Vol. 86, No. 5
Abstract
Development of Automatic Turn Over Device for Reversible Plow and Unmanned Tillage with Robot Tractor
──Visualization of Engine Output Distribution in the Field with CAN Data──
[Keywords: robot tractor, large-scale farming, unmanned plow, external hydraulic take-off device, CAN, automatic control]
In this study, we developed an automated system for tillage using a reversible plow. The system uses some CAN data from the robot tractor. The experiment conducted 34 rows of unmanned tillage on a 0.8 ha experimental field. The estimated results of the amount of labor required per hectare (man-h/ha) showed that unmanned plowing using a robot tractor can reduce the amount of labor by 36 % compared with conventional manual plowing. In addition, we also proposed a method to visualize the engine power distribution of a robot tractor that can work continuously under certain conditions on a map to show changes such as soil hardness in a field in a simple and qualitative method.
Fundamental Research on the Adaptation of Grain Containers to High-moisture Grains
[Keywords: grain container, high-moisture grains, grain blockage, grain harvest, grain transportation, grain drying]
For the building of harvesting work systems adapted to high-moisture grains, we investigated the applicability of commercial grain containers to high-moisture grains and clarified the conditions of grain blockage. Accordingly, we measured the working time required for discharge with grain containers. In an iron container, when the moisture or foreign materials content exceeded 28 %w.b. or 1 %, respectively, the discharge stopped. To clarify the conditions of grain blockage, we investigated the conditions of grains during clogging. We found that a risk of bridging exists when the angle of repose exceeds 33° or the compressibility exceeds 6.7 %.