JP6533260B2 - Work vehicle coordination system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a working vehicle coordination system for performing a ground operation on a central work site and a headland located around the central work site by an unmanned steerable child working vehicle and a manned steered parent working vehicle. .

  A vehicle control system is known from Patent Document 1 that sequentially determines a target travel position based on the actual travel position of a parent work vehicle and steers the work vehicle toward the target travel position. In this vehicle control system, a control mode or parent work that causes the child work vehicle to follow the parent work vehicle so as to maintain the offset amount between the X (longitude) direction and the Y (latitude) direction set for the parent work vehicle A control mode or the like is disclosed in which a sub work vehicle follows a parent work vehicle with a travel route obtained by translating a travel path of a vehicle by a work width in parallel as a target travel route.

  In the follow-up control according to Patent Document 1, work in a large work site is intended, and work in the ground with a field or the like with a relatively narrow area bounded by a fence or the like is not intended. The ground work in such a work area (field), especially the ground work for farming, is a central work that travels in a straight line and traveling U-turn repeatedly to the central area (central work area) of the work area. It is divided into a traveling on the ground and a traveling on the ground where the work is performed while traveling around a headland work traveling area (called a headland) defined around the central work site. For this reason, the work site is divided into a central work site and a headland in advance. Different maneuvers are required for central work site travel and headland travel.

  It is known, for example, from Patent Document 2 that ground work such as tillage work is performed by a single unmanned working vehicle for central work site travel and headland travel. However, in order to effectively achieve central work site travel mainly in straight travel and headland travel including complicated turning and steering by work vehicle coordinated control linking the parent work vehicle and the sub work vehicle. Is impossible by simply combining the controls disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

U.S. Patent 6,732,024 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-266608

  From the above-mentioned facts, there is a demand for a work vehicle coordination control system which realizes ground work traveling for the central work site and the headland by effectively linking the parent work vehicle and the child work vehicle.

The work vehicle coordination system according to the present invention performs a ground operation on a central work site and a headland located around the central work site by an unmanned steerable child work vehicle and a manned steer parent work vehicle. A parent position detection module for detecting the position of the parent work vehicle, a child position detection module for detecting the position of the child work vehicle, and used for unmanned operation travel at the central work site of the child work vehicle A central work site route calculating unit that calculates a central work site travel path, the child work vehicle detected by the child position detection module, and the parent work vehicle based on the central work site travel path Calculating a headland traveling route used for unmanned operation traveling of the sub work vehicle based on a first operation control unit for unmanned operation prior to the operation and a work traveling locus of the parent work vehicle on the headland Headland route calculation And a second steering control unit for unmannedly maneuvering the child work vehicle to follow the parent work vehicle based on the child work vehicle position detected by the child position detection module and the headland travel path. The parent work vehicle and the child work vehicle have different types of work devices, and travel on the same travel route at the central work site.

  According to this configuration, in the central work site traveling mainly in the straight traveling, the unmanned controlled working vehicle precedes the parent working vehicle. The driver of the parent work vehicle travels along the work marks while looking at the work marks of the child work vehicle, but since the work marks become the target line, they can travel easily. In addition, in headland travel where complicated turnaround travel is required, it is difficult to calculate a travel path for unmanned steering without a reference path. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the traveling route for unmanned steering relatively easily by using the traveling track of the parent work vehicle as the reference route, with the parent working vehicle leading in advance for such a reverse traveling by manned steering It becomes. As a result, the work vehicle coordination control system that effectively links the parent work vehicle and the child work vehicle with the novel idea that the child work vehicle leads at the central work site and the parent work vehicle leads at the headland It was realized.

  Further, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the parent work vehicle and the child work vehicle repeatedly perform straight traveling at the central work site and turning traveling at the headland, The traveling path of the turning travel by the work vehicle and the traveling path of the turning travel by the sub work vehicle are different from each other.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the traveling locus of the main work vehicle using the work vehicle coordination system of this invention, and the traveling locus of a sub-work vehicle in a central work site. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the traveling locus of the parent work vehicle, and the traveling locus of a sub-work vehicle in the headland using the work vehicle coordination system of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the continuation of the traveling locus of the parent working vehicle and the traveling locus of a subsidiary working vehicle which were shown by FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows another example of the traveling locus of the main work vehicle, and the traveling locus of a sub work vehicle in the headland using the work vehicle coordination system of the present invention. It is a side view of a tractor with a tilling device applied as a work vehicle in an embodiment of a work vehicle coordination system. It is a functional block diagram showing a functional part which builds a work vehicle coordination system. It is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the work by a work vehicle coordination system. It is a schematic diagram explaining the basic principle to the main work vehicle of the sub work car at the headland, (a) shows the evacuation traveling locus of the sub work car, (b) shows the return travel and pillow of the main work car (C) shows the traveling locus of the turning operation of the child working vehicle and the traveling locus of the turning operation. It is a schematic diagram explaining the turning traveling in the headland corner of a parent work vehicle. It is a schematic diagram explaining turning traveling at the headland corner of a small work vehicle. It is a schematic diagram which shows cooperation driving | running | working with another parent work vehicle and a child work vehicle in a central work site. It is a schematic diagram which shows the cooperation driving | running | working in which a parent work vehicle and a child work vehicle leave the same traveling locus in a central work site. It is a schematic diagram which shows the cooperation driving | running | working in which a parent work vehicle and a child work vehicle leave the same traveling locus in a headland.

  Before describing a specific embodiment of the work vehicle coordination system according to the present invention, a traveling track of the parent work vehicle under the work vehicle coordination system using FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 The basic example of the traveling locus of the child working vehicle will be described. In this work vehicle coordination system, the parent work vehicle 1P with manned maneuvering type and the sub-work vehicle 1C capable of unmanned travel jointly perform ground work.

  In this example, the ground work site is a field bordered by fences, and ground work is carried out as the work vehicle travels, such as tillage work, ground work for the width of the ground work device is carried out It will In the field work, the field is generally divided into a substantially rectangular central work site CL and a headland HL defined along the ridge around the central work site CL. In the central work site CL, as shown in FIG. 1, ground work is performed by reciprocating traveling, so the traveling locus is straight forward traveling, turning (U-turn) traveling, linear returning traveling and turning (U-turn) ) It becomes repetition with traveling. The headland HL is a turning area in work travel of the central work site CL. In the headland HL, the work on the ground is performed by repeating the straight traveling and the turning traveling in each corner area.

  Here, based on the central work site travel route calculated as the target travel route for unmanned travel, the sub work vehicle 1C travels unmanned prior to the parent work vehicle 1P. After the sub work vehicle 1C travels unmanned, the parent work vehicle 1P travels on the left side thereof so that the work marks of the parent work vehicle 1P overlap the work marks of the sub work vehicle 1C by a predetermined amount.

  As shown in the upper drawing of FIG. 2, if the number of rectilinear reciprocation paths in the central work site CL is an even number, when work travel is substantially completed, the parent work vehicle 1P is located immediately after the child work vehicle 1C. To position. From here, work on the headland HL is started. In the headland HL, the parent work vehicle 1P precedes, and the child work vehicle 1C follows the parent work vehicle 1P. For this reason, based on the work traveling locus on the headland HL of the parent work vehicle 1P, a headland travel path, which is a target travel path used for unmanned control traveling of the work vehicle 1C, is calculated. In this headland HL, a headland traveling route for three rounds is set.

  Prior to the actual headland travel, as the initial travel, child work vehicle 1C evacuates to a position on headland HL where it does not interfere with the travel of parent work vehicle 1P (# 01). This initial traveling may be either manned traveling or unmanned traveling. After that, as shown in the lower drawing of FIG. 2, the parent working vehicle 1P first enters the outermost groundland traveling route, turns around, and turns to the headland corner HLC which is the starting point of the linear ground traveling in reverse. Stop at # 02. Next, parent work vehicle 1P operates the ground work device to start work traveling in a forward direction (# 03).

  As shown in the upper diagram of FIG. 3, when the parent work vehicle 1P passes the child work vehicle 1C, the child work vehicle 1C is calculated on the inner circumferential side of the headland traveling route of the parent work vehicle 1P. At the headland corner HLC, which is the starting point of the headland straight line traveling in reverse, stop on the basis of the headland traveling route of 1C (# 04). Next, the sub work vehicle 1C starts work traveling in a forward direction to follow the parent work vehicle 1P (# 05). As shown in the lower drawing of FIG. 3, when the main work vehicle 1P arrives in front of the next headland corner, it is a well-known turning traveling pattern, but the ground work device is deactivated and the next work is performed. Turn toward the headland traveling route (here, turn 90 degrees) and enter the headland corner HLC in reverse (# 06). Next, the main work vehicle 1P operates the ground work device to start work traveling in a forward direction (# 07). At that time, the sub work vehicle 1C stands by at a position that does not interfere with the turning back operation of the parent work vehicle 1P (# 08), and thereafter, for the turning back movement calculated with reference to the turning traveling track of the parent work vehicle 1P. Carries out turning based on the target driving route of The headland work travel of the parent work vehicle 1P and the child work vehicle 1C is performed along with such a turnaround travel.

  The upper drawing of FIG. 2 shows an example in which the number of rectilinear reciprocation paths in the central work site CL is an even number, but in FIG. 4 the example in which the number of rectilinear reciprocation paths in the central work site CL is an odd number It is shown. In this case, the leading work vehicle 1C suddenly enters the last straight route from the straight route one line before the last route, and travels on the last straight route and stops (# 10) . The following parent working vehicle 1P travels directly into the headland HL after traveling a straight route two lines before the final route, and bypasses the traveling track of the child working vehicle 1C (# 11), and the outermost pillow Enter the ground traveling route, turn back, and stop at the headland corner HLC, which is the starting point of straight driving on the mainland in reverse (# 12). Further, parent work vehicle 1P operates the ground work device to start work traveling in a forward direction (# 13). Next, at a time point when interference with the parent work vehicle 1P is avoided, the subsidiary work vehicle 1C performs round trip traveling to reach the headland corner HLC (# 14).

  In the above description, it is assumed that the parent work width, which is the work width to the ground of parent work vehicle 1P, and the child work width, which is the work width to the ground of child work vehicle 1C, are the same. The amount of positional deviation between the parent work vehicle 1P and the sub work vehicle 1C in the lateral direction is ideally (parent work width + child work width) / 2, but in order to avoid work remaining due to tracking error, for example Overlap about 10 cm.

  Next, one of the specific embodiments of the work vehicle coordination system of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the work vehicle is the tractor shown in FIG. 5 equipped with a tilling device for tilling a field bordered by a fence. A parent tractor 1P as a parent work vehicle 1P and a child tractor 1C as a child work vehicle 1C have substantially the same shape, and a control unit 30 at the central portion of the vehicle body 3 supported by the front wheel 2a and the rear wheel 2b. Is formed. At the rear of the vehicle body 3, a tilling device 5 as a ground work device is equipped via a hydraulic lift mechanism 4. The steering unit 30 of the parent tractor 1P and the child tractor 1C is provided with a steering wheel, various operation levers, and a seat on which a driver is seated, as in the prior art. At the time of execution of the follow-up control based on the work vehicle coordination system of the present invention, the parent tractor 1P is steered by the driver and the child tractor 1C is unmanned steering.

  In addition, a laser radar system is equipped on this child tractor 1C that travels unmanned. As schematically shown in FIG. 5, a front laser radar unit 32f is attached at the center in the lateral direction at the lower end region of the front grille using a bracket, and at the center in the lateral direction at the rear upper end region of the cabin. A rear laser radar unit 32r is attached. The laser radar system itself is well known. Here, the front laser radar unit 32 f targets an object several meters ahead on the ground height several cm, and covers a surrounding area of about 270 degrees by scanning. The rear laser radar unit 32r targets an object several cm above ground height several cm behind the tilling device 5 (working device) and covers a surrounding area of about 120 degrees by scanning. When it is detected by the laser radar system that an object approaches within a predetermined range of the child tractor 1C, the vehicle body 3 and the tilling device 5 automatically stop. If necessary, a similar laser radar system may be mounted on the main tractor 1P.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, an electronic control unit for constructing a work vehicle coordination system is a master control unit 6 mounted on a master tractor 1P and a slave control unit mounted on a slave tractor 1C. It is divided into seven. The master unit control unit 6 and the slave unit control unit 7 are provided with communication modules 60 and 70 so as to be able to transmit data wirelessly to each other.

  The master unit control unit 6 further includes functional units such as a parent position detection module 61, a parent travel locus calculation unit 62, and a child work device remote control module 65. Although these functional units may operate in cooperation with hardware, they are substantially realized by activating a computer program.

  The parent position detection module 61 detects its own position, that is, the position of the parent tractor 1P using RTK (Real-time Kinematic) -GPS. The parent traveling locus calculation unit 62 calculates the traveling locus of the parent tractor 1P from the position detected by the parent position detection module 61. The calculated traveling trajectory of the parent tractor 1P is digitized and transmitted to the sub work vehicle 1C. The child work device remote control module 65 has a function of wirelessly adjusting various conditions such as the elevation height and the tillage rotational speed of the tillage device 5 equipped on the child work vehicle 1C from the parent work vehicle 1P. The slave work device remote control module 65 includes a remote control operated by the driver of the master work vehicle 1P, and the control signal generated by the remote control operation is wirelessly transferred to the slave work vehicle 1C to the work equipment control unit 31c. The tilling device 5 of the sub work vehicle 1C is controlled.

  The slave control unit 7 also includes functional units such as a slave position detection module 71, a steering control module 72, a work area shape calculation module 73, and a route calculation module 74. Although these functional units may operate in cooperation with hardware, they are substantially realized by activating a computer program.

  The child position detection module 71 has the same configuration as the parent position detection module 61, and detects its own position, that is, the position of the child tractor 1C using RTK-GPS. The route calculation module 74 calculates a target travel route used when the child tractor 1C travels unmanned. In the central work site CL, the child tractor 1C travels unmanned along the central work site travel route calculated in advance, and in the headland HL, the main tractor is distracted from the travel trajectory of the parent tractor 1P by a predetermined width. Run unmanned following 1P. For this reason, two route calculation units having different calculation algorithms of the target travel route used in each, that is, a central work ground route calculation unit 74a and a headland route calculation unit 74b are constructed. The central work site route calculation unit 74a calculates a central work site travel path used for unmanned operation work traveling on the central work site CL of the child tractor 1C. The headland route calculating unit 74b calculates a headland traveling route used for unmanned steering operation of the child tractor 1C based on the work traveling locus on the headland HL of the parent work vehicle 1P.

  The child tractor 1C is provided with a work place shape calculation module 73 for calculating the shape of the work place through teaching travel. The work area shape calculation module 73 travels along the boundary line with the weir showing the outline of the field in the field where the child tractor 1C is operated by manned operation, and gives a command at the corner point of the field Then, calculate the shape of the field (work place). If there is map data of the field, this teaching run can be omitted. In any case, the central work site route calculation unit 74a calculates the central work site travel route based on the field shape calculated by the work site shape calculation module 73 or based on map data. At this time, the route calculation module 74 generates division data for dividing the central work site CL and the headland HL from the shape of the field, and supplies the generated data to the central work site route calculation unit 74a and the headland route calculation unit 74b.

  The central work site route calculating unit 74a takes a linear reciprocation as a target travel route of the child tractor 1C in consideration of the tillage width of the parent tractor 1P, the tillage width of the child tractor 1C, and the overlap of the tillage widths of each other. Calculate the route and the U-turn route.

  The headland route calculating unit 74b uses the working width of the parent tractor 1P and the working width of the child tractor 1C, and the turning traveling locus including the turning start point and the turning completion point in the turning of the parent tractor 1P. It has a function of calculating the 1C turning start point and the turning completion point. Furthermore, the headland route calculation unit 74b determines from the traveling completion point of the turnback to the next traveling start point of the turn based on the work width of the parent tractor 1P and the work width of the child tractor 1C and the headland work traveling track of the parent tractor 1P. It has a function to calculate the target travel position in the headland work traveling of the child tractor 1C. Based on the data obtained by these functions, the headland route calculating unit 74b calculates a headland traveling route for following the parent tractor 1P.

  The steering control module 72 includes a first steering control unit 72a and a second steering control unit 72b. The first steering control unit 72a sends the child tractor 1C to the parent tractor 1P based on the child work vehicle position detected by the child position detection module 71 and the central work area travel path calculated by the central work area route calculation unit 74a. Take an unmanned flight ahead. The second steering control unit 72b follows the child tractor 1C to the parent tractor 1P based on the child working vehicle position detected by the child position detection module 71 and the headland traveling route calculated by the headland route calculating unit 74b. As in unmanned operation.

  In addition, in the U-turn travel path other than the linear work travel path, the turning back travel path, etc., the tilling device 5 is raised at one end and is in a non-operating state. Accordingly, the working device control unit 31 c executes the raising and lowering of the tilling device 5 in accordance with the command from the steering control module 72.

  Next, an example of field work by cooperative traveling of the parent tractor 1P and the child tractor 1C in this embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 7. Here, the fields to be worked are the fields as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

(Step # 21) Installation of RTK Base Station In order to activate RTK-GPS, it is necessary to install the RTK base station near the field to be worked. When unmanned traveling the same field repeatedly, it is necessary to install an RTK base station at the same location, so it is convenient to put a pile or the like in the installation location of the RTK base station.
(Step # 22) Teaching travel of child tractor 1C In order to create a target travel path for unmanned travel, it is necessary to use external data of the field, but if there is no data indicating field topography such as map data, Teaching travel is performed. At that time, an example of the flow of teaching used is as follows.
(1) The driver gets into the child tractor 1C, and enters the field by artificial steering.
(2) Start the teaching program of the child tractor 1C.
(3) Move the child tractor 1C to the nearest corner of the field, move the child tractor 1C to the starting point of the tillage tillage, and lower the tilling device 5. Through the operation of lowering the tilling device 5, the work place shape calculating module 73 regards it as a corner point of the field outline.
(4) Once raising the tilling device 5, proceed to the next corner while imaging the tilling operation.
(5) After turning and traveling, move the subtractor 1C to the tilling work traveling start point and lower the tilling device 5. Repeat this process to input the corner points of the field outline.

(Step # 23) Work place shape calculation The work place shape is calculated with the corner points of the field outline, the field entrance and exit direction, and the in / out direction as input parameters.
(Step # 24) Calculation of travel route of child tractor 1C Travel of child tractor 1C using the work area shape (field shape), rotary tillage width of child tractor 1C and parent tractor 1P, overlap amount, etc. as input parameters Calculate the route.

(Step # 25) Movement of Child Tractor 1C to Work Start Position The child tractor 1C is caused to travel to near the tillage start point based on the calculated travel route. The unmanned travel control program for working the central work site CL mounted on the child tractor 1C is started.
(Step # 26) Entry of Parent Tractor 1P into the Field Put the man-operated parent tractor 1P into the field and move it to near the tilling start point.
(Step # 27) Positioning and Automatic Traveling Setting of Child Tractor 1C The driver gets into the child tractor 1C and moves it to the tilling start point. In addition, it is also possible to perform this movement by unmanned operation. In any case, it is important to align the vehicle body direction with the direction of the travel path as much as possible at the tilling start position.

(Step # 28) Setting of Child Tractor 1C Various settings are made for the traveling operation devices (engine rotation speed, vehicle speed, etc.) and work operation devices (cultivation depth, etc.) required for work traveling of the child tractor 1C.
(Step # 29) Setting of Parent Tractor 1P Various settings are made for the traveling operation devices (engine speed and vehicle speed, etc.) and work operation devices (cultivation depth, etc.) necessary for work traveling of parent tractor 1P.

(Step # 30) Unmanned Travel at Central Work Site CL of Child Tractor 1C Start unmanned work travel with respect to central work site CL of child tractor 1C.
(Step # 31) Manned travel on central work site CL of parent tractor 1P When child tractor 1C starts work traveling and the distance between child tractor 1C and parent tractor 1P reaches a predetermined value, work by parent tractor 1P Start running.

As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 4, while the main tractor 1P for manned traveling follows the unmanned traveling child tractor 1C, when the tilling traveling for the central work site CL is completed, the next is unmanned for the parent tractor 1P for manned traveling While the traveling child tractor 1C follows, the tillage traveling on the headland HL is performed as follows. In addition, child tractor 1C will not enter obstacle ground HL and will not be an obstacle for turning back necessary for performing cultivation on headland HL of leading parent tractor 1P when tillage travel at central work site CL is completed. Wait at position.
(Step # 32) Manned headland traveling of parent tractor 1P The parent tractor 1P starts to cultivate the headland HL after turning back and traveling.
(Step # 33) Unmanned headland travel of child tractor 1C The child tractor 1C travels the headland HL while calculating the target travel route based on the travel locus of the leading parent tractor 1P leading the headland HL Start cultivating.

For example, in the case where the headland traveling route is as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the child tractor 1C stops after completing one round of cultivation traveling and the parent tractor 1P stops when completing two times of circulation cultivation Stop. continue,
(Step # 34) Movement of Child Tractor 1C out of Field The driver transfers from the parent tractor 1P to the child tractor 1C and takes out the child tractor 1C out of the field.
(Step # 35) Movement of Parent Tractor 1P out of the Field Furthermore, the driver changes the child tractor 1C to the parent tractor 1P and takes out the parent tractor 1P out of the field.

  Next, an example of follow-up control of the child tractor 1C in the headland HL will be described using FIG. Here, the traveling track of parent work vehicle 1P is shown by a thick black line, the traveling track of child working vehicle 1C is shown by a thick white line, and the turning traveling track including the traveling track to the standby position is dotted line drawing It is distinguished. In this example, first, as shown in (a) of FIG. 8, the sub work vehicle 1C does not interfere with the parent work vehicle 1P that performs the turn-back traveling on the headland HL in advance. The work moves from the stop point Pc1 at the work site CL to the waiting point Pc2 set to the headland HL. The waiting point Pc2 is also a turning point of the turning back on the headland HL of the child working vehicle 1C. This movement may be unmanned operation or manned operation.

  In order for the headland traveling to be performed efficiently, the sub work vehicle 1C needs to follow the return traveling of the parent work vehicle 1P taking an appropriate route. First, as shown in (b) of FIG. 8, the main work vehicle 1P departs from the traveling start point Pp1 at the central work site CL and enters the headland HL. The parent work vehicle 1P is in the working state (the descent of the cultivating device 5) during traveling at the central work site CL, and is in the non-working state (the chopping device 5 is lifted) when entering the headland HL. When the parent work vehicle 1P enters the headland HL, it makes forward turning so that the rear end of the work vehicle faces the headland work travel start point (also a turning back completion point) Pp3 set at one corner of the field Then, the rear end of the work vehicle stops at the turning point Pp2 at which the headland work traveling start point is faced. Next, the vehicle travels in the reverse direction until it reaches the turning completion point Pp3 which is the headland work traveling start point. When the return traveling is completed, the parent work vehicle 1P travels forward in the headland work traveling region in the working state (lowers the cultivating device 5). This headland work travel is performed so as to be a substantially straight travel track.

  When it is detected from the traveling track of parent work vehicle 1P described above that parent working vehicle 1P has carried out a turnaround traveling, the traveling track, the work width to the ground of parent working vehicle 1P, and child working vehicle 1C (hereinafter simply referred to as working width Based on WP and Wc in FIG. 8, as shown in (c) of FIG. 8, the turning traveling completion point Pc3 of the child working vehicle 1C is calculated. The target travel position in reverse travel from the standby point Pc2 of the sub work vehicle 1C to the reverse travel completion point Pc3 is the parent under the condition that the weir of the sub work vehicle 1C does not enter the headland work travel width of the main work vehicle 1P. It is calculated independently of the traveling path of the reverse traveling of the work vehicle 1P. The travel target position in the headland work travel from the headland work travel start point, which is also the turning back completion point Pc3, is the work width of the parent work vehicle 1P and the work width of the child work vehicle 1C, and the headland work of the parent work vehicle 1P Calculated from the traveling track. Based on the calculated travel target position in the headland work travel, the headland work travel of child work vehicle 1C is executed.

Next, referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, an example of the follow-up control of the child working vehicle 1C in the turning-back operation, which is required at the first corner of the headland work traveling, will be described. At that time, FIG. 9 shows a traveling locus (black thick line) of the parent working vehicle 1P, and FIG. 10 shows a traveling locus (white thick line) of the child working vehicle 1C.
First, when the leading parent tractor 1P performs work traveling to the outer peripheral end of the next corner area, as shown in FIG. 9, in the non-work state in which the tilling device 5 is raised, reverse movement to the turning back traveling start point Pp1. The second round trip starts from here. That is, the vehicle travels forward from the turning start point Pp1 to the turning point Pp2 in the non-operation state. Then, it reverses to the outer edge of the headland HL and stops. Since this stop point is the starting point of the next headland work travel, the main tractor 1P starts forward travel in a working state in which the tilling device 5 is lowered. At that time, a traveling path of forward traveling (headland work traveling) of the parent tractor 1P is parallel-displaced by a distance corresponding to half the working width of the parent tractor 1P and the child tractor 1C. While calculating the turning point Pc2 on the turning auxiliary line. Furthermore, a turning back start point Pc1 that can reach the turning point Pc2 at a turning angle for turning is calculated in advance.

  The child tractor 1C which has approached the corner stands by until the parent tractor 1P reaches a predetermined point so as not to interfere with the parent tractor 1P when turning back. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10, the child tractor 1C advances while keeping the working state to the outer edge of the headland HL as much as possible beyond the turning start point. Next, in a non-working state in which the cultivating device 5 is raised, the vehicle turns back to the traveling start point Pc1. The turning back from the turning start point Pc1 is turned forward to the turning point Pp2 similarly to the turning at the start of the headland travel. Then, it reverses to the outer edge of the headland HL and stops. Since this stop point is the start point of the headland work traveling, the traveling forward travels in the working state in which the tilling device 5 is lowered. Similarly, if one turn is made through all the corners of the headland HL, in this example, the unworked place of the headland HL is performed only by the parent tractor 1P.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the embodiment described above, in the central work site CL, the sub work vehicle 1C travels unmanned prior to the main work vehicle 1P, and in the headland HL, the main work vehicle 1P precedes and the sub work vehicle 1C It followed and traveled based on the traveling track of parent work vehicle 1P. If the traveling locus on the headland HL is relatively simple, the child working vehicle 1C may perform unmanned traveling ahead of the parent working vehicle 1P in the headland HL.
(2) The relative positions of the sub work vehicle 1C and the parent work vehicle 1P in the reciprocation work travel route in the central work site CL are reversed as shown in FIG. That is, the parent working vehicle 1P follows the left side of the child working vehicle 1C on the outgoing path, and the parent working vehicle 1P follows the right side of the child working vehicle 1C on the return path. Instead of this, as shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to adopt a travel route in which the relative position of the sub work vehicle 1C with the parent work vehicle 1P does not change in the reciprocating work travel route.
(3) In the embodiment described above, the child work vehicle 1C and the parent work vehicle 1P are equipped with the work devices 5 of the same type, and work efficiency is improved by arranging the work widths in parallel with each other. Instead of such work coordination, different work devices 5 may be mounted so that a subsequent work vehicle travels the same trajectory as a preceding work vehicle to perform two different tasks. FIG. 12 shows a traveling trajectory of such work traveling at the central work site CL, and FIG. 13 shows a traveling trajectory at the headland HL. Although the sub work vehicle 1C precedes in FIGS. 12 and 13, the parent work vehicle 1P may precede. In addition, the preceding work vehicle may be different between the central work site CL and the headland HL.
(4) The parent work vehicle 1P and the child work vehicle 1C can exchange data through the communication modules 60 and 70 with each other, but this data exchange may be performed directly or through a relay device such as a server. It may be done. The contents of the data to be exchanged include the plow depth, the plow pitch and the rolling control status. For example, by transmitting such data from the parent work vehicle 1P in manned travel to the slave work vehicle 1C in unmanned travel, the work device control unit 31 of the child work vehicle 1C is identical to the setting of the parent work vehicle 1P. Or similar settings can be made. Such data exchange may be performed periodically depending on the situation, or may be performed at a timing determined by the driver. For this reason, it is convenient to have a mode for periodically exchanging data and a mode for optionally exchanging data. It is convenient for the driver that this mode switching can be performed together with the guidance display through the meter panel and the display mounted on the work vehicle. Further, for the operation input, a touch panel method for displaying a software button may be used, or a hardware button (switch, lever) may be used.
(5) The contents of the data exchange performed between the parent work vehicle 1P and the child work vehicle 1C may be stored in a storage device such as a hard disk or a non-volatile memory. In particular, setting data regarding traveling, work, etc. given from parent work vehicle 1P to child work vehicle 1C is important in coordinated travel. Even if the sub work vehicle 1C is keyed off, it can be re-set by reading out such setting data from the storage device at the time of restart, and the reproducibility of the work is improved.
(6) In the embodiment described above, one child tractor 1C is used, but the present invention can be applied to a plurality of child tractors 1C by a similar control method.
(7) In the work vehicle coordination system according to the present invention, the turning traveling locus of the parent tractor 1P and the child tractor 1C is not limited to the traveling locus in the embodiment described above. From the working path of the parent tractor 1P and the working width of the child tractor 1C, and the turning traveling locus including the turning start point Pp1, turning point Pp2 and turning completion point Pp3 in turning back of the parent tractor 1P, It is possible to adopt various turning traveling trajectories in which the turning start point Pc1, the turning point Pc2, and the turning completion point Pc3 can be calculated. Further, the turning points Pp2 and Pc2 of the parent tractor 1P and the child tractor 1C may be single or plural.
(8) In the embodiment described above, the tractor equipped with the tilling device 5 is taken up as a working vehicle, but even if other working devices such as a spreading device and a fertilizing device are mounted instead of the tilling device 5, the features of the present invention Can be used effectively. Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to other working vehicles such as combine machines, rice planters, lawn mowers, weeding machines, civil engineering and construction machines such as bulldozers, and the like. The parent work vehicle 1P and the child work vehicle 1C may not be the same model, and may be, for example, a combination of a combine and a transport truck.
(9) In the case where the ground work device is the tilling device 5 or the like, an overlap which is the overlapping length of the parent work width and the child work width is basically essential, but In this case, so-called underlap is set without providing an overlap, but rather with a predetermined interval between the parent work width and the child work width. Therefore, in the present invention, it is not essential to set the overlap OL, and it is essential to realize follow-up control in which the route distance between the parent work vehicle 1P and the child work vehicle 1C maintains a predetermined range.
(10) It is advantageous that the parent work vehicle 1P and / or the sub work vehicle 1C or both have offset information management units for managing offset information indicating differences in specifications of the respective work vehicles. Since the offset information management unit can detect the difference from the specifications of the own vehicle and the specifications of the other party, it is possible to perform travel setting and work setting to compensate for the difference. If such offset information is made into a table, it becomes possible to set the setting content adapted to the setting content of one working vehicle to the other working vehicle. Such management of offset information can be realized even in a coordinated control system using three or more work vehicles by sending the setting content of one work vehicle to a plurality of other work vehicles. Furthermore, the offset information may be stored at least in a storage device of a work vehicle which is at the center of management. Alternatively, it may be stored in a remote management computer functioning as a cloud system. Thus, the work vehicle can always obtain and use the offset information.

  The present invention is applicable to a coordinated control system in which a plurality of work vehicles work in coordination.

1C: Child tractor (child work vehicle)
1P: Parent tractor (parent work car)
5: Cultivation device (working device)
6: master unit control unit 7: slave unit control unit 30: control unit 31c: working device control unit 60: communication module 61: parent position detection module 62: parent travel locus calculation unit 65: slave working device remote control module 71: slave Position detection module 72: steering control module 72a: first steering control unit 72b: second steering control unit 73: work place shape calculation module 74: route calculation module 74a: central work site route calculation unit 74b: headland route calculation unit CL : Central work site HL: Headland

Claims (2)

A work vehicle coordination system for performing a ground operation on a central work site and a headland located around the central work site by an unmanned steerable child work vehicle and a manned steer parent work vehicle,
A parent position detection module for detecting the position of the parent work vehicle;
A child position detection module for detecting the position of the child work vehicle;
A central work site route calculation unit that calculates a central work site travel path used for unmanned operation work traveling at the central work site of the child work vehicle;
A first operation control unit which unmannedly steers the child work vehicle prior to the parent work vehicle based on the child work vehicle position detected by the child position detection module and the central work site travel path ;
A headland route calculating unit which calculates a headland travel route used for unmanned operation travel of the child work vehicle based on a work travel locus on the headland of the parent work vehicle;
And a second operation control unit for unmannedly operating the child working vehicle so as to follow the parent working vehicle based on the child working vehicle position detected by the child position detection module and the headland traveling route.
The parent work vehicle and the child work vehicle have different types of work devices from each other, and travel on the same traveling path at the central work site. The parent work vehicle and the child work vehicle repeatedly perform straight traveling at the central work site and turning traveling at the headland;
The working vehicle coordination system according to claim 1, wherein a traveling route of the turning traveling by the parent work vehicle and a traveling route of the turning traveling by the sub work vehicle are different from each other.

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