JP7069256B2 - Self-driving work vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic traveling work vehicle provided with a vehicle body equipped with a working device and traveling along a traveling path.

The autonomous driving vehicle is equipped with an obstacle sensor that non-contactly detects obstacles that may collide during driving. When the obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, avoidance steering or emergency stop is performed to avoid a collision with the obstacle.

In Patent Document 1, an appropriate detection area for the obstacle sensor is set according to the traveling section, and if the obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor is within this detection area, it is regarded as an obstacle detection unmanned. The carrier is disclosed. In this detection area, the boundary line of the wall or fixed structure is the detection area in order to avoid detecting the wall or fixed structure located around the traveling path predetermined by the factory or the like as an obstacle. It is set for each traveling section so as to deviate from.

Patent Document 2 provides an obstacle sensor and a sensitivity adjusting means for adjusting the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor, and adjusts the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor so as to be high in the setting work area and low outside the setting work area. An autonomous traveling work vehicle is disclosed. Specifically, when traveling in a work area such as a field bordered by ridges, the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor is adjusted so that it is high inside the work area and low outside the set work area. When traveling inside, even a small obstacle reacts sensitively to alert the operator, and when detecting outside the field, even if there is an obstacle, it is not detected. As a result, when traveling toward the edge of the field, an assistant standing on a ridge outside the work area is detected as an obstacle, and the inconvenience that automatic driving is stopped is avoided.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-215238 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-191592

Some automatic traveling work vehicles equipped with a work device on the vehicle body are equipped with work devices of different sizes, and some are equipped with a work device of different sizes, and the traveling speed of the vehicle body fluctuates during work travel. Therefore, it is preferable that the appropriate area where the obstacle should be detected by the obstacle sensor is changed depending on the state of the working device and the state of the vehicle body. However, in the automatic traveling work vehicle based on Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the obstacle detection area of the obstacle sensor is determined only by the positional relationship of the work vehicle with respect to the work area before the work operation is performed on the work area to be worked. It is decided in advance. Therefore, it is not considered to change the obstacle detection area flexibly according to the state of the working device and the state of the vehicle body.

In view of such circumstances, there is a demand for an automatic traveling work vehicle that flexibly changes the obstacle detection area for the obstacle sensor according to the state of the work device and the state of the vehicle body.

According to the present invention, an automatic traveling work vehicle that travels along a traveling route includes a vehicle body equipped with a working device, a working traveling control unit that controls the working traveling, and one or more that detect obstacles that hinder the traveling. Obstacle sensor, obstacle detection unit that detects obstacles existing in the obstacle detection area based on the sensor signal from the obstacle sensor, and work running state information including the outer shape information width of the work device. An obstacle detection area determination unit for determining the obstacle detection area based on the above is provided. Further, the work running state detection sensor group for detecting the working running state is provided, and the working running state information is calculated based on the detection result of the working running state detection sensor group .
In addition, the phrase "working run" used in this application includes working while running, only running, and only work, in which at least one of these is performed. Further, such a temporary stop state of work running is included.

According to this configuration, an obstacle detection area in which the obstacle sensor detects an obstacle is determined based on the working running state detected by the working running state detection sensor group that detects the state of the working device or the vehicle body. To. Therefore, the obstacle detection area can be flexibly changed according to the state of the working device and the state of the vehicle body. Obstacles can be detected in the obstacle detection area suitable for the state of the work device and the vehicle body at that time, both before the work run and during the work run.

When detecting obstacles that hinder the running of the work vehicle, the width (width) in the vehicle body crossing direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the work vehicle is important, but the width of the work device installed in the vehicle body improves work efficiency. In order to increase it, it is often larger than the width of the car body. In some cases, the width of the work equipment is changed depending on the characteristics of the work place, and in some cases, the width is changed during the work run. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the working running state is the lateral width of the working device in the vehicle body transverse direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle body, and is detected by the working running state detection sensor group. The obstacle detection area is changed according to the width of the work equipment. As a result, even if the vehicle body is selectively equipped with various work devices having different widths, it is possible to set an appropriate obstacle detection area and perform obstacle detection. Of course, when the width of the working device is narrower than the width of the vehicle body, the width of the working device is regarded as the width of the vehicle body.

When the work device to be selectively used is determined, it is convenient to register the width of the work device in advance and derive the width of the work device from the type of the mounted work device. The type of the mounted work device can be easily obtained by a recognition method using an ID code or the like. For this reason, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a recognition unit that recognizes the type of the work device is provided, and the recognition unit sets the width of the work device from the recognized type to the work running state. It is configured to be given to the obstacle detection area determination unit.

If the width of the work equipment is unknown, the user needs to find the width of the work equipment, especially the length protruding from the right and left ends of the vehicle body, from the specifications, etc., or measure it directly and enter the length artificially. There is. In preparation for such a case, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the width of the work device is artificially input by the user, and the input width of the work device is the obstacle as the work running state. It is configured to be given to the object detection area determination unit.
In this application, when the lengths protruding from the right end and the left end of the vehicle body are different, the lateral width displaced from the center of the vehicle body is obtained in consideration of the lengths protruding from the right end and the left end of the vehicle body. The width is also included in the width in this application.

In the case of a work device that changes the posture with respect to the vehicle body during work running, for example, the position of interference with an obstacle changes due to the posture change by the elevating mechanism or the turning mechanism. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the work running state detection sensor group includes a posture detection sensor that detects the posture of the work device with respect to the vehicle body, and the posture is the work running state. It is configured to be given to the obstacle detection area determination unit. As a result, even if the position of the part that interferes with the obstacle changes during work running due to the change in the posture of the work device, the appropriate obstacle detection area is changed and set accordingly. Only obstacles are detected accurately.

When the traveling speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle body is high, the time to reach an obstacle is shortened, and the time allowance for avoiding the obstacle is reduced. For this reason, it is preferable that the obstacle detection region is lengthened in the traveling direction when the vehicle speed is high, and the obstacle detection region is shortened in the traveling direction when the vehicle speed is slow. In addition, when the vehicle speed is slow, there is a higher possibility of turning left and right than when the vehicle speed is high. In other words, the vehicle body is often decelerated before turning. It is preferable to lengthen it with. For this reason, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the working running state detection sensor group includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the running speed of the vehicle body, and the running speed is the working running state. It is configured to be given to the obstacle detection area determination unit.

Further, when the traveling route of the automatic traveling work vehicle is limited to the inside of the work area, it is not necessary to detect an obstacle located outside the work area. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the distance to the boundary line between the vehicle body and the work site in the traveling direction of the vehicle body is calculated as the limit distance, and the obstacle detection area determination unit is the limit. It is configured to change the obstacle detection area based on the distance. With this configuration, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience caused by detecting unnecessary obstacles.

When traveling based on a preset travel route to be traveled and the own vehicle position calculated in real time, it is possible to calculate the expected locus to be traveled from now on. That is, since the distance to the position where the work vehicle changes its posture (turning, etc.) or the traveling time to that position can be calculated, the obstacle detection area is obtained in consideration of the obstacles appearing from the turning direction when turning. be able to. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position based on the satellite positioning data is provided, and the obstacle detection area determination unit is the traveling route and the vehicle. It is configured to expand the obstacle detection area in the turning direction in front of the turning start position of the vehicle body calculated based on the position of the own vehicle. The advantage of this configuration is that the obstacle detection area in the turning direction is not expanded by the steering of the steering wheel as a trigger as in the conventional case, but the obstacle detection area in the turning direction is before the vehicle body turns. Is to be able to expand. As a result, obstacles approaching from the turning direction can be quickly detected.

When it is desired to detect an obstacle in an area very close to the work vehicle, the vehicle body of the work vehicle or the work device installed in the work vehicle overlaps the obstacle detection area. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the obstacle detection area determining unit has a masking function of masking a portion of the vehicle body and the working device located in the obstacle detection area. As a result, the obstacle detection area has a simple geometric shape due to the reduction of arithmetic processing and the operation limitation of the scanning mechanism, so even if a part of the vehicle body or work equipment enters the obstacle detection area. By masking that part, it is possible to avoid being detected as an obstacle. When the work device for changing the position is equipped, it is convenient to configure the masking range so as to be changed in response to the posture change of the work device.

It is a side view of a tractor which is an example of an automatic traveling work vehicle which works and travels along a traveling path. It is a schematic plan view of the tractor which shows the obstacle detection sensor group deployed in the tractor. It is a functional block diagram which shows the control system of a tractor. It is explanatory drawing which shows the flow of control which adjusts an obstacle detection area. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which the obstacle detection area is changed based on the work running state. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which the obstacle detection area is changed based on the work running state. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which the obstacle detection area is changed based on the work running state. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which the obstacle detection area is changed based on the work running state.

Next, one of the embodiments of the automatic traveling work vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the work vehicle is a tractor that performs work travel on a field (work area) bounded by ridges.

As shown in FIG. 1, this tractor is provided with a control unit 20 at the center of a vehicle body 1 supported by front wheels 11 and rear wheels 12. The rear part of the vehicle body 1 is equipped with a working device 30 which is a rotary tilling device via a hydraulic elevating mechanism 31. The front wheel 11 functions as a steering wheel, and the traveling direction of the tractor is changed by changing the steering angle thereof. The steering angle of the front wheels 11 is changed by the operation of the steering mechanism 13. The steering mechanism 13 includes a steering motor 14 for automatic steering. During manual driving, the front wheels 11 can be steered by operating the steering wheel 22 arranged in the control unit 20. The cabin 21 of the tractor is provided with a satellite positioning module 8 configured as a GNSS (global navigation satellite system) module. As a component of the satellite positioning module 8, a satellite antenna for receiving GNSS signals (including GPS signals) is attached to the ceiling area of the cabin 21. The satellite positioning module 8 can also be used in combination with an inertial navigation module incorporating a gyro acceleration sensor and a magnetic orientation sensor in order to complement satellite navigation. Of course, the inertial navigation module may be provided at a place different from the satellite positioning module 8. The control unit 20 is provided with a user operation terminal 4 connected to an in-vehicle LAN. If the user operation terminal 4 is configured by a tablet computer or the like, the driver or the administrator can take it out of the machine and operate it.

As schematically shown in FIG. 2, an obstacle sensor group 7 for detecting an obstacle that hinders traveling is provided on the vehicle body 1 of the tractor. The obstacle sensor group 7 includes an ultrasonic sonar 71 and a laser scanner (rider) 72 as obstacle sensors. Further, a camera 73 that can be used for detecting obstacles is also deployed. Eight ultrasonic sonars 71 are provided, two on each of the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle body 1, and detect obstacles existing in almost the entire circumference region near the vehicle body 1. Two laser scanners 72 are provided in front of and behind the vehicle body 1, one in total, and detect obstacles existing in the forward direction and the reverse direction of the vehicle body 1. A total of four cameras 73 are provided, one on each of the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle body 1, and the entire peripheral area of the vehicle body 1 can be photographed. In this embodiment, the captured images output from the four cameras 73 are used as they are as a monitoring image, and are also used as a bird's-eye view image by performing a viewpoint conversion process. In this embodiment, the ultrasonic sonar 71 and the laser scanner 72 are provided as the obstacle sensor group 7, but when it is not necessary to distinguish them, the common name is "obstacle sensor". Is used.

FIG. 3 shows a control system built on this tractor. The control system of this embodiment includes a first control unit 4, a second control unit 5, and an input / output signal processing unit 6, which are user operation terminals 4. The first control unit 4, the second control unit 5, and the input / output signal processing unit 6 are connected to each other by an in-vehicle LAN. Further, the satellite positioning module 8 is also connected to the same in-vehicle LAN. Basically, the first control unit 4 performs obstacle detection control, and the second control unit 5 performs basic travel control and work control of the tractor. The input / output signal processing unit 6 processes the input / output signals handled in the work running of the tractor. The control system of this tractor is provided with various control units (for example, an engine control unit) (for example, an engine control unit) not shown in FIG. 3, and each control unit is connected via an in-vehicle LAN.

The above-mentioned obstacle sensor group 7 is connected to the input / output signal processing unit 6. In FIG. 3, the camera 73 is connected to the input / output signal processing unit 6 via an image processing unit 70 that performs processing such as generating a surveillance image or a bird's-eye view image from the captured image acquired by the camera 73. The image processing unit 70 may be built in the input / output signal processing unit 6 or in the camera 73. When the image processing unit 70 is provided with an obstacle detection function, the camera 73 and the image processing unit 70 are integrated into one of the components (obstacle sensor) of the obstacle sensor group 7. Become.

The input / output signal processing unit 6 also includes a vehicle traveling device group 91, a working device device group 92, a notification device 93, an automatic / manual switching operation tool 94, a traveling state detection sensor group 81, and a working state detection sensor group 82. It is connected. The vehicle traveling device group 91 includes a steering motor 14, a speed change mechanism controlled for vehicle traveling, a control device attached to an engine unit, and the like. The working device group 92 includes a working device 30 and a control device for driving the elevating mechanism 31. The notification device 93 includes a display, a lamp, a speaker, and the like that notify the driver and the observer to pay attention to the work traveling. The automatic / manual switching operation tool 94 is a switch for selecting one of an automatic traveling mode in which the vehicle travels by automatic steering and a manual steering mode in which the vehicle travels by manual steering. For example, by operating the automatic / manual switching operation tool 94 while driving in the automatic steering mode, it is possible to switch to driving with manual steering, and by operating the automatic / manual switching operation tool 94 while driving with manual steering. , Can be switched to running with automatic steering. The traveling state detection sensor group 81 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the traveling speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle body 1, a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle of the front wheels 11, a rotation speed sensor that detects the engine rotation speed, and a shift state. It includes a speed change sensor and so on. The work state detection sensor group 82 includes a posture detection sensor that detects the posture (ground height and inclination) of the work device 30, a drive state detection sensor that detects the drive / driven of the work device 30, and the like. In this application, the running state detection sensor group 81 and the working state detection sensor group 82 are collectively referred to as the working running state detection sensor group 80.

Further, a recognition unit 83 for recognizing the model of the work device 30 mounted on the vehicle body 1 is attached to this tractor. The recognition unit 83 has a function of mechanically or electronically reading the identification code of the work device 30 and deriving the work device attribute values such as the type and size of the work device 30 as the recognition result from the read identification code.

Although not shown, the input / output signal processing unit 6 also includes a communication unit.
The communication unit exchanges data with an external computer through wireless communication standards and wired communication standards. External computers include management computers built in remote management centers and the like, tablet computers and smartphones (mobile phones) carried by drivers and observers.

The first control unit 4 includes a touch panel 40 that functions as a graphic user interface. Further, in the first control unit 4, an obstacle detection unit 43, an obstacle detection area determination unit 41, and an obstacle detection processing unit 44 are mainly constructed by software. The first control unit 4 detects an obstacle around the tractor based on the sensor signal from the obstacle sensor group 7, and guides the required operation of the tractor in consideration of the position and size of the detected obstacle. Output a command. The flow of control in the first control unit 4 will be described in detail later.

The second control unit 5 includes a work travel control unit 50, a travel route setting unit 53, a vehicle position calculation unit 54, a work travel command generation unit 55, and a work travel state calculation unit 56. The travel route setting unit 53 expands the travel route, which is the travel target route for automatic travel, into a memory so as to be readable. The travel path may be generated on the tractor side, or may be generated on another computer and then downloaded to the second control unit 5. The own vehicle position calculation unit 54 calculates the own vehicle position, which is the coordinate position on the map of the vehicle body 1, based on the satellite positioning data from the satellite positioning module 8 that employs GPS or the like. The work travel command generation unit 55 obtains the amount of deviation between the vehicle position from the vehicle position calculation unit 54 and the travel route set by the travel route setting unit 53 during automatic driving, and reduces this deviation amount. Generate driving commands (including steering commands and vehicle speed commands).

The work travel control unit 50 includes a travel control unit 51 and a work control unit 52. The travel control unit 51 has an automatic travel control function (automatic travel mode) and a manual travel control function (manual travel mode). When the automatic travel mode is selected, the travel control unit 51 gives a control signal to the vehicle travel equipment group 91 based on the travel command from the work travel command generation unit 55. The work control unit 52 gives a control signal to the work equipment group 92 based on the work command from the work travel command generation unit 55. When the manual driving mode is selected, manual driving is performed based on the operation of the steering wheel 22 by the driver. Similarly, the work control unit 52 also has an automatic work control function for automatically operating the work equipment group 92 and a manual work control function for manually controlling the work equipment group 92 using various operating tools.

As shown in FIG. 4, the working running state calculation unit 56 determines the vehicle speed of the vehicle body 1, the steering angle of the front wheels 11, the width of the working device 30, and the working device 30 based on the sensor signals from the working running state detection sensor group 80. The posture and the like are calculated, and the calculation result is sent to the obstacle detection area determination unit 41 of the first control unit 4 as work running state information. Further, the work traveling state calculation unit 56 collates the own vehicle position from the own vehicle position calculation unit 54 with the travel path of the travel route setting unit 53, and when traveling straight, the travel distance or travel time to the next turning start position. At the time of turning, the mileage or running time to the next straight start point is also calculated and included in the work running condition information. Further, the work traveling state calculation unit 56 can be provided with a limit distance calculation function for calculating the distance between the vehicle body 1 and the boundary line of the work site in the traveling direction of the vehicle body 1 as the limit distance. In this case, the limit distance is added to the working travel state information so that the obstacle detection area determination unit 41 can change the obstacle detection area based on the limit distance.

Next, the obstacle detection process by the first control unit 4 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The obstacle detection unit 43, which is a functional unit that is the core of the obstacle detection process, processes only obstacles existing in the obstacle detection area determined by the obstacle detection area determination unit 41. Detect as. The obstacle detection area determination unit 41 is provided with a masking setting unit 42 having a masking function for the obstacle detection area. The masking setting unit 42 masks a specific portion of the vehicle body 1 or the work device 30 that enters the obstacle detection area, so that the specific portion is prevented from being detected as an obstacle.

The obstacle detection area determination unit 41 receives from the recognition unit 83 a work device attribute value that describes the type and size of the work device 30 mounted on the vehicle body 1, and calculates a basic obstacle detection area. Use for. If the recognition unit 83 is not provided, the work device attribute value is artificially input using an input device.

Further, the obstacle detection area determination unit 41 uses the work travel state information sent from the work travel state detection sensor group 80 to determine the obstacle detection area. That is, the obstacle detection area is flexibly changed based on the work running state information. An example of an obstacle detection area change rule that changes this obstacle detection area is listed below. Note that FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show an illustration of the change rule. Further, the obstacle sensor handled here is a laser scanner 72, which performs rotational scanning in the horizontal direction, so that the scanning range is a fan-shaped scanning range, and the scanning angle which is the central angle of the fan-shaped scanning range (in the figure). (Indicated by θ) can be changed. Further, the range in which the fan-shaped scanning range is limited by the effective beam distance (indicated by L in the figure) is the effective scanning range, and the effective beam distance can also be changed. In FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8, this effective scanning range is indicated by diagonal lines.

(1) As shown in FIG. 5, when the width of the vehicle body 1 of the tractor (the length of the vehicle body 1 in the vehicle body transverse direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the tractor) and the width of the work device 30 are compared, in most cases, the work The lateral width of the device 30 (the length of the working device 30 in the transverse direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the tractor) is larger. The obstacle that hinders the traveling of the tractor traveling straight is an object located within the width of the working device 30. The obstacle detection area determination unit 41 determines the obstacle detection area so that the width of the work apparatus 30 fits within the effective scanning range. The width of the work device 30 shown on the right side of FIG. 5 is larger than the width of the work device 30 shown on the left side. Therefore, the obstacle detection area shown on the right side of FIG. 5 is larger than the obstacle detection area shown on the left side of FIG. In other words, the scanning angle: θ of the obstacle detection region shown on the right side of FIG. 5 is larger than the scanning angle: θ of the obstacle detection region shown on the left side of FIG. The portion of the obstacle detection region that deviates outward from the traveling locus of the side end of the work device 30 may be masked by the masking setting unit 42.

(2) FIG. 6 shows a change in the obstacle detection area when shifting from straight running to turning running. Here, the working device 30 is omitted. Since this tractor travels along a preset travel route, it is possible to calculate the timing of transition from straight travel to turning travel. On the right side of FIG. 6, a tractor that continues to travel straight is shown, and on the left side of FIG. 6, the tractor is located in front of the turning start position (indicated by Ps in the figure) by a predetermined distance while traveling straight. The tractor is shown. In the normal straight running shown on the left side of FIG. 6, a standard obstacle detection region having a scanning angle: θ of about 45 ° is set. On the other hand, in the straight-ahead traveling in the region immediately before the turning start position (the region in front of the turning start position by a predetermined distance) shown on the right side of FIG. 6, the obstacle detection region is aligned with the curved traveling path. It is expanded in the turning direction. More specifically, the center line of the scanning angle: θ is inclined in the turning direction from the longitudinal center line of the tractor so as to follow the tangent line of the curved traveling path, and the scanning angle: θ is also expanded to about 90 °. ing.

(3) FIG. 7 shows the difference in the obstacle detection region between the time of high-speed straight running and the time of low-speed straight running. Again, the working apparatus 30 is omitted. According to this obstacle detection area change rule, the scanning angle of the obstacle detection area: θ is a relatively narrow angle of about 30 ° when traveling straight at high speed (left side in FIG. 7), whereas the effective beam in the fan-shaped scanning range is used. Distance: L is set long, and the obstacle detection region has an elongated shape along the traveling direction. On the other hand, when traveling straight at low speed (right side in FIG. 7), the scanning angle of the obstacle detection region: θ is a wide angle of about 90 °, while the effective beam distance of the fan-shaped scanning range: L is set short. Although the obstacle detection region has a short shape, the scanning angle is wide, so that the obstacle detection region can be reliably detected in the proximity region in the traveling direction.

(4) FIG. 8 shows the difference in the obstacle detection region between the straight running and the turning running. Again, the working apparatus 30 is omitted. In this obstacle detection area change rule, the obstacle detection area is set to an elongated shape along the traveling direction as described in (3) above when traveling straight ahead (left side in FIG. 8). On the other hand, during turning (right side in FIG. 8), the scanning angle of the obstacle detection region: θ is a wide angle of about 90 °, while the effective beam distance of the fan-shaped scanning range: L is set short. ing. However, as described in (1) above, the obstacle detection region is not tilted from the longitudinal center line of the tractor at the center line of the scanning angle: θ to the turning direction. That is, it is a region in which obstacles existing in the proximity region in the traveling direction can be reliably detected during the turning traveling as compared with the straight traveling traveling.

(5) Although not shown in the figure, when the limit distance is added to the work running state information, when this limit distance becomes short, the scanning angle of the obstacle detection area: θ is widened, and the fan-shaped scanning range is expanded. Effective beam distance: L is shortened.

The obstacle detection area change rule described above can be used in any combination. It is also possible to automatically or artificially select or modify the obstacle detection area change rule according to the work.

In the above-mentioned obstacle detection area change rule, the obstacle sensor described with reference to the figure is the laser scanner 72, but other obstacle sensors also have the same obstacle detection area as the above-mentioned rule. Can be changed. For example, the obstacle detection area is changed based on the detected working driving state in order to expand the area where the traveling obstacle is likely to occur and reduce the area where the traveling obstacle is unlikely to occur.

The obstacle detection area determined by the obstacle detection area determination unit 41 is given to the obstacle detection unit 43. If the position of the obstacle calculated by the sensor signal from the obstacle sensor group 7 is within the obstacle detection area, the obstacle detection unit 43 assumes that the obstacle has been detected and detects the ID of the obstacle sensor. , The obstacle detection information including the position of the detected obstacle, the width of the detected obstacle, and the like is generated and given to the obstacle detection processing unit 44. The obstacle detection processing unit 44 determines the processing content for the detected obstacle based on the obstacle detection information. This processing content includes slow driving of the vehicle body 1 , stopping of the vehicle body 1, detouring of obstacles, switching to manual traveling, and the like. When the processing content is determined, an obstacle processing command for executing the processing content is created and sent to the work travel control unit 50. Further, the obstacle detection processing unit 44 generates obstacle detection notification data and sends it to the notification device 93 in order to notify the obstacle detection based on the obstacle detection information. Obstacle detection information and obstacle detection notification data can be transmitted to the outside of the tractor via the input / output signal processing unit 6.

The work travel control unit 50 gives a control signal to the vehicle travel equipment group 91 and the work equipment group 92 based on the obstacle processing command received by the obstacle detection processing unit 44. As a result, the control of the tractor is executed based on the obstacle handling command.

[Another Embodiment] (1) In the above-described embodiment, the tractor equipped with the tilling device is taken up as a work vehicle, but the tractor equipped with the working device 30 other than the tilling device, the combine, the rice transplanter, etc. The present invention can also be applied to agricultural work machines and construction machines.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the obstacle detection area determination unit 41 determines the obstacle detection area based on the work travel state based on the detection result of the work travel state detection sensor group 80, but the user touches the touch panel. A function for forcibly changing the obstacle detection area may be provided through an input device such as 40.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the first control unit 4, the second control unit 5, and the input / output signal processing unit 6 are connected by an in-vehicle LAN and are provided in the tractor, but the first control unit 4 It is also possible to adopt a configuration such as a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a smartphone, etc., which is carried by an administrator and exchanges data wirelessly with the control system of the 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 connected to a tractor control system via 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 30: Working device 31: Elevating mechanism 4: First control unit (user operation terminal)
40: Touch panel 41: Obstacle detection area determination unit 42: Masking setting unit 43: Obstacle detection unit 44: Obstacle detection processing unit 5: Second control unit 50: Working travel control unit 51: Travel control unit 52: Work control Unit 53: Travel route setting unit 54: Own vehicle position calculation unit 55: Work travel command generation unit 56: Work travel state calculation unit 6: Input / output signal processing unit 7: Obstacle sensor group 70: Image processing unit 71: Ultrasonic wave Sonar 72: Laser scanner 73: Camera 8: Satellite positioning module 80: Working state detection sensor group 81: Driving state detection sensor group 82: Working state detection sensor group 83: Recognition unit 91: Vehicle running equipment group 92: Working equipment Group 93: Notification device

Claims (9)

It is an automatic traveling work vehicle that works along the traveling route.
A car body equipped with work equipment and
A work run control unit that controls work run and
One or more obstacle sensors that detect obstacles that hinder driving, and
An obstacle detection unit that detects an obstacle existing in the obstacle detection area based on the sensor signal from the obstacle sensor, and an obstacle detection unit.
An automatic traveling work vehicle including an obstacle detection area determination unit that determines an obstacle detection area based on work travel state information including the width of the work device. A recognition unit that recognizes the type of the work device is provided.
The automatic traveling work vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the recognition unit gives the width of the work device from the recognized type to the obstacle detection area determination unit as the work travel state information. Equipped with a work running state detection sensor group that detects the working running state,
The automatic traveling work vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the working traveling state information is calculated based on the detection result of the working traveling state detection sensor group. The third aspect of claim 3 includes a posture detection sensor that detects the posture of the work device with respect to the vehicle body in the work running state detection sensor group, and the posture is given to the obstacle detection area determination unit as the work running state. The described self-driving work vehicle. The third or fourth aspect of claim 3 or 4 , wherein the working running state detection sensor group includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the running speed of the vehicle body, and the running speed is given to the obstacle detection area determination unit as the working running state. Automatic driving work vehicle. The distance to the boundary line between the vehicle body and the work site in the traveling direction of the vehicle body is calculated as the limit distance.
The automatic traveling work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the obstacle detection area determination unit changes the obstacle detection area based on the limit distance. It is equipped with a vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position based on satellite positioning data.
The obstacle detection area determination unit expands the obstacle detection area in the turning direction in front of the turning start position of the vehicle body calculated based on the traveling path and the own vehicle position, claims 1 to 6 . The self-driving work vehicle described in any one of the above. The width of the work device is artificially input by the user, and the input width of the work device is given to the obstacle detection area determination unit as the work running state information according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . Described self-driving work vehicle. The automatic traveling work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the obstacle detection area determination unit has a masking function of masking a portion of the vehicle body and the work device located in the obstacle detection area.

Images