JP6858695B2 - Self-driving work machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is an automatic traveling work machine provided with a traveling body, a positioning receiver that receives a positioning signal from a navigation satellite, and an automatic traveling control device that automatically travels along a traveling route based on the positioning signal. Regarding.

For example, in Patent Document 1, a traveling machine (“frame 1-5” in the document), a positioning receiver (“GPS device 4” in the document) that obtains the position information of the mower, and pre-stored based on the position information. A remote-operated mower equipped with an automatic traveling control device (“control device 3” in the literature) that performs traveling and mowing work according to the traveling route is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-142900

However, when the traveling aircraft travels on an inclined slope, the tilting of the positioning receiver may reduce the number of navigation satellites that the positioning receiver can capture, and may reduce the positioning accuracy of the positioning receiver. In addition, when a river or paddy field exists in the lower direction of the slope, the positioning signal transmitted from the navigation satellite is diffusely reflected by the river or paddy field, which makes the positioning receiver more susceptible to multipath and positioning. There is a risk that the accuracy will decrease.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic traveling work machine capable of accurately receiving a positioning signal from a navigation satellite and automatically traveling without deviating from a traveling route even on an inclined slope. To provide.

The automatic traveling work machine according to the present invention
Traveling aircraft and
A positioning receiver that receives positioning signals from navigation satellites, and
An automatic driving control device that automatically travels along a traveling route based on the positioning signal,
A tilt detection unit that detects the tilt of the traveling aircraft and outputs tilt angle information,
An inclination angle determining unit that determines an inclination angle based on the inclination angle information,
A rotation control mechanism that rotates the positioning receiver with one or more degrees of freedom,
Is provided,
The rotation control mechanism holds the positioning receiver horizontally based on the tilt angle .
The traveling route is a plurality of linear line traveling routes set for automatic traveling on a slope.
The inclination angle at which the rotation control mechanism rotates the positioning receiver when traveling on a predetermined line traveling path among the plurality of linear line traveling paths is immediately before traveling on the predetermined line traveling path. characterized Rukoto is determined based on running the previous line travel route to the slope of the traveling machine body that is detected during travel.

In the present invention, since the rotation control mechanism for holding the positioning receiver horizontally is provided, the positioning receiver is held horizontally by the rotation control mechanism even when the traveling machine travels on an inclined slope. Therefore, the positioning receiver does not tilt. This allows the positioning receiver to accurately capture a sufficient number of navigation satellites and is less susceptible to multipath. As a result, an automatic traveling work machine that can accurately receive the positioning signal from the navigation satellite even on an inclined slope and can automatically travel without deviating from the traveling route is realized.

In this configuration
It is preferable that the rotation control mechanism is provided directly below the positioning receiver.

With this configuration, the positioning receiver is sufficient without the positioning signal transmitted from the navigation satellite being obstructed by the rotation control mechanism, as compared with the configuration in which the rotation control mechanism is provided above or to the side of the positioning receiver. It will be possible to accurately capture a large number of navigation satellites.

In this configuration
It is preferable that a blocking plate is provided so as to cover the lower part of the positioning receiver and block the propagation of the positioning signal.

With this configuration, even if the positioning signal transmitted from the navigation satellite is diffusely reflected in a river or paddy field, the diffusely reflected positioning signal is blocked by the blocking plate. This makes the positioning receiver less susceptible to multipath.

In this configuration
A travel route setting unit for presetting the travel route of the traveling aircraft is provided.
It is preferable that the traveling route setting unit generates a plurality of line traveling routes parallel to the teaching traveling locus based on the teaching traveling locus by the artificial operation of the traveling machine body.

According to this configuration, a plurality of line travel paths are generated based on the teaching travel locus. Therefore, in the work target of the automatic traveling work machine, a line traveling route is generated by an artificial operation of only a part of the work target area, and automatic traveling based on the line traveling route becomes possible.

In this configuration
The tilt angle determining unit determines the tilt angle based on the tilt angle information detected over the teaching travel locus.
It is preferable that the rotation control mechanism rotates the positioning receiver at a timing before the start of automatic traveling on the line traveling path.

If the positioning receiver rotates during automatic driving, the number of navigation satellites supplemented by the positioning receiver tends to change, and the positioning accuracy of the positioning receiver may become unstable. In this configuration, since the positioning receiver is rotated at the timing before the start of automatic driving, the positioning accuracy of the positioning receiver is more likely to be stable as compared with the configuration in which the positioning receiver rotates during automatic driving.

In this configuration
The tilt angle determining unit updates the tilt angle based on the tilt angle information detected over one of the line traveling paths.
It is preferable that the rotation control mechanism rotates the positioning receiver at a timing before the start of automatic traveling on the next line traveling path.

The inclination angle of the slope is not always constant, and the inclination angle may differ between the upper side and the lower side of the slope. However, the difference in slope angle between two adjacent line travel paths is often smaller than the difference in slope inclination angle between two non-adjacent line travel routes. With this configuration, for example, the tilt angle can be updated based on the tilt angle information detected over the line travel path that traveled immediately before. Therefore, as the inclination angle close to the inclination angle of the slope in the next line traveling path, the inclination angle of the slope in the line traveling path immediately before can be used.

In this configuration
A storage unit for storing the tilt angle is provided.
The travel path and the inclination angle for each of a plurality of preset points in the travel path are stored in the storage unit.
The automatic traveling control device automatically travels along the traveling path stored in the storage unit, and the automatic traveling control device automatically travels along the traveling path.
It is preferable that the rotation control mechanism rotates the positioning receiver at the timing when the traveling machine passes the point.

With this configuration, since the inclination angle of the slope can be stored for each point, for example, the rotation control mechanism can be rotated at a place on the slope where the inclination angle changes significantly during automatic traveling. As a result, the positioning receiver can be held horizontally even if there is a place where the inclination angle changes significantly during the automatic traveling.

In this configuration
Equipped with a communication unit that communicates information with the outside of the aircraft
It is preferable that the traveling path and the inclination angle can be transmitted to the external terminal via the communication unit and displayed on the external terminal.

With this configuration, the change in the tilt angle can be notified to the operator by displaying the traveling route and the tilt angle on the external terminal. As a result, the operator can confirm the degree of change in the inclination angle and the like, and the operator can switch between the automatic traveling and the manual traveling of the automatic traveling work machine.

It is a side view which shows the structure of the automatic traveling mower. It is a plan view of a turning state. It is a plan view of a straight running state. It is a block diagram which shows the automatic driving control device and the inclination angle determination part. It is a perspective view which shows the traveling path on a slope. It is a front view of the automatic traveling mower which shows the attitude control of the positioning receiver at the time of the slope traveling of the automatic traveling mower. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a traveling path and an inclination angle. It is a figure which shows another embodiment of a traveling path and an inclination angle. It is a figure which shows the other embodiment of the traveling path.

[Basic configuration of automatic driving machine]
An embodiment of the automatic traveling work machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic traveling grass mower as the automatic traveling work machine exemplified in the present embodiment includes a traveling machine body 1, a first wheel 2A, a second wheel 2B, and a grass cutting device 3. , A positioning receiver 4 and a rotation control mechanism 5 are provided. A pair of left and right first wheels 2A are provided on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the traveling machine body 1. The second wheels 2B are provided in pairs on the other end side of the traveling machine body 1 in the longitudinal direction. The mowing device 3 is provided between the first wheel 2A and the second wheel 2B in the lower part of the traveling machine body 1. The positioning receiver 4 is provided on the traveling machine body 1. The rotation control mechanism 5 is rotatable with multiple degrees of freedom and is provided between the positioning receiver 4 and the traveling machine body 1. The positioning receiver 4 uses GPS (Global Positioning System), which is a well-known technology, as an example of a satellite positioning system (GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System) that receives radio waves from a navigation satellite and detects the position of the aircraft. It is configured to receive the positioning signal. The positioning receiver 4 is not limited to GPS, and may be configured to support multi-GNSS. A blocking plate 6 is provided between the positioning receiver 4 and the rotation control mechanism 5. The blocking plate 6 is provided so as to be located directly below the positioning receiver 4.

An antenna 8 capable of communicating with the transmitter 7 (see FIG. 4) is provided above the traveling machine body 1. The transmitter 7 is configured so that the operator can artificially operate the automatic traveling work machine while carrying it. The transmitter 7 may be operated by a proportional transmitter operated by an operator at hand, or may be operated by a mobile terminal device having a touch panel display screen, for example.

Although not shown, the traveling machine body 1 is provided with a transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the engine E to the first wheel 2A and the second wheel 2B and also transmits the power to the mowing device 3. The transmission mechanism is configured so that power transmission to the first wheel 2A, the second wheel 2B, and the mowing device 3 can be interrupted. By transmitting the power of the engine E to the first wheel 2A, the second wheel 2B, and the mowing device 3, the mowing work can be performed while the machine body is running. The first steering motor 9A is provided on the first wheel 2A, and the first wheel 2A is configured to swing around the vertical axis core by the driving force of the first steering motor 9A so that the steering can be operated freely. Further, the second wheel 2B is provided with the second steering motor 9B, and the second wheel 2B is configured to swing around the vertical axis core by the driving force of the second steering motor 9B so that the steering can be operated freely. There is. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first wheel 2A and the second wheel 2B can be turned and operated in the straight-ahead posture, the right-facing swing posture, and the left-facing swing posture, respectively.

[Automatic driving control device]
As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit U for enabling the automatic traveling of the automatic traveling mower along the preset traveling route is incorporated in, for example, a microcomputer, and the automatic traveling grass cutting is performed. It is equipped with the machine. The control unit U includes a travel mode determination unit 10, a storage unit 11, a travel route setting unit 12, and an automatic travel control device 13. The storage unit 11 is configured to be able to store position information based on the positioning signal received by the positioning receiver 4. The travel route setting unit 12 sets a travel route for the traveling aircraft 1 to perform automatic traveling. The automatic traveling control device 13 is configured so that the traveling machine body 1 travels along a traveling route set by the traveling route setting unit 12. Further, the control unit U is configured so as to be able to switch between the automatic traveling mode and the manual traveling mode according to the determination of the traveling mode determination unit 10. In the manual driving mode, the automatic driving work machine performs mowing or the like based on the artificial operation of the transmitter 7, so that the automatic driving control device 13 is invalidated, but the traveling route is set in conjunction with the automatic driving control device 13. The unit 12 may also be invalidated.

The output targets of the automatic traveling control device 13 are the traveling control motor 15, the forward / backward motor 16, the first steering motor 9A, and the second steering motor 9B. The travel control motor 15 operates an accelerator 20 that adjusts the amount of fuel supplied to the engine E, and a brake 21 that brakes the first wheel 2A and the second wheel 2B. The forward / reverse motor 16 switches the forward / reverse switching mechanism 22. Although not shown, the forward / reverse switching mechanism 22 is provided in a transmission device that transmits the power of the engine E to the first wheel 2A and the second wheel 2B in order to switch the power of the engine E between the forward rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction. Gear mechanism. The first steering motor 9A steers the first wheel 2A, and the second steering motor 9B steers the second wheel 2B. The travel control motor 15 and the forward / backward motor 16 may be electric motors or electromagnetic switches, respectively.

The automatic traveling control device 13 identifies the position and orientation of the traveling aircraft 1 from the positioning signal received by the positioning receiver 4. Then, by outputting control signals to the travel control motor 15, the forward / reverse motor 16, the first steering motor 9A, and the second steering motor 9B, the traveling aircraft 1 moves along the traveling path described later. The automatic travel control device 13 is configured to travel. Further, the automatic driving control device 13 is configured to be switchable between an automatic driving mode based on the control signal of the automatic driving control device 13 and a manual driving mode based on the control signal by human operation.

The traveling machine body 1 is provided with a communication unit 17 capable of information communication via the antenna 8. The communication unit 17 is configured to be able to receive an operation signal wirelessly transmitted from the transmitter 7, and the reception information of the communication unit 17 is input to the control unit U.

The state of the automatic traveling mower can be transmitted from the communication unit 17 to a device outside the machine body, and for example, the current position and state of the automatic traveling mower can be displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal device. The state of the automatic traveling mower may be, for example, the vehicle speed of the mowing traveling, the remaining amount of fuel, or a defect of various devices mounted on the automatic traveling mower.

[Traveling route setting unit]
As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit U is provided with a travel path setting unit 12. The traveling route for the traveling machine body 1 to perform automatic traveling is preset by the traveling route setting unit 12. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of linear line traveling routes L are set as traveling routes for automatic traveling on a slope. In the present embodiment, each line travel path L is generated by the travel route setting unit 12 in the following procedure.

First, teaching running is performed in the manual running mode along the upper edge of the slope. The teaching run is performed based on an artificial operation by the operator operating the transmitter 7. In the present embodiment, the operator performs the start point setting operation with the transmitter 7 in a state where the traveling machine body 1 is located at the start point position Ts. Then, the operator travels the traveling machine body 1 along the linear shape from the start point position Ts to the end point position Tf, and the operator performs the end point setting operation with the transmitter 7 in a state where the traveling machine body 1 is located at the start point position Ts. .. As a result, the teaching process is executed. That is, the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf are obtained from the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the positioning receiver 4 at the start point position Ts and the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the positioning receiver 4 at the end point position Tf. The teaching path T connecting with and is set.

The position of the traveling machine body 1 during the teaching running may be sequentially positioned by the positioning receiver 4 and the positioning signal may be stored in the storage unit 11. The teaching path T is obtained by extracting the temporal position coordinates of the traveling machine 1 from the set of positioning signals over the starting point position Ts of the teaching running and the ending point position Tf of the teaching running. This configuration is particularly useful when the teaching path T is curved.

A plurality of line traveling paths L are generated at equal intervals toward the lower side of the slope as traveling paths parallel to the teaching path T. In the present embodiment, the line traveling paths L (1) to L (10) along the teaching path T are generated at equal intervals on the lower side of the teaching path T on the slope. In consideration of the width of the area to be mowed and the width of the mowing work by the work vehicle, the line traveling path L is set in a state where the work widths slightly overlap each other so as not to leave uncut parts.

A start point position Ls and an end point position Lf are assigned to the respective line travel paths L (1) to L (10) so that the direction from the start point position Ls to the end point position Lf is the traveling direction of the traveling aircraft 1. , Each line traveling route L (1) to L (10) is configured. Further, a route is set for the traveling machine body 1 to sequentially travel on the respective line traveling routes L (1) to L (10), and in the present embodiment, traveling while turning back from the upper side to the lower side of the slope. A route is set in which the aircraft 1 repeats straight reciprocating travel. That is, the line travel path L (n + 1) to which the next route is assigned to the lower side of the slope of the end point position Lf in any one of the line travel paths L (1) to L (9). The travel route is set so that the start point positions Ls of) are located adjacent to each other.

The automatic traveling mowing machine automatically travels while mowing the grass along the line traveling path L. For example, when the traveling machine 1 reaches the end point position Lf of one line traveling path L (1), the automatic traveling control device 13 shifts to the starting point position Ls of the line traveling path L (2) to which the next route is assigned. Output a control signal to move. At this time, the automatic traveling control device 13 may output a control signal so that the traveling machine body 1 moves to the start point position Ls of the next line traveling path L (2) while making a U-turn, or the traveling machine body. A control signal may be output so that 1 moves to the start point position Ls of the next line traveling path L (2) while repeating switchback without changing the direction. To specifically explain the switchback in the present embodiment, when the traveling machine 1 reaches the end point position Lf, the traveling machine 1 is repeatedly moved forward and backward by the switching operation of the forward / reverse switching mechanism 22, and the position of the traveling machine 1 is changed. This is a traveling mode in which the vehicle moves to the start point position Ls so as to shift from the position of the end point position Lf to the lower side of the slope. Alternatively, the movement from the end point position Lf to the next start point position Ls may be performed by the manual travel mode. In this case, after the traveling machine body 1 moves to the next starting point position Ls, the switching from the manual traveling mode to the automatic traveling mode may be performed manually or automatically.

When the traveling machine 1 reaches the starting point position Ls of the line traveling path L (2) and the traveling direction of the traveling aircraft 1 follows the traveling direction of the line traveling path L (2), the automatic traveling mowing machine moves the line traveling path L. Automatically drive while mowing the grass along (2).

[Rotation control mechanism]
The automatic traveling control device 13 is configured to specify the position and orientation of the traveling aircraft 1 from the positioning signal received by the positioning receiver 4, but the automatic traveling mower in the present embodiment is configured to have an inclined slope. When traveling, the positioning receiver 4 also tilts according to the degree of inclination of the slope. If the positioning receiver 4 is tilted, the number of navigation satellites that the positioning receiver 4 can capture may decrease. In addition, when a river or paddy field exists in the lower direction of the inclined slope, the positioning signal transmitted from the navigation satellite is diffusely reflected by the river or paddy field, so that the positioning receiver 4 is easily affected by multipath. Positioning accuracy may decrease. In particular, in the positioning receiver 4 mounted on the automatic traveling mower of the present embodiment, the distance between the positioning receiver 4 and the ground is often short, and such inconvenience is likely to occur. For this reason, a blocking plate 6 is provided directly below the positioning receiver 4, and the blocking plate 6 blocks the positioning signal diffusely reflected in a river or paddy field below the positioning receiver 4. That is, the propagation of the positioning signal diffusely reflected in the river or paddy field to the positioning receiver 4 is blocked by the blocking plate 6. As a result, the positioning receiver 4 is less likely to be affected by multipath, and the possibility that the positioning accuracy is lowered is reduced. Further, a rotation control mechanism 5 for reducing the inclination of the positioning receiver 4 is provided below the positioning receiver 4.

As shown in FIG. 6, a blocking plate 6 is provided below the positioning receiver 4, and a rotation control mechanism 5 is provided below the blocking plate 6. The positioning receiver 4 and the blocking plate are provided. Reference numeral 6 denotes a structure that allows the rotation shaft of the rotation control mechanism 5 to swing integrally with the axis. In the present embodiment, the rotation control mechanism 5 is configured to rotate with two degrees of freedom. That is, the rotation control mechanism 5 is configured to be rotatable about two axes, a roll axis along the front-rear direction of the traveling machine 1 and a pitch axis along the left-right direction of the traveling machine 1. ing. As a result, the positioning receiver 4 rotates with multiple degrees of freedom. In this way, even when the traveling machine body 1 travels on an inclined slope, the rotation control mechanism 5 rotates so as to hold the positioning receiver 4 in a horizontal posture.

[Inclination angle determination unit]
An inclination angle detection unit 30 as an inclination detection unit is provided in the traveling machine body 1, and the inclination angle detecting unit 30 is, for example, an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) which is an example of an inertial sensor and detects the inclination of the traveling machine body 1. And outputs the tilt angle information Im. The angle for the positioning receiver 4 to maintain the horizontal posture is determined by the tilt angle determining unit 31, and the tilt angle determining unit 31 determines the tilt angle I to be output to the rotation control mechanism 5 based on the tilt angle information Im. To do. The inclination angle I includes a roll angle along the front-rear direction of the traveling machine 1 and a pitch angle along the left-right direction of the running machine 1. The determined tilt angle I is output to the rotation control mechanism 5, and the rotation control mechanism 5 adjusts the rotation angles of the roll axis and the pitch axis based on the input tilt angle I.

The tilt angle determining unit 31 may determine the tilt angle information Im detected by the tilt angle detecting unit 30 as the tilt angle I as it is, and output the tilt angle I to the rotation control mechanism 5 as it is. Further, the rotation control mechanism 5 can immediately rotate the positioning receiver 4 based on the input tilt angle I to hold the positioning receiver 4 horizontally in real time. However, in such a configuration, the positioning receiver 4 continues to rotate with respect to the traveling aircraft 1 following the unevenness of the ground during traveling of the traveling aircraft 1, and the positioning receiver 4 is tilted with respect to the traveling aircraft 1. The posture may not be stable. Due to this, the number of navigation satellites that can be positioned may change during traveling, and the positioning accuracy may become unstable. Therefore, it is desirable that the timing at which the positioning receiver 4 rotates with respect to the traveling machine body 1, that is, the timing at which the rotation control mechanism 5 rotates, is while the traveling machine body 1 is stopped.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the teaching run is being performed, the tilt angle detection unit 30 continues to detect the tilt angle information Im over the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf of the teaching run. The output of the tilt angle information Im to the tilt angle determination unit 31 is continued. Then, the tilt angle determining unit 31 calculates the average value of the tilt angle information Im detected over the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf, and determines this average value as the tilt angle I (0).

When the traveling machine 1 automatically travels on the first line traveling path L (1), the rotation control mechanism 5 positions the positioning receiver 4 so as to maintain the inclination of the inclination angle I (0) with respect to the traveling aircraft 1. Position and hold the receiver 4. The timing at which the rotation control mechanism 5 rotates the positioning receiver 4 is from the end point position Tf to the start point position Ls of the first line travel path L (1).

When the traveling machine body 1 is traveling along the first line traveling path L (1), the inclination angle detecting unit 30 increases the inclination angle over the start point position Ls and the end point position Lf on the line traveling path L (1). The detection of the information Im is continued, and the output of the tilt angle information Im to the tilt angle determination unit 31 is continued. Then, the inclination angle determination unit 31 calculates the average value of the inclination angle information Im detected over the start point position Ls and the end point position Lf in the first line traveling path L (1), and uses this average value as the inclination angle. Determined as I (1). That is, the tilt angle determining unit 31 updates the tilt angle I from the tilt angle I (0) to the tilt angle I (1). Based on the inclination angle I (1) after the traveling machine body 1 reaches the end point position Lf of the first line traveling path L (1) and before moving to the starting point position Ls of the next line traveling path L (2). The rotation control mechanism 5 rotates. That is, the rotation control mechanism 5 rotates the positioning receiver 4 at the timing before the start of automatic traveling on the line traveling path L (2).

When the traveling machine body 1 is traveling along the line traveling path L (2), the rotation control mechanism 5 keeps the inclination of the inclination angle I (1) with respect to the traveling machine body 1. Positioning and holding the positioning receiver 4. Further, in the tilt angle detection unit 30, in order for the tilt angle determination unit 31 to calculate the tilt angle I (2), the tilt angle information Im over the start point position Ls and the end point position Lf in the line traveling path L (2). Is continued, and the output of the tilt angle information Im to the tilt angle determination unit 31 is continued. Then, when the traveling machine body 1 reaches the end point position Lf of the line traveling path L (2), the inclination angle determining unit 31 updates the inclination angle I from the inclination angle I (1) to the inclination angle I (2).

As described above, when the traveling machine body 1 is traveling along the line traveling path L (n) of any one of the line traveling paths L (2) to L (10), the rotation control mechanism 5 is one. The positioning receiver 4 is positioned and held by the inclination of the inclination angle I (n-1) determined by the previous line traveling path L (n-1). The difference in the inclination angle of the slope between the adjacent line traveling path L (n-1) and the line traveling path L (n) is the inclination angle of the slope in the two line traveling paths L that are not adjacent to each other. Often less than the difference. Therefore, even if the degree of inclination differs greatly between the upper side and the lower side of the slope, positioning reception is performed using the inclination angle I (n-1) in the previous line traveling path L (n-1). The attitude of the machine 4 can be maintained almost horizontally.

When the transmitter 7 is, for example, a mobile terminal device and has a display screen, the transmitter 7 is configured to be able to display the tilt angle information Im and the tilt angle I on the display screen via the communication unit 17. ing. Further, a traveling route including the teaching traveling locus and the line traveling route L can also be displayed on the display screen.

[Another Embodiment]
The present invention is not limited to the configurations exemplified in the above-described embodiments, and the following, typical alternative embodiments of the present invention will be exemplified.

[1] In the above-described embodiment, the line traveling paths L (1) to L (10) are generated from the teaching path T based on the positioning signal stored in the storage unit 11 during the teaching traveling. , Not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, all the traveling routes including the teaching route T and the line traveling route L are stored in the storage unit 11, and the automatic traveling is performed along the traveling route stored in the storage unit 11 at the next automatic traveling by the automatic traveling mower. It may be a configuration that is performed. As a result, it is not necessary to perform teaching driving before the next automatic driving, and it is possible to save the trouble of artificial operation. Further, the respective inclination angles I (0) to I (9) may also be stored in the storage unit 11 in the same manner as the traveling path. Then, the traveling machine body 1 moves from the end point position Lf of any one of the line traveling paths L (1) to L (9) to the starting point position Ls of the next line traveling path L (n + 1). During this time, the rotation control mechanism 5 may be configured to rotate the positioning receiver 4 based on the inclination angle I (n) corresponding to the line traveling path L (n + 1).

Further, the teaching path T, the line traveling path L, and the inclination angle I are not limited to the storage unit 11, and may be managed by, for example, an external terminal. In this case, the communication unit 17 is configured to be able to communicate with an external terminal via a WAN (Wide Area Network) or the like, and the teaching path T, the line traveling path L, and the inclination angle I are connected via the communication unit 17. It may be configured to be read from an external terminal, or the teaching path T, the line traveling path L, and the inclination angle I may be configured to be stored in the external terminal via the communication unit 17. good.

[2] In the above-described embodiment, the inclination angle determining unit 31 is configured to update the inclination angle I when the end point position Lf of each line traveling path L is reached. Not limited. For example, the tilt angle I is stored in the storage unit 11 in a state of being associated with the position information based on the positioning signal received by the positioning receiver 4, and the rotation control mechanism when the traveling aircraft 1 passes through a specific position. 5 may rotate and the positioning receiver 4 may be held horizontally. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the position information of the points P1 to P11 is stored in the storage unit 11 along the line traveling paths L (1) to L (5), and the position information of the points P1 to P11 is stored. The tilt angles I (P1) to I (P11) corresponding to each of the above may be stored in the storage unit 11. Every time the traveling machine 1 passes through the points P1 to P11, the tilt angle determining unit 31 reads out the tilt angles I (P1) to I (P11) corresponding to the position information of the points P1 to P11, and the rotation control mechanism. 5 rotates the positioning receiver 4. As a result, the positioning receiver can be held horizontally even if there is a place where the inclination angle changes significantly during automatic traveling, for example, on a mortar-shaped land.

[3] In the above-described embodiment, each line traveling path L is set based on the linear teaching path T, but may be set based on the curved teaching path T. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, based on the curved teaching path T, the curved line traveling paths L parallel to the teaching path T may be set at equal intervals.

[4] In the above-described embodiment, the inclination angle determining unit 31 is configured to update the inclination angle I when the end point position Lf of each line traveling path L is reached. Not limited. For example, the tilt angle determination unit 31 calculates an average value of the tilt angle information Im detected over the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf of the teaching run, determines this average value as the tilt angle I, and then determines the mean value. The configuration may be such that the inclination angle I is not updated.

[5] The IMU is exemplified as the tilt angle detection unit 30 described above, but the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, the tilt angle detection unit 30 may be a pendulum type or float type tilt angle detector. Further, the inertial sensor may be a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor.

[6] The positioning receiver 4 and the rotation control mechanism 5 exemplified in the above-described embodiment may be configured in an integral shape.

[7] In the above embodiment, the automatic traveling mower has been described as automatically traveling while mowing the grass, but the automatic traveling mower can also be used as another work vehicle such as a chemical sprayer.

The present invention is applicable to an automatic traveling work machine capable of traveling on an inclined terrain such as a slope.

1: Traveling machine 2A: First wheel 2B: Second wheel 3: Mowing device 4: Positioning receiver 5: Rotation control mechanism 6: Blocking plate 11: Storage unit 12: Traveling route setting unit 13: Automatic driving control device 17: Communication unit 31: Tilt angle determination unit E: Engine I: Tilt angle Im: Tilt angle information T: Teaching travel locus L: Line travel route

Claims (9)

Traveling aircraft and
A positioning receiver that receives positioning signals from navigation satellites, and
An automatic driving control device that automatically travels along a traveling route based on the positioning signal,
A tilt detection unit that detects the tilt of the traveling aircraft and outputs tilt angle information,
An inclination angle determining unit that determines an inclination angle based on the inclination angle information,
A rotation control mechanism that rotates the positioning receiver with one or more degrees of freedom,
Is provided,
The rotation control mechanism holds the positioning receiver horizontally based on the tilt angle .
The traveling route is a plurality of linear line traveling routes set for automatic traveling on a slope.
The inclination angle at which the rotation control mechanism rotates the positioning receiver when traveling on a predetermined line traveling path among the plurality of linear line traveling paths is immediately before traveling on the predetermined line traveling path. traveling automatic traveling working machine the previous line travel path Ru is determined based on the slope of said detected vehicle body during running was. The automatic traveling work machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotation control mechanism is provided directly below the positioning receiver. The automatic traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 2, which covers the lower part of the positioning receiver and is provided with a blocking plate that blocks the propagation of the positioning signal. A travel route setting unit for presetting the travel route of the traveling aircraft is provided.
The automatic according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the traveling route setting unit generates a plurality of line traveling routes parallel to the teaching traveling locus based on the teaching traveling locus by the artificial operation of the traveling aircraft. Traveling work machine. The tilt angle determining unit determines the tilt angle based on the tilt angle information detected over the teaching travel locus.
The automatic traveling work machine according to claim 4, wherein the rotation control mechanism rotates the positioning receiver at a timing before the start of automatic traveling on the line traveling path. The tilt angle determining unit updates the tilt angle based on the tilt angle information detected over one of the line traveling paths.
The automatic traveling work machine according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the rotation control mechanism rotates the positioning receiver at a timing before the start of automatic traveling on the next line traveling path. A storage unit for storing the tilt angle is provided.
The travel path and the inclination angle for each of a plurality of preset points in the travel path are stored in the storage unit.
The automatic traveling control device automatically travels along the traveling path stored in the storage unit, and the automatic traveling control device automatically travels along the traveling path.
The automatic traveling work machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rotation control mechanism rotates the positioning receiver at a timing when the traveling machine passes the point. Equipped with a communication unit that communicates information with the outside of the aircraft
The automatic traveling work machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the traveling route and the inclination angle are transmitted to an external terminal via the communication unit and can be displayed on the external terminal. Traveling aircraft and
A positioning receiver that receives positioning signals from navigation satellites, and
An automatic driving control device that automatically travels along a traveling route based on the positioning signal,
A tilt detection unit that detects the tilt of the traveling aircraft and outputs tilt angle information,
An inclination angle determining unit that determines an inclination angle based on the inclination angle information,
A rotation control mechanism that rotates the positioning receiver with one or more degrees of freedom,
A storage unit that stores the tilt angle and
Is provided,
The rotation control mechanism holds the positioning receiver horizontally based on the tilt angle.
The travel path and the inclination angle for each of a plurality of preset points on the travel path are stored in the storage unit.
The automatic traveling control device automatically travels along the traveling path stored in the storage unit, and the automatic traveling control device automatically travels along the traveling path.
The rotation control mechanism is an automatic traveling work machine that rotates the positioning receiver at the timing when the traveling machine passes the point.

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