Agricultural spraying machine and method for spraying a phytosanitary liquid on land cultivated by means of such a machine

Abstract

The invention relates to an agricultural machine ( 1 ) for spraying a phytosanitary liquid over a crop planted in a section of land, comprising a spray boom ( 2 ) having at least one am 1 ( 2 a ), a mechanism for raising/lowering the boom ( 2 ) and, for each arm ( 2 a ), a mechanism ( 3 ) for inclining the arm ( 2 a ), a manual system ( 38 ) for controlling each inclining body ( 3 ), and a receiver ( 4 ) for communicating with a geolocalisation system and a control unit ( 5 ). Each arm ( 2 a ) is provided with at least one sensor ( 6 ) measuring a distance (d) between said sensor and the surface (S) of the land or vegetation planted in the land, and an element ( 7, 70, 103 ) for measuring a datum relating to the incline of the arm ( 2 a ). The control unit ( 5 ) is connected to each sensor ( 6 ), to the receiver ( 4 ) and to the measuring element ( 7, 70, 103 ), is provided with a storage memory ( 52 ), and is able to control each inclining mechanism ( 3 ) and the raising/lowering mechanism ( 30 ) according to the information (d, α) stored in the memory ( 52 ).

1 . Agricultural machine ( 1 ) for spraying a phytosanitary liquid on cultivated land, comprising
 means for moving the machine over the surface of the land,   a spray boom for spraying the phytosanitary liquid, comprising at least one arm,   for the arm or for at least one of the arms of the boom, a mechanism for inclining the arm in relation to a frame of the agricultural machine,   a mechanism for raising/lowering the boom according to a first axis fixed in relation to the frame of the machine and vertical, and even substantially vertical when the machine is on a planar horizontal surface or in relation to a second axis of the same direction as the earth's gravity field,   a manual control system for controlling each mechanism for inclining and for controlling the mechanism for raising/lowering,   a receiver able to communicate with a global positioning system and   a control unit,   the arm or at least one of the arms of the boom being provided with at least one sensor, each sensor measuring a distance (d) between the surface of the land and this sensor or, where applicable, between vegetation planted in the land and this sensor,   wherein the arm or at least one of the arms of the boom is provided   with a measuring element for measuring a data relative to the inclination, in a plane perpendicular to the forward direction, of a longitudinal axis of the arm and   wherein the control unit is   connected to each sensor, to the receiver and to the measuring element,   provided with a memory for storing information provided by each sensor, by the receiver and by each measuring element and   able to control each mechanism for inclining and the mechanism for raising/lowering ( 30 ) depending on the information stored in the memory.   
     
     
         2 . Machine according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one mechanism for inclining and/or the mechanism for raising/lowering comprises a hydraulic or electrical cylinder. 
     
     
         3 . Machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the or at least one of the arms of the boom is provided with two sensors. 
     
     
         4 . Machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the mechanism for raising/lowering and/or the or at least one mechanism for inclining are provided with a system for measuring a magnitude corresponding to a configuration of this or these mechanisms. 
     
     
         5 . Method for spraying a phytosanitary liquid on vegetation planted on a land by means of a machine according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it comprises:
 an initial step a), wherein, before the spraying, the user enters into the control unit the value of a minimum distance and the value of a maximum distance greater than the minimum distance,   a prior step b) wherein,   the machine travels over the surface of the land, at a first speed, according to a determined trajectory, in such a way that the boom sweeps the entire surface, with the user manoeuvring, over the entire trajectory, the manual control system of each mechanism for inclining and/or the manual control system of the mechanism for raising/lowering, in such a way that the distance between each sensor and the surface or the vegetation is between the maximum distance and the minimum distance,   the control unit records in its memory, for sampled positions of the machine along the trajectory, on the one hand, the distance between each sensor and the land or the vegetation and, on the other hand, at least one data, relative to the inclination of each arm,   a step of spraying c), after the step b), wherein, during the spraying,   the machine travels over the surface, at a second speed greater than or equal to the first speed, according to the trajectory traveled during the prior step b) and   for each sampled position in prior step b) and according to the data stored in the memory, the control unit controls, ahead of time, the mechanism for raising/lowering and each mechanism for inclining, in such a way that the distance between each sensor and the land or the vegetation is between the maximum distance and the minimum distance.   
     
     
         6 . Method of spraying according to  claim 5 , characterised in that during the step of spraying c), the control unit controls ahead of time each mechanism for inclining in such a way that, for each sampled position in prior step b), the inclination of each arm is similar to the inclination of each arm defined by the user during the prior step b). 
     
     
         7 . Method of spraying according to  claim 5 , wherein a mechanism for raising/lowering and/or a or at least one mechanism for inclining are provided with a system for measuring a magnitude corresponding to a configuration of this or these mechanisms
 wherein during the prior step b), the control unit records in its memory, for sampled positions of the machine along the trajectory, at least one magnitude corresponding to a configuration of the mechanism for raising/lowering and/or of at least one or of the mechanism for inclining and   wherein during the step of spraying c), for each sampled position in prior step b), the control unit automatically controls and ahead of time the mechanism for raising/lowering and/or at least one or the mechanism for inclining in such a way that each magnitude is equal to the magnitudes recorded during the prior step b).   
     
     
         8 . Method of spraying according to  claim 5 , wherein during the initial step a), the user enters into the control unit the value of an optimum distance, between the minimum distance and the maximum distance, and in that during the step of spraying c), the control unit automatically controls and ahead of time each mechanism for inclining and the mechanism for raising/lowering in such a way that, for each sampled position in prior step b), the distance measured by each sensor is substantially equal to the optimum distance. 
     
     
         9 . Method of spraying according to  claim 5 , wherein, during the initial step a), the user enters into the control unit the value of an optimum distance, between the minimum distance and the maximum distance, and, during the prior step b), as soon as the distance measured by at least one sensor is less than the minimum distance, the control unit automatically controls and with priority the mechanism for raising/lowering in order to separate the boom from the surface until the distance measured by each sensor is greater than or equal to the optimum distance. 
     
     
         10 . Method of spraying according to  claim 5 , wherein, during the initial step a), the user enters into the control unit the value of an optimum distance, between the minimum distance and the maximum distance, and, during the prior step b), the control unit automatically controls the mechanism for raising/lowering and/or the or at least one mechanism for inclining in such a way that the distance (d) measured by each sensor is substantially equal to the optimum distance, the user manoeuvring the manual control system of the mechanism for raising/lowering and/or the manual control system of each mechanism for inclining in order to correct the controlling of the control unit. 
     
     
         11 . Method of spraying according to  claim 5 , wherein the minimum distance is between 30 cm and 70 cm, preferably of a magnitude of 50 cm. 
     
     
         12 . Method of spraying according to  claim 5 , wherein the maximum distance is between 70 cm and 150 cm, preferably of a magnitude of 100 cm. 
     
     
         13 . Method of spraying according to  claim 5 , wherein during the initial step a), the user enters into the control unit the value of an optimum distance, between the minimum distance and the maximum distance, and in that during the step of spraying c), the control unit automatically controls and ahead of time each mechanism for inclining and the mechanism for raising/lowering in such a way that, for each sampled position in prior step b), the distance measured by each sensor is substantially equal to the optimum distance, wherein the optimum distance is between 50 cm and 100 cm, preferably of a magnitude of 70 cm. 
     
     
         14 . Method for spraying a phytosanitary liquid on vegetation planted on a land by means of a machine according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it comprises:
 an initial step a2), wherein, before the spraying, the user enters into the control unit the value of a minimum distance and the value of an optimum distance greater than the minimum distance,   a prior step b2), after the initial step a2), wherein,   the machine ( 1 ) travels over the surface of the land, at a first speed, according to a determined trajectory, in such a way that the boom sweeps the entire surface,   as soon as the distance (d) measured by at least one sensor is less than the minimum distance, entered during the initial step a2), the control unit controls the mechanism for raising/lowering, until the distance measured by this or these sensors is equal to the optimum distance,   the user manoeuvres the manual control system of each mechanism for inclining in such a way that the distance measured by each sensor is globally equal to the optimum distance,   at each time that the user actuates the manual control system of a mechanism for inclining, the control unit records in its memory the position of the machine along the trajectory and either a duration of this actuation, or a distance traveled by the machine during this actuation, and, a few seconds after the end of this actuation, the control unit records in its memory a first data relative to the inclination of the arm corresponding to the manual control system actuated,   a step of spraying c2), after the prior step b2), wherein, during the spraying,   the machine travels over the surface of the land, at a second speed greater than or equal to the first speed, according to the trajectory traveled during the prior step b2) and   when the machine reaches one of the positions recorded during the prior step b2), the control unit controls the mechanism for inclining, actuated for this position by the user in prior step b2), either during a duration equal to the duration of the corresponding actuation recorded during the prior step b2), or until the machine has traveled a distance equal to the corresponding distance traveled during the prior step b2), and, a few seconds after the end of the actuation, the control unit compares a second data relative to the inclination of the corresponding arm with the first corresponding data recorded during the prior step b2) and, if the second data differs by plus or minus 1% from the first data, the control unit controls this mechanism for inclining in a direction for reducing the difference between the second data and the first data.   
     
     
         15 . Method of spraying according to  claim 14 , wherein the minimum distance is between 30 cm and 70 cm, preferably of a magnitude of 50 cm. 
     
     
         16 . Method of spraying according to  claim 14 , wherein the minimum distance is between 70 cm and 150 cm, preferably of a magnitude of 100 cm. 
     
     
         17 . Method of spraying according to  claim 14 , wherein the optimum distance is between 50 cm and 100 cm, preferably of a magnitude of 70 cm.