JP2023026852A - Automatic traveling method, agricultural material replenishment method, automatic traveling system and automatic traveling program - Google Patents

Abstract

To set an automatically travelable area in consideration of an actual field contour.SOLUTION: An automatic travel control unit 51 allows a rice transplanter 1 to travel automatically in an automatic travel area 90 where a rice transplanter 1 can travel automatically, which is set in a field 98. When the rice transplanter 1 manually travels an area in the field 98 and outside the automatic travel area 90, an automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 sets the manually traveled area by the rice transplanter 1 as an automatic travel permission area 90a where the rice transplanter 1 can travel manually.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic driving method, an agricultural material supply method, an automatic driving system, and an automatic driving program.

2. Description of the Related Art A work vehicle that automatically travels along a work path in a field while consuming agricultural materials is known. For example, in Patent Document 1, based on the remaining amount of seedlings detected by a detection sensor provided on the seedling platform, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to supply seedlings to the seedling platform. A work vehicle is disclosed that automatically travels to an auxiliary work position set inside.

JP-A-9-154315

The automatic travelable area in the field is set smaller by a predetermined area than the actual outline of the field. This is because, for example, the outline of a field (that is, the edge of a ridge) is not linear and has unevenness, and contact with the unevenness is avoided during automatic travel. Since the area in which automatic travel is possible is set smaller than the actual contour of the farm field, even if the work vehicle automatically travels to the auxiliary work position, it cannot reach the actual contour of the farm field. It is difficult to perform auxiliary work unless the width adjustment is performed. However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200002 does not mention anything about automatic driving that considers a predetermined area.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to set an area in which automatic travel is possible in consideration of the contour of an actual field.

An automatic traveling method according to the present invention comprises a step of automatically traveling a working vehicle in an automatic traveling area set in an agricultural field, which is an area in which the working vehicle can automatically travel; setting the area in which the work vehicle manually traveled as an automatic travel permitted area in which the work vehicle can automatically travel when the work vehicle manually travels in the outer area.

An agricultural material replenishing method according to the present invention is an automatic traveling area set in a field where a working vehicle can automatically travel, while supplying agricultural materials to the agricultural field. a step of automatically traveling the work vehicle along a set work route; a step of determining whether or not the work vehicle needs to be replenished with the agricultural material during supply of the agricultural material; a step of automatically traveling the work vehicle to an end of the automatic travel area when it is determined that the work vehicle needs to be replenished; and replenishment set outside the automatic travel area from the end of the automatic travel area and setting an area in which the work vehicle manually traveled to the position as an automatic travel permission area in which the work vehicle can automatically travel.

An automatic driving system according to the present invention includes an automatic driving control section and an automatic driving permitted area setting section. The automatic travel control unit causes the work vehicle to travel automatically in an automatic travel region, which is set in the field and in which the work vehicle can travel automatically. When the work vehicle manually travels in the agricultural field and outside the automatic travel region, the automatic travel permission region setting unit sets the region in which the work vehicle manually traveled to an automatic travel region in which the work vehicle can automatically travel. Set it as a driving permitted area.

An automatic driving program according to the present invention comprises a procedure for automatically driving a work vehicle in an automatic driving area set in an agricultural field, which is an area in which the work vehicle can automatically travel; When the work vehicle manually travels in the outer region, the computer executes a procedure of setting the region in which the work vehicle manually traveled as an automatic travel permitted region in which the work vehicle can automatically travel.

According to the present invention, it is possible to set an area in which automatic travel is possible in consideration of the contour of the actual field.

1 is a schematic diagram of an agricultural material supply system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a rice transplanter according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a rice transplanter according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile communication terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a farm field and an automatic travel area according to Embodiment 1; 4 is a diagram showing an example of an automatic travel permitted area in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of an automatic travel-permitted region in Embodiment 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a working path in Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the agricultural material replenishment system according to Embodiment 1;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

<Embodiment 1>
An agricultural material supply system 100 according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an agricultural material supply system 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rice transplanter 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the rice transplanter 1 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the mobile communication terminal 7 according to the first embodiment.

Agricultural material supply system 100 includes rice transplanter 1 and mobile communication terminal 7 . The agricultural material replenishment system 100 allows the rice transplanter 1 to automatically run and to plant seedlings, etc., when an operator gives an instruction using the mobile communication terminal 7 or the like. , which is an example of an automatic driving system. In addition, the automatic traveling instruction may be performed by operating an operation member provided on the rice transplanter 1 instead of the mobile communication terminal 7 . The working vehicle is not limited to the rice transplanter 1, and may be any vehicle capable of automatically traveling in the field. Examples of working vehicles include a sowing machine that travels while sowing seeds in a field, a fertilizer applicator that travels while applying fertilizer to a field, a chemical sprayer that travels while spraying chemicals in a field, a cultivator, a combine harvester, a tractor, and the like. There is

Automatic travel means that at least steering is autonomously performed along a predetermined route by controlling a device related to travel by a control unit provided in the rice transplanter 1 . Further, in addition to steering, a configuration may be adopted in which the vehicle speed or work by a work device or the like is performed autonomously. Automatic driving includes a case where a person is on the rice transplanter 1 and a case where no person is on the rice transplanter 1. - 特許庁

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the rice transplanter 1 includes a vehicle body portion 11 , front wheels 12 , rear wheels 13 and a planting portion 14 . A pair of left and right front wheels 12 are provided with respect to the vehicle body portion 11 . Similarly, a pair of left and right rear wheels 13 are also provided with respect to the vehicle body portion 11 . Planting part 14 is an example of a working device. The working device is not limited to the planting unit 14, and may be a seeding device, a fertilizing device, a chemical spraying device, or the like.

The vehicle body portion 11 has a bonnet 21 . The bonnet 21 is provided on the front portion of the vehicle body portion 11 . An engine 22 is provided inside the bonnet 21 .

Power generated by the engine 22 is transmitted to the front wheels 12 and the rear wheels 13 via the mission case 23 . This power is also transmitted to the planting portion 14 via the transmission case 23 and a power take-off shaft (hereinafter referred to as “PTO shaft 24”) arranged at the rear portion of the vehicle body portion 11 .

The vehicle body portion 11 further includes a driver's seat 25 and a plurality of operating members. A worker can sit on the driver's seat 25 . The driver's seat 25 is arranged between the front wheels 12 and the rear wheels 13 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body portion 11 . The plurality of operating members include a steering handle 26 , a shift operating pedal 27 , a main shift lever 28 and a planted clutch lever 29 .

The steering handle 26 is a handle for the operator to steer the rice transplanter 1 . The shift operation pedal 27 is a pedal for the operator to adjust the traveling speed of the rice transplanter 1 . The main shift lever 28 is a lever that allows the operator to select, for example, "forward", "backward", and "stop". When the main transmission lever 28 is operated to the "advance" position, power is transmitted so that the rear wheel 13 rotates in the direction in which the rice transplanter 1 moves forward. On the other hand, when the main transmission lever 28 is operated to the "reverse" position, the power is driven so that the rear wheel 13 rotates in the direction to move the rice transplanter 1 backward. When the main shift lever 28 is operated to the "stop" position, power transmission to the front wheels 12 and rear wheels 13 is cut off. Note that "advance" may be divided into "low speed" for traveling inside the field and "high speed" for traveling outside the field. The planting clutch lever 29 allows the operator to select the transmission state in which the planting clutch transmits power to the PTO shaft 24 (that is, the planting portion 14) and the power transmission state that the planting clutch transmits to the PTO shaft 24 (that is, the planting portion 14). It is a lever for switching between a cutoff state in which the transmission is not performed.

The planting portion 14 is arranged behind the vehicle body portion 11 . The planting portion 14 is connected to the vehicle body portion 11 via an elevating link mechanism 31 . The lifting link mechanism 31 is composed of parallel links including a top link 31a and a lower link 31b.

In the lifting link mechanism 31, the lifting cylinder 32 of the lifting device is connected to the top link 31a. The lifting device can move the planting part 14 up and down with respect to the vehicle body part 11 by expanding and contracting the lifting cylinder 32 . In addition, although the raising/lowering cylinder 32 is a hydraulic cylinder in this embodiment, it may be an electric cylinder. Moreover, the lifting device may lift the planted portion 14 by an actuator other than the cylinder.

The planting section 14 includes a planting input case section 33 , a plurality of planting units 34 , a seedling platform 35 , a plurality of floats 36 and a spare seedling platform 37 . The planting section 14 sequentially supplies the seedlings to each planting unit 34 from the seedling mounting table 35 to continuously plant the seedlings.

Each planting unit 34 has a planting transmission case portion 41 and a rotary case portion 42 . Power is transmitted to the planted transmission case portion 41 via the PTO shaft 24 and the planted input case portion 33 .

The rotating case portion 42 is rotatably attached to the planting transmission case portion 41 . The rotating case portions 42 are arranged on both sides of the planted transmission case portion 41 in the vehicle width direction. Two planting claws 43 are attached to one side of each rotating case portion 42 in the vehicle width direction.

The two planting claws 43 are arranged in the traveling direction of the rice transplanter 1 . The two planting claws 43 are displaced as the rotary case portion 42 rotates. One row of seedlings is planted by displacing the two planting claws 43 .

The seedling mounting base 35 is arranged in front and above the plurality of planting units 34 . A seedling mat can be placed on the seedling mounting table 35 . The seedling mounting base 35 is configured to supply the seedlings of the seedling mat mounted on the seedling mounting base 35 to each planting unit 34 . Specifically, the seedling mounting table 35 is configured to be laterally movable (that is, laterally slidable) so as to reciprocate in the vehicle width direction. In addition, the seedling mounting table 35 is configured so that the seedling mat can be intermittently vertically fed downward at the reciprocating end of the seedling mounting table 35 .

The float 36 is swingably provided in the lower part of the planting part 14 . The contact of the lower surface of the float 36 with the field surface stabilizes the planting posture of the planting part 14 with respect to the field surface.

A pair of spare seedling mounting bases 37 are provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle body portion 11 in front of the vehicle body portion 11 . The spare seedling mounting base 37 is arranged outside the bonnet 21 in the vehicle width direction. A seedling box containing a spare seedling mat can be mounted on the spare seedling loading table 37 . When the seedling mat on the seedling mounting table 35 runs out, the operator transfers the seedling mat from the spare seedling mounting table 37 to the seedling mounting table 35. - 特許庁

The upper parts of the pair of left and right spare seedling mounting bases 37 are connected to each other by a connecting frame 15 extending in the vertical direction and the vehicle width direction. A housing 16 is provided at the center of the connecting frame 15 in the vehicle width direction. A positioning antenna 61 , an inertial measurement device 62 , and a communication antenna 63 are provided inside the housing 16 .

The positioning antenna 61 receives radio waves (positioning signals) from positioning satellites that form a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). The inertial measurement device 62 includes a triaxial angular velocity sensor and a tridirectional acceleration sensor.

The communication antenna 63 is an antenna for wireless communication with the mobile communication terminal 7 . For wireless communication, wireless LAN (Local Area Network) such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) are adopted. In addition, the rice transplanter 1 may be provided with an antenna for mobile communication (not shown) for performing communication using a mobile phone line and the Internet.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the control unit 50 includes an arithmetic unit, an input/output unit, etc. (not shown), and a storage unit 55 . The control unit 50 is a computer or the like. The computing device is a processor, microprocessor, or the like. The storage unit 55 is a main storage device such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 55 may further include an auxiliary storage device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). Various programs and data are stored in the storage unit 55 . The computing device reads various programs from the storage unit 55 and executes them. The cooperation of the hardware and software described above allows the control unit 50 to operate as an automatic travel control unit 51 , a work device control unit 52 , and a supply necessity determination unit 53 . The control unit 50 may be one piece of hardware, or may be a plurality of pieces of hardware that can communicate with each other. In addition to the inertial measurement device 62, the control unit 50 is connected to a position acquisition unit 64, a communication processing unit 65, a vehicle speed sensor 66, a steering angle sensor 67, a planted clutch sensor 68, and a residual amount sensor 69. ing.

The position acquisition unit 64 acquires the position of the rice transplanter 1 as latitude and longitude information, for example, using the positioning signal received by the positioning antenna 61 from the positioning satellite. The position acquisition unit 64 may perform positioning using a known RTK-GNSS (Real Time Kinematic GNSS) method after receiving a positioning signal from a reference station (not shown) by an appropriate method. Reference stations are installed at known locations around the field. Alternatively, the position acquisition unit 64 may perform positioning using a DGNSS (Differential GNSS) method. Alternatively, the position acquisition unit 64 may acquire a position based on the radio wave intensity of a wireless LAN or the like, or acquire a position by inertial navigation using the measurement result of the inertial measurement device 62, or the like.

The communication processing unit 65 transmits and receives data to and from the mobile communication terminal 7 via the communication antenna 63 .

A vehicle speed sensor 66 detects the vehicle speed of the rice transplanter 1 . The vehicle speed sensor 66 is provided on the axle of the front wheel 12 or the like. When the vehicle speed sensor 66 is provided on the axle of the front wheels 12 , the vehicle speed sensor 66 generates pulses according to the rotation of the axle of the front wheels 12 . Data of the detection result obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 66 is output to the control unit 50 .

A steering angle sensor 67 detects the steering angle of the front wheels 12 . The steering angle sensor 67 is provided on the kingpin of the front wheel 12 . Alternatively, the steering angle sensor 67 may be provided on the steering wheel 26 or the like. Data of the detection result obtained by the steering angle sensor 67 is output to the control section 50 .

The planted clutch sensor 68 detects the position of the planted clutch lever 29 . Data of the detection result obtained by the planted clutch sensor 68 is output to the control unit 50 . Based on the detection result of the planting clutch sensor 68, the control unit 50 can identify whether the planting unit 14 is planting. In addition, the control unit 50 performs the planting work based on the state of another member (for example, whether the PTO shaft 24 downstream of the planting clutch is rotating) instead of the planting clutch lever 29. You may specify whether or not

The remaining amount sensor 69 detects the remaining amount of the seedling mat placed on the spare seedling placing table 37 and the remaining amount of the seedling mat placed on the seedling placing table 35 . Data of the detection result obtained by the remaining amount sensor 69 is output to the control section 50 . The remaining amount sensor 69 is, for example, a sensor whose contact point is switched based on a detection piece that protrudes and retreats from an opening formed in the spare seedling loading table 37 or the like, which is a target for residual amount detection, and the movement of the detection piece. It consists of a main body. Note that the remaining amount sensor 69 is not an essential component in the agricultural material supply system 100 .

The automatic travel control unit 51 performs control related to travel of the rice transplanter 1 such as vehicle speed control and steering control. Under the control of the automatic travel control unit 51, the rice transplanter 1 can autonomously move forward, backward, turn, and the like. In addition, the automatic travel control unit 51 can also control the travel of the rice transplanter 1 according to the remote control of the worker using the mobile communication terminal 7 . Further, the automatic travel control unit 51 can perform steering autonomously, for example, and can also perform control to change the vehicle speed according to the operator's operation.

When the vehicle speed is to be changed autonomously, the automatic driving control unit 51 performs control to bring the current vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 66 closer to the target vehicle speed. Vehicle speed control is realized by changing at least one of the gear ratio of the transmission in the transmission case 23 and the rotational speed of the engine 22 . In addition, control of vehicle speed includes control which makes vehicle speed zero so that the rice transplanter 1 may stop.

When steering is performed autonomously, the automatic travel control unit 51 performs control to bring the current steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 67 closer to the target steering angle. The control of the steering angle is realized, for example, by driving a steering actuator provided on the rotating shaft of the steering handle 26 . Note that the automatic travel control unit 51 may directly adjust the steering angle of the front wheels 12 instead of driving the steering actuator.

The work device control unit 52 controls the operation of the planting unit 14, which is an example of the work device, based on predetermined conditions. Specifically, the work device control unit 52 controls the up-and-down operation of the planting unit 14, the planting work, and the like.

The replenishment necessity determination unit 53 determines whether replenishment of seedlings is necessary based on the remaining amount of seedlings possessed by the rice transplanter 1 . The replenishment necessity determination unit 53 obtains the remaining amount of seedlings possessed by the rice transplanter 1 from the detection result of the remaining amount sensor 69 . Alternatively, the replenishment necessity determination unit 53 determines the remaining amount of seedlings possessed by the rice transplanter 1 based on the movement distance of the rice transplanter 1, the amount of seedlings planted per unit distance by the planting unit 14, and the seedling loading table 35. and the loading amount of seedlings placed on the preliminary seedling loading table 37. The loading amount can be set, for example, by an operator operating the mobile communication terminal 7 . The amount of seedlings to be planted per unit distance is stored in the storage unit 55, for example. Note that the replenishment necessity determination unit 53 may be provided not in the rice transplanter 1 but in the mobile communication terminal 7 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the mobile communication terminal 7 includes a communication antenna 71, a communication processing section 72, a display section 73, an operation section 74, and a control section 80. The mobile communication terminal 7 is a tablet terminal, a smart phone, a notebook computer, or the like. The mobile communication terminal 7 performs various processes related to automatic running of the rice transplanter 1 as described later, but at least part of these processes can also be performed by the control unit 50 of the rice transplanter 1 . Conversely, the mobile communication terminal 7 can also perform at least a part of various processes related to automatic travel performed by the control unit 50 of the rice transplanter 1 .

The communication antenna 71 is an antenna for wirelessly communicating with the rice transplanter 1 . The communication processing unit 72 transmits and receives data to and from the rice transplanter 1 via the communication antenna 71 .

As described above, since the rice transplanter 1 can be connected to a mobile phone line, the mobile communication terminal 7 can be connected to the mobile phone line via the rice transplanter 1 . Therefore, for example, part of the information stored in the storage unit 55 of the control unit 50 or the storage unit 81 of the control unit 80 can be stored in an external server. An antenna (not shown) for mobile communication may be provided in the mobile communication terminal 7 instead of the rice transplanter 1 .

The display unit 73 is a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display, or the like. The display unit 73 can display, for example, information about fields, information about automatic driving, information about settings of the rice transplanter 1, detection results of various sensors, warning information, and the like.

The operation unit 74 includes at least one of a touch panel and hardware keys. The touch panel is arranged so as to overlap the display unit 73, and can detect the operation by the operator's finger or the like. The hardware keys are arranged on the side surface of the housing of the mobile communication terminal 7 or around the display unit 73, and are capable of detecting pressing by the operator's finger or the like.

The control unit 80 includes an arithmetic unit, an input/output unit, and the like, which are not shown, and a storage unit 81 . The computing device is a processor, microprocessor, or the like. The storage unit 81 is a main storage device such as ROM and RAM. The storage unit 81 may further include an auxiliary storage device such as HDD or SSD. Various programs, data, and the like are stored in the storage unit 81 . The computing device reads various programs from the storage unit 81 and executes them. By cooperating with the above hardware and software, the control unit 80 is configured as a route creation unit 82, a field contour setting unit 83, an automatic travel area setting unit 84, an automatic travel permission area setting unit 85, and a replenishment position setting unit 89. can be operated. The processing performed by the route creation unit 82, the field contour setting unit 83, the automatic travel area setting unit 84, and the automatic travel permitted area setting unit 85 will be described later.

The replenishment position setting unit 89 sets a replenishment position (see replenishment position 95 in FIG. 8) for replenishing the seedling mat to the spare seedling mounting table 37 of the rice transplanter 1 . The replenishment position set by the replenishment position setting section 89 is stored in the storage section 81 . The replenishment positions stored in the storage section 81 can be displayed on the display section 73 . The replenishment position setting unit 89 may be provided in the rice transplanter 1 instead of the mobile communication terminal 7 .

For example, an operator operates the operation unit 74 of the mobile communication terminal 7 to set the replenishment position. The supply position setting unit 89 acquires information on the supply position set by the operator from the operation unit 74 . The replenishment position set by the operator is, for example, at least one side of the plurality of sides forming the field. Alternatively, the replenishment position may be at least one point on one side instead of the entire side. A seedling mat for replenishment is prepared at the replenishment position set by the operator.

Next, the farm field, the automatic travel area, and the automatic travel permitted area will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a farm field 98 and an automatic travel area 90 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the automatic travel permission area 90a according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the automatic travel permission area 90a according to the first embodiment. The work area and the headland area in each figure will be described later. As preparations before planting work, etc., setting of the farm field 98, setting of the automatic travel area 90, and setting of the work route 91 are performed. The setting of the automatic travel permission area 90a is performed when the rice transplanter 1 manually travels after the automatic travel area 90 is set.

The operator manually travels the rice transplanter 1 in the field along the contour (not shown) of the actual field. The position information 99 of the rice transplanter 1 detected by the position acquisition unit 64 or the inertia measurement device 62 or the like during manual travel is transmitted to the field contour setting unit 83 . The farm field contour setting unit 83 sets the contour of the farm field 98 based on the received multiple pieces of position information 99 . For example, the field contour setting unit 83 selects four points of position information 99 a at the four corners from among the plurality of position information 99 and sets a rectangular frame connecting the four points of position information 99 a as the contour of the field 98 . Alternatively, the farm field contour setting unit 83 may display a plurality of pieces of position information 99 on the display unit 73 and allow the operator to set the contour of the farm field 98 .

As shown in FIG. 5, the alignment of the position information 99 detected during manual running is not straight but uneven. That is, the edge of the ridge in the actual field is not straight but uneven. Therefore, the automatic travel area setting unit 84 sets an automatic travel area 90 in which the rice transplanter 1 automatically travels inside the outline of the field 98 by a predetermined distance. As a result, the rice transplanter 1 does not automatically travel outside the automatic travel region 90, so there is no possibility that the rice transplanter 1 will come into contact with unevenness along the ridge during automatic travel.

As shown in FIG. 5, outside the automatic travel area 90, there is actually an area of a farm field 98 in which the rice transplanter 1 can travel. Therefore, when the rice transplanter 1 manually travels outside the automatic travel region 90, the automatic travel permission region setting unit 85 sets the region in which the rice transplanter 1 manually travels as the automatic travel permission region 90a. Specifically, the automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 receives the position information of the rice transplanter 1 detected by the position acquisition unit 64 or the inertia measurement device 62 during manual travel, and automatically travels based on the received position information. Set the permitted area 90a.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the rice transplanter 1 manually traveled beyond the edge 90b of the automatic travel area 90 and entered the area outside the automatic travel area 90 . In this case, the automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 sets the entire one side including the area where the rice transplanter 1 manually travels among the plurality of sides (four sides in FIG. 6) forming the area outside the automatic travel area 90. It is set in the automatic running permission area 90a.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, the automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 may set only the area outside the automatic travel area 90 in which the rice transplanter 1 manually traveled to the automatic travel permission area 90a. good.

In this manner, the automatic travel-permitted region setting unit 85 can set the regions in which automatic travel is possible (that is, the automatic travel region 90 and the automatic travel-permitted region 90a) in consideration of the contours of the actual field. During the next and subsequent automatic travels, the automatic travel control unit 51 can cause the rice transplanter 1 to automatically travel not only in the automatic travel region 90 but also in the automatic travel permission region 90a.

The automatic driving region 90 and the automatic driving permitted region 90 a set by the automatic driving region setting unit 84 and the automatic driving permitted region setting unit 85 are stored in the storage unit 81 . The automatic travel area 90 and the automatic travel permission area 90 a stored in the storage unit 81 can be displayed on the display unit 73 . The display unit 73 may change the display mode of the automatic travel area 90 and the automatic travel permission area 90a so that the operator can distinguish and recognize the automatic travel area 90 and the automatic travel permission area 90a. With this configuration, the operator can recognize the boundary between the automatic travel area 90 and the automatic travel permission area 90a, so that the automatic travel permission area 90a can be set to an intended size.

Further, the operator can select whether or not to store the automatic travel permission area 90 a set by the automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 in the storage unit 81 . Note that the automatic travel permission region setting unit 85 determines whether or not to store the automatic travel permission region 90a in the storage unit 81 when the rice transplanter 1 manually travels for a specific task (for example, seedling supply). You may let a person choose. As a specific example, when the rice transplanter 1 manually travels toward the replenishment position 95, the automatic travel permission region setting unit 85 determines that the manual travel has been performed for a specific work (for example, replenishment of seedlings), and permits automatic travel. The operator selects whether or not to set the region 90 a and to store the automatic travel permission region 90 a in the storage unit 81 . Furthermore, the automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 may associate the automatic travel permission area 90a with the work content (for example, seedling supply) and cause the storage unit 81 to store the information.

Further, the operator can select whether to validate or invalidate the automatic travel permission area 90 a already stored in the storage unit 81 . For example, the worker switches between valid and invalid of the automatic travel permission area 90a according to the work content. When the operator enables the automatic travel permission area 90 a , the automatic travel control unit 51 causes the rice transplanter 1 to automatically travel in the automatic travel permission area 90 a in addition to the automatic travel area 90 . On the other hand, when the operator disables the automatic travel permission area 90 a , the automatic travel control unit 51 causes the rice transplanter 1 to travel automatically only in the automatic travel area 90 . Further, the operator can erase the automatic travel permission area 90 a already stored in the storage unit 81 .

Further, the operator can change the size of the automatic travel permission area 90a set by the automatic travel permission area setting unit 85. FIG. For example, the automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 displays the automatic travel permission area 90a on the display unit 73 and allows the operator to change the size of the automatic travel permission area 90a.

Next, the work route in the field will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the working path 91 according to the first embodiment. The automatic travel area 90 includes a work area and a headland area. The work area is located in the central part of the automatic travel area 90 and is an area for performing work. The headland area is located outside the working area and is the area used for proper working in the working area. For example, the headland area includes an area for moving the rice transplanter 1 that has entered the automatic travel area 90 to the planting operation start position, an area for rotating the rice transplanter 1, and a seedling supply position for the rice transplanter 1. It is also used as a region for moving to

A work route 91 shown in FIG. 8 is created in advance by the route creation unit 82 as a work route for automatically running the rice transplanter 1 . The work path 91 is composed of at least an inner path 92 and an outer path 93 . The inner path 92 is a path that travels straight back and forth in the work area of the automatic travel area 90, and is composed of a plurality of straight paths 92a and a turning path 92b that connects adjacent straight paths 92a. The outer route 93 is a route that exists on the outer periphery (that is, the headland region) of the inner route 92 in the automatic driving region 90 and makes at least one round of the headland region. When the headland region is sufficiently wide with respect to the working width of the rice transplanter 1, the rice transplanter 1 needs to go around the headland region multiple times. The switching position 94 is the end position of the inner route 92 and the position where the route is switched from the inner route 92 to the outer route 93 .

The straight path 92a is a straight path, and is parallel to, for example, one side (for example, a short side) of the contour of the automatic travel area 90 or the work area. The arrangement interval of the straight paths 92a is determined based on the working width, turning radius, working interval, and the like. The work interval is a length that indicates how much space is provided between adjacent work ranges in the vehicle width direction. The storage unit 81 stores information necessary for the route creation unit 82 to create the route, such as the contours of the automatic travel area 90 and the work area and the work width. Alternatively, information required by the route creating unit 82 when creating a route may be stored in the storage unit 55 , and the route creating unit 82 may transmit a transmission request command for the information to the control unit 50 .

The route creating unit 82 sets the straight route 92 a and the outer peripheral route 93 of the work route 91 as routes for planting seedlings by the planting unit 14 . On the other hand, the route creating unit 82 sets the turning route 92b to a route on which the seedling planting work by the planting unit 14 is not performed. Further, the route creation unit 82 sets the traveling direction, target vehicle speed, target steering angle, etc. of the rice transplanter 1 for each position on the work route 91 .

Although the automatic travel area 90 shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 has a rectangular shape, it may have another shape. Moreover, the work route 91 shown in FIG. Based on different contours, sizes, etc., a working path 91 suitable for them can be generated.

Further, in response to a request from the replenishment necessity determination unit 53, the route creation unit 82 creates a route from the current position of the rice transplanter 1 to the replenishment position 95 and the original position from the replenishment position 95 (that is, the current position). You may create a round-trip route including a route back to . A round-trip route is set in an area where no work is being performed. When the automatic travel permission area 90a is set, the round-trip route can be set across the headland area of the automatic travel area 90 and the automatic travel permission area 90a. Among the functions of the route creation unit 82 , the function of creating the work route 91 may be distributed to the mobile communication terminal 7 , and the function of creating the round-trip route may be distributed to the rice transplanter 1 .

The work path 91 and the like generated by the path generation unit 82 are stored in the storage unit 81 . The work path 91 and the like stored in the storage section 81 can be displayed on the display section 73 .

The control unit 80 of the mobile communication terminal 7, in response to the transmission request command from the control unit 50 of the rice transplanter 1, determines the automatic travel area 90, the automatic travel permission area 90a, the work route 91, and the like stored in the storage unit 81. Information is sent to the control unit 50 . The control unit 50 stores the received information such as the automatic travel area 90 , the automatic travel permission area 90 a and the work route 91 in the storage unit 55 . Regarding the information transmission of the work path 91, for example, the control unit 80 transmits all the information of the work path 91 from the storage unit 81 to the control unit 50 at once before the rice transplanter 1 starts to automatically travel. You may do so. Alternatively, the control unit 80 divides the work route 91 into a plurality of divided route information for each predetermined distance, and every time the travel distance of the rice transplanter 1 reaches the predetermined distance from the stage before the rice transplanter 1 starts automatic travel. Alternatively, a predetermined number of divided route information corresponding to the route of the rice transplanter 1 may be sequentially transmitted from the storage unit 81 to the control unit 50 .

Next, the operation of the agricultural material supply system 100 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the operation of the agricultural material supply system 100 according to the first embodiment.

The operator aligns the rice transplanter 1 with a predetermined position in the field 98 and stops it. The predetermined position is the entrance of the field 98, the starting position of the inner path 92, or the like. The worker performs a predetermined operation on the operation unit 74 of the portable communication terminal 7, for example, while the rice transplanter 1 is stopped. As a result, the automatic travel control unit 51 starts the automatic travel of the rice transplanter 1, and controls the vehicle speed and the steering angle based on various detection results of the position acquisition unit 64 and the like (step S11). While the rice transplanter 1 is automatically traveling along the straight path 92a, the work device control unit 52 switches the planting clutch from the disengaged state to the transmission state, and causes the planting unit 14 to plant seedlings. While the rice transplanter 1 is turning along the turning path 92b, the work device control unit 52 switches the planting clutch from the transmission state to the disconnection state to interrupt the seedling planting operation. After the planting work on the inner route 92 is completed, the automatic travel control unit 51 causes the rice transplanter 1 to automatically travel along the outer route 93, and the work device control unit 52 causes the planting unit 14 to plant seedlings. Let

The replenishment necessity determination unit 53 determines whether replenishment of seedlings is necessary based on the remaining amount of seedlings possessed by the rice transplanter 1 (step S12). If there is a seedling mat on the seedling loading table 35 or the spare seedling loading table 37 (step S12; No), the rice transplanter 1 continues to automatically travel along the work path 91 while planting the seedlings.

Note that the replenishment position setting unit 89 may set a point at which one side set in advance as the replenishment position 95 and the advancing direction of the rice transplanter 1 intersect as the replenishment position 95a. In this case, the replenishment position 95a, which is the crossing point, moves as the rice transplanter 1 moves. The display unit 73 can display the replenishment position 95a that moves as the rice transplanter 1 moves. Hereinafter, the replenishment positions 95 and 95a are simply referred to as "replenishment position 95" without distinguishing between them.

If there is no seedling mat on the seedling mounting table 35 or the spare seedling mounting table 37 and seedlings need to be replenished (step S12; Yes), the replenishment necessity determining unit 53 determines that the seedlings need to be replenished. The route creation unit 82 is caused to create a round-trip route to and from the replenishment position 95 . The automatic travel control unit 51 automatically travels the rice transplanter 1 toward the supply position 95 along the round-trip route created by the route creation unit 82 (step S13). While the rice transplanter 1 is automatically traveling toward the replenishment position 95, the work device control unit 52 interrupts the seedling planting work.

The automatic travel control unit 51 determines whether or not the rice transplanter 1 has reached the end 90b of the automatic travel region 90 based on various detection results from the position acquisition unit 64 (step S14). If the rice transplanter 1 has not reached the end 90b of the automatic travel area 90 (step S14; No), the automatic travel control unit 51 continues to automatically travel the rice transplanter 1 toward the replenishment position 95.

When the rice transplanter 1 reaches the end portion 90b of the automatic travel area 90 (step S14; Yes), the automatic travel control unit 51 determines whether or not the automatic travel permission area 90a is set outside the automatic travel area 90. Determine (step S15).

If the automatic travel permission area 90a is not set (step S15; No), the automatic travel control unit 51 stops the rice transplanter 1 at the end 90b of the automatic travel area 90 (step S16). Note that the automatic travel control unit 51 may gradually decelerate the rice transplanter 1 before reaching the end portion 90b of the automatic travel region 90 . The operator gets on the stopped rice transplanter 1 and operates the operation member to manually move the area outside the automatic travel area 90 to the replenishment position 95 and stop it. Alternatively, the operator may remotely operate the rice transplanter 1 by operating the portable communication terminal 7 to manually travel the area outside the automatic travel area 90 to the replenishment position 95 and stop the rice transplanter 1 . The worker replenishes seedling mats to the preliminary seedling mounting base 37 and the seedling mounting base 35 of the rice transplanter 1 stopped at the replenishment position 95 . In addition to the mobile communication terminal 7, a remote controller or the like for remotely controlling the rice transplanter 1 may be provided. By operating the mobile communication terminal 7 or the remote controller, the operator can instruct the automatic travel control unit 51 to move the rice transplanter 1 forward, backward, turn, stop, and the like.

When the automatically traveling rice transplanter 1 reaches the end portion 90b of the automatic traveling region 90, the automatic traveling is stopped (step S16), so that the operator can prepare for transition to manual traveling.

The automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 receives the position information of the rice transplanter 1 detected by the position acquisition unit 64 or the like while the worker is manually running the rice transplanter 1 (step S17). The automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 sets the automatic travel permission area 90a in the area outside the automatic travel area 90 based on the received position information (step S18). The automatic travel permission area 90 a set by the automatic travel permission area setting unit 85 is stored in the storage unit 81 .

When the automatic travel permission area 90a is set (step S15; Yes), the automatic travel control unit 51 decelerates the rice transplanter 1 (step S21). Note that the automatic travel control unit 51 may gradually decelerate the rice transplanter 1 before reaching the end portion 90b of the automatic travel region 90 . With the rice transplanter 1 decelerated, the automatic travel control unit 51 automatically travels through the automatic travel permission area 90a to reach the replenishment position 95 (step S22). The worker replenishes seedling mats to the preliminary seedling mounting base 37 and the seedling mounting base 35 of the rice transplanter 1 that have reached the replenishment position 95 .

By setting the vehicle speed of the rice transplanter 1 when automatically traveling in the automatic traveling permitted area 90a to be lower than the vehicle speed of the rice transplanter 1 when automatically traveling in the automatic traveling area 90 (step S21), the automatic traveling area 90 and the automatic traveling It is possible to visually indicate to the operator which of the permitted areas 90a the rice transplanter 1 is running. In addition, since the automatic travel permission area 90a is a narrow area, it is possible to shorten the braking distance by running the vehicle at a low speed.

The vehicle speed in the automatic travel permission area 90 a can be set by the operator operating the mobile communication terminal 7 . Also, the deceleration rate of the vehicle speed in the automatic travel permission area 90 a relative to the vehicle speed in the automatic travel area 90 can be set by the operator operating the mobile communication terminal 7 . In addition, the display unit 73 can display that the rice transplanter 1 is automatically or manually traveling in the automatic traveling permission area 90a. Alternatively, in addition to the display, or instead of the display, a sound or the like may be used for notification. By executing the notification during manual travel in the automatic travel permission area 90a, the worker can recognize that the rice transplanter 1 is traveling in the automatic travel permission area 90a, so that contact with the ridge can be avoided. It becomes possible. In addition, by performing notification during automatic travel in the automatic travel permission area 90a, the operator or surrounding people can recognize that the rice transplanter 1 is traveling in the automatic travel permission area 90a, so that the next work can be performed. (for example, seedling work) can be prepared.

After supplying the seedlings, the operator performs a predetermined operation on the operation unit 74 of the mobile communication terminal 7, for example. As a result, the automatic travel control unit 51 returns the rice transplanter 1 to the position determined to require seedling replenishment along the reciprocating route, and restarts the automatic travel of the rice transplanter 1 along the work route 91 . The work device control unit 52 restarts the seedling planting work in accordance with the restart of the automatic travel of the rice transplanter 1 along the work path 91 (step S23).

In the seedling planting work, the automatic travel permission area 90a includes the area where the rice transplanter 1 manually travels, out of the four sides forming the area outside the automatic travel area 90, as shown in FIG. It may be the entire edge. In this case, the robot can automatically travel at any position in the automatic travel permission area 90a set on this one side in the next and subsequent operations, thereby reducing the trouble of switching from automatic travel to manual travel and improving work efficiency.

Alternatively, in the seedling planting work, the automatic travel-permitted region 90a may be only the region outside the automatic travel region 90 in which the rice transplanter 1 manually travels, as shown in FIG. The area where the rice transplanter 1 manually traveled in the area outside the automatic travel area 90 is the area where the rice transplanter 1 manually traveled to move to the supply positions 95 and 95a. The replenishment positions 95 and 95a are highly likely to be set to the same positions in the next year's planting work. Therefore, in the seedling planting work, it is sufficient to set only the area where the rice transplanter 1 has manually traveled as the automatic travel permission area 90a, as shown in FIG.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9, the agricultural material supply system 100 includes at least the automatic travel control section 51 and the automatic travel permission area setting section 85. FIG. The automatic travel control unit 51 causes the rice transplanter 1 to travel automatically in an automatic travel region 90 that is set in a field 98 and in which the rice transplanter 1 can travel automatically. When the rice transplanter 1 manually travels in the field 98 and outside the automatic travel region 90, the automatic travel permission region setting unit 85 sets the region in which the rice transplanter 1 manually travels to an automatic travel region in which the rice transplanter 1 can automatically travel. It is set in the travel permission area 90a. With this configuration, the agricultural material replenishment system 100 can set an area in which automatic travel is possible in consideration of the contour of the actual field. By expanding the area in which automatic driving is possible, the time and effort required to switch from automatic driving to manual driving will be reduced in the next and subsequent tasks, and work efficiency will be improved.

In the above description, the configuration is such that the operator sets the replenishment position 95, but the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, the replenishment position setting unit 89 may determine the orientation (that is, traveling direction) of the rice transplanter 1 based on the detection results of the inertial measurement device 62, the position acquisition unit 64, and the like. Based on the determined orientation of the rice transplanter 1, the replenishment position setting unit 89 selects one side of the plurality of sides (that is, a plurality of ridges) forming the farm field to which the rice transplanter 1 can easily head to the replenishment position. set to For example, the replenishment position setting unit 89 sets one side existing in front of the rice transplanter 1, that is, one side reached only by the advance of the rice transplanter 1, as the replenishment position.

Alternatively, the replenishment position setting unit 89 uses an antenna for mobile communication (not shown) to refer to map data held by an external server or the like, and selects seedling mats for replenishment among the plurality of sides that make up the field. A side of a road on which a loaded truck or the like can be parked may be set as the replenishment position.

Alternatively, the replenishment position setting unit 89 receives the position information of the truck from a car navigation system or the like mounted on the truck loaded with the replenishment seedling mats. Alternatively, the replenishment position setting unit 89 may be configured to perform mobile communication from the mobile communication terminal 7 possessed by a worker near the seedling mat for replenishment or a worker waiting on a truck loaded with the seedling mat for replenishment. Receive the location information of the terminal 7 . The supply position setting unit 89 may set the position corresponding to the received position information as the supply position.

Further, when the replenishment necessity determination unit 53 determines that seedling replenishment is necessary, the replenishment position setting unit 89 sets the one side (see replenishment position 95 in FIG. 8) set as the replenishment position and the rice transplanter 1 A point at which the traveling direction intersects may be set as the replenishment position (see replenishment position 95a in FIG. 8).

In addition, in order to facilitate understanding, the drawings schematically show mainly the respective constituent elements. Therefore, the thickness, length, etc. of each component shown in the figure differ from the actual ones for convenience of drawing.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to work vehicles capable of automatically traveling in fields, such as rice transplanters, sowing machines, fertilizer applicators, chemical sprayers, cultivators, combine harvesters, and tractors.

1 rice transplanter (work vehicle)
7 Mobile communication terminal 11 Body part 12 Front wheel 13 Rear wheel 14 Planting part 15 Connection frame 16 Housing 21 Bonnet 22 Engine 23 Transmission case 24 PTO shaft 25 Driver's seat 26 Steering handle 27 Shift operation pedal 28 Main gear shift lever 29 Planting clutch Lever 31 Lifting link mechanism 31a Top link 31b Lower link 32 Lifting cylinder 33 Planting input case 34 Planting unit 35 Seedling platform 36 Float 37 Spare seedling platform 41 Planting transmission case 42 Rotary case 43 Planting claw 50 , 80 control unit 51 automatic travel control unit 52 work device control unit 53 supply necessity determination unit 55, 81 storage unit 61 positioning antenna 62 inertial measurement device 63, 71 communication antenna 64 position acquisition unit 65, 72 communication processing unit 66 vehicle speed sensor 67 Rudder angle sensor 68 Planted clutch sensor 69 Remaining amount sensor 73 Display unit 74 Operation unit 82 Route creation unit 89 Replenishment position setting unit 90 Automatic travel area 90a Automatic travel permission area 90b End 91 Work path 92 Inner path 92a Straight path 92b Turning path 93 Perimeter path 94 Switching positions 95, 95a Replenishment position 98 Fields 99, 99a Position information 100 Agricultural material supply system (automatic traveling system)

Claims (8)

a step of automatically driving the work vehicle in an automatic driving area set in the field, which is an area in which the work vehicle can automatically run;
setting the area in which the work vehicle manually traveled as an automatic travel permission area in which the work vehicle can automatically travel when the work vehicle manually travels in the field outside the automatic travel area. Including automatic driving method. The automatic traveling method according to claim 1, wherein automatic traveling is stopped when the work vehicle during automatic traveling reaches an end of the automatic traveling area. When the work vehicle manually travels in the agricultural field and outside the automatic travel region, one of the plurality of sides constituting the region outside the automatic travel region includes the region where the work vehicle manually travels. The automatic driving method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the whole area is set as the automatic driving permission area. When the work vehicle manually travels within the agricultural field and outside the automatic travel region, only the region outside the automatic travel region where the work vehicle manually travels is set as the automatic travel permission region. The automatic driving method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 5. The work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a vehicle speed of the work vehicle when automatically traveling in the automatic travel permitted area is lower than a vehicle speed of the work vehicle when automatically traveling in the automatic travel area. automatic driving method. In an automatic traveling area set in a field where the work vehicle can automatically travel, the work vehicle is driven along a work route set in the automatic traveling area while supplying agricultural materials to the agricultural field. a step of automatically running the
a step of determining whether or not it is necessary to replenish the work vehicle with the agricultural material during the supply of the agricultural material;
When it is determined that the work vehicle needs to be replenished with the agricultural material, automatically traveling the work vehicle to an end of the automatic travel area;
setting an area in which the work vehicle has manually traveled from an end of the automatic travel area to a replenishment position set outside the automatic travel area as an automatic travel permission area in which the work vehicle can automatically travel. Agricultural material supply method. an automatic travel control unit configured to automatically travel the work vehicle in an automatic travel region set in a field where the work vehicle can travel automatically;
Automatic travel permission for setting an area in which the work vehicle manually traveled as an automatic travel permission area in which the work vehicle can automatically travel when the work vehicle manually travels in the field outside the automatic travel area. An automatic driving system comprising a region setting unit and . a procedure for automatically driving the working vehicle in an automatic driving area set in a field, which is an area in which the working vehicle can be automatically driven;
a step of setting the area in which the work vehicle manually traveled as an automatic travel permission area in which the work vehicle can automatically travel when the work vehicle manually travels in the field outside the automatic travel area. An automatic driving program that is executed by a computer.

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