 Shutter 13 Pressure Detection Hole 14 Connection Cylinder 15 Pressure Sensor 16 Underframe 17 Thatch Storage Bag 18 Bag Support Rod 19 Support Hole 20 Bag Mouth Support Rod 21 Bag Pressing Spring 22 Bag Opening 23 Slide Shaft 24 Electromagnetic Cylinder 25 Bag Opening Claw 26 Weight Sensor 27 Locking hole 28 Air escape window 29 Elastic plate 30 Micro switch 31 Guide 32 Slide plate 33 Window shutter 34 Window adjusting plate 35 Adjusting screw

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A thatch storage device in which a thatch collector is connected to a bag filling section via a transport duct, and the above-ground thatch collected by the thatch collector is air-transported to the bag filling section by a fan, and waits in the bag packing section. In a thatch collection vehicle in which thatch is packed in a bag, a pressure sensor is attached to the transfer duct, and the fullness of the thatch storage bag is detected from fluctuations in air pressure inside the duct. 2. The fullness detection device according to claim 1, wherein a pressure detection hole is formed in a side surface of the transport duct, and the pressure sensor is attached through a connection cylinder having an air escape window formed in the pressure detection hole. At the same time, the fullness detecting device is characterized in that the air escape pressure of the pressure detection hole or the air escape window is adjustable.