JP7058635B2 - Autonomous driving system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an autonomous traveling system that generates a traveling path for the aircraft to autonomously travel.

Conventionally, in order to efficiently and easily carry out farm work in the field, a running route was generated so as to repeat straight running, turning near the boundary, and restarting straight running following the turning in order, and the farming vehicle was along the running route. Techniques for autonomous driving are known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-8053 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-254704

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, it is necessary to fix the start position and the end position in order to generate a travel path on which the aircraft travels. For this reason, for example, when there is a deep groove near the start position of the field and it is not preferable as the start position, the start position cannot be changed unless the travel route once set is changed, and in view of the setting workability. There was room for improvement.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned current situation, and it is a technical subject to provide an autonomous traveling system capable of easily changing, for example, a start position and an end position without recreating a traveling route.

In the autonomous traveling system of the present invention, a route generation unit capable of specifying a traveling region for autonomously traveling the aircraft and generating a traveling route of the aircraft in the traveling region in advance and traveling of the aircraft along the traveling route are performed. A control unit that can be instructed is provided, and the route generation unit can generate the travel route based on a start position at which the aircraft starts traveling and an end position at which the aircraft ends traveling, and the travel route can be generated. It is possible to accept the change in the position of the start position after the route is generated and change the start position, and also accept the change in the position of the start position after the generation of the travel route. By maintaining the traveling route as it is, the traveling route after the generation can be modified .

In the autonomous traveling system of the present invention, when the position change is accepted, the starting position may be set to a predetermined position of the traveling path after the generation.

In the autonomous travel system of the present invention, the route generation unit generates the travel route by alternately connecting a plurality of work paths on which agricultural work is performed and a turning circuit on which a turning operation is performed, and the start position before the change. The settable range of the new start position when the position change is accepted may be within the same distance as the distance between the adjacent work paths.

In the autonomous traveling system of the present invention, the route generation unit generates the traveling route by alternately connecting a plurality of work paths on which agricultural work is performed and a turning circuit on which a turning operation is performed, and the start position before the change. The settable range of the new start position when the position change is accepted is within the boundary between the work area where the plurality of work paths are generated and the area where the turning circuit is generated, before the change. It may be on the boundary edge portion to which the start position belongs or an extension line of the boundary edge portion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to specify a traveling region in which an aircraft is autonomously traveled, and to instruct a route generation unit capable of generating a traveling route of the aircraft in the traveling region in advance and traveling of the aircraft along the traveling route. The route generation unit can generate the travel route based on the start position at which the aircraft starts traveling and the end position at which the aircraft ends travel, and the route generation unit can generate the travel route. Since it is possible to accept the change in the position of the start position after generation and change the start position, for example, there may be a deep groove in the vicinity of the start position of the field, which may hinder the autonomous running of the aircraft. Even in such a case, it is possible to change the position of either the start position or the end position without changing the travel route once set. Therefore, the workability of setting the travel route can be improved, the work load of the operator can be reduced, and the travel start position can be set according to the field conditions.

It is an overall side view of the robot tractor in an embodiment. It is a top view of a robot tractor. It is a functional block diagram of a robot tractor. (A) is a diagram for explaining the setting of the traveling path P for the inclined field area F and the work area W, (b) is an explanatory diagram when the corrected turning radius is reduced, and (c) is a diagram for increasing the corrected turning radius. It is explanatory drawing in the case of doing. (A) to (d) are screen views of a remote control device for explaining an example of modifying a travel path when the start position is changed outside the travel path. (E) to (h) are screen views of a remote control device for explaining an example of modifying a travel path when the end position is changed outside the travel path. (I) to (l) are screen views of a remote control device for explaining an example of modifying a travel path when the start position is changed on the travel path. (M) to (p) are screen views of a remote control device for explaining an example of modifying a travel path when the end position is changed on the travel path.

Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a robot tractor 1 (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a “tractor”), which is an example of a work vehicle according to the present invention, will be described. The tractor 1 includes an airframe 2 that autonomously travels in the field. The machine body 2 is provided with a work machine 3 which is shown by a chain line in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is detachably provided. The working machine 3 is used for agricultural work. As the working machine 3, for example, there are various working machines such as a tiller, a plow, a fertilizer application machine, a grass mower, a sowing machine, etc., and a desired working machine 3 is selected from these as necessary and the machine body 2 is used. Can be attached to. The machine body 2 is configured so that the height and posture of the mounted work machine 3 can be changed.

The configuration of the tractor 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the airframe 2 which is the airframe of the tractor 1 is supported by a pair of left and right front wheels 7 and 7 and a rear portion supported by a pair of left and right rear wheels 8 and 8. The front wheels 7 and 7 and the rear wheels 8 and 8 form a traveling portion.

A bonnet 9 is arranged at the front of the machine body 2. The engine 10 and the fuel tank (not shown), which are the drive sources of the tractor 1, are housed in the bonnet 9. The engine 10 can be configured by, for example, a diesel engine, but is not limited to this, and may be configured by, for example, a gasoline engine. Further, as the drive source, an electric motor may be used in addition to or instead of the engine.

Behind the bonnet 9, a cabin 11 on which the operator is boarded is arranged. Inside the cabin 11, a steering handle 12 for the operator to steer, a seat 13 on which the operator can sit, and various operating devices for performing various operations are mainly provided. There is. However, the agricultural work vehicle is not limited to the one with the cabin 11, and may be the one without the cabin 11.

Although not shown, examples of the above-mentioned operating device include a monitor device, a throttle lever, a main shift lever, an elevating lever, a PTO switch, a PTO shift lever, and a plurality of hydraulic shift levers. These operating devices are arranged near the seat 13 or near the steering wheel 12.

The monitoring device is configured to be able to display various information of the tractor 1. The throttle lever sets the rotation speed of the engine 10. The main shift lever is operated to change the gear ratio of the transmission case 22. The elevating lever raises and lowers the height of the working machine 3 mounted on the machine body 2 within a predetermined range. The PTO switch is for connecting and disconnecting power transmission to the PTO shaft (power take-off shaft) protruding outward from the rear end side of the mission case 22. That is, when the PTO switch is in the ON state, power is transmitted to the PTO shaft to rotate the PTO shaft, and the work equipment 3 is driven, while when the PTO switch is in the OFF state, the power to the PTO shaft is cut off. The PTO shaft does not rotate and the work machine 3 stops. The PTO shift lever performs a change operation of the power input to the working machine 3, specifically, a shift operation of the rotation speed of the PTO shaft. The hydraulic shift lever switches and operates the hydraulic external take-out valve.

As shown in FIG. 1, a chassis 20 constituting the frame is provided at the lower part of the machine body 2. The chassis 20 is composed of an airframe frame 21, a mission case 22, a front axle 23, a rear axle 24, and the like.

The airframe frame 21 is a support member in the front portion of the tractor 1 and supports the engine 10 directly or via an anti-vibration member or the like. The mission case 22 changes the power from the engine 10 and transmits it to the front axle 23 and the rear axle 24. The front axle 23 is configured to transmit the power input from the mission case 22 to the front wheels 7. The rear axle 24 is configured to transmit the power input from the mission case 22 to the rear wheels 8.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tractor 1 is controlled as a control unit for controlling the operation of the machine body 2 (forward, reverse, stop, turn, etc.) and the operation of the work machine 3 (elevation, drive, stop, etc.). The device 4 is provided. A common rail device 41 as a fuel injection device, a transmission 42, an elevating actuator 44, and the like are electrically connected to the control device 4, respectively.

The common rail device 41 injects fuel into each cylinder of the engine 10. In this case, the fuel injection valve of the injector for each cylinder of the engine 10 is controlled to open and close by the control device 4, so that the high-pressure fuel pumped from the fuel tank to the common rail device 41 by the fuel supply pump is sent from each injector to the engine 10. The injection pressure, injection timing, and injection period (injection amount) of the fuel injected into each cylinder and supplied from each injector are controlled with high accuracy.

Specifically, the transmission 42 is, for example, a movable sloping plate type hydraulic continuously variable transmission, and is provided in the mission case 22. By controlling the speed change device 42 by the control device 4 and appropriately adjusting the angle of the swash plate, the speed change ratio of the mission case 22 can be set to a desired speed change ratio.

The elevating actuator 44 operates the three-point link mechanism that connects the work machine 3 to the machine body 2, for example, to move the work machine 3 to a retracted position (position where farm work is not performed) or a work position (position where farm work is performed). It is something to raise or lower to either. By controlling the elevating actuator 44 by the control device 4 and appropriately elevating the working machine 3, for example, the farming work can be performed by the working machine 3 at a desired height in the field area.

Further, the control device 4 includes a rotation speed sensor 31 that detects the rotation speed of the engine 10, a vehicle speed sensor 32 that detects the rotation speed of the rear wheels 8, and a steering angle sensor that detects the rotation angle (steering angle) of the handle 12. Sensors such as 33 are also electrically connected. The detection values of these sensors are converted into detection signals and transmitted to the control device 4.

The tractor 1 provided with the control device 4 as described above controls each part (machine 2, work machine 3, etc.) of the tractor 1 by the control device 4 when the operator gets on the cabin 11 and performs various operations. It is configured so that farm work can be carried out while traveling in the field. In addition, the tractor 1 of the embodiment can be autonomously driven based on a predetermined control signal output by the remote control device 46, for example, without the operator being on board.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the tractor 1 includes various configurations for enabling autonomous traveling in the control device 4. Further, the tractor 1 has various configurations such as a positioning antenna 6 necessary for acquiring the position information of (the aircraft) itself based on the positioning system. With such a configuration, the tractor 1 can acquire its own position information based on the positioning system and autonomously travel on the field.

Next, the configuration included in the tractor 1 for autonomous traveling will be described in detail. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the tractor 1 includes a steering actuator 43, a positioning antenna 6, a wireless communication antenna 48, and the like.

The steering actuator 43 is provided, for example, in the middle of the rotation shaft (steering shaft) of the steering handle 12, and adjusts the rotation angle (steering angle) of the steering handle 12. When the tractor 1 travels on a predetermined route (as an unmanned tractor), the control device 4 calculates and calculates an appropriate rotation angle of the steering handle 12 so that the tractor 1 travels along the route. The steering actuator 43 is controlled so that the steering handle 12 rotates according to the rotation angle.

The positioning antenna 6 receives a signal from a positioning satellite constituting a positioning system such as a satellite positioning system (GNSS). As shown in FIG. 1, the positioning antenna 6 is arranged on the upper surface of the roof 14 in the cabin 11. The signal received by the positioning antenna 6 is input to the position and tilt angle information calculation unit 49 shown in FIG. 3, and the tractor 1 (strictly speaking, the positioning antenna 6) is used by the position and tilt angle information calculation unit 49. The position information of is calculated as, for example, latitude / longitude information. The position information calculated by the position and tilt angle information calculation unit 49 is acquired by the position and tilt angle information acquisition unit 50 of the control device 4 and used for controlling the tractor 1.

The position and tilt angle information calculation unit 49 of the embodiment can measure not only the position information of the tractor 1 (airframe 2) but also the tilt angle information of front, back, left and right. The tilt angle information measured by the position and tilt angle information calculation unit 49 is acquired by the position and tilt angle information acquisition unit 50 of the control device 4 in a state of being associated with the position information (latitude / longitude information), and the tractor 1 It is used to control. The position and tilt angle information calculation unit 49 can also measure the height position of the positioning antenna 6 with respect to the field scene, and thus the vehicle height of the tractor 1 (airframe 2).

In this embodiment, a high-precision satellite positioning system using the GNSS-RTK method is used, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other positioning systems are used as long as high-precision position coordinates can be obtained. You may. GNSS-RTK is a positioning method that is corrected and improved in accuracy based on the information of a reference station whose position is known, and there are a plurality of methods depending on the method of distributing information from the reference station. Since the present invention does not depend on the GNSS-RTK method, details are omitted in this embodiment.

The wireless communication antenna 48 receives a signal from the remote control device 46 and transmits a signal to the remote control device 46. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication antenna 48 is arranged on the upper surface of the roof 14 of the cabin 11 of the tractor 1. The signal from the remote control device 46 received by the wireless communication antenna 48 is signal-processed by the transmission / reception processing unit 47 shown in FIG. 3 and then input to the control device 4. Further, the signal transmitted from the control device 4 to the remote control device 46 is signal-processed by the transmission / reception processing unit 47, then transmitted from the wireless communication antenna 48, and received by the remote control device 46.

Further, the tractor 1 is provided with a pair of left and right brake devices 26, 26 for applying a brake to the left and right rear wheels 8 and 8 by two systems of operation and automatic control of a brake pedal and a parking brake lever. That is, both the left and right brake devices 26 and 26 are configured to apply the brakes to both the left and right rear wheels 8 and 8 by operating the brake pedal (or the parking brake lever) in the braking direction. Further, when the rotation angle of the handle 12 becomes equal to or more than a predetermined angle, the braking device 26 for the rear wheel 8 inside the turning is automatically braked by a command of the control device 4 (so-called auto). break).

The tractor 1 is equipped with an obstacle sensor 35 that detects whether or not there is an obstacle in the front, side, or rear. The obstacle sensor 35 is composed of a laser sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and the like, recognizes obstacles existing in front of, sideways, and behind the tractor 1 and generates a detection signal. Further, the tractor 1 is attached with a camera 36 for photographing the front, side, and rear. The obstacle sensor 35 and the camera 36 are electrically connected to the control device 4. The detection values of these sensors are converted into detection signals and transmitted to the control device 4.

Specifically, the remote control device 46 is configured as a tablet-type personal computer provided with a touch panel. The operator can confirm by referring to the information displayed on the touch panel of the remote control device 46 (for example, the information of the field necessary for autonomous driving). Further, the operator can operate the remote control device 46 to transmit a control signal for controlling the tractor 1 to the control device 4 of the tractor 1. The remote control device 46 of the embodiment is not limited to the tablet-type personal computer, and may be configured by, for example, a notebook-type personal computer instead of the tablet-type personal computer. Alternatively, when a manned tractor (not shown) is carried along with the unmanned tractor 1, the monitor device mounted on the manned tractor can be used as a remote control device.

The control device 4 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with various parts for autonomous traveling control of the tractor 1, and by providing the tractor 1 with various configurations such as a positioning antenna 6, the existing tractor can be unmanned. It can be used as a tractor 1. The control device 4 is configured as a small computer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and an operation program, an application program, various data, and the like are stored in the ROM. By the cooperation of the above hardware and software, the control device 4 is equipped with a position and tilt angle information acquisition unit 50, an area information storage unit 51, a work information storage unit 52, a contour registration point storage unit 53, and an area shape acquisition unit 54. , The route generation unit 55, the display data creation unit 56, and the like.

The tractor 1 configured in this way calculates a traveling route in the field area (traveling area) by the route generation unit 55 based on the instruction of the operator using the remote control device 46, and autonomously travels along the traveling route. While doing so, the farm work can be performed by the work machine 3. As described above, the route in the field area (traveling area) in which the tractor 1 autonomously travels may be referred to as a “traveling route” in the following description. Further, in the field area (traveling area), the area targeted for agricultural work by the working machine 3 of the tractor 1 may be referred to as a “working area”. The work area is defined as an area excluding the headland and the margin from the entire field area, and is based on these registration points and the work width of the tractor 1 when an operator or the like executes the registration work of the registration points described later. Is set.

Next, each part provided in the control device 4 for enabling autonomous traveling will be described individually with reference to FIG.

The position and tilt angle information acquisition unit 50 configured by using the control device 4 is a tractor calculated by the position and tilt angle information calculation unit 49 based on the positioning signal from the positioning system acquired by the positioning antenna 6. The position information (specifically, latitude / longitude information, etc.) of 1 is acquired, and the tilt angle information of the front / rear / left / right of the tractor 1 measured by the position / tilt angle information calculation unit 49 is obtained as position information (latitude / longitude information). It is acquired in the state of being associated with.

The area information storage unit 51 configured by using the control device 4 stores various information about an area such as a field to which farm work by autonomous traveling is performed by the tractor 1. Specific information on the field includes the position and shape of the field (which may be referred to as the field area or the traveling area), the position and shape of the work area where the farm work by the work machine 3 is performed in the field, and the work machine in the field. The start position, which is the point where the farm work according to No. 3 is started, the end position, which is the point where the farm work is finished, and the like can be mentioned.

The position and shape of the field, that is, the field area (traveling area) is specified from the traveling locus when the aircraft 2 of the tractor 1 is manned and orbits the field prior to the generation of the traveling route, and the region shape described later. It is acquired by the acquisition unit 54. The stage before generating the traveling route corresponds to the stage before starting the traveling of the tractor 1 (airframe 2) accompanied by the farm work on the working machine 3. Further, the position and shape of the work area are also acquired by the area shape acquisition unit 54, which will be described later. Other information can be set, for example, by the operator operating the touch panel of the remote control device 46. The information on the start position and the end position is set by the operator operating the touch panel of the remote control device 46 after the information on the field area (traveling area) is acquired by the area shape acquisition unit 54. The information on the field area and the work area (which may be called area information) includes the front-back and left-right tilt angle information associated with each position information (latitude / longitude information).

The work information storage unit 52 configured by using the control device 4 stores as work information the type, work width, overlap width, and the like of the work performed by the work machine 3 mounted on the machine body 2 of the tractor 1. In the embodiment, these information can be set by the operator operating the touch panel of the remote control device 46. The types of work include, for example, tilling work, sowing work, and the like. The working width means an effective width in which work is performed by the working machine 3, and is, for example, 3 meters. The overlap width means a width in which the above-mentioned work widths by the work machine 3 overlap (allowing overlap) when the tractor 1 travels on adjacent travel paths, and is, for example, 30 cm.

The contour registration point storage unit 53 configured by using the control device 4 may include a plurality of points (for example, corner portions F1 to F4) constituting the contour of the field region F (traveling region) shown in FIG. ), When the operator performs the work of registering the position information when the machine 2 of the tractor 1 is positioned, the position information and the tilt angle information corresponding thereto are stored. As described above, the identification of the field region F is obtained based on the travel locus when the aircraft 2 of the tractor 1 is manned and orbits the field prior to the generation of the travel route. In the embodiment, the contour registration point storage unit 53 stores the position information and the inclination angle information at the plurality of points on the traveling locus. In the present embodiment, a point registered in the contour registration point storage unit 53 may be referred to as a registration point.

The area shape acquisition unit 54 acquires the shape (including the inclination) of the field area F based on the position information and the inclination angle information of the plurality of registration points read from the contour registration point storage unit 53. Further, the area shape acquisition unit 54 acquires the shape (including the inclination) of the work area W based on the shape of the field area F described above and the work information (at least the work width information) read from the work information storage unit 52. do. Specifically, a polygon (a quadrangle in the embodiment) specified by a so-called cycle graph so that the line segments connecting the registered points do not intersect is acquired as the shape of the field area F or the work area W.

The route generation unit 55 calculates a travel route P for autonomously traveling the machine 2 of the tractor 1 based on the work information read from the work information storage unit 52 and the information of the work area W read from the area information storage unit 51. create. The traveling path P includes a plurality of straight roads Ps and a plurality of turning circuits Pc. That is, the traveling path P is a straight path Ps (which may be called a working path) which is a linear or polygonal path where agricultural work is performed, and a turning circuit Pc (non-working path) where a turning operation (turning direction) is performed. It may be said that) is generated as a series of routes that are connected alternately. Therefore, according to the embodiment, the field area F can be specified based on the inclination, and the area of the field area F can be measured with high accuracy. As a result, the optimum travel path P can be generated.

The display data creation unit 56 displays the shapes of the field area F and the work area W acquired by the area shape acquisition unit 54 and stored in the area information storage unit 51 on the touch panel of the remote control device 46. Create data for. The display data created by the display data creation unit 56 is received by the remote control device 46 via the transmission / reception processing unit 47, and is displayed as an image on the touch panel of the remote control device 46.

Next, an embodiment of the traveling route correction control in the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8. As described above, the control device 4 (route generation unit 55) can not only generate the travel path P based on the start position S at which the aircraft 2 starts traveling and the end position E at which the aircraft 2 ends travel. After the travel path P is generated, it is possible to accept the position change of either the start position S or the end position E and modify the travel path P after the generation.

In the following description and drawings, for convenience, the original work area W, the original travel path P, the original start position S, and the original end position E may be indicated by adding the alphabet "o". Further, a new work area W, a new travel path P, a new start position S, and a new end position E may be indicated by adding the alphabet "n".

When accepting a position change, the control device 4 (route generation unit 55) can also accept a predetermined position within the field area F and outside the original travel path Po as a new start position Sn or a new end position En. It is also possible to accept a predetermined position of Po on the original traveling path as a new start position Sn or a new end position En.

In the modified examples shown in FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (d) and FIGS. 6 (e) to 6 (h), a predetermined position within the field area F and outside the original travel path Po is set to a new start position Sn or a new end. This is an example in which the position En is set, and in the modified examples shown in FIGS. 7 (i) to 7 (l) and FIGS. 8 (m) to 8 (p), the predetermined position of Po on the original travel path is set to the new start position Sn. Alternatively, this is an example of setting a new end position En. In any of the examples, the start position S can be repositioned on the boundary edge wa where the original start position So was located or on the extension line of the boundary edge wa among the boundary edges wa to wd of the work area W. ing. Further, the end position E can be changed in position on the boundary edge portion wa where the original end position Eo was located or on the extension line of the boundary edge portion wa.

In any of the modified examples, the new start position Sn (or the new end position En) has the boundary edge wb and wd on the side of the boundary edge wa to wd of the work area W on the side without the rotation circuit Pc being the field region F. It cannot be set so far from the original start position So (or the original end position Eo) that it protrudes from the original start position So (or the original end position Eo). In the modified examples shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 (i) (j) and 8 (m) (n), the settable range of the new start position Sn (or the new end position En) is the original. It is within the range of the same distance as the distance D between the adjacent straight roads Ps on both sides of the start position So (or the original end position Eo). In other words, the distance from the boundary edge wb before modification to the end of the field region F is set to be longer than the distance D between the adjacent straight roads Ps, and the original start position So is a new start. Even if the position Sn is corrected, the machine body 2 and the working machine 3 are set so as not to protrude outside the area of the field area F.

In the modified examples shown in FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (d) and FIGS. 7 (i) and 7 (j), the field area F, the original work area Wo, and the original travel route are used before the autonomous travel of the tractor 1 (aircraft 2). When Po is displayed on the touch panel of the remote control device 46 and the vicinity of the original start position So of the touch panel is pressed with a finger or a pen, the display of the start position S is originally started on the touch panel of the remote control device 46. The position So is switched to the new start position Sn corresponding to the pressed position (see FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (c) and FIG. 7 (i)). Then, on the touch panel of the remote control device 46, the work area W, the end position E, and the traveling path P in the field area F correspond to the position shift (distance between So and Sn) of the new start position Sn. It is corrected by switching from the original Wo, Eo, Po to the new Wn, En, Pn by sliding and moving (see FIGS. 5 (b) (d) and 7 (j)).

Similarly, in the modification shown in FIGS. 6 (e) to 6 (h) and FIGS. 8 (m) (n), when the vicinity of the original end position En of the touch panel is pressed with a finger or a pen, the remote control device 46 The display of the end position E is switched from the original end position Eo to the new end position En corresponding to the pressed position on the touch panel (see FIGS. 6 (e) and 8 (m)). Then, on the touch panel of the remote control device 46, the work area W, the end position E, and the travel path P in the field area F are the original Wo, Eo, corresponding to the position shift of the new end position En. It is corrected by switching to a state in which the slide is moved from Po to new ones Wn, En, and Pn (see FIGS. 6 (f) (h) and 8 (n)).

In any of the above cases, the original work area W (= Wo), the start position S (= So), the end position E (= Eo), and the travel path P stored in the control device 4 (area information storage unit 51). The information of (= Po) is replaced with new ones Wn, Sn, En, Pn.

In the modified examples shown in FIGS. 7 (k) (l) and 8 (o) (p), one round trip of the first (or last) in the original travel path Po is skipped, and three are counted from the first (last). The end position of the second straight road Ps is set as a new start position Sn (or a new end position En). In this case, on the touch panel of the remote control device 46, the first (or last) round trip in the original travel path Po is deleted, but the original end position Eo (or original start position So) is maintained as it is. , The working area W and the traveling path P in the field area F are switched from the original Wo and Po to the new Wn and Pn.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 7 (k) and 7 (l), the original work area W (= Wo), the start position S (= So), and the travel path P (= So) stored in the control device 4 (area information storage unit 51) are used. = Po) information is replaced with new Wn, Sn, Pn. The information at the end position E (= Eo) is maintained. In the modification shown in FIGS. 8 (o) and 8 (p), the original work area W (= Wo), the end position E (= Eo), and the travel path P (= Eo) stored in the control device 4 (area information storage unit 51) are used. = Po) information is replaced with new Wn, En, Pn. The information of the start position S (= So) is maintained.

When controlled as described above, for example, even if there is a deep groove near the start position S of the field and there is a risk of hindering the autonomous traveling of the tractor 1 (airframe 2), the previously generated travel path P By simply changing the position of either the start position S or the end position E without recreating itself from scratch, the previously generated travel path P can be diverted and corrected. Therefore, the workability of setting the travel route P can be improved, the work load of the operator can be reduced, and the travel route P can be generated according to the field conditions.

In the above embodiment, the control device 4 of the tractor 1 is a position and tilt angle information acquisition unit 50, an area information storage unit 51, a work information storage unit 52, a contour registration point storage unit 53, an area shape acquisition unit 54, and a route generation. It has been decided to function as a unit 55 and a display data creation unit 56, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the above configuration may be provided in the remote control device 46, a part thereof may be provided in the control device 4, and the other part may be provided in the remote control device 46. Further, both the control device 4 and the remote control device 46 may include all or a part of the above configuration.

Therefore, the route generation device of the present invention may be provided in the tractor 1 or may be provided in the remote control device 46. When the route generation device is provided in the remote control device 46, the remote control device 46 wirelessly communicates the position information and the tilt angle information of the tractor 1 calculated by the position and tilt angle information acquisition unit 50 provided in the tractor 1. It can be obtained via the antenna 48. Further, when the travel route is generated by the remote control device 46, the remote control device 46 includes storage units 51 and 52, and information acquired from each of the storage units 51 and 52 (work information and information on the work area W). ) Is generated. Then, the remote control device 46 can instruct the tractor 1 to travel along the generated travel path (transmit an autonomous travel start control signal), and in that case, the control device 4 can instruct the tractor 1 to travel along the generated travel path. Each part of the tractor 1 is controlled and autonomously driven based on the instruction of.

As described above, the travel route P is a route generated based on the start position S and the end position E, and the travel region information is acquired by the region shape acquisition unit 54 for the start position S and the end position E. Later, it is set by the operator and stored in the area information storage unit 51. In modifying the original travel path Po to a new travel route Pn, the start position S (original start position So) and the end position E (original end position Eo) are changed. When the start position S and the end position E are changed, the changed start position (that is, the new start position Sn) and the changed end position (that is, the new end position En) are stored in the area information storage unit 51. However, it is not limited to this. That is, the area information storage unit 51 is provided with correction information indicating that each information has been corrected while storing the original work area Wo, the original start position So, the original end position Eo, and the original travel path Po. It may be associated and stored. By this processing, for example, when a plurality of traveling routes are generated based on the original starting position So, even if the starting position S is corrected in one traveling route, the starting position of another traveling route is performed. S is not modified, and it is possible to prevent the modification of one travel route from affecting other travel routes.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be embodied in various embodiments. The configuration of each part is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 Robot tractor 2 Machine 3 Work equipment 4 Control device 6 Positioning antenna 26 Brake device 46 Remote control device 48 Wireless communication antenna 49 Position and tilt angle information calculation unit 50 Position and tilt angle information acquisition unit 51 Area information storage unit 52 Work Information storage unit 53 Contour registration point storage unit 54 Area shape acquisition unit 55 Route generation unit 56 Display data creation unit

Claims (4)

A route generation unit capable of specifying a traveling region for autonomously traveling the aircraft and generating a traveling route of the aircraft in the traveling region in advance.
A control unit capable of instructing the traveling of the aircraft along the traveling route is provided.
The route generation unit can generate the travel route based on the start position at which the aircraft starts traveling and the end position at which the aircraft ends travel, and the position of the start position after the travel route is generated. It is possible to accept the change and change the starting position, and by accepting the position change of the starting position after the generation of the traveling route and maintaining the traveling route after the generation as it is, the generation is performed. An autonomous driving system characterized in that the later driving route can be corrected. The autonomous traveling system according to claim 1, wherein when the position change is accepted, the starting position is a predetermined position of the traveling route after the generation. The route generation unit generates the traveling route by alternately connecting a plurality of work paths on which agricultural work is performed and a turning circuit on which a turning operation is performed.
Claim 1 or claim 1, wherein the settable range of the new start position when the position change with respect to the start position before the change is accepted is within the same distance as the distance between the adjacent work paths. The autonomous driving system according to any one of 2. The route generation unit generates the traveling route by alternately connecting a plurality of work paths on which agricultural work is performed and a turning circuit on which a turning operation is performed.
The settable range of the new start position when the position change with respect to the start position before the change is accepted is the boundary edge portion between the work area where the plurality of work paths are generated and the area where the turning circuit is generated. The autonomous traveling system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the start position before the change is the boundary edge portion to which the start position belongs.

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