JP2015020675A - Work vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a work vehicle with a plurality types of communication functions, which has an unified communication system configured.SOLUTION: A work vehicle is equipped with: a travel device 3A driven by an engine 31 for travelling; a work device 3B driven by the engine for performing work; a GPS module 62 that generates position information showing a position of an own vehicle; an information acquiring portion that is connected to an on-vehicle LAN 50 that transmits travel information about travel and work information about work as information about the work vehicle so as to take in the information about the work vehicle; a line communication module 63 that transmits externally the information about the work vehicle via communication line; and a communication unit 6 having a housing that houses integrally the GPS module 62, the information acquiring portion and the line communication module 63.

Description

  The present invention relates to a work vehicle having a GPS function for detecting the position of the own vehicle and a data line communication function for transmitting information generated by the own vehicle to the outside using a communication line.

  As a work vehicle as described above, Patent Document 1 discloses a combiner that can be connected to a public communication network that has a GPS function and also provides communication using the Internet protocol. The operation state of this combine is detected by a sensor and stored as operation state data. When an abnormal condition notification button for notifying the occurrence of an abnormality of the combine is pressed, the operation status data up to a predetermined time before is sent to the maintenance management center through the network as the abnormal condition notification data together with the location information by GPS and the identification information of the own machine. Sent. In the maintenance management center, countermeasures are taken for the abnormal state. This patent document 1 does not describe in detail a configuration for receiving data from a GPS satellite or a configuration for establishing a communication path based on the Internet protocol to perform data communication.

  Further, the agricultural machine disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a communication unit that communicates with a mobile terminal and a GPS that detects position information of the machine body, and the engine start time is within a preset theft alarm setting time. If it is determined, the position information by GPS detected at that time is transmitted to the portable terminal through the communication means, and an alarm is notified.

  Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a position detection device that detects the position of the vehicle using GPS, a crop quality measurement unit that measures the moisture content, taste, and appearance quality of the grain sampled during the harvesting operation, and communication. A combine comprising the apparatus is disclosed. The measurement data by the crop quality measurement means is associated with the position information by the position detection device, and is sent to the central management device by wireless communication via the communication device, where there is a plurality of crop regions corresponding to a plurality of harvesting locations. A quality map is created.

JP 2004-139469 A (FIG. 1) JP 2008-222179 A (FIGS. 1 and 2) JP 11-53674 A (FIGS. 2 and 4)

  As described above, a work vehicle having a GPS function for detecting the position of the own vehicle and a data communication function for transmitting information generated by the own vehicle to the outside using a communication line is known. However, the GPS function and the data communication function are known. The configuration of each unit for operating is not touched. However, when a GPS module incorporating an electronic device for GPS and a line communication module incorporating an electronic device for data line communication are separately configured and unitized, the arrangement of each unit, each unit and the in-vehicle LAN The wiring of the connecting cables that connect the antennas and the wiring of the antenna cables that connect to the respective antennas are disjoint, making it impossible to build a unified communication system. This leads to inconvenience in maintenance and the like, and the maintenance cost increases. Therefore, there is a demand for the construction of a unified communication system in a work vehicle having a plurality of types of communication functions.

  A working vehicle according to the present invention includes an engine, a traveling device driven by the engine for traveling, a working device driven by the engine for performing work, and a GPS that generates position information indicating the position of the host vehicle. A module, an in-vehicle LAN that transmits the travel information related to the travel and the work information related to the work as work vehicle information, an information acquisition unit that connects to the in-vehicle LAN and captures the work vehicle information, and the work via a communication line A line communication module for transmitting vehicle information to the outside; and a communication unit having a housing that integrally accommodates the GPS module, the information acquisition unit, and the line communication module.

  That is, in the present invention, the GPS module and the line communication module having different communication methods are accommodated in the communication unit housing as a common housing. Further, the communication unit is also provided with an information acquisition unit that captures work vehicle information including travel information related to travel and work information related to work connected to the in-vehicle LAN. In this configuration, the communication unit can acquire work vehicle information that is information inside the vehicle via the in-vehicle LAN, and can transmit the acquired work vehicle information to the outside via the line communication module. In addition, position information obtained through the GPS module can be sent to the in-vehicle LAN. As described above, since a plurality of communication functions driven by a plurality of different communication methods are integrated into a single communication unit, the communication system in the work vehicle is unified, and complications such as wiring can be avoided.

  Since the communication methods used in the GPS module, the line communication module, and the information acquisition unit mounted on the communication unit are standardized, they can be used in other work vehicles and general vehicles. Further, the GPS module and the line communication module are versatile and relatively expensive, and thus are easily damaged by on-vehicle vandalism. For this reason, when not in use, it is preferable to remove it from the work vehicle and store it in a safe place. For this reason, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the work vehicle is provided with a mounting portion for mounting the communication unit so as to be able to transmit data and to be detached. The information acquisition unit is connected to the in-vehicle LAN, and the GPS module and the line communication module are connected to respective antennas. For this reason, specifically, the communication unit includes a connector that can be connected to a connection cable to the in-vehicle LAN and a connector that can be connected to an antenna cable, and the housing of the communication unit is an instrument such as a clamp on the support member of the work vehicle. Conveniently installed.

  When the information acquisition unit associates the vehicle position acquired by the information with the work vehicle information acquired by the in-vehicle LAN, the value of the work vehicle information is further increased. For this reason, it is useful if the information acquisition unit is configured to acquire the position information from the GPS module and relate the position information to the work vehicle information.

  By transmitting the work vehicle information to the outside, real-time work vehicle management becomes possible, and the utility value of the work vehicle information is improved. However, constantly maintaining the device in a communication state and frequent communication consumes the battery. When power is supplied to the communication unit from the in-vehicle battery, there is no problem while the engine is being charged, but the problem occurs when the engine is stopped. For this reason, it is convenient that the transmission interval of the work vehicle information from the line communication module to the outside is changed according to the vehicle state. Specifically, the transmission interval of the work vehicle information from the line communication module to the outside when the vehicle main switch is ON or the engine is operating is set shorter than the transmission interval when the vehicle main switch is OFF or the engine is stopped. Good. However, when the function of this communication unit is used to prevent theft of the vehicle, for example, in the case where the work vehicle is carried away by a transport vehicle such as a truck, the vehicle main switch is turned off. Nevertheless, the position of the work vehicle changes even though the engine is stopped. When such an event occurs, it is regarded as vehicle theft and sequential monitoring is required. Therefore, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, when vehicle movement based on the position information is detected when the vehicle main switch is OFF or the engine is stopped, the transmission interval is shortened as an exception process.

Another solution can be proposed for power saving control of the communication unit. For example, if the work vehicle is traveling at a predetermined high speed, it can be determined that the vehicle state is good. Is considered. The cause of such a load may be due to work or a vehicle failure, but in any case, it is preferable to acquire a lot of information and transmit it to the outside as compared with smooth running. . For this reason, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the transmission interval of the work vehicle information from the line communication module to the outside during low-speed traveling is set shorter than the transmission interval during high-speed traveling. .
In addition, when the work vehicle is working, information related to the work is generated. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the information transmitted to the outside increases compared to when the vehicle is simply traveling on the road. Therefore, in another embodiment of the present invention, the transmission interval of the work vehicle information from the line communication module to the outside during work travel is set shorter than the transmission interval during road travel.

  Since communication in the GPS module and the line communication module is both wireless communication, an antenna suitable for each use frequency is essential. In a work vehicle, a place with excellent reception sensitivity free from radio interference is generally limited to the upper region of the vehicle body. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the antenna of the GPS module and the antenna of the line communication module are integrated as an antenna unit. Thus, by arranging both antennas in the antenna unit in an integrated manner, the time and effort of the mounting work is halved. In particular, the communication unit is disposed inside the vehicle, the antenna unit is exposed at the top of the vehicle, and the communication unit and the antenna unit are connected by a detachable antenna cable, so that the communication unit and the antenna unit are connected. It becomes possible to arrange in the optimal place. In addition, since the antenna cable of the GPS module and the antenna cable of the line communication module are detachably integrated, the wiring work is facilitated. At that time, if the communication unit is disposed in the electrical box of the vehicle, the communication unit not only can avoid dust damage, but also the in-vehicle LAN passes through the normal electrical box. Connection of is also easy.

It is a schematic diagram explaining the basic composition of the present invention. It is a side view of the corn harvester which is one of the embodiments of the present invention. It is a top view of a corn harvester. It is a schematic diagram which shows the power transmission path | route of a corn harvester. It is a top view of the operation part area | region of a corn harvester. It is a side view which shows the arrangement | positioning area | region of an antenna unit and an antenna cable in a corn harvester. It is a functional block diagram of the whole farming system including the work vehicle control system of the wheel drive type work vehicle of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows one of the specific forms of the communication unit and antenna unit by this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the flow of the information in farming information management which employ | adopted the wheel drive type work vehicle by this invention.

Before describing a specific embodiment of a work vehicle according to the present invention, a basic configuration characterizing the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, the work vehicle is a wheel-driven harvester, and includes a wheel traveling device 3A having wheels driven by the engine 31, and a harvesting device that harvests crops as the work device 3B. A power transmission mechanism 2 also called a power train is interposed between the engine 31 and the wheel travel device 3A, and the engine power that has been shifted is transmitted to the wheel travel device 3A. Power is also supplied from the engine 31 to the work device 3B, and the harvesting work is performed while traveling on the work place.

The vehicle-mounted LAN 50 as data transmission means of the work vehicle control system of the wheel drive work vehicle is based on signals from a sensor group that detects the states of the engine 31, the power transmission mechanism 2, the wheel traveling device 3A, and the work device 3B. Various information generated by Here, the information acquired at the time of work travel is referred to as work travel information, and is referred to as road travel information acquired at the time of road travel. Further, work vehicle information is used as a term that collectively refers to work travel information and road travel information.
In the present invention, traveling on a work site such as a farm field, a mine work site, or a construction site is defined as work travel. It is defined as running. In general, the vehicle speed is low in work travel, but there is a tendency to receive a large travel load or work load. In road travel, such load is low but the vehicle speed tends to be high.

  A communication unit 6 and a management unit 7 are connected to the in-vehicle LAN 50 as a communication control unit. In the communication unit 6, a GPS module 62, a line communication module 63, and an information acquisition unit 61 are integrated and housed in a housing 64. The information acquisition unit 61 functions as a so-called LAN adapter that connects to the in-vehicle LAN 50 and takes in work vehicle information. As employed in car navigation systems and the like, the GPS module 62 receives radio waves from GPS satellites, detects its own vehicle position, and outputs its longitude and latitude data and time data as position information. This position information is incorporated into the work vehicle information so that the road travel information and the position and time obtained by the road travel information can be evaluated. The line communication module 63 has a function of transmitting work vehicle information to the outside via a communication line. More specifically, the line communication module 63 transmits work vehicle information to the outside via a wireless communication line provided by a mobile phone carrier or the like, for example, a management center 8 connected to the Internet (in detail). Is transmitted to a computer system built in the management center 8.

  The communication unit 6 is disposed in an electrical component storage space for storing electrical components and the like of the work vehicle. The antenna unit 60 including the respective antennas is a member positioned higher in the work vehicle in order to obtain good reception performance. Attached to. Furthermore, a connection cable 6a for connecting the communication unit 6 and the in-vehicle LAN 50 and an antenna cable 6b for connecting the communication unit 6 and the antenna unit 60 are prepared.

  The management unit 7 includes a communication management unit 71 that manages communication operations in the communication unit 6. External transmission of internal information to the management center 8 or the like using the line communication module 63 is preferably performed not only during work travel and during road travel but also during parking. In particular, for the purpose of preventing theft, external transmission of internal information during night parking is essential. However, since the battery is not charged while the engine 31 is stopped, power consumption must be suppressed as much as possible. For this reason, the communication management unit 71 includes a program for optimizing power saving and external transmission of information, and optimizes and controls not only the line communication module 63 but also the GPS module 62 as necessary.

The power saving program connected to the communication management unit 71 includes at least one of the following functions or a combination thereof:
(1) The transmission interval of work vehicle information from the line communication module 63 to the outside is changed depending on the vehicle state.
(2) The transmission interval of the work vehicle information from the line communication module to the outside when the vehicle main switch is ON or when the engine is operating is set shorter than the transmission interval when the vehicle main switch is OFF or when the engine is stopped.
(3) When vehicle movement based on the position information is detected when the vehicle main switch is OFF or the engine is stopped, the transmission interval is shortened as an exception process.
(4) The transmission interval of work vehicle information from the line communication module 63 to the outside during low-speed traveling is set shorter than the transmission interval during high-speed traveling.
(5) The transmission interval of work vehicle information from the line communication module 63 to the outside during work travel is set shorter than the transmission interval during road travel.

  Next, a corn harvester will be taken up as one specific embodiment of the work vehicle according to the present invention, and the structure thereof will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, this corn harvester is a wheel drive type and includes a pair of left and right front wheels 3a and a pair of left and right rear wheels 3b that can be steered as a wheel traveling device 3A. The body frame 11 is supported on the ground by the wheel traveling device 3A. When there is no need to distinguish between the front wheel 3a and the rear wheel 3b, these are simply referred to as wheels 3. The corn harvester includes a harvesting processing device 12, a feeder 13, a storage tank 14, and a residue processing device 15 as the working device 3B. The harvesting processing device 12 is located at the front of the machine frame 11 and harvests corn. The feeder 13 extends in the front-rear direction from the rear part of the harvesting processing device 12 to the upper part of the machine frame 11 in the rearward direction, and conveys the harvested corn to a storage tank 14 as a storage part located at the rear part of the machine frame 11. The residue processing device 15 is located in the front and rear intermediate portion between the front wheel 3a and the rear wheel 3b below the body frame 11.

  Corn forms tufts containing many seeds (fruits) at the harvesting time against the stems to be planted. The tufted portion includes a large number of seeds inside the foliage, and the seeds are formed in a form aligned with the outer surface of the rod-shaped core. The corn harvester according to the present invention harvests and collects a tufted portion having a large number of seeds inside a foliage as a harvested product.

  The body frame 11 is provided with a driving part 17 in a state where the upper part is covered with a cabin 16 at the front part of the vehicle body, and an engine room 30 is provided on the rear side of the driving part 17 and on the right side of the vehicle body. The engine room 30 includes an engine 31 at a lower portion, and a radiator 32 for cooling the engine above the engine 31. A radiator fan 32a for taking in outside air through the radiator 32 is provided on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the radiator 32, and dust contained in the outside air taken in is removed on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the radiator 32. A porous dust-proof cover 34 is provided. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 6, an air cleaner 35 a and a pre-cleaner 35 b as an intake mechanism 35 that sucks combustion air into the engine 31 are provided between the operating unit 17 and the engine 31. An air introduction pipe 35 c that connects between 35 a and the pre-cleaner 35 b extends along the rear wall of the cabin 16. The air introduction pipe 35c is fixed to the cabin 16 and the body frame at a plurality of locations using a fixing bracket. In FIG. 6, an upper fixing bracket 161 attached to the upper part of the frame of the cabin 16, an intermediate fixing bracket 162 attached to the middle part of the frame of the cabin 16, and a lower fixing bracket 163 attached to the body frame 11 are illustrated.

  The machine body of the corn harvester travels by shifting the power of the engine 31 provided in the engine room 30 to the pair of left and right front wheels 3a after driving the power transmission mechanism 2 and driving the front wheels 3a. Further, the rear wheel 3b is provided so as to be capable of changing its direction by a hydraulic cylinder for steering operation, which is not shown. Therefore, the airframe can turn by the steering operation of the rear wheel 3b while traveling by the driving force of the front wheel 3a.

  In this corn harvester, at the time of harvesting, the harvested product harvested by the harvesting processing device 12 while traveling the vehicle body is conveyed toward the storage tank 14 by the feeder 13 and stored in the storage tank 14. The stems left in the field at the time of harvest are shredded by the residue processing device 15.

  The harvesting processing apparatus 12 is formed with three rows of introduction paths arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction, and includes a pair of left and right harvesting rolls 12a at positions sandwiching each introduction path, and a pair of left and right endless transport chains 12b positioned above the harvesting apparatus 12. ing. Although not described in detail, the harvesting roll 12a is rotatably supported around a rotation axis in a posture parallel to the introduction path, and pulls the harvested product (tufted portion) from the corn planting stems to be introduced. Cut and separate.

  In addition, an auger 12c is provided at a rear position of the plurality of harvesting rolls 12a and the plurality of endless transport chains 12b to transfer the harvested product to the lateral center position. This auger 12c transfers the crops separated from the planted stem culm to the central position in the lateral direction through the three rows of introduction paths. The auger 12c supplies the harvested product from its outlet to the conveyance start end of the feeder 13.

  The feeder 13 is provided in a state of being positioned at the center in the lateral direction of the machine body, and an endless rotation type conveyer conveyor (not shown) is provided in a rectangular tube-like feeder case 13a that is inclined upward toward the rear side. Then, the harvested product supplied from the outlet of the auger 12c is transported along the feeder case 13a, and the rear of the fuselage 14 is conveyed from the rear end of the feeder case 13a to the upper side of the storage tank 14 via the guide chute 13b. Drain in the direction.

  Although not described in detail, in the processing case 13c connected to the rear end of the feeder case 13a, leaf waste, stem scum waste, etc. discharged together with the harvest by the feeder 13 is different from the direction in which the harvest is discharged. A processing device for scraping and scraping the scraped non-harvest product is provided inside. The shredded product is scattered from the discharge port 13d and is discharged to the rear and upward.

The storage tank 14 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view and has a shape with an open top, and accepts the harvest from the open area. In addition, a dust exhaust fan 13e is provided at a position below the discharge portion of the feeder 13 so as to be positioned below the conveyance end portion of the feeder case 13a. The dust discharge fan 13e is configured to guide the blowing of leaf waste, stem scum waste, and the like discharged together with the harvested product by the feeder 13 toward the rear upper direction different from the direction of discharging the harvested product.
The residue processing device 15 is a hammer knife type shredding device that is driven and rotated around the horizontal axis, and is configured to shred the stems left in the field at the time of harvest.

  The harvesting processing device 12 is supported by the machine body so as to be swingable around the horizontal axis P1, and is provided so as to be movable up and down by a pair of left and right hydraulic processing cylinders. The residue processing device 15 is supported by the machine body so as to be swingable around the horizontal axis P2, and is provided so as to be movable up and down by a hydraulic cylinder.

The engine power transmission path system will be described with reference to FIG.
The power from the engine 31 is supplied to the working power transmission mechanism 4 to drive the working device 3B through the first belt transmission mechanism 31A, and is supplied to the traveling power transmission mechanism 2 through the second belt transmission mechanism 31B. , And is supplied to drive the radiator fan 32a through the third belt transmission mechanism 31c. The first belt transmission mechanism 31 </ b> A is provided with a work clutch 40 in order to turn on and off the transmission of engine power to the work power transmission mechanism 4. By disengaging the work clutch 40, power transmission to the entire work device 3B is interrupted.

  The working power transmission mechanism 4 transmits the power from the first belt transmission mechanism 31A to the harvesting processing device 12 and the power from the first belt transmission mechanism 31A to the feeder 13. A residue processing belt transmission mechanism 43 for transmitting power from the conveying belt transmission mechanism 42 and the first belt transmission mechanism 31A to the residue processing device 15 is included.

  The harvesting belt transmission mechanism 41 drives the harvesting roll 12a, the endless transport chain 12b, and the auger 12c. The conveying belt transmission mechanism 42 is branched into two systems, and one system drives the residue processing device 15. The other system drives an endless transport chain 13f, a scraping device 13g, and a shredding device 13h constituting the feeder 13. The scraping device 13g is a device that scrapes leaf waste, stem scum and the like discharged together with the corn body by the feeder 13 in a direction different from the discharging direction of the corn body, and the shredding device 13h is scraped by the scraping device 13g. It is a device that shreds trash and stalks.

  The engine power supplied through the second belt transmission mechanism 31B is input to the transmission 2A constituting the power transmission mechanism 2 for traveling. The power shifted by the transmission 2A is further shifted by the gear transmission 2B.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the driver 17 is provided with a driver's seat 17 a at the center in the lateral direction of the traveling body inside the cabin 16. A side panel 17b is disposed on the right side of the driver seat 17a, and a steering wheel 176 is disposed in front of the driver seat 17a. Further, an electrical box 17c that houses various electronic devices and power feeding devices is disposed on the right side of the side panel 17b. An accelerator lever 177, a main transmission lever 171, an auxiliary transmission lever 172, and a work clutch lever 175 are arranged on the upper surface of the side panel 17b. A brake pedal 174 and an accelerator pedal 173 are disposed on the right side of the handle post to which the steering wheel 176 is attached.

  The main transmission lever 171 is linked to a swash plate adjustment mechanism that adjusts the swash plate angle of the continuously variable transmission 2A, which is HST in this embodiment. The continuously variable transmission 2A is shifted by the operation displacement of the main transmission lever 171 to change the vehicle speed. The main transmission lever 171 is a peristaltic lever, and the peristaltic range includes a forward high speed operation area, a forward low speed operation area, a neutral operation area, and a reverse operation area. When the main transmission lever 171 is operated to swing in the forward high-speed operation range, the continuously variable transmission 2A enters the forward high-speed driving state for moving travel. When the main transmission lever 171 is operated in the forward low speed operation range, the continuously variable transmission 2A is in the forward low speed drive state for work travel. When the main transmission lever 171 is operated to the neutral operation range, the continuously variable transmission 2A is in the neutral state. When the main transmission lever 171 is operated in the reverse operation range, the continuously variable transmission 2A is in a drive state for reverse travel.

  The sub-transmission lever 172 is also a peristaltic lever and is linked to the speed change operation portion of the high / low two-stage gear transmission 2B. In a general driving operation, the gear transmission 2B is set to a high speed stage for traveling on the road, and the gear transmission 2B is set to a low speed stage for work traveling such as field traveling.

  The work clutch lever 175 is linked to the operation portion of the work clutch 40 that turns on and off the transmission of engine power to the work power transmission mechanism 4. The work clutch lever 175 is a peristaltic lever, and the work device 3B is driven or stopped by switching the work clutch 40 between an on state and a disengaged state by a swinging operation thereof.

  The accelerator pedal 173 is linked to the operation unit of the accelerator device of the engine 31. By depressing the accelerator pedal 173, the rotational speed of the engine 31 is adjusted, and as a result, the vehicle speed is changed. The brake pedal 174 is linked to an operation unit of a brake device provided in the wheel traveling device 3A. By depressing the brake pedal 174, the brake device is actuated and the airframe is braked. Similarly to the accelerator pedal 173, the accelerator lever 177 disposed on the side panel 17b is linked to the operation unit of the accelerator device of the engine 31. By operating the accelerator lever 177, the rotational speed of the engine 31 is adjusted. As a result, the vehicle speed is changed. Note that the accelerator lever 177 is configured to be held at an arbitrary operation position by a friction mechanism, and is used when the engine speed is maintained at a predetermined speed.

Next, each functional element in the work vehicle control system mounted on this corn harvester will be described with reference to FIG.
The work vehicle control system includes various control function units that drive the corn harvester while harvesting corn, and various information processing function units that generate and manage various types of information via a data transmission line such as the in-vehicle LAN 50. It is provided in a transmittable form. As functional units particularly related to the present invention, in FIG. 7, a work travel information generation unit 51a, a road travel information generation unit 51b, a travel determination unit 53, a GPS module 62, a line communication module 63, a management unit 7, a management information generation unit. 72, a slip ratio calculation unit 73, and a position information correction unit 74 are shown.

  The work travel information generation unit 51a generates various pieces of information obtained when the corn is harvested and traveled in the corn field as work travel information. The road travel information generation unit 51b generates various information obtained when traveling on a general road including an expressway as road travel information in order to move corn fields scattered in various places. The management information generating unit 72 generates work vehicle information by associating position information indicating the vehicle position with work travel information and / or road travel information. The position information is longitude and latitude information that is an absolute position obtained by the GPS module 62.

  The GPS module 62 is integrated with the information acquisition unit 61 and the line communication module 63 and stored in the communication unit 6. The information acquisition unit 61 has a function like a LAN adapter, is connected to the in-vehicle LAN 50 via the connection cable 6a, acquires various information flowing through the in-vehicle LAN 50 for external transmission, and receives from the outside It has a function of flowing information to the in-vehicle LAN 50. In this embodiment, the line communication module 63 is configured to exchange data with the computer system of the management center 8 using a wireless communication line provided by a cellular phone carrier and connectable to the Internet. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the communication unit 6 includes a rectangular box-shaped sealed housing 64, in which an information acquisition unit 61, a GPS module 62, and a line communication module 63 are incorporated. Yes. A connector for the connection cable 6a is formed on one side surface of the housing 64, and a connector for the antenna cable 6b is formed on the other side surface. An antenna unit 60 is connected to the tip of the antenna cable 6b. The antenna unit 60 incorporates a GPS antenna 60 a for a transmission / reception device of the GPS module 62 and a line communication antenna 60 b for a transmission / reception device provided in the line communication module 63. Since the frequency used in mobile phone line communication and GPS is different, each antenna is usually configured separately, but if good reception sensitivity can be obtained with an integrated shared antenna, it should be It may be adopted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, an electrical box 17c is formed in the cabin 16, and the communication unit 6 is disposed in the electrical box 17c. The connection cable 6a is wired in the electrical equipment box 17c, and is connected to the in-vehicle LAN 50 indirectly or directly via another electronic control unit. The antenna unit 60 is placed on the flat portion of the upper fixing bracket 161 that fixes the air introduction pipe 35 c to the cabin 16. As shown in FIG. 6, the antenna cable 6 b penetrates the lower region of the cabin 16, further extends upward between the rear wall of the cabin 16 and the air introduction pipe 35 c, and is connected to the antenna unit 60. . With this configuration, the antenna unit 60 is arranged in the highest region of the body of the corn harvester, and good radio wave reception can be ensured.

  Although only schematically shown in FIG. 6, the housing 64 of the communication unit 6 is detachably fixed by a clamp fitting provided in the electrical box 17c. That is, the communication unit 6 can be taken out of the transmission box 17c by removing the antenna cable 6b from the connector, removing the connection cable 6a from the connector, and removing the housing 64 from the clamp fitting. That is, in this embodiment, the mounting portion 65 for mounting the communication unit 6 so as to be capable of data transmission and detachment is constituted by a connector for the connection cable 6a, a connector for the antenna cable 6b, and a clamp fitting for the housing 64. Yes.

  The travel determination unit 53 is configured to be able to acquire necessary information through the in-vehicle LAN 50. In this embodiment, the speed change state of the power transmission mechanism 2 (the state of the work clutch 40, the speed ratio of the transmission 2A, the rotational speed of the transmission shaft). And the like)), the shift state is specified, and the work traveling and the road traveling are discriminated based on the specified shift state. Of course, it is possible to adopt a function of judging whether the vehicle is traveling on the road or on the road by comparing the map information with the position information obtained through the GPS module 62, or having both functions. Good.

  The traveling determination unit 53 includes a work state signal indicating whether the vehicle is working from a sensor group or a switch group for the operation device of the work device 3B, and a transmission 2A or a gear transmission 2B of the power transmission mechanism 2. A shift state signal indicating a shift state of the power transmission mechanism 2 is input from a sensor group or a switch group for the transmission device. For example, a work clutch detection signal from a work clutch sensor that detects the on / off state of the work clutch 40 and a vehicle speed signal from a vehicle speed detection sensor are input. An example of the vehicle speed detection sensor is a rotation speed sensor that detects the rotation speed of a gear (for example, a gear of a differential mechanism) that indicates the rotation speed of the power transmission mechanism 2 after shifting. An example of the shift position detection sensor is a shift state signal from a detection signal from the sub shift sensor 93b that detects whether the high and low gear transmission (sub transmission) 2B is in the high speed stage or the low speed stage. Is generated. The determination result in the traveling determination unit 53 is sent to a necessary function unit through the in-vehicle LAN 50 or a dedicated signal line.

The management unit 7 includes a communication management unit 71 that manages communication operations in the communication unit 6. External transmission of internal information to the management center 8 or the like using the line communication module 63 is preferably performed not only during work travel and during road travel but also during parking. In particular, for the purpose of preventing theft, external transmission of internal information during night parking is essential. However, since the battery is not charged while the engine 31 is stopped, power consumption must be suppressed as much as possible. For this reason, the communication management unit 71 includes a program for optimizing power saving and external transmission of information, and optimizes and controls not only the line communication module 63 but also the GPS module 62 as necessary. The functions included in the power saving program in this embodiment are listed below:
(A) When the vehicle main switch 178 is set to ON, or when the engine is running, the battery is not supplied with power, so the transmission information from the line communication module 63 to the outside, especially the work vehicle information, is As short as possible. That is, the transmission interval at this time is set shorter than the transmission interval when the vehicle main switch 178 is set to ON or when the engine is operating.
(B) When the vehicle main switch 178 is set to OFF, the vehicle is moved based on position information acquired by operating the GPS module 62 at predetermined intervals (several minutes to several tens of minutes) when the engine is stopped. If it is detected, exception handling related to power saving is executed. In this exceptional process, prior to power saving, the transmission interval of information to the outside is shortened to monitor vehicle theft that may be performed in some cases.
(C) In a work vehicle such as a corn harvester or a civil engineering work vehicle, the work travel is generally performed at a relatively low speed of 10 km / h or less, and the road travel is from 20 km / h to the legal control speed. Done at high speed. In a work vehicle, information during work is more important than information during non-work. In consideration of this, the transmission interval of the information from the line communication module 63 to the outside when the low-speed driving is determined by the driving determination unit 53, particularly the transmission interval of the work vehicle information, is the transmission when the high-speed driving is determined. It is set shorter than the interval.
(D) Needless to say, when the traveling determination unit 53 determines the work traveling or the road traveling, this determination result can be used. For example, the transmission interval of information from the line communication module 63 to the outside, particularly the work vehicle information, when the travel determination unit 53 determines the work travel is shorter than the transmission interval when the road travel is determined. Is set.

  The slip ratio calculation unit 73 in this embodiment calculates a rotational speed (drive wheel speed) of the front wheels 3a as drive wheels based on signals from the sensor group, and position information obtained from the GPS module 62 every moment. It has a function of calculating a traveling speed (vehicle speed) based on (GPS position). In general, the slip ratio is obtained by dividing the difference between the vehicle body speed and the drive wheel speed by the drive wheel speed. Therefore, when no slip occurs between the wheel and the ground, the slip ratio becomes zero. Specifically, the slip ratio calculation unit 73 calculates the average value of the drive wheel speeds at a predetermined time, calculates the vehicle body speed from the change in the GPS position at the predetermined time, and calculates the slip ratio at this time. . The slip rate calculated sequentially is related to the field identification name (work location identification name) for specifying the field or the GPS position in the field (work location). ) Can be managed as.

  In this embodiment, the position information correction unit 74 uses a first function for correcting the position information using a map matching method using a road map when traveling on a road, and a map matching method using a work place map when traveling on a road. And a second function for correcting the position information. Since the correction of the GPS position error by map matching using a road map is adopted in the car navigation system, the GPS module 62 is also used as the car navigation system and has the first function. In the position information correction unit 74, the first function can be omitted. However, general work sites (here, farms) are outside the road, and the maps used in car navigation systems are often private sites, especially in general-purpose maps. It has not been. For this reason, a work place map showing the shape and position of a field or the like is created in advance, and this work place map is set before work. Since the work vehicle being worked exists in the work place, the GPS position error can be corrected using this fact.

  Work vehicle information created by associating work travel information, road work information, and position information with each other by the function of the management information generation unit 72 is transmitted to the management center 8 through the line communication module 63. In this embodiment, the work vehicle information transmitted to the management center 8 through the line communication module 63 is once transferred to the relay server 80, and at least part of data data in the format conversion unit 80 a provided in the relay server 80. The format is converted. One example of conversion of this data format is to convert position information expressed by longitude and latitude as position data expression format into position information expressed by a relative position with respect to a specific reference position. This is because when the country from which the work vehicle information is acquired is different from the country in which the management center 8 is installed, it is prohibited to take out latitude and longitude data from some countries. As described above, when information flows globally, it is required to convert the data format of the flowing information depending on the relationship between the sending country and the receiving country of the information. Such functions of the format converter 80a include unit conversion, language conversion (so-called translation), and the like.

  The computer system constructed in the management center 8 is configured as a Web server in this embodiment, and performs various data processing with a data input / output unit 81 having functions of a data input unit 81a and a data output unit 81b. An application server 82 and a database server 83 for storing various data are constructed. The application server 82 includes a vehicle management unit 82a, an agricultural field management unit 82b, a vehicle evaluation unit 82c, and an agricultural field evaluation unit 82d.

  The data input / output unit, that is, the Web server 81 transfers the uploaded work vehicle information to the application server 82. The vehicle management unit 82a extracts information relating to the field management from the work vehicle information as the field management information, performs necessary primary processing, and stores the information in the database server 83 so that it can be searched and extracted based on the target field identification data and date / time data. The field management information is a general term for planting information, input fertilizer information, harvested information, and the like. The cropping information includes cropping varieties, cropping date and time, and cropping form, the input fertilizer information includes fertilizer species, input amount, input date and time, fertilization form, etc., and the crop information includes crop type, yield, moisture, etc. It is.

  The field management unit 82b extracts information on management of registered vehicles such as a corn harvester from the work vehicle information as vehicle management information, performs necessary primary processing, and performs vehicle identification data, vehicle equipment identification data, driver It is stored in the database server 83 so that it can be searched and extracted by identification data, date / time data, and the like. The vehicle management information is a generic term for work mileage information, road mileage information, fuel consumption, and the like.

  The vehicle evaluation unit 82c performs secondary processing on the vehicle management information and creates vehicle evaluation information used for maintenance of the work vehicle. In order to perform to the user, a maintenance notification indicating a necessary maintenance time and the like is created based on the vehicle evaluation information.

  The field evaluation unit 82d performs secondary processing on the field management information and creates field evaluation information used for evaluating the field. This field evaluation information includes fertilizer distribution, growth state distribution, yield distribution, taste distribution, and the like. Further, the farm field evaluation unit 82d creates a farming proposal notification that is guided based on the farm field evaluation information in order to make a farming proposal to the user.

Next, the generation of information and the flow of information in each functional unit in a work vehicle such as a corn harvester and each functional unit in the management center 8 that manages the work vehicle will be described with reference to FIG.
First, signals detected or generated by various sensor groups and switch groups equipped in the vehicle are given to the work travel information generation unit 51a and the road travel information generation unit 51b (# 01). In addition to the above-described ON / OFF signal of the vehicle main switch 178, this signal includes an engine oil pressure SW signal, a work clutch SW signal, a vehicle speed sensor signal, and a detection signal such as a harvest amount per hour and a total harvest amount. , Etc. are included. The work travel information generation unit 51a generates work travel information from a signal received during work travel (# 02), and the road travel information generation unit 51b generates road travel information from a signal received during road travel (# 03). ). Note that the position information is acquired by the GPS module 62 during travel regardless of road travel and work travel (# 04). This position information is represented by longitude and latitude data, and further includes time (date and time) data. Therefore, this position information can be handled as time information. The detection signal acquired when the vehicle is parked or the like is handled as road travel information for convenience. For example, a door opening signal during parking or a key ON signal during non-working hours is used as a theft detection signal. . When work travel information or road travel information and position information are generated, work vehicle information is generated by associating these (# 05).

  In this embodiment, the generated work vehicle information is transmitted to the outside via the line communication module 63 at a predetermined transmission timing determined by the communication management unit 71 (# 10). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the work place (farm field) and the management center 8 belong to different countries. Information take-out restrictions in the country to which the work place belongs prohibits taking out latitude and longitude data indicating terrain outside the country. It is assumed that Therefore, the work vehicle information including the position information transmitted via the line communication module 63 is once relayed to the relay server 80, and the longitude / latitude data included in the work vehicle information is constructed in the relay server 80. The format conversion unit 80a converts the format into relative position data having a predetermined reference position such as a reference point of the field as a base point (# 11). The work vehicle information subjected to the format conversion is further transferred to a management center 8 that manages the work vehicle (corn harvester) via a data communication line such as the Internet.

  The work vehicle information once transferred from the relay server 80 to the management center 8 is handled by the Web server 81 functioning as the data input unit 81a in the management center 8 (# 21). The work vehicle information input to the Web server 81 is stored in the database server 83 for each work vehicle and / or for each driver, and is transferred to the application server 82 for information secondary processing.

  On the other hand, in the application server 82, the work vehicle information is processed into information related to the field management and becomes the field management information (# 22). The field management information includes information necessary for managing the characteristics of the field, such as the yield of each field or each minute section in the field, the state of the soil, and the like. On the other hand, the work vehicle information is processed into vehicle management information and becomes vehicle management information (# 23). The vehicle management information includes information necessary for managing the vehicle, such as road travel distance, work travel distance, work device drive time, and engine drive time.

  The field management information is applied to a field evaluation program that evaluates and outputs a field state, a harvesting situation (work result), etc., using various information included in the field management information as input parameters, and has an evaluation result having such a field evaluation result. Result information is derived (# 24). The harvest status includes not only the yield of each field that is the harvest target at that time but also the annual distribution of the harvest including the past harvest. Furthermore, other farm work machines such as fertilizer machines are also registered in the management center 8, and the field evaluation result indicating the field condition includes the field fertilization condition and the like. Such a field evaluation result is converted into a Web page so that it can be downloaded as a farming notification, and can be viewed by the user accessing it through the Internet (# 25).

  Similarly, the vehicle management information can also be applied to a vehicle evaluation program that evaluates and outputs the parts replacement time and maintenance time of the vehicle using various information included in the vehicle management information as input parameters. The vehicle evaluation information is derived (# 26). The content to be notified to the user of the derived vehicle evaluation result is disclosed to each user via e-mail or a web page in the form of maintenance guidance, for example (# 27). This vehicle evaluation result also includes an evaluation result for detecting theft derived from vehicle management information indicating vehicle movement in an unplanned time zone and driving of the engine in an unauthorized time zone, When such a party insight result is derived, a vehicle theft notification is immediately sent to the user by e-mail (# 28).

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the harvesting machine (work vehicle) that employs a wheel drive type that travels only by wheels has been taken up. Good.
(2) The communication method used in the line communication module 63 is preferably a mobile phone communication line because of the wide service area, but other wireless data communication lines may be used. Further, a communication unit capable of communicating with a plurality of different mobile phone communication lines may be provided, and a communication unit having a high reception sensitivity may be selected.
(3) The functional part of the work vehicle control system shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. Accordingly, the functional units shown here may be arbitrarily combined, or a single functional unit may be further divided. For example, the management unit 7 may be incorporated in the communication unit 6 or the management information generation unit 72. In addition, the travel determination unit 53, the work travel information generation unit 51a, the road travel information generation unit 51b, and the management information generation unit 72 are easily integrated.
(4) In the embodiment described above, the antenna unit 60 has the GPS antenna 60a and the line communication antenna 60b housed in a common case, but may be housed in separate cases. Moreover, you may arrange | position in the part covered with the flame | frame, panel, etc. of the work vehicle.
(5) In the above-described embodiment, the connection cable 6a is used to connect the communication unit 6 and the in-vehicle LAN (information acquisition unit 61). However, a wireless system is used instead of such a wired system. May be.
(6) The antenna cable 6b may be configured by a cable shared for GPS and line communication, or may be configured by bundling separate cables. A connector for GPS and a connector for line communication may be integrated and used as a single connector.
(7) The engine 31 in the present invention should be interpreted in a broad sense, and includes not only an internal combustion engine, but also an electric motor or a hybrid engine that combines them.

  The present invention is applicable not only to a corn harvester as employed in the embodiment, but also to a wheat or rice harvester (combine). Furthermore, the present invention is also applied to agricultural work vehicles such as tractors or civil engineering machines such as front loaders. The present invention is particularly effective for a work vehicle that performs both on-road traveling and on-farm traveling.

16: Cabin 17: Driver 17a: Driver's seat 17b: Side panel 17c: Electrical box 178: Vehicle main switch 3A: Wheel travel device 3B: Work device 30: Engine room 31: Engine 50: In-vehicle LAN
51: Travel information generation unit 52: Work information generation unit 53: Travel determination unit 6: Communication unit 6a: Connection cable 6b: Antenna cable 60: Antenna unit 60a: GPS antenna 60b: Line communication antenna 61: Information acquisition unit 62 : GPS module 63: Line communication module 64: Housing 65: Mounting part 7: Management unit 71: Communication management part 8: Management center

Claims (11)

An engine,
A traveling device driven by the engine for traveling;
A working device driven by the engine to perform work;
A GPS module that generates position information indicating the vehicle position;
In-vehicle LAN that transmits travel information related to the travel and work information related to the work as work vehicle information;
An information acquisition unit connected to the in-vehicle LAN and capturing the work vehicle information;
A line communication module for externally transmitting the work vehicle information via a communication line;
A communication unit having a housing that integrally houses the GPS module, the information acquisition unit, and the line communication module;
Work vehicle equipped with.   The work vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a mounting portion for mounting the communication unit so that data can be transmitted and can be removed.   The work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition unit acquires the position information from the GPS module and associates the position information with the work vehicle information.   The work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a transmission interval of the work vehicle information from the line communication module to the outside is changed according to a vehicle state.   5. The transmission interval of the work vehicle information from the line communication module to the outside when the vehicle main switch is ON or when the engine is operating is set shorter than the transmission interval when the vehicle main switch is OFF or when the engine is stopped. Work vehicle as described in.   The work vehicle according to claim 5, wherein when the vehicle movement based on the position information is detected when the vehicle main switch is OFF or the engine is stopped, the transmission interval is shortened as an exception process.   The work vehicle according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein a transmission interval of the work vehicle information from the line communication module to the outside during low-speed traveling is set shorter than a transmission interval during high-speed traveling. .   The work vehicle according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein a transmission interval of the work vehicle information from the line communication module to the outside during work travel is set shorter than a transmission interval during road travel. .   The work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an antenna of the GPS module and an antenna of the line communication module are integrated as an antenna unit.   The work vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the communication unit is disposed inside the vehicle, the antenna unit is exposed at an upper portion of the vehicle, and the communication unit and the antenna unit are connected by a detachable antenna cable.     The work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit is arranged in an electrical box of the vehicle.

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