JP7283754B2 - TRAVEL ROUTE SETTING DEVICE FOR FIELD WORK VEHICLE, TRAVEL ROUTE SETTING METHOD, AND TRAVEL ROUTE SETTING PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a travel route setting device, a travel route setting method, and a travel route setting program for a field work vehicle, and more particularly, to a travel route of a field work vehicle that is capable of working in a field while automatically traveling. This relates to a technique for setting

Conventionally, a field work vehicle is equipped with a function to detect the current position and direction of the vehicle, and based on the sequentially detected current position and direction, the field work vehicle automatically travels along a travel route set in the field. An automatic traveling work system is known in which a given work is performed while moving the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a traveling route including a circular traveling route that travels around the outer peripheral area along each side of the outer shape of a field and a reciprocating traveling route that travels linearly in a central area inside the outer peripheral area. A setting technique is disclosed. In particular, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for generating a travel route in a farm field having a concave portion in which an outline is partially inserted.

That is, in the system described in Patent Document 1, when calculating a straight route in the central region inside the outer peripheral region, the straight route that passes through the outer peripheral region in the vicinity of the recess intersects the outermost circular traveling route. If it does not intersect, the straight route is valid, and if it intersects, it is invalid. When a large number of ineffective straight paths are generated due to the recesses deeply embedded in the field, resulting in a large blank area in which no straight paths are formed, this is reported and the direction in which the straight paths extend is indicated. Change and set the driving route.

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, although setting a travel route for a non-rectangular farm field is disclosed, there is a problem that the set travel route is not necessarily a route with good travel efficiency. rice field. That is, the circular traveling route set in the outer peripheral region is a route in which the direction is changed along the shape of the non-linear region in the non-linear region where the outline of the field is not linear (the refraction region that is not straight). becomes. In particular, when a circular travel route is set in which the vehicle travels around a plurality of times, it is necessary to change direction along the shape of the non-linear region each time the vehicle makes a circuit, increasing the number of times of direction changes.

Especially at the point where the connection angle between the straight paths (the angle formed by the two straight paths that are connected) becomes large in the direction change, the agricultural field work vehicle stops and raises the work machine, and turns in the traveling direction. After changing the position, it is necessary to lower the work implement again and work while traveling along the next straight path from there (such a series of operations is called "turning operation" or simply "turning"). Therefore, as the number of turning motions increases, more time is lost, resulting in lower running efficiency. Decrease in running efficiency leads to deterioration in work efficiency. Therefore, it is desired to set a route with less time loss due to turning and high running efficiency.

In this specification, the term “connection” of straight paths refers to the case where two straight paths are connected at their ends, and the case where two straight paths are connected so that they intersect at a portion other than their ends. shall include At a point where a turn is made, the field work vehicle makes a turn so as not to create an unworked area as much as possible. be. The connection form at such a turning point will also be explained as one form of "connection".

JP 2018-116614 A

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem. To set a travel route with less time loss due to turning and good travel efficiency when setting a .

In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, by connecting a plurality of straight paths, when setting a temporary travel route that travels in the field along the shape of the field, the outer circumference along the contour of the field In the area, a round trip route for traveling one or more rounds is set, and in the center area inside the outer peripheral area, a round trip route for linear round trip traveling is set. Further, in the present invention, it is determined whether or not a straight route shorter than a predetermined length is included in one lap of the set temporary travel route. By omitting the short straight path and deforming at least one of the two straight paths connected to both ends of the short straight path, the two straight paths are connected.

In the round traveling route set by connecting a plurality of straight routes along the shape information of the field, if there is a straight route shorter than a predetermined length, the short straight route can be turned at both ends. It is a place with potential. According to the present invention configured as described above, such a short straight route is omitted, and the two straight routes that were connected at both ends of the short straight route are newly connected to set a circular travel route. Therefore, it is possible to set a travel route with a reduced number of turns. As a result, according to the present invention, time loss due to turning occurs when setting a travel route for a field having many non-linear areas compared to a rectangular field having only four non-linear areas. Therefore, it is possible to set a travel route with less traffic and good travel efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic external configuration of a field work vehicle equipped with a travel route setting device according to the present embodiment; It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the various electronic controllers mounted in an agricultural field work vehicle. 1 is a block diagram showing an example functional configuration of a travel route setting device according to the present embodiment; FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the temporary driving route setting operation|movement by the driving route setting apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a first process of transforming a short path and a straight path connected thereto; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a first process of transforming a short path and a straight path connected thereto; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a first process of transforming a short path and a straight path connected thereto; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of second processing for deforming a short path and a straight path connected thereto; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of second processing for deforming a short path and a straight path connected thereto; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of second processing for deforming a short path and a straight path connected thereto; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of processing of a path transforming unit; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the travel route setting device according to the present embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining determination of a short path based on the length of a work stroke;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic external configuration of a field work vehicle 100 equipped with a travel route setting device for a field work vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as a travel route setting device) according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1 , the agricultural field work vehicle 100 is constructed by connecting a working machine 2 to the rear of a vehicle body 1 .

The field working vehicle 100 is an agricultural vehicle that is powered by a power source provided in the vehicle body 1 and configured to perform a given work using a working machine 2 provided in the rear of the vehicle body 1 . The power source is configured by, for example, an electric motor, an internal combustion engine, or the like. The given work is a so-called agricultural work, and may be any agricultural work that can be performed by the working machine 2 connected to the vehicle body 1, such as plowing, ridge making, and sowing. Note that the working machine 2 may be provided in front of the vehicle body 1 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of various electronic control devices mounted on the field work vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 , the field work vehicle 100 is equipped with a position/orientation detection device 110 , a travel control device 120 and a work machine control device 130 . The field work vehicle 100 is also provided with a route data storage unit 140 . Further, the traveling route setting device 10 of the present embodiment is provided outside the field work vehicle 100 .

The travel route setting device 10 is for setting a travel route that is a target route when the agricultural field work vehicle 100 automatically travels in a field. A specific configuration and operation of the travel route setting device 10 will be described later. The travel route data (hereinafter referred to as route data) set by the travel route setting device 10 includes data indicating where on the route the work implement 2 should be operated and where the work implement 2 should be stopped. include. This data is, for example, to stop the work implement 2 at a place where a U-turn is made on a reciprocating route.

The route data set by the travel route setting device 10 is stored in the route data storage unit 140 . For example, the route data is transmitted from the travel route setting device 10 to the field work vehicle 100 via the communication network and stored in the route data storage unit 140 . Note that the method of storing route data in the route data storage unit 140 is not limited to communication as described above. For example, the route data may be transferred to and stored in the route data storage unit 140 via a removable storage medium storing the route data.

The position/orientation detection device 110 detects the current position and orientation of the field work vehicle 100, and can use known technologies such as a GPS receiver and an autonomous navigation sensor. The travel control device 120 controls travel along the travel route set by the travel route setting device 10 based on the current position and orientation of the field work vehicle 100 detected by the position/orientation detection device 110 . Work implement control device 130 controls the operation (activation and stoppage) of work implement 2 .

The field work vehicle 100 configured as described above can perform a given work with the work machine 2 while traveling in the field according to the manual operation performed by the worker riding on the vehicle body 1 ( manual driving mode). In this case, the travel control device 120 and the work machine control device 130 control the travel of the field work vehicle 100 and the operation of the work machine 2 according to the manual operation of the field work vehicle 100 by the worker.

In addition, the field work vehicle 100 can perform a given work with the work machine 2 while traveling in the field according to instructions from a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) 200 operated by a worker ( remote control driving mode). In this case, travel control device 120 and work machine control device 130 control the travel of field work vehicle 100 and the operation of work machine 2 in response to instructions from remote controller 200 operated by the operator.

Further, the field work vehicle 100 automatically travels along the travel route preset in the field by the travel route setting device 10 based on the current position and orientation detected by the position/orientation detection device 110, while performing the work. It is also possible to perform a given work with the machine 2 (automatic driving mode). In this case, travel control device 120 and work implement control device 130 control the travel of field work vehicle 100 and the operation of work implement 2 based on the route data stored in route data storage unit 140 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the travel route setting device 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the travel route setting device 10 of the present embodiment includes a temporary travel route setting unit 11 and a travel route transforming unit 12 as functional configurations. The temporary travel route setting unit 11 has a circuit travel route setting unit 11A and a round trip route setting unit 11B as more specific functional configurations. Further, the traveling route transforming unit 12 includes a short road presence/absence determining unit 12A and a route transforming unit 12B as more specific functional configurations. The travel route setting device 10 also includes a route storage unit 15 as a storage medium. It should be noted that the setting of the travel route of the field work vehicle 100 will be described below, and the description of the setting of the operation control of the working machine 2 will be omitted.

The temporary travel route setting unit 11 and the travel route transforming unit 12 can be configured by any of hardware, DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and software. For example, when configured by software, the temporary travel route setting unit 11 and the travel route transforming unit 12 are actually configured with a computer CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and are stored in RAM, ROM, hard disk, semiconductor memory, or the like. It is realized by running a travel route setting program stored in a medium.

4 to 6 are diagrams for explaining the route setting operation by the travel route setting device 10 of this embodiment. FIGS. 4 to 6 show an example of setting the traveling route of the field work vehicle 100 for a field having more non-linear areas than a rectangular field. The functions and operations of the temporary travel route setting unit 11 and the travel route transforming unit 12 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG.

The provisional travel route setting unit 11 connects a plurality of straight routes to set a provisional travel route that travels in the field along the shape of the field, and stores data of the set provisional travel route (hereinafter referred to as provisional route data). ) is stored in the route storage unit 15 . Here, it is assumed that the field shape information is preset in the travel route setting device 10 . FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the temporary travel route setting unit 11. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the temporary travel route set by the travel route setting device 10 includes a circular travel route for the agricultural field work vehicle 100 to travel one or more laps along the outer peripheral area OCA of the field FD, and a circular travel route for the agricultural field work vehicle 100. Reference numeral 100 connects a reciprocating travel route for reciprocating travel over a plurality of strokes in the central area RTA inside the outer peripheral area OCA. In FIG. 4 and FIGS. 5 and 6 described below, the circular travel route is indicated by a solid line and the round-trip travel route is indicated by a dotted line so as to be visually distinguishable and easy to recognize. Here, in the case of the circular traveling route, one round traveling is defined as one stroke, and in the case of the round-trip traveling route, one-way straight traveling is defined as one stroke. Both the circular traveling route and the round-trip traveling route are formed by connecting a plurality of straight routes. A straight path is the path from one turning point or turning point to the next turning point or turning point.

The circuit running route setting unit 11A sets the width of one stroke (hereinafter referred to as stroke width) at each end point of the circuit stroke (that is, each time one circuit is completed) in the outer peripheral area OCA along the outer shape of the field FD. While offsetting the position by the amount of , a circular travel route is set for traveling one or more rounds along the outer shape of the field FD. The round-trip travel route setting unit 11B offsets the position by the travel width at each end point of the straight travel (that is, each time one-way straight travel ends) in the central region RTA inside the outer peripheral region OCR, and performs linear travel. Set a round-trip travel route for round-trip travel to.

Here, both the stroke width of the circular traveling route set in the outer peripheral area OCA and the stroke width of the reciprocating traveling route set in the central area RTA are the working width of the work implement 2 (working width: what is the working width? , for example, in the case of tillage work, it means the width in which the soil is actually plowed, and in the case of fertilization work, it means the width in which fertilizer is spread). Width information of the working machine 2 is preset in the travel route setting device 10, or can be input by the user.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the travel route setting device 10 sets a predetermined position in the field FD as the start position S of the automatic travel, and sets a predetermined position (the same position as or close to the start position, or a position away from the start position). ) is set as the automatic traveling end position G, and after reciprocating from the starting position S in the central area RTA over a plurality of strokes, the robot travels around the outer peripheral area OCA along the outline of the field FD over one or more strokes. to set a temporary travel route to the end position G. Alternatively, a temporary travel route is set such that after traveling around the outer peripheral area OCA from the start position along the contour of the field FD over one or more strokes, the vehicle travels back and forth in the central area RTA over a plurality of strokes to the end position. You may do so.

The travel route transforming unit 12 transforms the temporary travel route set by the temporary travel route setting unit 11 . Here, whether or not the temporary travel route is in a predetermined state is determined by the short road presence/absence determination unit 12A, and when the predetermined state is established, the temporary travel route is deformed by the route deformation unit 12B. When the temporary travel route is deformed by the travel route deformation unit 12, the data of the travel route stored in the route storage unit 15 after the deformation is stored in the route data storage unit 140 of the field work vehicle 100. data. When the running route transforming unit 12 does not transform the temporary running route, the temporary route data set by the temporary running route setting unit 11 is used as the route data stored in the route data storage unit 140 of the field work vehicle 100. becomes.

The short route presence/absence determination unit 12A determines whether or not a straight route (hereinafter referred to as a short route) shorter than a predetermined length is included in one round trip of the loop route set by the loop route setting unit 11A. do. When the short path presence/absence determining unit 12A determines that a short path is included, the route transforming unit 12B omits the short path, and transforms at least one of the two straight paths connected to both ends of the short path into two straight paths. It performs processing to connect two straight paths.

As described above, each of the plurality of straight-line routes that constitute the circular travel route is a route from one turning point or turning point to the next turning point or turning point. For this reason, in the circular traveling route set by connecting a plurality of straight routes along the outer shape of the farm field by the temporary traveling route setting unit 11, where a short road exists, turning is performed at both ends of the short road. There is a possibility that it will be If such a short road exists, the vehicle will have to turn a plurality of times within a relatively short distance, and the number of turns will increase, which is not preferable in terms of running efficiency. If the purpose is to set a circular travel route with as many turns as possible, it is necessary not to make the value of the predetermined length too small, which is used as a threshold value when judging whether or not the route is short. be.

On the other hand, when the short path presence/absence determining unit 12A determines that the short path is a short path, the short path is omitted by the route transforming unit 12B, and at least one of the two straight paths connected to the short path is transformed, so the short path exists. Due to the deformation, the running route at the location where the vehicle was running is no longer a route along the outline of the field. In this case, if the degree of deformation of the circular traveling route in a certain circular process becomes large, the overlap with the circular traveling route set outside the circular traveling route increases, which is also not preferable. If the purpose is to set a circular travel route with multiple strokes in which overlapping travels are minimized, it is necessary not to make the value of the predetermined length too large.

Therefore, the predetermined length used as a threshold value when the short road presence/absence determination unit 12A determines whether or not the road is a short road is to increase the running efficiency by reducing the number of turns due to the deformation of the circular traveling route, and to reduce the number of turns due to the deformation of the circular traveling route. It is set to an appropriate value in consideration of both preventing the occurrence of working areas. For example, the total length of the field work vehicle 100, stroke width, front overhang (distance from the center of the front wheel shaft to the front end of the vehicle body 1), rear overhang (distance from the center of the rear wheel shaft to the rear end of the work implement 2), a short road and its connection It is possible to set the value of the predetermined length in advance by performing a simulation using parameters such as the angle with respect to the straight line path.

In the example of FIG. 4, the temporary traveling route setting unit 11 sets a circular traveling route for performing three circular traveling along the outline of the field. 12A shows an example in which it is determined that short paths PT10 and PT20 exist. Processing for deforming the short paths PT10, PT20 and the straight paths connected thereto by the path transforming section 12B will be sequentially described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

5A to 5C are diagrams showing an example of processing for deforming the short path PT10 and the straight path connected thereto. For convenience of explanation, this will be referred to as the first process hereinafter. FIG. 5A is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the short route PT10 on the temporary traveling route set by the temporary traveling route setting unit 11. FIG. FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C show the execution process of the round traveling route deformation processing by the route deformation unit 12B.

First, the path modification unit 12B omits (deletes) the short path PT10, as shown in FIG. 5B. Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the path transforming section 12B extends the two straight paths PT11 and PT12 connected to both ends of the omitted short path PT10, respectively, thereby extending the two straight paths PT11 and PT12. The two linear paths PT11 and PT12 are connected in the deformed state. As a result, a total of two turns were required when moving from the straight path PT11 to the short path PT10, and once more when moving from the short path PT10 to the straight path PT12 (Fig. 5A). is transformed into a circular travel route (FIG. 5C) that allows one turn from the straight route PT11 to the straight route PT12.

6A to 6C are diagrams showing an example of processing for deforming the short path PT20 and the straight path connected thereto. For convenience of explanation, this will be referred to as the second process hereinafter. FIG. 6A is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the short route PT20 on the provisional travel route set by the provisional travel route setting unit 11. FIG. FIG. 6B and FIG. 6C show the execution process of the circular driving route deformation processing by the route deformation unit 12B.

First, the path transforming unit 12B omits (deletes) the short path PT20 as shown in FIG. 6B. Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the path deformation portion 12B is connected to one end point ND22 of the two straight paths PT21 and PT22 that are connected to both ends ND21 and ND22 of the omitted short path PT20. By tilting and expanding/contracting the single straight path PT22, the two straight paths PT21 and PT22 are connected while the single straight path PT22 is deformed. Here, to tilt the straight path PT22 means to rotate the straight path PT22 with an end point ND23 on the opposite side of the short path PT20 as a fulcrum. In addition, expanding and contracting the straight path PT22 means that the end point on the side opposite to the fulcrum ND23 of the tilted straight path PT22 (the end point ND22 connected to the short path PT20) is connected to the end point ND21 of another straight path PT21. To stretch or shrink so as to

By performing such a process, it is possible to make a total of two turns, one time when moving from the straight path PT21 to the short path PT20, and another time when moving from the short path PT20 to the straight path PT22. The travel route (FIG. 6A) is transformed into a circular travel route (FIG. 6C) that allows the vehicle to move from the straight route PT21 to the straight route PT22 in one turn.

There is also a method of connecting the two straight paths PT21 and PT22 by tilting and extending/contracting the straight path PT21. However, if this is done, the tilted straight path PT21 moves in a direction away from the straight path PT31 of the outer circular travel path, so there is a possibility that an unworked area will occur. On the other hand, when the straight path PT22 is tilted and stretched, the inclined straight path PT21 moves in a direction approaching the straight path PT32 of the outer circular travel path, so there is a low possibility of creating an unworked area. Therefore, of the two straight paths PT21 and PT22 connected to both ends ND21 and ND22 of the omitted short path PT20, the straight path PT22 closer to the outer circular travel path when tilted is tilted and stretched. preferable.

The above second processing can also be simplified as follows. That is, the path transforming unit 12B first omits (deletes) the short path PT20 as shown in FIG. 6B. Next, the path transforming section 12B transforms the single straight path PT22 connected to one end point ND22 of the short path PT20 to an end point ND23 opposite to the short path PT20 and the other end point ND21 of the short path PT20 (another end point ND21). The two straight paths PT21 and PT22 are connected while one straight path PT22 is deformed.

The route modification unit 12B executes either the first process or the second process when the short road presence/absence determination unit 12A determines that a short road is included. Here, a predetermined judgment criterion is provided as to which process is to be executed, and either processing is executed according to the judgment criterion. For example, when two straight paths connected at both ends of a short road are extended, it is determined whether or not they can be connected at the intersection. It is possible to set a criterion such as

Even if two straight paths can be extended and connected at an intersection point, neither the first process nor the second process is executed if the intersection point is outside the field. This is because execution of the first processing may result in a route that is not realistically travelable, and execution of the second processing may result in an unworked area. Alternatively, even if two straight paths can be extended and connected at an intersection point, if the intersection point is located outside the circular traveling route that is one outside, neither the first processing nor the second processing is executed. can be If the second process is executed, there is a possibility that an unworked area will occur, and if the first process is executed, an overlapping traveling area will occur, and in that area, the operation of the work implement 2 will be stopped when either of them travels. This is because it may require treatment.

When the circuit route setting unit 11A sets a circuit route having two or more circuit strokes, the short route presence/absence determination unit 12A selects one circuit in the order from the outermost circuit circuit to the inner circuit circuit. It is determined for each round trip whether or not a short path is included in the trip. Then, the route transforming unit 12B executes either the first process or the second process (depending on how to connect the intersections, the first process or and the second process may not be executed).

The short road presence/absence determination unit 12A and the route modification unit 12B may process as follows. That is, when the circuit route setting unit 11A sets a circuit route having two or more circuit strokes, the short route presence/absence determination unit 12A performs one circuit in the order from the outermost circuit stroke to the inner circuit stroke. It is sequentially determined whether or not a short path is included in the circulating process of . Then, when a short path is found in a certain round trip, the judgment processing is stopped, and the judgment processing is omitted for the round trips inside it.

The route transforming unit 12B executes either the first process or the second process according to the above-described determination criteria for the round trip in which the short path is found first (depending on how the intersections are connected, the first process and the second process may be performed). may do nothing). In addition, for the circuit paths inside the circuit path in which the short path is first found, a circuit path is set so that the vehicle travels along the deformed shape of the circuit process. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of processing in this case. In FIG. 7, the provisional travel route setting unit 11 sets a travel route for four travels along the contour of the farm field. An example determined by the determination unit 12A is shown.

In this case, the route modification unit 12B executes the first process as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C for the third outermost round trip in which the short circuit PT10 is found by the short circuit presence/absence determination unit 12A. Further, the determination processing of the short-circuit presence/absence determining unit 12A is not performed for the fourth round stroke inside the third round stroke. In addition, the route transforming section 12B sets a circular travel route for the fourth circular stroke so that the vehicle travels along the modified shape of the third circular stroke. For example, a circular travel route is set such that the vehicle travels parallel to the third circular stroke with a stroke width left therebetween.

In the fourth round stroke inside the third round stroke in which the short circuit PT10 was discovered, it is clear that the straight path of the portion facing the short circuit PT10 is always shorter than the predetermined length, so the short circuit presence/absence determination unit 12A By omitting the determination process and simplifying the processing of the route transforming unit 12B, it becomes possible to execute the processing of the traveling route transforming unit 12 more simply.

As described above, when the circular travel route including the short road is deformed, the shape of the outer peripheral area OCA is deformed. In this case, the shape of the central area RTA is also deformed with the deformation of the outer peripheral area OCA. The route transforming unit 12B further configures the round-trip running route set by the temporary running route setting unit 11 for the thus-deformed central area RTA to travel back and forth along the shape of the deformed central area RTA. It transforms into the designated path.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the travel route setting device 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above. The flow chart shown in FIG. 8 starts when a user instructs to set a travel route by operating the travel route setting device 10 .

First, the temporary traveling route setting unit 11 sets a temporary traveling route for traveling in the field along the shape of the field FD by connecting a plurality of straight routes (step S1). At this time, the temporary traveling route setting unit 11 sets a circular traveling route of one or more strokes in the outer peripheral area OCA by the circular traveling route setting unit 11A, and sets a round trip traveling in the central area RTA by the round trip traveling route setting unit 11B. Set route.

Next, the short-circuit presence/absence determination unit 12A designates one round-trip in order from the outermost round-trip to the inner round-trip (step S2), and the short-circuit is included in the round-travel route of that round-trip. It is determined whether or not it is possible (step S3). Here, if it is determined that the short path is not included, the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, if it is determined that a short path is included, the path transforming unit 12B determines whether or not the two straight paths connected to both ends of the short path can be connected at the intersection when extended (step S4).

Here, when it is determined that the intersection can be connected, the route modification unit 12B further determines whether or not the intersection is within the field (step S5). Then, when it is determined that the intersection is within the farm field, the route transforming section 12B executes the first process on the circular travel route of the circular process (step S6). After that, the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, if it is determined that the intersection is outside the field, the process proceeds to step S8.

If it is determined in step S4 that the two straight paths connected to both ends of the short road cannot be connected at the intersection when the two straight paths are extended, the route transforming unit 12B applies a second Processing is executed (step S7). After that, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the travel route setting device 10 determines whether or not the above processing has been performed for all of the travel routes of one or more travels set by the travel route setting unit 11A.

Here, if there is an unprocessed round trip, the short path presence/absence determining unit 12A designates the next round trip inside (step S9), and then returns to step S3 to perform the same processing as above. Then, when there are no more unprocessed round trips, the temporary travel route setting unit 11 sets the center region RTA deformed along with the outer peripheral region OCA deformed by the processing by the travel route deformation unit 12 as described above. The reciprocating travel route is transformed into a route for reciprocating travel along the shape of the transformed central area RTA (step S10). As a result, the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 ends.

As described in detail above, in this embodiment, by connecting a plurality of straight paths, when setting a temporary travel route for traveling in a field along the shape of the field, the outer peripheral area along the outer shape of the field In the OCA, a round trip route for traveling one or more rounds is set, and a round trip route for linear round trip traveling is set in the central area RTA inside the outer peripheral area OCA. Further, in this embodiment, it is determined whether or not a straight route (short road) shorter than a predetermined length is included in one round of the set temporary travel route. , the short path is omitted and at least one of the two straight paths connected to both ends of the short path is deformed to connect the two straight paths.

According to the present embodiment configured in this way, the short route included in the circular travel route is omitted, and the two straight routes that were connected at both ends of the short route are newly connected to set the circular traveling route. Therefore, it is possible to set a travel route with a reduced number of turns. As a result, according to the present embodiment, when setting a traveling route for a field having a shape with many non-linear regions, compared to a rectangular field having only four non-linear regions, the time required for turning is reduced. It is possible to set a travel route with little loss and good travel efficiency.

In the above-described embodiment, an example of determining whether or not a straight path shorter than a predetermined length is included in one round trip has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined whether or not a straight path is included in which the length of a work stroke that can actually be performed by the work implement 2 is shorter than a predetermined length. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the determination of a short path based on the length of the work stroke. FIG. 9A shows the rear overhang (the distance from the center of the rear wheel shaft to the rear end of the work implement 2) of the field work vehicle 100. FIG. FIG. 9(b) shows the work stroke WT10 that is set after this in consideration of the overhang.

Since the field work vehicle 100 has a rear overhang area, there may be an unworked area in which the work implement 2 cannot work during turning. In order to reduce the unworked area, the working machine 2 is stopped immediately after turning, and the working machine 2 is stopped and then moved forward to perform the work. In the case of the example of FIG. 9(b), immediately after turning from the straight path PT11 to the short path PT10, the vehicle travels backward, and then works with the work implement 2 until immediately before starting to turn toward the next straight path PT12. run forward. Immediately before turning from the short path PT10 to the straight path PT12, there is an unworked area corresponding to the length of the rear overhang. A work stroke WT10 in this case is shown in FIG. 9(b). The short road presence/absence determination unit 12A may determine whether or not the length of the work stroke WT10 is shorter than a predetermined length.

Further, in the above embodiment, the travel route setting device 10 is provided separately from the field work vehicle 100, and the route data set by the travel route setting device 10 is stored in the route data storage unit 140 of the farm work vehicle 100. However, the invention is not limited to this. For example, the travel route setting device 10 may be provided in the agricultural field work vehicle 100 .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the shape information of the agricultural field is preset in the travel route setting device 10 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the field work vehicle 100 is equipped with the travel route setting device 10, the field work vehicle 100 may acquire the shape information of the field by teaching-running the outer periphery of the field.

When the field shape information is obtained by teaching traveling, first, the worker manually drives the field work vehicle 100 to travel around the outer circumference of the field, and the own vehicle acquired by the position/orientation detection device 110 at that time. From the position information, the shape and position of the field are recognized. Then, data indicating the shape and position of the field recognized by this teaching run is stored in the route storage unit 15 . The travel route setting device 10 sets the travel route, which is the target route when the agricultural field work vehicle 100 automatically travels, with the inside of the teaching traveled region as the target region for automatic travel.

In addition, the above-described embodiments are merely examples of specific implementations of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a limited manner. Thus, the invention may be embodied in various forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 traveling route setting device 11 temporary traveling route setting unit 11A circuit traveling route setting unit 11B round-trip traveling route setting unit 12 traveling route transforming unit 12A short road presence/absence determining unit 12B route transforming unit 15 route storage unit

Claims (9)

A travel route setting device for setting the travel route of a field work vehicle capable of performing a given work while automatically traveling along the travel route set in a field,
a provisional travel route setting unit that sets a provisional travel route that travels in the agricultural field along the shape of the agricultural field by connecting a plurality of straight routes;
a travel route transforming unit that transforms the temporary travel route set by the temporary travel route setting unit;
The temporary travel route setting unit
A circular traveling route setting unit that sets a circular traveling route for traveling one or more circuits along the contour of the farm field in an outer peripheral area along the contour of the farm field;
a reciprocating travel route setting unit that sets a reciprocating travel route for linearly reciprocating travel in a central region inside the outer peripheral region;
The travel path deformation section is
a short route presence/absence determination unit that determines whether or not a straight route shorter than a predetermined length is included in one round of the circuit route set by the circuit route setting unit;
Omitting the short straight path and deforming at least one of two straight paths connected to both ends of the short straight path when the short straight path is determined by the short path presence/absence determining unit to be included. and a route transforming unit that connects the two straight routes by a. The path transforming section omits the short straight path and extends the two straight paths connected to both ends of the short straight path, respectively, thereby transforming the two straight paths into the two straight paths. 2. The traveling route setting device according to claim 1, wherein the straight route is connected. The path transforming section omits the short straight path, and replaces one straight path connected to one end point of the short straight path, out of two straight paths connected to both ends of the short straight path. 2. The travel route setting device according to claim 1, wherein the two straight routes are connected while the one straight route is deformed by tilting and expanding and contracting. The path transforming section omits the short straight path, and replaces one straight path connected to one end point of the short straight path, out of two straight paths connected to both ends of the short straight path. , by replacing the straight line with a straight line path that short-circuits between the end point on the opposite side of the short straight line and the end point of the straight line that was connected to the other end point of the short straight line 2. The travel route setting device according to claim 1, wherein the two straight routes are connected while the routes are deformed. When the circuit route setting unit sets a circuit route having two or more circuits,
The short path presence/absence determination unit determines whether or not the short straight path is included in one round stroke in the order from the outermost round stroke to the inner round stroke for each round stroke,
The route transforming unit omits the short straight route for each of the round trips determined to include the short straight route, and replaces at least one of the two straight routes connected to both ends of the short straight route. The traveling route setting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it executes a process of transforming. When the circuit route setting unit sets a circuit route having two or more circuits,
The short path presence/absence determination unit sequentially determines whether or not the short straight path is included in one round stroke in the order from the outermost circle stroke to the inner circle stroke, for each circle stroke,
The route transforming unit omits the short straight route for the first round trip that is determined to include the short straight route, and replaces at least one of the two straight routes connected to both ends of the short straight route. Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a process for transforming is executed, and for the inner round stroke, a round running route is set so as to run around along the shape of the transformed round stroke. The travel route setting device according to any one of 1. The short path presence/absence determination unit determines whether or not the one-round circuit includes a straight path shorter than a predetermined length, and determines whether or not the one-round circuit includes the length of the work stroke. 7. The travel route setting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein it is determined whether or not a straight route having a length shorter than a predetermined length is included. A travel route setting method for setting the travel route of a field working vehicle capable of performing a given work while automatically traveling along the travel route set in a field, comprising:
A first step in which a temporary traveling route setting unit of a computer sets a temporary traveling route for traveling in the agricultural field along the shape of the agricultural field by connecting a plurality of straight routes;
a second step in which the travel route transforming unit of the computer transforms the temporary travel route set by the temporary travel route setting unit;
The first step above is
A circular traveling route setting step of setting a circular traveling route for traveling one or more rounds along the shape of the agricultural field in the outer peripheral area along the contour of the agricultural field;
a reciprocating travel route setting step of setting a reciprocating travel route for linearly reciprocating travel in a central region inside the outer peripheral region;
The second step above is
a short route presence/absence determination step of determining whether or not a straight route shorter than a predetermined length is included in one round of the round travel route set in the round travel route setting step;
omitting the short straight path and deforming at least one of two straight paths connected to both ends of the short straight path when the short straight path is determined to be included in the short path presence/absence determining step; and a route transforming step of connecting the two straight routes by . By connecting a plurality of straight paths with respect to the traveling route of the agricultural field work vehicle, which is capable of performing a given work while automatically traveling along the traveling route set in the field, A travel route setting program for setting a travel route for traveling,
provisional travel route setting means for setting a provisional travel route for traveling in the field along the shape of the field by connecting a plurality of straight routes; and the provisional travel route set by the provisional travel route setting means. The computer functions as a travel route transforming means that transforms the
The temporary travel route setting means includes:
A circular traveling route setting means for setting a circular traveling route for one or more circular traveling along the contour of the farm field in the outer peripheral region along the contour of the farm field; has a round-trip travel route setting means for setting a round-trip travel route for reciprocating travel,
The circuit running route setting means includes:
short route presence/absence determination means for determining whether or not a straight route shorter than a predetermined length is included in one round of the circuit route set by the circuit route setting means; When it is determined that the short straight path is included by A program for setting a travel route for a field work vehicle, comprising route modification means for connecting routes.

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