JP2022001060A - Route generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique, in a route generation system for causing a work vehicle to autonomously travel, which enables the work vehicle to speedily evacuate to an arbitrary evacuation region with less effort even when the work vehicle is performing work in autonomous travel.SOLUTION: A route generation system comprises: a travel route generation section which generates a target travel route P to cause a work vehicle 1 to perform autonomous travel on the basis of a current position of the work vehicle 1; and an evacuation region setting section which sets an evacuation region S2. In addition to a working route P1, the travel route generation section also generates an evacuation route P2, as the target ravel route P, to enable the work vehicle 1 to autonomously travel in response to input of an evacuation instruction so as to evacuate to the evacuation region S2 set by the evacuation region setting section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a route generation system for automatically traveling a work vehicle.

Conventionally, there is known an automatic traveling system that acquires the current position of a working vehicle using a satellite positioning system and automatically travels the working vehicle along a work path generated in advance in the work area (for example, Patent Document 1). reference.).
In such an automatic traveling system, when one of the working vehicles is abnormally stopped when a plurality of working vehicles are automatically driven, the other working vehicles are also stopped at the same time by remote control. It is configured.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-095659

In the automatic traveling system, there may be a situation in which the working vehicle is evacuated to a desired evacuation area during the work by the automatic traveling of the working vehicle. For example, when multiple work vehicles equipped with a lawn mowing device are automatically driven around the runway of an airport to perform lawn mowing work, an aircraft makes an emergency landing near the work area where these work vehicles are mowing. In some cases. In that case, it is necessary to evacuate the work vehicle to a safe place before the emergency landing of the aircraft.
In the system of Patent Document 1, although a plurality of work vehicles can be stopped at the same time, in order to evacuate these work vehicles, it is necessary for the worker to manually drive the work vehicle and move it to the evacuation area. Therefore, there was a problem that it took a lot of time and effort.

In view of this situation, the main problem of the present invention is that in the route generation system for automatically traveling the work vehicle, even when the work vehicle is automatically traveled and the work is performed, the number of the work vehicle is quickly and small. The point is to provide a technology that can be evacuated to an arbitrary evacuation area by labor.

The route generation system according to one aspect of the present invention has a travel route generation unit that generates a target travel route for automatically traveling the work vehicle based on the current position of the work vehicle, and a retraction area setting unit that sets a backup area. And. The travel route generation unit automatically travels the work vehicle as the target travel route in accordance with the input of the evacuation instruction in addition to the work route for work, and moves to the evacuation area set by the evacuation area setting unit. Generate an evacuation route for evacuation.

The figure which shows the schematic structure of the automatic driving system Block diagram showing the schematic configuration of an automated driving system The figure which shows the traveling route at the time of automatic traveling in this embodiment The figure which shows the control flow for executing the automatic evacuation process. Figure showing the driving route at the time of automatic driving with another mobile phone

An embodiment of a work vehicle to which the automatic traveling system according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.
In this automatic traveling system, as shown in FIG. 1, the tractor 1 is applied as the work vehicle according to the present invention, but other than the tractor, a passenger rice transplanter, a combine, a passenger grass mowing machine, a wheel loader, a snowplow, etc. A passenger work vehicle and an unmanned work vehicle such as an unmanned mowing machine can be applied.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this automatic traveling system includes an automatic traveling unit 2 mounted on the tractor 1 and a mobile communication terminal 3 set to communicate with the automatic traveling unit 2. As the mobile communication terminal 3, a tablet-type personal computer, a smartphone, or the like having a touch-operable display unit 51 (for example, a liquid crystal panel) can be adopted.

The tractor 1 includes left and right front wheels 5 that function as driveable steering wheels, and a traveling machine body 7 that has left and right rear wheels that can be driven. A bonnet 8 is arranged on the front side of the traveling machine body 7, and an electronically controlled diesel engine (hereinafter referred to as an engine) 9 equipped with a common rail system is provided in the bonnet 8. A cabin 10 forming a boarding-type driving unit is provided on the rear side of the bonnet 8 of the traveling machine body 7.

The tractor 1 can be configured to have a lawn mowing specification by connecting a lawn mowing device, which is an example of the working device 12, so as to be able to move up and down and roll to the rear part of the traveling machine body 7 via a three-point link mechanism 11. Instead of the lawn mowing device, a working device 12 such as a rotary tilling device, a plow, a sowing device, a spraying device, etc. can be connected to the rear part of the tractor 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tractor 1 includes an electronically controlled transmission 13 that shifts the power from the engine 9, a fully hydraulic power steering mechanism 14 that steers the left and right front wheels 5, and left and right rear wheels 6. Left and right side brakes for braking (not shown), an electronically controlled brake operation mechanism 15 that enables hydraulic operation of the left and right side brakes, and a work clutch that interrupts transmission to a work device 12 such as a lawn mowing device (shown). ), Electronically controlled clutch operating mechanism 16 that enables hydraulic operation of the work clutch, electrohydraulic control type lifting and lowering drive mechanism 17 that lifts and lowers the work device 12 such as a lawn mowing device, and various types related to automatic running of the tractor 1. An in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 having a control program of The unit 21 and the like are provided.

An electronically controlled gasoline engine equipped with an electronic governor may be adopted as the engine 9. As the speed change device 13, a hydraulic mechanical type continuously variable transmission (HMT), a hydrostatic continuously variable transmission (HST), a belt type continuously variable transmission, or the like can be adopted. As the power steering mechanism 14, an electric power steering mechanism 14 or the like provided with an electric motor may be adopted.

Inside the cabin 10, as shown in FIG. 1, a steering wheel 38 that enables manual steering of the left and right front wheels 5 via a power steering mechanism 14 (see FIG. 2), a driver's seat 39 for passengers, and a touch panel It is equipped with an expression display unit and various operating tools. Both lateral sides of the front side portion of the cabin 10 are provided with boarding / alighting steps 41 that serve as boarding / alighting sections for the cabin 10 (driver's seat 39).

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18 includes a speed change control unit 181 that controls the operation of the speed change device 13, a braking control unit 182 that controls the operation of the left and right side brakes, and an operation of a work device 12 such as a lawn mowing device. The work device control unit 183 that controls the vehicle, the steering angle setting unit 184 that sets the target steering angles of the left and right front wheels 5 during automatic driving and outputs them to the power steering mechanism 14, and the preset target driving route for automatic driving. It has a non-volatile vehicle-mounted storage unit 185 and the like for storing P (for example, see FIG. 3) and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the positioning unit 21 is a satellite that measures the current position and the current orientation of the tractor 1 by using GPS (Global Positioning System), which is an example of a satellite positioning system (NSS). It is equipped with a navigation device 22, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 23 that has a three-axis gyroscope, a three-way acceleration sensor, and the like to measure the posture and orientation of the tractor 1, and the like. Positioning methods using GPS include DGPS (Differential GPS: relative positioning method) and RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinetic GPS: interference positioning method). In this embodiment, RTK-GPS suitable for positioning a mobile body is adopted. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a reference station 4 that enables positioning by RTK-GPS is installed at a known position around the traveling region.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tractor 1 and the reference station 4 are connected to the GPS antennas 24 and 61 that receive radio waves transmitted from the GPS satellite 71 (see FIG. 1), and between the tractor 1 and the reference station 4. The communication modules 25, 62 and the like that enable wireless communication of various data including the positioning data in the above are provided. As a result, in the satellite navigation device 22, the GPS antenna 24 on the tractor side receives the radio waves from the GPS satellite 71 and the positioning data is obtained, and the GPS antenna 61 on the base station side receives the radio waves from the GPS satellite 71. Based on the obtained positioning data, the current position and current orientation of the tractor 1 can be measured with high accuracy. Further, the positioning unit 21 is provided with the satellite navigation device 22 and the inertial measurement unit 23 to measure the current position, the current direction, and the attitude angle (yaw angle, roll angle, pitch angle) of the tractor 1 with high accuracy. Can be done.

As shown in FIG. 1, the GPS antenna 24, the communication module 25, and the inertial measurement unit 23 provided in the tractor 1 are housed in the antenna unit 80. The antenna unit 80 is arranged at an upper position on the front side of the cabin 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile communication terminal 3 has positioning data between the terminal electronic control unit 52 having various control programs for controlling the operation of the display unit 51 and the like, and the communication module 25 on the tractor side. A communication module 55, etc., which enables wireless communication of various data including the above is provided. The terminal electronic control unit 52 includes a travel route generation unit 53 that generates a target travel route P (for example, see FIG. 3) for travel guidance for automatically traveling the tractor 1, and various input data input by the user. It has a non-volatile terminal storage unit 54 and the like that stores the target travel route P and the like generated by the travel route generation unit 53.

When the travel route generation unit 53 generates the target travel route P, a user such as a driver or an administrator may use a work vehicle or the like according to an input guide for setting a target travel route displayed on the display unit 51 of the mobile communication terminal 3. Vehicle body data such as the type and model of the work device 12 is input, and the input vehicle body data is stored in the terminal storage unit 54. The traveling area S (see FIG. 3) for which the target traveling path P is generated is, for example, a turf portion around the runway of the airport, and the terminal electronic control unit 52 of the mobile communication terminal 3 determines the shape and position of the traveling area S. The traveling area data including the travel area data is acquired and stored in the terminal storage unit 54.

Explaining the acquisition of the traveling area data, when the user or the like drives and actually drives the tractor 1, the terminal electronic control unit 52 sets the traveling area S from the current position of the tractor 1 acquired by the positioning unit 21 or the like. It is possible to acquire position information for specifying the shape, position, and the like. The terminal electronic control unit 52 specifies the shape and position of the traveling area S from the acquired position information, and acquires the traveling area data including the traveling area S specified from the shape and position of the specified traveling area S. FIG. 3 shows an example in which a rectangular traveling region S is specified.

When the travel area data including the shape and position of the specified travel area S is stored in the terminal storage unit 54, the travel route generation unit 53 stores the travel area data and the vehicle body data stored in the terminal storage unit 54. It is used to generate a target travel path P.

As shown in FIG. 3, the travel route generation unit 53 generates a work route P1 which is a target travel route P for work by using vehicle body data, travel area data, and the like. For example, the work path P1 is composed of a straight path, a connecting path connecting them, and the like. Incidentally, the work route P1 shown in FIG. 3 is just an example, and what kind of target travel route is set can be appropriately changed.

The target travel route P generated by the travel route generation unit 53 can be displayed on the display unit 51, and is stored in the terminal storage unit 54 as route data associated with vehicle body data, travel area data, and the like. The route data includes the azimuth angle of the target travel route P, the set engine rotation speed and the target travel speed set according to the travel mode of the tractor 1 on the target travel route P, and the like.

In this way, when the travel route generation unit 53 generates the target travel route P, the terminal electronic control unit 52 transfers the route data from the mobile communication terminal 3 to the tractor 1, so that the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18 of the tractor 1 is used. However, the route data can be acquired. The in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 automatically travels the tractor 1 along the target travel route P while acquiring its own current position (current position of the tractor 1) by the positioning unit 21 based on the acquired route data. Can be done. The current position of the tractor 1 acquired by the positioning unit 21 is transmitted from the tractor 1 to the mobile communication terminal 3 in real time (for example, in a cycle of several seconds), and the mobile communication terminal 3 grasps the current position of the tractor 1. ing.

Regarding the transfer of route data, the entire route data can be transferred from the terminal electronic control unit 52 to the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18 at once before the tractor 1 starts automatic traveling. Further, for example, the route data including the target travel route P can be divided into a plurality of route portions for each predetermined distance with a small amount of data. In this case, in the stage before the tractor 1 starts automatic traveling, only the initial route portion of the route data is transferred from the terminal electronic control unit 52 to the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18. After the start of automatic driving, every time the tractor 1 reaches a route acquisition point set according to the amount of data or the like, the route data of only the subsequent route portion corresponding to that point is electronically controlled by the terminal electronic control unit 52. It may be transferred to the unit 18.

When starting the automatic running of the tractor 1, for example, when the user or the like moves the tractor 1 to the starting point and various automatic running start conditions are satisfied, the user displays the display unit 51 on the mobile communication terminal 3. By instructing the start of automatic traveling, the mobile communication terminal 3 transmits the instruction to start automatic traveling to the tractor 1. As a result, in the tractor 1, the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 receives an instruction to start automatic driving, and while the positioning unit 21 acquires its own current position (current position of the tractor 1), the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18 sets the target travel path P. Automatic running control for automatically running the tractor 1 along the line is started. The in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 automatically drives the tractor 1 along the target travel path P in the travel region S based on the positioning information of the tractor 1 acquired by the positioning unit 21 (corresponding to the satellite positioning system). It is configured as an automatic driving control unit that performs driving control.

The automatic running control includes automatic shift control that automatically controls the operation of the speed change device 13, automatic braking control that automatically controls the operation of the brake operation mechanism 15, automatic steering control that automatically steers the left and right front wheels 5, and a lawn mowing device. Automatic control for work that automatically controls the operation of the work device 12 of the above, and the like are included.

In the automatic shift control, the shift control unit 181 determines the tractor 1 on the target travel path P based on the route data of the target travel path P including the target travel speed, the output of the positioning unit 21, and the output of the vehicle speed sensor 19. The operation of the transmission 13 is automatically controlled so that the target traveling speed set according to the traveling mode or the like can be obtained as the vehicle speed of the tractor 1.

In the automatic braking control, the braking control unit 182 places the left and right side brakes on the left and right rear in the braking region included in the route data of the target travel route P based on the target travel route P and the output of the positioning unit 21. The operation of the brake operation mechanism 15 is automatically controlled so as to properly brake the wheel 6.

In the automatic steering control, the steering angle setting unit 184 sets the target of the left and right front wheels 5 based on the route data of the target travel route P and the output of the positioning unit 21 so that the tractor 1 automatically travels on the target travel route P. The steering angle is obtained and set, and the set target steering angle is output to the power steering mechanism 14. The power steering mechanism 14 automatically steers the left and right front wheels 5 based on the target steering angle and the output of the steering angle sensor 20 so that the target steering angle is obtained as the steering angle of the left and right front wheels 5.

In the automatic work control, the work device control unit 183 performs work such as the start of the work path P1 (see, for example, FIG. 3) by the tractor 1 based on the route data of the target travel route P and the output of the positioning unit 21. When the work device 12 starts a predetermined work (for example, mowing work) as the work device 12 reaches the start point, and the tractor 1 reaches the work end point such as the end of the work path P1 (for example, see FIG. 3). Along with this, the operation of the clutch operation mechanism 16 and the elevating drive mechanism 17 is automatically controlled so that the predetermined work by the work device 12 is stopped.

In this way, in the tractor 1, the transmission 13, the power steering mechanism 14, the brake operation mechanism 15, the clutch operation mechanism 16, the elevating drive mechanism 17, the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18, the vehicle speed sensor 19, the steering angle sensor 20, and the positioning. The automatic traveling unit 2 is composed of the unit 21, the communication module 25, and the like.

In this embodiment, it is possible not only to automatically drive the tractor 1 without the user or the like boarding the cabin 10, but also to automatically drive the tractor 1 with the user or the like boarding the cabin 10. Therefore, not only can the tractor 1 be automatically driven along the target traveling path P by the automatic traveling control by the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 without the user or the like boarding the cabin 10, but also the user or the like can be boarded in the cabin 10. Even in this case, the tractor 1 can be automatically driven along the target traveling path P by the automatic traveling control by the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18.

When a user or the like is on board the cabin 10, the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18 switches between an automatic driving state in which the tractor 1 is automatically driven and a manual driving state in which the tractor 1 is driven based on the driving of the user and the like. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to switch from the automatic driving state to the manual driving state while the target traveling route P is automatically traveling in the automatic driving state, and conversely, the manual driving is performed while the vehicle is traveling in the manual driving state. It is possible to switch from the state to the automatic driving state. Regarding switching between the manual driving state and the automatic driving state, for example, a switching operation unit for switching between the automatic driving state and the manual driving state can be provided in the vicinity of the driver's seat 39, and the switching operation unit is carried. It can also be displayed on the display unit 51 of the communication terminal 3. Further, when the user operates the steering wheel 38 during the automatic driving control by the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18, the automatic driving state can be switched to the manual driving state.

The above is the basic configuration of the automatic driving system, but in the automatic driving system of the present embodiment, even when the tractor 1 is automatically driven and the work is performed, the tractor 1 can be arbitrarily moved quickly and with little effort. It has a characteristic configuration for saving to the save area S2. Hereinafter, embodiments of the feature configuration will be described.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the details of the automatic traveling system of the first embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the traveling area data includes the work area data including the shape and position of the work area S1 and the evacuation area data including the shape and position of the evacuation area S2. There is. As described above, these traveling area data are preset by the user's operation on the display unit 51 of the mobile communication terminal 3 using the map information, location information, and the like of the airport.
The traveling area S is an area where the tractor 1 can automatically travel, and the traveling area S includes a working area S1 and a retracting area S2. Further, the work area S1 is set in advance in the travel area S, and is an area in which the tractor 1 is automatically traveled in the reciprocating direction to perform a predetermined work (for example, work such as mowing).
On the other hand, the evacuation area S2 is preset in the traveling area S by the evacuation area setting unit 56, which will be described later, and is an area where the tractor 1 evacuates from the work area S1 in an emergency or the like.

The terminal electronic control unit 52 of the mobile communication terminal 3 shown in FIG. 2 functions as a save area setting unit 56 for setting the save area S2. Specifically, the evacuation area setting unit 56 displays an input guide for setting the evacuation area S2 on the display unit 51, and the user or the like displays evacuation data including the shape, position, etc. of the evacuation area S2 based on the input guide. Enter directly. Then, the evacuation area setting unit 56 completes the setting of the evacuation area S2 in the form of storing the input evacuation data in the terminal storage unit 54.

Then, the travel route generation unit 53 generates a work route P1 which is a target travel route P for work in the work area S1, and the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18 automatically travels the tractor 1 along the work route P1. While doing so, the work device 12 can be automatically controlled for work by the work device control unit 183 to perform a predetermined work (for example, mowing work).

Further, in this work area S1, a plurality of tractors 1 as described above are automatically driven and joint work is performed. When working jointly with such a plurality of tractors 1, for example, it is possible to divide the work area S1 into a plurality of areas and automatically drive each area so that one tractor 1 works. .. Alternatively, it is possible to automatically drive a plurality of tractors 1 in a state where the plurality of tractors 1 are lined up in the horizontal direction over the entire work area S1, and how the plurality of tractors 1 are automatically traveled in the work area S1 can be appropriately changed. Is. Although the one shown in FIG. 3 shows a case where two tractors 1 are working together, the work area S1 can be worked by either one tractor 1 or three or more tractors 1. good.
Further, the mobile communication terminal 3 is configured to be common to these plurality of tractors 1.

When the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 is working while the tractor 1 is automatically driven in the work area S1 as described above and the work is being performed, a predetermined evacuation instruction is input from the mobile communication terminal 3 side. With the input, the tractor 1 is automatically driven along the evacuation route P2 from the current position in the work area S1 to the evacuation area S2 preset by the evacuation area setting unit 56, and the tractor 1 is evacuated. It is configured to execute an automatic evacuation process for evacuation to the area S2.
When there are a plurality of tractors 1 being worked on in the work area S1, a save instruction is simultaneously input from the mobile communication terminal 3 to the in-vehicle electronic control units 18 of the plurality of tractors 1, and the save instruction is input. The in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 of the tractor 1 executes the automatic evacuation process.
With such a configuration, the automatic evacuation process is executed in response to the input of the evacuation instruction, so that all of the plurality of tractors 1 being worked on in the work area S1 are quickly and with little effort to be evacuated to an arbitrary evacuation area S2. You will be able to do it.
Hereinafter, the control flow for executing the automatic evacuation process in the automatic traveling system will be described with reference to FIG.

When the user operates the display unit 51 on the mobile communication terminal 3 and a save instruction is input (Yes in step # 1), the terminal electronic control unit 52 of the mobile communication terminal 3 is working in the work area S1. With reference to the current position of the tractor 1 and the save area data regarding the save area S2 stored in advance in the terminal storage unit 54, the traveling route generation unit 53 transfers the current position of the tractor 1 to the save area S2. The evacuation route P2 is generated (step # 2). Here, the traveling route generation unit 53 can generate the evacuation route P2 so that the traveling distance between the current position of the tractor 1 and the evacuation area S2 is the shortest distance.
The evacuation position where the evacuation tractor 1 arrives in the evacuation route P2 can be set to the evacuation position where the evacuation route P2 is the shortest in consideration of the current position of the tractor 1 at the start of evacuation.

The evacuation instruction input to the mobile communication terminal 3 includes a time limit allowed as the time required for evacuation to the evacuation area S2. Then, the terminal electronic control unit 52 travels the tractor 1 when automatically traveling on the evacuation route P2 based on the time limit included in the evacuation instruction and the distance of the evacuation route P2 generated by the travel route generation unit 53. The evacuation lower limit traveling speed, which is the lower limit of the speed, is obtained, and the evacuation traveling speed of the tractor 1 when retracting to the evacuation area is set to a traveling speed equal to or higher than the evacuation lower limit traveling speed (step # 3).
Then, along with the evacuation travel speed set in this way, the evacuation route data including the evacuation route P2 generated by the travel route generation unit 53 is transferred from the mobile communication terminal 3 to the tractor 1.

Next, the vehicle-mounted electronic control unit 18 of the tractor 1 that has received such evacuation route data starts the automatic traveling of the tractor 1 along the evacuation route P2 included in the evacuation route data (step # 7). It is determined whether or not the evacuation travel speed included in the evacuation route data is equal to or less than the work travel speed which is the travel speed of the tractor 1 during the immediately preceding work (step # 4).

When the evacuation travel speed is equal to or lower than the work travel speed (Yes in step # 4), the tractor 1 arrives at the evacuation area S2 by the time limit even if the tractor 1 automatically travels along the evacuation route P2 at the work travel speed. Can be judged. For this reason, the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 sets the traveling speed of the tractor 1 to the working traveling speed, and in a state where the working device 12 is in the operating state and the tractor 1 continues the work (step # 5), the evacuation path P2 The automatic evacuation process (step # 7) for automatically traveling the tractor 1 along the line is started. Then, the tractor 1 can be reliably evacuated to the evacuation area S2 by the time limit, and the work by the tractor 1 is continued even on the evacuation route P2, so that the work efficiency due to the evacuation of the tractor 1 is lowered. Is reduced.

On the other hand, when the evacuation travel speed is higher than the work travel speed (No in step # 4), in order to reach the evacuation region S2 by the time limit, the evacuation route P2 is faster than the work travel speed. It is necessary to carry out automatic driving. For this reason, the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 is in a state where the traveling speed of the tractor 1 is set to the evacuation traveling speed or higher, the working device 12 is in an inactive state, and the tractor 1 stops the work (step # 6). , The automatic evacuation process (step # 7) for automatically traveling the tractor 1 along the evacuation route P2 is started. Then, the tractor 1 can be reliably evacuated to the evacuation area S2 by the time limit.

Further, the terminal storage unit 54 of the mobile communication terminal 3 stores the evacuation start position, which is the current position of the tractor 1 at the time of inputting the above-mentioned evacuation instruction.
Then, when the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 retracts the tractor 1 to the retracted area S2 by the above-mentioned automatic evacuation process (step # 7), when a predetermined evacuation release instruction is input from the mobile communication terminal 3 side. , As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic return process for returning the tractor 1 to the evacuation start position in the form of automatically traveling the tractor 1 along the return path P3 from the current position to the evacuation start position. Is configured to run.
As a result, the tractor 1 once evacuated to the evacuation area S2 can be easily returned to the original position in the work area S1 and the work by the tractor 1 can be restarted. In this case, the travel route generation unit 53 can generate the return route P3 so that the travel distance between the current position of the tractor 1 retracted to the evacuation area S2 and the evacuation start position is the shortest distance.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the details of the automatic traveling system of the second embodiment will be described.
The automatic traveling system of the present embodiment sets the division state of the work area S1 and the evacuation area S2 in the traveling area S and the evacuation area setting for setting the evacuation area S2 with respect to the automatic traveling system of the first embodiment described above. Only the detailed configuration of the part 56 is different. Therefore, in the following description, detailed description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the traveling area S is an area where the tractor 1 can automatically travel, and the traveling area S includes the working area S1 and the emergency area S, as in the first embodiment described above. The escape range S3 is included. Further, in the work area S1, the area outside the emergency escape range S3 is the evacuation area S2 in which the tractor 1 retracts from the emergency escape range S3 in an emergency or the like.

The terminal electronic control unit 52 of the mobile communication terminal 3 shown in FIG. 2 functions as a save area setting unit 56 for setting the save area S2. Specifically, the evacuation area setting unit 56 displays an input guide for setting the emergency escape range S3 on the display unit 51, and the user or the like directly displays the shape, position, etc. of the emergency escape range S3 based on the input guide. input. Then, the evacuation area setting unit 56 sets the area outside the emergency evacuation range S3 as the evacuation area S2 in the work area S1, and stores the evacuation data including the shape, position, etc. in the emergency evacuation range S3 and the evacuation area S2. The setting of the evacuation area S2 is completed in the form of being stored in the unit 54.

The in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 of the tractor 1 receives a predetermined evacuation instruction from the mobile communication terminal 3 side during work while the tractor 1 is automatically driven in the work area S1 to perform the work. It is determined whether or not the current position of 1 is within the emergency escape range S3. Then, the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 of the tractor 1 located in the emergency escape range S3 has the evacuation area S2 preset by the evacuation area setting unit 56 from the current position in the work area S1 as in the first embodiment. The automatic evacuation process for evacuating the tractor 1 to the evacuation area S2 is executed in the form of automatically traveling the tractor 1 along the evacuation route P2 leading to.
On the other hand, the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 of the tractor 1 located in the evacuation area S2 outside the emergency escape range S3 stops the tractor 1 in the evacuation area S2 at the current position.
With such a configuration, the automatic evacuation process is executed in response to the input of the evacuation instruction, so that all of the plurality of tractors 1 being worked in the emergency evacuation range S3 can be quickly and with little effort. It becomes possible to evacuate to the outside evacuation area S2.

[Another Embodiment]
Other embodiments of the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the configurations of the respective embodiments described below are not limited to being applied independently, but can also be applied in combination with the configurations of other embodiments.

(1) The configuration of the work vehicle can be changed in various ways.
For example, the work vehicle may be configured to have a hybrid specification including an engine 9 and an electric motor for traveling, or may be configured to have an electric specification including an electric motor for traveling instead of the engine 9. ..
For example, the work vehicle may be configured as a semi-crawler specification having left and right crawlers instead of the left and right rear wheels 6 as a traveling portion.
For example, the work vehicle may be configured with rear wheel steering specifications in which the left and right rear wheels 6 function as steering wheels.

(2) In the above embodiment, the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 on the tractor 1 side automatically travels the tractor 1 along the evacuation route P2 generated by the travel route generation unit 53 on the mobile communication terminal 3 side in the automatic evacuation process. However, the evacuation route P2 may be generated by the in-vehicle electronic control unit 18 by itself, or the tractor 1 may be automatically driven while sequentially changing the evacuation route S2 according to the situation. I do not care. Further, the generation of the evacuation route P2 may be omitted, and the tractor 1 may be automatically driven and retracted to the evacuation area S2 by another method.

<Supplementary note of invention>
The first feature configuration of the present invention is an automatic traveling system including a control unit for automatically traveling the working vehicle based on the current position of the working vehicle measured by using a satellite positioning system.
Equipped with a save area setting unit that sets the save area
The control unit automatically runs the work vehicle in response to the input of the evacuation instruction and executes an automatic evacuation process for evacuation to the evacuation area set by the evacuation area setting unit.

According to this configuration, the control unit automatically runs the work vehicle along the work path for work until the evacuation instruction is input, and when the evacuation instruction is input at that time, the control unit automatically runs. Evacuation processing can be executed. Then, in this automatic evacuation process, for example, the work vehicle is automatically driven along the evacuation route from the current position to the evacuation area set by the evacuation area setting unit, and the work vehicle is automatically driven and evacuated to the evacuation area. Can be made to.
Therefore, according to the present invention, in the automatic traveling system for automatically traveling the work vehicle, the work vehicle is quickly and with little effort to be retracted to an arbitrary evacuation area even when the work vehicle is automatically traveled for work. It is possible to provide a technology that can be made to.

The second characteristic configuration of the present invention includes a mobile communication terminal capable of wireless communication with each of the control units of the plurality of work vehicles.
The point is that the mobile communication terminal is configured to be able to input evacuation instructions to the control units of each of the plurality of work vehicles at the same time.

According to this configuration, even when a plurality of work vehicles are automatically driven to perform work, a single operation on a common mobile communication terminal can be applied to each control unit of the plurality of work vehicles. On the other hand, by inputting an evacuation instruction, the plurality of work vehicles can be evacuated to a preset evacuation area.

The third characteristic configuration of the present invention includes a time limit in which the evacuation instruction is allowed as the time required for evacuation to the evacuation area.
When the control unit starts executing the automatic evacuation process, the work vehicle is evacuated to the evacuation area based on the distance from the current position of the work vehicle to the evacuation area and the time limit. The point is to set the evacuation running speed, which is the running speed.

According to this configuration, when the evacuation instruction is input and the automatic evacuation process is executed, the control unit has a time limit based on the time limit included in the evacuation instruction and the distance from the current position of the work vehicle to the evacuation area. It is possible to obtain the evacuation lower limit traveling speed, which is the lower limit of the traveling speed of the work vehicle required to reach the evacuation area by. Then, the control unit sets the traveling speed of the work vehicle when the work vehicle is automatically driven to the evacuation area by executing the automatic evacuation process to be equal to or higher than the determined evacuation lower limit traveling speed, and sets the work vehicle to the evacuation area. It is possible to reliably arrive at the evacuation area by the time limit.

In the fourth feature configuration of the present invention, in addition to the third feature configuration, the operation in which the control unit automatically travels toward the retracted region when the retracted traveling speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined working traveling speed. The point is to keep the vehicle working.

According to this configuration, when the evacuation running speed of the work vehicle during automatic running toward the evacuation area is equal to or lower than the work running speed, which is the running speed of the working vehicle, for example, the control unit is set in the evacuation area. It is possible to continue the work to the work vehicle that is heading for automatic traveling, and it is possible to reduce the decrease in work efficiency due to the evacuation of the work vehicle.

In the fifth feature configuration of the present invention, the evacuation area setting unit accepts an input of an emergency escape range in the work area where the work vehicle is automatically driven to perform work, and the evacuation area setting unit is out of the emergency escape range in the work area. The point is to set the area of the above as the evacuation area.

The evacuation area setting unit may be configured to directly accept and set the evacuation area setting regardless of the work area in which the work vehicle works, but according to this configuration, the evacuation instruction is given in the work area. At the time of input, the other range in the work area can be set as the evacuation area in a form of accepting the input of the emergency escape range to be escaped.
As a result, when the evacuation command is input, the automatic evacuation process can be executed only for the work vehicle working within the emergency evacuation range, and the evacuation can be reliably escaped from the emergency evacuation range.

In the sixth characteristic configuration of the present invention, the control unit automatically drives the work vehicle in response to the input of the evacuation release instruction to the evacuation start position, which is the position of the work vehicle at the start of the automatic evacuation process. The point is to execute the automatic return processing to restore.

According to this configuration, the control unit can execute the automatic return process when the save release instruction is input. Then, in this automatic return processing, for the work vehicle retracted to the evacuation area, for example, from that position to the evacuation start position which is the position of the work vehicle at the start of the automatic evacuation process stored in advance. The work vehicle can be returned to the evacuation start position in the form of automatically traveling the work vehicle along the return route, and the work vehicle can be automatically traveled from that state to resume the work.

1 Tractor (working vehicle)
18 In-vehicle electronic control unit (control unit)
52 Terminal electronic control unit (control unit)
P2 Evacuation route P3 Return route S1 Work area S2 Evacuation area S3 Emergency escape range

Claims (5)

A travel route generator that generates a target travel route for automatically traveling the work vehicle based on the current position of the work vehicle, and a travel route generation unit.
It is equipped with a save area setting unit that sets the save area.
The travel route generation unit automatically travels the work vehicle as the target travel route in accordance with the input of the evacuation instruction in addition to the work route for work, and moves to the evacuation area set by the evacuation area setting unit. Generate an evacuation route to evacuate,
Route generation system. When the evacuation travel speed corresponding to the evacuation route is equal to or less than the work travel speed corresponding to the work route immediately before the evacuation route is generated, the travel speed of the work vehicle in the evacuation route is set to the work travel speed. do,
The route generation system according to claim 1. When the evacuation travel speed corresponding to the evacuation route is larger than the work travel speed corresponding to the work route immediately before the evacuation route is generated, the travel speed of the work vehicle in the evacuation route is set to be equal to or higher than the evacuation travel speed. Set,
The route generation system according to claim 1 or 2. The evacuation instruction includes a time limit allowed as the time required for evacuation to the evacuation area.
The evacuation running speed is set based on the distance from the current position of the work vehicle to the evacuation area and the time limit.
The route generation system according to claim 2 or 3. The travel route generation unit generates the evacuation route so that the travel distance between the current position of the work vehicle and the evacuation region is the shortest distance.
The route generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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