JP2023048719A - Work vehicle management system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a work vehicle management system that can perform refuel to an agricultural work vehicle autonomously traveling in a field, easily and by reducing a workload of a worker.SOLUTION: This problem can be solved by a work vehicle management system. The work vehicle management system includes: a work vehicle autonomously traveling in a field; a mobile terminal being held by a worker, and capable of performing communication with the work vehicle; field shape acquisition means for acquiring the terrain information of the field; and path calculation means for calculating a path where the work vehicle performs autonomous traveling. The work vehicle management system is configured to make the work vehicle move and stop by autonomous traveling to a stop position calculated on the basis of the terrain information of the field and the position information showing the current position of the mobile terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a work vehicle management system capable of easily refueling an agricultural work vehicle that autonomously travels in a field while reducing the work load on the worker.

Since the work vehicle that runs autonomously while performing work such as plowing in the field does not have a passenger, it is not possible to check the remaining amount of fuel during work, and it sometimes runs out of fuel. . In such a case, it is necessary to stop the work, stop the work vehicle, and refuel. Therefore, the work load was heavy for the workers.

Therefore, in Patent Document 1, when it is determined that if the work vehicle is positioned at the end of the field and continues the work travel, the fuel will run out until the next end, the work travel is stopped. It proposes a working vehicle configured to stop at the edge of the field where it is currently located without continuing.

JP 2016-059349 A

According to Patent Literature 1, the worker can refuel the working vehicle by going to the edge of the field, and the work load on the worker can be reduced accordingly.

However, when the field is vast, the worker must expend a great deal of effort to reach the end of the field where the work vehicle is stopped, and the work vehicle is stopped at the end of the field. If there is an obstacle near the edge of the field, it becomes difficult for the worker to replenish the fuel even if the worker goes to the working vehicle stopped at the edge of the field. Depending on the situation, the burden on workers for refueling cannot be sufficiently reduced.

Similar problems occur not only when refueling is required, but also when the work vehicle requires maintenance.

Therefore, the present invention provides work vehicle management capable of easily refueling or performing maintenance on agricultural work vehicles that autonomously travel in fields while reducing the work burden on workers. The purpose is to provide a system.

Such objects of the present invention are
A work vehicle that autonomously travels in a field,
a mobile terminal held by the worker and capable of communicating with the work vehicle;
A farm field shape acquisition means for acquiring topography information of a farm field;
a route calculation means for calculating a route along which the work vehicle autonomously travels,
A work characterized in that the work vehicle is autonomously moved to a stop position calculated based on topographical information of the field and position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal, and then stopped. Accomplished by vehicle management system.

According to the present invention, the work vehicle can move independently to the stop position calculated based on the shape information of the farm field and the position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal. The work vehicle can be easily stopped at a place where maintenance such as refueling can be easily performed, and the work vehicle can be easily refueled or maintenance of the work vehicle can be easily performed while reducing the work load on the worker. becomes possible to do.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention,
The work vehicle can be autonomously moved to a stop position arbitrarily specified on the mobile terminal and stopped.

According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, when maintenance such as refueling is required, even if the place where the worker (portable terminal) is located is not suitable for maintenance such as refueling, another arbitrary location can be specified and the work vehicle can be stopped at the specified location, which is convenient.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention,
Equipped with a fuel level sensor that detects the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine,
A stop position can be specified within a travelable distance range calculated based on the remaining amount of fuel detected by the remaining fuel sensor from the current position of the work vehicle.

According to this embodiment of the present invention, when the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank of the engine becomes equal to or less than a predetermined remaining amount, the work vehicle should stop within the range of the travelable distance due to the remaining amount of fuel. Since it is configured so that the position can be specified, it is possible to reliably stop the work vehicle at a place that is easily accessible and to refuel, and to refuel.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention,
having in advance fuel filler placement information as to which side of the vehicle body the fuel filler port for supplying fuel to the work vehicle is located on, left or right;
When the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body and when the stop position is on the right front side, right rear side, or left rear side with respect to the work vehicle, the route calculation means calculates an outer circumference route around the field. When reaching , calculate the route to turn right and travel clockwise to the stop position,
When the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body and the stop position is on the front left side with respect to the work vehicle, the route calculation means makes a right turn when the vehicle reaches the outer circumference route, then moves backward and travels to the stop position. Calculate the route to
When the fuel filler port is on the right side of the vehicle body and the stop position is on the left front side, the left rear side, or the right rear side with respect to the work vehicle, the route calculation means turns left when reaching the outer circumference route. to calculate the route to travel counterclockwise to the stop position,
When the fuel filler port is on the right side of the vehicle body and the stop position is on the right front side with respect to the work vehicle, the route calculation means makes a left turn after reaching the outer circumference route, then moves backward to the stop position. Calculate route.

According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fuel filler port is located on either the left or right side of the vehicle body, and the stop position is located on the right front side, the right rear side, the left front side, or the left rear side with respect to the work vehicle. However, the working vehicle can be stopped at the stop position with the oil filler opening directed to the outside of the field, and the oil supply work can be easily performed.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention,
The work vehicle further comprises a tilt sensor for detecting the tilt angle of the vehicle body,
The work vehicle is stopped at a place where the tilt angle of the vehicle body detected by the tilt sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined angle, out of the stop position and places in the vicinity thereof.

According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stop position calculated based on the position information of the mobile terminal or the stop position specified by the operator and the inclination angle of the vehicle body (that is, the inclination of the field) angle) is less than a predetermined angle, it is possible to prevent the work vehicle from stopping at a location where the tilt angle is greater than the predetermined angle and where refueling is difficult. can be facilitated.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily refuel or perform maintenance on an agricultural work vehicle that autonomously travels in a field while reducing the work load on the worker. system can be provided.

1 is a schematic side view of a work vehicle managed by a work vehicle management system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system, a detection system, an arithmetic system and an input system of the work vehicle management system for managing work vehicles shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing travel control of the work vehicle when the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine is equal to or less than a predetermined remaining amount. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a travel route to a stop position when the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a traveling route to a stop position according to another preferred embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 shows, in the work vehicle management system according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the travel control of the work vehicle when the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine falls below a predetermined remaining amount. It is a flow chart showing.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic side view of a work vehicle managed by a work vehicle management system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a work vehicle 100 managed by the work vehicle management system according to this embodiment is a vehicle for agricultural work capable of traveling in a field, and has a bonnet 107 on the front of the vehicle body. A common rail type engine 105 is provided, and rotational power of the engine 105 is transmitted to front wheels 103 and rear wheels 104 via a main transmission and a sub-transmission to enable running.

A control unit 106 is provided behind the engine 105, and a working machine 140 capable of tilling a field is attached to the rear part of the vehicle behind the control unit 106. As shown in FIG.

The operating unit 106 is provided with a cabin having a steering wheel 150 for steering the work vehicle 100 and an operator's seat 153 . A GNSS receiver 102 is provided on a cabin roof 108, which is the ceiling of the cabin, and receives radio waves from a satellite 170 at predetermined time intervals so that the position of the work vehicle 100 can be measured. It is configured.

A three-point link mechanism 145 consisting of a top link 145 a on the upper side and left and right lower links 145 b on the lower side is provided at the rear portion of the vehicle body of the work vehicle 100 . It is

As shown in FIG. 1, the work machine 140 includes a tillage tine 146 for plowing the soil of a field, a rotary cover 147 covering the upper side of the tillage tine 146, and a rear cover supported on the rear portion of the rotary cover 147 so as to be vertically movable. 148 is provided, and a plowing depth sensor 149 is provided on the rotary cover 147 to detect the plowing depth of the working machine 140 . The plowing depth sensor 149 is a potentiometer type sensor, and is configured to detect the rotation angle of the rear cover 148 with respect to the rotary cover 147 as the plowing depth.

The lower link 145b of the three-point link mechanism 145 is connected to the working machine lifting cylinder 141 via the lift arm 142. By extending and contracting the working machine lifting cylinder 141, the lower link 145b is moved up and down to move the working machine. 140 can be raised and lowered. A lift arm sensor 143 that detects the rotation angle of the lift arm 142 is provided at the base of the lift arm 142. Based on the detected value of the lift arm sensor 143, the height of the lifted work machine 140 is determined. configured to be calculated.

Therefore, since the three-point link mechanism 145 can raise and lower the connected working machine 140 by extending and contracting the working machine lifting cylinder 141, the working machine 140 can be lowered and grounded on the field when cultivating the field. On the other hand, when not working, the working machine 140 is lifted to a predetermined height so as not to touch the field. You can avoid getting in the way.

An obstacle sensor 160 for detecting an obstacle in front of the vehicle is provided at the front end of the bonnet 107 provided in front of the control section 106 . The obstacle sensor 160 has an infrared laser light source and a two-dimensional sensor that senses infrared rays, and the two-dimensional sensor has a plurality of light receiving elements composed of photodiodes. More specifically, the obstacle sensor 160 irradiates a pulse-modulated infrared laser beam from an infrared laser light source within a certain angular range in front of the work vehicle 1, and detects an obstacle existing within a certain angular range in front of the work vehicle 1. The light reflected by the object is sensed by a two-dimensional sensor having a plurality of light receiving elements, based on the time when the obstacle sensor 160 emits infrared rays and the time when the two-dimensional sensor detects the light reflected by the obstacle. Then, the distance between the two-dimensional sensor and the object is obtained by the so-called ToF (Time Of Flight) method, and the distance to the obstacle calculated in this way and any light receiving element of the two-dimensional sensor provided in the obstacle sensor 160 are calculated. is configured to calculate the position of the obstacle with respect to the obstacle sensor 160 depending on whether it receives the light reflected by the object.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system, a detection system, an arithmetic system and an input system of a work vehicle management system that manages work vehicle 100 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the work vehicle management system according to this embodiment includes a control unit 200 that controls the overall operation of the work vehicle 100, a storage device 201 that can store various information, and It has an automatic driving ECU 220 that controls self-driving, a cloud C that has a management server 400, and a mobile terminal 300 that can be operated by a worker. The control unit 200 is configured to be able to communicate with the cloud C mutually.

Storage device 201 stores fuel filler placement information as to whether the fuel filler port of work vehicle 100 is located on the left or right side of the vehicle body.

In addition, the work vehicle management system includes, as a detection system, a GNSS receiver 102 that acquires position information of the work vehicle 100, an engine rotation sensor 211 that detects the rotation speed of the engine 105, a radiator (not shown) liquid temperature , a rail pressure sensor 213 that detects the pressure in the common rail of the engine 105, a remaining fuel sensor 214 that detects the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank of the engine 105, and a urea water tank ( A urea water remaining amount sensor 215 for detecting the remaining amount of urea water in (not shown), a filter clogging sensor 216 for detecting clogging of a filter (not shown), and a tilt of the vehicle body of the work vehicle 100. A tilt sensor 217 is provided.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the automatic driving ECU 220 calculates the travel route of the work vehicle 100 based on the position information of the work vehicle 100 and topography information stored in a cloud database, which will be described later. A section 221 (corresponding to the “route calculation means” according to the present invention) is provided.

The mobile terminal 300 can communicate with the cloud C via a communication network, and includes a control unit 310 that controls the operation of the entire mobile terminal. The mobile terminal 300 also includes a storage device 312 that can store various information, a touch panel display 315 that can display various information, and a GNSS receiver 317 that acquires position information of the mobile terminal 300 . .

In this way, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 can communicate with the cloud C, and the mobile terminal 300 can also communicate with the cloud C. Therefore, the work vehicle 100 and the mobile terminal 300 communicate with each other via the cloud C Communication is possible.

The management server 400 includes a position information database 401 that stores position information of the work vehicle 100 and the portable terminal 300, a topography information database 402 that stores topography information indicating the position and outer shape of the farm field, and a travel route of the work vehicle 100. A travel route information database 403 is provided in which information relating to is stored.

The control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 always accesses the management server 400 of the cloud C, and obtains the position information of the work vehicle 100 and the position of the farm field stored in the topography information database 402 stored in the position information database 401 . Shape information (hereinafter referred to as terrain information) is read and output to the travel route calculation unit 221 of the automatic driving ECU 220 . The travel route calculation unit 221 of the automatic driving ECU 220 determines the work range based on the terrain information of the farm field, and calculates (calculates) the travel route in the farm field on which the work vehicle 100 travels so that the work vehicle 100 can travel evenly throughout the work range. ), and the information on the calculated travel route of the work vehicle 100 in the field is stored in the storage device 201 and the travel route information database 403 of the cloud C. FIG.

In addition, the worker uses the mobile terminal 300 to access the management server 400 of the cloud C, thereby confirming the location information of the work vehicle 100 stored in the location information database 401 and the location information of the mobile terminal 300. The positional relationship between the work vehicle 100 and the mobile terminal 300 stored in the terrain information database 402 and the field, and the travel route of the work vehicle 100 in the farm field stored in the travel route information database 403 are read, and the work is performed. The positional relationship between the vehicle 100 and the mobile terminal 300 and the field can be displayed on the display 315 of the mobile terminal 300 in the form of a map.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the cloud C is provided with a fuel remaining amount database 404 that stores information on the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank. The remaining amount of fuel database 404 of C can be accessed, and information of the amount of remaining fuel in the fuel tank stored in the remaining amount of fuel database 404 can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the work vehicle 100, as a farm field shape acquisition means, travels along the ridge along the contour of the farm field in advance based on the operation of the operator, and uses the GNSS receiver 102 to obtain terrain information. is acquired (so-called teaching), and the acquired terrain information is transmitted to the cloud C, and the terrain information is stored in the cloud C terrain information database 402 .

In this embodiment, when it is recognized that the fuel tank should be replenished with fuel while the work vehicle 100 travels in the field, or it is recognized that maintenance of a component of the work vehicle 100 is required. At this time, the work vehicle management system manages the travel of the work vehicle 100 as follows.

First, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 reads topographical information about the position and outline of the farm field stored in the topographical information database 402 of the cloud C, and outputs it to the travel route calculation unit 221 of the automatic driving ECU 220 .

The travel route calculation unit 221 determines the work range based on the terrain information of the farm field 13, and in the central region 15 (see FIG. 4), which is the central portion of the work range, a round-trip route that repeats going straight and turning. Then, the travel routes of both the outer peripheral routes R1 and R2 that go around the peripheral region 16 outside the central region in the work range are calculated. The control unit 200 stores the calculated traveling route information of the work vehicle 100 in the field in the storage device 201 and stores it in the traveling route information database 403 of the management server 400 of the cloud C. FIG.

Next, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs an automatic operation signal to the automatic operation ECU 220, and the work vehicle 100 is automatically operated.

The control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 constantly watches the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank detected by the fuel remaining amount sensor 214, and the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank of the engine 105 reaches a predetermined amount. When it is determined that it has become below, a refueling signal is output to the management server 400 of the cloud C via an external communication network.

On the other hand, since the mobile terminal 300 always accesses the management server 400 of the cloud C, when the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs a refueling signal to the management server 400 of the cloud C, the mobile terminal 300 The control unit 310 can immediately notify the operator that the fuel tank of the engine 105 is running out of fuel and needs to be refueled.

In this embodiment, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 further detects the number of rotations of the engine 105 detected by the engine rotation sensor 211, the fluid temperature of the radiator detected by the engine coolant temperature sensor 212, the rail pressure sensor 213 The pressure in the common rail of the engine 105 detected by , the urea water remaining amount in the urea water tank) detected by the urea water remaining amount sensor 215, and the clogging of the filter detected by the filter clogging sensor 216 , is constantly monitored, and when an abnormality is detected in the detection values detected by each sensor, a maintenance signal indicating which component of the work vehicle 100 needs maintenance is sent via an external communication network. and output to the management server 400 of the cloud C.

As described above, since the mobile terminal 300 always accesses the management server 400 of the cloud C, when a maintenance signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 to the management server 400 of the cloud C, the mobile terminal 300 The control unit 310 of the terminal 300 can immediately notify the operator which component of the work vehicle 100 needs maintenance.

In this embodiment, as described below, when refueling or maintenance of a component of work vehicle 100 is required, work vehicle 100 is stopped at a stop position that facilitates refueling or maintenance. (Stop). The stop position of the work vehicle 100 is configured to be specified by the worker holding the mobile terminal 300, but when the fuel supply signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100, Since it is necessary to stop the work vehicle 100 at a position less than the travelable distance of the work vehicle 100 and refuel using the fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105, in this embodiment, , the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs a refueling signal, and uses the remaining amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank to determine the travelable distance L0 of the work vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as "reference distance L0"). ) and stored in the storage device 201 of the work vehicle 100 and the storage device 312 of the mobile terminal 300 .

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing travel control of work vehicle 100 when the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of engine 105 is equal to or less than a predetermined remaining amount.

The work vehicle 100 is automatically driven by the automatic driving ECU 220 (step s1).

The control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 determines whether the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 is equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0 based on the detection signal of the remaining fuel amount sensor 214 ( In step s2), when it is determined that the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 is equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 sends a fuel supply signal to the management server of the cloud C. 400 (step s3).

Since the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 always accesses the management server 400 of the cloud C, when the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs a fuel supply signal to the management server 400 of the cloud C, the mobile terminal A control unit 310 of 300 can notify the operator that fuel in the fuel tank of engine 105 is low and needs to be refueled.

When the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs a refueling signal, the control unit 310 of the portable terminal 300 outputs a work vehicle position indicating the position of the work vehicle 100 at that time. information and mobile terminal position information indicating the position of the mobile terminal 300 at that point in time, and accessing the travel route information database 403 to read the travel route information indicating the future travel route of the work vehicle 100 (step s4); Based on the travel route information, the travel route of the work vehicle 100 in the field is displayed in the form of a map on the display 315 (step s5).

Furthermore, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 uses the fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 to read out from the storage device 312 the reference distance L0 that the work vehicle 100 can travel, and , the position (reference position) on the field where the distance measured along the traveling route is equal to the reference distance L0 is displayed on the map displayed on the display 315 (step s6).

Here, the reference distance L0 is the distance that the work vehicle 100 can travel using the fuel remaining in the fuel tank when the fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 becomes equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0. Therefore, the distance equal to the distance that the work vehicle 100 can travel using the predetermined amount of fuel RQ0 is calculated in advance and stored in the storage device 312 .

Next, the control unit 310 of the portable terminal 300 displays on the display 315 a screen requesting the operator to designate a stop position for refueling the work vehicle 100 (step s7).

Specifically, the control unit 310 calculates the position closest to the current position of the mobile terminal 300 in the field based on the position information of the mobile terminal 300 and the topography information acquired from the topography information database 402, and calculates that position. is proposed as the stop position. The operator can designate the proposed position as the stop position, or can designate any place different from the proposed position (step s8).

When specifying an arbitrary location, the map on display 315 displays a reference position separated by reference distance L0 from the current position of work vehicle 100 (the furthest position that work vehicle 100 can reach with the remaining fuel). Then, while referring to the position of the mobile terminal 300 displayed on the map, the worker selects a stop position at which the work vehicle 100 should be stopped within a range closer to the current position of the work vehicle 100 than the reference position. An arbitrary position in the field is specified on the map displayed on the display 315 (specified by tapping the display 315).

Therefore, if the proposed position is not suitable for refueling, the worker can tap on the map to specify a place where refueling is easy, and the work when refueling can be performed. It is possible to reduce the work burden of the person.

Thus, when the worker holding the mobile terminal 300 designates the stop position of the work vehicle 100, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 outputs the position information of the stop position to the management server 400 of the cloud C. Along with (step s9), the stop position is displayed on the map displayed on the display 315 (stage s10).

The position information of the stop position is output from the management server 400 of the cloud C to the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 , and the stop position of the work vehicle 100 is stored in the storage device 201 .

Next, the travel route calculation unit 221 of the work vehicle 100 calculates a travel route connecting the current position of the work vehicle 100 and the designated stop position, and stores it in the storage device 201 and the travel route information database 403 of the cloud C. .

In this embodiment, the work implement 140 continues to work while continuing to travel straight to the end of the straight travel (either of L1 to Ln in FIGS. L1 to Ln) that was traveled when the stop position was stored in the storage device 201 . is configured to By configuring in this way, it is possible to prevent work results from becoming discontinuous or uneven within the same straight process.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the travel route calculation unit 221 of the work vehicle 100 calculates the following travel route used for autonomous travel based on the fuel filler port arrangement information, the current position of the work vehicle 100, and the designated stop position. A route is calculated (step s11).

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a travel route to a stop position when the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body.

First, when the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body, and when the travel route is calculated, the specified stop position is on the right front side, right rear side, or left rear side with respect to the current position of the work vehicle 100. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the travel route calculation unit 221 continues to travel straight to the end of the straight travel (either of L1 to Ln in FIGS. 16), it calculates a route to turn right and travel clockwise to the stop position in the peripheral area.

In addition, when the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body, and when the travel route is calculated, when the specified stop position is on the left front side with respect to the current position of work vehicle 100, as shown in FIG. The traveling route calculation unit 221 continues traveling straight until the end of the traveling straight course (either of L1 to Ln), turns right when reaching the outer circumference route, and then moves backward to the stop position. Calculate the route to travel.

Similarly, when the fuel filler port is on the right side of the vehicle body, and when the travel route is calculated, the designated stop position is the left front side, the left rear side, or the right rear side with respect to the current position of the work vehicle 100. In some cases, the travel route calculation unit 221 continues to travel straight to the end of the traveled straight course (any of figures L1 to Ln), and when it reaches the outer route, it turns left and turns counterclockwise to the stop position. Calculate a route that travels in the peripheral area to .

Further, when the fuel filler port is on the right side of the vehicle body and when calculating the travel route, if the specified stop position is on the right front side with respect to the current position of the work vehicle 100, the travel route calculation unit 221 calculates a route in which the vehicle continues to travel straight until the end of the straight travel (either of L1 to Ln), turns left when it reaches the outer route, and travels backward to the stop position.

By calculating such a travel route, when the work vehicle 100 is stopped at the stop position, the refueling port arranged on the left side of the vehicle body can be directed to the outside (bank) of the farm field, and the refueling operation can be performed. can be easily done. With respect to the current position of the work vehicle 100, in which direction (position) the stop position is positioned: the front left side, the rear left side, the front right side, or the rear right side, the position information of the vehicle and the traveling trajectory. From the inner product/outer product of the vector a to which the vehicle is directed and the vector b from the position of the vehicle to the stop position, the stop position is determined from the first to fourth quadrants in the coordinate system centered on the position of the vehicle. It is obtained by determining which of

According to the travel route thus calculated, the automatic operation ECU 220 travels to the stop position by automatic operation (autonomous travel) (step s12).

In this embodiment, after the work vehicle 100 hits (reaches) the outer path (peripheral region 16), it passes through the peripheral region 16, which is an unworked region (uncultivated land region) where work has not yet been performed. , is configured to travel to the stop position, and does not damage the already cultivated land.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4 , while the work vehicle 100 passes through the peripheral region 16 when heading to the stop position, the work vehicle 100 travels along the innermost outer peripheral route R1 among the plurality of outer peripheral routes, and then reaches the stop position. , the travel route is calculated in step s11 so as to move to the outermost outer route R2.

In this way, by causing the work vehicle 100 to travel along the innermost outer circumference route R1, the possibility of obstacle detection by the obstacle sensor 160 is lowered, and the work vehicle 100 is allowed to travel stably by autonomous travel without stopping. be able to.

Furthermore, when the operator has traveled to the vicinity of the stop position, by moving to the outermost outer peripheral route R2, the worker can stop at the stop position directly from outside the field or by just stepping into the field. It becomes possible to refuel the vehicle 100 .

In this embodiment, when the work vehicle 100 stops at the stop position, the engine 105 is automatically turned off (step s13).

After traveling along the travel route thus calculated, work vehicle 100 stops at the stop position and is refueled. An automatic driving signal is output to the driving ECU 220 . As a result, the automatic driving ECU 220 restarts the work based on the autonomous traveling of the work vehicle 100 (step s1).

At the time of restart, the work vehicle 100 automatically moves to the next straight course of the straight course (any of L1 to Ln) in which traveling and work were performed immediately before heading to the stop position or to the course of the outer route. In this way, since the work vehicle 100 automatically proceeds to the next straight course, there is no need for the operator to steer the vehicle, saving the operator time and effort.

When heading for the next straight travel or outer track, work vehicle 100 travels along innermost outer track R1 in peripheral area 16, which is an uncultivated area (unworked area).

Here, when the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body, and when the travel route to the stop position is calculated, the designated stop position is the front right side, the rear right side, or the rear right side with respect to the current position of the work vehicle 100. Since it was on the left rear side, as shown in FIG. 4, it continues to run straight until the end of the straight travel (either of figures L1 to Ln), and when it reaches the outer path, it turns right and turns clockwise to the stop position. When traveling in the peripheral area, it moves clockwise in the field from the stop position where the oil is supplied to the work start position of the next straight stroke or the stroke of the outer path. With this configuration, the work vehicle 100 can move forward (without retreating) to the work start position for the next stroke.

On the other hand, when the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body, and when the traveling route was calculated, the specified stop position was on the front left side with respect to the current position of work vehicle 100. Therefore, as shown in FIG. If the vehicle continues to travel straight to the end of the straight travel (either of Figures L1 to Ln), turns right when it reaches the outer route, and then travels backward to the stop position, work The vehicle 100 moves backward so as to return to the route from which it has retreated, and moves forward to the work start position of the next straight travel or the work start position of the outer route.

The same applies when the fuel filler port is on the right side of the vehicle body.

According to this embodiment, the worker can arbitrarily set the stop position of the work vehicle 100 within the range on the field that is closer to the current position of the work vehicle 100 than the reference position. It is possible to reduce the work burden on the worker when doing so.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 detects the number of rotations of the engine 105 detected by the engine rotation sensor 211, the fluid temperature of the radiator detected by the engine coolant temperature sensor 212, the rail pressure sensor 213 The pressure in the common rail of the engine 105 detected by , the urea water remaining amount in the urea water tank) detected by the urea water remaining amount sensor 215, and the clogging of the filter detected by the filter clogging sensor 216 , is constantly monitored, and when an abnormality is detected in the detection values detected by each sensor, a maintenance signal indicating which component of the work vehicle 100 needs maintenance is sent via an external communication network. and output to the management server 400 of the cloud C. The control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300, which is always accessing the management server 400 of the cloud C, can also notify the worker which component of the work vehicle 100 needs maintenance.

Therefore, in the work vehicle management system according to this embodiment, when an abnormality is recognized in the detection value detected by any of the work vehicles 100 during automatic operation of the work vehicles 100, the control unit of the mobile terminal 300 310 reads work vehicle position information indicating the current position of work vehicle 100 and mobile terminal position information indicating the current position of mobile terminal 300 , and accesses travel route information database 403 to determine the location of work vehicle 100 . The travel route information indicating the future travel route is read, and based on the travel route information, the travel route in the farm field of the work vehicle 100 is displayed in the form of a map on the display 315, and the current travel route in the farm field of the work vehicle 100 is displayed. and the positional information of the portable terminal 300 at that point in time on the map displayed on the display 315, and the portable terminal The position in the field closest to the current position of 300 or the position arbitrarily designated by the operator on the mobile terminal 300 is set as the stop position, and the traveling route to the stop position is calculated as shown in FIG. The work vehicle 100 is configured to travel along the outer peripheral routes R1 and R2 and stop at the stop position along the traveling route. Therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce the workload of the operator when performing maintenance on the component in which an abnormality is recognized.

According to this embodiment, the stop position (i.e., the "proposed position ”), the work vehicle 100 can be moved by self-sustaining travel, so that the work vehicle can be stopped at a location that is easy for the worker to access and maintenance such as refueling can be easily performed. It is possible to refuel the work vehicle 100 or perform maintenance on the work vehicle 100 while reducing the work burden on the worker.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when maintenance such as refueling is required, even if the place where the worker is (the place where the portable terminal 300 exists) is not suitable for maintenance such as refueling, Another arbitrary place can be specified on the portable terminal 300, and the work vehicle 100 can be stopped (stopped) at the specified place (stop position), which is convenient.

Further, according to this embodiment, when the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank of the engine 105 becomes equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0, within the range of the distance (reference distance L0) that can be traveled by the remaining amount of fuel, Since the position where the work vehicle should be stopped can be specified, the work vehicle 100 can be reliably stopped at a location that is easily accessible and can be easily refueled.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the position of the fuel filler opening on the left and right sides of the vehicle body (work vehicle 100), and the stop positions on the right front side, the right rear side, the left front side, and the left rear side when the work vehicle 100 is used as a reference. The work vehicle 100 can be stopped at the stop position with the oil filler opening directed to the outside of the field, regardless of whether it is on the side of the field, and the oil supply operation can be easily performed.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a traveling route to a stop position according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

This embodiment is basically constructed in the same manner as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, but as will be explained below, it stops near the edge of the field for refueling or the like. When (stopping), the work vehicle 100 stops at the stop position or a position in the vicinity thereof, depending on the tilt angle of the vehicle body directly detected by the tilt sensor 217 (that is, the tilt angle of the place where the vehicle body is located). is configured as

In this embodiment, a refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100, and the closest position (that is, the proposed position) to the current position of the mobile terminal 300 in the field, or the position arbitrarily tapped by the worker. When this position is specified as the stop position, the travel route calculation unit 221 calculates a travel route connecting the current position of the work vehicle 100 and the specified stop position, and also calculates a travel route within a certain distance from the specified stop position. (Range indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 5), the outermost range on the outer circumference route R2 is calculated as a stop range (illustrated by a dashed line in FIG. 5).

When the travel route to the stop position and the stop range are calculated in this manner, work vehicle 100 travels straight to the end of the straight travel (eg, L4) during travel, as in the above-described embodiment.

Next, the position of the fuel filler opening of work vehicle 100 determined based on the fuel filler opening arrangement information stored in storage device 201 is, for example, the left side of the vehicle body, and as shown in FIG. If it is on the right front side with reference to 100, as in the previous embodiment, when it reaches the outer path, it turns right and travels in the peripheral area clockwise to the position of the stop range. As a result, the fuel filler port of work vehicle 100 can be directed toward the outside of the farm field.

When the position of the stop range is reached, work vehicle 100 continues to detect the tilt angle of the vehicle body (the tilt angle of work vehicle 100) while reducing the vehicle speed and traveling within the stop range. The vehicle is stopped at a point where the inclination angle of the vehicle body (the inclination angle at the point where the vehicle body is located) is equal to or less than a predetermined angle (an angle close to the horizontal).

As described above, in this embodiment, the work vehicle 100 is configured to stop (stop) at a point within the stop range and at a certain slope or less, so that the work vehicle 100 can be stopped at the stop position designated by the operator. The work vehicle 100 can be stopped at a point close to and near horizontal with good refueling conditions, and the situation in which the work vehicle 100 stops on a slope unsuitable for refueling can be prevented.

In this embodiment, when there is no point within the stop range where the angle of the vehicle body is equal to or less than a predetermined angle (a point where the inclination of the field within the stop range is equal to or less than the predetermined angle), the work vehicle 100 , the end of the stop range (the end past the stop position). However, if there is no point where the angle of the vehicle body is equal to or less than the predetermined angle until reaching the end of the stop range after passing the stop position, the work vehicle 100 returns to the point closest to the horizontal within the stop range. In this configuration, the detection value of the tilt sensor 217 and the storage points within the stop range (position information of each point within the stop range) are linked and stored in the storage device 201 each time. It can be implemented by storing in

In this embodiment, when the work vehicle 100 stops within the stop range, the engine 105 is automatically turned off, thereby suppressing fuel consumption and improving the efficiency of refueling work.

Before and after refueling, how many more strokes (the number of strokes ) can be calculated and displayed on the display 315 of the portable terminal 300. In this case, the amount of fuel required for the remaining stroke can be grasped. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the fuel runs out again. In order to accurately detect the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank by the remaining amount of fuel sensor 214, it is desirable that the angle of the vehicle body detected by the tilt sensor 217 is horizontal to some extent. Alternatively, when calculating the number of strokes in which work is possible based on the current remaining amount of fuel, the amount of remaining fuel may be calculated in consideration of the inclination angle of the vehicle body.

According to the present embodiment, among the stop position calculated based on the position information of the mobile terminal 300, the stop position specified by the operator, and places in the vicinity thereof (i.e., within the stop range), the inclination angle of the field is predetermined. Since the work vehicle 100 is configured to be stopped at a place where the angle of inclination is less than the predetermined angle, it is possible to prevent the work vehicle 100 from stopping at a place where refueling is difficult because the tilt angle exceeds a predetermined angle, and facilitates refueling. can be

In the above, the flow when the fuel replenishment signal is output from the control unit 200 in this embodiment has been described. , the work vehicle 100 is configured to stop at a location within a stop range including the stop position and where the inclination angle of the field is equal to or less than a predetermined angle, as in the case where the refueling signal is output. However, it is not always necessary to configure in this way.

FIG. 6 shows the working vehicle 100 traveling when the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 is less than a predetermined remaining amount in the working vehicle management system according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flow chart showing control;

In this embodiment, when it is determined that the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 has become equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0, the current position of the terminal portion of the automatic operation process is set along the travel route. is within the reference distance L0 from the current position of the work vehicle 100, the work vehicle 100 is not stopped until the current automatic driving process is completed. It is configured to stop the work vehicle 100 and refuel.

That is, when the work vehicle 100 is being automatically driven by the automatic driving ECU 220 (step ss1), the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 controls the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 based on the detection signal of the remaining fuel sensor 214. As a result of determining whether or not the amount of fuel remaining in the engine 105 has become equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0 (step ss2), it is determined that the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 has become equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0. Then, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs a refueling signal to the management server 400 of the cloud C (step ss3).

When the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs a refueling signal to the management server 400 of the cloud C, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 obtains the current position of the work vehicle 100 from the management server 400 of the cloud C. work vehicle position information and mobile terminal position information indicating the position of the mobile terminal 300 at that point in time. , the traveling route of the work vehicle 100 in the field is displayed in the form of a map on the display 315 (step ss5).

Next, the control unit 310 of the portable terminal 300 displayed on the display 315 the position (reference position) on the field where the distance measured along the travel route from the current position of the work vehicle 100 is equal to the reference distance L0. Display in the map (step ss6).

Next, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 displays the traveling route information, the work vehicle 100, and the positional relationship information of the mobile terminal 300 in the field on the display 315, and also displays the work vehicle 100 stop position to be determined. A message is displayed on the display 315 (step ss7).

Furthermore, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 displays the position of the current end of the automatic driving process on the travel route of the work vehicle 100 displayed in the form of a map on the display 315 of the mobile terminal 300 (step ss8). ).

Here, in this embodiment, the position of the current end of the automatic driving process is stored in advance in the storage device 312 of the mobile terminal 300 .

Next, control unit 310 of portable terminal 300 determines whether or not the current position of the end of the automatic driving process is closer than the reference position from the current position of work vehicle 100 (step ss9).

As a result, when the position of the current end of the automatic driving process is closer than the reference position from the current position of work vehicle 100, control unit 310 of portable terminal 300 determines the position of the end as the stop position, Display in the map displayed on the display 315 (step ss10), continue the work to the end, and stop (step ss12).

In this way, the position of the end of the current automatic operation process is designated as the stop position of the work vehicle 100 because the fuel shortage is detected during the work of the work vehicle 100 by automatic operation. This is because, when the work vehicle 100 is sometimes stopped before the current automatic operation process ends, the continuity of the work is lost, which causes work irregularities.

On the other hand, when the current end position of the automatic driving process is farther than the reference position from the current position of the work vehicle 100, even if the fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 is used, the automatic driving process Therefore, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 should designate a stop position for refueling the work vehicle 100 at a position closer to the current position of the work vehicle 100 than the reference position. is displayed on the display 315 (step ss11), and the robot automatically travels to a designated position and stops (step ss13).

On the other hand, in this embodiment, when traveling on the headland in the field, the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor 160 on the bank side is adjusted to be low (the detection range is narrowed). It is designed to prevent detection. When an obstacle is detected by the obstacle sensor 160, it is desirable to stop the work vehicle 100 and prompt the worker (monitor) to confirm by using a buzzer or the like. If permitted, the vehicle may resume running with the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor 160 adjusted to be low for a predetermined period of time.

When the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor 160 is adjusted, the image of the camera provided on the work vehicle 100 in the present embodiment, which has undergone sensitivity adjustment, is displayed on the portable terminal 300 and fixed. It is configured in such a manner that it is possible to further promote safety confirmation. In addition, the camera image on the side of the ridge may be enlarged, and in this case, after starting the display of the enlarged image, it may be automatically reduced to the original size several seconds later.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. It goes without saying that they are also included within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, work machine 140 is configured as a cultivator capable of cultivating a field, but the type of work machine is not particularly limited.

1 to 6, the portable terminal 300 is configured to be able to communicate with the work vehicle 100 via the cloud C, but the work vehicle management system according to the present invention is It is not always necessary to provide C, and it may be configured such that direct communication is performed between the mobile terminal and the work vehicle.

Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, when the refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100, the position closest to the current position of the portable terminal 300 in the field (that is, the proposed position) Alternatively, a position arbitrarily tapped by the operator is specified as a stop position, and a range within a certain distance from the stop position and on the outermost outer peripheral route R2 is calculated as the stop range. However, on the mobile terminal 300, the operator selects (for example, by tracing with a finger) a plurality of points (for example, by tracing with a finger) from a large number of memory points (for example, 64 memory points) in the outer peripheral path (peripheral area). The stop range may be configured to be settable. In this case, within the stop range selected by the worker on the mobile terminal 300, the work vehicle is stopped at a point where the inclination angle of the vehicle body (that is, the inclination angle of the field) is equal to or less than a predetermined angle.

13 Field 15 Central Area 16 Peripheral Area 100 Work Vehicle 102 GNSS Receiver 103 Front Wheel 104 Rear Wheel 105 Engine 106 Control Unit 107 Bonnet 108 Cabin Roof 140 Work Machine 141 Elevating Cylinder 142 Lift Arm 143 Lift Arm Sensor 145 Three-Point Link Mechanism 145a Top Link 145b Lower link 146 Tilling claw 147 Rotary cover 148 Rear cover 149 Plowing depth sensor 150 Steering wheel 153 Cockpit 160 Forward obstacle sensor 170 Satellite 200 Control unit 201 Recording device 211 Engine rotation sensor 212 Engine water temperature sensor 213 Rail pressure sensor 214 Fuel Remaining amount sensor 215 Urea water remaining amount sensor 216 Filter clogging sensor 217 Inclination sensor 221 Traveling route calculation unit 300 Mobile terminal 310 Control unit 312 Storage device 315 Display 317 GNSS receiver 400 Management server 401 Location information database 402 Terrain information database 403 Traveling Route information database 404 Remaining amount of fuel database C Cloud

Claims (5)

A work vehicle that autonomously travels in a field,
a mobile terminal held by the worker and capable of communicating with the work vehicle;
A farm field shape acquisition means for acquiring topography information of a farm field;
a route calculation means for calculating a route along which the work vehicle autonomously travels,
A work characterized in that the work vehicle is autonomously moved to a stop position calculated based on topographical information of the field and position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal, and then stopped. Vehicle management system. 2. The work vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein the work vehicle can be autonomously moved to a stop position arbitrarily specified on the mobile terminal and stopped. Equipped with a fuel level sensor that detects the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine,
A stop position can be specified within a range of travelable distance calculated based on the remaining amount of fuel detected by the remaining fuel sensor from the current position of the work vehicle. Item 3. The work vehicle management system according to item 2. having in advance fuel filler placement information as to which side of the vehicle body the fuel filler port for supplying fuel to the work vehicle is located on, left or right;
When the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body, and when the stop position is on the right front side, right rear side, or left rear side with respect to the work vehicle, the route calculation means calculates an outer peripheral route that circulates in the field. When reaching , calculate the route to turn right and travel clockwise to the stop position,
When the fuel filler port is on the left side of the vehicle body and the stop position is on the front left side with respect to the work vehicle, the route calculation means makes a right turn when the vehicle reaches the outer circumference route, then moves backward and travels to the stop position. Calculate the route to
When the fuel filler port is on the right side of the vehicle body and the stop position is on the left front side, the left rear side, or the right rear side with respect to the work vehicle, the route calculation means turns left when reaching the outer circumference route. to calculate the route to travel counterclockwise to the stop position,
When the fuel filler port is on the right side of the vehicle body and the stop position is on the right front side with respect to the work vehicle, the route calculation means makes a left turn after reaching the outer circumference route, then moves backward to the stop position. 4. The work vehicle management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a route is calculated. The work vehicle further comprises a tilt sensor for detecting the tilt angle of the vehicle body,
5. The work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the work vehicle is stopped at a place where the tilt angle of the vehicle body detected by the tilt sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined angle, from among the stop position and places in the vicinity thereof. Work vehicle management system described in the item.

Images