AN UNMANNED VEHICLE FOR DISPLACING MANURE

Abstract: The invention relates to an unmanned vehicle for displacing manure, comprising a steering unit for steering the vehicle, a frame (1) and first and second supporting means for supporting the frame on the ground, the first supporting means comprising a propelling unit (2) for propelling the unmanned vehicle, while the total weight of the vehicle bears on the first and second supporting means, and the second supporting means comprise manure displacing means for displacing manure.

Description: AN UNMANNED VEHICLE FOR DISPLACING MANURE The invention relates to an unmanned vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1. In modern stables there is usually applied a stable floor in which there are provided apertures for letting through cow manure. Under the stable floor there is provided a receptacle in which the manure passed through is collected. Generally there is provided in the stable a so-called manure slide which moves through the stable at fixed points of time and displaces the manure partially to the dung pit and partially through the apertures in the stable floor. A new development is an unmanned vehicle for displacing manure. Such an implement is known from e.g. Messrs. Joz B.V. as the JOZTECH (Landbouw Rai (Agricultural Rai), Amsterdam, January 1999). This implement is provided with a propelling unit comprising two freely rotatable wheels and one driven and controllable wheel . The disadvantage of said implement is that the construction of the driven and controllable wheel is complicated and therefore expensive. Moreover, the construction is very sensitive to dirt, which is not desirable in the stable environment. Furthermore, the JOZTECH is driven by only one controllable wheel, so that wheel skidding often occurs on the stable floor which is very slippery due to the presence of manure. As a result thereof it is not possible to determine the exact position of the vehicle on the basis of the number of revolutions of the driven wheel. Finally, the manure slide exerts relatively little pressure on the stable floor, so that not all the manure is displaced by the manure slide and part of the manure moves along the lower side thereof. The invention aims at obviating the above-mentioned drawbacks by means of an unmanned vehicle according to the characterizing part of claim 1. The invention further relates to an unmanned vehicle according to the characterizing part of claim 2. The advantage of this unmanned vehicle is that the manure displacing means form part of the supporting means, as a result of which a considerable part of the weight of the unmanned vehicle always bears on the manure displacing means, so that there is always exerted enough pressure on the stable floor, and manure is effectively displaced over the stable floor and is shifted through the apertures in the stable floor. Moreover, the drive unit of the propelling members also constitutes the steering unit of the unmanned vehicle. Accordingly, there is achieved a compact construction which is insensitive to dirt and which, besides, is less complicated, so that lower manufacture costs are involved. According to an inventive feature, the unmanned vehicle comprises a steering unit which is constituted by the propelling unit which comprises at least one rotatable propelling member. In this manner there is obtained a particularly compact vehicle which has moreover an excellent manoeuvrability. According to another embodiment of the invention, the vehicle comprises a steering unit which is constituted by the propelling unit which comprises at least two independently driven propelling members. In this embodiment manoeuvring of the vehicle is possible by varying the peripheral velocity of the propelling members. The propelling members may comprise a wheel and/or a caterpillar track. Caterpillar tracks have the advantage of being less sensitive to skidding than wheels. In accordance with another inventive feature, the unmanned vehicle is eguipped with orientation means for following a path in a space, or determining the position of the vehicle in a space, such as a stable or a meadow. The orientation means comprise floor detection means for detecting apertures in the floor and/or detecting a guide means in the floor, such as the reinforcement in the concrete or an electricity conducting wire. The apertures in the floor are usually provided for removing the manure as described above. When the stable floor is made of concrete, there is usually applied a metal grid in the floor for giving it extra strength. Said grid can be detected by means of the floor detection means with the aid of e.σ. an induction coil. Additional orientation means may comprise a compass and/or a gyroscope and/or an air level and/or a clinometer and/or an acceleration meter. These orientation means are nowadays available n a form which is suitable for being applied in electronic circuits, so that integrated orientation means can easily be composed from the various components . Besides, the orientation means also comprise wall following means for detecting and following a wall, such as a fixed stable wall or the edge of a cubicle. These wall following means extend over at least part of the circumference of the unmanned vehicle. The wall following means may also be disposed on the manure displacing means . In a preferred embodiment, the wall following means consist of a freely rotating substantially round element, such as preferably a wheel and/or a disc and/or a sphere. Furthermore, the invention relates to an unmanned vehicle which is equipped with orientation means for following a path in a space or determining a position of the vehicle in a space, such as a stable or a meadow. It will be obvious, of course, that the unmanned vehicle is not only capable of being used for displacing manure, but also for other activities, such as spreading material, such as sawdust and straw, determining and controlling the climate m the stable, and determining the oehaviour ana healtn of the animals. For that purpose the unmanned vehicle is equipped with orientation means comprising floor detection means for detecting apertures in the floor and/or detecting a guide means m the floor, such as the reinforcement m the concrete or an electricity conducting wire. Moreover, the orientation means may comprise a compass and/or a gyroscope and/or an air level and/or a clinometer and/or an acceleration meter. The orientation means may also comprise wall following means for detecting and following a wall, such as a fixed stable wall or the edge of a cubicle. The wall following means extend preferably over at least part of the circumference of the unmanned vehicle. The wall following means may also be disposed on the manure displacing means. The wall following means consist of a freely rotating, substantially round element. The round element is preferably constituted by a wheel and/or a disc and/or a sphere . According to another inventive feature, the unmanned vehicle is equipped with protective facilities for protecting the vehicle against obstacles, such as cows' legs, or fixed objects, such as supporting pillars in the stable. The protective facilities may comprise a bumper and/or a sensor for detecting cows . The protective facilities may also comprise wall following means. The protective facilities may also comprise positioning means for determining the position of an obstacle relative to the unmanned vehicle. The positioning means may comprise a clinometer and/or an acceleration meter. The positioning means are preferably disposed on the wall following means. In this manner it is possible to determine the angular deflection and angular acceleration of e.g. the wall following means, so that information is obtained regarding the position of the obstacle. The signal from the positioning means is used for actuating the steering unit. The manure displacing means preferably comprise at least one brush and/or at least one manure slide and/or at least one spraying unit. In accordance with a last inventive feature, the unmanned vehicle is equipped with anti-bumping means for preventing the manure displacing means from moving too far away from the floor. The anti-bumping means comprise a bumper and/or a bracket. The anti-bumping means preferably comprise an anti-bumping sensor for detecting the movement of the manure displacing means away from the floor, which anti- bumping sensor is coupled to the propelling unit. Such an anti-bumping sensor may consist of a switch which is disposed on the bumper or bracket. When the manure slide moves too far away from the stable floor, the switch touches the stable floor, whereupon the unmanned vehicle is caused to run in an opposite direction and bears again with all its supporting means on the stable floor. The invention will now be explained in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a plan view of the unmanned vehicle comprising one rotatable propelling member; Figure 2 is a side view of the unmanned vehicle comprising one rotatable propelling member; Figure 3 is a plan view of the unmanned vehicle comprising two independently driven propelling members, and Figure 4 is a side view of the unmanned vehicle comprising two independently driven propelling members. The unmanned vehicle as shown in Figures 1 and 2 consists of a frame 1 which is provided with a propelling unit 2 and a manure slide 3. The (non-shown) steering unit of the unmanned vehicle is constituted by the propelling unit 2, which propelling unit 2 comprises a rotatable wheel 4. As shown in the drawings, in this manner there is obtained a particularly compact vehicle which has moreover an excellent manoeuvrability. On the frame 1 there are also disposed wall following means 5 which, in this embodiment, consist of a wheel 9 which is freely rotatable about a vertical axis 8. When running the vehicle is propelled by the wheel 4. When the vehicle touches with the wall following means 5 an obstacle, such as a cow's leg, this results in a resultant force on the vehicle, which causes the vehicle to run around the obstacle. The wall following means 5 may also be used for following a wall. In that case the vehicle is constantly caused to run in a direction towards the wall. Subsequently there is exerted by the wall a reactive force on the wall following means in the direction away from the wall. As a result thereof the vehicle runs in a straight line along the wall, while the wall following means 5 remain in contact with the wall. Figures 3 and 4 show another embodiment of the unmanned vehicle, in which parts corresponding to those of the first embodiment are indicated by the same reference numerals. The vehicle is furthermore provided with a bumper 6 which does not only protect the vehicle against obstacles, but also ensures that the manure slide 3 does not move too far away from the stable floor. On the bumper 6 there is also disposed an anti-bumping sensor 7 for detecting movements during which the manure slide moves away from the stable floor. The way of moving and functioning of the wall following means 5 is identical to that described with reference to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2. Manoeuvring the vehicle is possible by varying the drive torque or the peripheral velocity of the wheels 4. When the anti-bumping sensor 7 detects that the manure slide 3 has moved away from the ground, the unmanned vehicle is caused to run in an opposite direction. In practice the anti-bumping sensor 7 may be constituted by a switch which is connected to the propelling unit 2 in such a manner that the propelling unit causes the vehicle to run in an opposite direction in order to prevent the vehicle from bumping.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An unmanned vehicle for displacing manure, comprising a steering unit for steering the vehicle, a frame (1) and a propelling unit (2) for propelling the unmanned vehicle, as well as manure displacing means for displacing manure, characterized in that the manure displacing means are fitted to the unmanned vehicle in such a manner that they are indispensable for supporting and/or propelling the vehicle. 2. An unmanned vehicle for displacing manure, comprising a steering unit for steering the vehicle, a frame (1) and first and second supporting means for supporting the frame on the ground, the first supporting means being rollable relative to the floor and located in one approximately vertical plane whilst being coupled to a propelling unit (2) for propelling the unmanned vehicle, characterized in that the total weight of the vehicle bears on the first and second supporting means, and the second supporting means comprise manure displacing means for displacing manure. 3. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the unmanned vehicle comprises a steering unit which is constituted by the propelling unit (2) which comprises at least one rotatable propelling member (4). 4. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the unmanned vehicle comprises a steering unit which is constituted by the propelling unit (2) which comprises at least two independently driven propelling members ( 4 ) . 5. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the propelling member (4) comprises a wheel and/or a caterpillar track. 6. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the unmanned vehicle is equipped with orientation means for following a path in a space or determining the position of the vehicle in a space, such as a stable or a meadow. 7. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the orientation means comprise floor detection means for detecting apertures in the floor and/or detecting a guide means in the floor, such as the reinforcement in the concrete or an electricity conducting wire. 8. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the orientation means comprise a compass and/or a gyroscope and/or an air level and/or a clinometer and/or an acceleration meter. 9. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the orientation means comprise wall following means (5) for detecting and following a wall, such as a fixed stable wall or the edge of a cubicle. 10. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the wall following means (5) extend over at least part of the circumference of the unmanned vehicle. 11. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the wall following means (5) are disposed on the manure displacing means. 12. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the wall following means (5) consist of a freely rotating substantially round element. 13. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the round element comprises a wheel and/or a disc and/or a sphere. 14. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the unmanned vehicle is equipped with protective facilities for protecting the vehicle against obstacles, such as a cow's leg, or fixed objects, such as supporting pillars in the stable. 15. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the protective facilities comprise a bumper (6) and/or a sensor for detecting cows. 16. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the protective facilities comprise wall following means (5). 17. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that the protective facilities comprise positioning means for determining the position of an obstacle relative to the unmanned vehicle. 18. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that the positioning means comprise a clinometer and/or an acceleration meter. 19. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 17 or 18, characterized in that the signal from the positioning means is used for actuating the steering unit. 20. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the manure displacing means comprise at least one brush and/or at least one manure slide (3) and/or at least one spraying unit. 21. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the unmanned vehicle is equipped with anti-bumping means for preventing the manure displacing means from moving too far away from the floor. 22. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 21, characterized in that the anti-bumping means comprise a bumper (6) and/or a bracket. 23. An unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 21 or 22, characterized in that the anti-bumping means comprise an anti- bumping sensor (7) for detecting the movement of the manure displacing means away from the floor, which anti-bumping sensor is coupled to the propelling unit (2).

Inventors: VAN DEN BERG KAREL, VAN DEN BERG, KAREL
Applicants: BERG KAREL VAN DEN, LELY RES HOLDING, LELY RESEARCH HOLDING AG, VAN DEN BERG, KAREL
Application year: 2000
Main classification: A01K1
IPC codes: A01K1