Patent Application
20230165188
This application claims priority from German Application No. DE 10 2021 131 682.0 filed Dec. 1, 2021; German Application No. DE 10 2021 131 681.2 filed Dec. 1, 2021; German Application No. DE 10 2021 131 679.0 filed Dec. 1, 2021; German Application No. DE 10 2021 133 545.0 filed Dec. 16, 2021; and German Application No. DE 10 2022 100 541.0 filed Jan. 11, 2022. The aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The invention relates to a self-propelled lawn care appliance for aerating or subsoiling the ground beneath a turf, comprising: a chassis with at least one drive shaft and a steering device, and an implement comprising a row of piercing tools that extends over a lane width, the piercing tools having tines movable up and down for piercing the ground for subsoiling. Further, the invention relates to a lawn care method for aerating or subsoiling the ground below the turf while moving a lawn care appliance across a lane on the ground and piercing, pivoting and extracting piercing tools.
For the technological background, reference is made to the following literature:
Nowadays, implements of lawn care appliances disclosed in literature [1] to [7] are usually articulated to tractors or similar towing vehicles on a wishbone. As smaller implements, there are also specialized implements with a seat, similar to a ride-on mower, and implements with a handlebar for a person to walk along. Due to the mode of operation of the lawn care appliances, corresponding lawn care methods for ground aeration or subsoiling of ground are also known.
Literature [8] and [9] relates to systems for image capture and pattern recognition that can be used in industrial production or in the field of drive assist systems for motor vehicles.
Literature [10] to [24] relates to self-propelled harvesters and drive assist systems therefor, in which steering is assisted or performed by the detection of the quantity of harvest directly ahead of the machine, or positioning in the field is performed by other means such as GPS or laser. All these systems are either unsuitable or too inaccurate for lawn care equipment or too complex and correspondingly expensive.
Literature [25] relates to an agricultural working vehicle in the form of a tractor equipped with a plow and having a lane guidance system comprising at least one optical image capturing device arranged on the working vehicle and an image processing system, wherein reference objects such as plant rows or working edges located along a lane travelled by the working vehicle can be detected by the at least one image capturing device and can be discerned by means of the image processing system, and wherein a lane can be predetermined by a control device on the basis of an evaluation of the plant rows or working edges. Also in literature [26], a tractor with plow is provided, wherein working edges of the plow are used for lane recognition. Also in literature [27] as well as literature [28], rows of plants or existing ground structures are used as reference objects for steering a tractor. Accordingly, the systems known from [25] to [28] only work if corresponding reference objects are present beforehand, which is not the case for ground aeration and subsoiling. In particular, in the usual different modes of a ground aerator or subsoiling device for lawns, no such reference objects are present, and if the ground were dug up as in the case of a plow or the like to create a visually discernible working edge, the lawn would be destroyed, which would be contrary to the purpose of a lawn care appliance.
The invention is based on the problem of improving a self-propelled lawn care appliance with respect to operability while keeping its construction as inexpensive as possible. In addition, the aim is to provide a lawn care method for ground aeration or subsoiling that can be carried out particularly easily and inexpensively by an operator.
To solve the problem, the invention provides a lawn care appliance as well as a lawn care method according to the independent claims.
Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.
According to one aspect thereof, the invention provides a self-propelled lawn care appliance for ground aeration or subsoiling of ground below the turf, comprising: a chassis with at least one drive shaft and a steering device; and an implement comprising a row of piercing tools that extends over a lane width, the piercing tools having tines movable up and down for piercing the ground for subsoiling, characterized by an optical lane recognition device having at least one camera for capturing an image of an area of the ground laterally of the implement with respect to the direction of travel, and an image processing unit for image processing of and pattern recognition in images captured by the at least one camera,
a) wherein in a first mode of operation of the lawn care appliance, the implement is designed to create a hole pattern with a predefined lane width when travelling across the ground during the use of the implement, and the lane recognition device is designed to recognize the hole pattern of an area of the ground previously treated by the lawn care appliance and, based thereon, a boundary of a previously treated lane, and/or
b) wherein in a second mode of operation of the lawn care appliance, the implement is designed to remove soil material from the ground and deposit it on the predefined lane width with a defined boundary, wherein the lane recognition device is designed to recognize the defined boundary of the deposited soil material of a ground area previously treated by the lawn care appliance and, based thereon, the boundary of a previously treated lane.
It is preferred that, in a third mode of operation of the lawn care appliance, the implement is designed to generate, by means of a supporting or engaging element engaging the ground, a ground pattern having a defined boundary of the lane width, the lane recognition device being designed to recognize, on the basis of the defined boundary of the ground pattern, a previously treated lane.
Preferably, the camera is arranged and configured to capture an image of the lateral area with respect to the direction of travel that is located in front of the implement in the direction of travel. For example, an image is captured of an area that is located to the side of the chassis with the implement being arranged at the rear area.
It is preferred that a controller is provided for controlling the drive shaft and the steering device, which is adapted in an automatic mode to steer the lawn care appliance based on the output of the lane recognition device such that the current lane of the implement extends immediately adjacent to the previously treated lane.
It is preferred that the lawn care appliance is remotely controllable and a user interface is formed on a remote control of the lawn care appliance.
It is preferred that the user interface is provided with a display on which information about a target lane determined based on the data from the lane recognition device and information about a current actual lane are displayed.
It is preferred that the camera of the lane recognition device is arranged on the side of the lawn care appliance.
It is preferred that the lane recognition device has at least one camera on each of the two sides.
It is preferred that the drive shaft comprises two differently controllable and drivable drive wheels and that the chassis further comprises at least one freely rotatable swivel wheel arranged at a distance from the drive shaft in the direction of travel.
It is preferred that, in the first mode of operation, solid tines are provided on the piercing tools and/or that, in the second mode of operation, hollow tines are provided on the piercing tools.
It is preferred that at least one mechanical guiding and/or marking element is provided for generating the visually discernible defined boundary of the previously treated lane.
It is preferred that the at least one mechanical guiding and/or marking element comprises a swath board or a swath plate or a tracking disc for engaging the ground.
According to another aspect, the invention provides a lawn care method for ground aeration or subsoiling of the ground below a turf, comprising:
moving a lawn care appliance along a first lane across the ground and treating the ground by alternately inserting and extracting a series of piercing tools with tines of the lawn care appliance while pivoting the piercing tools in the ground, thereby creating a visually recognizable pattern to determine a boundary of the first lane, moving the lawn care appliance along a second lane adjacent to and in parallel with the first lane to correspondingly treat the ground along the second lane, wherein the first lane is detected by optically detecting the recognizable pattern to discern the boundary of the first lane and steer the lawn care appliance in response to the detected boundary.
Preferably, the lawn care method comprises remotely operating the lawn care appliance by an operator who is a distance from the lawn care appliance.
Preferably, the pattern recognition comprises:
detecting a pattern of holes on the ground produced by the piercing tools.
Preferably, the pattern recognition comprises:
generating a defined optically detectable boundary of the first lane by at least one mechanical guiding and marking element, and optically detecting the boundary of the first lane.
Preferably, the step of generating the defined boundary comprises:
depositing soil material removed from the ground during piercing and extraction of the piercing tools, and arranging the deposited soil material on the first lane up to the defined boundary.
A preferred embodiment of the invention provides for a remotely operable lawn care appliance. This eliminates the need for the operator to be at a handlebar or on a seat at a specific location on the lawn care appliance and allows the operator to position himself to have the best view of the implement. However, remotely steering a lawn care appliance following a previously treated lane is difficult. Advantageous embodiments of the invention assist an operator in this task.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention provide a lawn care appliance with an optical lane connection system.
Manual connective driving precisely within the lane is very demanding for the operator, especially with a radio remote control.
GNSS-based automatic positioning on golf courses and in stadiums is only partially applicable due to shading and therefore too inaccurate. Also the other positioning and driving assistance systems known from literature [10]-[24] are either unsuitable for ground aerators or too expensive and especially too demanding to operate.
In advantageous embodiments of the invention, on the other hand, it is provided that the ground image of a reference lane produced by the working process is captured by a camera and evaluated by image recognition software.
Preferably, the geometry pattern produced by the working process is recognized by means of image recognition software and an ideal connecting lane is determined, preferably via an adjustable offset value.
Preferably, the steering of the vehicle is controlled by an actuator in such a way that a specific reference point of the machine is located on the connecting lane.
Preferably, steering commands are triggered to the traction drive on the basis of the comparison of the camera position with the lane position.
Preferably, additional attachments of the machine, such as swath plates, rollers, tracking discs, generate certain features for image recognition on the reference lane.
In one mode of operation, the geometry pattern to be recognized is the hole pattern produced by the working process. In particular, the set hole spacing is taken into account for pattern recognition.
Preferably, the optical image recognition system is programmed for different optical features. Depending on the individual case—mode of operation—the user can change the connection recognition.
Preferably, a live camera image shows the user the thus recognized or discerned connection line and the currently existing lane.
Preferably, the image quality of the camera images is enhanced in low light ambient conditions by the use of additional light sources arranged on the lawn care machine.
Preferred embodiments of the invention have the advantage of providing a more uniform treatment with substantially simplified operation.
When operating with Vollspoon and a high growth height, for example, a rolled grass edge can be recognized as an image feature.
When operating with hollow spoons (hollow tines), a boundary of a depositing area of deposited cones of soil material produced by a swath plate or similar guiding element can be used as an image feature.
Preferably, the ground image of a reference lane produced by the work process is thus treated by mechanical elements (swath plates, tracking discs) in such a way that a lane image is produced which can be evaluated by a camera system. Based on the comparison of the camera position with the lane position, steering commands are triggered to the traction drive.
One exemplary embodiment will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings it is shown by:
The chassis 16 comprises a drive shaft 20 and at least one swivel wheel 22 spaced from the drive shaft 20. Further, the lawn care appliance 10 is provided with a steering device 120.
In the illustrated embodiment, the drive shaft 20 comprises a first drive wheel 24-1 on one side of the lawn care appliance 11 and a second drive wheel 24-2 on the other side of the lawn care appliance 11. Each of the drive wheels 24-1, 24-2 is drivable differently by its own drive motor 26-1, 26-2. The steering device 120 has a steering control unit as part of the controller 102 of the lawn care appliance 11, by means of which the drive motors 26-1, 26-2 can be controlled, so that cornering is made possible by different drive speeds of the drive wheels 24-1, 24-2, and turning of the lawn care appliance 11 is also made possible by different drive directions. The swivel wheel 22 can be swiveled accordingly about a swivel axis 28 extending vertically with at least one directional component, in order to support the front area of the lawn care appliance 11 and thereby follow the steering movements.
The implement 12, since most of the energy is required for this purpose, is directly driven by a drive unit 30 which also provides the energy for the drive motors 26-1, 26-2. In a preferred embodiment, the drive unit 30 comprises an internal combustion engine 64. In one possible embodiment, the drive motors 26-1, 26-2 are hydraulically driven, with the internal combustion engine 64 also driving a hydraulic pump to supply hydraulic pressure. In the preferred embodiment, the drive motors 26-1, 26-2 are electric motors, with the internal combustion engine 64 supplying the electric power via a generator. Of course, other drive units 30 are also possible, such as a battery-electric motor combination or the like.
The implement 12 is designed as a subsoiling device 38, as known for example from literature [1]-[7]. Reference is made to [1]-[7] for more details on the possible design of the subsoiling device.
Accordingly, the implement 12 includes a series of piercing tools 40 with tines 42 that are movable up and down on support arms 44. In the position supported on the ground, the tines 42 of the piercing tools are thereby pierced into the ground when the respective support arm 44 is moved downwards, pivoted there somewhat in order to loosen the ground below the turf, and then pulled out of the ground again when the support arm 44 is moved upwards.
In embodiments not shown in more detail, the lawn care appliance 11 may be formed as described and shown in literature [1], with an operator seat and with an operator interface that is arranged, for example, on the chassis 16 together with a driver's cab, or it may be designed as described and shown in literature [2], comprising a handle such as a handlebar, a steering handle or the like having the operator interface for an operator to walk along.
In the preferred embodiment of the lawn care appliance 11 shown, the lawn care appliance 11 is designed to be remotely operated by an operator who can also stand or walk at a certain distance from the lawn care appliance 11. For this purpose, the lawn care appliance 11 has a remote control 122 in communication with the controller 102 via a bidirectional radio link, on which an operator interface 124 is provided with a display 126 and with actuating elements 128.
For example, the actuating elements 128 can be used to control forward travel, reverse travel, and the steering device 120. In addition, actuating elements 128 are provided for operating further actuators of the lawn care appliance 11 and for setting different modes and modes of operation of the lawn care appliance 11. The display 126 is designed, for example, as a display via which different information about the state and operation of the lawn care appliance 11 can be displayed.
In order to achieve the most uniform growth of lawns, for example on golf courses or in soccer stadiums or in parks, lawn care should be carried out as uniformly as possible. When driving across a lane, the ground 18 is treated with a working width of the implement 12 over which the tines 42 of the piercing tools 40 are distributed. This working width of the implement 12 is referred to herein as the width of a lane or lane width 130. If a larger area is to be treated, it is advantageous if the individual lanes 140, 142 are directly adjacent to one another, i.e., if possible, without spacing between the lanes 140, 142 and also without overlapping between the lanes. For this purpose, with the conventional lawn care appliances of literature [1]-[7], the operator had to control the lawn care appliance 11 as precisely as possible.
To assist the operator, an optical lane recognition device 132 is provided in the illustrated embodiments of the lawn care appliance 11. The lane recognition device 132 comprises a lane detection unit 134-1, 134-2 on at least one of the sides, preferably on both sides of the lawn care appliance 11, each of which comprises at least one camera 136. The cameras 136 capture an image of an area to the side of the lawn care appliance 11 and in front of the implement 12, which in this case is in front of the drive shaft 20. Further, the lane recognition device 132 comprises, for example as part of the controller 102 or as part of the respective lane recognition units 134-1, an image processing unit 138 for image processing of the images captured by the respective camera 136 and for pattern recognition in these images. Corresponding optical devices having cameras 136 and image processing units 138, each capable of recognizing predetermined patterns, are available on the market and are described and shown, for example, in literature [8] and [9].
In embodiments not shown in detail, the lane recognition device 132 may further include at least one light source for illuminating the area to be captured by the camera. The image quality of the camera images can thus be enhanced, for example, in ambient conditions with low light intensity, by the use of additional light sources mounted on the lawn care appliance 11.
According to the attached drawing figures, the at least one image processing unit 138 is configured to recognize different patterns depending on the mode of operation, so as to recognize or discern the boundary of a previously treated first lane 140 when driving along an adjacent second lane 142 and either assist the operator to drive along the second lane 142 immediately adjacent to the first lane 140 or, in an automatic mode, issue corresponding commands to the steering device 120 to automatically drive along the second lane 142 so that the same is immediately adjacent the first lane 140.
The lawn care appliance 11 can be operated in different modes, depending on which a different ground image can be selected for pattern recognition by the image processing unit 138.
In the first mode of operation shown in
In the mode of operation shown in
In a third mode of operation, not shown in detail, the lawn is higher, so that the hole pattern 144 is not optimally optically recognizable.
The support rollers 46 are arranged to extend exactly to the boundary of the lane width 130. When traveling across the ground, the lawn is pressed down by means of the support rollers 46 (or additionally or alternatively by other means, e.g. by means of the drive wheels 24-1, 24-2), so that the boundary 156 between the pressed-down lawn and the lawn still standing up is visually discernible. In this third mode of operation, a corresponding ground image is also set as a pattern to be recognized in the image processing unit 138.
The image processing unit 138 is designed as an electronic unit with corresponding control programs and memories, in which the respective ground images are set as patterns to be recognized and which can be selected at the operator interface 124 in accordance with the selected operating mode of the lawn care appliance 11.
The one lane 140 previously treated is thus used as a reference lane for traveling the subsequent lane 142. The boundary 156 of the respective reference lane 140 is recognized.
In some embodiments, in a manual mode, a target lane 158 is displayed on the display 126, as shown in
In an automatic mode, the steering device 120 is controlled by appropriate control programs in the controller 102 in response to the output of the lane recognition device 132.
The hardware of the optical lane recognition devices 132 is available at very low cost compared to other possible positioning units. The lane recognition device 132 enormously facilitates the operation of the lawn care appliance 11 and enables a very uniform treatment of an even larger area, even in shaded areas such as in soccer stadiums, by precisely traveling lanes 140, 142 that are exactly adjacent to each other. The subsoiling device 38 is removably hinged to the implement linkage 14 and can also be replaced by another implement 12, for example a mowing deck, in order to perform other work as well.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2021 131 679.0 | Dec 2021 | DE | national |
| 10 2021 131 681.2 | Dec 2021 | DE | national |
| 10 2021 131 682.0 | Dec 2021 | DE | national |
| 10 2021 133 545.0 | Dec 2021 | DE | national |
| 10 2022 100 541.0 | Jan 2022 | DE | national |
