JP6855620B2 - Driving support system and work vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a work vehicle traveling on a work site and a travel support system for supporting the travel of the work vehicle.

The work vehicle is composed of a vehicle body having a traveling mechanism and a working device equipped on the vehicle body, and the working device performs work as the vehicle body travels. For example, rice transplanters, combines, and tractors equipped with tillers belong to such work vehicles.

Recently, in order to avoid interference with obstacles whose position is known in advance, such as fences and ridges that define the outer shape of the work site, and existing ponds, structures and rocks in the work site. The work vehicle is equipped with a function of checking the positional relationship with an obstacle based on the position of the own vehicle calculated by using GPS or the like and avoiding interference with the obstacle.

For example, in an autonomous traveling work vehicle in which a work device (cultivation device) is attached to a tractor vehicle body according to Patent Document 1, the traveling work vehicle occupies a quadrangular area occupied by the total length of the vehicle body and the width of the work device, which is virtual. It is defined as the maximum occupied area and saved in the memory of the control device. When traveling, it is determined whether the maximum occupied area of the autonomous driving work vehicle overlaps with the outside of the field. If it is not within the set range, even if the vehicle body is located within the set range in the field, the rear end and side ends of the work equipment may be located outside the field, so start autonomous driving. Instead, the driver adjusts the direction of travel of the autonomous driving work vehicle. It is also proposed that the shape of the maximum occupied area is not limited to a quadrangle, and that the circumscribed circle of this quadrangle makes it easier to recognize interference with ridges and the like when turning.

However, in the case of a work vehicle, the width of the work device is often larger than that of the vehicle body. Depending on the shape of the work device and the vehicle body, a relatively large area around the work vehicle may be included in the maximum occupied area. This means that if a travel locus is selected so that the obstacle does not enter such a maximum occupied area in order to avoid interference with obstacles existing in the work area, the work vehicle will not be able to approach the obstacle and the work will be performed. There is a problem that the area that cannot be used becomes large.

International Publication No. 2015/119266

In view of the above circumstances, it is defined by the vehicle body and the work device used to avoid interference with obstacles during straight running or turning running with work, or straight running or turning running without work. There is a demand for a technology that can appropriately set the virtual maximum occupied area of a work vehicle.

The traveling support system according to the present invention, which supports traveling in a work area of a work vehicle having a vehicle body and a work device mounted on the vehicle body, is a virtual work vehicle of the work vehicle that occupies the work area during travel. A work vehicle occupancy area management unit that manages the occupied area by dividing it into a vehicle body occupying area occupied by the vehicle body and a working device occupying area occupied by the work device, and a work vehicle occupying area at the work site based on positioning data. The work site is provided with a vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position, which is a position, and a travel support unit that supports the travel of the work vehicle based on the vehicle position and the work vehicle occupied area. When the ground height of the existing obstacle is lower than the ground height of the working device, the occupied area of the working device is reduced or disappears at least while traveling around the obstacle .
The traveling of the work vehicle includes traveling in a straight line or turning with work, or traveling in a straight line or turning without work.

According to this configuration, the virtual occupied area occupied by the vehicle body and the working device with respect to the work area is managed separately, that is, divided into the vehicle body occupied area and the working device occupied area, so that the working device is managed. Even when the width of the work vehicle is larger than that of the vehicle body, the work vehicle occupied area as a whole does not include a dead area in which no work vehicle member exists. For example, even if the vehicle body occupied area and the work device occupied area approach an obstacle, as long as one of the occupied areas does not interfere with the obstacle, even if the traveling support that allows the traveling is provided, it is uselessly non-working. It is possible to suppress the inconvenience that the region remains.
In addition, if the height of the work equipment to the ground is high, the work equipment may not come into contact with obstacles such as short rocks and wells existing in the work area, and obstacles such as short ridges and fences. Is high. When the interference relationship between the work device and the obstacle is known in advance, it is possible to determine the obstacle that does not need to consider the interference with the work device during traveling. According to this configuration, the problem of deteriorating the running efficiency is reduced in consideration of unnecessary interference between the work device and the obstacle.

The traveling support system according to the present invention, which supports traveling in a work area of a work vehicle having a vehicle body and a work device mounted on the vehicle body, is a virtual work vehicle of the work vehicle that occupies the work area during travel. A work vehicle occupancy area management unit that manages the occupied area by dividing it into a vehicle body occupying area occupied by the vehicle body and a working device occupying area occupied by the work device, and a work vehicle occupying area at the work site based on positioning data. The work apparatus includes a vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position, which is a position, and a travel support unit that supports the travel of the work vehicle based on the vehicle position and the work vehicle occupied area. When the working device is mounted on the vehicle body via an elevating mechanism for changing the ground height, the working device occupied area is changed according to the ground height changed by the elevating mechanism.
According to this configuration, the virtual occupied area occupied by the vehicle body and the working device with respect to the work area is managed separately, that is, divided into the vehicle body occupied area and the working device occupied area, so that the working device is managed. Even when the width of the work vehicle is larger than that of the vehicle body, the work vehicle occupied area as a whole does not include a dead area in which no work vehicle member exists. For example, even if the vehicle body occupied area and the work device occupied area approach an obstacle, as long as one of the occupied areas does not interfere with the obstacle, even if the traveling support that allows the traveling is provided, it is uselessly non-working. It is possible to suppress the inconvenience that the region remains.
In addition, there is a work device that is mounted on the vehicle body of the work vehicle via an elevating mechanism. In such a working device, the possibility of interference with an obstacle differs depending on the position of the height to the ground. According to this configuration, the problem of deteriorating the running efficiency is reduced in consideration of unnecessary interference between the work device and the obstacle.
The main reason for setting the vehicle body occupancy area and work device occupancy area is to replace the area of the own vehicle required to avoid interference with obstacles with a virtual shape that is simpler than the actual one, and reduce the possibility of interference as much as possible. It is a simple calculation. Therefore, it is preferable that the traveling support unit has a function of determining the possibility of interference between the vehicle body and the work device and an obstacle existing in the work site. Obstacles that exist in the work area and do not move by themselves are surrounding obstacles such as fences and ridges that border the work area, and internal obstacles such as wells, utility poles, and rocks that exist in the work area. Is. Of course, when the work vehicle has an obstacle detection function, moving obstacles such as people, animals, and work vehicles can also be treated as obstacles in the present invention.

Therefore, it is convenient if the positions and sizes of the ridges and fences that border the work area, or obstacles such as utility poles, wells, and rocks that exist in the work area are managed in advance. Furthermore, when the vehicle itself has an obstacle detection function, it is convenient to manage the position and size of the obstacle detected during traveling at that time. For this purpose, one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is provided with a work area management unit that manages obstacle information including the position and size of the obstacle in the work area. In this case, the traveling support unit can also support the traveling of the work vehicle in consideration of obstacle information.

Various running conditions occur in the work vehicle. For example, factors that determine the running condition include posture changes of work equipment, low-speed running and high-speed running, straight running and turning running, high-load work and low-load work, and running ground and muddy running ground with severe unevenness. Can be mentioned. The steering stability and braking performance of the work vehicle vary depending on the driving condition. In a running state where the steering stability and braking performance of the work vehicle are deteriorated, the safety can be improved by increasing the occupied area of the work vehicle. For this reason, it is convenient to have a function of changing the size of the work vehicle occupied area according to the traveling state of the work vehicle.

In particular, the vehicle speed of the work vehicle not only greatly affects the steering stability and braking performance of the work vehicle, but also affects the calculation accuracy of the own vehicle position. From this, it is advantageous to adopt a configuration in which the size of the work vehicle occupied area is changed according to the vehicle speed of the work vehicle.

The vehicle body occupied area and the work device occupied area are mainly used in the traveling support unit to realize traveling that avoids interference with obstacles. In addition, the damage caused by interference with obstacles also differs depending on the type of work equipment. In traveling where the damage at the time of interference is large, it is preferable to reduce the risk of interference with obstacles by increasing the occupied area of the work vehicle. From this, the importance of the weight of the vehicle body occupied area and the work device occupied area, in other words, the size of the occupied area, differs for each work area or each traveling. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the size of the vehicle body occupied area and the size of the working device occupied area can be set independently. As a result, it is possible to select an appropriate driving in consideration of both safety and driving efficiency.

Further, a work vehicle incorporating the above-mentioned traveling support system is also included in the present invention. In such a work vehicle according to the present invention, the vehicle body occupies a vehicle body, a work device mounted on the vehicle body, and a virtual work vehicle occupying area occupied with respect to the work site when traveling on the work site. The vehicle body occupied area and the work device occupied area occupied by the work device are managed separately, and when the ground height of an obstacle existing in the work site is lower than the ground height of the work device, at least the periphery of the obstacle is managed. A work vehicle occupancy area management unit that reduces or eliminates the work device occupancy area while traveling, a vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position based on positioning data from the positioning module, and the vehicle position. It is provided with a traveling support unit that supports traveling based on the work vehicle occupied area. Such a work vehicle can also obtain the same effects as the above-mentioned traveling support system, and can also incorporate various suitable embodiments described above.

In particular, if the traveling support unit has a function of determining the possibility of interference between the vehicle body and the work device and an obstacle existing in the work site, the vehicle and the obstacle can be interfered with based on the determined interference possibility. Traveling that avoids interference becomes feasible.

Therefore, such work vehicles include ridges and fences that demarcate the work area, or obstacle information including the position and size of obstacles such as utility poles, wells, and rocks that exist in the work area. It is preferable to have a work area management unit that manages obstacle information including the position and size of obstacles detected during traveling.

Further, the work vehicle traveling on the work site can travel along the guide travel path by manual steering or automatic steering. If the work vehicle that performs manual steering is provided with a notification unit that notifies the possibility of interference, the driver can perform driving that avoids interference with obstacles due to the notified possibility of interference. Further, since the work vehicle that performs automatic steering is provided with an automatic traveling control unit that automatically steers so as to travel along the guided traveling route, the automatic traveling control unit is based on the possibility of interference, and the obstacle is said to be present. It can be configured to automatically steer to avoid objects.

It is explanatory drawing explaining that the virtual work vehicle occupied area of a work vehicle is managed by dividing into the vehicle body occupied area occupied by a car body, and the work device occupied area occupied by a work device. It is explanatory drawing explaining that the work apparatus occupied area expands and contracts according to the height relationship between a work apparatus and an obstacle. It is a side view of the tractor which shows one of the embodiments of a work platform. It is a functional block diagram which shows the control system of a tractor. It is an operation screen diagram for adjusting the size of the vehicle body occupied area and the work device occupied area.

Before explaining the specific embodiment of the traveling support system and the work vehicle according to the present invention, the basic principle of the traveling support system will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the work vehicle includes a vehicle body 1 having a traveling function and a work device 30 equipped on the vehicle body 1 via an elevating mechanism 31. Further, this work vehicle is equipped with a satellite positioning module composed of a GNSS module or the like, and outputs positioning data indicating the coordinate position of the vehicle body (hereinafter, simply referred to as the own vehicle position). The position of the own vehicle represented by the positioning data is based on the position of the antenna, but the position correction process is performed so that the position of the own vehicle is not the position of the antenna but the optimum position of the vehicle.

In FIG. 1, the ridges or fences forming the outer peripheral boundary area of the work area and the installation objects existing in the work area and obstructing the running of the work vehicle are regarded as obstacles and occupy the work area of the obstacles. The region is shown as a fault region OB. The travel path LN, which is set as the work site and is the travel target of the work vehicle, is formed here from a straight path extending in parallel with each other and a 180 ° turning path connecting the straight paths. When the work vehicle travels by manual steering by the driver, a function of notifying the deviation between the travel route LN and the own vehicle position works to support the work vehicle traveling along the travel route LN. Further, when the work vehicle travels by automatic steering along the travel path LN, a travel support function in which the steering wheels are controlled so as to correct the deviation between the travel path LN and the position of the own vehicle works.

In the example of FIG. 1, the coordinate position on the map of the obstacle, its size, and the ground clearance are registered in advance in the control system of the work vehicle, and the obstacle area OB corresponding to the obstacle is set. Further, in order to simplify the positional relationship between the vehicle body 1 and the work device 30 constituting the work vehicle and the obstacle (obstacle area OB), that is, the calculation of the possibility of interference, the complicated shape of the vehicle body 1 and the work device 30 can be simplified. It is replaced with the vehicle body occupied area VA and the working device occupied area WA, which are virtual shapes. The vehicle body occupied area VA and the work device occupied area WA indicate the size on the ground in a plan view, and the vehicle body occupied area VA and the work device occupied area WA indicate the size of the vehicle body occupied area VA and the work device occupied area WA with respect to the work area when traveling on the work area. The virtual work vehicle occupied area of the work vehicle to be occupied is determined. The positional relationship between the vehicle body occupied area VA and the work device occupied area WA and the own vehicle position is tabulated in advance, and the positions of the vehicle body occupied area VA and the work device occupied area WA in the work area (coordinate positions on the map). Can be calculated in real time.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body occupied area VA is an ellipse or a circle covering the outer shape of the vehicle body 1 in a plan view, and the working device occupied area WA is an outer shape of the working device 30 in a plan view. It is oval or circular to cover. The shape of the vehicle body occupied area VA and the working device occupied area WA may be a polygon such as a quadrangle, but is set to a size capable of including the actual vehicle body 1 and the working device 30.

The interference between the obstacle and the vehicle body 1 is calculated as the overlap between the obstacle area OB and the vehicle body occupied area VA, and the interference between the obstacle and the work device 30 is calculated as the overlap between the obstacle area OB and the work device occupied area WA. Therefore, by guiding the work vehicle so that such overlap does not occur, it is possible to avoid interference between the obstacle and the work vehicle.

The sizes of the vehicle body occupied area VA and the working device occupied area WA can be arbitrarily set. If it is desired to increase the safety factor for avoiding interference with obstacles, the size of the vehicle body occupied area VA and the work device occupied area WA may be increased. From this point of view, for example, when the work vehicle is traveling at high speed, the braking accuracy and steering accuracy are inferior to those at low speed. Therefore, when traveling at high speed, the size of the vehicle body occupied area VA and the work device occupied area WA is large. It is convenient to expand the speed compared to when driving at low speed. It is also possible to automatically expand or contract the area according to the vehicle speed. Furthermore, it is possible to increase or decrease the size of the obstacle area OB and the vehicle body occupying area VA depending on the skill of the driver and the type of driving.

As described above, in this work vehicle, since the work device 30 is mounted on the vehicle body 1 via the elevating mechanism 31, the ground clearance of the work device 30 fluctuates. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, when the ground clearance of the obstacle region OB is lower than the ground clearance of the work device 30, the work device occupied area WA can be extinguished (or reduced). Of course, since the vehicle body occupied area VA remains as it is, the traveling support for traveling the vehicle body 1 so as to avoid interference with the obstacle region OB is executed. Further, when the front part of the vehicle body 1, for example, the bonnet (including the frame) extends forward from the front wheels, and as a result, the vehicle body occupied area VA extends forward from the front wheels, the ground clearance of the obstacle area OB. As long as the height is below the ground clearance of the bonnet, the vehicle body occupied area VA with respect to this obstacle area OB can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to suppress the problem that the non-working area remains while the vehicle body 1 avoids interference with the obstacle area OB.

In the above example, the obstacle (obstacle area OB) is already described in the obstacle information of the work site, and the coordinate position on the map is also stored in the memory of the work vehicle. When the own vehicle position is calculated, the vehicle body occupied area VA and the working device occupied area WA are derived according to the own vehicle position together with the map coordinates of nearby obstacles, and the distance between the vehicle body occupied area VA and the working device occupied area WA is derived. The possibility of interference is calculated from. In the case of obstacles not described in the obstacle information, especially in the case of moving obstacles, if the work vehicle is equipped with an obstacle detection device using a surveillance camera, ultrasonic waves, laser, etc., the detection results will be used. The obstacle area OB is generated in real time, and the possibility of interference is calculated from the distance between the vehicle body occupied area VA and the working device occupied area WA. It is also conceivable to equip the field with a surveillance camera, ultrasonic waves, lasers, etc., and transmit the detection results as obstacle information to the work vehicle.

Next, one specific embodiment of the work vehicle incorporating the traveling support system of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the work vehicle is a tractor that performs traveling work on a field (work area) bounded by ridges, as shown in FIG. The tractor is provided with a control portion 20 at the center of the vehicle body 1 supported by the front wheels 11 and the rear wheels 12. The rear part of the vehicle body 1 is equipped with a work device 30 which is a rotary tillage device via a hydraulic elevating mechanism 31. The front wheel 11 functions as a steering wheel, and the traveling direction of the tractor is changed by changing the steering angle thereof. The steering angle of the front wheels 11 is changed by the operation of the steering mechanism 13. The steering mechanism 13 includes a steering motor 14 for automatic steering. During manual driving, the front wheels 11 can be steered by operating the steering wheel 22 arranged on the control unit 20. The cabin 21 of the tractor is provided with a satellite positioning module 80 configured as a GNSS module. As a component of the satellite positioning module 80, a satellite antenna for receiving GPS signals and GNSS signals is attached to the ceiling area of the cabin 21. The satellite positioning module 80 can include an inertial navigation module incorporating a gyro acceleration sensor and a magnetic orientation sensor in order to complement satellite navigation.
Of course, the inertial navigation module may be provided at a place different from the satellite positioning module 80.

FIG. 4 shows a control system built on this tractor. This control system realizes a traveling support system using obstacle information, the position of the own vehicle, and the work vehicle occupancy area (vehicle body occupancy area VA and work device occupancy area WA) described with reference to FIG. It is configured. The control unit 5, which is a core element of this control system, includes an output processing unit 7, an input processing unit 8, and a communication processing unit 70 that function as input / output interfaces. The output processing unit 7 is connected to the vehicle traveling device group 71, the working device device group 72, the notification device 73, and the like. The vehicle traveling device group 71 includes devices that are controlled for vehicle traveling, such as a steering motor 14, but not shown, such as a transmission mechanism and an engine unit. The work device group 72 includes a drive mechanism for the work device 30, an elevating mechanism 31 for raising and lowering the work device 30, and the like. The communication processing unit 70 has a function of transmitting the data processed by the control unit 5 to the management computer 100 constructed in the remote management center KS and receiving various data from the management computer 100. The notification device 73 includes a display, a lamp, and a speaker. Lamps and speakers are used to notify the driver and operator of various information to be notified, such as approach information to obstacles that hinder driving and deviation information indicating deviation from the target driving route in automatic steering driving. Be done. The signal transmission between the notification device 73 and the output processing unit 7 is performed by wire or wirelessly.

The input processing unit 8 is connected to the satellite positioning module 80, the traveling system detection sensor group 81, the working system detection sensor group 82, the automatic / manual switching operation tool 83, and the like. The traveling system detection sensor group 81 includes a sensor that detects a traveling state such as an engine speed and a shifting state. The work system detection sensor group 82 includes a sensor that detects the ground clearance and inclination of the work device 30, a sensor that detects a work load, and the like. The automatic / manual switching operation tool 83 is a switch for selecting either an automatic traveling mode in which the vehicle travels by automatic steering or a manual steering mode in which the vehicle travels by manual steering. For example, by operating the automatic / manual switching operation tool 83 while driving in the automatic steering mode, it is possible to switch to driving with manual steering, and by operating the automatic / manual switching operation tool 83 while driving with manual steering. , Switch to automatic steering.

The control unit 5 is constructed with a work vehicle occupancy area management unit 60 that manages the work vehicle occupancy area by dividing it into a vehicle body occupancy area VA and a work device occupancy area WA, which is described with reference to FIG. In addition, the control unit 5 includes a travel control unit 50, a work control unit 53, a vehicle position calculation unit 54, a travel support unit 55, a work area management unit 56, a route generation unit 57, and a notification unit 58. ..

The work site management unit 56 manages field information (work site information), which is information about the field where the work is performed. The field information includes data such as the map position, shape, size, and cultivar of the field, as well as obstacle information which is information on obstacles existing in the field that interfere with running. This obstacle information includes the position and shape of the obstacle, the height to the ground, and the like. Obstacles include not only facilities such as wells and utility poles in the field and rocks, but also the surrounding ridges and fences that border the field. The field information is downloaded from a remote management center KS, a management computer 100 installed at a farmer's home, or a portable communication computer brought by the driver.

The route generation unit 57 reads out the outline data of the field from the field information and generates an appropriate traveling route LN in this field. The generation of the travel path LN may be automatically performed based on the basic initial parameters input by the operator, or may be input parameters that substantially define the travel route LN input by the operator. It may be done based on. Further, the traveling route LN itself may also adopt a configuration downloaded from the management computer 100.
In any case, the travel path LN acquired by the route generation unit 57 is expanded in the memory and used for the work vehicle to travel along the travel path LN regardless of whether the vehicle is automatically steered or manually steered. ..

The work vehicle occupied area management unit 60 includes a vehicle body occupied area setting unit 61 that sets the vehicle body occupied area VA occupied by the vehicle body 1 and a work device occupied area setting unit 61 that sets the work device occupied area WA occupied by the work device 30. The part 62 and the like are included. In this embodiment, the size of each occupied area of the vehicle body occupied area VA and the working device occupied area WA is changed according to the vehicle speed of the work vehicle, and the occupied area becomes smaller during high-speed traveling than during low-speed traveling. .. Further, the working device occupied area WA is reduced or extinguished when the ground height of the working device becomes higher than the ground height of the obstacle. Therefore, the work vehicle occupied area management unit 60 is based on the vehicle speed data based on the vehicle speed detection sensor included in the traveling system detection sensor group 81 and the work device height detection sensor included in the work system detection sensor group 82. Work equipment height data is input.

In this embodiment, the size of the vehicle body occupied area VA and the size of the working device occupied area WA can be adjusted and set independently. This area adjustment setting is performed through the area adjustment setting screen 4 displayed on the display with the touch panel. As shown in FIG. 5, on the area adjustment setting screen 4, a vehicle body occupied area setting section 4A for setting the vehicle body occupied area VA and a working device occupied area setting section 4B for setting the work device occupied area WA are arranged. There is. The vehicle body occupied area setting section 4A includes a vertical size adjusting unit 41 that adjusts the vertical size of the vehicle body occupied area VA, a horizontal size adjusting unit 42 that adjusts the horizontal size of the vehicle body occupied area VA, and a vertical and horizontal direction. A vertical / horizontal size adjusting unit 43 that adjusts the size at the same time is arranged. An enlargement button and a reduction button are arranged for adjusting the size of the vehicle body occupied area VA. Further, an adjustment level display unit 44a for confirming the adjustment level of the vehicle body occupied area VA and a region shape selection unit 44b for selecting the shape of the vehicle body occupied area VA are also arranged. In this embodiment, the shapes of the selectable vehicle body occupied area VA are quadrangular and elliptical (including circular). Similarly, in the work device occupied area setting section 4B, a vertical size adjusting unit 45 for adjusting the vertical size of the working device occupied area WA and a horizontal size adjusting unit for adjusting the horizontal size of the working device occupied area WA are provided. A vertical / horizontal size adjusting unit 47 that simultaneously adjusts the size in the vertical / horizontal direction is arranged. An enlargement button and a reduction button are arranged for adjusting the size of the work device occupied area WA. Further, an adjustment level display unit 48a for confirming the adjustment level of the work device occupied area WA and an area shape selection unit 48b for selecting the shape of the work device occupied area WA are also arranged. The shape of the work equipment occupied area WA that can be selected is also a quadrangle and an ellipse (including a circle).

The own vehicle position calculation unit 54 calculates the own vehicle position based on the positioning data sent from the satellite positioning module 80. The notification unit 58 generates a notification signal (display data or voice data) for notifying the driver or the monitor of necessary information through the notification device 73 such as a display or a speaker.

The travel control unit 50 that controls the vehicle travel equipment group 71 is configured to allow the tractor to travel in both automatic travel (automatic steering) and manual travel (manual steering). A control unit 52 is included. The manual driving control unit 51 controls the vehicle traveling device group 71 based on the operation by the driver. The automatic driving control unit 52 generates an automatic steering command based on the steering change data from the traveling support unit 55, and outputs the automatic steering command to the steering motor 14 via the output processing unit 7. The work control unit 53 gives a control signal to the work device group 72 in order to control the movement of the work device 30.

The travel support unit 55 executes different control processes during automatic travel and manual travel.
At the time of automatic driving, the own vehicle position calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 54 and the travel route LN generated by the route generation unit 57 are compared and evaluated, and a positional deviation occurs between the own vehicle position and the travel route LN. For example, the function of generating steering change data and giving it to the automatic driving control unit 52 is realized so that the vehicle body 1 follows the traveling path LN. Further, when it is determined that the outline of the work vehicle, actually the vehicle body occupancy area VA and the work device occupancy area WA, which are the virtual work vehicle occupancy areas of the work vehicle, overlap with the obstacle area OB by continuing the traveling as it is. (Interference possibility), provides obstacle avoidance steering data to prevent the work platform from interfering with obstacles. Alternatively, the work vehicle may be stopped and the driver may be entrusted with steering to avoid obstacles.

At the time of manual driving, the traveling support unit 55 compares and evaluates the own vehicle position calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 54 and the traveling route LN generated by the route generation unit 57, and sets the own vehicle position and the traveling route LN. If the misalignment occurs, the function of giving the misalignment data to the notification unit 58 is realized. As a result, the misalignment is notified to the driver through the notification device 73. If it is determined that the work vehicle may interfere with an obstacle by continuing to drive as it is, the interference possibility data is given to the notification unit 58, and the driver is instructed to avoid the obstacle. prompt. Of course, it is also possible to make an emergency stop of the work vehicle if necessary.

[Another Embodiment]
(1) When the obstacle detection device is mounted on the tractor of the above-described embodiment, the obstacle area OB calculated from the obstacle detection data detected by the obstacle detection device is transmitted to the traveling support unit 55. Given. As a result, even for obstacles not managed by the work site management unit 56, particularly moving obstacles, it is possible to provide running support for avoiding interference with the obstacles. Alternatively, the work area management unit 56 may be provided with the obstacle area OB calculated from the obstacle detection data detected by the obstacle detection device.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, a tractor equipped with a rotary cultivator as a work device 30 is taken up as a work vehicle, but in addition to such a tractor, for example, a rice transplanter, a farm work vehicle such as a combine, or work. Various work vehicles such as a construction work vehicle provided with a dozer, a roller, and the like as the device 30 can also be adopted as an embodiment.

(3) Each functional unit in the functional block diagram shown in FIG. 4 is mainly divided for explanatory purposes. In practice, each functional unit can be integrated with other functional units or divided into a plurality of functional units.

The present invention is applicable to a work vehicle that performs ground work while traveling and a travel support system that supports the travel of such a work vehicle.

1: Body 30: Working device 31: Elevating mechanism 4: Area adjustment setting screen 4A: Body occupied area setting section 4B: Working device occupied area setting section 5: Control unit 50: Travel control unit 51: Manual travel control unit 52: Automatic Travel control unit 53: Work control unit 54: Own vehicle position calculation unit 55: Travel support unit 56: Work area management unit 57: Route generation unit 58: Notification unit 60: Work vehicle occupancy area management unit 61: Body occupancy area setting unit 62: Working device occupied area setting unit 73: Notification device 80: Satellite positioning module LN: Travel path OB: Obstacle area VA: Vehicle body occupied area WA: Working device occupied area

Claims (8)

It is a traveling support system that supports the traveling of a work vehicle having a vehicle body and a work device equipped on the vehicle body at a work site.
A work vehicle occupancy that manages a virtual work vehicle occupancy area of the work vehicle occupying the work area during traveling by dividing it into a vehicle body occupancy area occupied by the vehicle body and a work device occupancy area occupied by the work device. Area management department and
A vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position, which is the position of the work vehicle at the work site, based on the positioning data.
A traveling support unit that supports the traveling of the work vehicle based on the position of the own vehicle and the occupied area of the work vehicle is provided.
When the ground height of an obstacle existing in the work area is lower than the ground height of the work device, the traveling support system in which the occupied area of the work device is reduced or disappears at least while traveling around the obstacle. .. It is a traveling support system that supports the traveling of a work vehicle having a vehicle body and a work device equipped on the vehicle body at a work site.
A virtual working vehicle occupied area of the work vehicle occupying relative to the working place during running, and the vehicle body occupied region where the vehicle is occupied, the work vehicle to manage divided into a working device occupation area where the working device is accounted Occupied area management department and
A vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position, which is the position of the work vehicle at the work site, based on the positioning data.
A traveling support unit that supports the traveling of the work vehicle based on the position of the own vehicle and the occupied area of the work vehicle is provided.
When the work device is mounted on the vehicle body via an elevating mechanism for changing the ground height of the work device, the occupied area of the work device is changed according to the ground height changed by the elevating mechanism. Driving support system. The traveling support system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a work area management unit that manages obstacle information including the position and size of obstacles in the work area. The traveling support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the size of the occupied area of the working vehicle is changed according to the traveling state of the working vehicle. The traveling support system according to claim 4, wherein the size of the work vehicle occupied area is changed according to the vehicle speed of the work vehicle. The traveling support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the size of the vehicle body occupied area and the size of the working device occupied area can be set independently. The travel support system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the travel support unit has a function of determining the possibility of interference between the vehicle body and the work device and an obstacle existing in the work site. With the car body
The work equipment installed on the vehicle body and
The virtual work vehicle occupied area occupied by the work area when traveling in the work area is managed separately as the vehicle body occupied area occupied by the vehicle body and the work device occupied area occupied by the work device, and the work area is managed. When the ground height of the obstacle existing in is lower than the ground height of the work device, the work vehicle occupied area management unit that reduces or eliminates the work device occupied area at least while traveling around the obstacle. ,
A work vehicle including a vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position based on positioning data from the positioning module, and a travel support unit that supports travel based on the vehicle position and the work vehicle occupied area.

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