JP7275014B2 - harvester - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to harvesters.

Patent Literature 1 describes a combine harvester provided with dividing rods. The weed dividing rod is configured to be changeable between a weed dividing work posture and a storage posture by manual operation via a lever provided in the operation section. The dividing rod protrudes from the side portion of the pretreatment part to divide the uncut grain culms in the weeding work posture, thereby suppressing the contact of the uncut grain culms with the machine body.

JP 2011-160691 A

In the combine disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the attitude of the dividing rod is changed by manual operation, if the operator forgets to operate the harvesting rod, there is a possibility that the harvesting run will be performed while the dividing rod is in the retracted posture. There is In recent years, a technique of automatically running a combine harvester to harvest crops in a field has begun to spread. In such automatic work, it is preferable to save labor by eliminating the manual operation of the operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a means for preventing the posture of a dividing rod from becoming inappropriate due to forgetting to operate it, and realizing labor saving in automatic running of a harvester.

A harvesting machine for achieving the above object is characterized by a harvesting machine that can automatically travel, and has a working posture that is provided on the lateral side of the machine body and extends outward in the horizontal direction of the machine body. A dividing rod that is configured to be able to change its attitude to a stored attitude positioned on the inside of the direction, a dividing rod control unit that automatically controls the attitude change of the dividing rod during automatic driving, and a position of the vehicle. A satellite positioning module that generates positioning data, a self-vehicle position calculator that calculates position coordinates of the harvester over time based on the positioning data, and a planted culm that is harvested while automatically traveling on a travel route. a harvest travel route for automatic harvest travel; a turn travel route for turn travel between the automatic harvest travel and the automatic harvest travel ; The rod control unit changes the posture of the weeding rod to the working posture in response to the fact that the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit coincide with the starting point of the harvesting travel route. and, in response to the fact that the position coordinates coincide with the starting point of the turn travel route, a control for changing the posture of the dividing rod to the retracted posture; and the position coordinate is changed to the working posture, and the position coordinate is matched with the starting point of the turn travel route, and the The point is to selectively perform control that does not change the attitude to the storage attitude .

According to the above characteristic configuration, since the weeding rod control unit puts the weeding rod in the working posture at the start of the automatic harvesting travel, the weeding rod can be placed in the appropriate working posture to execute the automatic harvesting travel. can be done. In addition, since the attitude of the weeding rod is automatically changed by the weeding rod control unit, manual operation by the operator is eliminated, and labor can be saved in automatic running of the harvester.
In addition, since the branching rod control unit puts the branching rod into the retracted posture at the start of the turn traveling, the turning can be performed in a state in which the branching rod is in the retracted posture and the outer dimensions of the vehicle body are reduced. contact with obstacles and the like can be suppressed. The attitude change of the dividing rod can be realized without manual operation by the operator, and the automatic traveling of the harvester can be labor-saving.

In the present invention, the weeding rod control unit moves the weeding rod to the above position in response to the fact that the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit coincide with the end point of the harvesting travel route. It is preferable to use the stored posture.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, the weeding rod control unit places the weeding rod in the retracted posture at the end of the automatic harvesting travel. It can be done in smaller dimensions. As a result, it is possible to suppress contact with obstacles or the like (for example, a water inlet structure or the like) in the field. The attitude change of the dividing rod can be realized without manual operation by the operator, and the automatic traveling of the harvester can be labor-saving.

In the present invention, the weeding rod control unit moves the weeding rod to the above-mentioned position in response to the fact that the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit coincide with the end point of the turn travel route. A working posture is preferred.

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, the dividing rod control unit puts the dividing rod into the working posture at the end of the turn travel. A harvest run can be performed. The attitude change of the dividing rod can be realized without manual operation by the operator, and the automatic traveling of the harvester can be labor-saving.

In the present invention, the weeding rod control unit puts the weeding rod into the storage posture at the start of the discharge travel that automatically travels to the discharge stop position when discharging the grain, and the path calculation is performed. The unit calculates a discharge travel route for the discharge travel, and the dividing rod control unit is configured so that the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit correspond to the discharge travel route. It is preferable to set the branching rod to the retracted posture in accordance with the coincidence with the start point .

According to the above-described characteristic configuration, the dividing rod control unit puts the dividing rod into the retracted posture at the start of the discharge running, so discharge driving is performed in a state in which the dividing rod is in the retracted posture and the vehicle body outer size is reduced. It is possible to suppress contact with obstacles or the like in the field. The attitude change of the dividing rod can be realized without manual operation by the operator, and the automatic traveling of the harvester can be labor-saving.

In the present invention, the dividing rod control unit puts the dividing rod into the working posture at the end of the return travel in which the vehicle automatically travels from the discharge stop position to the harvest restart position where the harvesting of planted grain culms is restarted. The route calculation unit calculates a return travel route for the return travel, and the dividing rod control unit calculates the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit. However, it is preferable that the dividing rod is brought into the working posture in response to coincidence with the end point of the return travel path .

According to the above characteristic configuration, the branching rod control unit puts the branching rod into the working posture at the end of the return travel, so that the harvesting of planted grain culms is restarted in the appropriate working posture of the branching rod. can do. The attitude change of the dividing rod can be realized without manual operation by the operator, and the automatic traveling of the harvester can be labor-saving.

It is a left view of a combine. It is a top view of a combine. It is a figure which shows the initial round driving|running|working in an agricultural field. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing automatic traveling with an α-turn lap traveling pattern; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing automatic travel in a U-turn circular travel pattern; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing discharge travel and return travel; 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control unit; FIG.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In the following description, the direction of arrow F is the "front side of the aircraft", the direction of arrow B is the "rear side of the aircraft", the direction of arrow L is the "left side of the aircraft", and the direction of arrow R is the "right side of the aircraft". The direction of arrow U is defined as "up", and the direction of arrow D is defined as "down".

[Overall configuration of combine harvester]
1 and 2 show a self-throwing combine as an example of a harvester. The combine 1 is provided with a machine body 10 and a crawler type travel device 11 . A harvesting section 12 for cutting and harvesting planted grain stalks in a field is provided in the front part of the machine body 10 .

A driving section 13 is provided behind the harvesting section 12 in the machine body 10 . The driving section 13 is located on the right side of the front portion of the airframe 10 . A conveying unit 14 that conveys the harvested material harvested by the harvesting unit 12 is provided on the left side of the operating unit 13 .

A threshing device 15 for threshing the harvested material conveyed by the conveying unit 14 is provided behind the conveying unit 14 . A waste straw processing device 16 for cutting the waste straw is provided at the rear of the threshing device 15 .

A grain tank 17 for storing grains obtained by the threshing device 15 is provided behind the driving unit 13 and to the right of the threshing device 15 . The grain tank 17 is provided with a storage amount sensor 17a (see FIG. 7) that detects the amount of grains stored in the grain tank 17 .

A discharging device 18 for discharging grains stored in the grain tank 17 to the outside is provided behind the grain tank 17 . The discharging device 18 is rotatable around a vertically extending rotatable axis.

A satellite positioning module 19 is provided in the left part of the front part of the driving unit 13 . The satellite positioning module 19 receives signals from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites and generates positioning data indicating the position of the combine 1's own vehicle based on the signals.

A branch rod 20 is provided on the lateral side of the fuselage 10 . The branch rod 20 has a working posture (dotted lines in FIGS. 1 and 2) projecting outward in the lateral direction of the fuselage (left side of the fuselage in this embodiment), and a laterally inner side of the fuselage (right side of the fuselage in this embodiment) than the working posture. 1 and 2 (solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 2). In this embodiment, the weeding bar 20 is supported on the left side of the harvesting section 12 . The harvesting unit 12 is provided with a weeding rod motor 20a (see FIG. 7) for changing the attitude of the weeding rod 20. As shown in FIG.

The combine harvester 1 is provided with a notification mechanism 21 (see FIG. 7) for notifying surrounding workers and operators that discharge traveling (described later) will be performed. The notification mechanism 21 is, for example, a work light, a siren, or a speaker provided in the operation unit 13, and the notification is performed by flashing of the work light, activation of the siren, voice guidance from the speaker, or the like. Note that the management terminal 22 (described later) may also serve as the notification mechanism 21 .

A management terminal 22 (see FIG. 7) is arranged in the operation section 13 . The management terminal 22 is configured to be able to display various information. The management terminal 22 may be configured to be capable of receiving input operations for various settings (setting of a discharge stop position PP, which will be described later, setting of a preferential travel pattern, etc.) relating to automatic travel of the combine harvester 1 .

The combine 1 is configured to be self-propelled by the travel device 11, and is configured to be able to travel by the travel device 11 for harvesting while the harvesting unit 12 reaps planted grain stalks in a field.

[Harvesting with a combine harvester]
Harvesting work in a field using the self-throwing combine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3-6. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, an example in which the outer shape of the field is rectangular will be described. A transport vehicle CV for transporting grains discharged from the combine harvester 1 is parked outside the field, and a discharge stop position PP (see FIGS. 4 to 6) is set in the vicinity of the transport vehicle CV in the field. be.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, harvesting travel is performed so as to circle along the boundary line of the farm field in the outer peripheral region of the farm field (initial circular travel). The area that has already been worked by this initial round trip is set as the outer peripheral area SA (see FIG. 3), and the unworked area inside the outer peripheral area SA is set as the work target area CA (see FIG. 3).

The outer peripheral area SA is used as a space for the combine 1 to change direction (turn traveling described later) when harvesting planted grain culms in the work target area CA by automatic traveling. The outer peripheral area SA is also used as a space for moving to the discharge stop position PP and moving to a fuel supply location.

The initial round running is performed for about 2 to 4 rounds in order to ensure the width of the outer peripheral area SA to be wide to some extent. The initial lap run may be performed manually or may be performed automatically. The initial circular travel is performed so that one side (preferably two opposing sides) of the work area CA is parallel to the row direction. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the work area CA is rectangular and the two opposing short sides of the work area CA are parallel to the row direction.

After the initial circular running, the planted culms in the work target area CA are harvested by automatic running. In this automatic traveling, an automatic harvesting traveling for harvesting planted grain culms while automatically traveling on a harvest traveling route LI (an example of a traveling route) set in the work target area CA, one automatic harvesting traveling, and the next automatic harvesting traveling. The turn running performed between the automatic harvesting running is repeatedly performed. Turn driving is automatic driving on a turn driving path TN connecting two harvesting driving paths LI.

The above-described automatic harvesting travel and turn travel are performed along a predetermined travel pattern. Examples of running patterns include an α-turn running pattern shown in FIG. 4 and a U-turn running pattern shown in FIG.

The α-turn circumference driving pattern (FIG. 4) is a driving pattern in which the harvesting driving route LI parallel to the four sides of the rectangular work area CA is sequentially driven, and turn driving is performed by α-turn driving. The α-turn travel is performed by forward travel along the direction in which the previous harvest travel route LI extends, reverse travel including turning travel, and forward travel along the direction in which the next harvest travel route LI extends. The automatic traveling by the α-turn circular traveling pattern becomes a spiral traveling as shown in FIG. 4 .

The U-turn traveling pattern (FIG. 5) is a traveling pattern in which the harvesting travel route LI parallel to the two opposite sides of the rectangular work area CA is alternately traveled from the outside in order, and the turn travel is performed as a U-turn travel. be. U-turn travel is performed only by forward travel including turning travel. As shown in FIG. 5 , the automatic traveling according to the U-turn circular traveling pattern is a spiral traveling similar to the α-turn circular traveling pattern. In the present embodiment, the harvest travel route LI traveling in a U-turn circular travel pattern is a route parallel to two sides parallel to the row direction of the work area CA.

The automatic traveling according to the α-turn traveling pattern is performed prior to the U-turn traveling pattern when the width of the outer peripheral area SA is narrow and the automatic traveling according to the U-turn traveling traveling pattern is difficult to execute. If the width of the outer peripheral area SA is sufficiently large and automatic travel in the U-turn traveling pattern is possible, automatic travel in the α-turn traveling pattern does not have to be executed.

When the storage amount of grains in the grain tank 17 becomes large, discharge travel is executed to automatically travel from the harvest interruption position IP (FIG. 6) to the discharge stop position PP when discharging the grains, and at the discharge stop position PP. The grain is discharged by the discharge device 18 . After the grain discharge is completed, if there is an unworked land remaining in the work target area CA, the return travel automatically travels from the discharge stop position PP to the harvest restart position RP (Fig. 6) where the harvest of planted grain culms is restarted. is executed. If there is no unworked land left in the work area CA, the harvesting work ends.

Ejection travel may be performed after automatic travel on one harvest travel route LI is completed, as shown in FIG. In this case, the harvest restart position RP is the starting point of the next harvest travel route LI. A discharge run may be performed interrupting the automatic travel on the harvesting travel path LI. In this case, the harvest restart position RP is the position at which the automatic travel was interrupted on the harvest travel route LI.

[Configuration related to control]
As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 80 of the combine harvester 1 includes a vehicle position calculation unit 81, an area calculation unit 82, a route calculation unit 83, a travel control unit 84, a weed bar control unit 85, a discharge control unit 86, and a notification control unit 87 .

The own vehicle position calculator 81 calculates the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 over time based on the positioning data generated by the satellite positioning module 19 .

The area calculation unit 82 calculates the outer peripheral area SA and the work target area CA based on the temporal position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 81 . Specifically, the area calculation unit 82 calculates the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 over time calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 81, and calculates the traveling distance of the combine harvester 1 during the round trip (initial round trip) on the outer circumference side of the field. Calculate the trajectory. Then, based on the calculated travel locus of the combine 1, the area calculation unit 82 calculates an area on the outer peripheral side of the field where the combine 1 traveled while harvesting planted grain culms as an outer peripheral area SA. Further, the area calculation unit 82 calculates an area inside the agricultural field from the calculated outer peripheral area SA as the work target area CA.

For example, in FIG. 3, arrows indicate the route along which the combine harvester 1 traveled during the round trip (initial round trip) on the outer circumference side of the field. In the illustrated example, the combine 1 is traveling around three times. Then, when this initial round running is completed, the field is in the state shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the area calculation unit 82 calculates the area on the outer peripheral side of the field where the combine 1 traveled while harvesting the planted grain culms as the outer peripheral area SA, and the calculated outer peripheral area SA is larger than the agricultural field. The inner area is calculated as the work target area CA.

The route calculation unit 83 calculates a harvesting travel route LI for automatic harvesting travel inside the work area CA based on the calculation result of the area calculation unit 82 . In this embodiment, the harvest travel path LI is a plurality of mesh lines extending parallel to the four sides of the work area CA. The route calculation unit 83 also calculates a turn travel route TN connecting two harvest travel routes LI for turn travel (α-turn travel, U-turn travel). Further, the route calculation unit 83 calculates a discharge travel route UL for discharge travel and a return travel route RL for return travel based on the harvest interruption position IP and the harvest restart position RP set by the discharge control unit 86. calculate. The discharge travel route UL is a route that connects the harvesting interruption position IP and the discharge stop position PP. The return travel route RL is a route that connects the discharge stop position PP and the harvest restart position RP.

The traveling control unit 84 is configured to be able to control the traveling device 11 and the harvesting unit 12 . The travel control unit 84 sets the next travel route from among the travel routes calculated by the route calculation unit 83 (harvest travel route LI, turn travel route TN, discharge travel route UL, return travel route RL, etc.). The traveling control unit 84 sets the traveling route based on the above-described traveling patterns (α-turn traveling pattern, U-turn traveling pattern) and the emission timing (described later) set by the emission control unit 86 . Then, the travel control unit 84 controls the automatic travel of the combine harvester 1 based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 81 and the set travel route. Specifically, the travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 of the combine harvester 1 so that the combine harvester 1 travels along the set travel route. The travel control unit 84 operates the harvesting unit 12 when the combine 1 travels along the harvest travel route LI.

The weeding rod control unit 85 is configured to be able to control the weeding rod motor 20 a that changes the attitude of the weeding rod 20 . That is, the weeding rod control unit 85 automatically controls the attitude change of the weeding rod 20 between the working attitude and the storage attitude. More specifically, the weeding rod control unit 85 puts the weeding rod 20 in the working posture at the start of the automatic harvesting travel for harvesting planted grain culms while automatically traveling on the harvesting travel route LI, and at the end of the automatic harvesting travel. The rod 20 is put into the retracted posture. The dividing rod control unit 85 puts the dividing rod 20 into the retracted posture at the start of the turn running, and puts the dividing rod 20 into the working posture at the end of the turn running. The weeding rod control unit 85 puts the weeding rod 20 in the retracted posture at the start of the discharge travel, and puts the weeding rod 20 in the working posture at the end of the return travel.

The weeding rod control unit 85 performs the automatic attitude change of the weeding rod 20 described above based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 81, the travel route set by the travel control unit 84, based on Specifically, when the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 81 match the start point or the end point of the travel route set by the travel control unit 84, the weed bar 20 is moved to the working posture or Put it in the stowed position. For example, when the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 81 match the starting point of the harvesting travel route LI set by the travel control unit 84, the weeding rod 20 is placed in the working posture and the travel When the end point of the harvesting travel route LI set by the control unit 84 is matched, the weed dividing rod 20 is brought into the retracted posture.

The discharge control unit 86 controls discharge of grains stored in the grain tank 17 . Specifically, the discharge control unit 86 sets the grain discharge timing based on the amount of grain stored in the grain tank 17 detected by the storage amount sensor 17a. Then, the harvesting interruption position IP and the harvesting resumption position RP are set based on the set discharge timing. The discharge control unit 86 controls the discharge device 18 to discharge the grains stored in the grain tank 17 when the combine harvester 1 is at the discharge stop position PP.

For example, when the amount of grains stored in the grain tank 17 exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the discharge control unit 86 sets the discharge timing to "after the end of the currently running automatic harvesting run". set. In this case, the discharge control unit 86 sets the end point of the currently traveling harvest travel route LI as the harvest interruption position IP, and sets the start point of the next harvest travel route LI as the harvest restart position RP.

Even if the discharge control unit 86 sets the discharge timing based on the position coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 81, the travel route set by the travel control unit 84, the set discharge stop position PP, etc. good. For example, the emission control unit 86 may set the emission timing to "after the next automatic harvesting travel is completed" when the end point of the currently traveling harvest travel route LI is far from the discharge stop position PP. . In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the discharge control unit 86 sets the end point of the next harvesting travel route LI10 as the harvesting interruption position IP, and sets the starting point of the next harvesting travel route LI11 to resume harvesting. Set as position RP.

For example, when the distance between the current position of the combine 1 and the discharge stop position PP is smaller than the distance between the end point of the currently traveling harvesting travel route LI and the discharge stop position PP, the discharge control unit 86 may set the ejection timing to "now". In this case, the discharge control unit 86 sets the harvesting interruption position IP and the harvesting resumption position RP to the current position of the combine harvester 1 .

The operator may be notified via the management terminal 22 that the discharge control unit 86 has set the discharge timing. The route calculation unit 83, the travel control unit 84, and the discharge control unit 86 are configured to execute discharge travel in response to manual operation by the operator through the operation button (not shown) arranged in the operation unit 13 or the management terminal 22. may be configured.

The notification control unit 87 is configured to be able to control the notification mechanism 21 . The notification control unit 87 operates the notification mechanism 21 before the combine 1 starts discharging. Specifically, the notification control unit 87 operates the notification mechanism 21 in response to the discharge control unit 86 setting the discharge timing. For example, the notification control unit 87 operates the notification mechanism 21 while executing the automatic harvesting travel before the discharging travel or when starting the automatic harvesting travel. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the notification control unit 87 operates the notification mechanism 21 when starting the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel route LI10. The notification control unit 87 may operate the notification mechanism 21 continuously during the automatic harvesting travel before the discharging travel, or may operate the reporting mechanism 21 intermittently, or may operate the reporting mechanism 21 intermittently. The notification mechanism 21 may be operated during the period. The notification control unit 87 may operate the notification mechanism 21 a predetermined time before the start of discharge travel.

[Flow of harvesting work using a combine]
Below, the flow of the harvesting work performed by the combine 1 in the field shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

First, the operator manually operates the combine harvester 1, and as shown in FIG. 3, in the outer peripheral portion of the field, the harvesting travel is performed so as to circle along the boundary line of the field (initial circular travel). In the illustrated example, the combine 1 performs three laps. When this initial round traveling is completed, the field is in the state shown in FIG.

Based on the temporal positional coordinates of the combine harvester 1 calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 81, the area calculation unit 82 calculates the running locus of the combine harvester 1 during the initial round running of FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, based on the calculated running locus of the combine harvester 1, the area calculating unit 82 determines the area on the outer peripheral side of the field where the combine harvester 1 traveled while harvesting planted grain culms as an outer peripheral area SA. Calculate as Further, the area calculation unit 82 calculates an area inside the agricultural field from the calculated outer peripheral area SA as the work target area CA.

Next, the route calculation unit 83 calculates the harvest travel route LI in the work target area CA based on the calculation result of the area calculation unit 82, as shown in FIG. In the illustrated example, a plurality of harvesting travel routes LI parallel to the short sides of the work area CA and a plurality of harvesting travel routes LI parallel to the long sides are calculated. A harvesting travel path LI parallel to the short side of the work area CA is parallel to the row direction.

Then, when the operator presses an automatic travel start button (not shown), automatic travel along the harvest travel route LI is started. In this example, first, automatic running (FIG. 4) is performed according to the α-turn circular running pattern. The travel control unit 84 sets harvest travel routes LI1, LI2, LI3, and LI4 as travel routes. The route calculation unit 83 calculates turn travel routes TN1, TN2, and TN3 for α-turn travel. The travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to control the harvest travel route LI1, the turn travel route TN1, the harvest travel route LI2, the turn travel route TN2, the harvest travel route LI3, the turn travel route TN3, and the harvest travel route LI4. The combine 1 is automatically run in order.

The weeding rod control unit 85 controls the weeding rod motor 20a to bring the weeding rod 20 into the working posture at the start of the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel route LI1. When the combine 1 reaches the end point of the harvesting travel route LI1 (=the starting point of the turn travel route TN1), that is, when the automatic harvesting travel on the harvest travel route LI1 ends and when the turn travel route TN1 turns. At the start of running, the weeding rod motor 20a is controlled to bring the weeding rod 20 into the retracted posture. When the combine harvester 1 reaches the end point of the turn travel route TN1 (=the start point of the harvest travel route LI2), that is, when the turn travel on the turn travel route TN1 ends, and when the harvest travel route LI2 is automatically harvested. At the start of running, the weeding rod motor 20a is controlled to bring the weeding rod 20 into the working posture. In the same manner, the weeding rod control unit 85 changes the attitude of the weeding rod 20 when the starting point and the end point of each traveling route are reached, that is, when automatic harvesting traveling and turning traveling start and end.

When the harvested land on the outer circumference side of the farm field is expanded by the circular automatic traveling of the combine harvester 1, and automatic traveling according to the U-turn circular traveling pattern (Fig. 5) becomes possible, the traveling control unit 84 changes the traveling pattern to a U-turn. Switch to a circular running pattern. The travel control unit 84 sets harvest travel routes LI5, LI6, LI7, and LI8 as travel routes. The route calculation unit 83 calculates turn travel routes TN4, TN5, and TN6 for U-turn travel. The travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to perform the harvest travel route LI5, the turn travel route TN4, the harvest travel route LI6, the turn travel route TN5, the harvest travel route LI7, the turn travel route TN6, and the harvest travel route LI8 in this order. Let the combine 1 run automatically.

The weeding rod control unit 85 controls the weeding rod motor 20a to bring the weeding rod 20 into the working posture at the start of the automatic harvesting travel on the harvesting travel route LI5. The weeding rod control unit 85 operates when the combine 1 reaches the end point of the harvesting travel route LI5 (=the starting point of the turn travel route TN4), that is, when the automatic harvesting travel on the harvest travel route LI5 ends and when the turn travel route TN4 turns. At the start of running, the weeding rod motor 20a is controlled to bring the weeding rod 20 into the retracted posture. The weeding rod control unit 85 operates when the combine harvester 1 reaches the end point of the turn travel route TN4 (=the start point of the harvest travel route LI6), that is, when the turn travel on the turn travel route TN4 ends, and when the harvest travel route LI6 is automatically harvested. At the start of running, the weeding rod motor 20a is controlled to bring the weeding rod 20 into the working posture. In the same manner, the weeding rod control unit 85 changes the attitude of the weeding rod 20 when the starting point and the end point of each traveling route are reached, that is, when automatic harvesting traveling and turning traveling start and end.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the amount of grain stored in the grain tank 17 exceeds a predetermined threshold while the combine 1 is traveling on the harvest travel route LI9, the discharge control unit 86 Set the discharge timing to "after the end of the next automatic harvesting run". This is because the end point of the harvesting travel route LI10 to be traveled next is closer to the discharge stop position PP than the end point of the harvesting travel route LI9 that is currently traveled, and the travel distance when the discharge travel is started from the end point of the harvesting travel route LI10 can be shortened. The discharge control unit 86 sets the end point of the harvesting travel route LI10, which is the harvesting travel route LI to be traveled next, as the harvest interruption position IP, and sets the starting point of the harvesting travel route LI11, which is the harvesting travel route LI to be traveled next, as the harvesting position IP. Set as restart position RP. The route calculation unit 83 calculates a turn travel route TN7 for U-turn travel, a discharge travel route UL connecting the harvest interruption position IP and the discharge stop position PP, and a return travel route connecting the discharge stop position PP and the harvest restart position RP. RL, is calculated. The travel control unit 84 controls the traveling device 11 to automatically travel the combine 1 in the order of the harvest travel route LI9, the turn travel route TN7, the harvest travel route LI10, and the discharge travel route UL, and the combine harvester 1 is brought to the discharge stop position PP. park the car. The notification control unit 87 operates the notification mechanism 21 during execution of the automatic harvesting travel along the harvesting travel route LI10. The discharge control unit 86 controls the discharge device 18 to discharge the grains stored in the grain tank 17 to the transport vehicle CV while the combine harvester 1 is stopped at the discharge stop position PP. When the discharge of grains is completed, the travel control unit 84 controls the travel device 11 to automatically travel the combine 1 along the return travel route RL and the harvest travel route LI11 in this order.

[Other embodiments]
[1] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the weed dividing rod 20 is set to the working posture each time the automatic harvesting travel starts, and the weed dividing rod 20 is set to the storage posture each time the automatic harvesting travel ends. . By modifying this, when the operator presses the automatic travel start button to start automatic travel along the harvesting travel route LI, the weeding rod 20 is placed in the working posture, and automatic travel along the last harvesting travel route LI is started. When the harvesting of the planted grain culms in the field is completed, the dividing rod 20 may be put in the retracted posture.
Further, the dividing rod 20 may be in the working posture when the automatic traveling by the α-turn circular driving pattern (or the automatic driving by the U-turn circular driving pattern) is started, and the dividing rod 20 may be in the retracted posture when the automatic driving is finished. . In other words, the attitude change of the branch rod 20 at the start and end of turn travel, discharge travel, and return travel may not be performed, or may be partially changed (for example, at the start and end of turn travel). attitude change of the branch rod 20) may be performed.

[2] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the weeding rod 20 is changeable between two postures, the working posture and the storage posture. The split rod 20 may be configured to be changeable between three or more postures. That is, the weeding rod 20 may take two or more working postures, and the weeding rod 20 may take two or more storage postures.

[3] In the above embodiment, the example in which the emission control unit 86 sets the emission timing and the emission traveling is executed has been described. Ejection travel may be performed in response to an operation input from an operator. For example, when the storage amount of the grain tank 17 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the discharge control unit 86 turns on a button switch (not shown) provided in the operation unit 13, and the operator turns on the button switch. The control unit 80 may be configured such that the discharge travel is executed in response to the pressing.

[4] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the outer shape of the field and the work area CA are rectangular. The outer shape of the field is not limited to a rectangle, but may be a polygon such as a triangle or a pentagon, or a part or all of the outer peripheral shape may be curved. The work area CA is preferably rectangular from the viewpoint of work efficiency, but may be polygonal such as a triangle or a pentagon, or a part or all of the outer peripheral shape thereof may be a curve.

[5] In the above embodiment, an example in which the harvest travel route LI is a straight line has been described, but part or all of the harvest travel route LI may be a curve.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used not only for self-throwing combine harvesters but also for various harvesters such as ordinary combine harvesters.

10: Airframe 19: Satellite positioning module 20: Branching rod 81: Own vehicle position calculation unit
83: route calculation unit
85: Branching rod control unit LI1-11: Harvesting travel route (travel route)
PP: Discharge stop position RP: Harvest restart position

Claims (5)

An automatically traveling harvester,
a branching rod which is provided on the lateral side of the machine body and configured to be able to change its posture between a working posture extending outward in the lateral direction of the machine body and a stowed posture located inside the working posture in the lateral direction of the machine body;
a branch rod control unit that automatically controls the attitude change of the branch rod during automatic running;
a satellite positioning module that generates positioning data indicating the position of the vehicle;
a vehicle position calculator that calculates the position coordinates of the harvester over time based on the positioning data;
A harvesting travel route for harvesting planted grain culms while automatically traveling on the travel route, and a turn travel route for turning travel between the automatic harvesting travel and the automatic harvesting travel. , and a route calculation unit for calculating ,
The weeding rod control unit places the weeding rod in the working posture in response to the fact that the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit coincide with the starting point of the harvesting travel route. a control for changing the posture and changing the posture of the dividing rod to the retracted posture in response to the fact that the position coordinates match the starting point of the turn travel route; In response to matching with the starting point of the travel route, the dividing rod is changed to the working posture, and in response to matching of the position coordinates with the starting point of the turning travel route, the dividing rod is moved. A harvester that selectively performs a control that does not change the attitude of the grass rod to the storage attitude . The weeding rod control unit places the weeding rod in the retracted posture in response to the fact that the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit coincide with the end point of the harvesting travel route. Harvester according to claim 1. The dividing rod control unit places the dividing rod into the working posture in response to the fact that the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit coincide with the end point of the turn travel route. A harvester according to claim 1 or 2 . The dividing rod control unit puts the dividing rod into the storage posture at the start of discharge travel in which automatic traveling is performed to a discharge stop position when discharging grain,
The route calculation unit calculates a discharge travel route for the discharge travel,
The weeding rod control unit puts the weeding rod into the retracted posture in response to the fact that the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit coincide with the starting point of the discharge travel route. Item 4. The harvester according to any one of Items 1 to 3 . The dividing rod control unit puts the dividing rod into the working posture at the end of the return travel in which the vehicle automatically travels from the discharge stop position to the harvest restart position for restarting the harvesting of planted grain culms,
The route calculation unit calculates a return travel route for the return travel,
The dividing rod control unit sets the dividing rod to the working posture in response to the fact that the position coordinates of the harvester calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit coincide with the end point of the return travel route. 5. The harvester according to Item 4 .

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