JP2022173259A - field work machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a field work machine capable of efficiently continuing automatic travel control.

SOLUTION: A field work machine comprises: a path setting part for setting a target movement path LM where a travel machine body C travels; an automatic travel control part for performing automatic travel control so that the travel machine body C travels along the target movement path LM; and an operation tool for outputting an operation signal when being operated manually. The automatic travel control part finishes the automatic travel control when at least any of switching to a non-work state of a work unit based on manual operation to a work operation tool, and revolving at a ridge based on manual operation to a steering operation tool, when no operation signal is output, and executes the automatic travel control even when any of switching to the non-work state of the work unit and revolving at the ridge is detected, when the operation signal is output.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

COPYRIGHT: (C)2023,JPO&INPIT

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a field work machine that automatically travels along a target movement route in a field.

For example, in Patent Document 1, a traveling machine that travels for work in a field (code "C" in the document), a steering operation tool that can steer the traveling machine ("steering handle 43" in the document), and a traveling machine Detecting means for detecting the edge of the field in front of the machine ("furrow edge detection module 81" in the document) and a route setting unit ("running route calculation unit 85" in the document) for setting the route for the traveling machine to travel. and an automatic travel control unit (“automatic steering unit 82” in the literature) that automatically controls travel so that the travel machine travels along the route. The distance between the traveling aircraft and the ridge area is detected based on the detection means, and based on the detection, the approach and arrival of the ridge area are notified, and commands such as deceleration and stopping of the traveling aircraft can be output. It is configured as

JP 2017-123829 A

In the field work vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a command to decelerate or stop the traveling machine is output based on the detection of the ridgeline area, the traveling machine travels by human operation after that. However, in a configuration in which automatic travel control ends and is switched to manual operation while the field work vehicle is traveling for work, there is a risk that the work trajectory will be disturbed at a location where the traveling machine body approaches the edge of the field. For this reason, if the passenger can confirm the intention to stop at the edge of the ridge ahead, it is desirable that the automatic travel control is continued without ending even when the traveling machine approaches the edge of the ridge in the field.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a field work machine capable of efficiently continuing automatic travel control.

The field working machine of the present invention is
A traveling body that travels for work in a field,
a working device that performs work on the field;
a steering operation tool capable of steering the traveling machine body;
a work operating tool capable of switching the working device between a working state and a non-working state;
a route setting unit that sets a target movement route for the traveling machine body to travel;
an automatic travel control unit that performs automatic travel control so that the traveling machine body travels along the target movement route;
and an operation tool that outputs an operation signal when manually operated,
When the operation signal is not output, the automatic travel control unit switches the work device to the non-working state based on the manual operation of the work operation tool, and the ridge based on the manual operation of the steering operation tool. When at least one of edge turning is detected to end the automatic travel control and the operation signal is output, the working device is switched to the non-working state and the edge edge turning is performed. The automatic travel control is executed even when at least one of is detected.
In addition, a traveling body that travels for work in a field,
a steering operation tool capable of steering the traveling machine body;
a detection means for detecting a ridge in a field in front of the traveling machine body;
a distance calculation means capable of calculating the distance between the ridge and the traveling machine based on the detection of the ridge of the field by the detection means;
a route setting unit that sets a target movement route for the traveling machine body to travel;
an automatic travel control unit that performs automatic travel control so that the traveling machine body travels along the target movement route;
and an operation tool capable of outputting an operation signal by manual operation,
The automatic travel control unit is characterized by executing the automatic travel control when the operation signal is output.

According to the present invention, since the operation signal is configured to be able to be output by manual operation of the operation tool, and the configuration is such that the automatic travel control is executed based on the operation signal, the automatic travel control is executed according to the intention of the passenger. The intention of the passenger to stop at the edge of the ridge can be detected by the operation signal. In addition, since the operation tool is configured to output an operation signal, it is possible to have a configuration in which the operation signal is not uniquely output even when the operation tool is manually operated. Therefore, it becomes easier to prevent continuation of the automatic cruise control due to an erroneous operation by the passenger. As a result, a field work machine equipped with means for detecting the rider's intention to stop at the edge of a ridge, and capable of continuing automatic travel control without ending even when the traveling machine approaches the edge of a ridge in a field. Realized.

In this configuration,
The automatic travel control unit terminates the automatic travel control based on the detection of the edge of the ridge by the detection means when the operation signal is not output, and the detection means detects the ridge when the operation signal is output. It is preferable to execute the automatic travel control even when the edge is detected.

According to this configuration, even when the detection means detects that the vehicle is approaching the edge of the ridge, the passenger can continue the automatic travel control by manually operating the operating tool. Therefore, the driver can continue the automatic travel control until the edge of the ridge while confirming the edge of the ridge of the field.

In this configuration,
When the operation signal is not output, the automatic travel control unit decelerates at least the vehicle speed of the traveling body based on the edge detection by the detection means, and when the operation signal is output, the detection means It is preferable to execute the automatic travel control even when the edge of the ridge is detected.

With this configuration, when the detection means detects the approach of the ridge, at least the vehicle speed of the traveling machine body is decelerated. Therefore, the running of the traveling machine body on the edge of the ridge of the field becomes more suitable, and the rider can easily confirm the edge of the ridge on the field. In addition, even when the detecting means detects the approach of the ridge, it is possible to configure the automatic travel control to continue until the ridge while the vehicle speed of the traveling machine body is decelerated.

In this configuration,
The automatic travel control unit executes the automatic travel control while the operation signal is being output even when the edge of the ridge is detected by the detection means, and when the operation signal stops. It is preferable to terminate the automatic travel control.

With this configuration, for example, when the level of the operation signal is equal to or higher than a certain value, the automatic running control can be continued, and the continuation and termination of the dynamic running control can be performed with a simple circuit configuration.

In this configuration,
When the operation signal is not output, the automatic travel control unit terminates the automatic travel control when the distance to the ridge detected by the detection means reaches a first set distance, and outputs the operation signal. In this case, the automatic travel control is executed even if the distance to the edge of the ridge detected by the detection means reaches the first set distance, and the distance to the edge of the ridge is shorter than the first set distance. It is preferable to end the automatic travel control when the second set distance is reached.

According to this configuration, the detection of the edge of the ridge by the detection means is made up of two stages of the first set distance and the second set distance. When the traveling machine body is positioned between the first set distance and the second set distance, the rider can operate the operating tool to continue automatic travel control while checking the edge of the field. In addition, when the traveling aircraft is located closer to the ridge than the second set distance, the automatic traveling control is forcibly terminated. The risk of coming into contact with the ridge is avoided.

In this configuration,
In a state in which the distance between the ridge and the traveling machine body is shorter than the first set distance, the automatic traveling control unit executes the automatic traveling control while the operation signal is being output, It is preferable to end the automatic travel control when the operation signal stops.

With this configuration, for example, when the level of the operation signal is equal to or higher than a certain value, the automatic running control can be continued, and the continuation and termination of the dynamic running control can be performed with a simple circuit configuration.

In this configuration,
A notification unit that notifies various states of the traveling machine body is further provided,
The reporting unit is configured to report a state in which the separation distance between the ridge and the traveling machine body is shorter than the first set distance,
It is preferable that the automatic travel control is executed by starting the manual operation of the operating tool after the start of the notification by the notification unit.

According to this configuration, the passenger is notified that the traveling machine body is positioned between the first set distance and the second set distance. By operating the tool, it becomes possible to continue the automatic travel control. That is, with this configuration, it is possible to detect the passenger's intention to stop at the edge of a ridge.

In this configuration,
It is preferable that the operation tool is configured to output the operation signal while the manual operation of the operation tool is continued, and to stop outputting the operation signal when the manual operation is stopped. be.

With this configuration, for example, when the operation tool is continued to be operated, an operation signal having a level equal to or higher than a certain value is output, and when the level of the operation signal is equal to or higher than the certain value, automatic travel control can be continued. This makes it possible to easily configure the output of the operation signal in conjunction with the operation of the operation tool.

In this configuration,
It is preferable that the vehicle speed of the traveling machine body is decelerated by the operation of the operating tool, and the vehicle speed of the traveling machine body continues to be decelerated while the output of the operation signal continues.

With this configuration, even when the traveling machine is approaching the edge of the ridge, the rider can continue the automatic travel control while confirming the edge of the ridge in the field, and can easily determine the end timing of the automatic travel control.

In this configuration,
When the traveling machine body travels by alternately repeating the work travel along the preset travel route and the turning travel toward the next target travel route, when the operation tool is operated once It is preferable that the automatic traveling control is started when the traveling machine body is parallel to the movement route immediately after the traveling machine body starts the work traveling after performing the turning traveling.

With this configuration, after the automatic travel control along one target travel route is completed, the automatic travel control along the next target travel route can be performed with a single operation, so the frequency of operation of the operation tool by the passenger is reduced, and the annoyance received by the passenger is reduced.

In this configuration,
The steering operation tool is a handle,
It is preferable that the automatic travel control is started after the steering angle of the steering wheel is within a preset angle range and the traveling machine body has traveled a preset distance after the start of the work travel.

With this configuration, automatic travel control can be started only by the passenger operating the steering wheel to adjust the traveling body after the traveling body turns at the edge of a ridge. This further reduces the annoyance of the passenger.

It is the whole rice transplanter side view. It is the whole rice transplanter top view. It is a front view of a rice transplanter. It is a block diagram which shows a control structure. It is an explanatory diagram of a plan view of the entire field showing the operation of the automatic travel control. FIG. 10 is a plan view explanatory diagram showing the operation of automatic travel control in a plurality of fields; FIG. 3 is a plan view explanatory diagram of automatic travel control along a target movement route; FIG. 10 is a graph diagram showing a logic graph of switching of traveling modes when determining a state of approaching a ridge. FIG. 10 is a graph diagram showing a logic graph of switching of traveling modes in a state of approaching a ridge. FIG. 10 is a graph diagram showing a logic graph of switching of traveling modes in a state of approaching a ridge. FIG. 10 is a graph diagram showing a logic graph of switching of traveling modes in a state of approaching a ridge. FIG. 10 is a graph diagram showing a logic graph of switching of traveling modes in a state of approaching a ridge. FIG. 10 is a graph diagram showing a logic graph of switching of traveling modes in a state of approaching a ridge.

[Basic configuration of field work machine]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, a ride-on type rice transplanter will be described as an example of the field working machine of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the arrow F indicates the front side of the traveling body C, the arrow B indicates the rear side of the traveling body C, the arrow L indicates the left side of the traveling body C, and the left side of the traveling body C. An arrow R indicates the right side of the traveling body C.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the riding-type rice transplanter has a traveling body C having a pair of left and right steering wheels 10 and a pair of left and right rear wheels 11, and is capable of planting seedlings in a field. A seedling planting device W as a working device is provided. A pair of left and right steering wheels 10 are provided on the front side of the traveling body C and are configured to be able to freely change the direction of the traveling body C, and a pair of left and right rear wheels 11 are provided on the rear side of the traveling body C. It is The seedling planting device W is connected to the rear end of the traveling machine body C so as to be vertically movable via a link mechanism 21 that is vertically moved by the expansion and contraction of a hydraulic cylinder 20 for vertical movement.

A front part of the traveling machine body C is provided with an openable bonnet 12 . A bar-shaped center mascot 14 is provided at the tip of the bonnet 12 as a reference for traveling along index lines (not shown) drawn on the field by the marker device 33 . The traveling body C is provided with a body frame 15 extending in the front-rear direction, and a support column frame 16 is erected on the front part of the body frame 15 .

An engine 13 is provided inside the bonnet 12 . Although not described in detail, the power of the engine 13 is transmitted to the steered wheels 10 and the rear wheels 11 via a transmission provided in the body, and the power after the speed change is transmitted to an electric motor-driven planted clutch (not shown). is transmitted to the seedling planting device W via.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the seedling planting device W includes four transmission cases 22, eight rotation cases 23, a ground leveling float 25, a seedling platform 26, and a marker device 33. and is provided. The rotating case 23 is rotatably supported on the left and right sides of the rear portion of each transmission case 22 . A pair of rotary planting arms 24 are provided at both ends of each rotary case 23 . The ground leveling float 25 is for leveling the surface of the field, and the seedling planting apparatus W is provided with a plurality of the ground leveling floats 25 . Mat-like seedlings for planting are placed on the seedling placing table 26 . The marker devices 33 are provided on the left and right sides of the seedling planting device W, and form index lines (not shown) on the surface of the field.

The seedling planting device W rotates each rotary case 23 by the power transmitted from the transmission case 22 while driving the seedling placement table 26 to reciprocate and laterally feed the seedling placement table 26 to the left and right. Seedlings are alternately taken out by an arm 24 and planted on the surface of a field. The seedling planting apparatus W is of an eight-row planting type in which seedlings are planted by planting arms 24 provided on eight rotating cases 23 . The seedling planting apparatus W may be of a four-row planting type, a six-row planting type, a seven-row planting type, or a ten-row planting type.

Although not described in detail, the marker device 33 is configured to be switchable between an operating posture and a retracted posture. In the operating posture, the marker device 33 touches the paddy field as the traveling machine body C travels and forms an index line (not shown) on the paddy field corresponding to the next work process. In the retracted posture, the marker device 33 moves upward from the surface of the field. The orientation of the marker device 33 is switched by an electric motor (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the left and right sides of the bonnet 12 of the traveling body C are provided with a plurality of (for example, four) normal spare seedling stands 28 and a spare seedling stand 29. there is Usually, the spare seedling stand 28 is configured so that spare seedlings for replenishing the seedling planting device W can be placed thereon. The spare seedling stand 29 is configured as a rail type on which spare seedlings for replenishing the seedling planting device W can be placed. Left and right side portions of the bonnet 12 of the traveling machine body C are provided with a pair of left and right spare seedling frames 30 as tall frame members for supporting the normal spare seedling stands 28 and the spare seedling stands 29, respectively. Upper portions of the frames 30 are connected to each other by a connecting frame 31 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the central portion of the traveling body C is provided with a riding section 40 in which various driving operations are performed. The riding section 40 includes a driver's seat 41 , a steering handle 43 as a steering operation tool provided in the steering unit U, a main shift lever 44 , and an operation lever 45 . A driver's seat 41 is provided in the central portion of the traveling body C and is configured so that a passenger can sit thereon. The steering handle 43 is configured such that the steering wheel 10 can be steered manually. The main shift lever 44 is configured to be capable of switching between forward and backward travel and changing the running speed. A control lever 45 is used to operate the seedling planting device W to move up and down and to switch between the left and right marker devices 33 . A steering handle 43 , a main shift lever 44 , an operating lever 45 , and the like are provided above a control tower 42 located on the front side of the driver's seat 41 . A boarding step 46 is provided at the foot portion of the boarding section 40 . The boarding step 46 also extends on both left and right sides of the bonnet 12 .

When the operation lever 45 is operated to the raised position, a planting clutch (not shown) is disengaged and the power transmission to the seedling planting device W is cut off, and the lifting hydraulic cylinder 20 is actuated to raise the seedling planting device W. , the left and right marker devices 33 (see FIG. 1) are operated to the retracted posture. When the operation lever 45 is operated to the lowered position, the seedling planting device W descends and comes to a state of being stopped in contact with the paddy surface. When the operation lever 45 is operated to the right marker position in this lowered state, the right marker device 33 changes from the retracted posture to the active posture. When the operation lever 45 is operated to the left marker position, the left marker device 33 changes from the retracted posture to the active posture.

When starting the rice planting work, the passenger operates the operation lever 45 to lower the seedling planting device W and start the transmission to the seedling planting device W to start the rice planting work. When the rice planting work is to be stopped, the operation lever 45 is operated to raise the seedling planting device W, and the power transmission to the seedling planting device W is cut off.

An operation panel 47 above the control tower 42 of the boarding section 40 is provided with a display section 48 capable of displaying various information. The display unit 48 may be, for example, a touch panel type liquid crystal display. A push-type start point setting switch 49A is provided on the right side of the display section 48, and a push-type end point setting switch 49B is provided on the left side of the display section 48. FIG. Functions of the start point setting switch 49A and the end point setting switch 49B will be described later.

A grip portion of the main shift lever 44 is provided with a push-operated automatic travel switch 50 (manipulator). The automatic travel switch 50 is provided in an automatic return type, and when the passenger presses the automatic travel switch 50, an operation signal is output to command switching on/off of automatic travel control. The automatic travel switch 50 is arranged at a position where it can be pushed with, for example, a thumb while the grip portion of the main shift lever 44 is gripped by the hand.

When the steering unit U is to be automatically steered, the steering wheel 43 is rotated by driving the steering motor 57 (see FIG. 4) to change the steering angle of the steerable wheels 10 . It has become. When the automatic steering is not performed, the steering unit U can be rotated by manual operation of the steering handle 43 .

[Configuration of automatic driving control]
Next, a configuration for performing automatic travel control will be described.
As an example of a satellite positioning system (GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System) for detecting the position of the aircraft by receiving radio waves from satellites, the traveling aircraft C uses a well-known technology, GPS (Global Positioning System). , a satellite positioning unit 70 is provided for determining the position of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the satellite positioning unit 70 uses DGPS (Differential GPS: relative positioning system), but it is also possible to use RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic GPS: interferometric positioning system).

Specifically, a satellite positioning unit 70 is provided in an object (running body C) to be positioned as position detection means. The satellite positioning unit 70 has a receiving device 72 with an antenna 71 for receiving radio waves emitted from a plurality of navigation satellites orbiting the earth. The position of the receiving device 72, that is, the satellite positioning unit 70 is determined based on the information of the radio waves received from the navigation satellites.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the satellite positioning unit 70 is attached to the connecting frame 31 via a plate-like support plate 73 in a state of being positioned in the front part of the traveling body C. As shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 , the receiving device 72 is supported at a high point by the connecting frame 31 and the preliminary seedling frame 30 . As a result, there is little possibility that reception interference will occur in the receiver 72, and the reception sensitivity of radio waves in the receiver 72 can be increased.

In addition to the satellite positioning unit 70, the running body C is provided with an inertial measurement unit 74 having, for example, an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) 74A as direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the running body C. The inertial measurement unit 74 may be configured to have a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor instead of the IMU 74A. Although not shown, the inertial measurement unit 74 is provided, for example, at a lower position on the rear side of the driver's seat 41 and at a lower position in the center of the traveling machine body C in the width direction. The inertial measurement unit 74 can detect the angular velocity of the turning angle of the traveling body C, and can obtain the azimuth change angle of the body by integrating the angular velocity. Therefore, the measurement information measured by the inertial measurement unit 74 includes the azimuth information of the traveling body C. As shown in FIG. Although not described in detail, the inertial measurement unit 74 can measure not only the angular velocity of the turning angle of the traveling body C, but also the lateral inclination angle of the traveling body C, the angular velocity of the longitudinal inclination angle of the traveling body C, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the traveling body C is provided with a control device 75 . The control device 75 is configured to be switchable between an automatic driving mode in which automatic driving control is executed and a manual driving mode in which automatic driving control is not executed.

The control device 75 has a route setting section 76 , an azimuth calculation section 77 , an automatic travel control section 78 and a distance calculation section 79 . The route setting unit 76 sets a target movement route LM (see FIG. 5) along which the traveling body C should travel. Details of the azimuth calculation unit 77 will be described later. Based on the positioning data of the traveling body C measured by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the azimuth information of the traveling body C measured by the inertial measurement unit 74, the automatic traveling control unit 78 sets the traveling body C as the target. The steering motor 57 and the variable speed motor 58 are controlled so as to travel along the movement path LM. Specifically, the control device 75 has a microcomputer, and a route setting section 76, an azimuth calculation section 77, an automatic travel control section 78, and a distance calculation section 79 are configured by a control program.

A setting switch 49 is provided for setting the target travel route LM used for automatic travel control by teaching processing. The setting switch 49 includes a start point setting switch 49A for setting the start point position Ts and an end point setting switch 49B for setting the end point position Tf. As described above, the start point setting switch 49A is provided on the right side of the display section 48, and the end point setting switch 49B is provided on the left side of the display section 48. FIG.

The control device 75 includes a satellite positioning unit 70, an inertial measurement unit 74, an automatic travel switch 50, a start point setting switch 49A, an end point setting switch 49B, a steering angle sensor 60, a vehicle speed sensor 62, an obstacle detection section 63 (detection means), and the like. information is entered. The vehicle speed sensor 62 is configured, for example, to detect the vehicle speed from the rotational speed of a transmission shaft in the transmission mechanism for the rear wheels 11 . The obstacle detection units 63 are provided at the front and left and right sides of the traveling body C, and may be, for example, light wave distance sensors or image sensors. It is configured to be able to detect a steel tower or the like. Further, the detection signal of the obstacle detection section 63 is input to the distance calculation section 79 (distance calculation means), and the distance between the traveling body C and the obstacle is calculated. When an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection unit 63, the detection state is notified to the passenger by the notification unit 59, which is, for example, a buzzer or voice guidance. The control device 75 is connected to a notification unit 59, and the notification unit 59 is configured to notify the vehicle speed, engine speed, and other conditions. The notification unit 59 may be configured to be displayed on the display unit 48, or may be configured to change the blinking pattern of the LED illumination provided on the center mascot 14. FIG.

A teaching route corresponding to the target route to be automatically traveled is set by the route setting unit 76 by teaching processing based on the operation of the start point setting switch 49A and the end point setting switch 49B.

The azimuth calculation unit 77 calculates an angular deviation, that is, an azimuth deviation between the detected azimuth of the traveling body C detected by the inertial measurement unit 74 and the target azimuth LA on the target movement path LM. Then, when the control device 75 is set to the automatic traveling mode, the automatic traveling control section 78 controls the steering motor 57 so that the angular deviation becomes small. That is, the steering motor 57 is operated so that the detected position of the traveling body C detected by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the inertial measurement unit 74 is positioned on the target movement path LM.

[Target movement route]
In a paddy field, the rice transplanter alternately repeats working travel accompanied by rice planting work along a linear row planting route and ridge turning travel for moving to the next row planting route near the ridge. FIG. 5 shows a plurality of parallel target movement paths LM along the teaching path LT. In this embodiment, each of the target movement paths LM(1) to LM(6) is set by the path setting section 76 in the following procedure.

First, the rider positions the traveling machine body C at the starting point position Ts near the edge of the ridge in the field, and operates the starting point setting switch 49A. At this time, the controller 75 is set to the manual running mode. Then, while the passenger manually steers, the traveling machine body C travels along the linear shape of the ridge on the side from the start point position Ts, moves to the end point position Tf near the ridge on the opposite side, and then sets the end point. Operate the switch 49B. Thereby, the teaching process is executed. That is, the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70 at the start point position Ts and the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70 at the end point position Tf, the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf and a teaching path LT is set. A direction along this teaching path LT is set as a reference target azimuth LA. The position coordinates at the end point position Tf are based on not only the positioning data from the satellite positioning unit 70, but also the distance from the starting point position Ts based on the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the azimuth information of the traveling body C based on the inertial measurement unit 74. It may be a configuration calculated by Further, the traveling of the traveling machine body C between the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf may be working traveling accompanied by rice planting work, or may be traveling in a non-working state.

After the completion of the setting of the teaching route LT, a furrow turning travel is performed to move to a row planting route adjacent to the teaching route LT, and in this embodiment, the traveling machine body C moves to the start position Ls(1). The ridge turning travel may be performed by the passenger manually operating the steering handle 43 or may be performed by automatic turning control by the control device 75 . At this time, the control device 75 can determine that the traveling body C has turned by the detected direction of the traveling body C being reversed. The reversal of the detected orientation of the traveling body C can be detected by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the inertial measurement unit 74 .

The turning of the traveling body C may be determined by the operation of various devices other than the reversal of the detected azimuth of the traveling body C. As the operation of various devices, for example, the seedling planting device W, the leveling rotor (not shown), the leveling float 25, etc. are raised, the side clutch (not shown) is turned off, and the seedling planting device is operated. It may be the interruption of transmission to W. Also, the satellite positioning unit 70 may determine whether the traveling body C has reached the start position Ls(1).

After it is determined that the traveling machine body C has completed turning, the manual traveling mode of the control device 75 continues, and traveling by manual operation continues. During this time, the control device 75 checks the determination conditions such as the azimuth deviation of the detected azimuth of the traveling body C calculated by the azimuth calculation unit 77, the orientation of the steered wheels 10, the steering angle of the steering wheel 43, and the automatic driving mode. It is determined whether or not it is possible to switch to Then, if it is possible to switch to the automatic traveling mode, the target movement route LM(1) is set by the route setting unit 76 manually or automatically, and the control device 75 switches from the manual traveling mode to the automatic traveling mode. mode. Then, automatic travel control along the target travel route LM(1) is started. The target travel route LM(1) is set along the azimuth of the target azimuth LA in a state adjacent to the teaching route LT, and is the target travel route LM on which the traveling machine body C first travels for work after the teaching process.

The automatic travel control continues until near the end point Lf(1) on the opposite side of the starting point Ls(1) of the target movement path LM(1), and the obstacle detection unit 63 detects the edge of the ridge. However, the configuration may be such that the automatic travel control is terminated when the seedling planting device W rises or the traveling machine body C is detected to turn around a furrow.

When the traveling body C reaches the end position Lf(1) of the target travel route LM(1), a target travel route LM(2) adjacent to the unworked area side of the target travel route LM(1) is set. Then, the passenger operates the steering handle 43 to the unworked area side of the target movement route LM(1) to perform a turn along the ridge, and the traveling machine body C moves to the starting point position Ls(2). Note that the ridge edge turning travel may be performed by automatic turning control by the control device 75 .

Thereafter, as with the previous target travel route LM(1), automatic travel control is started along the target travel route LM(2) by manual operation or automatically after the determination condition is established after turning. and the traveling body C travels for work. After the traveling body C reaches the end point position Lf(2) of the target movement path LM(2), the ridge The setting of the target travel route LM after the front turning travel and the work travel are repeated. That is, each target moving route LM is set one by one. Furthermore, when the work traveling along all the target movement routes LM is completed, the rice planting work is performed while traveling along the ridge of the field, and the rice planting work in one field is completed.

[Setting of target travel route without teaching travel]
As shown in FIG. 6, when a plurality of farm fields are divided and arranged continuously with a furrow in between, there is a possibility that the routes of work travel in each farm field will be substantially the same. When the teaching travel is performed in the field F1 shown in FIG. 6 and the teaching route LT as shown in FIG. 5 is set, the target bearing LA calculated based on the teaching route LT is used as it is in other fields. Often you can.

A teaching route LT indicated by a dashed line in the field F2 is on a route on which the traveling machine body C finally performs the rice planting work in the field F2 while traveling along the edge of the ridge of the field. The route LT is set adjacent to the inside of the agricultural field from the route of the round trip. When the rice transplanter completes the rice planting work in one field F1 and the traveling machine body C moves to the other field F2, first, the rider moves the traveling machine body to the starting position of the teaching route LT near the ridge of the farm field F2. Position C. When teaching travel is performed in one field F1, the rider only needs to move the traveling machine body C to the starting position of the teaching route LT in the other field F2, and there is no need for teaching travel in the field F2. Further, the traveling machine body C may be slightly displaced from the teaching route LT of the field F2. When the passenger operates, for example, the end point setting switch 49B, the satellite positioning unit 70 is used to measure the position coordinates at the starting position of the teaching route LT, and to set the target movement route LM in the field F2. A position coordinate at the starting position of the teaching path LT is preset as the origin ZP.

Since the target orientation LA is stored in the route setting unit 76 during work travel in the field F1, the target movement route LM along the direction of the target orientation LA is set for the farm field F2 as well. At this time, the target movement path LM of the field F2 is set so as to be displaced from the starting position of the teaching path LT in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the target azimuth LA. That is, after the origin ZP is preset at the starting position of the teaching route LT, the target movement route LM(1) parallel to the teaching route LT for the first work traveling of the traveling machine body C in the field F2 is the seedling planting. They are set apart by the working width of the apparatus W.

In general, DGPS is inferior to RTK-GPS in positioning accuracy, and the error range of DGPS may extend to several meters. However, it is known that when positioning is performed between two points by DGPS in a short period of time, such as ten seconds, the relative positional error between the two points is extremely small. That is, when calculating the relative distance between two points in a short time, even positioning by DGPS can obtain an accuracy comparable to positioning by RTK-GPS. In this embodiment, using such a characteristic of DGPS, the initial target movement path LM(1) is set after the origin ZP is preset at the starting position of the teaching path LT. Then, the traveling machine body C moves to the starting position Ls of the first target movement path LM(1). The movement of the traveling body C to the starting position Ls may be performed by the passenger manually operating the steering handle 43, or by automatic turning control by the control device 75. Also good.

After the traveling machine body C moves to the starting point position Ls(1), the traveling machine body C travels along the target movement route LM(1) while the control device 75 is in the manual traveling mode, and the traveling position (own machine NM) are positioned over time by the satellite positioning unit 70 . The control device 75 calculates the positional deviation width between the position coordinates when the origin ZP is preset and the machine position NM. Further, when the positional deviation width matches or substantially matches the working width of the seedling planting device W, and the detected orientation of the traveling machine body C matches or substantially matches the target orientation LA, the control device 75 switches to the automatic travel mode. It is determined that the switching is possible. Then, the control device 75 is switched from the manual travel mode to the automatic travel mode by manual operation or automatically, and automatic travel control along the target travel route LM(1) is started.

After that, similarly to the rice planting work described above based on FIG. is performed, and the rice planting work in the field F2 is completed. In some cases, the traveling direction of the traveling machine C on the target movement paths LM(1) to LM(3) of the field F2 and the traveling direction of the traveling machine C on the target movement path LM of the field F1 are reversed. However, there is no problem if the respective target movement paths LM(1) to LM(3) of the field F2 are along the target orientation LA.

[Regarding automatic travel control along the target movement route]
As shown in FIG. 7, the rice planting work in the field is performed while repeating work travel along each target travel route LM and turning travel along the edge of the ridge when moving to the adjacent target travel route LM. The start point position Ls and the end point position Lf are separated from the ridge of the field by a distance L1 (second set distance), and are locations where the rice planting work on the target movement route LM is completed. An area located inside the farm field from the start point Ls and the end point Lf is a work traveling area A1, in which a plurality of target movement routes LM are set, and the traveling machine body C travels for work along each of the target movement routes LM. This is the area to do. The area located on the ridge side of the start point Ls and the end point Lf is the headland area A2 where the rice planting work is performed in the last round trip. Turning is performed in the headland area A2.

As shown in the target travel route LM(n) in FIG. 7, each target travel route LM is composed of routes lm1, lm2, and lm3. A route lm1 is a route along which the traveling machine body C travels before the control device 75 is switched from the manual travel mode to the automatic travel mode, and includes a starting point Ls and a position separated from the starting point Ls toward the inside of the field by a distance R1. , is set over. A route lm2 is a route on which automatic travel control is performed while the control device 75 is switched to the automatic travel mode. A route lm3 is a traveling route of the traveling machine body C when the traveling machine body C is approaching the edge of the ridge of the field, and extends from a position separated by a distance L2 from the ridge near the end point position Lf to the end point position Lf. set. Other target movement paths LM(n−1) and LM(n+1) shown in FIG. 7 have the same configuration.

The turning of the ridge in the field is basically performed by the driver operating the steering handle 43, and the control device 75 performs the ridge turning determination process. At this time, when it is determined that the direction of the traveling machine body C has been reversed or that the traveling machine body C has reached the starting point position Ls of the next target movement path LM(n), the seedling planting device W descends. A configuration in which the rice-transplanting work is started may also be used.

After the traveling machine body C turns along the ridge and moves from the target movement path LM(n−1) to the starting point position Ls of the next target movement path LM(n), when the conditions for the automatic driving control are satisfied, the automatic driving control is performed. is started. When the control device 75 is manually switched from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode, the notification unit 59 notifies whether the control device 75 is in a state capable of being switched to the automatic driving mode. Then, when the passenger operates the automatic travel switch 50 while being notified by the notification unit 59, the automatic travel control is started. The conditions for starting the automatic cruise control are as follows.

First, the first condition is that the traveling machine body C travels by manual operation over a preset distance from the start position Ls of the next target movement path LM(n). That is, in FIG. 7, the controller 75 is manually operated to travel along a route lm1 from the starting position Ls of the target travel route LM(n) to a position P1 spaced a distance R1 inside the field, and the controller 75 enters the manual travel mode. It has become. In this state, the forward direction of the aircraft coincides or substantially coincides with the target azimuth LA of the target movement path LM, and the steering angle of the steering wheel 43 is within a preset range (including the straight-ahead position). is the second condition. The conditions for starting automatic travel control are the above-mentioned first condition and second condition. The condition may include that the relative distance in the work width direction between the position coordinates measured immediately before and the work width of the seedling planting apparatus W substantially coincides.

In this state, when the passenger operates the automatic travel switch 50, the control device 75 is switched from the manual travel mode to the automatic travel mode. In addition, it is not limited to the operation of the automatic running switch 50, and for example, the operation of the start point setting switch 49A and the end point setting switch 49B, the operation of the planting clutch (not shown), the leveling of the leveling float 25, the side clutch (not shown) The mode may be switched by turning on operation, lowering operation of the seedling planting device W, operating operation of the marker device 33, operation of a pumper lever (not shown), or the like.

However, in order to satisfy the conditions for starting such automatic driving control, there are many factors that depend on the skill level of the driver, and the unfamiliar driver is forced to bear a burden. In particular, even if the condition is momentarily met, if the condition is not fulfilled at the timing when the passenger operates the automatic travel switch 50, there is a possibility that the automatic travel control will not start as intended by the passenger. Furthermore, as described above, when the relative distance between two points is calculated in a short period of time based on DGPS positioning, the accuracy of the relative distance between the two points deteriorates as the time difference in positioning between the two points increases. For this reason, in the configuration for calculating the positional deviation error between the next target movement path LM(n) and the traveling body C based on the relative distance to the position coordinates measured immediately before the edge of the ridge, automatic steering control is desired to be satisfied within a certain period of time. For this reason, in this embodiment, the automatic travel control along the target travel route LM can be automatically started.

An automatic start switch 51 is provided separately from the automatic travel switch 50 . Although not shown, the automatic start switch 51 is composed of, for example, a toggle switch or a seesaw switch. For this reason, the automatic start switch 51 has an automatic start mode in which the automatic travel control is automatically started even if the automatic travel switch 50 is not operated, and a manual start mode in which the automatic travel control is started by the operation of the automatic travel switch 50. and can be switched between. With the passenger once setting the automatic start switch 51 to the automatic start mode, after it is determined that the traveling body C has turned around a furrow, when the conditions for starting the automatic travel control described above are satisfied, the control device 75 is manually operated. Driving mode can be switched to automatic driving mode. As a result, automatic travel control is started along the next target travel route LM(n). Note that the automatic start switch 51 is not limited to a toggle switch or a seesaw switch, and may be a push button type switch.

After the control device 75 is switched to the automatic travel mode, the traveling body C travels forward along the route lm2 while the seedling planting device W performs the rice planting work, thereby performing work travel under automatic travel control. An obstacle in front of the traveling machine body C is detected by the obstacle detection unit 63, and in this embodiment, a ridge of a field is detected as the obstacle in front of the traveling machine body C. FIG. A distance calculation unit 79 calculates the distance between the traveling machine body C and the edge of the ridge of the field. When the traveling machine body C reaches the position P2 separated from the ridge of the field by the distance L2 (first set distance), the distance calculation unit 79 determines that the ridge of the field is near. The position P2 is set at a distance of, for example, about 8 meters, but is configured to be changeable according to the vehicle speed of the traveling machine body C. For example, when the vehicle speed of the traveling machine body C is low, the distance is about 5 meters. is set to

As shown in FIG. 8, when the ridge approaching state is ON, the distance calculator 79 has determined that the ridge of the field is close. When the ridge approaching state is ON, the traveling body C is in a state of traveling along the route lm3 in FIG. At this time, the notification by the notification unit 59 may be a sound such as a buzzer, lighting or blinking of the LED illumination provided in the center mascot 14, or displayed on the display unit 48. It can be.

In FIG. 8, when the passenger does not operate the automatic travel switch 50, the operating state of the operating tool is OFF, and the output state of the operating signal remains OFF. When the passenger does not operate the automatic travel switch 50 for a preset time T1, the control device 75 is switched to the manual travel mode and the automatic travel control ends (automatic travel mode: OFF). . However, even if the distance calculation unit 79 determines that the ridge of the field is approaching due to the passenger performing the following manual operation, the automatic travel control can be continuously executed without ending. Become.

As shown in FIG. 9, after the ridge approaching state is switched from OFF to ON and before a preset time T1 elapses, the passenger operates the automatic travel switch 50 to generate an operation signal. is output. That is, in FIG. 9, before time T1 elapses, the operation state of the operation tool switches from OFF to ON, and the output state of the operation signal switches from OFF to ON. By inputting an operation signal to the control device 75, the automatic driving mode of the control device 75 continues without ending.

As the passenger continues to operate the automatic travel switch 50, the output of the operation signal continues. Therefore, in a state in which the traveling machine body C is located on the side where the ridge of the field is located from the position P2, the automatic travel control is continued while the rider confirms the ridge of the field. When the passenger stops operating the automatic travel switch 50 at an arbitrary timing, the operation state of the operating tool is switched from ON to OFF, and the output state of the operation signal is switched from ON to OFF. That is, when the passenger stops operating the automatic travel switch 50, the output of the operation signal stops. Then, the control device 75 is switched to the manual driving mode, and the automatic driving control ends (automatic driving mode: OFF). As a result, the automatic travel control can be continued until the travel body C reaches the end position Lf regardless of whether the edge of the ridge is detected. The switching of the operation state of the operating tool is not limited to the operation of the automatic travel switch 50, and may be the operation of the start point setting switch 49A or the end point setting switch 49B, for example.

As shown in FIG. 10, when a preset time T1 elapses after the ridge approach state is switched from OFF to ON, the control device 75 is switched to the manual travel mode and the automatic travel control ends. (automatic driving mode: OFF). After that, even if the passenger operates the automatic travel switch 50 (operating state of the operating tool: ON), the operation signal is not output (output state of the operating signal: OFF). Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the passenger operates the automatic travel switch 50 (operating state of the operating tool) before the edge approach is detected, that is, when the edge approach state is OFF. : ON), and the operation signal is not output even if the operation is continued as it is (output state of the operation signal: OFF). In this case, the passenger needs to operate the automatic travel switch 50 again before the preset time T1 elapses after the edge approaching state is switched from OFF to ON. In this manner, the control device 75 is configured so that an operation signal is output when the automatic travel switch 50 is operated intentionally by the passenger when the traveling body C approaches the edge of a ridge. Even before the ridge approach state is switched from OFF to ON, if the traveling machine body C is in a state of approaching the position P2, the operation signal is output by the passenger operating the automatic travel switch 50. , the automatic driving mode of the control device 75 may be continued without ending.

Even in a state in which the automatic travel control continues due to continued operation of the automatic travel switch 50, the notification by the notification unit 59 continues. However, if the passenger feels annoyed by the excessive notification, the notification unit 59 may be configured not to perform the notification during the continuation of the automatic cruise control. Note that when the traveling machine body C reaches the headland area A2, the control device 75 is forcibly switched to the manual traveling mode, the automatic traveling control is canceled, and the traveling machine body C stops. For example, in a state in which the automatic travel control continues near the edge of a field, if the traveling machine body C does not turn or travel, the engine 13 stops and the traveling machine body C stops. As a result, even if the passenger erroneously operates the automatic travel switch 50, the traveling machine body C is prevented from coming into contact with the edge of the ridge of the field.

For example, as shown in FIG. 12, switching of the automatic driving mode from ON to OFF may be performed by a stop signal separately from the operation signal. The output state of the operation signal is set from OFF to ON by the passenger operating the automatic travel switch 50, for example, before a preset time T1 elapses after the approach state has been switched from OFF to ON. Then, the automatic driving mode is set to ON and maintained as it is. At this time, there is no need for the passenger to continue operating the automatic travel switch 50, and there is no need for the output state of the operation signal to be kept ON. Then, when the output state of the stop signal is set from OFF to ON, the automatic driving mode is switched from ON to OFF, and the automatic driving control ends. From this, for example, it is detected that the traveling machine body C reaches the end point position Lf, the output state of the stop signal is set from OFF to ON, the control device 75 is switched to the manual operation mode, and the automatic traveling control ends. configuration is possible.

When the output of the stop signal is due to the arrival of the end point position Lf, the arrival of the end point position Lf may be determined based on the positioning of the satellite positioning unit 70, or the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the inertial measurement unit 74 may be used. Further, as described below, the automatic travel control may be terminated based on a manual operation in the vicinity of the end point position Lf.

The output of the stop signal includes the operation of the start point setting switch 49A and the end point setting switch 49B, the disengaging operation of the planting clutch (not shown), the non-leveling operation of the leveling float 25, the disengaging operation of the side clutch (not shown), The configuration may be performed by raising the seedling planting device W, deactivating the marker device 33, operating a pumper lever (not shown), or the like. Further, the output of the stop signal may be stopped by stopping the traveling machine body C near the terminal position Lf. In other words, the automatic travel control should be terminated without the traveling machine body C coming into contact with the edge of the ridge of the field. If the stop signal is not output while the traveling machine body C is not turning or traveling while the automatic traveling control continues near the edge of the field, the engine 13 stops and the traveling machine body C stops.

[Another embodiment]
The present invention is not limited to the configurations exemplified in the above-described embodiments, and other representative embodiments of the present invention will be exemplified below.

[1] In the above-described embodiment, the operation signal is output when the passenger continues to operate the automatic travel switch 50 or the like. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, when the distance calculation unit 79 determines that the edge of a field is approaching, the rider operates the main shift lever 44 to reduce the vehicle speed of the traveling machine C, thereby outputting an operation signal. can be In this case, the operating state of the operating tool shown in FIGS. In other words, the configuration may be such that the control device 75 continues the automatic traveling mode and the automatic traveling control continues based on the idea that the passenger recognizes the approach of the ridge and then performs the deceleration operation. Further, when the vehicle speed of the traveling body C is increased from the low speed state, the notification unit 59 notifies, or the operation signal is stopped, the control device 75 is switched to the manual traveling mode, and the automatic traveling control ends. It may be a configuration that

The operation signal may be configured to be output based on detection of the operation of the main shift lever 44 or may be configured to be output based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 62 . In other words, if the passenger's intention to stop can be confirmed by the sensors or the vehicle speed, the method of outputting the operation signal can be appropriately selected.

[2] In the above-described embodiment, automatic travel control is automatically started when the automatic start switch 51 is set to the automatic start mode, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in FIG. 7, after the traveling body C turns from the end point Lf of the target movement path LM(n−1) to the vicinity of the starting point Ls of the next target movement path LM(n), the traveling body C If the positional deviation between C and the route lm1 is significant, the automatic travel control may not be started even if the automatic start switch 51 is set to the automatic start mode. In this case, when the passenger operates the automatic travel switch 50, the automatic travel control may be started along the target azimuth LA. At this time, the notification unit 59 may notify the passenger that the automatic travel control cannot be automatically started. The notification by the notification unit 59 may be a sound such as a buzzer, lighting or blinking of LED lighting provided in the center mascot 14, or display on the display unit 48. good. Further, the notification by the notification unit 59 may be configured to be temporarily notified, or may be configured to be constantly notified.

[3] In FIG. 9, the output of the operation signal is continued by keeping the operating state of the operating tool in the ON state, but as shown in FIG. The output state of the operation signal may be switched between ON and OFF at the timing when the operation state of the tool is switched from OFF to ON. With this configuration, the output state of the operation signal can be switched at the timing of the operation of the automatic travel switch 50 without continuing the operation of the automatic travel switch 50 . Further, there may be a process of determining whether the operation of the automatic travel switch 50 has continued for, for example, 100 milliseconds, and the operation signal may be output after the continuation is determined. As a result, malfunction due to chattering of the automatic travel switch 50 can be prevented.

[4] Although the target movement path LM in the above-described embodiment is set linearly, the present invention is also applicable to a curved target movement path LM.

[5] The present invention is applicable not only to the rice transplanter described above, but also to other direct seeding work machines including direct seeding machines and the like. Moreover, the present invention can also be applied to agricultural working machines such as tractors and combine harvesters in addition to direct seeding type working machines. Further, in the direct seeding work machine, the output of the stop signal may be stopped by disengaging the seeding clutch, raising the seeding work device, or the like. Further, in the direct seeding work machine, switching between the manual running mode and the automatic running mode of the control device 75 may be performed by engaging the seeding clutch, lowering the seeding work device, or the like.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable to field work machines that are steered along a target movement path.

43: Steering handle (steering operation tool)
59: Notification unit 63: Obstacle detection unit (detection means)
76: Route setting unit 78: Automatic travel control unit 79: Distance calculation unit (distance calculation means)
50: Automatic travel switch (operating tool)
L1: Distance (second set distance)
L2: Distance (first set distance)
C: Traveling machine LM: Target movement route

Claims (1)

A traveling body that travels for work in a field,
a working device that performs work on the field;
a steering operation tool capable of steering the traveling machine body;
a work operating tool capable of switching the working device between a working state and a non-working state;
a route setting unit that sets a target movement route for the traveling machine body to travel;
an automatic travel control unit that performs automatic travel control so that the traveling machine body travels along the target movement route;
and an operation tool that outputs an operation signal when manually operated,
When the operation signal is not output, the automatic travel control unit switches the work device to the non-working state based on the manual operation of the work operation tool, and the ridge based on the manual operation of the steering operation tool. When at least one of edge turning is detected to end the automatic travel control and the operation signal is output, the working device is switched to the non-working state and the edge edge turning is performed. A field work machine that executes the automatic travel control even when at least one of is detected.

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