JP6918172B2 - Self-driving work vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic traveling work vehicle that automatically travels along a traveling route.

Patent Document 1 discloses an agricultural work machine capable of working in various work modes. This agricultural work machine downloads the agricultural work information for the target agricultural work area, compares the set work mode with the registered work mode included in the downloaded agricultural work information, and compares the comparison result. Show on the display. Through the comparison result displayed on the display, the worker can confirm whether or not the work mode set in the current agricultural work machine and the work mode registered in advance in the management center match. The work mode includes setting parameters of the work equipment specified for performing various tasks, such as the posture and running speed of the work device, and is appropriate by using an appropriate work mode. Work can be carried out.

Patent Document 2 records a series of operations performed once in the work run, then reproduces the recorded operation contents and automatically executes the series of operations to drive the driver in the work run. A driving support system that reduces the burden on the person is disclosed. This driving support system executes a device control unit that outputs a motion control signal to a drive motion device for driving the traveling vehicle body and a work motion device for operating the ground work device, and control data corresponding to the motion control signal. A recording unit that records as a work running sequence in the order of processing, a playback unit that reads the control data recorded in the recording unit and gives it to the device control unit, and the control data for each execution processing unit is converted into an icon and the icon is executed. It includes a screen processing unit that displays work travel sequence screens to be displayed in order on a display, and a plurality of work travel management units that manage a plurality of the work travel sequences on the same work travel sequence screen.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-138570 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-034238

In the agricultural work machine according to Patent Document 1, the setting parameters of each work device can be appropriately set by checking the work mode before the start of the work run. However, after the work run starts, it is not checked whether the setting parameters are appropriate. Therefore, it is impossible to confirm the setting parameters that are changed during the work run during the work run.
In the driving support system according to Patent Document 2, the same work run is accurately repeated by reproducing the sequence data of the specific work run once recorded. However, in such a recording / reproducing system, when the work running is performed while reproducing the recorded work running sequence, which work event in the work event group constituting the sequence is currently being performed, or the next Since it is not possible to grasp which work event is to be performed, anxiety arises in automatic work running.

In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is an automatic traveling work vehicle capable of appropriately grasping the work events to be executed when automatically traveling while executing the work events planned sequentially along the travel route. Is to provide.

The automatic traveling work vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention is an automatic traveling work vehicle that automatically travels along a traveling route, and calculates the own vehicle position based on the positioning data from the satellite positioning module. A unit, a travel route generation unit that generates the travel route, a work event planning unit that generates a work event plan that defines a work event to be executed during work travel along the travel route, and the travel route. A work event command generation unit that generates a work event command based on the work event plan and the position of the own vehicle, and a work that controls automatic traveling along the travel path and execution of the work event based on the work event command. Work for monitoring and displaying the travel control unit and the work vehicle position display, which is the work event performed at each position of the own vehicle position in the predetermined range of the travel route and the route in the predetermined range. A work running monitor screen generator that generates vehicle position display screen data and also generates work event display screen data for displaying the contents of the work event executed during the work run on a time-series monitor. The contents of the work event and the work vehicle position display displayed on the monitor in chronological order are simultaneously displayed on the monitor in different display areas .
Further, the route in a predetermined range may be the entire route of the traveling route.
It should be noted that the term "working run" used in this application includes working while running, running only, working only, and at least one of these being performed. Furthermore, such a temporary stop state of the traveling work is included.

According to this configuration, work events performed near the position of the own vehicle are extracted from the work event plan, so that the contents of the extracted work events can be sequentially displayed on the screen of the display (including the touch panel). can. Therefore, by looking at the contents of the work events displayed on the screen, it is possible to grasp the work events that are sequentially executed. The contents of the work event include straight-ahead work, straight-ahead non-work, right turn, left turn, pause, and the like. Further, it is also possible to give each work event a work running parameter that determines the work running by the work vehicle, such as vehicle speed, turning angle, turning radius, etc., as an event attribute value for realizing the work event. Is.

In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the work event display screen data is executed after the work event and the content of the work event defined by the current position of the own vehicle in the travel path. The content of the work event is included, and an identifier is given to the content of the work event currently being executed. In this configuration, not only the content of the work event executed at the current vehicle position but also the content of the work event executed after the work event, that is, the content of the work event scheduled to be executed in the future is monitored. Is displayed. As a result, from this monitor screen, the user can grasp the contents of the work events to be executed from the present time to the future in the work run along the work path in a timely manner, so that the work run can be carried out in a timely manner. Can be grasped.

In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the work event display screen data includes the content of the work event defined by the current position of the vehicle in the travel path and executed before the work event. The content of the work event and the content of the work event executed after the work event are included, and an identifier is given to the content of the work event currently being executed. In this configuration, not only the content of the work event executed at the current position of the vehicle, but also the content of the work event executed before the work event, that is, the content of the past work event and the content of the work event. The contents of the work event to be executed later, that is, the contents of the future work event are displayed on the monitor at the same time. As a result, from this monitor screen, the user can grasp the contents of work events in a series of work runs along the work path in a timely manner.

Further, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the work event display screen data includes the traveling route and a mark indicating the current position of the own vehicle on the traveling route. In this configuration, the target travel route for automatic driving is displayed on the monitor, and the current position of the own vehicle on this travel route is indicated by a mark. As a result, not only the content of the work event currently being executed in the work run but also the position of the own vehicle on the run route at that time can be grasped from the monitor screen, and the work run can be monitored automatically. Can be done.

Further, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the work event display screen data includes a mark indicating the work event defined at each position of the travel route on the travel route. .. In this configuration, when working along a traveling route, all the work events performed on the traveling route are indicated by specific marks on the traveling route, so that the position on the traveling route where each work event is performed is indicated. Can be grasped on the monitor screen.

In some cases, the work site is not one automatic traveling work vehicle, but a plurality of automatic traveling work vehicles work cooperatively. Before performing cooperative work running by a plurality of automatic traveling work vehicles, a traveling route of work traveling by a plurality of automatic traveling work vehicles is generated, and a work event executed by each automatic traveling work vehicle is generated in the traveling route. A specified work event plan is generated. Further, in the cooperative work driving, the observer gets into one automatic driving work vehicle and monitors not only the work driving of the own vehicle but also the working driving of other automatic traveling work vehicles (other vehicles). Alternatively, the work travel of all vehicles is monitored through the monitor screen of a communication terminal (tablet computer, smartphone, etc.) having the monitor display function described above, which is carried by an observer located in a place where the work travel of all vehicles can be monitored. In order to apply the present invention to such cooperative work travel, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the work travel monitor screen generation unit performs the work travel cooperatively with another automatic vehicle. It also has a function to generate work vehicle position display screen data and work event display screen data for a traveling work vehicle, and the monitor screen is based on the work vehicle position display screen data and work event display screen data of the own vehicle. The monitor image of the vehicle and the monitor image of the other vehicle based on the work vehicle position display screen data and the work event display screen data of the other automatic traveling work vehicle are displayed in an integrated form. As a result, the observer can grasp the work event executed by each autonomous driving vehicle through the monitor screen.

It is a side view of the tractor which is one of the embodiments of an automatic traveling work vehicle. It is explanatory drawing explaining the traveling path and the work event assigned to the traveling path. It is a functional block diagram which shows the control function of a tractor. It is explanatory drawing explaining the flow of the monitor screen generation which displays the position of own vehicle on a traveling path, and the work event to be executed. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the monitor screen in the solo running. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of a monitor screen. It is explanatory drawing explaining the cooperative work running by two automatic running work vehicles. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the monitor screen in the cooperative work running by two automatic running work vehicles.

As an embodiment of the automatic traveling work vehicle according to the present invention, a tractor for agricultural work is taken up. FIG. 1 shows a side view of the tractor. In this tractor, the engine 20 is mounted on the front portion of the vehicle body 1 of the tractor supported by the front wheels 2a and the rear wheels 2b, and the transmission 3 is mounted behind the engine 20. A tilling device 22 is mounted on the rear of the vehicle body 1 so as to be able to move up and down via an elevating mechanism 23. This tractor is a four-wheel drive type, and the power of the engine 20 is transmitted to the front wheels 2a and the rear wheels 2b via a transmission mechanism built in the transmission 3. Further, the power of the engine 20 is also transmitted to the tilling device 22 via the PTO shaft 24 protruding rearward from the transmission 3. The engine 20 is covered by a bonnet 21. The cabin 10 is supported by the vehicle body 1 behind the bonnet 21 and above the transmission 3.

The inside of the cabin 10 functions as a driving space, and a steering handle 11 for steering the front wheels 2a via a steering mechanism (not shown) is arranged in the front portion thereof, and a pair of left and right rear wheels are arranged in the rear portion. A driver's seat 12 is arranged between the fenders 15. An armrest operating device 13 having various operating tools is provided from the side to the front of the driver's seat 12. A data processing terminal with an input / output function that functions as the first control unit 4 is arranged in front of the armrest operation device 13. The data processing terminal (first control unit 4) includes a touch panel 43, and accepts various operation inputs by the driver and notifies the driver of various information through the touch panel 43.

Although not shown, the armrest operating device 13 has an operating lever for raising and lowering the tilling device 22 through the operation of the elevating mechanism 23, a speed change lever for switching the speed change stage in the transmission 3, and a drive mode for switching between 4WD and 2WD. A switching lever, an engine speed adjusting lever for adjusting the engine speed, etc. are arranged.

FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of a work run carried out by this tractor. In this example, the traveling path on which the tractor automatically travels is a reciprocating straight traveling path including a plurality of straight paths and a U-turn path connecting the straight paths. In such a traveling route, when traveling on a straight route, the tilling device 22 is lowered to perform tilling (straight-moving tillage: an example of the contents of a work event), and the tilling device 22 is raised to stop the tilling work. The non-cultivated running (straight-ahead non-cultivation: an example of the contents of the work event) is performed. Further, when the direction of the vehicle body 1 is changed, steering control is used to turn right (right turn: an example of the contents of a work event) and left turn (left turn: work event), which is one of U-turn turn runs. (Example of the contents of the above), and further, switchback running (α turning: an example of the contents of the work event) using the reverse movement is performed.

In the example of FIG. 2, work event planning points (indicated by S1, S2, ... In FIG. 2) are set along the planned travel path. At each work event planning point, the work event executed there (indicated by E1, E2, ... In FIG. 2) and the position on the map (P1, P2, ... In FIG. 2) (Indicated by) is assigned. The work event includes parameters (e11, e12, etc. in FIG. 2) that determine the operating state of the vehicle body 1 (vehicle speed, shift stage, steering angle, etc.) and the operating state of the tilling device 22 (cultivation depth, climbing position, etc.). (Indicated by) is included as a work event attribute value, and a specific work event is executed based on this parameter. The position on the map is represented by a coordinate position (in FIG. 2, indicated by (x1, y1), (x2, y2), ...). In addition, each work event is given a term as an attribute value that simply indicates the content of the work event such as "left turn", "right turn", and "straight-line tillage" described above.

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram showing a control function of the tractor. In this functional block diagram, a first control unit (data processing terminal) 4 and a second control unit 5 are provided as control units related to the monitor display of work events during work travel, and further, the work of the tractor. A third control unit 6 is provided as a basic control unit for controlling traveling. However, the division of the control unit can be changed arbitrarily, and is not limited to the form shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows the flow of generating a monitor screen that displays the position of the own vehicle on the traveling route and the work event to be executed.

In the control system of FIG. 3, the first control unit 4, the second control unit 5, and the third control unit 6 are connected by data / signal lines (vehicle-mounted LAN, control signal line, etc.) shown by solid lines so that data can be exchanged. Has been done. The input / output signal processing unit 8 that functions as an input / output interface is provided with an output signal processing function, an input signal processing function, a communication function for exchanging data via a wireless line or a wired line, and the like. The data / signal line includes a vehicle traveling device group 91 including operating devices for the engine 20, transmission 3, steering mechanism, etc., a working device group 92 including operating devices for the tilling device 22, elevating mechanism 23, etc., a notification device 93, and the like. You are connected. The notification device 93 includes a lamp 94, a speaker 95, an instrument, and a buzzer. Further, the data / signal line is connected to the own vehicle position calculation unit 70, the traveling state detection sensor group 81, the working state detection sensor group 82, and the like. The own vehicle position calculation unit 70 calculates the coordinate position of the vehicle body 1 on the map based on the positioning data from the satellite positioning module 7 that employs GPS or the like.

The first control unit 4 is configured as a data processing terminal. The work plan creation unit 40 of the first control unit 4 has a function of creating a plan for the tractor to work and travel along the travel path in the field by using the touch panel 43. If a work plan has been prepared in advance, it is also possible to receive the whole or part of the work plan through communication or storage media. Therefore, the work plan creation unit 40 includes a travel route generation unit 41 and a work event planning unit 42. As shown in FIG. 4, the travel route generation unit 41 refers to the field information including the topography of the field to be worked on, and generates a travel route by using the travel route generation program installed in advance. The work event planning unit 42 generates a work event plan that defines work events to be executed during work travel along the travel route. An example of this work event plan is schematically shown in FIG.

The second control unit 5 is for notifying the observer of the contents of the work event through the monitor screen when the second control unit 5 automatically travels while executing the work events sequentially planned along the travel route. It has a control function. Therefore, the second control unit 5 includes a work event plan management unit 51 and a work travel monitor screen generation unit 52. As shown in FIG. 4, the work event plan management unit 51 receives a work plan including the travel route generated by the travel route generation unit 41 and the work event plan generated by the work event planning unit 42, and travels. It manages the content of the work event and the coordinate position where the work event is executed at each work event planning point set in the route. The work event planning management unit 51 collates the own vehicle position calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 70 with the coordinate position of each work event planning point, and data necessary for creating the work event display screen (own vehicle position and the own vehicle position). The content of the work event) is given to the work travel monitor screen generation unit 52. The work travel monitor screen generation unit 52 receives the data obtained from the work event planning management unit 51, and includes the name of the work event to be notified to the observer at the own vehicle position and the own vehicle position on the work route. Generate work event display screen data. The monitor screen based on the work event display screen data is displayed on the touch panel 43.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a monitor screen displayed on the touch panel 43 by the work event display screen data generated by the work running monitor screen generation unit 52. On this monitor screen, a work event content display area EA that displays the contents of work events in chronological order is arranged on the left side of the screen, and the traveling route and the position of the own vehicle on the traveling route are displayed on the right side of the screen. The work vehicle position display area CA is arranged. In the work event content display area EA, words and phrases indicating the content of the work event are displayed in a scroll shape in chronological order from top to bottom, and the work event currently being executed includes other work events. A thick frame MF is given as an identifier for distinguishing. That is, in this work event content display area EA, the content of the work event currently being performed and the work events before and after the work event (past work event and future work event) are also displayed. In the work vehicle position display area CA, at least a part of the travel route generated by the travel route generation unit 41 is roughly displayed, and a mark indicating the current position of the tractor (indicating the tractor) is displayed on the travel route. Image) is displayed. By viewing such a monitor image, the observer can grasp the content of the work event currently being executed, the content of the work event to be performed next, and the current position of the tractor on the traveling path.

FIG. 6 shows an example of another form of monitor screen. On this screen, a mark that identifies this work event is added to a phrase indicating the content of the work event (in FIG. 6, it is an alphabetic character M with a subscript). As a result, the contents of the work event defined in the traveling route can be grasped from the work vehicle position display area CA. A mark located upstream of the current position of the tractor means a work run that has already been performed, and a mark located downstream of the current position of the tractor means a work run that is about to be performed. As a result, the work event executed while automatically traveling along the traveling route can be grasped at a glance.

In the above description of the embodiment, the work running is performed by one tractor, but of course, the present invention can also be applied to the use of a plurality of tractors in which the work running is performed cooperatively.
For example, FIG. 7 shows a mode in which work traveling (automatic traveling) is performed by two tractors.
Here, the two tractors are classified as a parent tractor 1P (own vehicle) and a child tractor 1C (other vehicle), respectively. The parent tractor 1P and the child tractor 1C have substantially the same control system as the control system shown in FIG. An observer is on board the parent tractor 1P, and the observer monitors the work running of the parent tractor 1P and the child tractor 1C. The second control unit 5 of the child tractor 1C wirelessly transmits the data necessary for generating the work travel monitor image data, the vehicle position, the travel route, the work event plan, etc. to the second control unit 5 of the parent tractor 1P. Transfer through the line. As a result, the work travel monitor screen generation unit 52 of the parent tractor 1P creates, for example, work travel monitor image data for creating a monitor screen as shown in FIG. In the monitor screen shown in FIG. 8, the work event content display area EA for the parent tractor 1P is arranged on the upper left side of the screen, and the work event content display area EA for the child tractor 1C is arranged on the lower left side of the screen. Has been done. A work vehicle position display area CA is arranged on the right side of the screen. In this work vehicle position display area CA, the traveling path of the parent tractor 1P and the traveling path of the child tractor 1C are integrated, and the own vehicle position of the parent tractor 1P and the own vehicle position of the child tractor 1C are included in each traveling route. Is indicated by a mark (an image showing a tractor). If the drawing color for the parent tractor 1P and the drawing color for the child tractor 1C are changed in both the work event content display area EA and the work vehicle position display area CA, the two can be easily distinguished. Through such a monitor screen, the observer can satisfactorily grasp the work event executed during the work running of the parent tractor 1P and the child tractor 1C.

The third control unit 6 has a control function unit for controlling automatic work running. Therefore, the third control unit 6 is provided with a travel route setting unit 63, a travel command generation unit 64, a work event command generation unit 65, and a work travel control unit 60. Since the travel route generated by the travel route generation unit 41 becomes the travel target route for automatic travel, the travel route setting unit 63 expands this travel route in the memory so that it can be read out. The travel command generation unit 64 obtains the amount of deviation between the vehicle position and the travel path from the vehicle position calculation unit 70, and generates a travel command (including a steering command and a vehicle speed command) for reducing this deviation amount. .. The work event command generation unit 65 generates a work event command based on the travel route, the work event plan, and the position of the own vehicle.

The work travel control unit 60 includes a travel control unit 61 and a work control unit 62. The travel control unit 61 has an automatic travel control function and a manual travel control function. When the automatic travel control function is selected, the travel control unit 61 gives a control signal to the vehicle travel equipment group 91 based on the travel command from the travel command generation unit 64. The work control unit 62 gives a control signal to the work equipment group 92 based on the work event command. When the manual travel control function is selected, manual travel is performed based on the operation of the steering wheel 11 by the driver. Similarly, the work control unit 62 also manually operates using various operation tools and an automatic work control function that automatically operates the work device group 92 such as the tilling device 22 and the elevating mechanism 23 based on the work event command. It has a manual work control function for controlling the device group 92.

In the monitor screens shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, the contents of the work event currently being performed and the work events before and after the work event (past work events and the past work events) are displayed in the work event content display area EA. Future work events) are displayed flowing from top to bottom. This is an example of a display example, and in the work event content display area EA, the content of the work event currently being performed and the content of at least one work event to be executed after the work event (the line from now on). The content of the work event to be reported) may be displayed only. Further, in the work event content display area EA, the content of the work event currently being performed and the content of at least one work event executed before the work event (content of the work event already performed). May be displayed, or only the contents of the work event currently being performed may be displayed. Such various display patterns may be arbitrarily selected.

[Another Embodiment]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the touch panel 43 is used to display the contents of work events in chronological order, but a display or the like provided as the notification device 93 may be used.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the tractor equipped with the tilling device 22 is taken up as a work vehicle, but the tractor equipped with a working device other than the tilling device 22, and further, agricultural work machines such as a combine harvester and a rice transplanter, and construction equipment. The present invention can also be applied to machines and the like.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the first control unit 4, the second control unit 5, and the third control unit 6 are connected by an in-vehicle LAN and are provided in the tractor, but are data processing terminals. The 1 control unit 4 can also adopt a configuration such as a tablet computer, a notebook computer, or a smartphone, which is carried by an administrator and wirelessly exchanges data with a control system of a tractor. Further, the first control unit 4 can be installed as a computer installed in a remote management center, a user's home, or the like, and is connected to the control system of the tractor by an internet line or the like.
(4) The division of each functional part in the functional block diagram shown in FIG. 3 is an example for making the explanation easy to understand, and various functional parts may be integrated or a single functional part may be divided into a plurality of parts. You are free to do it.

The present invention is applicable to an automatic traveling work vehicle that travels along a traveling route.

1: Body 4: First control unit 40: Work plan creation unit 41: Travel route generation unit 42: Work event planning unit 43: Touch panel 5: Second control unit 51: Work event plan management unit 52: Work travel monitor screen generation Unit 6: Third control unit 60: Work travel control unit 63: Travel route setting unit 64: Travel command generation unit 65: Work event command generation unit 7: Satellite positioning module 70: Own vehicle position calculation unit 81: Travel state detection sensor Group 82: Work state detection sensor group CA: Work vehicle position display area EA: Work event content display area

Claims (7)

It is an automatic traveling work vehicle that automatically travels along the traveling route.
The vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position based on the positioning data from the satellite positioning module,
A travel route generation unit that generates the travel route,
A work event planning unit that generates a work event plan that defines work events to be executed during work running along the travel path, and a work event planning unit.
A work event command generation unit that generates a work event command based on the travel route, the work event plan, and the vehicle position.
A work travel control unit that controls automatic travel along the travel route and execution of the work event based on the work event command.
Work vehicle position display screen data for monitoring display of the work vehicle position display, which is the work event performed at each position of the own vehicle position in the predetermined range of the travel route and the route in the predetermined range. And a work running monitor screen generation unit that generates work event display screen data for displaying the contents of the work event executed during the work running on a time-series monitor.
With
An automatic traveling work vehicle in which the contents of the work event displayed on the monitor in chronological order and the position display of the work vehicle are simultaneously monitored and displayed in different display areas. The automatic traveling work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the route in a predetermined range is the entire route of the traveling route. The work event display screen data includes the content of the work event defined by the current position of the own vehicle in the travel route and the content of the work event executed after the work event, and is currently The automatic traveling work vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an identifier is given to the content of the work event being executed. The work event display screen data includes the content of the work event defined by the current position of the vehicle on the travel route, the content of the work event executed before the work event, and after the work event. The automatic traveling work vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the content of the work event to be executed is included, and an identifier is given to the content of the work event currently being executed. The automatic traveling work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the work event display screen data includes the traveling route and a mark indicating the current position of the own vehicle on the traveling route. The automatic traveling work vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the work event display screen data includes a mark indicating the work event defined in the traveling route on the traveling route. The work travel monitor screen generation unit also has a function of generating work vehicle position display screen data and work event display screen data for other automatic traveling work vehicles that are performing the work travel in a coordinated manner, and has a function of generating the own vehicle. The monitor image of the own vehicle based on the work vehicle position display screen data and the work event display screen data of the work vehicle, and the monitor image of the other vehicle based on the work vehicle position display screen data and the work event display screen data of the other automatic traveling work vehicle. The automatic traveling work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is displayed on a monitor in an integrated form.

Images