CN116267069A

CN116267069A - Running operation machine, rice transplanting machine, paddy field direct seeding machine and spraying operation machine

Info

Publication number: CN116267069A
Application number: CN202310347401.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 久保田祐树; 石见宪一; 宫本惇平; 高瀬竣也
Original assignee: Kubota Corp
Current assignee: Kubota Corp
Priority date: 2017-12-05
Filing date: 2018-08-14
Publication date: 2023-06-23
Also published as: CN109863852B; CN109863852A; KR20190066528A

Abstract

The present invention provides a traveling working machine, a rice seedling planting machine, a paddy field direct seeding machine, and a spraying working machine, comprising: a traveling machine body (C) that travels in a field; a working device (W) for working a field; a path setting unit that sets a target travel path (LM) for a work travel in which the travel machine body (C) travels while performing work by the work device (W); a travel track acquisition means for acquiring a travel track (FP) when the travel machine body (C) travels; the path setting unit sets a target movement path along a travel path (FP).

Description

Running operation machine, rice transplanting machine, paddy field direct seeding machine and spraying operation machine

The present application is a divisional application of the invention patent application of which the application date is 2018, 8, 14, 201810920978.8 and the invention name is "running operation machine, rice seedling machine, paddy field direct seeding machine and spraying operation machine".

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a travel work machine including a travel machine body that travels in a field, a work device that performs work on the field, and a path setting unit that sets a target travel path for work travel in which the travel machine body travels while performing work by the work device.

Background

For example, patent document 1 discloses a working vehicle having a traveling machine body (in the document, a "traveling machine body C"), a working device (in the document, a "seedling planting device W") for performing work on a field, and a path setting unit (in the document, reference numeral 68) for setting a target travel path of the traveling machine body for performing work traveling. The path setting unit is configured to set a teaching path corresponding to a target path for performing automatic steering by teaching traveling, and to set a plurality of target movement paths parallel to the teaching path.

Patent document 1: japanese patent application laid-open No. 2017-123804

In patent document 1, each target movement path is set based on a teaching path generated by a manual operation, and the teaching path is set to be a linear path connecting two points of a start point position of the manual operation and an end point position of the manual operation. However, the target movement path of patent document 1 is set without considering the travel locus of the traveling machine body. Therefore, even when the actual travel track is curved, the linear target travel path is set as the target travel path in the subsequent step. As a result, the planted seedlings in the worked area may be stepped on during the actual working travel thereafter, or an unworked area may be generated between the travel tracks before and after the ridge turns.

Further, the traveling machine body alternately repeats work traveling along a target traveling path and turning traveling in which the target traveling path turns at a ridge to a subsequent step. However, in the configuration of patent document 1, each target movement path is set based on a taught path, and traveling of the traveling machine body along the target movement path is not considered in setting a target for traveling the traveling machine body in a subsequent process. Therefore, when the traveling machine body travels in a state of being offset from the actual target travel path, the planted seedlings in the worked area may be damaged or an unworked area may be generated between the working travel paths before and after the ridge turns.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-described circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a travel work machine capable of setting a target movement path adjacent to a work travel path of a travel machine body with high accuracy.

The travel work machine of the present invention is characterized by comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

a path setting unit that sets a target travel path for a work travel in which the travel machine body travels while performing work by the work device;

When the travel machine body alternately repeats the work travel along the target travel path and the turning travel to turn the next target travel path, the path setting unit sets a post-process target for the travel machine body to travel after traveling through the target travel path, based on a position acquired during the travel machine body traveling along the target travel path.

According to the present invention, in the target setting for the traveling machine body to travel in the post-process, the traveling of the traveling machine body along the target moving path is considered. That is, even when the traveling machine body travels in a state of being offset from the actual target travel path, the target of the post-process is set based on the position acquired during traveling. Therefore, the target after the turning can be appropriately set, and the work travel after the turning can be appropriately performed along the work travel locus before the turning. As a result, a traveling work machine that can accurately set a target movement path adjacent to a work travel path of the traveling machine body can be realized.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process target is a post-process target movement path for the traveling machine body to travel.

According to this configuration, the target movement path for the post-process is set based on the work travel locus on which the work travel has been performed. Thus, the possibility of treading on the planted seedlings in the operated area or generating an unworkable area between the operation running tracks before and after the ridge turns can be avoided when the operation running is carried out along the target moving path of the post process. As a result, a traveling work machine that can accurately set a target movement path adjacent to a work travel path of the traveling machine body can be realized.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the travel work machine has a notification mechanism that notifies a deviation between a position of the travel machine body and a next target travel path when the travel machine body travels from the turning travel to travel along the next target travel path.

The position of the traveling body immediately after completion of the cornering travel is easily deviated from the target movement path. Therefore, according to this configuration, the driver can easily correct the deviation from the target movement path because the deviation is notified when traveling along the next target movement path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the notification means notifies the user after the completion of the turning travel.

Since the position of the traveling body is in a state of being deviated from the target moving path during the turning traveling, if the deviation is notified during the turning traveling, misunderstanding such as a trouble is likely to be brought to the driver, and trouble is likely to be brought to the driver. According to this configuration, since the shift is notified after the completion of the cornering, the driver can be notified as necessary without wasteful notification.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

when the post-process target cannot be set, the notification means notifies that the post-process target cannot be set.

According to this configuration, the driver is notified of the state in which the post-process target cannot be set, and thus the driver can easily take measures such as manual operation.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the running operation machine is provided with a ridge detection mechanism, the ridge detection mechanism detects that the ridge is close to the ridge,

when the ridge detection means detects that the ridge is approaching, the path setting unit sets the post-process target.

The work along the target moving path is completed when it is driven near the ridge of the field. According to this configuration, since the post-process target is set by detecting the approach to the ridge, the post-process target can be set based on the work travel track along the target travel path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the route setting unit sets the post-process target when the traveling machine body enters the turning traveling from traveling along the target traveling route.

According to this configuration, the post-process target can be used as a target position during cornering. Therefore, even when the cornering running is set to the automatic cornering, for example, it is not necessary to separately set the target position dedicated to the automatic cornering, and the running machine can smoothly move to the target for the post-process.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the route setting unit sets the post-process target when the traveling machine body is inclined by a predetermined angle or more with respect to the target travel route.

According to this configuration, since the turning travel of the travel body can be determined based on the inclination of the travel body with respect to the target travel path, the post-process target can be set with a simple configuration.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

after the artificial operation tool is operated, the route setting unit sets the target for the post-process.

According to this configuration, since the post-process target is set by manual operation, setting of an unintended post-process target can be prevented, for example. Thus, either one of the work travel along the target travel path for the post-process and the work travel not along the target travel path for the post-process can be selected.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the traveling work machine has a position detection mechanism that acquires position information based on a positioning signal of a navigation satellite,

the post-process target is set based on an average position of the plurality of pieces of position information located at the final stage of the work travel.

The position detection means may be exemplified by DGPS (Differential GPS) and RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic GPS (real time dynamic global positioning system)). In general, RTK-GPS is more expensive than DGPS, but RTK-GPS has a higher positioning accuracy than DGPS. In general, it is known that when positioning between two points is performed in a short time by using DGPS, a relative error between the two points is small. When the time period during which the traveling machine body is turned after the completion of the work traveling and the traveling machine body is moved to the post-process target is short, the post-process target adjacent to the work traveling locus of the traveling machine body can be set with high accuracy without using an expensive RTK-GPS according to the present configuration.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process targets may be set in plural in parallel.

According to this configuration, since the post-process targets are set together, for example, it is easy to set the post-process targets in the case where a plurality of traveling work machines travel simultaneously.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process target is set based on an offset of the traveling machine body with respect to the target movement path.

According to this configuration, the post-process target can be set based on the travel of the travel machine body along the target travel path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process target is set to be parallel-moved from a position separated from the target movement path by a predetermined interval by an amount of offset of the traveling machine body with respect to the target movement path.

According to this structure, it is possible to reliably avoid the possibility that the planted seedlings in the operated area are stepped on or the non-operated area is generated between the operation travel tracks before and after the ridge turns while the operation travel is performed along the target travel path in the subsequent step.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process target can be corrected after setting.

Immediately after completion of the turning travel, the travel machine body may deviate from the target travel path immediately after completion of the turning travel. According to this configuration, even when the post-process target is set, the driver can change the post-process target as needed, and thus the displacement of the traveling body with respect to the target movement path can be eliminated.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

and setting the target for the post-process along a working running track of the running machine body.

Even if the target movement path is linear, there are cases where the actual work travel path of the travel machine body becomes curved due to, for example, the travel machine body slipping or avoidance of obstacles in the field. According to this configuration, even if the work travel path is curved, the post-process target can be set so that the path based on the post-process target mimics the work travel path. Thus, the planted seedlings in the operated area can be prevented from being stepped on when the operation travel is performed along the target travel path of the subsequent process, or the possibility of an unworked area being generated between the operation travel paths before and after the ridge turns can be prevented.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the route based on the post-process target is a linear shape that is closer to a straight line than the work travel path.

If the work travel path of the travel machine body is curved in a complicated manner with respect to the target travel path, if the post-process target is set along the work travel path of the travel machine body, the travel machine body may not travel along the path with high accuracy because the path of the post-process target is also curved in a complicated manner. According to this configuration, since the route based on the post-process target is set to a linear shape close to a straight line, the traveling machine body can appropriately perform work traveling along the target travel route.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the running work machine is provided with a control mechanism that outputs a control signal to perform the work running,

the target movement path is substantially linear,

the path setting unit sets the target for the post-process as a function independent of the control mechanism.

According to this configuration, the work travel can be automatically performed along the substantially linear target travel path. Further, since the control means and the route setting unit are independent functions, it is possible to wait for the driver to determine whether or not to perform the work travel along the route based on the post-process target after the work travel is performed along the target travel route by the travel body.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the target movement path is substantially linear,

the path setting unit sets the target for the post-process as a function of interlocking with the control mechanism.

According to this configuration, the traveling machine body can automatically travel the work object along the route based on the post-process object after setting the post-process object along the object travel route. This makes it possible to automatically travel the work along the route based on the post-process target in conjunction with the setting of the post-process target.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

when the traveling machine body is deviated from the target travel path by a larger amount than a preset distance, the target travel path is not used for the work traveling.

In the case where the traveling body deviates greatly from the target moving path, it is considered that the driver is likely to be consciously operating the traveling body. According to this configuration, since the target travel path can be made not to be used for work travel, the manual operation by the driver can be easily prioritized even without a dedicated operation tool or the like.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

setting a reference path based on the work travel of the final stage of the work travel,

in another field, the route setting unit sets the post-process target based on the reference route.

According to this configuration, since the reference path can be used for setting the post-process target in another field, the target movement path can be easily set without teaching traveling in another field.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the travel work machine has a storage unit that can store a plurality of the reference paths for each field.

According to this configuration, the target movement path can be set only by reading the reference path corresponding to each field from the storage unit, so that it is not necessary to repeatedly teach travel.

The rice transplanter, paddy field direct seeding machine or spraying operation machine of the invention is characterized in that the machine comprises:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

a travel track acquisition means for acquiring a travel track when the travel machine body travels;

the path setting unit sets the target movement path along the travel locus.

According to this configuration, the travel locus of the travel machine body can be acquired by the travel locus acquisition means, and the travel locus of the travel machine body can be taken into consideration in setting the target movement path. Therefore, even when the travel track is curved, for example, the path setting unit can set the target travel path along the curved travel track as the target travel path in the subsequent step. Thus, the possibility that the planted seedlings in the operated area are stepped on or an unworked area is generated between the travel tracks before and after the ridge turns can be reduced when the operation travel is performed along the target travel path in the subsequent step. As a result, a traveling work implement capable of setting the target movement path to be adjacent to the traveling locus of the traveling machine body with high accuracy can be realized.

The meaning of setting the target movement path along the travel track is not limited to the meaning that the target movement path is a path that completely coincides with the travel track. For example, the target movement path may be a path similar to the travel path, or a path set so that a path based on the result of travel of the target movement path is similar to the travel path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the target moving path is constituted by a first path set in correspondence with a first region in which the traveling body travels in a state of conforming or substantially conforming to a predetermined moving path in the traveling locus, and a second path set in correspondence with a second region in which the traveling body travels in a state of being offset in a left-right direction of the predetermined moving path in the traveling locus,

the second path is set to be offset from the first path toward a side of the second area offset from the predetermined movement path.

According to this configuration, the travel route is divided into the first region and the second region, the target movement route is constituted by a plurality of routes, and the second route is set in correspondence with the deviation of the travel route in the second region. Therefore, for example, a traveling work implement capable of traveling in accordance with an actual displacement of the traveling machine body can be realized in a flexible manner, as compared with a configuration in which the target travel path is constituted by a single path, by using the setting form of the first path and the second path dividing path.

The predetermined movement path may be a past target movement path that is a target when the traveling machine body travels, a travel path of the traveling machine that is desired by a manual operation, or a travel path that is a result of the traveling machine traveling by a manual operation.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the offset between the first path and the second path is smaller than the offset between the preset moving path and the second area.

If the offset amount between the first path and the second path is the same as the offset amount in the last travel track, the travel of the travel body based on the first path and the second path may also be bent equally to the last travel track or more than the last travel track, so that the travel of the travel body is unstable. According to this configuration, since the amount of deviation between the first path and the second path becomes small, the trajectory of the traveling body as a result of traveling based on the first path and the second path is a trajectory that is closer to a straight line than the previous traveling trajectory. Thus, the traveling of the traveling machine body is stabilized.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

In a state where a plurality of the target movement paths are set, the offset amount between the first path and the second path is smaller as the following process is performed.

According to this configuration, the target movement path converges to a path close to a straight line as the following step is performed, and the traveling machine body is stabilized to travel on the basis of the first path and the second path as the following step is performed.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the first path and the second path are formed in a straight line.

According to this configuration, since the target moving path is constituted by a plurality of straight paths, the setting of the target moving path is simple, and the traveling machine body can easily travel along the target moving path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the target movement path is constituted by an approximate curve based on the travel locus.

According to this configuration, even when the travel track is curved, the target movement path adjacent to the travel track can be set in correspondence with the curved travel track, and the traveling machine can travel so as to simulate the travel track.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the rice transplanter, paddy planter or spray operation machine has a position detection mechanism for detecting positioning data representing the position of the traveling machine body based on positioning signals of navigation satellites,

The travel track acquisition means acquires the travel track based on the positioning data.

According to this configuration, the travel track acquisition means can be constructed by using the positioning data of the position detection means.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the rice transplanter, paddy field direct seeding machine or spraying operation machine is provided with an inertia measuring mechanism capable of measuring the acceleration and angular acceleration of the running machine body,

the travel track acquisition means acquires the travel track based on the acceleration or the angular acceleration, or both the acceleration and the angular acceleration.

According to this configuration, the travel track acquisition means can be constructed by using the acceleration, angular acceleration, or inertial amount of the inertial measurement means.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the operation device comprises at least one of a planting device, a seeding device and a medicament spraying operation device.

According to this configuration, the present invention can be suitably used in a rice transplanter, a paddy planter, or a spray operation machine.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an overall side view of a rice transplanter.

Fig. 2 is an overall plan view of the rice transplanter.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the rice transplanter.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a steering unit.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a control structure according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view illustrating the entire farmland surface in which the automatic steering control according to embodiment 1 operates.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing automatic steering control using the inertia measurement unit according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of the basic target movement path according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a target movement path taking into consideration a travel locus according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing correction of offset in the automatic steering control according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a target movement path taking into consideration a travel locus according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a target movement path taking into consideration a travel locus according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a target movement path in which a plurality of target movement paths are set in embodiment 1.

Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a display unit according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a target movement path according to another embodiment of embodiment 1.

Fig. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a target movement path according to another embodiment of embodiment 1.

Fig. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a target movement path according to another embodiment of embodiment 1.

Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of the target movement path according to another embodiment of embodiment 1.

Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing a control structure according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 20 is a top plan view illustrating the entire farmland surface in which the automatic steering control according to embodiment 2 operates.

Fig. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing automatic steering control using an inertia measurement unit according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing the setting of the target movement path for the subsequent step in embodiment 2.

Fig. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing automatic turning control at a ridge of a field according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing automatic turning control at a ridge of a field according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing automatic turning control at a ridge of a field according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing correction of offset in the automatic steering control according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing a display unit according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a target movement path for a subsequent process according to another embodiment of embodiment 2.

Fig. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing the setting of the target movement path for the subsequent process according to another embodiment of embodiment 2.

Fig. 30 is an explanatory diagram showing the setting of the target movement path for the subsequent process according to another embodiment of embodiment 2.

Description of the reference numerals

43: steering wheel (human operation work piece)

59: notification part (notification mechanism)

63: obstacle detecting unit (Ridge detecting mechanism)

70: satellite positioning unit (position detecting mechanism)

74: inertial measurement unit

76: route setting unit

78: travel track acquisition unit

82: control part (control mechanism)

83: steering control unit (control mechanism)

C: running machine body

W: seedling planting device (operation device)

FP: travel track

LM: target movement path

LM2: target movement path for post process (target for post process)

A1: first region

A2: second region

lm1: first path

lm2: second path

Detailed Description

[ basic Structure of running machine ]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Here, as an example of the traveling work machine according to the present invention, a riding type rice transplanter is exemplified. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, arrow F is the body front side of the traveling body C, arrow B is the body rear side of the traveling body C, arrow L is the body left side of the traveling body C, and arrow R is the body right side of the traveling body C.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the riding type rice transplanter includes a traveling body C and a seedling planting device W as a working device, the traveling body C includes a pair of left and right steering wheels 10 and a pair of left and right rear wheels 11, and the seedling planting device W as a working device can plant seedlings in a field. A pair of left and right steering wheels 10 is provided on the front side of the traveling machine body C, and a pair of left and right rear wheels 11 is provided on the rear side of the traveling machine body C. The seedling planting device W is connected to the rear end of the traveling machine body C via a link mechanism 21 so as to be able to move up and down, and the link mechanism 21 moves up and down by the telescopic operation of the lifting hydraulic cylinder 20.

The front part of the traveling body C has an openable hood 12. The engine cover 12 has a rod-shaped center marker 14 at a front end position thereof, and the center marker 14 serves as a target for traveling along a marker line (not shown) drawn in the field by the use of the indicating device 33. The traveling machine body C has a machine body frame 15 extending in the front-rear direction, and a support pillar frame 16 is provided on the front portion of the machine body frame 15.

An engine 13 is provided in the engine cover 12. The power of the engine 13 is transmitted to the steering wheel 10 and the rear wheel 11 via an HST (hydrostatic continuously variable transmission) provided in the machine body, not shown, and the power after the speed change is transmitted to the seedling planting device W via an electric motor driven planting clutch (not shown), which will not be described in detail.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the seedling planting device W has four gear boxes 22, eight rotating boxes 23, a soil preparation hull 25, a seedling stage 26, and an indicating device 33. The rotary boxes 23 are rotatably supported by left and right sides of the rear portion of each transmission box 22. A pair of rotatable planting arms 24 are provided at both ends of each rotary case 23. The soil preparation hull 25 levels the ground of the field, and a plurality of soil preparation hulls 25 are provided in the seedling planting device W. The mat seedlings for planting are placed on the seedling stage 26. The indicating devices 33 are provided on the left and right sides of the seedling planting device W, and an indicating line (not shown) is formed on the ground of the field.

The seedling planting device W drives the seedling-carrying table 26 to reciprocate laterally to the left and right, drives the rotation boxes 23 to rotate by the power transmitted from the transmission box 22, and alternately takes out seedlings from the lower part of the seedling-carrying table 26 by the planting arms 24 and plants the seedlings on the ground of the field. The seedling planting device W is configured to be eight-row planting in which seedlings are planted by planting arms 24 provided in eight rotating boxes 23. The seedling planting device W may be a four-row planting type, a six-row planting type, a seven-row planting type, or a ten-row planting type.

Although not described in detail, the indicating device 33 can be switched to the active posture and the storage posture. In the state of the operation posture, the indication device 33 contacts the ground surface of the field in association with the traveling of the traveling machine body C, and thereby forms an indication line (not shown) on the field surface corresponding to the next operation step. In the storage posture, the indicating device 33 is separated upward from the ground surface of the field. The posture of the pointing device 33 is switched by an electric motor (not shown).

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the left and right side portions of the hood 12 in the traveling machine body C have a plurality of (e.g., four) ordinary preliminary seedling stages 28 and preliminary seedling stages 29. The normal preliminary seedling stage 28 can carry preliminary seedlings for replenishment with the seedling planting device W. The preliminary seedling stage 29 is configured as a rail type and can carry preliminary seedlings for replenishment to the seedling planting device W. The left and right sides of the engine cover 12 of the traveling machine body C are provided with a pair of left and right tall preliminary seedling frames 30 as frame members for supporting the respective normal preliminary seedling stages 28 and preliminary seedling stages 29, and the upper portions of the left and right preliminary seedling frames 30 are connected to each other by a connecting frame 31.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the traveling body C has a driving portion 40 at a central portion thereof for performing various driving operations. The steering section 40 includes a steering seat 41, a steering wheel 43, a main shift lever 44, and an operation lever 45. The driver seat 41 is provided in the center of the traveling machine body C, and can be seated by a driver. The steering wheel 43 can perform a steering operation on the steered wheels 10 by a manual operation. The main shift lever 44 can perform a forward/reverse switching operation and a travel speed changing operation. The lifting operation of the seedling planting device W and the switching of the left and right indicating devices 33 are performed by the operation lever 45. The steering wheel 43, the main shift lever 44, the operation lever 45, and the like are provided at an upper portion of the steering column 42 located on the body front side of the driver seat 41. A riding pedal 46 is provided at a foot portion of the driver 40.

The riding step 46 also extends to the left and right sides of the hood 12.

When the main shift lever 44 is operated, the angle of the swash plate in the HST (not shown) is changed to steplessly shift the power of the engine 13. Although not shown, the swash plate angle of the HST is controlled by a hydraulic unit equipped with a servo hydraulic control device. The servo hydraulic control apparatus uses a well-known hydraulic pump, hydraulic motor, or the like.

When the operation lever 45 is operated to the raised position, the planting clutch (not shown) is disengaged to cut off the transmission to the seedling planting device W, the raising/lowering hydraulic cylinder 20 is operated to raise the seedling planting device W, and the left and right indicating devices 33 (see fig. 1) are operated to the storage posture. When the operating lever 45 is operated to the lowered position, the seedling planting device W is lowered to be brought into contact with the ground and stopped. In this lowered state, when the operation lever 45 is operated to the right indication position, the indication device 33 on the right is changed from the storage posture to the acting posture. When the operation lever 45 is operated to the left indication position, the left indication device 33 changes from the storage posture to the active posture.

When the seedling transplanting operation is started, the driver operates the operation lever 45 to lower the seedling planting device W, and starts the transmission to the seedling planting device W to start the seedling transplanting operation. When the transplanting operation is stopped, the driver operates the operation lever 45 to raise the seedling planting device W and cut off the transmission to the seedling planting device W.

The operation panel 47 at the upper part of the steering column 42 of the driving unit 40 has a display unit 48, and the display unit 48 can display various information by a liquid crystal display. The display section 48 may be a touch panel type liquid crystal display. As described with reference to fig. 5, in embodiment 1 described later, a start point setting switch 49A of a push operation type is provided on the right side of the display unit 48, and an end point setting switch 49B of a push operation type is provided on the left side of the display unit 48. Alternatively, as described with reference to fig. 18, embodiment 2 described later has a start/end point setting switch 49C of a push operation type on the right side of the display unit 48, and a target setting switch 49D of a push operation type on the left side of the display unit 48. The display unit 48 may have a start point/end point setting switch 49C on the left side and a target setting switch 49D on the right side.

The main shift lever 44 has a push-operated automatic steering switch 50 at a handle portion thereof. The automatic steering switch 50 is set to an automatic return type, and instructs switching of the entry and exit of the automatic steering control every time the pressing operation is performed. The automatic steering switch 50 is disposed at a position where it can be pressed by a thumb, for example, in a state where the handle portion of the main shift lever 44 is held by a hand.

As shown in fig. 4, the traveling machine body C includes a steering unit U as a steering mechanism capable of steering the left and right steered wheels 10. The steering unit U includes a steering shaft 54, a steering arm 55, a left and right interlocking mechanism 56 interlocking with the steering arm 55, a steering motor 58, and a gear mechanism 57. The steering shaft 54 is coupled to the steering wheel 43 via a clutch 53. The steering arm 55 swings in accordance with the rotation of the steering shaft 54. The gear mechanism 57 interlockingly connects the steering motor 58 to the steering shaft 54.

The steering shaft 54 is linked to the left and right steering wheels 10 via a steering arm 55 and a left and right linking mechanism 56. A steering angle sensor 60 composed of a rotary encoder is provided at the lower end portion of the steering shaft 54, and the amount of rotation of the steering shaft 54 is detected by the steering angle sensor 60. A torque sensor 61 that detects a torque applied to the steering wheel 43 is provided in the middle of the steering shaft 54.

For example, when the steering motor 58 is rotating the steering shaft 54 in a predetermined direction, if the steering wheel 43 is manually operated in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation, the torque sensor 61 can detect this. When the steering motor 58 stops operating and the steering wheel 43 is manually operated in any direction, the torque sensor 61 can detect this. When such manual operation is performed, the steering motor 58 can be operated based on the manual operation in preference to the automatic steering control.

The clutch 53 is provided between the steering shaft 54 and the steering wheel 43, and by disengaging the clutch 53, no power is transmitted between the steering wheel 43 and the steering shaft 54. The clutch 53 may be disengaged during automatic steering control such as automatic ridge turning, and rotation of the steering shaft 54 by operation of the steering motor 58 is not transmitted to the steering wheel 43 during automatic steering control.

In the case of performing the automatic steering of the steering unit U, the steering motor 58 is driven, and the steering operation shaft 54 is rotated by the driving force of the steering motor 58, thereby changing the steering angle of the steered wheels 10. The steering unit U can be rotated by manual operation of the steering wheel 43 without performing automatic steering.

[ Structure for automatic steering control ]

Next, a configuration for performing the automatic steering control will be described.

As an example of a satellite positioning system (GNSS: global Navigation Satellite System (global navigation satellite system)) for detecting the position of the vehicle body by receiving radio waves from satellites, the traveling vehicle body C includes a satellite positioning unit 70 (position detecting means) for obtaining the position of the vehicle body by using a GPS (Global Positioning System (global positioning system)) as a well-known technique. In the present embodiment, the satellite positioning unit 70 uses DGPS (Differential GPS: relative positioning), but RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic GPS: interferometric positioning) may be used.

Specifically, the satellite positioning unit 70 is provided as a position detection means to the object (traveling machine body C) to be positioned. The satellite positioning unit 70 has a receiving device 72, and the receiving device 72 has an antenna 71 and receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites rotating around the earth. The position of the receiving device 72, that is, the satellite positioning unit 70 is positioned based on the radio wave information received from the navigation satellite.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the satellite positioning unit 70 is mounted on the connection frame 31 via a plate-like support plate 73 in a state of being positioned at the front portion of the traveling machine body C. As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the receiving device 72 is supported at a high position by the coupling frame 31 and the preliminary seedling frame 30. This reduces the possibility of occurrence of reception failure in the receiver 72, and improves the reception sensitivity of the radio wave in the receiver 72.

The receiving device 72 is not limited to the structure mounted on the coupling frame 31 provided at the upper portion of the preliminary seedling frame 30. For example, a separate frame having a function of moving the receiving device 72 may be provided at a position lower than the upper portion of the preliminary seedling frame 30 independently of the preliminary seedling frame 30. The separate frame may be configured to extend toward the rear side of the machine body.

In addition to the satellite positioning unit 70, an inertial measurement unit 74 having, for example, an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit (inertial measurement unit)) 74A is provided to the traveling machine body C as an azimuth detection mechanism that detects the azimuth of the traveling machine body C. The inertial measurement unit 74 may have a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor instead of the IMU 74A. Although not shown, the inertia measuring unit 74 is provided at a lower position, for example, in the center in the width direction of the traveling machine body C, at a lower position of the rear side of the driver seat 41. The inertia measurement unit 74 can detect the angular velocity of the turning angle of the traveling machine body C, and can calculate the orientation change angle Δna of the machine body by integrating the angular velocity (see fig. 7 and 20). Therefore, the measurement information measured by the inertial measurement unit 74 includes the azimuth information of the traveling machine body C. The inertia measuring unit 74 is capable of measuring not only the angular velocity of the turning angle of the traveling machine body C but also the left-right tilting angle of the traveling machine body C, the angular velocity of the front-rear tilting angle of the traveling machine body C, and the like, which will not be described in detail.

Hereinafter, embodiments for setting a target route in the travel work machine and the route setting method according to the present invention will be described.

[ embodiment 1 ]

As shown in fig. 5, a control device 75 is provided on the traveling machine body C. The control device 75 can switch to an automatic steering mode in which automatic steering control is performed and a manual steering mode in which automatic steering control is not performed.

Information such as the satellite positioning unit 70, the inertial measurement unit 74, the automatic steering switch 50 (see fig. 1. The same applies to the following description), the start point setting switch 49A, the end point setting switch 49B, the steering angle sensor 60, the torque sensor 61, the vehicle speed sensor 62, the obstacle detection unit 63 (ridge detection unit), and the like are input to the control device 75. The vehicle speed sensor 62 detects the vehicle speed using, for example, the rotational speed of a propeller shaft in a transmission mechanism for the rear wheels 11. The obstacle detection unit 63 is provided at the front and both left and right sides of the traveling machine body C, and is a distance sensor such as an optical distance measuring type or an image sensor, for example, so as to be able to detect a ridge of a field, a tower in a field, or the like. When an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection unit 63, the warning unit 64 notifies the driver of a warning, and the warning unit 64 is, for example, a buzzer or voice guidance. The control device 75 is connected to a notification unit 59 (notification means), and the notification unit 59 notifies the vehicle speed, the engine speed, the state of the reception sensitivity of the satellite positioning unit 70, and the like, for example. The notification unit 59 may be configured to display an alarm, a status, or the like on the display unit 48, or may be configured to change the blinking pattern of the LED illumination provided on the center marker 14 (see fig. 1. The same applies to the following description). The alarm unit 64 may be configured to display an alarm on the display unit 48 via the notification unit 59. In this case, for example, an alarm of ridge detection is displayed on the display unit 48. The alarm unit 64 may be a part of the notification unit 59. The time to be notified by the notification unit 59 may be arbitrarily adjustable.

The control device 75 includes a path setting unit 76, an azimuth calculating unit 77, a travel locus acquiring unit 78 as a travel locus acquiring means, a control unit 79, and a steering control unit 80. The route setting unit 76 sets a target movement route LM (see fig. 6) along which the traveling body C (see fig. 1, the same applies to the following description). Details of the azimuth calculating unit 77 and the travel route acquiring unit 78 will be described later. The control unit 79 calculates and outputs an operation amount based on the position information of the traveling body C measured by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the azimuth information of the traveling body C measured by the inertia measuring unit 74 so that the traveling body C travels along the target movement path LM. The steering control section 80 controls the steering motor 58 based on the operation amount. Specifically, the control device 75 includes a microcomputer (not shown in the drawings, the same applies hereinafter), and a travel track acquisition unit 78, a route setting unit 76, an azimuth calculation unit 77, a control unit 79, and a steering control unit 80 are configured by control programs. The control program is stored in a storage device (not shown in the drawings, the same applies hereinafter) and executed by a microcomputer. The microcomputer and the storage device may be provided in the control device 75, but may be provided separately from the control device 75.

The control device 75 may store, for example, positioning data positioned by the satellite positioning unit 70, an inertial amount detected by the inertial measurement unit 74, and a vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 62 in a RAM (Random Access Memory (random access memory)) not shown in chronological order.

The automatic steering control device has a setting switch 49, and the setting switch 49 is used for setting a target movement path LM for automatic steering control through teaching processing. The setting switch 49 has a start point setting switch 49A for setting a start point position Ts (see fig. 6. The same applies to the following description) and an end point setting switch 49B for setting an end point position Tf (see fig. 6. The same applies to the following description). As described above, the start point setting switch 49A is provided on the right side of the display section 48, and the end point setting switch 49B is provided on the left side of the display section 48.

By the teaching process based on the operations of the start point setting switch 49A and the end point setting switch 49B, a teaching path corresponding to the target path to be automatically steered is set by the path setting unit 76.

The azimuth calculating unit 77 calculates the detected azimuth NA of the traveling machine body C, that is, the own azimuth NA (see fig. 6. The same applies to the following description) based on the inertial amount detected by the inertial measuring unit 74. The azimuth calculating unit 77 calculates an azimuth deviation, which is an angular deviation between the target azimuth LA (fig. 6 is the same as the local azimuth NA) in the target movement path LM (fig. 6 is the same as the following description). When the control device 75 is set to the automatic steering mode, the control unit 79 calculates and outputs an operation amount for controlling the steering motor 58 so as to reduce the angular deviation.

The travel track acquisition unit 78 calculates a local position NM (see fig. 7. The same applies to the following description) that is the position of the traveling machine body C, based on the positioning data positioned by the satellite positioning unit 70, the local azimuth NA calculated by the azimuth calculation unit 77, and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 62. The local positions NM are stored in a RAM (not shown) in chronological order, and the travel track acquisition unit 78 calculates a travel track FP based on the set of the local positions NM (see fig. 7. The same applies to the following description).

In the automatic steering control of the traveling machine body C, the steering control unit 80 executes the automatic steering control based on the operation amount output from the control unit 79. That is, the steering motor 58 is operated so that the local position NM calculated by the travel locus acquisition unit 78 becomes a position on the target movement path LM.

[ target movement Path ]

In paddy fields, a rice transplanter alternately runs along a straight planting path with rice transplanting operation and turns around a ridge for moving down the planting path. Fig. 6 shows a plurality of target movement paths LM juxtaposed along a teaching path. In the present embodiment, the path setting unit 76 sets the target movement paths LM (1) to LM (6) in the following order.

First, the driver positions the traveling body C at the start point position Ts of the ridge in the field, and operates the start point setting switch 49A. At this time, the control device 75 is set to the manual steering mode. Then, the driver manually operates the travel machine body C to travel along the straight line shape of the ridge on the side from the start point position Ts, moves the travel machine body C to the end point position Tf near the ridge on the opposite side, and then operates the end point setting switch 49B. Thereby, teaching processing is performed. That is, a teaching path connecting the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf is set based on the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70 at the start point position Ts and the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70 at the end point position Tf. The direction along the teaching path is set as a target azimuth LA as a reference. The position coordinates at the end position Tf may be calculated based on not only the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 but also the travel track of the teaching travel calculated by the travel track acquisition unit 78. The travel of the travel machine body C across the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf may be a work travel accompanied by a transplanting work or a travel in a non-work state.

After the teaching path is set, the ridge turning travel for moving to the planting path adjacent to the teaching path is performed, and in the present embodiment, the travel machine body C moves to the start point position Ls (1). The driver can perform the ridge turning travel by manually operating the steering wheel 43, or can perform the ridge turning travel by automatic turning control. At this time, the control unit 79 can determine that the traveling machine body C has turned by reversing the home azimuth NA. The satellite positioning unit 70 and the inertial measurement unit 74 can detect the inversion of the local azimuth NA.

In addition to the turning of the traveling body C can be determined by reversing the direction NA of the machine, the turning of the traveling body C can be determined by the operation of various devices. The operations of the various devices may be, for example, the raising operations of the seedling planting device W, the soil preparation rotating unit (not shown), the soil preparation hull 25, etc., the separation of the side clutch (not shown), or the cutting of the transmission to the seedling planting device W (see fig. 1. The same is the same in the following description). In addition, it is possible to determine that the traveling body C reaches the start position Ls (1) by the satellite positioning unit 70.

After the teaching path is set, the path setting unit 76 sets the target movement path LM (1) at any time. The target movement path LM (1) may be set when the setting of the teaching path is completed, the target movement path LM (1) may be set during the turning of the traveling body C, or the target movement path LM (1) may be set after the turning of the traveling body C. The target movement path LM (1) may be set by operating the setting switch 49, the automatic steering switch 50, or the like, or the target movement path LM (1) may be automatically set.

After it is determined that the traveling machine body C has completed turning, the manual steering mode of the control device 75 is continued, and the straight-ahead traveling is continued by the manual operation. During this time, the control device 75 checks the determination conditions such as the deviation of the azimuth of the own azimuth NA calculated by the azimuth calculating unit 77, the direction of the steered wheels 10, and the steering angle of the steering wheel 43, and determines whether or not the state is in a state where the automatic steering mode can be switched. And, if in a state where it is possible to switch to the automatic steering mode, the control device 75 allows the operation of the automatic steering switch 50. At this time, the notification unit 59 notifies whether or not the control device 75 is in a state where the automatic steering mode can be switched.

When the driver operates the automatic steering switch 50 while the operation of the automatic steering switch 50 is permitted, the target movement path LM (1) is set by the path setting unit 76, and the control device 75 switches from the manual steering mode to the automatic steering mode. Then, automatic steering control along the target movement path LM (1) is started. The target movement path LM (1) is set along the azimuth of the target azimuth LA in a state of being adjacent to the teaching path, and after the teaching process, the traveling machine body C first performs the work traveling. The seedling planting device W is lowered to perform the transplanting operation by operating the operation lever 45 after the driver turns the traveling body C, but the seedling planting device W may be lowered to start the transplanting operation when the control device 75 is switched from the manual steering mode to the automatic steering mode.

The automatic steering control is continued until it is determined that the obstacle detecting unit 63 has detected a ridge in the vicinity of the end position Lf (1) on the opposite side of the start position Ls (1) of the target movement path LM (1). When it is determined by the obstacle detecting unit 63 that the distance between the traveling machine body C and the ridge is within the preset range, the warning by the warning unit 64 is notified to the driver. At this time, the alarm of the alarm unit 64 may be a sound such as a buzzer, may be a light or a flash of LED illumination provided in the center marker 14, or may be displayed on the display unit 48. Then, the obstacle detection unit 63 continues to detect the ridge for a predetermined time period, and determines that the ridge is detected, and the control device 75 is switched to the manual steering mode to release the automatic steering control.

When the traveling body C reaches the end position Lf (1) of the target travel path LM (1), the driver operates the steering wheel 43 toward the non-work area side of the target travel path LM (1) to perform ridge turning travel, and the traveling body C moves to the start position Ls (2) of the next work travel. Before the traveling machine body C turns, the driver can operate the operation lever 45 to raise the seedling planting device W, but the steering wheel 43 may be operated to cut off the transmission to the seedling planting device W and raise the seedling planting device W. Then, it is determined that the traveling machine body C makes a turn.

After the completion of the work travel on the target movement path LM (1), the target movement path LM (2) is set at any time by the path setting unit 76. The target movement path LM (2) may be set when the ridge is determined by the obstacle detecting unit 63, the target movement path LM (2) may be set during the turning of the traveling body C, or the target movement path LM (2) may be set after the turning of the traveling body C. The target movement path LM (2) may be set by operating the setting switch 49, the automatic steering switch 50, or the like, or the target movement path LM (2) may be automatically set. After the target movement path LM (2) is adjacently set on the non-work area side of the target movement path LM (1), the automatic steering control is started along the target movement path LM (2), and the traveling body C performs the work traveling.

After the traveling machine body C reaches the end position Lf (2) of the target traveling path LM (2), setting and working traveling of the target traveling path LM after ridge turning traveling are repeated in the order of the target traveling path LM (3), the target traveling path LM (4), the target traveling path LM (5), and the target traveling path LM (6). That is, each target movement path LM is set one by one.

[ means for acquiring travel track ]

In the riding type rice transplanter of the present embodiment, in order to properly maintain the planting interval for planting seedlings, the error range of the local position NM is required to have an accuracy within a range of, for example, ten cm. In a structure using the RTK-GPS as the satellite positioning unit 70, since an error of the RTK-GPS is generally within several centimeters, a high-precision travel track can be acquired. However, in a configuration using DGPS as the satellite positioning unit 70, since the error of DGPS often reaches a range of several meters, a high-precision travel track may not be obtained. Therefore, in a configuration using DGPS as the satellite positioning unit 70, a means for acquiring a travel track by the inertial measurement unit 74 is used.

During the automatic steering control, as shown in fig. 7, the azimuth calculating unit 77 measures the relative azimuth change angle Δna in time series based on the inertial amount detected by the inertial measuring unit 74. The azimuth calculating unit 77 calculates the local azimuth NA from the point where the automatic steering control is started in time series by integrating the azimuth change angle Δna. The travel track acquisition unit 78 calculates the local position NM based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the local azimuth NA. As a result, the travel locus FP of the travel machine body C is calculated in time series based on the set of the local positions NM by the travel locus acquisition unit 78.

The azimuth calculating unit 77 calculates an azimuth deviation between the local azimuth NA and the target azimuth LA. The control unit 79 outputs an operation amount so that the local azimuth NA matches the target azimuth LA, and the steering control unit 80 operates the steering motor 58 based on the operation amount. Thereby, the traveling machine body C travels along the target movement path LM with high accuracy. The driver is not operating the steering wheel 43.

As described above, although the DGPS error often reaches a range of several meters, when the DGPS is used to locate a position between two points in a short time, for example, in the order of ten seconds, the relative error in the position between the two points is extremely small. If this characteristic is used, the greater the distance between the two points, the higher the accuracy of the absolute bearing calculated based on the positioning data between the two points. In this way, in the configuration using DGPS as the satellite positioning means 70, the azimuth calculating unit 77 calculates the absolute azimuth based on the positioning data between the two points positioned by the satellite positioning means 70, and performs the calibration processing of the local azimuth NA so that the local azimuth NA by the inertial measuring means 74 does not generate an azimuth error. That is, even when the inertial measurement unit 74 includes an error in the measurement of the steering angle Δna, the accumulation of the error due to the integration of Δna can be eliminated, and the acquisition of the travel locus FP and the automatic steering control can be made accurate.

[ basic target movement Path setting ]

0119 fig. 8 shows the post-process target movement path LM2 in a state of being adjacent to the travel completion target movement path LM 1. The travel locus FP in fig. 8 is a travel locus on which the traveling machine body C travels in a state substantially coincident with the travel completion target travel path LM1 as a preset travel path. The post-process target movement path LM2 is set as a target movement path for the traveling body C to perform work traveling after the traveling of the target movement path LM 1. Thus, when the travel completion target movement path LM1 in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (1) in fig. 6, the post-process target movement path LM2 in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (2) in fig. 6. In addition, when the travel completion target movement path LM1 in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (2) in fig. 6, the post-process target movement path LM2 in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (3) in fig. 6. The travel completion target movement path LM1 and the post-process target movement path LM2 in fig. 9 to 13, which will be described later, are also the same.

0120 the travel completion target movement path LM1 as a preset movement path may be the teaching path. In this case, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (1) in fig. 6.

0121 basically, the post-process target movement path LM2 is set to be separated from the running target movement path LM1 by a preset setting distance P based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70. Here, the set distance P is a distance corresponding to the work width of the seedling planting device W for transplanting seedlings.

0122, when DGPS is used as the satellite positioning means 70, it is considered that the position coordinate NM3 of the local position NM based on the positioning data is shifted from the actual travel completion target movement path LM1 due to the position error of the DGPS. That is, even in the case where the traveling machine body C actually performs the automatic steering control in a state along the traveling completed target movement path LM1 with high accuracy, the position coordinates NM3 based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 include an absolute error. Therefore, as shown in fig. 8, the position coordinate NM3 may be shifted by the deviation d1 from the travel completion target movement path LM 1. Thus, when the target travel path LM2 for the subsequent process is actually set based on only the position coordinates NM3, there is a possibility that the planted seedlings in the worked area are stepped on, or that an unworkable area is generated between the travel tracks before and after the ridge turns.

0123 in the present embodiment, the separation distance of the post-process target movement path LM2 from the run-out target movement path LM1 is calculated based on the actual displacement of the running body C, which is subjected to the automatic steering control, along the run-out target movement path LM 1. As described above, when the positioning between two points is performed by DGPS in a short time, the relative error in the position between the two points is extremely small. By utilizing this characteristic, the route setting unit 76 is configured to set the post-process target movement route LM2 at a position separated from the local position NM by a relative distance based on the positioning data located immediately before the ridge turning is performed when setting the post-process target movement route LM 2. That is, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step is set at a position separated by the setting distance P from the local position NM calculated based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70.

0124 is configured such that, in the automatic steering control along the travel completion target movement path LM1, when the travel machine body C performs the work travel in a state of being deviated by the deviation d1 from the travel completion target movement path LM1 to the non-work area side, the one-dot chain line shown in fig. 8 is the actual travel locus FP of the travel machine body C. The travel track FP is calculated by the travel track acquisition unit 78.

Immediately before ridge turning, the satellite positioning unit 70 is used to position the position coordinate NM3 of the local position NM as positioning data. After the position coordinate NM3 is located and before the automatic travel control is started, the ridge turning travel is performed, and at any timing, the post-process target movement path LM2 is set. Since the usual ridge turning travel is completed in about several seconds, the relative error between the position coordinate located by the satellite positioning unit 70 immediately after the ridge turning travel is completed and the position coordinate NM3 immediately before the ridge turning travel is small. The position coordinate NM3 may be a coordinate obtained by averaging a plurality of pieces of positioning data positioned by the satellite positioning unit 70 in the vicinity of the end position Lf.

The target travel path LM2 for the subsequent step should be set at a position separated from the travel target travel path LM1 by the set distance P, that is, at a position of a broken line LM shown in fig. 8. In the present embodiment, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step is set to be parallel-moved from the broken line LM to the non-work area side by the deviation d1 corresponding to the deviation d1 of the traveling body C.

When the actual travel path FP of the traveling machine body C is shifted by the shift d1 from the completed target travel path LM1 to the operated area side, the post-process target travel path LM2 is set to be parallel-shifted by the shift d1 from the set distance P to the completed target travel path LM1 to the operated area side.

In this way, even when the positioning data positioned by the satellite positioning unit 70 includes an error, the position can be set at a position separated from the position coordinate NM3 by the set distance P. With the configuration in which the target moving path LM2 for the post-process is set at the position that separates the amount of the working width of the seedling planting device W, the possibility of the planted seedlings stepping on the worked area or the occurrence of a non-working area between the travel tracks before and after the ridge turning can be prevented.

[ setting of target movement Path in consideration of travel track ]

The traveling machine body C does not necessarily have to travel along the target travel path LM. For example, as shown in fig. 9, even when the linear travel completion target movement path LM1 is set in advance as the movement path, the traveling body C may meander due to the traveling body C slipping or avoiding obstacles in the field or the like. That is, as shown by the meandering trajectory FP in fig. 9, the actual travel trajectory FP of the travel machine body C is shifted in the left-right direction of the travel completion target movement path LM 1. In such a case, if the target movement path LM2 for the post-process is set without considering the meandering locus fp, the following problem occurs. That is, if the post-process target movement path LM2 is set directly to a straight line at a position separated from the position coordinates NM3 near the end position Lf by the set distance P to the non-work area side, the work area of the meandering locus fp overlaps with the work width when the work travel is performed along the post-process target movement path LM2. Further, if the traveling machine body C travels the work travel path LM2 for the subsequent process, the planted seedlings in the work area may be stepped on. In order to avoid this problem, the post-process target movement path LM2 is constituted by a combination of a plurality of paths.

The structure of the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step will be described with reference to fig. 9. The route setting unit 76 determines the deviation of the traveling machine body C from the travel completion target movement route LM1 based on the travel locus FP. Specifically, the threshold value of the deviation d2 is set on the left and right sides along the travel completion target movement path LM 1. The first region A1 is a portion of the travel path FP on the side of the deviation d2 on which the target travel path LM1 is located. The second area A2 is a portion of the travel track FP on the opposite side of the deviation d2 from the travel completion target movement path LM 1.

In the present embodiment, the post-process target movement path LM2 is configured by a linear first path LM1 and a linear second path LM2. When the automatic steering control is performed without any obstacle along the travel completion target movement path LM1, the travel locus FP is determined to be coincident or substantially coincident with the travel completion target movement path LM1 while being within the range of the first area A1. The first path lm1 is set corresponding to the first area A1. The value of the deviation d2 is, for example, a value of ten cm or less.

The portion of the travel path FP located in the second area A2 is shown as a meandering path FP in fig. 9. Thus, the second route lm2 is set corresponding to the second area A2 based on the meandering trajectory fp of the second area A2. In fig. 9, the meandering trajectory fp of the second area A2 is deviated from the travel completion target movement path LM1 toward the non-work area side. Therefore, the second path lm2 is set to be shifted from the first path lm1 to the non-work area side.

In the present embodiment, the post-process target movement path LM2 is set with reference to the position coordinate NM3, and the position coordinate NM3 is a position within the range of the first area A1. Therefore, the travel locus obtaining unit 78 calculates the offset width Δp1 between the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position where the maximum amplitude offset is found in the hunting locus fp. In addition, the travel distance R1 shifted to the second area A2 in the travel track FP is also calculated by the travel track acquisition unit 78. The travel distance R1 is a length along the direction along which the target travel path LM1 is completely traveled, and does not mean an actual meandering length of the meandering track fp.

The second route LM2 is a route parallel to the travel completion target movement route LM1, and is set to be separated from a portion of the meandering locus fp that is most greatly displaced toward the non-work area side by a set distance P toward the non-work area side. The path length of the second path lm2 is set to a length corresponding to the travel distance R1 of the meandering track fp. In addition, the path length of the second path lm2 may be set longer than the travel distance R1 in the front-rear direction.

The first path lm1 and the second path lm2 are discontinuous paths. In the present embodiment, the second path lm2 is parallel to the first path lm1, and the second path lm2 is offset to a side separated from the travel track FP by an offset width Δp2 with respect to the first path lm 1. That is, when the automatic steering control is performed across the first path lm1 and the second path lm2, the path as a target is switched from the first path lm1 to the second path lm2. Thus, after the traveling machine body C travels the work along the first path lm1, the traveling machine body C is displaced in the machine body lateral direction with respect to the second path lm2. In this case, the following offset correction processing is executed by the control unit 79.

As shown in fig. 10, first, when a target path is switched from a first path lm1 to a second path lm2, the satellite positioning unit 70 locates the position coordinates NM4 of the local position NM at the time of switching. As described above, when the positioning between two points is performed by DGPS in a short time, for example, in the order of ten seconds, the relative error in the position between the two points is extremely small. By utilizing the characteristics of the DGPS, control is performed such that the traveling machine body C is quickly moved to a position shifted from the position coordinate NM4 by the shift width Δp2 in the lateral direction, that is, a position on which the second route lm2 is located.

As shown in fig. 10, when the traveling machine body C travels in a state in which the home position NM is shifted from the second path lm2 to the lateral direction by the shift width Δp2, the control unit 79 changes the target azimuth LA to an azimuth inclined at the set inclination angle α1. That is, the control unit 79 changes the target azimuth LA to an azimuth inclined to the side where the second path lm2 is located by the set inclination angle α1 as the target azimuth LA at the time of the automatic steering control, and executes the automatic steering control.

At this time, the set inclination angle α1 is set to be larger as the local position NM is farther from the position corresponding to the second path lm2, and the set inclination angle α1 is set to be gentle as the local position NM is closer to the position corresponding to the second path lm 2. If the vehicle speed is low, the set inclination angle α1 is set to the larger side, and the set inclination angle α1 is set to be gentle as the vehicle speed is higher. However, the upper limit value is set for the set inclination angle α1, so that the set inclination angle α1 does not exceed the set upper limit value even if the deviation is large, regardless of the vehicle speed. This prevents the traveling state from being unstable due to the sharp turning of the traveling body C.

When the local azimuth NA reaches the target azimuth LA inclined at the set inclination angle α1, the target azimuth LA is changed to an azimuth inclined at an inclination angle α2 slower than the set inclination angle α1. In this way, the traveling machine body C travels in the inclined direction with the deviation of the azimuth from the second path lm2 gradually reduced, so the traveling machine body C rapidly approaches the second path lm2.

The portion corresponding to the second path lm2 has regions having a predetermined width on both left and right sides of the position corresponding to the second path lm2 in the lateral direction. That is, the control dead zone for the positional deviation is set, and when the positional deviation falls within the control dead zone, the target azimuth LA is set so as not to incline and so as to be along the original second path lm2.

With the above configuration, the traveling machine body C is guided to the second route lm2. The above-described offset correction process is also performed when the target path is switched from the second path lm2 to the first path lm 1. As a result, the working travel is performed along the post-process target movement path LM2 so as to bypass the worked area of the meandering locus fp, and the possibility of the planted seedlings in the worked area being stepped on is avoided.

If the first path LM1 and the second path LM2 are set so as to be separated from the running track FP by the set distance P, the interval between the seedlings planted in the operated area generated by the running track FP and the seedlings planted along the target moving path LM2 for the subsequent process is likely to be equal. However, when the work travel is performed along the first route lm1 and the second route lm2 set so as to be separated by the set distance P, the travel locus based on the work travel also meanders. In addition, if the degree of hunting is larger than the travel locus FP, the travel locus of the post-process target travel path LM2 in the further process may be greatly hunting, which is not preferable as the automatic steering control. In order to avoid this problem, the post-process target movement path LM2 set based on the meandering travel path FP is set to a path that returns to a straight line.

When all the travel tracks FP are within the range of the first area A1, the first route lm1 is set at a position separated from the position coordinates NM3 of the local position NM by the set distance P. However, as shown in fig. 9, when the hunting locus FP on the non-work area side of the travel completion target movement path LM1 is included in the travel locus FP, the first path LM1 is set at a position further separated from the position coordinates NM3 by the correction interval P. In other words, the offset width Δp2 between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 is smaller than the offset width Δp1 between the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position where the meandering locus fp is offset by the maximum extent by the correction interval p. The correction interval p is set to an appropriate interval that does not make the interval between the working width of the seedling planting device W on the travel path FP and the working width of the seedling planting device W at the time of working travel along the first path lm1 excessively large.

That is, the first path LM1 is set to be further apart from the operated area side in accordance with the displacement of the jogging fp to the non-operated area side than the travel destination movement path LM 1. Thus, when the work travel is performed across the first path lm1 and the second path lm2, the travel locus of the work travel becomes closer to a straight line than the travel locus FP.

As shown in fig. 11, when the walk-around locus FP is stepped to the worked area side from the travel target movement path LM1, a blank area A3 of a concave shape in which seedlings are not planted is generated in the worked area based on the travel locus FP. In this case, even if the traveling machine body C performs work traveling along the first path LM1 of the target moving path LM2 for the post-process, it is impossible to tread the planted seedlings on the traveling locus FP. Therefore, the first path lm1 is set at a position separated from the position coordinates NM3 by the set distance P. The second route lm2 is set to be offset from the first route lm1 toward the work area side in accordance with the meandering trajectory fp. That is, the second route LM2 is set so as to fill the blank area A3 between the travel locus FP and the post-process target movement route LM2.

In fig. 11, the separation distance between the second path lm2 and the portion of the meandering trajectory fp that is most greatly displaced toward the work area side is set to be the distance obtained by adding the set distance P to the correction interval P. In other words, the offset width Δp2 between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 is smaller than the offset width Δp1 between the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position where the maximum amplitude is offset in the meandering track fp by the correction interval p. Thus, when the working travel is performed across the first path lm1 and the second path lm2, the blank area A3 is filled with the planted seedlings, and the travel locus of the working travel is closer to a straight line than the travel locus FP.

As shown in fig. 12, when the travel path FP has a plurality of meandering paths FP (1) to FP (3), the post-process target movement path LM2 has a plurality of second paths LM2. In fig. 12, the second paths LM2 (1) and LM2 (3) are located on the non-work area side of the travel completion target movement path LM1, and the second path LM2 (2) is located on the work area side of the travel completion target movement path LM 1. Among the plurality of meandering tracks fp (1) to fp (3), the meandering track fp (1) is offset to the non-work area side by the maximum extent. Therefore, the second path lm2 (1) is set at a position separated from the position of the meandering locus fp (1) that is most greatly shifted to the non-operation area side by the distance of the set distance P to the non-operation area side. In addition, the first path lm1 is set at a position further separated by a correction interval pa from a position separated by a set distance P from the position coordinates NM 3. The offset width Δp1 is an offset width between a portion where the position coordinate NM3 is located and a portion of the meandering track fp (1) that is offset by the maximum amplitude. The offset width Δp1 may be an offset width between a portion of the meandering track fp (1) that is offset to the greatest extent and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. In other words, the offset width Δp2 between the first path lm1 (1) and the second path lm2 is smaller than the offset width Δp1 between the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position where the meandering locus fp (1) is offset by the largest extent by the correction interval pa.

In fig. 12, the separation distance between the second path lm2 (2) and the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (2) that is most greatly displaced toward the work area side is set to be the distance obtained by adding the set distance P to the correction interval pb. The offset width Δp3 is an offset width between a position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and a position where the maximum amplitude offset in the meandering track fp (2) is located. The offset width Δp3 may be an offset width between a portion of the meandering track fp (2) that is offset to the greatest extent and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. In other words, the offset width Δp4 between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 (2) is smaller than the offset width Δp3 between the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position where the meandering locus fp (2) is offset by the largest extent by the correction interval pb.

In fig. 12, the separation distance between the second path lm2 (3) and the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (3) that is most greatly displaced toward the non-work area side may be the set distance P or the sum of the set distance P and an arbitrary correction interval. The offset width Δp5 is an offset width between a position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and a position where the maximum amplitude offset in the meandering track fp (3) is located. The offset width Δp5 may be an offset width between a portion of the meandering track fp (3) that is offset to the greatest extent and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. That is, the offset width Δp6 between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 (3) may be smaller than the offset width Δp5 between the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position where the meandering locus fp (3) is offset by the largest extent. Thus, when the work travel is performed across the first route lm1 and the second route lm2, the travel locus of the work travel is closer to a straight line than the travel locus FP. The correction interval pa and the correction interval pb may be the same value or different from each other.

With the above configuration, the degree of hunting of the travel locus after the automatic steering control along the post-process target movement path LM2 is smaller than the degree of hunting of the travel locus FP after the automatic steering control along the completed target movement path LM 1. That is, the travel locus after the automatic steering control along the post-process target movement path LM2 is a travel locus that is closer to a straight line than the travel locus FP after the automatic steering control along the post-process target movement path LM 1. Therefore, as shown in fig. 13, the target movement paths LM2 (1) to LM2 (5) for the subsequent steps are formed to be paths that are nearly straight for each step of repeating the operation travel. That is, the plurality of post-process target movement paths LM2 (1) to LM2 (5) are set while repeating the work travel of the field and the turning travel of the ridge, and the offset width Δp2 between the first path LM1 and the second path LM2 decreases as the post-process target movement path LM2 becomes smaller. Thus, even when the travel path FP is, for example, meandering due to the travel machine body C slipping or avoiding an obstacle in the field, the post-process target travel path LM2 set later is gradually corrected to a straight path, and eventually converges to a straight line.

[ display part ]

As shown in fig. 14, the state of the body is displayed on the screen of the display unit 48 (see fig. 5, and the same applies to the following description) via the notification unit 59 (see fig. 5, and the same applies to the following description). The display unit 48 is divided into a plurality of display areas such as a job information area 100, an offset information area 101, and a vehicle speed information area 102. The work information area 100 displays the work date and time, work results, and the like on the upper left end of the display unit 48. The offset information area 101 displays the amount of offset of the traveling machine body C (the own-machine position NM) with respect to the target movement path LM in the center of the upper side of the display section 48. The vehicle speed information area 102 displays the vehicle speed at the upper right end of the display portion 48. The larger area of the display unit 48 other than the upper side is a position information area 104, and the position information area 104 displays the position of the traveling machine body C in the field. The smaller area at the left end of the position information area 104 is a steering state information area 103, and the steering state information area 103 displays the state of the automatic steering mode or the manual steering mode of the control device 75. A software button group 120 operated by a touch panel is disposed at the right end of the position information area 104. A physical button group 121 is disposed further to the right of the display section 48.

In the position information area 104, a work state of a field around the traveling machine body C, the target movement path LM, and a machine body symbol SY indicating the local position NM are displayed. For easy understanding, the target movement path LM during the work running among the target movement paths LM is drawn with a thick solid line. In addition, when the target movement path LM is configured by the first path LM1 and the second path LM2, the first path LM1 and the second path LM2 are displayed. Moreover, the area where seedling planting has been completed is displayed in such a manner that each planted seedling is drawn with dots. This clearly visually distinguishes between the operated area and the non-operated area. When the traveling machine body C travels in a meandering manner, the degree of meandering is visualized by planting seedlings with dots drawn. The display of the seedling-planting trajectory may be a line representing a linear planting row, in addition to the dot-drawing.

The travel path FP of the traveling body C can be displayed on the display unit 48, but this is not explicitly shown in fig. 14. By comparing the travel locus FP with the target movement path LM, the accuracy of the automatic steering control can be checked. The travel track FP is displayed on the display unit 48 based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70. The body symbol SY is shown as an arrow, and the sharp direction indicates the traveling direction, i.e., the home position NA. In order to make it easier to visually recognize the azimuth deviation between the local azimuth NA and the target azimuth LA, a pointer 110 extending from the center of the body symbol SY in the traveling direction and a direction scale 111 indicating the angular range of the direction are displayed thereon. Digital values of the azimuth deviation may also be displayed. The driver can visually confirm the deviation and the azimuth deviation of the traveling machine body C with respect to the target movement path LM by the display unit 48.

When the post-process target movement path LM2 is set based on the work running on the running-completed target movement path LM1, as shown in fig. 14, the offset amount of the running machine body C with respect to the post-process target movement path LM2 is displayed in the offset information area 101. The timing of displaying the offset amount may be during the ridge turning travel from the travel completion target travel path LM1 to the target travel path LM2 for the subsequent step, or may be after the ridge turning travel is completed. In addition, when the target path is switched from the first path lm1 to the second path lm2, the offset amount displayed in the offset information area 101 is switched from the offset amount with respect to the first path lm1 to the offset amount with respect to the second path lm2.

[ other embodiment of embodiment 1 ]

The present invention is not limited to the configuration exemplified by the above embodiment, and other exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be exemplified below.

In the above embodiment, the target movement paths LM are set one by one, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a plurality of target movement paths LM2 for the subsequent steps shown in fig. 13 may be set at the same time. In fig. 13, on the non-work area side of the travel completion target movement path LM1, several post-process target movement paths LM2 (1) to LM2 (5) are set at predetermined equal intervals based on the travel locus FP, respectively. The target movement path LM2 for the post-process may be set to a predetermined number of two or three, for example, or the target movement path LM2 for the post-process may be set at one time until it becomes a straight path.

The embodiment is not limited to the above, and for example, as shown in fig. 15, a plurality of second paths lm2 shown in fig. 12 may be provided in a state where the offset intervals of the second paths lm2 are narrow. In fig. 15, a plurality of second paths lm2 are provided in a stepwise manner between the first paths lm1 and the second paths lm2 (1), and the first paths lm1 and the second paths lm2 (1) are set in a stepwise manner. The plurality of second paths lm2 are also provided in a stepwise manner between the second paths lm2 (1) and lm2 (2), and the plurality of second paths lm2 are also provided in a stepwise manner between the second paths lm2 (2) and lm2 (3). According to this configuration, when the automatic steering control is performed across the first route lm1 and the second route lm2 (1), the work travel along the hunting locus fp can be performed. Further, as exemplified by the second route lm2 between the first route lm1 and the second route lm2 (3), the number of the second routes lm2 provided stepwise may be increased or decreased according to the degree of deviation of the travel locus FP. In addition, each of the second paths lm2 may not necessarily be a straight line shape, and for example, each of the second paths lm2 may be an approximate curve.

The target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step exemplified in the above embodiment is composed of the first path LM1 and the second path LM2 formed as straight paths, but is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the post-process target movement path LM2 may be a path based on an approximate curve of the travel locus FP. As shown in fig. 16, the post-process target movement path LM2 is formed in a curve, and the post-process target movement path LM2 may be formed to be a path closer to a straight line than the travel path FP through a known waveform filter process or the like. The meandering locus fp (1) among the meandering locus fp is offset to the non-working area side by the maximum extent. Therefore, the post-process target movement path LM2 is separated from the travel path FP to the non-work area side such that the separation distance between the most greatly displaced portion of the meandering path FP (1) and the portion corresponding to the meandering path FP (1) in the post-process target movement path LM2 is set to the distance of the set distance P. Thus, any part of the post-process target movement path LM2 is separated from the running track FP by the set distance P or more toward the non-work area side, and the work area of the running track FP and the work width at the time of performing work running along the post-process target movement path LM2 do not overlap. As a result, the transplanting operation can be performed without any gap from the operated area of the travel path FP along the post-process target movement path LM2. This structure is remarkably useful in the case of using RTK-GPS as the satellite positioning unit 70.

In the above embodiment, the case where the travel track FP is not shifted from the end position Lf of the travel completion target movement path LM1 is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, as shown in fig. 17, a case is also considered in which the travel locus FP is shifted to the second area A2 on the non-work area side without converging to the first area A1 at the end point position Lf of the travel completion target movement path LM 1. In this case, the travel locus obtaining unit 78 calculates the offset width Δp1a between the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position where the meandering locus fp is offset by the maximum extent. Further, the travel locus acquisition unit 78 calculates the offset width Δp1b between the location where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. That is, the sum of the offset width Δp1a and the offset width Δp1b is the offset width Δp1 between the position of the meandering locus fp that is offset by the maximum extent and the travel completion target movement path LM 1.

The second path lm2 is set at a position further separated by an offset width Δp1a from a position separated from the position coordinates NM3 by a set distance P. That is, the second route lm2 is set to be separated from the portion of the meandering locus fp that is most greatly displaced toward the non-operation area side by the set distance P toward the non-operation area side. In addition, the first route lm1 is set to be closer to the working area than the second route lm2 in correspondence with the route converging on the first area A1 in the travel route FP, and the offset width Δp2 between the first route lm1 and the second route lm2 is set to be smaller than the offset width Δp1 by the correction interval p.

As shown in fig. 18, there is also considered a case where the end position Lf of the travel track FP on the travel completion target movement path LM1 is not converged to the first area A1, but is shifted to the second area A2 on the worked area side. In this case, the travel locus obtaining unit 78 calculates the offset width Δp1a between the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position where the meandering locus fp is offset by the maximum extent. Further, the travel locus acquisition unit 78 calculates the offset width Δp1b between the location where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. In fig. 18, the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located overlaps with the position where the maximum amplitude is shifted in the meandering track fp, and therefore the shift width Δp1a is substantially zero. That is, the sum of the offset width Δp1a and the offset width Δp1b is the offset width Δp1 between the position of the meandering locus fp that is offset by the maximum extent and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. The first route LM1 is set at a position separated from the travel completion target movement route LM1 by a set distance P in correspondence with a route converging in the first area A1 in the travel locus FP. In other words, the first path lm1 is set at a position further separated by the offset width Δp1b from a position separated by the set distance P from the position coordinates NM 3. The second route lm2 is set to be offset to the work area side from the first route lm1 in correspondence with the meandering locus fp. The separation distance between the second path lm2 and the portion of the meandering locus fp that is most greatly displaced toward the work area side is set to be a distance obtained by adding the set distance P and the correction interval P.

In the above embodiment, the target movement path LM is set in a single field, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the target movement path LM may be set so as to span a plurality of fields. In this case, the actual travel track FP with respect to the target travel path LM, which is the taught path, may be stored as the reference path, and used to set the target travel path LM in another field. The reference path may be stored in a storage unit of a microcomputer provided in the traveling machine body C, or may be stored in a storage unit of an external terminal. In the case of a configuration in which the reference path is stored in the storage unit of the external terminal, a communication device capable of communicating with the external terminal via a WAN (Wide Area Network (wide area network)) or the like may be provided in the traveling body C, and the reference path may be read from the storage unit of the external terminal to the microcomputer of the traveling body C. The plurality of reference paths may be stored in a storage unit provided in the microcomputer of the traveling machine body C and the external terminal. With this configuration, even if traveling is not taught, the target movement path LM can be set by only reading the reference path corresponding to each field.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described transplanting machine, and can be applied to other direct seeding type working machines including direct seeding machines. In addition to the direct seeding type working machine, the present invention can be applied to agricultural working machines such as a tractor and a combine.

[ embodiment 2 ]

The setting of the target movement path according to embodiment 2 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in fig. 19, the traveling machine body C has a control device 75. The control device 75 can switch to an automatic steering mode in which automatic steering control is performed and a manual steering mode in which automatic steering control is not performed.

The control device 75 includes a path setting unit 76 (path setting means), an azimuth deviation calculating unit 81, a control unit 82 (control means), and a steering control unit 83 (control means). The route setting unit 76 sets a target movement route LM (see fig. 20) along which the traveling body C should travel. Details of the azimuth deviation calculating unit 81 will be described later. The control unit 82 calculates and outputs an operation amount based on the position information of the traveling body C measured by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the azimuth information of the traveling body C measured by the inertia measuring unit 74 so that the traveling body C travels along the target movement path LM. The steering control section 83 controls the steering motor 58 based on the operation amount. Specifically, the control device 75 includes a microcomputer (not shown in the drawings, the same applies hereinafter), and the path setting unit 76, the azimuth deviation calculating unit 81, the control unit 82, and the steering control unit 83 are configured by control programs. The control program is stored in a storage device (not shown in the drawings, the same applies hereinafter) and executed by a microcomputer. The microcomputer and the storage device may be provided in the control device 75, but may be provided separately from the control device 75.

There is a start-point-end-point setting switch 49C, and the start-point-end-point setting switch 49C is used to set the target movement path LM for automatic steering control by teaching processing. By operating the start point and end point setting switch 49C, the start point position Ts (see fig. 20. The same applies to the following description) and the end point position Tf (see fig. 20. The same applies to the following description) are set. The start point/end point setting switch 49C may not be a single switch, but may be a switch for setting the start point position Ts and a switch for setting the end point position Tf in parallel with each other. As described above, the start point and end point setting switch 49C is provided on the right side of the display section 48, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the start point and end point setting switch 49C may be provided on the left side of the display section 48.

Information such as the satellite positioning unit 70, the inertial measurement unit 74, the automatic steering switch 50, the start point/end point setting switch 49C, the target setting switch 49D, the steering angle sensor 60, the torque sensor 61, the vehicle speed sensor 62, the obstacle detection unit 63 (ridge detection unit), and the like is input to the control device 75. The vehicle speed sensor 62 detects the vehicle speed using, for example, the rotational speed of a propeller shaft in a transmission mechanism for the rear wheels 11. The vehicle speed may be determined by taking into consideration not only the vehicle speed sensor 62 but also positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70. The obstacle detection unit 63 is provided at the front and both left and right sides of the traveling machine body C, and is a distance sensor such as an optical distance measuring type or an image sensor, for example, so as to be able to detect a ridge of a field, a tower in a field, or the like. When an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection unit 63, the warning unit 64 notifies the driver of a warning, and the warning unit 64 is, for example, a buzzer or voice guidance. The control device 75 is connected to a notification unit 59 (notification means), and the notification unit 59 notifies the state of, for example, the vehicle speed, the engine speed, and the like. The alarm or the notification of the state may be displayed on the display unit 48, or may be a structure in which the LED illumination provided on the center marker 14 (see fig. 1. The same applies to the following description) is changed to a blinking type. The alarm unit 64 may be configured to display an alarm on the display unit 48 via the notification unit 59. In this case, for example, an alarm of ridge detection is displayed on the display unit 48. The alarm unit 64 may be a part of the notification unit 59.

By the teaching process based on the operation of the start point and end point setting switch 49C, a teaching path corresponding to the target path to be automatically steered is set by the path setting unit 76.

The azimuth deviation calculating unit 81 calculates an azimuth deviation, which is an angular deviation between the detected azimuth (the own azimuth NA) of the traveling machine body C detected by the inertia measuring unit 74 and the target azimuth LA in the target movement path LM. When the control device 75 is set to the automatic steering mode, the control unit 82 calculates and outputs the operation amount for controlling the steering motor 58 so that the angular deviation becomes smaller.

In the automatic steering control of the traveling machine body C, the steering control unit 83 executes the automatic steering control based on the operation amount output by the control unit 82. That is, the steering motor 58 is operated so that the detection position (the own position NM) of the traveling machine body C detected by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the inertial measurement unit 74 becomes the position on the target movement path LM.

The control signal in the present embodiment may be an operation amount output from the control unit 82, or may be a voltage value or a current value for the steering control unit 83 to operate the steering motor 58.

[ target movement Path ]

In paddy fields, a rice transplanter alternately runs along a straight planting path with rice transplanting operation and turns around a ridge for moving down the planting path. Fig. 20 shows a plurality of target movement paths LM juxtaposed along a teaching path. In the present embodiment, the path setting unit 76 sets the target movement paths LM (1) to LM (6) in the following order.

First, the driver positions the traveling body C at the start point position Ts of the ridge in the field, and operates the start point end point setting switch 49C. At this time, the control device 75 is set to the manual steering mode. Then, the driver manually operates the traveling body C to travel along the straight line shape of the ridge on the side from the start point position Ts, moves the traveling body C to the end point position Tf near the ridge on the opposite side, and then operates the start point end point setting switch 49C again. Thereby, teaching processing is performed. That is, a teaching path connecting the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf is set based on the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70 at the start point position Ts and the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70 at the end point position Tf. The direction along the teaching path is set as a target azimuth LA as a reference. The position coordinates at the end position Tf may be calculated from not only the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 but also the distance from the start position Ts based on the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the azimuth information of the traveling machine body C based on the inertia measuring unit 74. The travel of the travel machine body C across the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf may be a work travel accompanied by a transplanting work or a travel in a non-work state.

After the teaching path is set, the ridge turning travel for moving to the planting path adjacent to the teaching path is performed, and in the present embodiment, the travel machine body C moves to the start point position Ls (1). The driver may perform the ridge turning travel by manually operating the steering wheel 43, or may perform the ridge turning travel by automatic turning control described later. At this time, the control unit 82 can determine that the traveling machine body C has turned by reversing the own direction NA. The satellite positioning unit 70 and the inertial measurement unit 74 can detect the inversion of the local azimuth NA.

In addition to the turning of the traveling body C can be determined by reversing the direction NA of the machine, the turning of the traveling body C can be determined by the operation of various devices. The operations of the various devices may be, for example, the raising operation of the seedling planting device W, the soil preparation rotating unit (not shown), the soil preparation hull 25, etc., the separation of the side clutch (not shown), or the cutting of the transmission to the seedling planting device W. In addition, it is possible to determine that the traveling body C reaches the start position Ls (1) by the satellite positioning unit 70.

After the teaching path is set, the path setting unit 76 sets the target movement path LM (1) at any time. The target movement path LM (1) may be set when the setting of the teaching path is completed, the target movement path LM (1) may be set during the turning of the traveling body C, or the target movement path LM (1) may be set after the turning of the traveling body C. At the above time, the driver sets the target movement path LM (1) by operating the target setting switch 49D. The target movement path LM (1) is not limited to be set by the driver by operating the target setting switch 49D, and the target movement path LM (1) may be set by the driver by operating the automatic steering switch 50 or the like, for example. Further, the target movement path LM (1) may be automatically set without accompanying the operation of the driver.

After it is determined that the traveling machine body C has completed turning, the manual steering mode of the control device 75 is continued, and the straight-ahead traveling is continued by the manual operation. During this time, the control device 75 checks the determination conditions such as the azimuth deviation of the own azimuth NA calculated by the azimuth deviation calculating unit 81, the direction of the steered wheels 10, and the steering angle of the steering wheel 43, and determines whether or not the state is in a state where the automatic steering mode can be switched. And, if in a state where it is possible to switch to the automatic steering mode, the control device 75 allows the operation of the automatic steering switch 50. At this time, the notification unit 59 notifies whether or not the control device 75 is in a state where the automatic steering mode can be switched.

When the control device 75 is in a state where it is not possible to switch to the automatic steering mode, the notification unit 59 also notifies the reason thereof. Therefore, for example, the driver can be notified of a bad condition for the automatic steering control, so the driver can easily adjust the condition for starting the automatic steering control. The notification by the notification unit 59 may be a sound such as a buzzer, may be a light or a flash of LED illumination provided in the center marker 14, or may be displayed on the display unit 48. The alarm generated by the notification unit 59 may be configured to be a temporary notification or a permanent notification.

As the poor condition for the automatic steering control, there are illustrated a case where the deviation of the azimuth NA from the target azimuth LA is particularly large, a case where the direction of the steered wheels 10 is greatly changed to the left and right, a case where the vehicle speed of the traveling machine body C is excessively fast or excessively slow, and the like. As a poor condition for the automatic steering control, a case where the number of navigation satellites that can supplement the satellite positioning unit 70 is smaller than a preset number can be exemplified.

When the driver operates the automatic steering switch 50 while the operation of the automatic steering switch 50 is permitted, the target movement path LM (1) is set by the path setting unit 76, and the control device 75 switches from the manual steering mode to the automatic steering mode. Then, automatic steering control along the target movement path LM (1) is started. The target movement path LM (1) is set along the azimuth of the target azimuth LA in a state of being adjacent to the teaching path, and after the teaching process, the traveling machine body C first performs the task traveling. The seedling planting device W is lowered to perform the transplanting operation by the driver operating the operation lever 45 after turning the traveling body C (see fig. 1. The same applies to the following description), but the seedling planting device W may be lowered to start the transplanting operation when the control device 75 is switched from the manual steering mode to the automatic steering mode.

The automatic steering control is continued until it is determined that the obstacle detecting unit 63 has detected a ridge in the vicinity of the end position Lf (1) on the opposite side of the start position Ls (1) of the target movement path LM (1). During this period, for example, in the automatic steering control, the swash plate of the HST is operated by the electric motor, and even if the driver operates the main shift lever 44 (see fig. 1. The same applies in the following description), the operation of the main shift lever 44 is not transmitted to the HST (not shown). In addition, the main shift lever 44 may be restricted to a predetermined position in the automatic steering control. This structure is particularly useful in a structure in which the main shift lever 44 is mechanically connected to the HST. In the case where the main shift lever 44 cannot operate the HST during the automatic steering control, the engine 13 (see fig. 1. The same applies to the following description) may be stopped or the traveling machine body C may be stopped by a dedicated operation tool or a brake, not shown, so that the main shift lever 44 may operate the HST.

When it is determined by the obstacle detection unit 63 that the distance between the traveling machine body C and the ridge is within the preset range, the warning by the warning unit 64 is notified to the driver. At this time, the alarm generated by the alarm unit 64 may be a sound such as a buzzer, may be a light or a flash of LED illumination provided in the center marker 14, or may be displayed on the display unit 48. Then, the obstacle detection unit 63 continues to detect the ridge for a predetermined time period, and determines that the ridge is detected, the engine 13 is stopped, and the control device 75 is switched to the manual steering mode, so that the automatic steering control is released. Further, when it is determined that a ridge is detected, the traveling machine body C may be decelerated or stopped without stopping the engine 13. That is, when it is determined that the distance between the traveling machine body C and the ridge is within the preset range, the automatic steering control may be released.

In this way, the automatic steering control is released in the vicinity of the ridge by determining that the ridge is detected, but the automatic steering control may be continued even in the vicinity of the ridge as long as a predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, even in a state where the obstacle detection unit 63 detects a ridge and notifies the driver of an alarm, the driver may continue to operate the automatic steering switch 50 without determining that a ridge is detected, and thus continue the automatic steering control. At this time, the automatic steering control may be released by stopping the operation of the automatic steering switch 50 by the driver. Thus, the automatic steering control can be continued until the traveling machine body C reaches the end position Lf (1) regardless of whether or not it is determined that a ridge is detected. Further, the continuation of the automatic steering control is not limited to the operation of the automatic steering switch 50, and for example, the start point/end point setting switch 49C and the target setting switch 49D may be operated.

When the traveling body C reaches the end position Lf (1) of the target travel path LM (1), the driver operates the steering wheel 43 toward the non-work area side of the target travel path LM (1) to perform ridge turning travel, and the traveling body C moves to the start position Ls (2) of the next work travel. The ridge turning travel may be performed by automatic turning control described later. Before the traveling machine body C turns, the driver can operate the operation lever 45 to raise the seedling planting device W, but the steering wheel 43 may be operated to cut off the transmission to the seedling planting device W and raise the seedling planting device W. Then, it is determined that the traveling machine body C makes a turn.

After the completion of the work travel on the target movement path LM (1), the target movement path LM (2) is set at any time by the path setting unit 76. The target movement path LM (2) may be set when the ridge is determined by the obstacle detecting unit 63, the target movement path LM (2) may be set during the turning of the traveling body C, or the target movement path LM (2) may be set after the turning of the traveling body C. At the above time, the driver sets the target movement path LM (2) by operating the target setting switch 49D. The driver is not limited to setting the target movement path LM (2) by operating the target setting switch 49D, and may set the target movement path LM (2) by operating the automatic steering switch 50 or the like. The target movement path LM (2) may be automatically set without the driver's operation. After the target movement path LM (2) is adjacently set on the non-work area side of the target movement path LM (1), the automatic steering control is started along the target movement path LM (2), and the traveling body C performs the work traveling.

During the automatic steering control, information of the local position NM (refer to NM3 of fig. 22 and the like, which are the same in the following description) is acquired in time series by the satellite positioning unit 70. Further, the vehicle speed is calculated by the vehicle speed sensor 62, and the relative azimuth change angle Δna is measured in time series by the inertia measuring unit 74 as shown in fig. 21. The azimuth deviation calculating unit 81 calculates the local azimuth NA from the point where the automatic steering control is started in time series by integrating the azimuth change angle Δna. The azimuth deviation calculating unit 81 calculates the azimuth deviation between the local azimuth NA and the target azimuth LA. The control unit 82 outputs the operation amount so that the local azimuth NA matches the target azimuth LA, and the steering control unit 83 operates the steering motor 58 based on the operation amount. Thereby, the traveling machine body C travels along the target movement path LM with high accuracy. The driver is not operating the steering wheel 43.

[ setting of target movement Path ]

Fig. 22 shows a post-process target movement path LM2 as a post-process target in a state of being adjacent to the target movement path LM. The post-process target movement path LM2 is set as a target movement path for the vehicle body C to perform work travel after the target movement path LM. Thus, when the target movement path LM of fig. 22 corresponds to the target movement path LM (1) of fig. 20, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step of fig. 22 corresponds to the target movement path LM (2) of fig. 20. In addition, when the target movement path LM of fig. 22 corresponds to the target movement path LM (2) of fig. 20, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step of fig. 22 corresponds to the target movement path LM (3) of fig. 20. The target movement path LM and the target movement path LM2 for a post-process in fig. 23 to 25, which will be described later, are also the same.

The target movement path LM in fig. 22 may be the teaching path described above. In this case, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step in fig. 22 corresponds to the target movement path LM (1) in fig. 20.

Basically, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent process is set to be separated from the target movement path LM by a preset setting distance P based on positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 (see fig. 1, the same applies to the following description). Here, the set distance P is a distance corresponding to the work width of the seedling planting device W for transplanting seedlings.

However, the error of DGPS is often in the range of several meters. Therefore, in the case of using DGPS as the satellite positioning unit 70, the following case is considered to exist: the coordinate position of the local position NM based on the positioning data acquired actually using the satellite positioning unit 70 is shifted with respect to the actual target movement path LM. Thus, in the case where the configuration of the post-process target movement path LM2 is set based only on the coordinate position of the own position NM that is actually acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70, there is a possibility that planted seedlings of the worked area are stepped on, or an unworked area is generated between working travel tracks before and after the ridge turns.

In the present embodiment, the separation distance of the target movement path LM2 for the post-process with respect to the target movement path LM is calculated based on the actual displacement of the traveling body C, which is subjected to the automatic steering control, along the target movement path LM. Although the error of the DGPS is often in the range of several meters as described above, when the positioning between two points is performed by the DGPS in a short time, for example, in the order of ten seconds, the relative position error between the two points is extremely small. By utilizing this feature, when setting the post-process target movement path LM2, the path setting section 76 sets the post-process target movement path LM2 at a position separated by a relative distance from the local position NM based on the positioning data positioned immediately before the ridge turning is performed. That is, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step is set at a position separated from the local position NM calculated based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 by the set distance P.

In the automatic steering control along the target movement path LM, when the traveling body C performs the work traveling in a state of being shifted to the non-work area side by the shift deviation d with respect to the target movement path LM, the actual work traveling locus of the traveling body C is the traveling locus of the one-dot chain line La shown in fig. 22. The travel locus of the one-dot chain line La is calculated based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70. In addition, the absolute error of the positioning data positioned by the satellite positioning unit 70 is also included in the offset deviation d.

The target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step should be set at a position separated from the target movement path LM by the set distance P, that is, at a position of a broken line LM shown in fig. 22. In the present embodiment, the post-process target movement path LM2 is set to be parallel-moved from the broken line LM to the non-work area side by the offset d corresponding to the offset d of the traveling body C.

Further, consider a case where the actual work travel locus of the travel machine body C is offset toward the worked area side by an offset deviation d with respect to the target travel path LM. In this case, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step is set to be parallel-shifted from the set distance P to the target movement path LM by the offset deviation d toward the work area side.

In this way, even when the positioning data positioned by the satellite positioning unit 70 includes an error, the position can be set at a position separated from the local position NM by the set distance P. With the configuration in which the target moving path LM2 for the post-process is set at the position that separates the amount of the working width of the seedling planting device W, the possibility of the planted seedlings stepping on the worked area or the occurrence of a non-working area between the working travel tracks before and after the ridge turning can be prevented. This structure is particularly useful in a structure using DGPS as the satellite positioning unit 70.

[ automatic turning about ridge ]

Basically, the driver makes a ridge turn of the field by operating the steering wheel 43. However, when the ridge turning is performed by a manual operation, it is necessary to perform the direction conversion of the machine body so that the starting point position Ls of the next target movement path LM is reached and the advancing direction of the machine body coincides with the target azimuth of the target movement path LM. Therefore, many factors depending on the proficiency of the driver bring about a burden to an unfamiliar driver. In particular, in the above-described configuration in which the target travel path LM2 for the subsequent step is set based on the position coordinates NM3 located immediately before the ridge turning, it is desirable to prepare a condition for the traveling machine body C to reach the start position Ls for the next work traveling within a certain time and to start the automatic steering control within the certain time. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 82 is configured to be switchable to automatic turning control.

In the automatic turning control, the control section 82 instructs the steering control section 83 to perform a steering operation via data conversion such as a look-up table based on the local position NM located by the satellite positioning unit 70. Note that, the present invention is not limited to the satellite positioning unit 70, and the local position NM may be calculated by integrating the vehicle speed measured by the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the azimuth change angle Δna (see fig. 21) measured by the inertial measurement unit 74, respectively. The control unit 82 determines that the ridge detected by the obstacle detection unit 63 is used as a start condition for automatic turning, and starts automatic turning control at any time. The target position of the automatic turning control is a start position Ls of the next work travel, and turning control is performed at the start position Ls so that the home azimuth NA of the traveling machine body C coincides with the target azimuth LA.

The following describes a form of turning travel at a ridge of a field.

In the turning travel pattern shown in fig. 23, after the work travel is performed along the target travel path LM in the right-left width across the work width W1, the U-turn travel is performed from the end position Lf of the work travel to the start position Ls of the next work travel. The working width W1 is the working width of the seedling planting device W, and the working width W1 and the working width W2 have the same width. The work widths W1 and W2 shown in fig. 24 and 25 described later are also the same.

In the form of turning travel shown in fig. 23, the separation distance W3 between the end point position Lf or the start point position Ls and the ridge of the field is twice the work width W1 or the work width W2. Thus, after the traveling machine body C (see fig. 1. The same will be described below) completes the work traveling on all the target traveling paths LM, the work traveling is performed while the surrounding traveling is performed for two weeks along the ridge of the field. The form of turning running shown in fig. 23 is mainly used for a rice transplanter having a seedling planting apparatus W of a four-row planting type and a six-row planting type.

In a state where the traveling machine body C approaches the ridge of the field, the ridge is detected in time series by the obstacle detection unit 63 (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description), and after it is determined that the traveling machine body C has moved away from the ridge of the field, automatic turning control is started. The position shown in P1 of fig. 23 is a substantially middle position of ridge turning travel, and is a position of the travel machine body C closest to the ridge of the field. Accordingly, after the traveling machine body C passes through the P1 portion, it is determined that the traveling machine body C has left the ridge, and the control unit 82 starts the automatic turning control. The same applies to the portion shown by P1 in fig. 24 described later.

As the timing of starting the automatic turning control, for example, after the traveling machine body C passes through the P1 portion, the driver is notified of a state in which the automatic turning is possible via the notification unit 59 (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description), and the automatic turning control may be started by operating the start point end point setting switch 49C (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description), the target setting switch 49D (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description), the automatic turning switch 50 (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description), or the like. Further, the automatic turning control may be automatically started. Further, even before the traveling machine body C passes through the P1 portion, the automatic turning control may be permitted by operating the start point/end point setting switch 49C, the target setting switch 49D, the automatic steering switch 50, and the like, and after the traveling machine body C passes through the P1 portion, it may be determined that the traveling machine body C has left the ridge of the field, the automatic turning control may be started.

In the turning travel pattern shown in fig. 24, after the work travel is performed along the target travel path LM in the right-left width across the work width W1, the U-turn travel is performed from the end position Lf of the work travel to the start position Ls of the next work travel.

In the form of turning travel shown in fig. 24, the separation distance between the end point position Lf or the start point position Ls and the ridge of the field is the same distance as the working width of the seedling planting device W. Therefore, for example, in the case of a rice transplanter having a seven-row planting type, eight-row planting type seedling planting device W, when the ridge turning travel is directly performed, the front portion of the travel machine body C may come into contact with the ridge. Thus, in the turning travel pattern shown in fig. 24, after the travel body C reaches the end position Lf of the target travel path LM, the travel body C temporarily retreats to the position Lff, and the travel body C performs U-turn travel to the start position Ls of the next work travel.

Note that, in the turning running form shown in fig. 24, the timing at which the automatic turning control is started may be not only the timing described in the turning running form shown in fig. 23, but also, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which it is determined that the traveling machine body C is retracted from the end position Lf to the position Lff and the automatic turning control is started. Further, after the traveling machine body C reaches the end position Lf, the automatic steering switch 50 or the like may be operated to perform traveling of the automatic turning control including the reverse operation of reversing from the end position Lf to the position Lff.

In the turning running form shown in fig. 25, the separation distance between the end point position Lf or the start point position Ls and the ridge of the field is the same distance as the working width of the seedling planting device W. The traveling machine body C is configured such that the radius of curvature of the traveling machine body C is smaller than the working width of the seedling planting device W. Thus, in the turning travel pattern shown in fig. 25, after the work travel is performed along the target travel path LM across the left and right width of the work width W1, first, the traveling machine body C turns in an L-shape from the end position Lf of the work travel to the position P1 along the ridge of the field. Then, the traveling machine body C travels straight along the ridge of the field to the position P2. Then, the traveling machine body C performs the L-shaped turning travel again from the position P2 to the start position Ls of the next work travel, thereby completing the ridge turning travel. The form of turning running shown in fig. 25 is mainly used for a rice transplanter having ten rows of seedling planting apparatuses W.

The turning travel from the position P2 to the start position Ls of the next work travel is turning travel in which the traveling machine body C turns the steering wheel 10 (see fig. 1. The same applies to the following description) in a direction away from the ridge of the field. Accordingly, after the traveling machine body C passes the P2 position, it is determined that the traveling machine body C has left the ridge, and the automatic turning control is started by the control unit 82 (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description). As the timing of starting the automatic turning control, for example, it is possible to start the automatic turning control by detecting that the steering wheel 43 (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description) is operated to the side where the start point position Ls of the next work travel is located in a state where the traveling machine body C is traveling along the ridge of the field. After the traveling machine body C passes through the P2 position, the automatic turning control may be started by operating the automatic steering switch 50 or the like. In addition, the automatic turning control may be permitted by operating the start point/end point setting switch 49C, the target setting switch 49D, the automatic steering switch 50, and the like even before the traveling machine body C passes through the P2 site, and the automatic turning control may be started after the traveling machine body C passes through the P2 site, and it is determined that the traveling machine body C has left the ridge of the field.

The steering wheel 43 is configured so that the steering angle of the steered wheels 10 is not transmitted to the steering wheel 43 even if the steering angle of the steered wheels 10 is changed during the automatic turning control. For example, when the operation of the steering wheel 43 is transmitted to the steering control unit 83 by an electric signal (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description), the steering control unit 83 may perform automatic turning control regardless of the operation of the steering wheel 43. In the case where a clutch is provided between the steering wheel 43 and the steered wheels 10, the clutch may be released during the automatic turning control. Before starting the automatic turning control, the notification unit 59 (see fig. 19 and the same applies to the following description) or the alarm unit 64 (see fig. 19 and the same applies to the following description) notifies the driver of the start of the automatic turning control, and urges the driver to leave the hand from the steering wheel 43. In addition, even when the driver cannot operate the steering wheel 43 during the automatic turning control, the driver may operate the steering wheel 43 by operating a dedicated operation tool or brake, not shown.

[ offset correction Process ]

When the traveling machine body C is offset from the target movement path LM in the machine body lateral direction more than the preset range, the following offset correction process is performed. As shown in fig. 26, when the traveling machine body C travels in a state in which the home position NM is shifted from the target travel path LM by the shift amount Δp in the lateral direction, the control unit 82 changes the target azimuth LA to an azimuth inclined by the set inclination angle α1. That is, the control unit 82 changes the target azimuth LA to an azimuth inclined toward the side where the target movement path LM is located by the set inclination angle α1 as the target azimuth LA at the time of the automatic steering control, and executes the automatic steering control.

At this time, the set inclination angle α1 is set to be larger as the home position NM is separated from the portion corresponding to the target movement path LM, and the set inclination angle α1 is set to be gentle as the home position NM is closer to the portion corresponding to the target movement path LM. If the vehicle speed is low, the set inclination angle α1 is set to the larger side, and the set inclination angle α1 is set to be gentle as the vehicle speed is high. However, the upper limit value is set for the set inclination angle α1, so that the set inclination angle α1 does not exceed the set upper limit value even if the deviation is large, regardless of the vehicle speed. This prevents the traveling state from being unstable due to the sharp turning of the traveling body C.

When the local azimuth NA (see fig. 20, the same applies to the following description) reaches the target azimuth LA inclined at the set inclination angle α1, the target azimuth LA is changed to an azimuth inclined at an inclination angle α2 that is slower than the set inclination angle α1. When the local azimuth NA reaches the target azimuth LA inclined at the inclination angle α2, the target azimuth LA is changed to an azimuth inclined at an inclination angle α3 slower than the inclination angle α2. In this way, the traveling machine body C travels in the inclined direction with the azimuth deviation from the target travel path LM gradually becoming smaller, so the offset amount Δp can be quickly reduced.

The portion corresponding to the target movement path LM has regions having a predetermined width on both left and right sides of the position corresponding to the target movement path LM in the lateral direction. That is, the control dead zone for the positional deviation is set, and when the positional deviation falls within the control dead zone, the target azimuth LA is set so as not to incline and so as to be along the original target movement path LM.

With the above configuration, since the traveling machine body C is guided to the target movement path LM, the displacement of the traveling machine body C with respect to the target movement path LM is converged quickly, particularly in the automatic steering control that starts immediately after the automatic steering control.

It should be noted that if it is determined that the accuracy of the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 is degraded, the offset correction control may not be executed. In this case, the automatic steering control is performed so that the local azimuth NA is along the target azimuth LA along the direction of the target movement path LM, regardless of the offset.

[ display part ]

As shown in fig. 27, the state of the body is displayed on a screen of the display unit 48 (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description) via the notification unit 59. The display unit 48 is divided into a plurality of display areas such as a job information area 100, an offset information area 101, and a vehicle speed information area 102. The work information area 100 displays the work date and time, work results, and the like on the upper left end of the display unit 48. The offset information area 101 displays the amount of offset of the traveling machine body C (the own-machine position NM) with respect to the target movement path LM in the center of the upper side of the display section 48. The vehicle speed information area 102 displays the vehicle speed at the upper right end of the display portion 48. The larger area of the display unit 48 other than the upper side is a position information area 104, and the position information area 104 displays the position of the traveling machine body C in the field. The smaller area at the left end of the position information area 104 is a steering state information area 103, and the steering state information area 103 displays the state of the automatic steering mode or the manual steering mode of the control device 75 (see fig. 19. The same applies to the following description). A software button group 120 operated by a touch panel is disposed at the right end of the position information area 104. A physical button group 121 is disposed further to the right of the display section 48.

In the position information area 104, a work state of a field around the traveling machine body C, the target movement path LM, and a machine body symbol SY indicating the local position NM are displayed. For easy understanding, the target movement path LM during the work running among the target movement paths LM is drawn with a thick solid line. Moreover, the area where seedling planting has been completed is displayed in such a manner that each planted seedling is drawn with dots. This clearly visually distinguishes between the operated area and the non-operated area. The display of the seedling-planting trajectory may be a line representing a linear planting row, in addition to the dot-drawing.

The path along which the traveling machine body C actually travels, that is, the travel locus, may be displayed on the display unit 48, but this is not explicitly shown in fig. 27. By comparing the travel locus FP with the target movement path LM, the accuracy of the automatic steering control can be checked. The travel track is displayed on the display unit 48 based on positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 (see fig. 19, which is the same in the following description). The body symbol SY is shown as an arrow, and the sharp direction indicates the traveling direction, i.e., the home position NA. In order to make it easier to visually recognize the azimuth deviation between the local azimuth NA and the target azimuth LA, a pointer 110 extending from the center of the body symbol SY in the traveling direction and a direction scale 111 indicating the angular range of the direction are displayed thereon. Further, a boundary line 112 indicating the allowable range of the azimuth deviation is also displayed. Digital values of the azimuth deviation may also be displayed. The driver can visually confirm the deviation and the azimuth deviation of the traveling machine body C with respect to the target movement path LM by the display unit 48.

When the post-process target movement path LM2 is set based on the work travel on the target movement path LM, as shown in fig. 27, the offset amount of the travel machine body C with respect to the post-process target movement path LM2 is displayed in the offset information area 101. The timing of displaying the offset amount may be during the ridge turning travel from the target travel path LM to the target travel path LM2 for the subsequent step, or may be after the ridge turning travel is completed.

As described above, when the positioning between two points is performed by DGPS in a short time, for example, in the order of ten seconds, the relative position error between the two points is extremely small. However, the error of the position coordinates located in time series by DGPS increases as the position coordinates NM3 located immediately before the ridge turning are located longer than the time at which the position coordinates NM3 are located (see fig. 22. The same applies to the following description). That is, the relative positioning accuracy with respect to the position coordinate NM3 decreases with the passage of time. Therefore, in the case where the satellite positioning unit 70 is configured to use DGPS, the display unit 48 is configured not to display the offset in the offset information area 101 if it is determined that the accuracy of the offset is degraded. For example, a setting time for displaying the offset amount in the offset information area 101 may be set in advance, and when the setting time has elapsed from the time point at which the position coordinate NM3 is located, the offset amount is not displayed in the offset information area 101.

During the automatic turning control, the position and the offset amount of the traveling machine body C are not displayed in the offset information area 101 and the position information area 104 in the screen displayed on the display unit 48. That is, the display unit 48 during automatic turning is a display that is easily understood by the driver. Further, the position and the offset of the traveling body C during the automatic turning may be freely switched to be displayed according to the intention of the driver. Switching between display and non-display can be performed by operating the software button group 120 and the physical button group 121. Note that the notification of the offset amount may be a sound notification generated by the notification unit 59, a lighting display of a switch, or a blinking display.

In the case where the reception sensitivity of the satellite positioning unit 70 is insufficient due to a small number of navigation satellites that can supplement the satellite positioning unit 70, etc., the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 may contain a large error. In this case, the offset information area 101 may be made to not display the offset amount. Note that the insufficient reception sensitivity of the satellite positioning unit 70 may be notified to the offset information area 101 and the position information area 104 via the notification unit 59. Thus, the driver is urged to perform the work travel by the manual operation. Note that, the notification of insufficient reception sensitivity of satellite positioning section 70 may be voice navigation, a lighting display of a switch, or a blinking display, and may be switched freely to not be notified. The time to be notified by the notification unit 59 may be set arbitrarily. Further, when the automatic steering switch 50 is operated in this state, the automatic steering control may be performed so that the local azimuth NA is along the target azimuth LA regardless of the offset.

The target movement path LM may be able to be corrected after being set. For example, consider a case where work travel is performed by a manual operation immediately after completion of ridge turning travel, and the own-machine position NM is shifted to either the left or right with respect to the target movement path LM when viewed from the front of the travel machine body C. In such a case, the driver may also be able to make the following corrections: when viewed from the front of the traveling machine body C, the target movement path LM is moved in parallel to the left and right in the direction in which the own position NM is located. With this structure, even when the offset of the own position NM with respect to the target movement path LM is out of the allowable range, the offset of the own position NM with respect to the target movement path LM can be set within the allowable range by correcting the target movement path LM. This enables the automatic steering control along the target movement path LM to be started promptly. The correction of the target movement path LM may be performed by either operating the software button group 120 or the physical button group 121.

[ other embodiments of embodiment 2 ]

In the above embodiment, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step is set one by one, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, as shown in fig. 28, a plurality of target movement paths LM2 for post-process may be set at the same time. In fig. 28, on the non-work area side of the target movement path LM, target movement paths LM2 (A1), LM2 (A2), LM2 (A3) for the subsequent process are set at predetermined equal intervals, respectively. The post-process target movement paths LM2 (A1), LM2 (A2), LM2 (A3) are set based on the work travel locus of the traveling body C on the target movement path LM. The post-process target movement paths LM2 (B1), LM2 (B2), LM2 (B3) are set at equal intervals based on the work travel locus of the traveling body C on the post-process target movement path LM2 (A3), respectively.

The timing of setting the target movement paths LM2 (A1), LM2 (A2), LM2 (A3) for the subsequent step may be set when the ridge is determined by the obstacle detecting unit 63 in the vicinity of the end point position Lf, may be set while the traveling machine body C is traveling in a ridge turning manner toward the start point position Ls (A1), or may be set after the traveling machine body C reaches the start point position Ls (A1). The timing of setting the target movement paths LM2 (B1), LM2 (B2), LM2 (B3) for the subsequent step may be set when the ridge is determined by the obstacle detecting unit 63 near the end point position Lf (A3), may be set while the traveling machine body C is traveling in a ridge turning manner to the start point position Ls (B1), or may be set after the traveling machine body C reaches the start point position Ls (B1). At the above-described time, the driver sets the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent steps by operating the target setting switch 49D, but the configuration is not limited to this, and for example, the driver may set the target movement path by operating the automatic steering switch 50 or the like, or may set the target movement path automatically without accompanying the operation of the driver.

When a plurality of traveling work machines simultaneously perform work traveling, each of the traveling work machines may be configured to perform work traveling in parallel along the post-process target travel paths LM2 (A1), LM2 (A2), LM2 (A3), and thereafter, to perform work traveling in parallel along the post-process target travel paths LM2 (B1), LM2 (B2), LM2 (B3).

In the above embodiment, the route setting unit 76 is configured to set the target movement route LM2 for the subsequent step in the non-operation area of the target movement route LM, but is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, when the left and right sides of the target movement path LM are non-work areas, the target movement paths LM2 (L) and LM2 (R) for the subsequent process may be set on the left and right sides of the target movement path LM as shown in fig. 29. In this case, the vehicle may be configured to perform ridge turning travel to one of the target travel paths LM2 (L) and LM2 (R) for the subsequent step, and after it is determined that the traveling body C has made a turn, the target travel path LM2 for the subsequent step is specified and set. Originally, the target movement paths LM2 (L) and LM2 (R) for the subsequent process should be set at positions separated from the target movement path LM by the set distance P, that is, at positions of broken lines LM (L) and LM (R) shown in fig. 29. In the present embodiment, the target movement paths LM2 (L) and LM2 (R) for the subsequent step are set to be parallel-shifted from the broken lines LM (L) and LM (R) by the offset d in accordance with the offset d of the traveling machine body C.

Even when the target movement path LM is set to be linear, the actual working travel path of the traveling machine body C may be, for example, meandering as shown by a broken line in fig. 30 due to the traveling machine body C slipping or avoiding an obstacle in the field. In this case, the post-process target movement path LM2 is set along the actual work running trajectory of the running machine body C. The target movement path LM2 (1) for the subsequent step shown in fig. 30 makes a meandering along the actual work running trajectory of the running machine body C. Thus, when the working travel is performed along the target travel path LM2 for the subsequent process, the possibility of the planted seedlings in the worked area being stepped on or the occurrence of a non-working area between the working travel tracks before and after the ridge turning travel can be prevented. The actual working travel locus of the traveling body C may be calculated based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70, or may be calculated by integrating the vehicle speed measured by the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the azimuth change angle Δna (see fig. 21) measured by the inertia measuring unit 74, respectively.

When the post-process target movement path LM2 is set along the actual working travel path of the traveling body C, the post-process target movement path LM2 is in a linear shape that is closer to a straight line than the actual working travel path of the traveling body C. For example, when the traveling machine body C is swiping in a complicated manner with respect to the work travel locus of the target travel path LM, the target travel path LM2 for the post process is also swiping in a complicated manner, and the traveling machine body C may not travel along the target travel path LM2 for the post process with high accuracy. Thus, the target movement path LM2 (1) for the subsequent step shown in fig. 30 is set at a position further apart by Δp from the position separated from the target movement path LM by the set distance P. The target movement path LM2 (1) for the subsequent step is set in a state where the meandering portion shown by the broken line in fig. 30 is separated from the meandering portion of the target movement path LM2 (1) for the subsequent step by a set distance P. Thus, the post-process target movement path LM2 (2) set after the post-process target movement path LM2 (1) is set closer to a straight line than the post-process target movement path LM2 (1), and the post-process target movement path LM2 (3) set after the post-process target movement path LM2 (2) is set to a substantially straight line. As a result, even when the actual work travel locus of the traveling machine body C occasionally meanders, the target travel path LM2 for the subsequent process set later is gradually corrected to be linear. The number of the post-process target movement paths LM2 having the meandering portions between the target movement path LM shown in fig. 30 and the substantially linear post-process target movement path LM2 (3) shown at the right end of fig. 30 can be changed appropriately.

In the above embodiment, the target movement path LM is set in a single field, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the target movement path LM may be set across a plurality of fields. In this case, the actual work travel path with respect to the target travel path LM may be stored as a reference path, and the target travel path LM in another field may be set. The reference path may be stored in a storage unit of a microcomputer provided in the traveling machine body C, or may be stored in a storage unit of an external terminal. In the case of a configuration in which the reference path is stored in the storage unit of the external terminal, a communication device capable of communicating with the external terminal via a WAN (Wide Area Network (wide area network)) or the like may be provided in the traveling body C, and the reference path may be read from the storage unit of the external terminal to the microcomputer of the traveling body C. The plurality of reference paths may be stored in a storage unit provided in the microcomputer of the traveling machine body C and the external terminal. With this configuration, even if traveling is not taught, the target movement path LM can be set by only reading the reference path corresponding to each field.

When the set time has elapsed from the time point at which the position coordinate NM3 (see fig. 22) is located, the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent process shown in the above embodiment may not be set. In the case where the satellite positioning unit 70 uses the DGPS structure, the relative positioning accuracy with respect to the position coordinate NM3 decreases with the passage of time. Therefore, if it is determined that the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step cannot be set with high accuracy, the path setting unit 76 may be configured to be incapable of setting the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step.

[ 6 ] may have the following structure: when the post-process target movement path LM2 cannot be set, the driver is notified of the inability to set the post-process target movement path LM2 via the notification unit 59. The notification by the notification unit 59 may be a sound such as a buzzer, may be a light or a flash of LED illumination provided in the center marker 14, or may be displayed on the display unit 48. Examples of the case where the post-process target movement path LM2 cannot be set include a case where a field is present on the set path of the post-process target movement path LM2, a case where the field is turned around (on a land), a case where the set position of the post-process target movement path LM2 crosses the boundary of the field and enters an adjacent field, a case where an obstacle is detected on the set path of the post-process target movement path LM2, and a case where a failure of the satellite positioning unit 70 is detected.

The target movement path LM may be used for work travel when the travel body C is deviated from the target movement path LM by a distance larger than a predetermined distance. In the case where the traveling body C greatly deviates from the target movement path LM, it is considered that the driver is likely to be consciously operating the traveling body C. In such a case, the manual operation by the driver is preferably prioritized. Naturally, the ridge turning travel may be performed after the work travel along the target travel path LM is completed, and even when the travel machine body C is deviated from the post-process target travel path LM2 by a distance larger than a predetermined distance, the post-process target travel path LM2 is not used for the work travel.

The route setting unit 76 may set the target movement route LM2 for the subsequent process in conjunction with the control unit 82 and the steering control unit 83. For example, the control unit 82 may determine that the process target movement path LM2 has been set by the path setting unit 76, and perform either or both of the above-described automatic turning control and automatic traveling control. Further, the driver may determine whether or not to perform work traveling along the post-process target movement path LM2 separately after performing work traveling along the target movement path LM by the traveling body C. Therefore, the path setting unit 76 may be switched between a configuration in which the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent process is set in conjunction with the control unit 82 and the steering control unit 83, and a configuration in which the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent process is set independently of the control unit 82 and the steering control unit 83.

The path setting unit 76 may be configured to set the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent process, for example, when the azimuth deviation between the home azimuth NA of the traveling body C and the target azimuth LA of the target movement path LM is larger than the preset range, without being limited to the above embodiment. For example, when the angle of the azimuth deviation is 90 degrees or more, it may be determined that the traveling machine body C is turning, and the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent process may be set. In this case, the target movement path LM2 for the post-process may be automatically set, or the target movement path LM2 for the post-process may be set by operating the target setting switch 49D, the automatic steering switch 50, or the like. Further, the target movement path LM2 for the post-process may be determined such that the angle of the azimuth deviation is larger than a predetermined range after the target movement path LM2 for the post-process is allowed to be set by operating the target setting switch 49D, the automatic steering switch 50, or the like.

As an operation member for setting the target movement path LM2 for the subsequent step, for example, a software button group 120 in the display section 48 and a physical button group 121 on the right side of the display section 48 may be used in addition to the target setting switch 49D. That is, the operation tool may be a dedicated operation tool, or an additional function may be added to an existing push switch or lever.

In the above embodiment, the post-process target is the post-process target moving path LM2, but the post-process target may be, for example, the start point position Ls after the ridge turns. Further, when the driver operates the target setting switch 49D, the target movement path LM2 for the post process parallel to the already-running target movement path LM may be set with the start point position Ls as a reference. The post-process target may be a part of the post-process target movement path LM2, for example, an area of the post-process target movement path LM2 that is several meters away from the start point position Ls. In addition, when the traveling machine body C has completely completed the work traveling along the target traveling path LM, or when the fuel must be supplied during the transplanting work, the post-process target may be a head-turning (land-resting) area along the ridge.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described transplanting machine, and can be applied to other direct seeding type working machines including direct seeding machines. In addition, a chemical spraying device can be provided in these working machines. Further, the present invention can be applied to a working machine in which a planting device, a sowing device, and a chemical spraying working device are appropriately combined and mounted. In addition to a direct seeding type working machine, the present invention can be applied to agricultural working machines such as a tractor and a combine harvester.

The above embodiments can be used in combination with each other.

Industrial applicability

The present invention can be applied to a traveling work machine such as a rice transplanter, a paddy field direct seeding machine, and a spray work machine that perform work traveling along a target travel path of a field.

Claims

1. A traveling work machine, comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

a ridge detection mechanism that detects that the ridge is approaching;

when the travel machine body alternately repeats the work travel along the target travel path and the turning travel to turn the next target travel path, the path setting unit sets a post-process target for the travel machine body to travel after traveling through the target travel path, based on a position of the travel machine body along the target travel path;

when the ridge detection means detects that the ridge is approaching, the path setting unit sets the target for the subsequent step.

2. A traveling work machine, comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

the path setting unit sets the post-process target when the traveling machine body enters the turning traveling from traveling along the target moving path or enters traveling along the next target moving path from the turning traveling.

3. A traveling work machine, comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

a position detection mechanism that acquires position information based on a positioning signal of a navigation satellite;

the post-process target is set based on an average position of the plurality of pieces of position information located at the near-end of the work travel.

4. A traveling work machine according to any one of claim 1 to 3, wherein,

comprises an operating piece which can be operated manually;

the path setting unit is configured to permit operation of the operation tool when the post-process target is set, and to set the post-process target when operation of the operation tool is detected in a state in which operation of the operation tool is permitted.

5. A traveling work machine according to any one of claim 1 to 3, wherein,

the control unit outputs a control signal to perform the work travel according to the post-process target;

the control unit is configured to execute a positional deviation correction process of bringing the traveling body closer to the post-process target when the traveling body is deviated from the post-process target by more than a predetermined first distance in a body lateral direction, and not execute the positional deviation correction process when the traveling body is deviated from the post-process target in the body lateral direction within the first distance.

6. The traveling work machine according to claim 5, wherein,

a second distance longer than the first distance is preset,

the control unit is configured not to execute the positional deviation correction processing when the traveling machine body is deviated from the target for the subsequent step by more than the second distance in the machine body lateral direction.

7. A traveling work machine according to any one of claim 1 to 3, wherein,

the post-process target is a region that spans a starting point position at which the work travel starts and a point located in front of the traveling body at a predetermined distance from the starting point position on the next target movement path after the traveling body performs the turning travel.

8. A traveling work machine according to any one of claim 1 to 3, wherein,

the post-process target is a region in which the traveling body advances a predetermined distance from a final position of the traveling body at which the traveling body completes the work traveling along the target travel path.

9. A traveling work machine, comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

a control unit capable of performing automatic turning control of the target travel path for the backward process;

a ridge detection mechanism for detecting the approach of the ridge in time sequence;

the automatic turning control by the control unit may be performed at a position closest to the ridge when the target travel path is entered from the target travel path or at a position farther from the ridge than the position closest to the ridge when the target travel path is entered.

10. The traveling work machine according to claim 9, wherein,

the ridge detection means detects the approach to the ridge and then detects the departure from the ridge, and starts the automatic turning control by the control unit based on an operation of an automatic or operator.

11. The traveling work machine according to claim 9 or 10, wherein,

the ridge detection means starts the automatic turning control by the control unit based on detection of a reverse movement after approaching the ridge, or based on an operation of an operator or an automatic operation from the reverse movement to the time of entering the target travel path for the post-process.

12. The traveling work machine according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that,

the vehicle control apparatus includes a notification unit configured to notify that the automatic turning control is at least one of started and performed.

13. The traveling work machine according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that,

the vehicle is provided with a route setting unit that sets the target travel route for the post-process at any time from the travel of the target travel route to the end of the automatic turning control.