JP7262534B2 - Work vehicle automatic driving system and harvester - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a work vehicle automatic traveling system for a plurality of work vehicles cooperatively traveling on a work site while exchanging data.

The field work machine according to Patent Document 1 includes a route calculation section and a driving support unit in order to perform field work by automatic traveling. The route calculation unit obtains the outer shape of the field from the terrain data, and calculates a travel route starting from the set travel start point and ending at the travel end point based on the outer shape and the working width of the field implement. The driving support unit compares the position of the vehicle obtained based on the positioning data (latitude and longitude data) obtained from the GPS module with the travel route calculated by the route calculation unit, and the traveling body follows the travel route. Control the steering mechanism to run.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a system for automatically controlling the running of one work vehicle, while Patent Literature 2 discloses a system for performing work while two work vehicles run side by side. In this system, when the positional relationship of the second work vehicle with respect to the first work vehicle is set after specifying the field, the travel route for the work of the first work vehicle and the second work vehicle is determined. When the travel route is determined, the first work vehicle and the second work vehicle measure the positions of their own vehicles and perform work while traveling along the travel route.

JP 2015-112071 A JP 2016-093125 A

Not only when one work vehicle travels in the work site, but also when a plurality of work vehicles travel in the work site, as shown in Patent Document 2, a plurality of work vehicles can be used. Contact between the work vehicles can be avoided by traveling along a travel route set in advance so that the work vehicles do not come into contact with each other. However, during actual work travel, there is a risk that the work vehicle will be affected by mechanical factors such as refueling and discharge of harvested materials, and environmental factors such as weather changes and work site conditions. Due to changes in the work environment, it is necessary for the work vehicle to suddenly change its travel route or temporarily leave the work site. For this reason, even in automatic driving, there is a need for a flexible automatic driving system that can change the driving route and leave during work driving. However, in cases where multiple work vehicles are deployed in a vast work site, such flexible automated driving systems require complex exception handling when changing the travel route or leaving the work site. As a result, there arises a problem that the system cost increases.

In view of such circumstances, there is a demand for an automatic work vehicle traveling system that functions appropriately even when a plurality of work vehicles are deployed in a vast work area.

A work vehicle automatic traveling system for a work vehicle according to the present invention comprises a work area comprising an outer peripheral area and a plurality of partitions obtained by dividing a work target area, which is inside the outer peripheral area, into a plurality of divided areas. a vehicle position calculation unit for calculating the vehicle position; and a traveling route element that is an aggregate of a large number of traveling route elements that constitute a traveling route for the work vehicle to travel in the section. a route management unit that manages the group, a route element selection unit that selects the travel route element from the travel route element group and generates the travel route so that the work vehicle travels through the sections; It has

In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the route management unit may include the travel route element group and a route element group, which is an aggregate of route elements that constitute a route that circulates the outer peripheral area and the intermediate area. and a route element group, and the route element selection unit selects the next traveling route element or the next circuit route element to be traveled next based on the vehicle position, from the traveling route element group or the circuit route element. Select from the group.

A harvesting machine according to the present invention comprises an area setting unit for setting a work area into an outer peripheral area and partitions obtained by dividing a work target area inside the outer peripheral area into a plurality of partitions by means of intermediate division areas; A vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the vehicle position, a route management unit that manages a travel route element group that is an aggregate of a large number of travel route elements that constitute a travel route for traveling through the section, and covers the section. a route element selection unit that selects the travel route element from the travel route element group to generate the travel route so that the vehicle travels in the direction of the vehicle.

In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the route management unit may include the travel route element group and a route element group, which is an aggregate of route elements that constitute a route that circulates the outer peripheral area and the intermediate area. and a route element group, and the route element selection unit selects the next traveling route element or the next circuit route element to be traveled next based on the vehicle position, from the traveling route element group or the circuit route element. Select from the group.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing work traveling of a work vehicle in a work target area; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic flow of automatic travel control using a travel route determination device; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a travel pattern in which U-turns and straight runs are repeated; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a running pattern along a mesh-like route; 1 is a side view of a harvester that is one embodiment of a working vehicle; FIG. FIG. 2 is a control function block diagram in the work vehicle automatic traveling system; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of calculating mesh lines, which is an example of a travel route element group; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a traveling route element group calculated by a strip portion element calculating section; It is an explanatory view showing a normal U-turn and a switchback turn. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of selection of travel route elements in the travel route element group of FIG. 8; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a spiral running pattern in a running route element group calculated by a mesh route element calculating unit; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a round-trip running pattern in a running route element group calculated by a mesh route element calculating unit; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the basic principle of generating a U-turn travel route; FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a U-turn travel route generated based on the generation principle of FIG. 13; FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a U-turn travel route generated based on the generation principle of FIG. 13; FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a U-turn travel route generated based on the generation principle of FIG. 13; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an α-turn traveling route in a mesh-like traveling route element group; FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a case where work travel resumed after leaving the work target area does not continue from the work travel before leaving. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing working traveling by a plurality of harvesters that are cooperatively controlled; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic running pattern of cooperative control running using a running route element group calculated by a mesh route element calculating unit; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing detachment running and return running in cooperative control running; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of cooperative control travel using a travel route element group calculated by a strip partial element calculator; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of cooperative control travel using a travel route element group calculated by a strip partial element calculator; It is explanatory drawing which shows a middle dividing process. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of cooperative control traveling in a split field; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of cooperative control driving in a field divided into grids; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration in which parameters of a slave harvester can be adjusted from a master harvester; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining automatic travel for creating a U-turn travel space around a parking position; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of route selection by two harvesters with different working widths; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of route selection by two harvesters with different working widths;

[Outline of automated driving]
FIG. 1 schematically shows work traveling of a work vehicle in an automatic work vehicle travel system. In this embodiment, the working vehicle is a harvesting machine 1 that performs harvesting work (reaping work) for harvesting crops while traveling as a working vehicle, and is a model generally called an ordinary combine harvester. A working area traveled by the harvester 1 is called a field. In a harvesting operation in a field, an area in which the harvester 1 circulates while performing work along a boundary line of the field called a ridge is set as an outer peripheral area SA. The area inside the outer peripheral area SA is set as a work target area CA. The outer peripheral area SA is used as a moving space and a direction changing space for the harvester 1 to discharge harvested materials and replenish fuel. In order to secure the outer peripheral area SA, the harvester 1 performs three to four laps along the boundary line of the farm field as the first working run. In the round trip, the field is worked by the working width of the harvester 1 every round, so the outer peripheral area SA has a width of about 3 to 4 times the working width of the harvester 1 . For this reason, unless otherwise noted, the outer peripheral area SA is treated as an already-harvested land (already-worked area), and the work target area CA is treated as an un-harvested land (unworked area). In this embodiment, the working width is treated as a value obtained by subtracting the overlap amount from the cutting width. However, the concept of working width differs depending on the type of work vehicle. The working width in the present invention is defined by the type of working vehicle and the type of work.

In addition, the term "work travel" used in this application has a broader meaning including not only travel while actually performing work, but also travel without work for changing direction during work. is used in the sense of
Further, as used herein, the phrase work environment of the work vehicle may also include conditions of the work vehicle, conditions of the work site, commands by a person (supervisor, driver, manager, etc.), etc., and may also include the work environment. State information is determined by assessing the environment. This status information includes mechanical factors such as refueling and harvest discharge, environmental factors such as weather variations and site conditions, and even human requests such as unforeseen work interruption orders. In addition, when a plurality of work vehicles are traveling while cooperating for work, the state information of the other vehicles is treated as the work traveling state of the other vehicles, and the other vehicle positional relationship indicating the positional relationship between the own vehicle and the other vehicles. etc. are also included in the work running state of the other vehicle. Note that the supervisor or manager may be in the work vehicle, near the work vehicle, or far away from the work vehicle.

The harvester 1 includes a satellite positioning module 80 that outputs positioning data based on GPS signals from satellites GS used in GPS (Global Positioning System). It has a function of calculating the own vehicle position, which is the position coordinates of a specific location of the machine 1 . The harvester 1 has an automatic traveling function that automates traveling harvesting work by steering so as to align the calculated own vehicle position with a target traveling route. The harvester 1 needs to be parked close to the transport vehicle CV parked at the edge of the ridge in order to discharge the harvested material while traveling. When the parking position of the transport vehicle CV is predetermined, such approach travel, that is, temporary withdrawal from work travel in the work target area CA, and return to work travel can also be performed automatically. It is possible. A travel route for leaving and returning to the work area CA is generated when the outer peripheral area SA is set. It should be noted that a refueling vehicle or other work support vehicle can be parked instead of the transport vehicle CV.

[Basic flow of the automatic driving system for work vehicles]
In order for the harvester 1 incorporated in the work vehicle automatic traveling system of the present invention to automatically travel the harvesting work, a travel route management device is required to generate a target travel route and manage the travel route. necessary. A basic configuration of this travel route management device and a basic flow of automatic travel control using this travel route management device will be described with reference to FIG.

The harvester 1 that has arrived at the field performs harvesting while circling along the inner side of the boundary line of the field. This operation is called perimeter cutting and is well known in harvesting operations. At that time, in the corner area, the traveling is performed by repeating forward and backward movements so that no uncut culms remain. In this embodiment, at least one round of the outermost circumference is manually driven so as not to leave uncut grass and to avoid bumping into ridges. The remaining several rounds on the inner peripheral side may be automatically run by an automatic running program dedicated to peripheral cutting, or may be carried out manually after peripheral cutting of the outermost periphery. As the shape of the work target area CA left inside the travel locus of such circular travel, a polygon as simple as possible, preferably a quadrangle, is adopted so as to be convenient for work travel by automatic travel. Based on the position data of the travel locus obtained by this inner perimeter mowing, a circuit path element for circling the outer peripheral area SA is created.

Furthermore, the travel locus of this round trip can be obtained based on the vehicle position calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 53 from the positioning data of the satellite positioning module 80 . Further, the contour data generation unit 43 generates the contour data of the farm field, particularly the contour data of the work target area CA, which is the uncut land located inside the circular traveling locus, from the traveling locus. The field is managed by the area setting unit 44 by dividing it into an outer peripheral area SA and a work target area CA.

Work travel for the work target area CA is performed by automatic travel. Therefore, the route management unit 60 manages a travel route element group that is a travel route for travel covering the work target area CA (travel that fills the work width). This travel route element group is an aggregate of many travel route elements. The route management unit 60 calculates a travel route element group based on the outline data of the work area CA and stores it in the memory in a readable manner.

In this work vehicle automatic traveling system, the entire travel route is not determined in advance before work travels in the work target area CA, but during travel, the travel route is determined according to circumstances such as the working environment of the work vehicle. can be changed. For this reason, a working condition evaluation unit 55 is provided for outputting condition information obtained by evaluating the condition of the harvester 1, the condition of the work area, the command of the supervisor, and the like. A travel route element is a minimum unit (link) between points (nodes) at which the travel route can be changed. When automatic travel is started from the specified location, the next travel route element to be traveled next is sequentially selected from the travel route element group by the route element selection unit 63 .
Based on the selected travel route element and the vehicle position, the automatic travel control unit 511 generates automatic travel data so that the vehicle body follows the travel route element, and executes automatic travel.

In FIG. 2 , the outline data generation unit 43 , the area setting unit 44 , and the route management unit 60 constitute a running route generation device that generates a running route for the harvester 1 . Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 53, the region setting unit 44, the route management unit 60, and the route element selection unit 63 constitute a travel route determination device that determines the travel route for the harvester 1. FIG. Such a travel route generation device and travel route determination device can be incorporated into the control system of the conventional harvester 1 capable of automatically traveling. Alternatively, it is also possible to construct a travel route generation device and a travel route determination device in a computer terminal, connect the computer terminal and the control system of the harvester 1 so that data can be exchanged, and realize automatic travel.

When a plurality of harvesters 1 that work in a coordinated manner are incorporated into this automatic working vehicle traveling system, a positional relationship calculator 56 for calculating the positional relationship between the harvesters 1 is provided. The other-vehicle positional relationship calculator 56 calculates the position of one harvester 1 (self-vehicle position), the position of the other harvester 1 (other-vehicle position), the traveling direction of the one harvester 1, the Other vehicle positional relationships including traveling directions are calculated. This other vehicle positional relationship is one of the data representing the work running state of the harvester 1 . The work running state is state information output from the work state evaluation unit 55 by evaluating the state of the harvester 1, the state of the work area, the command of the supervisor, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2 , the other vehicle positional relationship calculated by the other vehicle positional relationship calculating section 56 is sent to the work state evaluating section 55 . When a plurality of harvesters travel cooperatively for work, the work state evaluation unit 55 sends the work travel state of other vehicles to the route element selection unit 63 .

[Overview of travel path element group]
As an example of the travel route element group, FIG. 3 shows a travel route element group having a large number of parallel dividing lines dividing the work area CA into strips as travel route elements. This traveling route element group is a linear arrangement of traveling route elements in which two nodes (end points, referred to as route changeable points where route change is possible) are connected by one link. is. The travel path elements are set to be evenly spaced by adjusting the overlap amount of the working width. The transition from the end point of the route element indicated by one line to the end point of the route element indicated by another line involves a U-turn drive (for example a 180° turning drive). Automatic travel while connecting such parallel travel route elements by U-turn travel is hereinafter referred to as “reciprocating travel”. This U-turn driving includes normal U-turn driving and switchback turn driving. The normal U-turn running is performed only by forward movement of the harvester 1, and the running locus is U-shaped. The switchback turn traveling is performed using the forward and backward movements of the harvester 1, and the travel locus does not form a U-shape, but as a result, the harvester 1 travels in the same direction as the normal U-turn traveling. is obtained. In order to perform a normal U-turn travel, a distance of two or more traveling route elements is required between the route changeable point before the direction change traveling and the route changeable point after the direction change travel. For shorter distances, switchback turn travel is used. In other words, unlike normal U-turn driving, switchback turn driving involves backward movement, so there is no influence of the turning radius of the harvester 1, and there are many options for transitional driving route elements. However, since switching between forward and backward driving is performed in switchback turn driving, switchback turn driving basically takes more time than normal U-turn driving.

As another example of the travel route element group, FIG. 4 shows a travel route element group consisting of a large number of mesh lines extending in the vertical and horizontal directions, which divides the work area CA into meshes. The route can be changed at the intersections of the mesh lines (route changeable points) and at the end points (route changeable points) of the mesh lines. In other words, this traveling route element group constructs a route network in which the intersections and end points of the mesh lines are used as nodes, and the edges of each mesh partitioned by the mesh lines function as links, enabling highly flexible traveling. In addition to the above-mentioned reciprocating running, for example, "whirlpool running" from the outside to the inside and "zigzag running" as shown in Fig. 4 are also possible. is also possible.

[Concept when selecting driving route elements]
Selection rules for the route element selection unit 63 to sequentially select the next travel route element, which is the travel route element to be traveled next, include a static rule set in advance before the work travel and a rule set in advance during the work travel. It can be divided into dynamic rules that are used in real time. The static rule includes selection of travel route elements based on a predetermined basic travel pattern, for example, selection of travel route elements to achieve round-trip travel while performing U-turn travel as shown in FIG. and a rule for selecting travel path elements so as to achieve counterclockwise spiral travel from the outside to the inside as shown in FIG. In principle, dynamic rules are used in preference to static rules. The dynamic rules include the contents of state information such as the state of the harvester 1 in real time, the state of the work site, and commands of supervisors (including drivers and administrators) that change from moment to moment. The work state evaluation unit 55 takes in various primary information (work environment), the state of the harvester 1, the state of the work land, the command of the supervisor, etc. as input parameters, and outputs state information. This primary information includes not only signals from various sensors and switches provided in the harvester 1, but also weather information, time information, external facility information such as drying facilities, and the like. Furthermore, when cooperative work is performed by a plurality of harvesters 1 , the state information output from the work state evaluation unit 55 also includes the other vehicle positional relationship calculated by the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 . This state information is used as the work running state of the other vehicle.

[Overview of harvester]
FIG. 5 is a side view of the harvester 1 as a working vehicle employed in the description of this embodiment. The harvester 1 includes a crawler-type traveling body 11. - 特許庁A driving unit 12 is provided in the front part of the traveling body 11 . A threshing device 13 and a harvested product tank 14 for storing the harvested product are arranged side by side in the left-right direction behind the driving unit 12 . In addition, a harvesting section 15 is provided in front of the traveling body 11 so as to be adjustable in height. Above the harvesting section 15, a reel 17 for raising grain culms is provided so as to be adjustable in height. Between the harvesting unit 15 and the threshing device 13, a conveying device 16 for conveying harvested grain culms and a discharging device 18 for discharging harvested products from the harvested product tank 14 are provided. A load sensor for detecting the weight of the harvested material (storage state of the harvested material) is installed at the bottom of the harvested material tank 14, and a yield meter and a taste meter (registered trademark) are equipped inside and around the harvested material tank 14. there is The taste meter (registered trademark) outputs measurement data of the moisture value and protein value of the harvest as quality data. The harvester 1 is provided with a satellite positioning module 80 configured as a GNSS module, a GPS module, or the like. As a component of the satellite positioning module 80 , a satellite antenna for receiving GPS signals and GNSS signals is attached to the top of the traveling body 11 . Note that the satellite positioning module 80 may include an inertial navigation module that incorporates gyroscopic acceleration sensors and magnetic heading sensors to complement satellite navigation.

In FIG. 5, a supervisor (including a driver and an administrator) who monitors the movement of the harvester 1 boarded the harvester 1, and a communication terminal 4 operated by the supervisor was brought into the harvester 1. there is However, the communication terminal 4 may be configured to be attached to the harvester 1 . Furthermore, the monitor and communication terminal 4 may exist outside the harvester 1 .

The harvester 1 is capable of automatic traveling by automatic steering and manual traveling by manual steering. Further, as for automatic driving, automatic driving in which all driving routes are determined in advance as in the conventional art and automatic driving in which the next driving route is determined in real time based on state information are possible. In the present application, the former, in which the entire travel route is determined in advance, is referred to as conventional travel, and the latter, in which the next travel route is determined in real time, is referred to as automatic travel, and both are treated as separate entities. For example, several patterns of customary travel routes are registered in advance, or the observer can arbitrarily set them on the communication terminal 4 or the like.

[Regarding automatic driving function control blocks]
FIG. 6 shows a control system constructed in the harvester 1 and a control system of the communication terminal 4. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the travel route management device that manages the travel route for the harvester 1 includes a first travel route management module CM1 built in the communication terminal 4 and a first travel route management module CM1 built in the control unit 5 of the harvester 1. 2 route management module CM2.

The communication terminal 4 includes a communication control unit 40, a touch panel 41, and the like, and has a function of a computer system and a function as a user interface for inputting conditions necessary for automatic driving realized by the control unit 5. The communication terminal 4 can exchange data with the management computer 100 via a wireless line or the Internet by using the communication control unit 40, and can communicate with the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 by wireless LAN, wired LAN, or other communication methods. data can be exchanged with The management computer 100 is a computer system installed in a remote management center KS and functions as a cloud computer. The management computer 100 can store information sent from each farmer, agricultural cooperative, or agricultural enterprise, and send it out in response to a request. In FIG. 6, a work place information storage unit 101 and a work plan management unit 102 are shown as those that implement such a server function. In the communication terminal 4, external data acquired from the management computer 100 and the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 through the communication control unit 40, and input data such as user instructions (required conditions for automatic running) inputted through the touch panel 41 Based on this, data processing is performed, and the processing result is displayed on the display panel of the touch panel 41 and can be transmitted to the management computer 100 and the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 through the communication control section 40 .

The work land information storage unit 101 stores farm field information including a topographic map of the farm field and field attribute information (field entrance, row direction, etc.). The work plan management section 102 of the management computer 100 manages a work plan document describing the details of the work in the designated field. The farm field information and work plan can be downloaded to the communication terminal 4 or the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 through the operation of the supervisor or through an automatically executed program. The work plan contains various types of information (work conditions) regarding the work in the field to be worked. Examples of this information (working conditions) include the following.
(a) Running pattern (reciprocating running, spiral running, zigzag running, etc.)
(b) Parking position of the support vehicle of the transport vehicle CV and parking position of the harvester for discharging harvested materials (c) Work type (work by one harvester 1, work by multiple harvesters 1)
(d) So-called middle division line (e) Values of vehicle speed and rotation speed of the threshing device 13 according to the crop species to be harvested (rice (Japonica rice, indica rice), wheat, soybean, rapeseed, buckwheat, etc.).
In particular, based on the information (e), the setting of traveling equipment parameters and the setting of harvesting equipment parameters are automatically executed according to the type of crop, so setting errors can be avoided.

The position where the harvester 1 is parked to discharge the harvested material to the transport vehicle CV is the harvested material discharge parking position. parking position, which in this embodiment is set to substantially the same position.

The above information (a) to (e) may be input by the supervisor through the communication terminal 4 as a user interface. The communication terminal 4 has an input function for instructing the start and stop of automatic driving, an input function for selecting whether work driving is to be performed in automatic driving or conventional driving as described above, and a vehicle driving device such as a driving speed change device. An input function or the like for finely adjusting parameter values for the group 71 and the group 72 (see FIG. 6) of the working device equipment such as the harvesting unit 15 is also constructed. Among the parameters of the work device group 72, the height of the reel 17, the height of the harvesting section 15, and the like can be cited as parameters whose values can be finely adjusted.

The communication terminal 4 can be switched to an animation display state of an automatic driving route or a customary driving route, the parameter display/fine adjustment state, or the like by a manual switching operation. Note that this animation display is an animation of the traveling locus of the harvester 1 traveling along the automatic traveling route or the conventional traveling route, which is the traveling route in the conventional traveling where all traveling routes are determined in advance, and displayed on the touch panel 41. It is to display on the display panel section. Such animation display allows the driver to intuitively confirm the route to be traveled before the vehicle travels.

The work site data input unit 42 inputs the farm field information and the work plan downloaded from the management computer 100 and the information acquired from the communication terminal 4 . The farm field outline map, the position of the farm field entrance and exit, and the parking position for receiving support from the work support vehicle, which are included in the farm field information, are displayed on the touch panel 41, and the driver who drives around to form the outer peripheral area SA provides support. be done. If data such as field entrances and parking positions are not included in the field information, the user can input them through the touch panel 41 . The outline data generation unit 43 calculates the accurate outline and dimensions of the farm field and the work target area CA based on the traveling locus data (time-series data of the own vehicle position) of the harvester 1 received from the control unit 5 when the harvester 1 travels around. Calculate the external shape and external dimensions of The region setting unit 44 sets the outer peripheral region SA and the work target region CA from the travel locus data of the circular travel of the harvester 1 . The set position coordinates of the outer peripheral area SA and the target work area CA, that is, the outline data of the outer peripheral area SA and the target work area CA are used to generate a travel route for automatic travel. In this embodiment, since the travel route is generated by the second travel route management module CM2 built in the control unit 5 of the harvester 1, the position coordinates of the set outer peripheral area SA and work target area CA are It is sent to the second travel route management module CM2.

When the field is large, an operation called insegmentation is performed to divide the field into a plurality of partitions by running routes breaking through the center. This division position specification can also be performed by a touch operation on the outline drawing of the work area displayed on the screen of the touch panel 41 . Of course, the position setting of the in-between also affects the generation of the travel route element group for automatic travel, so it may be automatically performed when the travel route element group is created. At that time, if the parking position of the harvester 1 for receiving support from a work support vehicle such as a transport vehicle CV is arranged on the extension line of the middle division area, the harvested material can be discharged from all the sections and traveled efficiently. will be

The second travel route management module CM2 includes a route management section 60, a route element selection section 63, and a route setting section 64. As shown in FIG. The route management unit 60 calculates a traveling route element group and a circuit route element group and stores them in a readable manner. The travel route element group is an aggregation of a large number of travel route elements forming a travel route covering the work area CA. A circuit path element group is a collection of circuit path elements that form a circuit path that circles the outer peripheral area SA. The route management unit 60 includes a mesh route element calculation unit 601, a strip route element calculation unit 602, and a U-turn route calculation unit 603 as functional units for calculating the traveling route element group. The route element selection unit 63 sequentially selects the next travel route element to be traveled next from the travel route element group based on various selection rules which will be described in detail later. The route setting unit 64 sets the selected next travel route element as the target travel route for automatic travel.

The mesh route element calculation unit 601 calculates, as the travel route elements, a travel route element group, which is a group of mesh lines that divide the work area CA into meshes, and the positional coordinates of the intersections and end points of the mesh lines. can be calculated. Since this travel route element becomes the target travel route during automatic travel of the harvester 1, the harvester 1 can change the route from one travel route element to the other travel route element at the intersection and end point of the mesh lines. It is possible. In other words, the intersections and end points of the mesh lines function as route changeable points that allow the route of the harvester 1 to be changed.

FIG. 7 shows an outline of the arrangement of mesh lines, which are an example of the travel route element group, in the work area CA. The mesh route element calculation unit 601 calculates a travel route element group so as to fill the work area CA with mesh lines using the working width of the harvester 1 as the mesh interval. As described above, the work target area CA is an area inside the outer peripheral area SA formed by running three to four laps inward from the boundary of the field with the work width. The contour of the target area CA is similar to the contour of the field. However, in order to facilitate the calculation of mesh lines, the outer peripheral area SA may be created such that the work area CA is substantially polygonal, preferably substantially quadrangular. In FIG. 7, the shape of the work target area CA is a deformed quadrangle having a first side S1, a second side S2, a third side S3 and a fourth side S4.

As shown in FIG. 7, the mesh path element calculation unit 601 moves parallel to the first side S1 from a position half the working width of the harvester 1 from the first side S1 of the work area CA. , and the first line group arranged on the work target area CA with an interval corresponding to the work width of the harvester 1 is calculated. Similarly, from a position half the working width of the harvester 1 from the second side S2, the working area CA is parallel to the second side S2 and spaced by the working width of the harvester 1. A second group of lines lined up above, from a position at a distance of half the working width of the harvester 1 from the third side S3, is parallel to the third side S3 and has an interval of the working width of the harvester 1 A third line group arranged above the work target area CA with a space therebetween is parallel to the fourth side S4 and extends from a position half the working width of the harvester 1 from the fourth side S4. A fourth line group arranged on the work target area CA with an interval corresponding to the work width is calculated. Thus, the first side S1 to the fourth side S4 are reference lines for generating a line group as a travel route element group. Since the straight line can be defined by the position coordinates of two points on the straight line, each line, especially each straight line, which is a travel route element, is converted into data as a straight line defined by the position coordinates of two points on each straight line. , is stored in a memory in a predetermined data format. In this data format, in addition to the route number as a route identifier for identifying each travel route element, as attribute values of each travel route element, the route type, the side of the outline quadrangle used as the reference, the untraveled/already traveled etc. are included.

Of course, the calculation of the line group described above can also be applied to a polygonal work area CA other than a quadrangle. That is, if the work area CA has an N-sided shape where N is an integer of 3 or more, the traveling route element group consists of N line groups from the first line group to the N-th line group. Each line group includes lines arranged parallel to one of the sides of this N-sided polygon at a predetermined interval (working width).

A group of travel route elements are also set in the outer peripheral area SA by the route management unit 60, and the travel route elements set in the outer peripheral area SA are used when the harvester 1 travels in the outer peripheral area SA. Attribute values such as a departure route, a return route, and an intermediate straight route for U-turn travel are given to the travel route elements set in the outer peripheral area SA. The leaving route means a traveling route element group used for the harvester 1 to leave the work target area CA and enter the peripheral area SA. The return route means a travel route element group used for the harvester 1 to return from the outer peripheral area SA to the work travel in the work target area CA. The intermediate straight route for U-turn travel (hereinafter simply referred to as the intermediate straight route) is a linear route forming part of the U-turn travel route used for U-turn travel in the outer peripheral area SA. That is, the intermediate straight route is a linear travel route element group that forms a line portion that connects the turning route on the start side of the U-turn travel and the turning route on the end side of the U-turn travel, and is located in the outer peripheral area SA. It is a path provided parallel to each side of the work area CA. In addition, when we perform whirlpool running and switch to reciprocating running during work travel, the uncut land becomes smaller than the work target area CA on all sides due to the whirlpool running, so work can be carried out efficiently. Therefore, it is more efficient to make a U-turn in the work target area CA without traveling to the outer peripheral area SA. Therefore, when a U-turn travel is performed in the work target area CA, the intermediate straight route is translated toward the inner circumference according to the position of the outer circumference line of the uncut land.

In FIG. 7, since the shape of the work area CA is a deformed quadrangle, there are four sides that serve as the basis for generating the mesh path element group. The number of sides used as the reference for generating the mesh path element group is two, and the structure of the mesh path element group becomes simpler.

In this embodiment, the route management unit 60 is provided with a strip route element calculation unit 602 as an optional travel route element calculation unit. As shown in FIG. 3, the travel route element group calculated by the strip route element calculation unit 602 is parallel to the reference side selected from the sides forming the outline of the work area CA, for example, the longest side. It is a group of parallel lines extending and covering (filling in the working width) the work target area CA in the working width. The travel route element group calculated by the strip route element calculation unit 602 divides the work area CA into strips. Further, the travel route element group is a set of parallel lines that are sequentially connected by a U-turn travel route for the harvester 1 to make a U-turn. That is, when the travel of one travel route element that is a parallel line is completed, the U-turn travel route for transitioning to the next selected travel route element is determined by the U-turn route calculation unit 603 .

The U-turn route calculation unit 603 calculates a U-turn travel route for connecting two travel route elements selected from the travel route element group calculated by the strip route element calculation unit 602 by U-turn travel. After setting the outer peripheral area SA, the U-turn path calculation unit 603 calculates the One intermediate straight path parallel to the outer edge of the work area CA is calculated for each area corresponding to each side (outer edge) of the outer circumference of the work area CA in the outer peripheral area SA, and a normal U-turn is performed. When traveling and switch-back-turn traveling are performed, a turning route on the starting side that connects the currently traveling traveling route element and the corresponding intermediate straight route, and an end that connects the corresponding intermediate straight route and the traveling route element to be transitioned. Calculate the turning path on the side. The principle of generating the U-turn travel route will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 5 of the harvester 1, which constructs the second traveling route management module CM2, is constructed with various functions for carrying out work traveling. The control unit 5 is configured as a computer system, and includes an output processing section 7, an input processing section 8, and a communication processing section 70 as input/output interfaces. The output processing unit 7 is connected to a vehicle running device group 71, a working device device group 72, an informing device 73, and the like, which are equipped in the harvester 1. FIG. The vehicle running device group 71 includes a steering device that adjusts the speed of the left and right crawlers of the traveling body 11 to perform steering, and devices that are controlled for vehicle travel, such as a transmission mechanism and an engine unit (not shown). include. The work device device group 72 includes devices that constitute the harvesting unit 15, the threshing device 13, the discharging device 18, and the like. The notification device 73 includes a display, a lamp and a speaker. In particular, the display displays various notification information such as the traveled route (trajectory) that has been traveled and the travel route to be traveled from now on, together with the outline of the field. Lamps and speakers are used to notify passengers (drivers and supervisors) of caution information and warning information such as driving precautions and deviation from the target driving route in automatic steering driving.

The communication processing unit 70 has a function of receiving data processed by the communication terminal 4 and transmitting data processed by the control unit 5 . This allows the communication terminal 4 to function as a user interface for the control unit 5 . The communication processing unit 70 is also used for exchanging data with the management computer 100, so it has a function of handling various communication formats.

The input processing unit 8 is connected to a satellite positioning module 80, a travel system detection sensor group 81, a work system detection sensor group 82, an automatic/manual switching operation tool 83, and the like. The running system detection sensor group 81 includes sensors for detecting running conditions such as engine speed and gear shift conditions. The work system detection sensor group 82 includes a sensor for detecting the height position of the harvesting section 15, a sensor for detecting the storage amount of the harvested product tank 14, and the like. The automatic/manual switching operation tool 83 is a switch for selecting either an automatic traveling mode in which the vehicle travels by automatic steering or a manual traveling mode in which the vehicle travels by manual steering. Also, a switch for switching between automatic driving and customary driving is provided in the operation unit 12 or built in the communication terminal 4 .

Further, the control unit 5 is provided with a travel control section 51 , a work control section 52 , an own vehicle position calculation section 53 , a notification section 54 , a work state evaluation section 55 and an other vehicle position relation calculation section 56 . The vehicle position calculator 53 calculates the vehicle position based on the positioning data output from the satellite positioning module 80 . Since the harvester 1 is configured to be able to travel in both automatic travel (automatic steering) and manual travel (manual steering), the travel control unit 51 that controls the vehicle travel equipment group 71 includes an automatic travel control unit 511 and a manual travel control unit 512 are included. The manual travel control unit 512 controls the vehicle travel equipment group 71 based on the operation by the driver. The automatic travel control unit 511 calculates the azimuth deviation and position deviation between the travel route set by the route setting unit 64 and the position of the vehicle, generates an automatic steering command, and outputs the steering device through the output processing unit 7. output to The work control unit 52 gives a control signal to the work device group 72 in order to control the movements of the operation devices provided in the harvesting unit 15, the threshing device 13, the discharging device 18, and the like, which constitute the harvester 1. The notification unit 54 generates a notification signal (display data or audio data) for notifying the driver or the monitor of necessary information through a notification device 73 such as a display. The work state evaluation unit 55 evaluates the state of the harvester 1, the state of the work site, and the state including commands by people (monitor, driver, administrator, etc.) based on the detection results of various sensors and the operation results of various operation tools. Output information. The other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 calculates the other vehicle positional relationship indicating the positional relationship between the position of the other vehicle and the other vehicle when a plurality of harvesters 1 perform cooperative work. The position of the own vehicle, the travel route element selected by the own vehicle, and the position of the other vehicle and the travel route element selected by the other vehicle are used to calculate the other vehicle positional relationship. Further, the other-vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 also has a function of calculating an estimated contact position between work vehicles.

The automatic driving control unit 511 is capable of not only steering control but also vehicle speed control. Regarding the vehicle speed, for example, the passenger sets it through the communication terminal 4 before starting work, as described above. The vehicle speeds that can be set include the vehicle speed during harvesting, the vehicle speed during non-work turning (U-turn driving, etc.), and the vehicle speed when leaving the work target area CA and traveling in the outer peripheral area SA when discharging harvested materials or refueling. vehicle speed, etc. The automatic travel control unit 511 calculates the actual vehicle speed based on the positioning data obtained by the satellite positioning module 80 . The output processing unit 7 sends a shift operation command to running to the vehicle running device group 71 so that the actual vehicle speed matches the set vehicle speed.

[Regarding automatic driving routes]
An example of automatic traveling in the automatic working vehicle traveling system will be described by dividing it into an example of reciprocating traveling and an example of spiral traveling.

First, an example of reciprocating travel using the travel route element group calculated by the strip route element calculation unit 602 will be described. FIG. 8 schematically shows a travel route element group consisting of 21 travel route elements represented by strips with a shortened line length, and a route number is given above each travel route element. ing. The harvester 1 at the start of the work run is positioned at the 14th run path element. The degree of separation between the traveling route element on which the harvester 1 is located and the other traveling route elements is a signed integer and is given below each route. The priority for the harvester 1 positioned at the 14th travel route element to shift to the next travel route element is indicated by an integer value below the travel route element in FIG. The smaller the value, the higher the priority, and it is preferentially selected. The harvester 1 makes a normal U-turn that shifts to the next traveling route element across at least two traveling route elements as shown in FIG. Traveling and switchback turn travel, which can cross no more than two travel path elements, ie transitions to adjacent travel path elements, are possible. In the normal U-turn traveling, when entering the outer peripheral area SA from the end point of the travel route element of the transition source, the vehicle turns about 180° and enters the end point of the travel route element of the transition destination. If the distance between the travel route element at the transition source and the travel route element at the transition destination is large, a corresponding straight run will be included during a turn of approximately 90°. That is, normal U-turn travel is performed only in forward travel. On the other hand, in the switchback turn traveling, after entering the outer peripheral area SA from the end point of the traveling path element of the transition source, after turning about 90 degrees, it smoothly enters the traveling path element of the transition destination by turning about 90 degrees. Back up to a position and then go to the endpoint of the destination trajectory element. Although this complicates the steering control, it is also possible to transition to route elements that are closely spaced from each other.

The route element selection unit 63 selects the route element that should be traveled next. The properly spaced travel route element is given the highest priority, and the priority is set to be lower as the distance from the properly spaced travel route element becomes farther from the travel route element that is the order source. For example, regarding the transition to the next travel route element, normal U-turn travel with a short travel distance is short in travel time and efficient. Therefore, the highest priority is set to the left and right adjoining travel route elements that are two lines apart (priority=“1”). As the distance from the harvester 1 increases, the normal U-turn travel time increases, so the priority decreases (priority=“2”, “3”, . . . ). In other words, the priority number indicates the order of priority. However, the travel time of normal U-turn travel is longer, and the priority of transition to the adjacent travel route element separated by 8 lines, which is less efficient than switchback turn travel, is lower than that of switchback turn travel. In switchback-turn traveling, the priority of shifting to a traveling route element that is one block away is higher than the priority of shifting to an adjacent traveling route element. This is because a switchback turn traveling to an adjacent traveling path element requires a sharp turn, and there is a high possibility that the field will be damaged. It should be noted that the transition to the next trajectory element can be in either the left or right direction, but according to conventional work conventions, transitions to the left trajectory element take precedence over transitions to the right trajectory element. rule is adopted. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 8, the harvester 1 positioned at route number: 14 selects the travel route element with route number: 17 as the travel route element to travel next. Such priority setting is performed each time the harvester 1 enters a new travel path element.

In principle, selection of travel route elements that have already been selected, that is, travel route elements for which work has been completed is prohibited. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, for example, if the route number: 11 or route number: 17 with the priority of "1" is already working land (already harvested land), the harvester located at route number: 14 1 selects the travel route element of route number: 18 whose priority is "2" as the travel route element to travel next.

FIG. 11 shows an example of spiral traveling using the travel route elements calculated by the mesh route element calculator 601 . The outer peripheral area SA of the field and the work area CA shown in FIG. 11 are the same as those in FIG. 7, and the traveling route element group set in the work area CA is also the same. For the sake of explanation, L11, L12, . , L31, L32, . . . , and L41, L42, .

A thick line in FIG. 11 indicates a traveling route that spirally travels from the outside to the inside of the harvester 1 . A travel route element L11 outside the work area CA is selected as the first travel route. At the intersection of the travel route element L11 and the travel route element L21, a route change of approximately 90° is made, and the harvester 1 travels on the travel route element L21. Further, a route change of approximately 110° is performed at the intersection of the travel route element L21 and the travel route element L31, and the harvester 1 travels on the travel route element L31. At the intersection of the travel route element L31 and the travel route element L41, a route change of approximately 70° is made, and the harvester 1 travels on the travel route element L41. Next, the harvester 1 shifts to the traveling route element L12 at the intersection of the traveling route element L12 inside the traveling route element L11 and the traveling route element L41. By repeating such selection of travel path elements, the harvester 1 spirally travels from the outside to the inside of the work target area CA of the field. in this way. When the spiral traveling pattern is set, the route is changed at the intersection of the traveling route elements that have an attribute of not traveling and are located on the outermost periphery of the work area CA, and the harvester 1 changes direction.

FIG. 12 shows an example of U-turn travel using the same travel route element group shown in FIG. First, the travel route element L11 outside the work area CA is selected as the first travel route. The harvester 1 passes the end (end point) of the travel path element L11, enters the outer peripheral area SA, makes a 90° turn along the second side S2, and further extends on the travel path extending parallel to the travel path element L11. Another 90° turn is made to enter the beginning (end point) of element L14. As a result, after a normal U-turn travel of 180°, the vehicle moves from the travel route element L11 to the travel route element L14 with a distance of two travel route elements. Further, when the vehicle travels through the travel route element L14 and enters the outer peripheral area SA, the vehicle travels through a normal U-turn travel of 180° and shifts to the travel route element L17 extending parallel to the travel route element L14. In this way, the harvester 1 moves from the travel route element L17 to the travel route element L110, and from the travel route element L110 to the travel route element L16, and finally travels the entire work target area CA of the field. to complete. As is clear from the above description, the example of round-trip travel using the travel route element group by the strip route element calculation unit 602 described with reference to FIGS. It is also applicable to round-trip travel using travel route elements calculated by the unit 601 .

In this way, the reciprocating travel can be realized by a travel route element group that divides the work area CA into strips or by a travel route element group that divides the work area CA into a mesh. In other words, if it is a traveling path element group that divides the work target area CA into a mesh shape, it can be used for reciprocating traveling, spiral traveling, and zigzag traveling. It is also possible to change to running.

[Generation principle of U-turn driving route]
The basic principle of how the U-turn route calculation unit 603 generates the U-turn travel route will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 shows a U-turn travel route that transitions from a turning origin travel route element indicated by LS0 to a turning destination travel route element indicated by LS1. In normal running, if LS0 is the travel route element in the work area CA, LS1 is the travel route element (=intermediate straight route) in the outer peripheral area SA, and conversely, LS1 is the travel route element in the work area CA. In that case, LS0 is generally the travel route element (=intermediate straight route) in the outer peripheral area SA. For example, the linear equations (or two points on the straight line) of the travel path elements LS0 and LS1 are stored in memory, and from these linear equations the point of intersection (indicated by PX in FIG. 13) and the angle of intersection (indicated by PX in FIG. 13). ) is calculated. Next, a tangent circle that is in contact with the travel route element LS0 and the travel route element LS1 and has a radius equal to the minimum turning radius of the harvester 1 (indicated by r in FIG. 13) is calculated. A circular arc (a part of the tangent circle) connecting the points of contact (indicated by PS0 and PS1 in FIG. 13) between this tangent circle and the traveling route elements LS0 and LS1 is the turning route. Therefore, the distance Y between the intersection point PX between the travel route elements LS0 and LS1 and the point of contact with the circle is Y=r/(tan(θ/2))
Ask for Since the minimum turning radius is substantially determined by the specifications of the harvester 1, r is a specified value. Note that r does not have to be the same value as the minimum turning radius, and it is sufficient if a reasonable turning radius is set in advance by the communication terminal 4 or the like, and a turning operation that achieves that turning radius is programmed. In terms of travel control, when the harvester 1 reaches the position coordinate (PS0) where the distance to the intersection is Y while traveling on the travel path element LS0 of the turning origin, it starts turning travel, and then turns. When the difference between the orientation of the harvester 1 and the orientation of the traveling route element LS1 at the turning destination falls within the allowable value, the turning traveling is terminated. In that case, the turning radius of the harvester 1 does not have to correspond exactly to the radius r. Steering control is performed based on the distance and heading difference from the turning destination travel route element LS1, so that the harvester 1 can shift to the turning destination travel route element LS1.

14, 15 and 16 show three specific U-turn runs. In FIG. 14, the travel path element LS0 at the turn origin and the travel path element LS1 at the turn destination extend in an inclined state from the outer edge of the work area CA, but the same applies if they extend vertically. Here, the U-turn travel route in the outer peripheral area SA is an extension of the travel route element LS0 and the travel route element LS1 to the outer peripheral area SA, and an intermediate straight route that is a part (line segment) of the travel route elements of the outer peripheral area SA. and two arcuate turning paths. This U-turn travel route can also be generated according to the basic principle explained using FIG. An intersection angle θ1 and an intersection point PX1 between the intermediate straight route and the turning origin traveling route element LS0, and an intersection angle θ2 and an intersection point PX2 between the intermediate straight traveling route and the turning destination traveling route element LS1 are calculated. Furthermore, the position coordinates of points of contact PS10 and PS11 of contact points PS10 and PS11 of a tangent circle with a radius r (=turning radius of the harvester 1) contacting the traveling route element LS0 of the turning origin and the intermediate straight route, and the traveling of the intermediate straight route and the turning destination. Positional coordinates of points of contact PS20 and PS21 of a tangent circle having a radius r that contacts the path element LS1 are calculated. The harvester 1 starts turning at these points of contact PS10 and PS20. Similarly, a U-turn travel route that bypasses the triangular projections can be similarly generated for the work target area CA in which the triangular projections are formed, as shown in FIG. Intersection points between the travel route elements LS0 and LS1 and two intermediate straight routes that are part (line segments) of the travel route elements of the outer peripheral area SA are obtained. The basic principle explained using FIG. 13 is applied to the calculation of each intersection.

FIG. 16 shows turning travel by switchback turn travel, in which the vehicle shifts from the travel route element LS0 at the origin of the turn to the travel route element LS1 at the destination of the turn. In this switch-back turn traveling, a tangent circle having a radius of r that is in contact with the traveling route element LS0 and an intermediate straight route parallel to the outer edge of the work area CA, which is a part (line segment) of the traveling route element of the outer peripheral area SA. , and a tangent circle with a radius r that contacts the intermediate straight route and the travel route element LS1. According to the basic principle explained using FIG. The position coordinates of the point of contact between the travel path element LS1 and the tangent circle are calculated. As a result, a U-turn travel route in switchback-turn travel is generated. It should be noted that in the switchback turn traveling, the harvester 1 travels backward on the intermediate straight route.

[Regarding direction change running in spiral running]
FIG. 17 shows an example of direction-changing travel used to change a route at an intersection, which is a route-changeable point of travel route elements, in the above-described spiral travel. Hereinafter, this direction change running is referred to as α-turn running. The travel route in this α-turn travel (α-turn travel route) is a type of so-called turning travel route, and includes a travel route element at the origin of travel (indicated by LS0 in FIG. 17) and a travel route element at the turn destination (indicated by LS0 in FIG. 17), passes through a turning path in forward movement, and touches the travel path element at the destination of the turn in the turning path in reverse movement. Since the α-turn travel route is standardized, the α-turn travel route generated according to the intersection angle between the travel route element at the origin and the travel route element at the turn destination is registered in advance. Therefore, the route management unit 60 reads out an appropriate α-turn travel route based on the calculated crossing angle and provides it to the route setting unit 64 . Instead of this configuration, an automatic control program for each intersection angle is registered in the automatic travel control unit 511, and based on the intersection angle calculated by the route management unit 60, the automatic travel control unit 511 selects an appropriate automatic control program. A configuration for reading may be adopted.

[Route selection rules]
The route element selection unit 63 selects a work plan received from the management center KS, a travel pattern (for example, a reciprocating travel pattern or a spiral travel pattern) artificially input from the communication terminal 4, the own vehicle position, and a work state evaluation. The driving route elements are sequentially selected based on the state information output from the unit 55 . That is, unlike the case where the entire travel route is formed based only on the set travel pattern, a suitable travel route corresponding to a situation that cannot be predicted before work is formed. In addition to the basic rules described above, route selection rules A1 to A11 such as those described below can be registered in advance in the route element selection unit 63, and a suitable route can be selected according to driving patterns and state information. Rules apply.

(A1) When a shift from automatic driving to manual driving is requested by an operator (passenger), the selection of driving route elements by the route element selection unit 63 is stopped after preparation for manual driving is completed. . Such operations include operation of the automatic/manual switching operation tool 83, operation of the braking operation tool (especially, sudden stop operation), operation of a steering operation tool (such as a steering lever) above a predetermined steering angle, and the like. Furthermore, the driving system detection sensor group 81 includes sensors for detecting the absence of a supervisor who is required to board during automatic driving, for example, a seating detection sensor provided on a seat and a seat belt wearing detection sensor. If so, the automatic cruise control can be stopped based on the signal from this sensor. That is, when the absence of the monitor is detected, the automatic travel control is stopped, or the travel of the harvester 1 itself is stopped. In addition, a configuration may be adopted in which only fine adjustment of the traveling direction is performed without stopping the automatic traveling control when the steering operation tool is operated to a minute steering angle that is smaller than a predetermined steering angle.

(A2) The automatic driving control unit 511 monitors the relationship (distance) between the outline line position of the field and the position of the vehicle based on the positioning data, and avoids contact between the ridge and the machine when turning in the outer peripheral area SA. to control automatic driving. Specifically, the automatic driving is stopped to stop the harvester 1, the mode of turn driving is changed (from normal U-turn driving to switchback turn driving or α-turn driving), or the vehicle does not pass through that area. and set the driving route. Also, "The turning area is narrow. Please be careful. or the like.

(A3) When the amount of harvested material stored in the harvested material tank 14 is full or nearly full, and it is necessary to discharge the harvested material, the work state evaluation unit 55 sends the path element selection unit 63 as one of the state information: A discharge request (a kind of request to leave the work travel in the work target area CA) is issued. In this case, based on the parking position and the own vehicle position for performing the discharge work to the transport vehicle CV at the edge of the ridge, the vehicle departs from the work traveling in the work target area CA, travels in the outer peripheral area SA, and travels to the parking position. An appropriate travel route element (for example, a travel route element that is the shortest route) heading to the outer peripheral area SA is given the attribute value of the departure route among the travel route element group set in the outer peripheral area SA, and the work target area CA is selected from the traveling route element group set to

(A4) A refueling request (a kind of detachment request) is issued when the imminence of running out of fuel is evaluated based on the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank calculated from the signal from the fuel remaining amount sensor. In this case as well, similar to (A3), based on the preset fuel replenishment position, that is, the parking position and the own vehicle position, an appropriate travel route element (for example, the shortest route travel route) to the refueling position is determined. path element) is selected.

(A5) When leaving the work travel in the work target area CA and entering the outer peripheral area SA, it is necessary to return to the work target area CA again. As the travel route element that serves as the starting point for returning to the work target area CA, the travel route element closest to the departure point or the travel route element closest to the current position in the outer peripheral area SA is set in the outer peripheral area SA. The route element group is selected from those to which the attribute value of the return route is given and the route element group set in the work area CA.

(A6) When determining a travel route to return to the work area CA after leaving the work area CA to discharge crops or refuel, As a result, the travel route element to which the travel prohibited attribute is given is revived as a travelable travel route element. If the time can be reduced by a predetermined amount or more by selecting an already-worked travel route element, the travel route element is selected. Further, it is also possible to use reverse traveling in the work target area CA when leaving the work target area CA.

(A7) The timing of leaving the work area CA to discharge crops or replenish fuel is determined based on the margin and the travel time or distance to the parking position. In this case, the margin is the predicted running time or distance from the current storage amount in the harvested material tank 14 until the harvested material tank 14 is full in the case of harvested material discharge. In the case of refueling, it is the estimated driving time or distance from the current amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank until it runs out of fuel completely. For example, when passing near the parking position for discharge during automatic driving, the parking position is passed by based on the margin and the time required for the discharge work, etc., and after it is full, it leaves and returns to the parking position. A decision is made as to which is the most efficient travel (total work time is short or total travel distance is short) between the case of coming and the case of discharging while passing near the parking position. If the emptying operation is performed when the amount is too small, the number of emptyings increases as a whole, which is not efficient.

(A8) FIG. 18 shows a case where the travel path element selected in the work travel resumed after leaving the work target area CA is not a continuation of the work travel before leaving. In this case, a reciprocating travel pattern as shown in FIGS. 3 and 12 is preset. In FIG. 18, the parking position is indicated by PP, and as a comparative example, the dotted line indicates the travel route in the case where the work target area CA is smoothly traveled back and forth with a 180° U-turn travel. It is shown. The actual travel locus is indicated by a thick solid line. As work travel progresses, a linear travel route element and a U-turn travel route are sequentially selected (step #01).

In the course of work travel (step #02), when a request to leave is generated, a travel route from the work target area CA to the outer peripheral area SA is calculated. At this point, a route that goes straight along the current traveling route element and exits to the outer peripheral area SA, and a route that turns 90° from the currently traveling traveling route element A conceivable route is a route that passes through the aggregate portion of the travel route elements) and exits to the outer peripheral area SA where the parking position exists. Here, the latter route with a shorter travel distance is selected (step #03). In the latter detachment travel, the detachment travel route element in the work target area CA after the 90° turn is used by translating the travel route element set in the outer peripheral area SA to the detachment point. However, the former route is selected if the leaving request is made with time to spare. In the former detachment traveling, the harvesting work is continued during the detachment traveling in the work target area CA, which is advantageous in terms of work efficiency.

When the harvester 1 leaves the working area CA and travels through the working area CA and the outer peripheral area SA and arrives at the parking position, it receives support from the work support vehicle. In this example, the harvested material stored in the harvested material tank 14 is discharged to the transport vehicle CV.

When the discharge of the harvested material is completed, it is necessary to return to the point where the detachment request was generated in order to return to work travel. In the example of FIG. 18, since an unworked portion remains in the travel route element that was traveled when the leaving request was issued, the vehicle returns to the travel route element. Therefore, the harvester 1 selects a travel path element of the outer peripheral area SA from the parking position, travels counterclockwise, and when it reaches the end point of the target travel path element, turns 90° there and makes a 90° turn on the travel path element. Enter the element and perform a work run. After passing the point where the detachment request is generated, the harvester 1 travels without work, passes through the U-turn travel route, and travels the next travel route element for work (step #04). Thereafter, the harvester 1 continues to travel back and forth to complete the work travel in the work target area CA (step #05).

(A9) If the input work area data includes the position of a traveling obstacle in the field, or if the harvester 1 is equipped with an obstacle position detection device, the position of the obstacle and the own vehicle Based on the position, a travel path element is selected for obstacle avoidance travel. As selection rules for this obstacle avoidance purpose, there is a rule to select a travel route element that takes a detour route that is as close to an obstacle as possible, or a rule to select a travel route element that takes a detour route that is as close as possible to an obstacle, or a rule that there is no obstacle when entering the work target area CA after once exiting the outer peripheral area SA. There are rules for selecting travel path elements that can be routed.

(A10) When the spiral traveling pattern as shown in FIGS. 4 and 11 is set, when the length of the traveling route element to be selected becomes shorter, the spiral traveling pattern is automatically switched to the round-trip traveling pattern. be done. This is because when the area is narrowed, eddy running including α-turn running in which the vehicle moves forward and backward tends to be inefficient.

(A11) When traveling in customary travel, if the number of unworked (untraveled) travel route elements in the travel route element group in the unworked area, that is, the work target area CA is equal to or less than a predetermined value, It can automatically switch from driving to automatic driving. In addition, when the harvester 1 is working in the work target area CA covered by the mesh line group by spiral traveling from the outside to the inside, the area of the remaining unworked land is reduced, and the unworked traveling route When the number of elements becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, the spiral running is switched to the reciprocating running. In this case, as described above, in order to avoid unnecessary travel, the traveling route element having the attribute of the intermediate straight route is translated from the outer peripheral area SA to the vicinity of the unworked area of the work area CA.

(A12) In fields such as rice cultivation and wheat cultivation, the efficiency of the harvesting work can be improved by running the harvester 1 in parallel with rows (ridges) in which seedlings are planted. Therefore, in the selection of the travel route element by the route element selection unit 63, the travel route element parallel to the row is more likely to be selected. However, if the aircraft is not in a position or position parallel to the row direction at the start of work travel, even if it is traveling along a direction that intersects the row direction, it will be necessary to travel in order to make it parallel to the row direction. Configure to work. As a result, wasteful travel (non-work travel) can be reduced as much as possible, and work can be completed quickly.

[Coordinated driving control]
Next, work traveling by the automatic working vehicle traveling system in which a plurality of working vehicles are loaded will be described. Here, for ease of understanding, work traveling (automatic traveling) by two harvesters 1 will be described. FIG. 19 shows how the first work vehicle functioning as the master harvester 1m and the second work vehicle functioning as the slave harvester 1s work in cooperation with each other in one field. In order to distinguish between the two harvesters 1, they are given the names master harvester 1m and slave harvester 1s, respectively. called. A supervisor is on board the master harvester 1m, and the supervisor operates the communication terminal 4 brought into the master harvester 1m. Although the terms master and slave are used for convenience, they do not imply a strict master-slave relationship. Data communication is possible between the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s via the respective communication processing units 70, and status information corresponding to the work running status is exchanged. The communication terminal 4 not only gives the master harvester 1m instructions from the supervisor and data on the travel route, but also sends instructions from the supervisor to the slave harvester 1s via the communication terminal 4 and the master harvester 1m. Data about the driving route can be given. For example, the state information output from the work state evaluation unit 55 of the slave harvester 1s is also transferred to the master harvester 1m, and the state information output from the work state evaluation unit 55 of the master harvester 1m is transferred to the slave harvester 1s. are also transferred. Therefore, both route element selection units 63 have the function of selecting the next travel route element in consideration of the state information of both sides and the vehicle positions of both sides. When the communication terminal 4 is provided with the route management unit 60 and the route element selection unit 63, both of the harvesters 1 give the state information to the communication terminal 4, and the next traveling route element selected there. will receive

As in FIG. 7, FIG. 20 shows a work area CA covered by a mesh line group composed of mesh lines divided by the work width. Here, the master harvester 1m enters the traveling route element L11 near the lower right vertex of the deformed quadrangle indicating the work area CA, turns left at the intersection of the traveling route element L11 and the traveling route element L21, and turns to the traveling route element. Enter L21. Further, at the intersection of the travel route element L21 and the travel route element L32, the vehicle turns left and enters the travel route element L32. In this manner, the master harvester 1m travels in a left-hand spiral. On the other hand, the slave harvester 1s enters the traveling route element L31 near the upper left vertex of the work area CA, turns left at the intersection of the traveling route element L31 and the traveling route element L41, and enters the traveling route element L41. . Further, at the intersection of the travel route element L41 and the travel route element L12, the vehicle turns left and enters the travel route element L12. In this manner, the slave harvester 1s performs left-hand spiral traveling. As is clear from FIG. 20, coordinated control is performed such that the travel trajectory of the slave harvester 1s is inserted between the travel trajectories of the master harvester 1m. The slave harvester 1s spirals with an interval equal to the sum of its own working width and the working width of the master harvester 1m. . The travel locus of the master harvester 1m and the travel locus of the slave harvester 1s create a double spiral.

Since the work target area CA is defined by the outer peripheral area SA formed by the outer peripheral area SA, the peripheral area SA is first formed by the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s. must be done by either This circular travel can also be carried out under cooperative control between the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s.

The running locus shown in FIG. 20 is theoretical. Actually, the travel locus of the master harvester 1m and the travel route of the slave harvester 1s are corrected in accordance with the state information (including the other vehicle positional relationship and the estimated contact position) output from the work state evaluation unit 55. , its running trajectory also does not become a perfect double vortex. An example of such corrective travel is described below with the aid of FIG. In FIG. 21, on the outside (ridge) of the farm field, a transport vehicle CV that transports harvested crops harvested by the harvester 1 is parked at a position corresponding to the center outside of the first side S1. A parking position where the harvester 1 is parked for discharging the harvested material to the transport vehicle CV is set at a position adjacent to the transport vehicle CV in the outer peripheral area SA. FIG. 21 shows that the slave harvester 1 s departs from the travel route element in the work target area CA in the middle of the work travel, travels around the outer peripheral area SA, discharges the harvested material to the transport vehicle CV, and then returns to the outer peripheral area. It shows how the vehicle circulates around the area SA and returns to the traveling route element in the work area CA.

First, when a detachment request (discharge of harvested material) is generated, the route element selection unit 63 of the slave harvester 1s determines the attribute A travel route element having a ground and a travel route element that becomes a departure source to the travel route element with the departure route attribute are selected. In this embodiment, the traveling route element set in the area where the parking position is set in the outer peripheral area SA and the currently traveling traveling route element L41 are selected, and the traveling route element L41 and the traveling route element The intersection with L12 is the departure point. The slave harvester 1s that has advanced to the outer peripheral area SA travels to the parking position along the traveling path element (departure path) of the outer peripheral area SA, and discharges the harvested material to the transport vehicle CV at the parking position.

The master harvester 1m continues to travel in the work area CA even while the slave harvester 1s leaves the work area CA to discharge the harvested material. However, the slave harvester 1s was supposed to select the traveling route element L13 at the intersection of the traveling route element L42 and the traveling route element L13 while traveling along the traveling route element L42. However, since the traveling of the traveling route element L12 is canceled due to the withdrawal of the slave harvester 1s, the traveling route element L12 is an unmowed land (not traveling). Therefore, the route element selector 63 of the master harvester 1m selects the route element L12 instead of the route element L13. That is, the master harvester 1m travels to the intersection of the travel route element L42 and the travel route element L12, turns left there, and travels along the travel route element L12.

When the slave harvester 1s finishes discharging the harvested material, the route element selection unit 63 of the slave harvester 1s selects the current position and automatic traveling speed of the slave harvester 1s and the attributes of the traveling route elements in the work target area CA (non-traveling /already traveled), the current position of the master harvester 1m and the automatic travel speed, etc., the travel path element to be returned to is selected. In this embodiment, the travel route element L43, which is the outermost unworked travel route element, is selected. From the parking position, the slave harvester 1s travels in the outer peripheral area SA counterclockwise along the traveling route element having the return route attribute, and enters the traveling route element L43 from the left end of the traveling route element L43. When the route element selector 63 of the slave harvester 1s selects the travel route element L43, the information is sent to the master harvester 1m as status information. Assuming that the route element selection unit 63 of the master harvester 1m has selected the route up to the route element L33, it selects the route element L44 adjacent to the inside of the route element L43 as the next route element. At that time, the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 calculates the distance between the master harvester 1m and the master harvester 1m near the intersection of the travel route element L33 and the travel route element L44 on which the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s are traveling (selected). is in contact with the slave harvester 1s. As a result, the other vehicle positional relationship calculator 56 calculates the vicinity of the intersection as the estimated contact position. Therefore, the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 calculates the difference in passage time near the intersection between the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s at the intersection, and the difference in passage time is equal to or less than a predetermined value (the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s). 1s), the automatic travel control unit 511 is instructed to temporarily stop the harvester 1 (here, the master harvester 1m) with the later passing time to avoid a collision. After the slave harvester 1s passes through the intersection, the master harvester 1m resumes automatic travel. In this manner, the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s mutually exchange information such as the vehicle position and the selected travel route elements, so collision avoidance action and delay avoidance action can be executed.

Such collision avoidance behavior and delay avoidance behavior are also executed during reciprocating travel, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 . In FIGS. 22 and 23, the group of parallel lines made up of lines parallel to each other is indicated by L01, L02, . is an unworked travel route element. In FIG. 22, the master harvester 1m is traveling in the outer peripheral area SA to head to the parking position indicated by the two-dot chain line. In order to avoid contact with the master harvester 1m, the slave harvester 1s temporarily stops at the lower end of the work area CA, more specifically at the lower end of the travel route element L04, as a collision avoidance action. In FIG. 23, the master harvester 1m that has crossed in front of the slave harvester 1s is stopped at the parking position. Therefore, when the slave harvester 1s enters the outer peripheral area SA to shift from the travel route element L04 to the travel route element L07 by U-turn travel, it collides with the master harvester 1m. When the master harvester 1m is parked at the parking position, it becomes impossible to enter or leave the work area CA using the travel route elements L05, L06, and L07. L06 and L07 are temporarily prohibited from traveling (selection prohibited). When the master harvester 1m finishes the discharge operation and moves from the parking position, the route element selection unit 63 of the slave harvester 1s considers the travel route of the master harvester 1m, and selects the travel route elements from L05 to L10 as follows. A travel path element to be transferred is selected, and the slave harvester 1s resumes automatic travel.

Further, it is possible for the slave harvester 1s to continue its work while the master harvester 1m is performing discharge work or the like at the parking position. An example is shown in FIG. In this case, the route element selection unit 63 of the slave harvester 1s normally selects the traveling route element L07 three lanes ahead with the traveling route element priority of "1" as the destination traveling route element. However, the traveling route element L07 is prohibited from traveling, as in the example of FIG. Therefore, the travel route element L08 with the next highest priority is selected. As the movement route from the travel route element L04 to the travel route element L08, there is a route (indicated by a solid line in FIG. 23) that goes backward from the current travel route element L04 that has already traveled, or the lower end of the travel route element L04. A plurality of routes are calculated, such as a route (indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 23) that advances clockwise from the outer circumference area SA, and the most efficient route, for example, the shortest route (in this form, the solid line route) is selected.

As described above, even when a plurality of harvesters 1 cooperate to work in one field, each route element selector 63 receives a work plan received from the management center KS or a manual input from the communication terminal 4. Based on a running pattern (for example, a reciprocating running pattern or a spiral running pattern) that is dynamically input, the position of the vehicle, state information output from each work state evaluation unit 55, and selection rules that have been registered in advance. to sequentially select travel route elements. Listed below are selection rules (B1) to (B10), which are rules other than the above-described rules (A1) to (A12), and which are specific to the case where a plurality of harvesters 1 travel in cooperation for work.

(B1) A plurality of harvesters 1 that work cooperatively travel automatically in the same travel pattern. For example, if one harvester 1 is set with a reciprocating travel pattern, the other harvester 1 is also set with a reciprocating travel pattern.

(B2) When the spiral traveling pattern is set, when one harvester 1 leaves the work travel in the work target area CA and enters the outer peripheral area SA, the other harvester 1 travels further outside. Select a path element. As a result, instead of leaving the scheduled travel route of the separated harvester 1, the travel route element along which the separated harvester 1 is scheduled to travel is prefetched.

(B3) When the spiral traveling pattern is set, when the separated harvester 1 returns to work traveling in the work target area CA, it is far from the harvester 1 that is traveling for work and is not working. Select a driving path element with attributes.

(B4) When the spiral traveling pattern is set, if the length of the traveling path element to be selected becomes short, only one harvester 1 performs work traveling, and the remaining harvesters 1 travel for work. depart from

(B5) When the spiral traveling pattern is set, in order to avoid the risk of collision, the plurality of harvesters 1 are arranged from a group of traveling route elements parallel to the sides of the polygon representing the outline of the work area CA. Forbids selecting elements at the same time.

(B6) When a reciprocating travel pattern is set, when one of the harvesters 1 is traveling in a U-turn, the other harvesters 1 are in the area where the U-turn is being traveled in the outer peripheral area SA. Automatic driving control is performed so as not to enter the

(B7) When a reciprocating travel pattern is set, as the next travel route element, at least two or more of the travel route element on which the other harvester 1 is scheduled to travel next or the travel route element on which the other harvester 1 is currently traveling. A travel route element at the position where the travel route element was skipped is selected.

(B8) Determining the timing of leaving the work travel in the work target area CA for harvesting and refueling, and selecting travel route elements are not only based on the margin and the travel time to the parking position, This is done on condition that a plurality of harvesters 1 do not leave at the same time.

(B9) When customary traveling is set in the master harvester 1m, the slave harvester 1s automatically travels following the master harvester 1m.

(B10) When the capacity of the harvested product tank 14 of the master harvester 1m and the capacity of the harvested product tank 14 of the slave harvester 1s are different, if a discharge request is issued at the same time or almost at the same time, the harvester 1 with the smaller capacity Do the discharge work first. The discharge waiting time (non-working time) of the harvester 1 that cannot discharge is shortened, and the harvesting work in the field can be finished as soon as possible.

Furthermore, in this work vehicle automatic traveling system, when the work area CA is large, the work area CA is divided into a plurality of sections, and control based on the rule that at least one harvester 1 travels in each section for work is also performed. done. The work of dividing the work target area CA into a plurality of sections and traveling for work is called an intermediate division work, and the divided area divided into a plurality of sections with a predetermined width is called an intermediate division area. In the division work in this system, the area setting unit 44 sets the work area CA as a plurality of partitions obtained by dividing the area CA into a plurality of partitions. The route management unit 60 divides each section divided by the intermediate area into a traveling route element group, which is an aggregate of a large number of traveling route elements constituting a traveling route covering the section, and an outer peripheral area SA and the intermediate area. A circuit path element group, which is a collection of circuit path elements that form a circuit path, is managed in a readable manner. Therefore, the route element selection unit 63 selects the route element selection unit 63 based on the position of the own vehicle and the traveling conditions of the other vehicles so that each section can be traveled by one or a plurality of harvesters 1 for work. The next traveling route element or next circuit route element is selected from the traveling route element group or the circuit route element group. Furthermore, the other vehicle positional relationship calculated by the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 includes a first positional relationship that maintains the first distance or more between the work vehicles that can avoid contact between the harvesters 1, and and a second positional relationship that maintains a second distance or less between the work vehicles so that the work traveling state of the work can be visually recognized. As a result, it is possible not only to avoid contact between the harvesters 1 but also to prevent the other harvester 1 from coming out of the range visible to the observer on board the harvester 1.例文帳に追加

Hereinafter, the work mode of the harvester 1 in the splitting work will be described with reference to FIGS. 24 and 25. FIG. FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing the middle of the process of dividing the work area CA into two sections CA1 and CA2 by forming a band-shaped middle division area CC in the center of the work area CA. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing the state after the in-betweening process is completed. In this embodiment, the master harvester 1m forms the middle division area CC. While the master harvester 1m is in-betweening, the slave harvester 1s performs work travel in section CA2, for example, in a reciprocating travel pattern. Prior to this work travel, a travel route element group for section CA2 is generated. At that time, selection of travel path elements corresponding to one work width on the side of the division area CC of section CA2 is prohibited until the division process is completed, and contact between the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s is prohibited. To avoid.

When the middle division process is completed, the master harvester 1m is controlled to travel like a single operation using the travel path element group calculated for section CA1, and the slave harvester 1s is calculated for section CA2. Using the travel route element group, the travel is controlled like the independent work travel. When one of the harvesters 1 completes the work first, it enters the section where the work remains, and cooperative control between the harvester 1 and the other harvesters 1 is started. The harvester 1 that has completed the work in the assigned section automatically travels toward the assigned section of the other harvester 1 in order to support the work of the other harvester 1. - 特許庁

If the scale of the field is even larger, the field is divided into grids as shown in FIG. This middle division can be performed by the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s. Work by the master harvester 1m and work by the slave harvester 1s are divided into divisions formed by grid-like inlays, and work traveling by a single harvester 1 is carried out in each division. However, the travel path element is selected under the condition that the distance between the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s does not exceed a predetermined value. This is because if the slave harvester 1s is too far away from the master harvester 1m, it becomes difficult for the observer on board the master harvester 1m to monitor the work travel of the slave harvester 1s and to communicate status information with each other. It's for. In the case of the form shown in FIG. 26, the harvester 1 that has completed the work in the section it is in charge of is directed to the section in charge of the other harvester 1 in order to support the work of the other harvester 1. It may be automatically driven, or may be automatically driven so as to head to the next section in charge of the own vehicle.

The parking position of the transport vehicle CV and the parking position of the refueling vehicle are outside the outer peripheral area SA. Running time is wasted. Therefore, when traveling to and from the parking position, traveling route elements and circular route elements are selected so as to perform work traveling in sections that serve as paths.

[Regarding fine adjustment of parameters such as work equipment group during cooperative automatic driving]
When the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s work cooperatively, a supervisor is usually on board the master harvester 1m. 4, it is possible to finely adjust the parameter values for the vehicle traveling equipment group 71 and the working device equipment group 72 in the automatic traveling control. In order to realize the parameter values for the vehicle traveling device group 71 and the working device device group 72 of the master harvester 1m also in the slave harvester 1s, as shown in FIG. can be adjusted. However, there is no problem even if the communication terminal 4 is also provided in the slave harvester 1s. This is because the slave harvester 1s may also be used as the master harvester 1m in cases where it runs independently and automatically.

A parameter acquisition unit 45 and a parameter adjustment command generation unit 46 are constructed in the communication terminal 4 shown in FIG. The parameter acquisition unit 45 acquires device parameters set in the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s. As a result, the setting values of the device parameters of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s can be displayed on the display panel section of the touch panel 41 of the communication terminal 4. FIG. A supervisor on board the master harvester 1m inputs, via the touch panel 41, the device parameter adjustment amounts for adjusting the device parameters of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s. The parameter adjustment command generation unit 46 generates a parameter adjustment command for adjusting the corresponding device parameter based on the input device parameter adjustment amount, and transmits the parameter adjustment command to the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s. As communication interfaces for such communication, the control units 5 of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s are provided with communication processing units 70, and the communication terminals 4 are provided with communication control units 40. . The adjustment of the device parameters of the master harvester 1m may be directly performed by the supervisor using various operating tools equipped on the master harvester 1m. The equipment parameters are divided into traveling equipment parameters and working equipment parameters. The traveling equipment parameters include vehicle speed and engine speed, and the working equipment parameters include the height of the harvesting section 15 and the height of the reel 17. is

As described above, the other vehicle positional relationship calculator 56 has a function of calculating the current position and actual vehicle speed of the harvester 1 based on the positioning data obtained by the satellite positioning module 80 . In cooperative automated driving, this function is used to compare the actual vehicle speed based on the positioning data of the preceding harvester 1 in the same direction with the actual vehicle speed based on the positioning data of the following harvester 1. If there is a difference in vehicle speed, , the vehicle speed is adjusted so that the vehicle speed of the succeeding harvester 1 becomes the vehicle speed of the preceding harvester 1 . As a result, abnormal approach and contact due to the difference in vehicle speed between the preceding harvester 1 and the succeeding harvester 1 can be avoided.

The communication processing unit 70 of the harvester 1 and the communication control unit 40 of the communication terminal 4 can be provided with a communication call function for making calls and sending mails with registered mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones. In the case where such a communication call function is provided, when the amount of stored harvested material exceeds a predetermined amount, a call (artificial voice) or mail is sent. Similarly, when the remaining amount of fuel falls below a predetermined amount, a call (artificial voice) or e-mail is sent to the driver of the refueling vehicle requesting refueling.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the explanation of automatic driving is based on the premise that sufficient space is secured for both U-turn driving in round trip driving and α-turn driving in eddy driving by lap driving in advance. Did. However, in general, the space required for U-turn travel is larger than the space required for α-turn travel, and it is possible that the space required for U-turn travel is not sufficient in advance lap travel. For example, as shown in FIG. 28, when one harvester 1 is working, there is a risk that a divider or the like may come into contact with a ridge and break the ridge when making a U-turn. Therefore, when the reciprocating travel pattern is set as the travel pattern, when the work travel is started, at least the outermost circumference of the work area CA is automatically traveled for the work, and the outer circumference area SA is expanded to the inner circumference side. . As a result, even if the width of the outer peripheral area SA formed by the previous round running is insufficient for the U-turn, the U-turn can be made without any problem thereafter. Also, when the harvester 1 is parked at a specified parking position for the purpose of discharging the harvested material to a work support vehicle parked around the field, the harvester 1 is parked at the parking position for efficient work. It is necessary to stop the vehicle accurately to some extent and in a posture (orientation) suitable for support work. This is the same regardless of whether it is automatic driving or manual driving. If, as shown in FIG. 28, the surrounding area PP including the parking position faces the U-turn path group, the outer circumference line on the side where the U-turn is made among the outer circumference lines of the work target area CA is reciprocated. does not fluctuate, if the outer peripheral area SA is narrow, the harvester 1 may enter the work target area CA, which is an unworked area, and damage crops or may come into contact with the ridge and break the ridge. have a nature. For this reason, it is preferable to perform an additional round trip (additional round trip) before starting the traveling work in the work target area CA by reciprocating travel. Such additional lap running may be performed according to the supervisor's instruction, or may be performed automatically. In addition, as described above, the pre-circling driving for creating the outer peripheral area SA is normally performed in a spiral shape for a plurality of turns. The outermost circular travel route is complicated and differs from field to field, so artificial steering is employed. Subsequent laps are either automatically or manually steered.

The travel route for the additional round trip can be calculated based on the travel locus of the harvester 1 in the previous round trip, the outline data of the work area CA, and the like, so automatic steering is possible. An example of the flow of additional lap driving in automatic driving will be described below with reference to FIG. 28 .
<Step #01>
By running around in advance, the farm field is divided into an outer peripheral area SA where the harvesting work is finished and a work target area CA where the harvesting work is to be performed. After the previous round trip, as shown in step #01 of FIG. 28, the peripheral area PP and the U-turn path group UL are located in the same portion of the outer peripheral area SA. The width of the portion where the U-turn path group UL is set in the outer peripheral area SA is not expanded only by the round-trip travel. Therefore, in order to expand the width of this portion, the additional lap running shown in step #02 of FIG. 28 is executed automatically or based on the instruction of the supervisor.
<Step #02>
In this additional round trip, a plurality of round trip route elements that constitute a round trip route for a rectangle having opposing sides of a left end route element Ls and a right end route element Le, which are linear route elements for round trip travel. (thick line in FIG. 28) is calculated. Here, the looping route elements include the route element Ls, the route element Le, the route element connecting the upper ends of the route element Ls and the route element Le, the route element Ls and the route element and a traveling path element that connects the lower ends of Le. When the automatic traveling is started, the route element selection unit 63 selects a circuit traveling route element suitable for this additional circuit traveling route, and automatic traveling (work traveling in the circuit traveling) is executed.
<Step #03>
As indicated by step #03 in FIG. 28, this additional round trip enlarges the outer peripheral area SA and creates a new space of one or more working widths in the peripheral area of the parking position. Next, the area to be worked CA is reduced by the work width corresponding to the number of laps in the additional round trip, so that the leftmost traveling path element Ls and the rightmost traveling path element Le are reduced in the area to be worked CA. move inward as much as possible. Then, a work travel route based on a U-turn travel pattern is determined for a new work target area CA, which is a rectangle having opposite sides of the moved travel route element Ls and travel route element Le, and a new work target area CA is determined. Automatic work travel is started.

In step #01 of FIG. 28, the parking position may not face the U-turn travel route, and may, for example, face the leftmost travel route element Ls. In this case, round-trip travel is performed in which the travel route element Ls is selected first, and the area around the parking position is expanded, so the additional round-trip travel described above is no longer performed. Alternatively, only an additional round run of about one round may be performed.

Further, even when a plurality of harvesters 1 are cooperatively traveling for work, the above-described additional circular traveling may be automatically performed. In the case of cooperative work, if the traveling pattern is set to be a round trip and the parking position is set to face the U-turn traveling route, immediately after the start of the work traveling, the vehicle will be parked for multiple laps (about 3 to 4 laps). Additional laps run automatically. As a result, the work area CA is reduced, and a wide space is secured on the inner peripheral side of the parking position. Therefore, even if one harvester 1 is parked at the parking position, the other harvesters 1 can make a U-turn on the inner circumference side of the parking position or turn the inner circumference side of the parking position. can pass.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, when a reciprocating travel pattern is set, a parking position for working with a support vehicle such as a transport vehicle CV is set in an area where U-turn travel is performed in the outer peripheral area SA. In this case, the harvester 1 other than the harvester 1 that is stopped for the discharging work or the like stops and waits until the discharging work or the like is completed, or selects a travel route element that bypasses the parking position. It was configured to be However, in such a case, when automatic travel (work travel) is started in order to secure sufficient space for performing U-turn travel on the inner circumference side of the parking position, one or more vehicles The harvester 1 may be configured to automatically run around the outer periphery of the work area CA several times.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the working width of the master harvester 1m, which is the first working vehicle, and the slave harvesting machine 1s, which is the second working vehicle, are assumed to be the same. explained. Here, two examples will be given to explain how the traveling path elements are set and selected when the working width of the master harvester 1m and the working width of the slave harvester 1s are different. The working width of the master harvester 1m is defined as the first working width, and the working width of the slave harvester 1s is defined as the second working width. For ease of understanding, specifically, the first working width is "6" and the second working width is "4".

(3-1) FIG. 29 shows an example in which a reciprocating travel pattern is set. In this case, the route management unit 60 uses a reference width that is the greatest common divisor or approximate greatest common divisor of the first work width and the second work width, and is a collection of a large number of travel route elements that cover the work target area CA. Calculate a group of traveling route elements. Since the first working width is "6" and the second working width is "4", the reference width is "2". In FIG. 29, a number from 01 to 20 is attached to each travel route element as a route number in order to identify the travel route element.

It is assumed that the master harvester 1m starts from the travel route element with route number 17, and the slave harvester 1s starts from the travel route element with route number 12. As shown in FIG. 6, the route element selection unit 63 has a first route element selection unit 631 having a function of selecting the travel route element of the master harvester 1m and a function of selecting the travel route element of the slave harvester 1s. and a second path element selector 632 having the When the route element selection unit 63 is built in the control unit 5 of the master harvester 1m, the next travel route element selected by the second route element selection unit 632 is the communication processing unit 70 of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester. It is given to the route setting unit 64 of the slave harvester 1s via the communication processing unit 70 of the harvester 1s. It should be noted that the center of the working width or the center of the harvester 1 and the travel path element do not necessarily have to match, and if there is a deviation, automatic travel control is performed in consideration of the deviation.

As shown in FIG. 29, the first path element selection unit 631 selects an area of an integral multiple of the first working width or the second working width (either untraveled or already traveled), or a region of the first working width. The next travel route element is selected from the untraveled travel route element group so as to leave the total area of the integral multiple and the integer multiple of the second working width (either untraveled or already traveled). The selected next traveling route element is provided to the route setting section 64 of the master harvester 1m. Similarly, the second path element selection unit 632 selects an area that is an integral multiple of the first working width or the second working width (either untraveled or already traveled), or an integral multiple of the first working width and the second working width. The next travel route element is selected from the untraveled travel route element group so as to leave a total area (either untraveled or already traveled) with an integral multiple of .

In other words, after the master harvester 1m or the slave harvester 1s automatically travels along the next travel route element given by the first route element selection unit 631 or the second route element selection unit 632, the work target area CA is , a non-running area having a width that is an integral multiple of the first working width or the second working width. Eventually, however, an unworked area with a narrow width less than the second working width may remain, but such last remaining unworked area may be of the master harvester 1m or the slave harvester 1s. Work is run in either.

(3-2) FIG. 30 shows an example in which a spiral running pattern is set. In this case, a traveling route element group is set in the work target area CA by a group of vertical lines and a group of horizontal lines having a first work width in the vertical and horizontal directions. The traveling route elements belonging to the horizontal line group are given the symbols X1 to X9 as their route numbers, and the traveling route elements belonging to the vertical line group are given the symbols Y1 to Y9 as their route numbers. ing.

In FIG. 30, a spiral traveling pattern is set such that the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s draw a counterclockwise double spiral line from the outside to the inside. It is assumed that the master harvester 1m starts from the travel route element with the route number Y1, and the slave harvester 1s starts from the travel route element with the route number X1. The path element selection section 63 is also divided into a first path element selection section 631 and a second path element selection section 632 in this case as well.

As shown in FIG. 30, the master harvester 1m first travels along the travel route element with the route number Y1 first selected by the first route element selector 631. As shown in FIG. However, since the travel path element group shown in FIG. 30 is initially calculated with the first working width as the interval, for the slave harvester 1s having the second working width narrower than the first working width, the second The travel path element with the path number X1 first selected by the path element selection unit 632 has its position coordinates corrected to compensate for the difference between the first working width and the second working width. That is, the traveling route element of the route number X1 is corrected to the outside by 0.5 times the difference between the first working width and the second working width (this difference is hereinafter referred to as the width difference) (Fig. 30). , #01). Similarly, the route numbers Y2, X8, and Y8, which are the next travel route elements selected as the slave harvester 1s travels, are also corrected (#02, #03, and #04 in FIG. 30). The master harvester 1m travels the traveling route elements of the route numbers X9 and Y9 from the route number Y1 as originally set (#03 and #04 in FIG. 30), but the traveling route element of the route number X2 selected next. Since the slave harvester 1s runs on the outside of , the position is corrected by the width difference (#04 in FIG. 30). When the travel route element with the route number X3 is selected for the slave harvester 1s, the slave harvester 1s has already traveled the travel route element with the route number X1 located outside the route number X3. , the position is corrected by 1.5 times the width difference (#05 in FIG. 30). In this way, after that, the difference between the first working width and the second working width is calculated according to the number of traveling route elements on which the slave harvester 1s has traveled outside the selected traveling route element. Positional correction of the selected travel route element is performed (#06 in FIG. 30). The position correction of the travel route element is performed by the route management section 60 here, but can also be performed by the first route element selection section 631 and the second route element selection section 632 .

In the running example using FIGS. 29 and 30, it is assumed that the first path element selection section 631 and the second path element selection section 632 are built in the control unit 5 of the master harvester 1m. However, it is also possible for the second path element selector 632 to be built in the slave harvester 1s. At that time, the slave harvester 1s receives data indicating the travel route element group, and the first route element selection unit 631 and the second route element selection unit 632 exchange the selected travel route elements, , and make the necessary position coordinate corrections. Further, the route management unit 60, the first route element selection unit 631, and the second route element selection unit 632 are all constructed in the communication terminal 4, and the selected driving route elements are sent from the communication terminal 4 to the route setting unit 64. Configurations are also possible.

(4) The control function block described with reference to FIG. 6 in the above embodiment is merely an example, and it is also possible to further divide each function unit or integrate a plurality of function units. In addition, although the functional units are allocated to the control unit 5, the communication terminal 4, and the management computer 100 as the upper controller, this allocation of the functional units is also an example, and each functional unit can be assigned to any upper controller. Distribution is also possible. If upper controllers are connected to each other so that data can be exchanged, they can be distributed to different upper controllers. For example, it is possible to construct all the functions of the communication terminal 4 in the master harvester 1m. Moreover, in the control function block diagram shown in FIG. In this case, each harvester 1 sends to the communication terminal 4 information such as the current position of each harvester 1 and the currently running (selected) travel route element. Conversely, the other vehicle positional relationship calculated by the other vehicle positional relationship calculating unit 56 is sent to the working state evaluation unit 55 of each work vehicle 1 . Furthermore, in the control function block diagram shown in FIG. 6, a work place data input unit 42, an outline data generation unit 43, and an area setting unit 44 are built in the communication terminal 4 as the first travel route management module CM1. . Further, a route management section 60, a route element selection section 63, and a route setting section 64 are built in the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 as a second travel route management module CM2. Alternatively, the route management unit 60 may be included in the first travel route management module CM1. Also, the outline data generator 43 and the area setting unit 44 may be included in the second travel route management module CM2. All of the first travel route management module CM1 may be constructed in the control unit 5, and all of the second travel route management module CM2 may be constructed in the communication terminal 4. It is convenient to construct as many control function units as possible for managing the travel route in the communication terminal 4 that can be taken out, since the degree of freedom in maintenance and the like is increased. This allocation of functional units is limited by the processing capabilities of the communication terminal 4 and the control unit 5 and the communication speed between the communication terminal 4 and the control unit 5 .

(5) The travel route calculated and set according to the present invention is used as the target travel route for automatic travel, but can also be used as the target travel route for manual travel. In other words, the present invention can be applied not only to automatic driving but also to manual driving, and of course, it is possible to operate the automatic driving and manual driving in a mixed manner.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the field information sent from the management center KS originally includes a topographical map of the surroundings of the field, and the external shape and dimensions of the field can be determined by traveling along the boundaries of the field. An example of improving the accuracy of However, the field information does not include a topographical map of the surrounding area of the field, or at least the topographical map of the field, and may be configured so that the outer shape and outer dimensions of the field are calculated only after running around. In addition, the contents of the field information and work plan sent from the management center KS and the items input through the communication terminal 4 are not limited to those described above, and can be changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. is.

(7) In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a strip path element calculation unit 602 is provided separately from the mesh path element calculation unit 601. The strip path element calculation unit 602 calculates the work target area An example in which a traveling route element group, which is a group of parallel lines covering CA, is calculated has been shown. However, the round-trip running may be realized by using the running route elements, which are mesh-like line groups calculated by the mesh route element calculating unit 601, without the strip route element calculating unit 602. FIG.

(8) In the above-described embodiment, the parameters of the vehicle traveling device group 71 and the working device device group 72 of the slave harvester 1s are changed based on the visual observation result of the observer while the cooperative travel control is being performed. I gave an example. However, it is configured so that the images (moving images and still images taken at regular intervals) captured by the cameras mounted on the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s are displayed on the monitor mounted on the master harvester 1m. However, an observer may view this video, judge the work status of the slave harvester 1s, and change the parameters of the vehicle traveling device group 71 and the working device device group 72 . Alternatively, the parameters of the slave harvester 1s may be changed in conjunction with the change of the parameters of the master harvester 1m.

(9) In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which a plurality of harvesters 1 that work in cooperation are configured to automatically travel in the same travel pattern, but may be configured to automatically travel in different travel patterns. is also possible.

(10) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which two harvesters 1 perform cooperative automatic driving has been shown, but three or more harvesters 1 can perform cooperative automatic driving with the same automatic work vehicle driving system and travel route management. It can be realized by the device.

In addition to the harvester 1, which is an ordinary combine harvester, the work vehicle automatic traveling system of the present invention can be used as a work vehicle, such as a self-feeding combine harvester or a corn harvester, as long as the work vehicle can travel while automatically working on a work site. The present invention can also be applied to other harvesting machines 1 such as harvesters, tractors equipped with working devices such as cultivating devices, paddy field working machines, and the like.

1: Harvester (work vehicle)
1m : Master harvester 1s : Slave harvester 4 : Communication terminal 5 : Control unit 41 : Touch panel 42 : Work place data input unit 43 : Outline data generation unit 44 : Area setting unit 50 : Communication processing unit 51 : Travel control unit 511 : Automatic driving control unit 512 : Manual driving control unit 52 : Work control unit 53 : Own vehicle position calculation unit 55 : Work state evaluation unit 56 : Other vehicle position relationship calculation unit 60 : Route management unit 63 : Route element selection unit 64 : Route setting unit 70 : Communication processing unit 80 : Satellite positioning module SA : Outer peripheral area CA : Work target area CC : Intermediate area

Claims (4)

A work vehicle automatic traveling system for a work vehicle ,
an area setting unit that sets a work area into an outer peripheral area and partitions obtained by dividing a work target area inside the outer peripheral area into a plurality of division areas;
an own vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the own vehicle position;
a route management unit that manages a travel route element group, which is an aggregate of a large number of travel route elements forming a travel route for the work vehicle to travel through the section;
a route element selection unit that selects the travel route element from the travel route element group and generates the travel route so that the work vehicle travels through the sections. The route management unit manages the travel route element group and a circuit route element group that is an aggregate of circuit route elements that constitute a circuit route that circles the outer peripheral area and the intermediate area,
2. The route element selection unit according to claim 1, wherein the route element selection unit selects a next travel route element or a next round route element to be traveled next from the group of travel route elements or the group of round route elements based on the vehicle position. work vehicle automatic driving system. an area setting unit that sets a work area into an outer peripheral area and partitions obtained by dividing a work target area inside the outer peripheral area into a plurality of division areas;
an own vehicle position calculation unit that calculates the own vehicle position;
a route management unit that manages a travel route element group that is an aggregate of a large number of travel route elements that constitute a travel route for traveling through the section;
a route element selection unit that selects the travel route element from the travel route element group to generate the travel route so as to travel through the sections. The route management unit manages the travel route element group and a circuit route element group that is an aggregate of circuit route elements that constitute a circuit route that circles the outer peripheral area and the intermediate area,
4. The route element selection unit according to claim 3, wherein the route element selection unit selects a next travel route element or a next circuit route element to be traveled next from the group of route elements or the group of circuit route elements based on the position of the vehicle. harvester.

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