JP2018120364A - Automatic steering system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic steering system which allows accurate automatic steering during rearward travel as well as forward travel.SOLUTION: The automatic steering system comprises: a satellite positioning module which outputs location information; a forward travel reference position calculation unit which calculates a forward travel reference position FP which is a reference position for steering control of a working vehicle during forward travel, on the basis of the location information; a rearward travel reference position calculation unit which calculates a rearward travel reference position RP which is a reference position for steering control of the working vehicle during rearward travel, on the basis of the location information; a steering control unit which outputs a steering control signal for forward travel calculated during forward travel on the basis of a deviation between a travel path and the forward reference position FP and outputs a steering control signal for rearward travel calculated during rearward travel on the basis of a deviation between the travel path and the rearward reference position RP; and a steering mechanism which steers the working vehicle on the basis of the steering control signal for forward travel and the steering control signal for rearward travel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic steering system for a work vehicle that automatically travels along a travel route along a work site.

  In a work vehicle that automatically travels, a deviation between the calculated own vehicle position and a target travel route is obtained, and a control amount is obtained so as to eliminate this deviation, and a steering signal output based on this control amount is used. The steering mechanism is controlled. For example, a work vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a vehicle position calculation unit that calculates a vehicle position, a position deviation calculation unit that calculates a position deviation between the vehicle position with respect to a target travel route, and a position deviation. A target steering calculation unit for outputting a target steering value for traveling along the target travel route based on the steering value for deviation cancellation output based on the steering wheel, and an operation based on a steering drive signal generated from the target steering value. A steering drive unit that steers the facing wheel. Thereby, the work vehicle is automatically steered along the set target travel route, and the work in the automatic travel is realized.

JP 2008-131880 A

  In the work vehicle according to Patent Document 1, the distance between the center of the work vehicle and the target travel route is obtained as a position deviation. The automatic steering travel control of the work vehicle is performed so that the work vehicle center is on the target travel route. Steer the wheel. For this reason, when the position of the working part of the work vehicle is away from the center of the work vehicle and is biased toward the front part of the vehicle body or the rear part of the vehicle body, the work vehicle center is located on the target travel path in the process of correcting the position deviation. However, since the working part position is not necessarily located on the travel route, workability may be reduced. In order to avoid this, it is conceivable to set the reference position of the work vehicle when the position deviation is obtained near the work part position. For example, when the working part position is located at the front part of the vehicle body, such as a harvesting machine equipped with a cutting part at the front part of the vehicle body, it is conceivable to set the reference position of the working vehicle at the front part of the vehicle body. However, with such a configuration, a good effect can be obtained in the case of forward movement, but in the case of reverse movement, there is an adverse effect that the rear part of the work vehicle swings greatly in the process of correcting the position deviation. .

  Under such circumstances, there is a demand for an automatic steering system that can perform automatic steering with high accuracy in both reverse travel and forward travel.

  An automatic steering system for a work vehicle that automatically travels along a travel route according to the present invention includes a satellite positioning module that outputs position information based on satellite information from a satellite, and steering control of the work vehicle in forward travel. A forward reference position calculating unit that calculates a forward reference position that is a reference position of the vehicle based on the position information, and a reverse reference position that is a reference position for steering control of the work vehicle in reverse traveling based on the position information. A reverse reference position calculation unit outputs a forward steering control signal calculated based on a deviation between the travel route and the forward reference position during forward travel, and between the travel route and the reverse reference position during reverse travel. A steering control unit for outputting a reverse steering control signal calculated based on the deviation; and the operation based on the forward steering control signal and the reverse steering control signal. And a steering mechanism for the car of the steering.

  According to this configuration, the reference position of the work vehicle used when determining the deviation (positional deviation) of the work vehicle with respect to the travel route is different between forward travel and reverse travel. That is, in forward travel, the forward reference position is calculated as the reference position for steering control, and in reverse travel, the reverse reference position is calculated as the reference position for steering control. That is, in the steering control in the forward traveling, the forward reference position set so as to be suitable for the steering control in the forward traveling is used as the reference value used when calculating the deviation. Similarly, in the steering control in the reverse travel, the reverse reference position set so as to be suitable for the steering control in the reverse travel is used as the reference value used when calculating the deviation. As a result, an automatic steering system that can perform automatic steering with high accuracy is realized in reverse travel and forward travel.

  In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the forward reference position and the reverse reference position are set on a front-rear direction line extending in the front-rear direction at the left-right center of the work vehicle. With this configuration, in both the forward travel and the reverse travel, either of the left and right side ends of the work vehicle is removed from the travel route in the process of steering control for returning the work vehicle displaced from the travel route to the travel route. It is possible to avoid shaking.

  One of the working vehicles that perform work traveling on a farm is a harvester that is equipped with a cutting part at the front of the vehicle body and a harvest tank at the rear of the vehicle body. In order to harvest and harvest crops such as rice and wheat from the field while traveling forward, it is important to quickly and accurately match the harvesting part to the traveling path in forward traveling. For this purpose, it is advantageous to set the forward reference position close to the cutting part. Further, in the work traveling in the field of the harvester, a reverse turning traveling (90 ° turning traveling or 180 ° turning traveling) using reverse is frequently used. Furthermore, since the harvester has a harvest tank at the rear part of the vehicle body, the overall length of the harvester is long and the width of the rear part of the vehicle body is wide. For this reason, it is important to reduce the amount by which the rear portion of the vehicle body swings from the travel route when the vehicle body is adjusted to the travel route in reverse travel. In other words, it is advantageous to set the reverse reference position near the rear part of the vehicle body. Therefore, in the case where the work vehicle is a harvester equipped with a harvesting part at the front part of the vehicle body and a crop tank at the rear part of the vehicle body, in the present invention, the forward reference position is set at the front part of the vehicle body, It is preferable that the reverse reference position is set at the rear part of the vehicle body.

  In the harvester, an operation unit is installed directly behind the cutting unit so that the state of the cutting unit can be easily monitored. Since the operation unit is configured so that the view from the operation unit is good, the periphery of the operation unit including the cabin is a place where the reception sensitivity of the satellite radio wave is good. In addition, since the coordinate position (longitude and latitude value) included in the position information from the satellite positioning module indicates the coordinate position on the map of the antenna position, when using this coordinate position as the forward reference position, The antenna position is advantageously the same as the forward reference position. For this reason, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the antenna of the satellite positioning module is arranged at the front of the vehicle body. Furthermore, as one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the forward reference position calculation unit is configured to calculate the coordinate position indicated by the position information output by the satellite positioning module as the forward reference position. This is convenient because the coordinate position indicated by the position information can be used as it is as the forward reference position.

It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the work driving | running | working in the agricultural field of the harvester which is one of the embodiment of a working vehicle. It is a side view of a harvester. It is a functional block diagram which shows the control system of a harvester. It is explanatory drawing explaining a forward reference position and a reverse reference position. It is explanatory drawing explaining the steering control which corrects the position shift from the driving | running route at the time of advance driving | running | working. It is explanatory drawing explaining the steering control which corrects the position shift from the driving | running route at the time of reverse drive. It is a schematic diagram which shows 90 degrees of turn turning driving | running | working. It is a schematic diagram which shows 180 degree turn turning driving | running | working. It is explanatory drawing explaining the raising / lowering control of the cutting part in 90 degree turn-turning traveling. It is explanatory drawing explaining the raising / lowering control of the cutting part in 90 degree turn-turning traveling.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an automatic steering system for a work vehicle that automatically travels along a travel route will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the work site is a field where wheat is planted, and the work vehicle is a harvester 1 that harvests crops while traveling. As shown in FIG. 1, the harvester 1 is a model generally called a normal combine. In the harvesting operation in the farm field, an area in which the harvester 1 travels around while performing the work along the boundary line of the farm field called hoe is set as the outer circumferential area SA. The inner side of the outer peripheral area SA is set as a central area CA. The outer peripheral area SA is used by the harvesting machine 1 as a moving space, a direction changing space, etc. for discharging harvested products and refueling. In order to secure the outer peripheral area SA, the harvesting machine 1 performs three to four rounds of traveling along the field boundary as the first work traveling. Regarding the work travel for the central region, a spiral travel route composed of a linear route parallel to one side of the outer peripheral shape of the central region and a 90 ° turning route (see FIG. 7), a straight route parallel to one side of the polygon and 180 A linear reciprocating path consisting of a turning path (see FIG. 8) is generated, and automatic work traveling along the traveling path is performed.

  The harvester 1 includes a satellite positioning module 7 that outputs satellite information including positioning data based on a GPS signal that is satellite information from an artificial satellite GS used in a GPS (Global Positioning System). 1 has a function of calculating, from the positioning data, the position coordinates of a specific location of the harvester 1 as a reference position. The harvester 1 has an automatic steering function so that the calculated reference position matches the travel route.

The outline | summary of the harvester 1 is demonstrated using FIG. The letter “F” shown with an arrow in FIG. 2 indicates the forward direction of the harvester 1, and the letter “B” indicates the backward direction of the harvester 1. The direction of the arrow indicates the front-rear direction regarding the harvester 1.
The harvester 1 includes a vehicle body 10 supported by a traveling device 11. In this embodiment, the traveling device 11 includes a pair of left and right crawler mechanisms, and the harvester is steered by adjusting the crawler speed of the left crawler mechanism and the crawler speed of the right crawler mechanism. Accordingly, the pair of left and right crawler mechanisms corresponds to the “steering mechanism” of the present invention. A driving unit 12 is disposed in the front portion of the vehicle body, which is the front region of the vehicle body 10. From the rear of the driving unit 12 to the rear part of the vehicle body, which is the rear region of the vehicle body 10, the threshing device 13 and the harvest tank 14 for storing the harvest are left and right (direction orthogonal to the front and rear direction in plan view of the harvester 1). Are arranged side by side. Further, at the front part of the vehicle body, a cutting unit 15 is disposed in front of the driving unit 12 so as to be movable up and down. Above the mowing unit 15, a reel 17 is provided for raising the cereal. Between the reaping unit 15 and the threshing device 13, there are provided a transport device 16 for transporting the harvested cereal meal and a discharge device 18 for discharging the harvest from the harvest tank 14. The operation unit 12 is partitioned by a cabin, and an antenna 7a of the satellite positioning module 7 is provided at the upper front end of the cabin at the center side of the aircraft. In order to complement satellite navigation, it is also possible to combine the satellite navigation module 7 with an inertial navigation module incorporating a gyro acceleration sensor or a magnetic bearing sensor.

  FIG. 3 shows a control system constructed in the harvester 1. The control system processes an input signal (data) and outputs a newly generated signal (data), a peripheral device group including a data input device group and a data output device group, It is shown separately. The actual control unit CU is composed of a plurality of ECUs, but is shown here as one computer system for the sake of simplicity.

  In the control unit CU, various functions are constructed by software and / or hardware in order to perform work running. The control unit CU includes an input signal processing unit 80, an output signal processing unit 90, and a communication processing unit 60 as input / output interfaces.

  The input signal processing unit 80 is connected to a traveling state detection sensor group 81, a work system detection sensor group 82, an automatic / manual switching operation tool 83, and the like. The traveling state detection sensor group 81 includes sensors that detect a traveling state such as an engine speed and a shift state. The work system detection sensor group 82 includes a sensor that detects the elevation height of the cutting unit 15, a sensor that detects a storage amount of the harvest tank 14, and the like. The automatic / manual switching operation tool 83 is a switch for selecting either an automatic travel mode in which the vehicle travels by automatic steering or a manual travel mode in which the vehicle travels by manual steering.

  The output signal processing unit 90 is connected to a vehicle travel device group 91, a work device device group 92, a notification device group 93, and the like equipped in the harvester 1. The vehicle travel device group 91 controls the operation of a speed change mechanism, an engine unit, and the like (not shown) through a control signal from the control unit CU, including a steering device that performs steering by adjusting the speed of the left and right crawler mechanisms. Equipment is included. The work device group 92 includes devices that control operations of the reaping unit 15, the threshing device 13, the transport device 16, the discharge device 18, and the like based on a control signal from the control unit CU. The notification device group 93 includes a lamp, a buzzer, and a speaker.

  The communication processing unit 60 has a function of receiving data processed by the external data processing device and transmitting the data processed by the control unit CU to the external data processing device. In this embodiment, a general-purpose terminal VT having a graphic user interface is connected to the control unit CU via the communication processing unit 60 or directly via the in-vehicle LAN. The general-purpose terminal VT is a tablet computer equipped with a touch panel. On the touch panel, various notification information such as the outer shape of the field, the travel route that has been traveled (travel trajectory), the travel route to be traveled from now on, and warning information to the passengers, etc. Is displayed. It is also possible to send various operation commands and data to the control unit CU. Furthermore, since the communication processing unit 60 is also used for exchanging data with a remote management computer not shown here, it has a function of handling various communication formats.

  The control unit CU includes an automatic traveling system function unit that handles data related to automatic traveling, a steering calculation system function unit that performs arithmetic processing for steering control, and a control system function that generates control data for outputting control signals. Department is built.

  The automatic travel system function unit includes a host vehicle position calculation unit 70, a travel route generation unit 61, and a travel route setting unit 62. The own vehicle position calculation unit 70 calculates the body position (own vehicle position) of the harvester 1 based on the positioning data output from the satellite positioning module 7. This body position is basically the coordinate position (latitude and longitude) of the antenna 7a of the satellite positioning module 7. The travel route generation unit 61 refers to the field information including the topography of the field to be worked, and generates a travel route using a preinstalled travel route generation program. The travel route setting unit 62 develops the travel route in a memory so that the travel route generated by the travel route generation unit 61 can be used as a travel route that is a target for automatic travel. Note that the travel route generation unit 61 may be configured in a management computer, a general-purpose terminal VT, or the like and input the travel route generated there to the control unit CU.

  The steering calculation system function unit includes a forward reference position calculation unit 71, a reverse reference position calculation unit 72, a forward / reverse determination unit 73, and a deviation calculation unit 74. The forward reference position calculation unit 71 calculates a forward reference position that is a reference position for steering control in forward traveling based on the body position. As described above, the vehicle position is calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 70 based on the position information from the satellite positioning module 7. The reverse reference position calculation unit 72 calculates a reverse reference position, which is a reference position for steering control in reverse travel, based on the body position.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the forward reference position FP is set almost directly below the antenna 7 a of the satellite positioning module 7. Accordingly, since the vehicle body position calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 70 (shown by a large white circle and the symbol VP in FIG. 4) and the forward reference position FP are substantially the same position, the forward reference The position calculation unit 71 can calculate the vehicle position as the forward reference position FP, or by adding a slight correction value to the vehicle body position as the forward reference position FP. The reverse reference position RP is set at the rear portion of the vehicle body 10.

  In FIG. 4, a point indicated by a symbol CP is a point passing through a turning reference path LS defined by a steering amount for turning, and is referred to as a turning reference point CP here. This turning reference point CP is set substantially at the center of the vehicle body 10. As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the forward reference position FP, the turning reference point CP, and the reverse reference position RP are the vehicle body reference that is a front-rear direction line extending in the front-rear direction at the left and right center of the harvester 1. Located on line VL. Further, the distance between the forward reference position FP and the turning reference point CP is set to be substantially the same as the distance between the backward reference position RP and the turning reference point CP.

  The forward / reverse determination unit 73 determines whether the harvester 1 is in the forward traveling state or the backward traveling state based on the detection signal from the traveling state detection sensor group 81.

  The deviation calculation unit 74 calculates the deviation between the travel route and the forward reference position FP when the forward traveling state is detected by the forward / reverse determination unit 73, that is, during forward traveling, and the reverse traveling determination unit 73 calculates the reverse travel state. Is detected, that is, during reverse travel, the deviation between the travel route and the reverse reference position RP is calculated.

  The control system function unit includes a steering control unit 64, a travel control unit 65, a work control unit 66, and a notification control unit 63.

  The steering control unit 64 controls devices included in the vehicle travel device group 91 in either an automatic travel (automatic steering) mode or a manual travel (manual steering) mode. In the manual travel mode, the steering control unit 64 controls the vehicle travel device group 91 so as to create a speed difference between the pair of left and right crawler mechanisms of the travel device 11 based on an operation by the driver. In the automatic travel control mode, the steering control unit 64 controls the vehicle travel device group 91 to create a speed difference between the left and right crawler mechanisms of the travel device 11 based on the deviation calculated by the deviation calculation unit 74.

  In the automatic steering control, the steering calculation system function unit and the control system function unit are linked, and during forward traveling, the forward steering control signal calculated based on the deviation calculated by the deviation calculating unit 74 is the vehicle traveling device group 91. Given to. Further, during reverse travel, a reverse steering control signal calculated based on the deviation calculated by the deviation calculation unit 74 is given to the vehicle travel device group 91.

  The traveling control unit 65 controls the vehicle traveling device group 91 so that a vehicle speed determined based on a manual operation by the driver is achieved in the manual traveling mode, and a preset vehicle speed is achieved in the automatic traveling mode. To do. In this embodiment, since the traveling device 11 is a steering mechanism, the traveling control unit 65 and the steering control unit 64 are linked to each other. The steering control unit 64 may be incorporated in the travel control unit 65. The travel control unit 65 further has a function of providing the vehicle travel device group 91 with an engine speed control signal and other control signals related to travel.

  The work control unit 66 gives a control signal to the work device group 92 in order to control the movement of operation devices provided in the harvesting unit 15, the threshing device 13, the discharge device 18, and the like constituting the harvester 1. The work control unit 66 also gives a control signal to the work device group 92 based on an operation by the driver in the manual travel mode and based on a program set in the automatic travel mode.

  The notification control unit 63 generates a notification signal for reporting information (visual information and auditory information) necessary for the driver and the monitor through the notification device group 93. For example, when the fullness of the harvest tank 14 is detected, the notification control unit 63 causes the work lamp 931 (see FIG. 2) provided in the cabin to blink in a predetermined pattern and emits an intermittent sound from the buzzer in a predetermined pattern. The As a result, the supervisor knows that the harvester 1 automatically leaves the travel path to the harvest discharge point in order to fill the harvest tank 14. When the harvesting machine 1 leaves the traveling path for discharging the harvested product and the drive clutch of the cutting unit 15 is disconnected, the notification associated with the detection of the fullness of the harvested tank 14 is stopped. Or you may continue the alerting | reporting accompanying a full detection until the harvester 1 moves to a crop discharge point. Note that the notification associated with the detection of the fullness of the harvest tank 14 may be only flashing of the work light 931 or only the sound of the buzzer.

  Next, using FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the misalignment from the travel route when the harvester 1 travels forward (FIG. 5) and the misalignment from the travel route during reverse travel (FIG. 6) are corrected. The flow of automatic steering control will be described. At the time of forward travel shown in FIG. 5, as described above, the deviation representing the positional deviation distance from the travel route of the harvester 1 is the shortest between the forward reference position FP and the travel route that is the target of automatic travel. It is calculated as the distance, that is, the distance of the perpendicular line drawn from the forward reference position FP to the travel route. A steering amount for reducing this deviation is calculated, and the harvester 1 moves forward on a turning reference path LS (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 5 and 6) determined based on the steering amount. Correct the misalignment. At that time, the turning reference point CP set substantially at the center of the vehicle body 10 moves on the turning reference route LS.

  In the reverse travel shown in FIG. 6, as described above, the deviation representing the positional deviation distance from the travel route of the harvester 1 is the shortest between the reverse reference position RP and the travel route that is the target of automatic travel. It is calculated as the distance, that is, the distance of the perpendicular line drawn from the reverse reference position RP to the travel route. A steering amount for reducing the deviation is calculated, and the misalignment is corrected while the harvester 1 moves backward on the turning reference path LS determined based on the steering amount. At that time, the turning reference point CP set substantially at the center of the vehicle body 10 moves on the turning reference route LS. Since the distance between the forward reference position FP and the turning reference point CP and the distance between the turning reference point CP are set to be the same, the misalignment correction traveling during the forward traveling and the position during the backward traveling As is apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6, the misalignment correction travel draws the same misalignment correction locus.

  Note that the reverse travel in the harvester 1 occurs, for example, in a reverse turn travel using reverse travel used when shifting from a linear travel route to a straight travel route. In FIG. 7, a 90 ° turn-turning traveling used for the path transition in the spiral traveling is shown. In this turning turning travel, the route extends from the transition source travel route L1 to the transition destination travel route L2 via the forward travel route ML1, the reverse travel route ML2, and the forward travel route ML3. FIG. 8 shows a 180 [deg.] Turn-around turning used for the route transition in the linear reciprocating traveling. Similarly, in this turning turn traveling, the route extends from the transition source travel route L1 to the transition destination travel route L2 through the forward travel route ML4, the reverse travel route ML5, and the forward travel route ML6. The automatic steering control described above functions effectively in the reverse travel route ML2 and the reverse travel route ML5 in which the harvester 1 travels backward. The reverse travel of the harvester 1 is automatically performed when the harvest tank 1 is full, and the harvester 1 automatically leaves the travel path and aligns with the harvest discharge point, or automatically from the harvest discharge point. This is also done when returning to travel to the next optimal travel route.

  Next, the raising / lowering control of the cutting part 15 in 90 degree turn turning driving | running | working is demonstrated using FIG. 9 and FIG. As described above, the 90 ° turn turning travel is a transition travel from the transition source travel route L1 to the transition destination travel route L2 extending in a direction perpendicular to the transition source travel route L1. FIG. 9 shows a state before entering the turning turning travel from the transition source travel route L1. FIG. 10 shows a state before entering the transition destination travel route L2 in the final linear travel of the turning turn travel. In the state of FIG. 9, when the harvesting unit 15 of the harvester 1 passes through the transfer source travel route L1, there is no need to perform the harvesting operation, so the work control unit 66 moves the harvesting unit 15 to the working position (indicated by H1 in FIG. 10). ) To an elevated position (shown by the height of H3 in FIG. 10) that is high enough to avoid rushing into the bag or the like. Then, before finishing the turn-turning and entering the destination travel route L2, the work control unit 66 lowers the cutting unit 15 to the working position so that the cutting operation is possible.

  However, as shown in FIG. 10, the harvester 1 is produced by the traveling device 11 (a pair of left and right crawler mechanisms) when traveling on the transition source travel route L1 before entering the transition destination travel route L2. I will step on the trap. Since there is a part that is raised from the farm scene, there is a possibility that the tip of the cutting part 15 may bulge into the rising of the hook if the cutting part 15 is at the working position. On the other hand, in order to avoid this, if the mowing unit 15 is kept raised to the ascending position until it passes through the heel, the descent to the work position performed immediately before the transition destination travel route L2 is insufficient. In this state, the vehicle enters the transition destination travel route L2, and the cutting at the inconvenient height position of the cutting unit 15 is performed. For this reason, the work control unit 66 sets an intermediate lift position (indicated by the height of H2 in FIG. 10) between the lift position and the work position as the lifting control position of the reaping part 15. Then, the work control unit 66 temporarily lowers the mowing unit 15 from the raised position to the intermediate ascending position before entering the coffin, and after the tip of the mowing unit 15 passes through the coffin, the mowing unit 15 is moved to the working position. Lower. This eliminates the inconvenience in 90 ° turn-turning. Such a problem of wrinkles can also occur in turning traveling other than 90 ° turning turning traveling. In such a case, the lifting control of the cutting unit 15 may be performed.

  In FIG. 10, a clutch threshold value (indicated by the height of TH in FIG. 10) between disconnection and connection of the mowing clutch is set between the raised position and the intermediate raised position. That is, when the cutting unit 15 rises above the clutch threshold, the cutting clutch is disengaged, the driving of the cutting unit 15 (such as a cutter) stops, and when the cutting unit 15 falls below the clutch threshold, the cutting clutch Are connected, and the driving of the cutting unit 15 (such as a cutter) is resumed. The drive system related to the threshing device is turned on while the automatic running is continued, but is turned off when leaving the running route and moving to another place for harvesting or refueling. .

  When the general-purpose terminal VT is configured to be removable, the removed general-purpose terminal VT can be brought not only to other harvesters 1 but also to rice transplanters and tractors and connected to their control systems. As a result, the general-purpose terminal VT can be used in common as a part of a control system for farming machines such as a rice transplanter, a tractor, and a harvester 1, and the work performed on the general-purpose terminal VT by various farming machines in the field. Information can be accumulated. As a result, it is possible to use work information of various farm work machines when planning farm work on the field. For example, it is possible to read the planting direction in the seedling planting work performed by the rice transplanter from the work information accumulated when connected to the rice transplanter, and to determine the planting line direction and the harvesting direction of the harvester 1 By matching, more efficient mowing work can be performed. For this reason, it is also one of the preferred embodiments to construct functions such as the travel route generation unit 61 in the general-purpose terminal 1. Even when such a general-purpose terminal VT is not used, the harvesting machine 1 can plant seedlings in a seedling planting operation acquired via communication or a USB memory from work information stored in an external computer or the like. It is also possible to match the planting direction and the harvesting direction of the harvester 1 with reference to the direction.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the forward reference position FP is set almost directly below the antenna 7a of the satellite positioning module 7, and the aircraft position (also referred to as the own vehicle position) calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 70 is advanced as it is. The reference position FP was set. Instead of this, the forward reference position FP may be shifted from the body position and corrected from the body position to calculate the forward reference position FP.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the distance between the forward reference position FP and the turning reference point CP is set to be substantially the same as the distance between the backward reference position RP and the turning reference point CP. Instead, the distance between the forward reference position FP and the turning reference point CP may be different from the distance between the backward reference position RP and the turning reference point CP.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, the automatic steering system according to the present invention is applied to a work vehicle in which the crawler mechanism is employed as the traveling device 11. Instead, the automatic steering system according to the present invention may be applied to a work vehicle that employs a wheel travel mechanism as the travel device 11 or a work vehicle that employs a travel mechanism that combines a wheel and a crawler.

  (4) The division of each functional unit in the functional block diagram shown in FIG. 3 is an example for facilitating the explanation. Various functional units are integrated or a single functional unit is divided into a plurality of functional units. It is free to do.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to an automatic traveling work vehicle that performs work traveling along a traveling route, and an automatic traveling work vehicle other than a normal combine combiner, for example, a self-removing combine vehicle or other agricultural work vehicle. (Tractors, rice transplanters, etc.) or construction machines are also applicable.

1: Harvesting machine (work vehicle)
7: Satellite positioning module 7a: Antenna 10: Vehicle body 11: Traveling device (steering mechanism)
15: Cutting unit 62: Travel route setting unit 63: Notification control unit 64: Steering control unit 65: Travel control unit 66: Work control unit 70: Own vehicle position calculation unit 71: Forward reference position calculation unit 72: Reverse reference position calculation Unit 73: Forward / reverse determination unit 74: Deviation calculation unit 81: Traveling state detection sensor group 82: Work system detection sensor group 91: Vehicle traveling device group (including steering device)
CP: turning reference point FP: forward reference position LS: turning reference route RP: reverse reference position VL: vehicle body reference line (front-rear direction line)

In the reverse travel shown in FIG. 6, as described above, the deviation representing the positional deviation distance from the travel route of the harvester 1 is the shortest between the reverse reference position RP and the travel route that is the target of automatic travel. It is calculated as the distance, that is, the distance of the perpendicular line drawn from the reverse reference position RP to the travel route. A steering amount for reducing the deviation is calculated, and the misalignment is corrected while the harvester 1 moves backward on the turning reference path LS determined based on the steering amount. At that time, the turning reference point CP set substantially at the center of the vehicle body 10 moves on the turning reference route LS. The distance between the forward reference position FP and the turning reference point CP and the distance between the backward reference position RP and the turning reference point CP are set to be the same. As is apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6, the misalignment correction traveling during the reverse travel draws the same misalignment correction locus.

Claims (5)

An automatic steering system for a work vehicle that automatically travels along a travel route along a work path,
A satellite positioning module that outputs position information based on satellite information from the satellite;
A forward reference position calculation unit that calculates a forward reference position that is a reference position for steering control of the work vehicle in forward traveling based on the position information;
A reverse reference position calculation unit that calculates a reverse reference position, which is a reference position for steering control of the work vehicle in reverse travel, based on the position information;
A forward steering control signal calculated based on a deviation between the travel route and the forward reference position during forward travel is output, and calculated based on a deviation between the travel route and the reverse reference position during backward travel. A steering control unit for outputting a reverse steering control signal;
A steering mechanism for steering the work vehicle based on the forward steering control signal and the reverse steering control signal;
Automatic steering system with   2. The automatic steering system according to claim 1, wherein the forward reference position and the reverse reference position are set on a front-rear direction line extending in a front-rear direction at a left-right center of the work vehicle. The work vehicle is a harvester equipped with a harvesting part at the front of the vehicle body and a harvest tank at the rear of the vehicle body,
The automatic steering system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the forward reference position is set at a front part of the vehicle body, and the reverse reference position is set at a rear part of the vehicle body.   The automatic steering system according to claim 3, wherein an antenna of the satellite positioning module is disposed at a front portion of the vehicle body.   5. The automatic steering system according to claim 1, wherein the advance reference position calculation unit calculates a coordinate position indicated by the position information output from the satellite positioning module as the advance reference position. 6.

Images