• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.120-126
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to develop a visibility evaluation system for cabin type combine. Human's field of view was classified into five levels (perceptive, effective, stable gaze, induced, and auxiliary) depending on rotation of human's head and eye. Divider, reaper lever, gearshift, dashboard, and conveying part were considered as major viewpoints of combine. Visibilities of combine was evaluated quantitatively using the viewpoints and the human's field of view levels. The visibility evaluation system for cabin type combine was consisted of a laser pointer, stepping motors to control the direction of view, gyro sensors to measure horizontal and vertical angle, and I/O interface to acquire the signals. Tests were conducted with different postures ('sitting straight', 'sitting with $15^{\circ}$ tilt', 'standing straight', and 'standing with $15^{\circ}$ tilt'). The LSD (least significant difference) multiple comparison tests showed that the visibilities of viewpoints were different significantly as the operator's postures were changed. The results showed that the posture at standing with $15^{\circ}$ tilt provided the best visibility for operators. The divider of the combine was invisible due to blocking with the cabin frame at many postures. The reaper lever showed good visibilities at the postures of sitting or standing with $15^{\circ}$ tilt. The gearshift, the dashboard, and the conveying part had reasonable visibilities at the posture of sitting with $15^{\circ}$ tilt. However, most viewpoints of the combine were out of the stable gaze field of view level. Modifications of the combine design will be required to enhance the visibility during harvesting operation for farmers' safety and convenience.