JP6946217B2 - Field registration device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a field registration device.

Patent Document 1 below discloses a system that generates a movement locus of a work vehicle based on the position of the work vehicle detected at a predetermined time interval and determines the shape of a work target site (field) based on the movement locus. Has been done.

Japanese Patent No. 4185813

By the way, since the management of the shape of the field is important when controlling the yield of crops in the field, accuracy is required to specify the shape of the field.
When the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used, the movement locus can be accurately generated by shortening the time interval for detecting the position information of the work vehicle and increasing the number of samplings. This makes it possible to accurately identify the shape of the field.

However, if the number of samplings of the position information of the work vehicle is increased, the position information data which is the data necessary for specifying the field increases, and it is unavoidable to increase the capacity of the server that stores the field identification information.
Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a field registration device capable of suppressing a decrease in the accuracy of specifying the field shape and reducing the amount of data for specifying the field.

One embodiment of the present invention is a field registration device for registering a field, which acquires hourly position information of a work vehicle that works while traveling in the field from the work vehicle and includes a plurality of the position information. Between the position information storage processing unit that stores the position information data to be stored and the position information at both ends located at both ends of the plurality of position information arranged linearly when the plurality of continuous position information are arranged linearly. The shape of the field is specified based on the position information deletion processing unit that deletes the intermediate position information from the position information data and the position information data after the intermediate position information is deleted by the position information deletion processing unit. Provided is a field registration device including a field specific data generation unit for generating field specific data for the purpose.

According to this configuration, the field identification data is generated based on the position information data after deleting the intermediate position information, not the position information data including all the position information for each time of the work vehicle. Therefore, the amount of field specific data can be reduced.
As a method of reducing the amount of field specific data, it can be assumed that the time interval of the position information is simply lengthened, but this is a feature point (for example, the position of the apex of the polygon) necessary for specifying the shape of the field. Since there is a high possibility that information) cannot be obtained, the accuracy of specifying the field shape may decrease.

On the other hand, the intermediate position information of the plurality of position information arranged in a straight line is difficult to be used for specifying the feature points of the shape of the field. Therefore, if the position information deletion processing unit is configured to delete the intermediate position information, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the accuracy of specifying the field shape and reduce the amount of data for the field identification data.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the field identification data is the position information data after the intermediate position information is deleted by the position information deletion processing unit. Therefore, in addition to being able to reduce the amount of field identification data, it is possible to sufficiently secure the position information necessary for specifying the shape of the field, so that the shape of the field can be specified with high accuracy.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the field specific data generation unit is a polygon that includes all the position information included in the position information data after the intermediate position information is deleted by the position information deletion processing unit. The field identification data is generated based on the above.
Therefore, it is highly possible that the number of position information included in the field specific data can be smaller than the number of position information included in the position information data after the intermediate position information is deleted. Therefore, the amount of field specific data can be further reduced.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the field registration device acquires operation information at the same time interval as the position information about the work vehicle from the work vehicle, and stores operation information data including a plurality of the operation information. It further includes an operation information storage processing unit that performs processing, and a post-thinning data generation unit that generates post-thinning data by thinning out the operation information from the operation information data.
Since the operation information is not used for specifying the field shape, the time interval may be longer than the position information. Therefore, the amount of data required for storing the operation information can be reduced by thinning out unnecessary operation information from the operation information data stored in the operation information storage unit and generating the data after the thinning out.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a field management system provided with a field registration device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a work vehicle provided in the field management system and the field registration device. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of field registration control by the field registration processing unit. FIG. 4A is a schematic view of a field and its surroundings where field registration processing is performed by the field registration processing unit provided in the field registration device, and all of the position information included in the position information data acquired while traveling in the field is displayed. It is a figure shown. FIG. 4B is a schematic view of the field and its surroundings where the field registration processing is performed by the field registration processing unit, and is a diagram showing the position information included in the position information data after the intermediate position information is deleted. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the deletion process by the position information deletion processing unit provided in the field registration processing unit. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing polygons generated by a polygon generation unit provided in the field registration device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a field management system 1 provided with a field registration server 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The field management system 1 is a system for registering and managing the field F (see FIG. 4A) owned by the user.
The field management system 1 includes a work vehicle 2, a portable terminal device (hereinafter referred to as “portable terminal 3”), and a field registration server 4 (field registration device). The work vehicle 2 is a tractor or the like that travels while working in the field. In addition to the tractor, the work vehicle 2 may be a passenger type work vehicle such as a rice transplanter, a combine harvester, a civil engineering / construction work vehicle, a snowplow, or a walking type work vehicle.

The field registration server 4 identifies the shape of the field F based on the information transmitted from the work vehicle 2 and the mobile terminal 3, and registers the field F. The field registration server 4 is provided in the remote monitoring center. The access terminal device 5 is a terminal device for accessing the website provided by the field registration server 4. On the website, the field information (field information) registered by the field registration server 4 can be viewed and edited. The access terminal device 5 is provided in the user's home or office. The field registration server 4 can communicate with the work vehicle 2 and the mobile terminal 3 via the communication network 7. The field information includes field identification data for specifying the shape and location of the registered field, the name of the registered field, and the like.

The work vehicle 2 includes a traveling machine body 10 capable of traveling in the field. Various working machines 11 such as a roll baler, a cultivator, a plow, a fertilizer applicator, a mower, and a sowing machine can be selectively attached to the traveling machine body 10. In the present embodiment, an example in which a cultivator is attached to the traveling machine body 10 as a working machine 11 will be described.
The work vehicle 2 has a function of positioning the position information (self-position) of the work vehicle 2 by using a positioning satellite. The work vehicle 2 positions the position information at a predetermined first time interval (for example, 1 second interval), and transmits the position information measured at the first time interval to the field registration server 4 in real time or at a predetermined timing. ..

The mobile terminal 3 includes a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet-type personal computer (tablet-type PC). In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 3 is a smartphone. The mobile terminal 3 transmits the work start time and the work end time to the field registration server 4 in response to the user's operation. The work start time is the time when the work vehicle 2 starts farm work. The work end time is the time when the farm work of the work vehicle 2 is completed. For example, when the user operates the work start button displayed on the mobile terminal 3, the work start signal including the work start time is transmitted to the field registration server 4. Further, when the user operates the work end button displayed on the mobile terminal 3, the work end signal including the work end time is transmitted to the field registration server 4.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the work vehicle 2 and the field registration server 4.
The work vehicle 2 includes a work vehicle control device 12 and a communication terminal 13. The work vehicle control device 12 controls the electrical equipment of each part of the work vehicle 2. When the work vehicle 2 is a tractor as in the present embodiment, the work vehicle control device 12 has the operation of the traveling machine 10 (movement of forward, reverse, stop, turning, etc.) and the operation of the work machine 11 (operation of forward, reverse, stop, turn, etc.). Controls movements such as raising and lowering, driving, and stopping).

A plurality of controllers (not shown) provided in the traveling machine body 10 and an operation information detection unit 18 for detecting operation information of each part of the work vehicle 2 are electrically connected to the work vehicle control device 12. There is. The plurality of controllers include an engine controller that controls the number of rotations of the engine, a vehicle speed controller that controls the vehicle speed of the traveling machine body 10, a steering controller that controls the direction of the traveling machine body 10, an elevating controller that controls the elevating and lowering of the working machine 11, and work. It includes a PTO axis controller and the like that control the rotation of the PTO axis that transmits power to the machine 11.

The operation information includes information on whether or not the portion controlled by each controller in the work vehicle 2 is operating normally. The operation information detection unit 18 is provided in each controller, and detects operation information of a portion controlled by each controller. The operation information detection unit 18 detects operation information at predetermined second time intervals. The second time interval is, for example, the same interval as the first time interval. The operation information detected by the operation information detection unit 18 is transmitted to the field registration server 4 in real time or at a predetermined timing.

The communication terminal 13 includes a control unit 14. The control unit 14 includes a microcomputer provided with a CPU and a memory (ROM, RAM, etc.). The work vehicle control device 12, the position information calculation unit 15, the communication unit 16, the storage unit 17, and the like are electrically connected to the control unit 14. The position information calculation unit 15 calculates the position information of the work vehicle 2 (communication terminal 13) based on the satellite positioning system. The satellite positioning system is, for example, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). The position information calculation unit 15 receives satellite signals from a plurality of positioning satellites and calculates the position information of the work vehicle 2.

The communication unit 16 is an interface for the control unit 14 to communicate with the field registration server 4 via the communication network 7 (see FIG. 1). The storage unit 17 is composed of a storage device such as a non-volatile memory.
The field registration server 4 includes a control unit 30. The control unit 30 includes a microcomputer provided with a CPU and a memory 31 (ROM, RAM, etc.).

A communication unit 40, a display unit 41, an operation unit 42, a storage device 43, and the like are electrically connected to the control unit 30. The communication unit 40 is a communication interface for the control unit 30 to communicate with the communication terminal 13 (working vehicle 2) and the access terminal device 5 via the communication network 7 (see FIG. 1). The display unit 41 includes, for example, a display. The operation unit 42 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like.

The storage device 43 is composed of a storage device such as a hard disk and a non-volatile memory. In this embodiment, the storage device 43 is provided outside the field registration server 4, but unlike this embodiment, the storage device 43 may be built in the field registration server 4.
The control unit 30 includes a position information storage processing unit 50, a field registration processing unit 51, an operation information storage processing unit 60, a post-thinning data generation unit 61, and a polygon generation unit 70. The position information storage processing unit 50 acquires the hourly position information of the work vehicle 2 from the work vehicle 2 via the communication unit 40, and stores the position information data in the storage device 43.

The field registration processing unit 51 performs the field registration processing based on the hourly position information of the work vehicle 2 received from the work vehicle 2. The field registration processing unit 51 includes a position information deletion processing unit 52 and a field identification data generation unit 53.
In the following, the field F that is the target of the field registration process is referred to as the “field F to be treated”, and the work vehicle 2 calculated by the position information calculation unit 15 while the farm work is being performed on the field F to be treated. The location information for each hour is referred to as "processing target data".

The position information deletion processing unit 52 executes a deletion process for deleting a part of the position information of the work vehicle 2 from the position information data. The position information deletion processing unit 52 reads the processing target data from the storage device 43, sets it in the memory 31, and executes the deletion process on the memory 31.
The field identification data generation unit 53 generates field identification data based on the processing target data after the deletion processing by the position information deletion processing unit 52 is performed, and stores the field identification data in the storage device 43. By storing the field identification data in the storage device 43, the registration of the field in the field registration server 4 is completed.

The operation information storage processing unit 60 acquires hourly operation information of the work vehicle 2 from the work vehicle 2 via the communication unit 40, and performs storage processing of the operation information data. The operation information data storage process is to store the operation information data in the storage device 43.
The post-thinning data generation unit 61 executes a thinning process for thinning out a part of the operation information from the operation information data corresponding to the field F to be processed. As a result, the thinned-out data is generated. The thinned-out data is data obtained by thinning out a part of a plurality of operation information from the operation information data corresponding to the field F to be processed. The post-thinning data generation unit 61 reads the operation information data from the storage device 43, sets it in the memory 31, and executes the thinning process on the memory 31. Since the operation information is not used for specifying the field shape, the time interval may be longer than the position information. Since unnecessary operation information is thinned out from the operation information data to generate the data after thinning out, the amount of data required for storing the operation information can be reduced.

When the user accesses the website using the access terminal device 5, the polygon generation unit 70 generates a polygon (polygon) representing the shape of the field F to be processed based on the field identification data. The generated polygons are displayed on a display unit such as a display provided in the access terminal device 5.
The storage device 43 includes a temporary storage unit 80, a field specific data storage unit 81, and a post-thinning data storage unit 82. The temporary storage unit 80 temporarily stores the position information data and the operation information data.

The position information data stored in the temporary storage unit 80 is deleted at a predetermined timing after the deletion process is executed by the position information deletion processing unit 52, for example. The operation information data stored in the temporary storage unit 80 is deleted, for example, at a predetermined timing after the thinned-out data is generated by the thinned-out data generation unit 61.
The field specific data storage unit 81 stores the field specific data generated by the field specific data generation unit 53. The post-thinning data storage unit 82 stores the post-thinning data generated by the post-thinning data generation unit 61.

Next, the field registration control by the field registration processing unit 51 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of field registration control by the field registration processing unit 51. 4A and 4B are schematic views of the field F to be treated and its surroundings.
The position information deletion processing unit 52 of the field registration processing unit 51 determines whether or not the position information 90 included in the processing target data includes continuous position information 90 arranged in a straight line (step S1). When a plurality of position information 90s arranged in a straight line are present in the data to be processed (step S2: YES), the position information deletion processing unit 52 is located at both ends of the plurality of position information 90s arranged in a straight line. The intermediate position information 92 (position information indicated by “x” in FIG. 4A) between the information 91 is deleted from the data to be processed. The intermediate position information 92 includes not only the central position between the both end position information 91 but also the position information located at an arbitrary position between the end position information 91. When the plurality of position information 90s arranged in a straight line do not exist (step S2: NO), the position information deletion processing unit 52 proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the field identification data generation unit 53 of the field registration processing unit 51 generates field identification data based on the processing target data (position information 90 shown in FIG. 4B) after the intermediate position information 92 is deleted. Then, the field-specific data generation unit 53 stores the generated field-specific data in the field-specific data storage unit 81 (step S4). As a result, the field F is registered after the farm work of the work vehicle 2 in the field F is completed without registering the field F in advance.

In the present embodiment, the field identification data is composed of the data to be processed after the intermediate position information 92 is deleted.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of deletion processing by the position information deletion processing unit 52. In FIGS. 5A and 5B, the position information 90s are arranged in order from the left side in the order of the earliest time, and the leftmost position information 90 is the position information 90 having the earliest time. In FIGS. 5A and 5B, reference numerals “90A”, “90B”, “90C”, and “90D” are added in order from the position information 90 having the earliest time (on the left side in FIG. 5) for convenience of explanation.

When three or more position information 90s exist, it is assumed that the first position information 90A is one of the both end position information 91, and each position information 90 is to be deleted (intermediate position information) in order from the second position information 90B. 92) It is determined whether or not it is.
For example, the position information deletion processing unit 52 first determines whether or not the third position information 90C is located on an extension of the straight line 94A connecting the first position information 90A and the second position information 90B.

As shown by the solid line in FIG. 5A, when the third position information 90C is located on the extension line of the straight line 94A connecting the first position information 90A and the second position information 90B, the second position information 90C is located. The position information 90B is to be deleted.
On the other hand, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 5A, when the third position information 90C is not located on the extension line of the straight line 94A connecting the first position information 90A and the second position information 90B, The second position information 90B is not targeted for deletion.

When the second position information 90B is targeted for deletion, as shown in FIG. 5B, the fourth position information 90A is on the extension line of the straight line 94B connecting the first position information 90A and the third position information 90C. It is determined whether or not the position information 90D of is located.
When the second position information 90B is not the target of deletion, as shown in FIG. 5C, 4 is on the extension line of the straight line 94C connecting the second position information 90B and the third position information 90C. It is determined whether or not the third position information 90D is located.

In the deletion process by the position information deletion processing unit 52, by repeating the above determination, it is determined whether or not all the position information 90 except the position information 90 having the earliest time is to be deleted. NS.
Whether or not the position information 90 is located on the extension line of the straight line 94 is determined based on, for example, whether the deviation amount of the position information 90 from the extension line of the straight line 94 is within a predetermined distance L. May be good.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the polygon 95 generated by the polygon generation unit 70.
The polygon 95 generated by the polygon generation unit 70 is, for example, a convex hull. The convex hull is the smallest convex polygon that contains all the given points. Therefore, the polygon 95 generated by the polygon generation unit 70 is the smallest convex polygon including all the position information 90 included in the field identification data. The polygon generation unit 70 calculates the position information 96 that is the apex of the polygon 95 from the position information 90 included in the processing target data, and generates the polygon 95.

The polygon 95 generated by the polygon generation unit 70 does not have to be a convex hull, and the width of the work vehicle 2 may be taken into consideration. That is, the polygon 95 may be generated so that a distance corresponding to half the width of the work vehicle 2 is provided between each side of the polygon 95 and the position information 90 included in the field identification data.
According to the present embodiment, the field identification data is generated based on the processing target data after deleting the intermediate position information 92, not the processing target data including all of the hourly position information 90 of the work vehicle 2. NS. Therefore, the amount of field specific data can be reduced.

As a method of reducing the amount of field specific data, it can be assumed that the time interval of the position information 90 is simply lengthened, but this is a feature point (for example, a polygon) necessary for specifying the shape of the field F to be processed. Since there is a high possibility that the position information 96) of the apex of the field cannot be obtained, there is a possibility that the specific accuracy of the field shape cannot be sufficiently ensured.
On the other hand, the intermediate position information 92 of the plurality of position information 90 arranged in a straight line is difficult to be used for specifying the feature points of the shape of the field F to be treated. Therefore, if the position information deletion processing unit 52 deletes the intermediate position information 92 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the accuracy of specifying the field shape and reduce the amount of data of the field identification data. ..

Further, according to the present embodiment, the field identification data is the data to be processed after the intermediate position information 92 is deleted by the position information deletion processing unit 52. Therefore, in addition to being able to reduce the amount of field identification data, it is possible to sufficiently secure the position information 90 necessary for specifying the shape of the field F, so that the shape of the field F can be specified with high accuracy. can.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in other embodiments.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the field identification data is the data to be processed after the intermediate position information 92 is deleted. However, unlike the above-described embodiment, the field identification data generation unit 70 may generate field identification data based on the polygon 95. That is, the field identification data may be composed of the position information 90 that constitutes the position information 96 of the vertices of the polygon 95 among the position information 90 included in the processing target data. It is highly possible that the number of position information 90 included in the field specific data can be smaller than the number of position information 90 included in the processing target data after the intermediate position information 92 is deleted. Therefore, the amount of field specific data can be further reduced.

When the width of the work vehicle 2 is taken into consideration when generating the polygon 95, the field identification data is the polygon of the position information 90 included in the processing target data after the intermediate position information 92 is deleted. It is composed of the position information 90 necessary for calculating the position information 96 of the vertices of 95.
Further, in the configuration in which the field identification data generation unit 70 generates the field identification data based on the polygon 95, not only the position information 96 of the vertices of the polygon 95 but also the data to be processed after the intermediate position information 92 is deleted is stored. It may be stored in the device 43.

In addition, various changes can be made within the scope of the claims.

2: Work vehicle 4: Field registration server (field registration device)
50: Location information storage processing unit 52: Location information deletion processing unit 53: Field specific data generation unit 60: Operation information storage processing unit 61: Data generation unit after thinning 90: Location information 90A: Location information 90B: Location information 90C: Position Information 90D: Position information 91: Both ends position information 92: Intermediate position information 95: Polygon (polygon)
96: Location information F: Field to be treated

Claims (4)

It is a field registration device that registers fields.
Storage of position information data including a plurality of the position information by acquiring the hourly position information of the work vehicle during the period in which the work vehicle travels over the entire field and executes farm work. The location information storage processing unit that performs processing and
When a plurality of consecutive position information are arranged in a straight line, the intermediate position information between the end position information located at both ends of the plurality of the position information arranged in a straight line is deleted from the position information data. Processing unit and
A field including a field identification data generation unit that generates field identification data for specifying the shape of the field based on the position information data after the intermediate position information is deleted by the position information deletion processing unit. Registration device. The field registration device according to claim 1, wherein the field identification data is the position information data after the intermediate position information is deleted by the position information deletion processing unit. The field identification data generation unit generates the field identification data based on a polygon including all the position information included in the position information data after the intermediate position information is deleted by the position information deletion processing unit. The field registration device according to claim 1, which is generated. Wherein the operation information of the same time interval as the position information, obtained from the work vehicle, the storage process of the operation information data includes a plurality of said operation information about the work vehicle to a running information of each portion of the work vehicle Operation information storage processing unit that performs
The field registration apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a post-thinning data generation unit that generates post-thinning data by thinning out the operation information from the operation information data.

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