JP2019174985A - Route management system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a route management system capable of efficiently managing linear routes in which linear reference routes are arranged in parallel.SOLUTION: A management system 200 includes a start and end points registration unit 82, a linear route generation unit 83, a travel control unit 52, a farm field specifying unit 85, and a route information registration unit 86. The start and end points registration unit 82 registers positions of a start point and an end point in a farm field. The linear route generation unit 83 generates linear routes in which linear reference routes are arranged in parallel. The travel control unit 52 allows a rice transplanter 1 to travel by at least autonomously performing the steering along the linear routes by using the position of the rice transplanter 1 acquired by a position acquisition unit 64. The farm field specifying unit 85 specifies a farm field corresponding to the linear reference routes. The route information registration unit 86 registers, in association with each other, the farm field specified by the farm field specifying unit 85, and at least either of the reference routes and the linear routes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention mainly relates to a travel route management system that manages a travel route for traveling a work vehicle.

  Conventionally, a system for autonomously traveling a work vehicle along a previously created travel route is known. The travel route can be divided into, for example, a straight route and a turning route. Patent Document 1 discloses a system that causes a work vehicle to autonomously travel only on this straight path.

  The riding type rice transplanter of Patent Document 1 stores the position of the aircraft when the operator operates the first predetermined switch as the first predetermined position, and stores the position of the aircraft when the operator operates the second predetermined switch as the second position. Store as a predetermined position. This riding type rice transplanter creates a travel route in which straight lines connecting a first predetermined position and a second predetermined position are arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals. This riding type rice transplanter automatically operates the steering device so as to travel along the travel route.

Japanese Patent No. 6143716

  However, Patent Document 1 does not describe how to handle the created travel route. Therefore, for example, when work is performed again using a previously created travel route, it is necessary to create a travel route again or search for a desired travel route from past data.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a travel route management system that efficiently manages a straight travel route in which straight reference routes are arranged in parallel. .

Means and effects for solving the problems

  The problems to be solved by the present invention are as described above. Next, means for solving the problems and the effects thereof will be described.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, a travel route management system having the following configuration is provided. That is, the travel route management system includes a position acquisition unit, a start / end registration unit, a straight travel route creation unit, a travel control unit, an agricultural field position acquisition unit, an agricultural field identification unit, a travel route information registration unit, Is provided. The position acquisition unit acquires the position of a work vehicle that performs farm work. The start / end registration unit registers the positions of the start point and the end point in the field. The straight travel route creation unit creates a straight reference route that connects the start point and the end point, and creates a straight travel route in which the reference routes are arranged in parallel. The travel control unit causes the work vehicle to travel by performing at least steering autonomously along the straight travel route using the position of the work vehicle acquired by the position acquisition unit. The field position acquisition unit acquires the position of the field from a storage unit in which the position of the field is stored. The field specifying unit compares the position of the field acquired by the field position acquisition unit with the position of at least a part of the reference path, and specifies the field corresponding to the reference path. The travel route information registration unit registers the field identified by the field identification unit and at least one of the reference route and the straight travel route in association with each other.

  Thereby, since at least one of the reference route and the straight traveling route can be registered in association with the field, this kind of traveling route can be managed efficiently. In particular, since the agricultural field specifying unit specifies the agricultural field related to the route, it is possible to reduce the labor for the operator to search for the agricultural field.

  The travel route management system preferably includes a notifying unit that performs a process of notifying that when the field specifying unit determines that there is no field corresponding to the reference route.

  Thereby, it is possible to notify the operator that it is necessary to newly register the field.

  The travel route management system preferably includes a display unit that displays the position of the work vehicle, the straight travel route, and the field contour associated with the straight travel route.

  Thereby, the operator can grasp | ascertain what position should be made to drive | work a work vehicle only by confirming the display content of a display part.

  The travel route management system preferably has the following configuration. That is, the travel route management system includes a route storage unit that stores a travel route for autonomously traveling the work vehicle for each type of the work vehicle. The reference route registered by the travel route information registration unit and at least one of the straight travel route can be used for the work vehicle having a different type from the work vehicle in which the route is registered. Registered in the route storage unit.

  Thereby, since the traveling routes of a plurality of types of work machines are registered in association with the farm field, the farm field can be managed efficiently.

The side view of the rice transplanter with which the management system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is equipped. The top view of a rice transplanter. The block diagram of a management system. The flowchart which shows the process until it creates a straight travel route and transmits it to a management server. Explanatory drawing which shows the preparation method of a reference | standard path | route. Explanatory drawing which shows the preparation method of a linear travel route. The figure which shows an example of the positional relationship of a reference | standard path | route and the position of an agricultural field. The figure which shows the screen which selects the agricultural field which registers a driving | running route. The table | surface which shows the path | route information and work history information which a management server memorize | stores. The flowchart which shows the process which sets a path | route based on the selected agricultural field. The figure which shows the screen which determines the agricultural field which starts work. The figure which shows the screen which selects the driving | running route which performs work from the driving | running route linked | related with the determined agricultural field. The figure which shows the screen on which the outline of a farm field is displayed with a linear travel route.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An autonomous traveling system 100 according to the present embodiment is a system for causing a rice transplanter (work vehicle) 1 that performs rice planting (planting seedlings) in an agricultural field to perform autonomous traveling. Here, the autonomous traveling means that the rice transplanter 1 travels at least by autonomously steering. In the present embodiment, the operator makes settings related to autonomous traveling using the wireless communication terminal 7, and the rice transplanter 1 performs autonomous traveling based on the settings. Moreover, in this embodiment, although it is the structure which makes the rice transplanter 1 perform autonomous driving | running | working in an operator's boarding, the rice transplanter 1 which the operator has not boarded can also make autonomous driving | running | working. Further, in the present embodiment, a management system (travel route management system) 200 is constructed in which a management server 9 that manages a travel route, work history, and the like is further added to the autonomous traveling system 100. The management system 200 may be configured to manage only the travel route without managing the work history.

  First, the rice transplanter 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 1 is a side view of the rice transplanter 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rice transplanter 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the management system 200. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rice transplanter 1 includes a vehicle body portion 11, a pair of left and right front wheels 12, a pair of left and right rear wheels 13, and a planting portion 14.

  An engine 22 is disposed inside the bonnet 21 disposed at the front portion of the vehicle body 11. The power generated by the engine 22 is transmitted to the front wheels 12 and the rear wheels 13 via the mission case 23. The power transmitted through the mission case 23 is also transmitted to the planting unit 14 through the PTO shaft 24 disposed at the rear part of the vehicle body unit 11. A driver's seat 25 on which an operator gets is provided at a position between the front wheel 12 and the rear wheel 13 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 11. A steering handle 26 for an operator to steer the rice transplanter 1 is disposed in front of the driver seat 25.

  The planting part 14 is connected to the rear of the vehicle body part 11 via an elevating link mechanism 31. The elevating link mechanism 31 has a parallel link structure including a top link 31a and a lower link 31b. A lifting cylinder 32 is connected to the lower link 31b. With this configuration, the entire planting unit 14 can be moved up and down by extending and lowering the lifting cylinder 32.

  The planting unit 14 mainly includes a planting input case 33, a plurality of planting units 34, a seedling mounting table 35, a plurality of floats 36, and a spare seedling table 38.

  Each planting unit 34 includes a planting transmission case 41 and a rotation case 42. Power is transmitted to the planting transmission case 41 via the PTO shaft 24 and the planting input case 33. A rotation case 42 is attached to each planting transmission case 41 on both sides in the vehicle width direction. Two planting claws 43 are attached to each rotating case 42 in the traveling direction of the rice transplanter 1. By these two planting claws 43, planting for one line is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the seedling mounting table 35 is disposed in front of the planting unit 34 and is configured to be capable of mounting a seedling mat. The seedling stage 35 is configured to be capable of laterally moving in a reciprocating manner (slidable in the lateral direction). In addition, the seedling stage 35 is configured to be capable of intermittently feeding the seedling mat vertically downward at the reciprocating end of the seedling stage 35. With this configuration, the seedling stage 35 can supply seedlings of a seedling mat to each planting unit 34. Thus, the rice transplanter 1 can sequentially supply seedlings to the respective planting units 34 to continuously plant seedlings.

  The float 36 shown in FIG. 1 is provided in the lower part of the planting part 14, and is arrange | positioned so that the lower surface can contact the ground. When the float 36 is in contact with the ground, the field surface before planting the seedling is leveled. The float 36 is provided with an unillustrated float sensor that detects the swing angle of the float 36. The swing angle of the float 36 corresponds to the distance between the ground and the planting part 14. The rice transplanter 1 can keep the height of the planting part 14 at a constant level by operating the lifting cylinder 32 based on the swing angle of the float 36 to move the planting part 14 up and down.

  The spare seedling stand 38 is disposed outside the bonnet 21 in the vehicle width direction and can mount a seedling box containing a spare mat seedling. The upper portions of the pair of left and right auxiliary seedling stands 38 are connected to each other by a connecting frame 27 extending in the vertical direction and the vehicle width direction. A housing 28 is disposed at the center of the connecting frame 27 in the vehicle width direction. In the housing 28, a positioning antenna 61, an inertial measurement device 62, and a communication antenna 63 are arranged. The positioning antenna 61 can receive radio waves from positioning satellites constituting a satellite positioning system (GNSS). The position of the rice transplanter 1 can be acquired by performing a known positioning calculation based on this radio wave. The inertial measurement device 62 includes three gyro sensors (angular velocity sensors) and three acceleration sensors. By using the angular velocity and acceleration of the rice transplanter 1 detected by the inertial measuring device 62 as auxiliary means, the accuracy of the positioning result of the rice transplanter 1 is enhanced. The communication antenna 63 is an antenna for performing wireless communication with the wireless communication terminal 7.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rice transplanter 1 includes a control unit 50. The control unit 50 is configured as a known computer and includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output unit, and the like (not shown). The CPU can read various programs from the ROM and execute them. Various programs and data are stored in the ROM. And the control part 50 can be operated as the memory | storage part 51, the travel control part 52, and the working machine control part 53 by cooperation of said hardware and software. The control unit 50 may be a single piece of hardware or a plurality of pieces of hardware that can communicate with each other. In addition to the inertia measuring device 62 described above, a position acquisition unit 64, a communication processing unit 65, a vehicle speed sensor 66, and a rudder angle sensor 67 are connected to the control unit 50.

  The position acquisition unit 64 is electrically connected to the positioning antenna 61. The position acquisition unit 64 acquires the position of the rice transplanter 1 as, for example, latitude and longitude information from the positioning signal based on the radio wave received by the positioning antenna 61. The position acquisition unit 64 performs positioning using a known GNSS-RTK method after receiving a positioning signal from a reference station (not shown) by an appropriate method. However, instead of this, for example, positioning using a differential GNSS, single positioning, or the like may be performed. Alternatively, position acquisition based on radio wave intensity such as wireless LAN or position acquisition by inertial navigation may be performed.

  The communication processing unit 65 is electrically connected to the communication antenna 63. The communication processing unit 65 can perform modulation processing or demodulation processing by an appropriate method to transmit / receive data to / from the wireless communication terminal 7.

  The vehicle speed sensor 66 is disposed at an appropriate position of the rice transplanter 1, for example, at the axle of the front wheel 12. The vehicle speed sensor 66 is configured to generate a pulse corresponding to the rotation of the axle, for example. The detection result data obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 66 is output to the control unit 50.

  The steering angle sensor 67 is a sensor that detects the steering angle of the front wheels 12. The rudder angle sensor 67 is provided, for example, on a king pin (not shown) provided on the front wheel 12. The detection result data obtained by the steering angle sensor 67 is output to the control unit 50. The steering angle sensor 67 may be provided in the steering handle 26.

  The travel control unit 52 performs vehicle speed control and steering control of the rice transplanter 1. The traveling control unit 52 can perform vehicle speed control and steering control at the same time, but can also perform only one of them. For example, when the traveling control unit 52 performs only the steering control, the vehicle speed is manually operated by the operator.

  Vehicle speed control is control which adjusts the vehicle speed of the rice transplanter 1 based on a predetermined condition. Specifically, the traveling control unit 52 determines the speed ratio of the transmission in the mission case 23 and the rotation of the engine 22 so that the current vehicle speed obtained from the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 66 approaches the target vehicle speed. Change at least one of the speeds. The vehicle speed control includes control for stopping the rice transplanter 1 by setting the vehicle speed to zero.

  Steering control is control which adjusts the rudder angle of the rice transplanter 1 based on a predetermined condition. Specifically, the travel control unit 52 is provided, for example, on the rotating shaft (steering shaft) of the steering handle 26 so that the current steering angle obtained from the detection result of the steering angle sensor 67 approaches the target steering angle. Drive the steering actuator. The traveling control unit 52 may be configured to directly adjust the steering angle of the front wheels 12 of the rice transplanter 1 instead of the rotation angle of the steering handle 26.

  The work machine control unit 53 can control the operation (elevating operation or planting operation) of the planting unit 14 based on a predetermined condition.

  The wireless communication terminal 7 is a tablet computer. The wireless communication terminal 7 includes a communication antenna 71, a communication processing unit 72, a display unit 73, an operation unit 74, and a control unit 80. The wireless communication terminal 7 is not limited to a tablet computer, and may be a smartphone or a notebook computer. The wireless communication terminal 7 performs various processes related to the autonomous traveling of the rice transplanter 1 as described later, but at least a part of this process can be performed by the arithmetic unit of the rice transplanter 1. Conversely, the wireless communication terminal 7 can also perform at least a part of various processes related to autonomous traveling performed by the rice transplanter 1.

  The communication antenna 71 is configured to include a short-distance communication antenna for performing wireless communication with the rice transplanter 1 and a portable communication antenna for performing communication using a mobile phone line and the Internet. The communication processing unit 72 is electrically connected to the communication antenna 71. The communication processing unit 72 can perform data transmission / reception with the wireless communication terminal 7 or other devices by performing modulation processing or demodulation processing by an appropriate method.

  The display unit 73 is a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, and is configured to display an image. The display unit 73 can display, for example, information related to autonomous traveling, information related to the setting of the rice transplanter 1, detection results of various sensors, warning information, and the like. The operation unit 74 includes a touch panel and hardware keys. The touch panel is disposed so as to overlap the display unit 73 and can detect an operation with an operator's finger or the like. The hardware key is disposed on the side surface of the casing of the wireless communication terminal 7 or around the display unit 73 and can be operated by being pressed by the operator. The wireless communication terminal 7 may be configured to include only one of a touch panel and a hardware key.

  The control unit 80 is configured as a known computer and includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output unit, and the like (not shown). The CPU can read various programs from the ROM and execute them. Various programs and data are stored in the ROM. And by cooperation of said hardware and software, the control part 80 is made into the memory | storage part 81, the start / end point registration part 82, the linear travel route creation part 83, the agricultural field position acquisition part 84, the agricultural field specification part 85, travel path information registration. Unit 86, display control unit 87, and notification unit 88 can be operated. Processing performed by each unit of the control unit 80 will be described later.

  The management server 9 can communicate with the wireless communication terminal 7 via the Internet. The management server 9 collects data received from the communication terminals of the wireless communication terminal 7 and other work vehicles (for example, tractor or combine). The management server 9 includes a route storage unit 91 that stores a travel route for autonomously traveling the work vehicle, and a work history storage unit 92 that stores a history of work performed by the work vehicle.

  In addition, the management server 9 may perform at least part of the processing performed by the rice transplanter 1 and the wireless communication terminal 7. Further, the management server 9 may store at least a part of the information stored in the rice transplanter 1 and the wireless communication terminal 7.

  Next, processing for creating and registering a straight traveling route will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process until a straight traveling route is created and transmitted to the management server 9. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for creating a reference route. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for creating a straight travel route. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the positional relationship between the reference path and the position of the farm field. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen for selecting a field for registering a travel route.

  When receiving an instruction for creating a straight travel route from the operator, the wireless communication terminal 7 first displays a selection screen for the type of work vehicle (S101). In this embodiment, in order to create a straight traveling route of the rice transplanter 1, the operator selects the rice transplanter as the type of work vehicle. Other types of work vehicles include tractors and combines. Further, after step S101, a screen for further selecting detailed information (model number, size, and work width) of the selected work vehicle may be displayed.

  Next, the wireless communication terminal 7 (start / end registration unit 82) performs a process of registering the start point A and the end point B for creating the reference route (S102). As shown in FIG. 5, the operator gets on the rice transplanter 1 and registers one point that passes through the straight path to be registered as the start point A. Next, after the rice transplanter 1 travels along the straight path to be registered, the next point is registered as the end point B. Note that the start point A and the end point B may be midway points of the straight line route (of course, they may be end points) as long as they are on the straight line route to be registered. Registration of the start point A and the end point B is performed by the operator operating the operation unit 74 of the wireless communication terminal 7. The position of the rice transplanter 1 at the time when the operator performs the above operation (the calculation result of the position acquisition unit 64 or a value obtained by correcting the position) is transmitted to the wireless communication terminal 7. Although direction information is not added to the reference route of this embodiment, direction information (for example, upward direction in the example of FIG. 5) may be added.

  The start point A and the end point B may be registered by the operator operating the operation unit provided in the rice transplanter 1 instead of the wireless communication terminal 7. Further, the start point A and the end point B may be registered without the operator getting on the rice transplanter 1 (for example, by specifying on the map displayed on the wireless communication terminal 7).

  Next, the wireless communication terminal 7 (straight line travel route creation unit 83) creates a straight line connecting the start point A and the end point B as a reference route (S103). The reference route created by the wireless communication terminal 7 is stored in the storage unit 81. As described above, since the positions of the start point A and the end point B are received from the rice transplanter 1, the wireless communication terminal 7 stores these positions as reference paths.

  Next, the wireless communication terminal 7 (straight travel route creation unit 83) creates a straight travel route based on the reference route (S104). As shown in FIG. 6, the wireless communication terminal 7 creates an extension line route by extending the reference route created in step S103, and arranges the extension line routes in parallel at an interval L1. The interval L1 is, for example, the work width of the rice transplanter 1 (width at which rice planting can be performed), but may be a vehicle width or another value. As described above, a straight traveling route in which a plurality of straight routes are arranged is created. In addition, the process which produces an extension line may be abbreviate | omitted and a reference | standard driving | running route may be arranged in parallel.

  The traveling control unit 52 performs steering control so that the rice transplanter 1 travels along the straight traveling route. Thereby, the work can be performed at an accurate position while reducing the labor of the operator. Processing other than steering, that is, vehicle speed, operation of the work machine, and turning (traveling from one extension line route to another extension route) are performed by the operator. Specifically, when the traveling control unit 52 performs the steering control and travels along the extension line route, the operator operates the steering handle 26 to release the autonomous control and shift to the manual operation. Thereafter, the steering control by the traveling control unit 52 is started by the operator performing a predetermined operation after reaching the adjacent extension line route.

  Thus, since the turning of the rice transplanter 1 is performed by the operation of the operator, the turning route is not included in the straight traveling route. Therefore, since it is not necessary to create a straight traveling route in association with the range of the field, it is sufficient that the straight traveling route is created so as to include the agricultural field. Therefore, the length of the straight traveling route is set to a value that greatly exceeds the size of a general field. Further, the length of the extension line is set to a value that greatly exceeds the size of a general field. Accordingly, a straight traveling route is created in a wider range than the field.

  Next, the wireless communication terminal 7 compares the position of the farm field stored in the storage unit 81 with the position of at least a part of the reference path, and searches for a farm field corresponding to the reference path (S105). The storage unit 81 of the wireless communication terminal 7 stores farm field information (for example, position, creation date / time, range, etc.) created and registered in the past by the operator. The wireless communication terminal 7 (farm position acquisition unit 84) reads the contents of the storage unit 81. The wireless communication terminal 7 (farm field identifying unit 85) identifies the farm field corresponding to the reference route with reference to the read farm field position. In particular, in this embodiment, the wireless communication terminal 7 identifies the field corresponding to the reference route by comparing at least a part of the reference route with the position of the field.

  Hereinafter, four examples of the positional relationship between the farm field and the reference path are shown, and whether these examples are specified as “a farm field corresponding to the reference path” will be described. In the positional relationship shown in FIG. 7A, all of the reference routes are included in the field. In the positional relationship shown in FIG. 7B, one end portion of the reference path is included in the farm field. In the positional relationship shown in FIG. 7C, the reference path is on the contour of the field. In the positional relationship shown in FIG. 7D, the middle part of the reference path is included in the field, and the end parts (that is, the start point A and the end point B) of the reference path are not included in the field.

  Next, four determination methods for specifying the field corresponding to the reference route are shown. With these determination methods, in which positional relationship from FIG. 7 (a) to FIG. 7 (d) the field is specified. Will be explained. The four determination methods are (1) a method of specifying a field including at least one of the two registered points, (2) a method of specifying a field including both of the two registered points, and (3) a reference route. (4) A method for identifying a field including at least a part of a reference route. When the method of (1) is used, the field fields in the positional relationship shown in FIGS. 7 (a), 7 (b), and 7 (c) are specified. When the method of (2) is used, the field fields in the positional relationship shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (c) are specified. When the method of (3) is used, the field fields in the positional relationship shown in FIGS. 7A and 7C are specified. When the method (4) is used, the field fields in the positional relationship shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D are specified.

  In addition to the positional relationship between the reference route and the field, the wireless communication terminal 7 may further determine whether or not the above-described reference station matches. That is, when the reference station to be used (particularly the position of the reference station) is different, the autonomous traveling performed by the rice transplanter 1 may be inaccurate. Therefore, when this determination is made, the wireless communication terminal 7 specifies only the field where the reference station when the reference route is created matches the reference station when the field is registered.

  When the field corresponding to the reference route is specified (S106), the wireless communication terminal 7 (display control unit 87) displays a list of the specified fields on the display unit 73. As shown in FIG. 8, on this screen, information indicating the position and range of the field on the map, information (position and the like) of the base station at the time of field registration, and a list of the identified field are displayed. ing. In the field list, information (address, registration date, distance, etc.) regarding the corresponding field is displayed. The operator selects and determines the field in which the travel route created this time is registered from the field list.

  Thereby, the radio | wireless communication terminal 7 (traveling route information registration part 86) matches and memorize | stores the agricultural field which the operator selected, a reference | standard path | route, and a linear traveling route in the memory | storage part 81 (S110). Further, the wireless communication terminal 7 (travel route information registration unit 86) further transmits the field selected by the operator, the reference route, and the straight travel route in association with each other to the management server 9 (S111). As a result, information about the route is registered in the management server 9.

  In the present embodiment, the wireless communication terminal 7 registers the travel route in association with the field selected by the operator. When there is one identified field, the field and the travel route are associated without selection by the operator. It may be a configuration. Moreover, even if the wireless communication terminal 7 has a plurality of specified farm fields, the wireless communication terminal 7 may be configured to associate a farm field selected under a predetermined condition (for example, a farm field having the closest registration date) with a travel route. Good.

  If the field corresponding to the reference route cannot be identified in the determination in step S106, the wireless communication terminal 7 (notification unit 88) notifies that there is no field corresponding to the reference route (S108). For example, the wireless communication terminal 7 displays the fact on the display unit 73, informs that fact by voice, or sounds a warning sound.

  Next, the wireless communication terminal 7 (display control unit 87) displays a screen for newly registering a field (S109). When the operator inputs information on the farm according to this screen, a new farm is registered and stored in the storage unit 81. In this case, in step S <b> 110, the wireless communication terminal 7 stores the newly registered field, the reference route, and the straight traveling route in the storage unit 81 in association with each other.

  As described above, the reference route and the straight traveling route created by the operator can be stored in the wireless communication terminal 7 and the management server 9 in association with the field.

  Next, the storage contents of the management server 9 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a table showing route information and work history information stored in the management server 9.

  When the processing shown in FIG. 4 is performed on a plurality of types of work vehicles, as shown in FIG. 9 (a), the management server 9 includes a farm field and a travel route associated with each other regardless of the type of work vehicle. Is memorized. The route with a turn is a travel route for causing the travel control unit 52 to autonomously perform not only a straight route but also a turning route. The unmanned route is a travel route for allowing the operator to travel only with a work vehicle such as the rice transplanter 1 without getting on.

  Thus, by accumulating the travel route regardless of the type of the work vehicle, for example, the straight travel route created by the rice transplanter 1 can be used by another work vehicle such as a tractor or a combine. Specifically, when an agricultural field is designated from the wireless communication terminal 7, the management server 9 transmits a travel route associated with the agricultural field to the wireless communication terminal 7. Then, the wireless communication terminal 7 performs autonomous traveling using the received traveling route or a modified traveling route.

  In addition, when performing work using the travel route, the wireless communication terminal 7 manages the work history such as the trajectory actually passed, the type of work vehicle, the work content, and the work time in association with the used travel route. Send to server 9. As shown in FIG. 9B, the management server 9 stores these pieces of information. Therefore, work histories can be integrated and managed regardless of the type of work vehicle.

  Next, the flow when performing work using the straight traveling route registered in the process of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process for setting a travel route based on a selected field. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a screen for determining a field to start work. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a screen for selecting a travel route for performing work from the travel routes associated with the determined farm field. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen on which the contour of a farm field is displayed together with a straight traveling route.

  When an instruction to perform work is input from the operator, the wireless communication terminal 7 (display control unit 87) displays a field selection screen for performing work on the display unit 73 (step S201). As shown in FIG. 11, information indicating the position and range of the farm field on a map and a list of farm fields registered in the past are displayed on this screen. In the field list, information (address, registration date, distance, etc.) regarding the corresponding field is displayed. Further, when the operator selects a farm field, the display mode of the selected farm field changes (the outline becomes thicker in FIG. 11), and information on the base station at the time of farm field registration is displayed. Based on these pieces of information, the operator determines a desired field. In addition, the structure which determines an agricultural field automatically based on the position which the position acquisition part 64 acquired may be sufficient.

  Next, the wireless communication terminal 7 (display control unit 87) displays a list of travel routes associated with the determined field on the display unit 73 (S202). As shown in FIG. 12, on this screen, information indicating the position and range of the field and travel route on a map and a list of travel routes associated with this field are displayed. In the list of travel routes, information (address, registration date, etc.) regarding the corresponding travel route is displayed. Further, in the list of travel routes, not only the straight travel route created by the process shown in FIG. 4 but also other travel routes are displayed. The operator selects and determines a travel route to be used for work from the travel route list.

  Next, the wireless communication terminal 7 sets the determined travel route as a travel route used for work (S203). Thereafter, traveling and work along the determined traveling route are started. A screen as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the display unit 73 while the rice transplanter 1 is traveling. In FIG. 13, a symbol 201 indicating the position of the rice transplanter 1, a route line 202, and an outline 203 indicating the outline of the farm field are displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 13, since the straight traveling route is selected, the route line 202 is also displayed outside the field. In the present embodiment, since the path and the field are associated with each other, the position of the contour of the field can be specified, so that the contour 203 can be displayed. Note that the contour of the field can be displayed by displaying the route line 202 only in the field instead of the contour line 203 (by making the route line 202 outside the field non-displayed).

  Moreover, the rice transplanter 1 and the wireless communication terminal 7 can acquire the position of the rice transplanter 1 and the position of the contour of the field. Therefore, for example, when the rice transplanter 1 approaches the contour of the field (for example, when the distance to the contour of the field is equal to or less than the threshold value), the fact can be notified, or the rice transplanter 1 can be decelerated.

  As described above, the management system 200 of the present embodiment includes the position acquisition unit 64, the start / end registration unit 82, the straight travel route creation unit 83, the travel control unit 52, the agricultural field position acquisition unit 84, An agricultural field identification unit 85 and a travel route information registration unit 86 are provided. The position acquisition unit 64 acquires the position of the rice transplanter 1 that performs farm work. The start / end registration unit 82 registers the positions of the start point and the end point in the field. The straight travel route creation unit 83 creates a straight reference route that connects the start point and the end point, and creates a straight travel route in which the reference routes are arranged in parallel. The traveling control unit 52 uses the position of the rice transplanter 1 acquired by the position acquisition unit 64 to autonomously perform steering at least along the straight traveling route to cause the rice transplanter 1 to travel. The agricultural field position acquisition unit 84 acquires the position of the agricultural field from the storage unit 81 in which the position of the agricultural field is stored. The field specifying unit 85 compares the position of the field acquired by the field position acquisition unit 84 with the position of at least a part of the reference path, and specifies the field corresponding to the reference path. The traveling route information registration unit 86 registers the field identified by the field identifying unit 85 and at least one of the reference route and the straight traveling route in association with each other.

  Thereby, since at least one of the reference route and the straight traveling route can be registered in association with the field, this kind of traveling route can be managed efficiently. In particular, since the agricultural field specifying unit specifies the agricultural field related to the route, it is possible to reduce the labor for the operator to search for the agricultural field.

  In addition, the management system 200 of the present embodiment includes a notifying unit 88 that performs a process of notifying that when the field specifying unit 85 determines that there is no field corresponding to the reference route.

  Thereby, it is possible to notify the operator that it is necessary to newly register the field.

  In addition, the management system 200 of the present embodiment includes a display unit 73 that displays the position of the rice transplanter 1, the straight traveling route, and the field contour associated with the straight traveling route.

  Thereby, the operator can grasp | ascertain to which position the rice transplanter 1 should drive | work only by confirming the display content of the display part 73. FIG.

  Moreover, the management system 200 of the said embodiment is provided with the path | route memory | storage part 91 which memorize | stores the path | route which makes the said work vehicle autonomously drive for every kind of work vehicle. In the route storage unit 91, at least one of the reference route and the straight travel route registered by the travel route information registration unit 86 can be used for a work vehicle having a different type from the work vehicle that registered the route. It is registered.

  Thereby, since the traveling routes of a plurality of types of work machines are registered in association with the farm field, the farm field can be managed efficiently.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the above configuration can be modified as follows, for example.

  In the above embodiment, when traveling on a straight traveling route, the traveling control unit 52 controls only steering, but at least one of vehicle speed control and work implement control may be further performed.

  In the above embodiment, both the reference route and the straight travel route are stored in the storage unit 81 and transmitted to the management server 9, but only one of them is stored in the storage unit 81 and transmitted to the management server 9. It may be a configuration.

  In the above embodiment, the rice transplanter 1 and the wireless communication terminal 7 perform wireless communication, but may be configured to perform wired communication.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which the autonomous traveling system 100 and the management system 200 are applied to the rice transplanter 1 has been described. However, the autonomous traveling system 100 and the management system 200 are also applied to tractors and combines that are other agricultural work vehicles. Applicable.

1 Rice transplanter (work vehicle)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 Wireless communication terminal 9 Management server 52 Travel control part 64 Position acquisition part 82 Start / end point registration part 83 Linear travel route creation part 84 Field position acquisition part 85 Field identification part 86 Travel path information registration part 100 Autonomous travel system 200 Management system (travel Route management system)

Claims (4)

A position acquisition unit that acquires the position of a work vehicle that performs farm work;
A start / end registration unit for registering the positions of the start point and end point in the field;
Creating a straight-line reference route connecting the start point and the end point, and creating a straight-line travel route in which the reference routes are arranged in parallel;
Using the position of the work vehicle acquired by the position acquisition unit, a travel control unit that causes the work vehicle to travel by performing at least steering autonomously along the linear travel route;
An agricultural field position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the agricultural field from the storage unit in which the position of the agricultural field is stored;
A field identification unit that compares the position of the field acquired by the field position acquisition unit with the position of at least a part of the reference path, and specifies the field corresponding to the reference path;
A travel route information registration unit for registering the field identified by the field identification unit and at least one of the reference route and the straight travel route;
A travel route management system comprising: The travel route management system according to claim 1,
A travel route management system comprising a notifying unit that performs a process of notifying that when the field specifying unit determines that there is no field corresponding to the reference route. The travel route management system according to claim 1 or 2,
A travel route management system comprising: a display unit for displaying a position of the work vehicle, the straight travel route, and a field contour associated with the straight travel route. The travel route management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
For each type of work vehicle, a route storage unit that stores a route for autonomously traveling the work vehicle,
The reference route registered by the travel route information registration unit and at least one of the straight travel route can be used for the work vehicle having a different type from the work vehicle in which the route is registered. A travel route management system which is registered in a route storage unit.

Images