JP7357444B2 - harvester - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a harvester capable of automatic operation and manual operation.

Patent Document 1 describes an automatic driving mode in which the vehicle automatically travels along a set route, a manual driving mode in which the vehicle travels in response to human operation, and a manual driving preparation mode that is a transition mode from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode. , a tractor is disclosed that includes an automatic travel preparation mode that is a transition mode from a manual travel mode to an automatic travel mode. In order to perform field work automatically, the tractor is manually moved to a work starting position in the field. If the conditions for starting automatic driving are met, the vehicle shifts to automatic driving preparation mode, and if all the data necessary for automatic driving is collected, the vehicle shifts to automatic driving mode and starts automatic driving. The conditions for starting automatic driving are: vehicle speed below the set speed, forward/reverse selector lever in neutral state, clutch pedal not operated, brake pedal not operated, parking lever not operated, sub-shift lever in low speed position, and set rotation. The engine speed is above 100 mph, the steering wheel is in the straight-ahead position, the battery voltage is normal, the oil pressure is normal, and the coolant temperature is normal. The data necessary for automatic driving includes travel route data, work data, position data from GPS, and data from gyro sensors and orientation sensors.

Patent Document 2 discloses an automatic driving control unit that executes automatic driving based on the own vehicle position and a target driving route, and a manual driving control unit that executes manual driving based on an operation signal from a manually operated driving operation unit. A tractor is disclosed having a section. In this tractor, when the tractor stops during manual driving, detecting the neutral state of the forward/reverse operating tool, detecting the OFF state of the PTO drive operating tool, confirming the state in which automatic driving is possible, detecting the ON state of the automatic driving signal, The transition from manual driving to automatic driving is estimated based on the following conditions: and the presence of an automatic driving request signal requesting automatic driving. Furthermore, an automatic travel request signal is generated by operating a travel operation unit such as a switch or button on the tractor while a signal (GPS signal, etc.) related to the vehicle's position from the vehicle position detection module is also input. When input, automatic driving of the vehicle starts.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-180894 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-168883

The tractors capable of autonomous driving disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 stop at the position where automatic driving is to be started, and the condition of the vehicle equipment is satisfied for the transition from manual driving to automatic driving. Automatic driving is started on the condition that the vehicle is present and position data from GPS or the like has been acquired. In automatic driving, the tractor is automatically steered so that the center (control reference point) of the tractor, which is calculated based on the acquired position data, is on a pre-calculated travel route. At that time, it is necessary to capture the driving route developed in the memory at the stopping position where the automatic driving is to start, based on the position of the own vehicle in the stopped state. For vehicles traveling on roads, the target driving route is not a single-line driving route, but a route with a road width, so the problem of not being able to capture the target driving route for automatic driving actually occurs. do not have. However, since agricultural vehicles such as harvesters need to automatically travel along specific lines formed in fields, it is important to capture the driving route. If the stopping position is inappropriate, a problem arises in that the target travel route for future automatic driving cannot be acquired, or the calculation time required to acquire it becomes long, making it impossible to start automatic driving. When the travel route calculated for automatic driving is not just one, such as a single stroke, there arises a problem of capturing a plurality of travel routes or a problem of capturing a wrong travel route. When such a driving route acquisition error occurs, even if the conditions for transitioning to automatic driving are met and automatic driving is attempted to start, the target for automatic driving cannot be found, automatic steering is not possible, and the vehicle stops. It will remain as it is. This makes drivers and observers uneasy.
Under these circumstances, there is a demand for a harvester that can eliminate the above-mentioned problems and smoothly transition from manual to automatic operation.

The harvester capable of automatic operation and manual operation according to the present invention includes a manual travel control section that performs the manual travel based on a manual operation signal, and a manual travel control section that is formed on the inner peripheral side of the field by the peripheral mowing travel during the manual travel. A route calculation unit that calculates a travel route for automatic driving for an unworked area that is an area inside an outer peripheral area that is an already worked area of a field that has been worked on, and a direction deviation between the own vehicle position and the travel route. and the automatic driving control unit that performs the automatic driving and determines permission or disapproval of the automatic driving based on the automatic driving permission conditions so as to eliminate the positional shift , and if the determination result is permission, issue an automatic driving start command. and an automatic travel management section that provides information to the automatic travel control section. Furthermore, the automatic travel permission condition includes that the vehicle is located at an automatic travel start point , and the automatic travel start point is capable of capturing an automatic travel start travel route selected from the travel routes. , is calculated so that the azimuth deviation and positional deviation between the automatic travel start traveling route and the own vehicle position can be calculated.

In autonomous driving, which automatically steers the vehicle to align the vehicle's position with a previously calculated driving route, the automatic driving program captures the driving route set near the vehicle's position and determines the driving route that is the target of the automatic driving. need to be determined. In this configuration, one of the automatic travel permission conditions is that the travel route used when starting automatic travel (automatic travel start travel route) is captured. Therefore, when automatic driving is permitted, the driving route that should be the target of automatic steering is captured programmatically, and the deviation (position deviation and orientation deviation) can be calculated. As a result, even though the various devices installed in the harvester are in a state suitable for automatic driving, the vehicle position is calculated, and transition to automatic driving is permitted, as in the past, First, it is possible to avoid the problem in which automatic driving is not started because the program cannot find the driving route that should be the target of automatic steering, causing anxiety for the driver and supervisor.

Even if the driving route is captured based on the vehicle's position calculated based on the position information from the satellite positioning unit, if the accuracy of the vehicle's position is poor, the driving route may be incorrect, that is, inappropriate for starting automatic driving. There is a high possibility that the vehicle will capture a specific driving route. The accuracy level of the vehicle position calculated based on the position information from the satellite positioning unit varies depending on the number of satellites used to calculate the vehicle position. For this reason, the accuracy of the satellite positioning unit is required to be at a level that allows calculation of the vehicle's position without erroneously capturing the travel route. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, when a satellite positioning unit that outputs position information used to calculate the own vehicle position is provided, the automatic driving permission condition includes the automatic driving permission condition. It includes that the accuracy of the satellite positioning unit exceeds a predetermined level.

During automatic driving, if the accuracy of the vehicle's position deteriorates, that is, if the accuracy of the satellite positioning unit decreases, the deviation between the travel route and the aircraft increases. In the case of a harvester, it is important to harvest in line with the row, which is the planting line, for good harvest efficiency, and it is necessary to avoid running the machine in a manner that deviates significantly from the row. For this reason, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, when the accuracy of the satellite positioning unit that outputs position information used to calculate the own vehicle position drops to a predetermined level, the automatic driving is canceled. Ru. Even if automatic driving is canceled due to a decline in the accuracy of the satellite positioning unit, harvesting operations can be continued by manual driving.

If the harvesting machine is a combine harvester that temporarily stores the harvested crops in a tank as it travels, once the tank is full, it must be discharged to a transport vehicle waiting around the field. Therefore, if the tank becomes full during automatic driving, the vehicle will head to the discharge stop position to discharge the harvest. If driving to such a discharge stop position is included in automatic driving, if the discharge stop position is not set in the automatic driving control system, automatic driving to the discharge stop position will not be possible when the tank is full. This becomes possible and the harvester becomes stuck. In order to avoid this, one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is provided with a discharge position setting unit that sets a discharge stop position for discharging harvested crops, and the automatic travel permission condition is It includes that the discharge stop position is set. A suitable discharge stop position is a place close to a field boundary such as a ridge, which becomes an area that has already been cut by mowing around the area, and where the harvester can move freely during work. However, since it is desirable to be able to secure the space necessary for accurate positioning travel at the discharge stop position, a corner of a field is not appropriate. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the discharge stop position is in an outer circumferential area formed on the outer circumferential side of the field by the circumferential mowing drive, and in a place other than a corner of the outer circumferential area. is set to

The harvester needs to manually travel to the automatic travel start point, which is the position where it can capture the automatic travel start travel route, which is the travel route at the start of automatic travel. This automatic travel starting point is preferably close to the automatic travel starting travel route. The automatic travel start travel route is one of the travel routes calculated for the unworked area before the start of automatic travel, and is the first travel route selected that is optimal for sequentially covering the travel route. It is. In the case of a harvester, conventionally, there are two convenient travel patterns in which the harvester travels along the unworked area along the travel route: a reciprocating travel pattern in which multiple parallel travel routes are connected by U-turns, and a reciprocating travel pattern in which the machine travels along the outer edge of the unworked area. A spiral running pattern is known. In these two travel patterns, even if the position from which automatic travel is started is common, the orientation of the aircraft from which travel is started is often different. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the driving pattern in the automatic driving includes a reciprocating driving pattern in which a plurality of parallel driving routes are connected by U-turns, and a reciprocating driving pattern in which the unworked area is traveled. The automatic travel starting point is calculated using a different algorithm depending on the travel pattern.

When the automatic travel permission conditions are met, the automatic travel control system enters the automatic travel permission state and waits for an automatic travel start command to be input. The automatic driving start command is generated based on an operation by a driver or a supervisor. In manual driving, the aircraft starts moving when the driver operates the gear shift lever from the neutral position to the forward gear position. Therefore, it is advantageous if the automatic travel start command for starting the aircraft during automatic travel is also generated by the same operation, eliminating the difference between manual operation and automatic operation. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the automatic travel start command is given to the automatic travel control section using the displacement of the shift lever from the neutral position to the forward shift position as a trigger.

Furthermore, when operating a harvester such as a combine harvester, the gear lever not only determines the forward speed and reverse speed of the machine, but also serves as a brake lever. This is because the running resistance in the field is large, so when the gear lever is returned to the neutral position, the machine will stop. For this reason, it is advantageous to provide a similar function to the gear shift lever in automatic driving as well. Particularly in automatic driving, an emergency stop is required when driving in reverse, where visibility in the direction of travel becomes poor. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, when the gear shift lever is displaced during the backward movement in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle is stopped and the automatic driving mode is canceled, and during the forward movement in the automatic driving mode, the automatic driving mode is stopped and the automatic driving mode is canceled. When the gear shift lever is moved to the stop position, the vehicle will stop, but automatic driving will not necessarily be canceled, and the vehicle will remain in that state and wait for the transmission of automatic driving. When a harvester is traveling in a field, the machine does not necessarily stop at a neutral position, and often stops at a gear change position near the neutral position. In consideration of this, the shift position at which such an aircraft stops is defined as the stop position, and the stop position means the operating range of the shift lever including the neutral position. This is because when moving forward, even during automatic operation, the vehicle often stops temporarily to check the field or harvest. For this reason, it is preferable that the automatic driving state is maintained even if the vehicle is stopped using the gear shift lever when moving forward, since the return to automatic driving will be quicker.

If the vehicle shifts from manual driving to automatic driving due to an unexpected operation by the driver or supervisor, the driver or supervisor will be caught off guard and surprised. To avoid this problem, it is best for the driver or manager to manually output a signal requesting automatic driving with a clear intention. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the automatic travel permission condition includes the operation of an automatic travel permission operating tool, and the automatic travel permission operating tool has a plurality of operation parts, In the manual driving, a signal requesting the automatic driving is output by operating a plurality of the operating parts, and in the automatic driving, the automatic driving is canceled by operating at least one of the operating parts. With this configuration, in order to start automatic driving, multiple operating units must be operated so that a signal requesting automatic driving is output, which prevents automatic driving from starting unexpectedly. .

Harvesting machines may suddenly experience machine conditions that are inappropriate for work travel, especially automatic work travel, such as tilting of the machine body, engine malfunction, or control system malfunction. Autonomous driving in such a state must be avoided. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the automatic driving permission condition includes a specific aircraft state, and when an abnormality occurs in at least one of the aircraft states during the automatic driving. The automatic driving is canceled.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a common type combine harvester as an example of a harvesting machine. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the circumferential cutting movement of the combine harvester. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a travel pattern in which reciprocating travel connected by U-turns is repeated. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a running pattern in which the vehicle runs spirally toward the center. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of a combine harvester. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a general-purpose terminal. It is an explanatory view explaining capture of a running route. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between a travel route and an automatic travel start point in a reciprocating travel pattern. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between a travel route and an automatic travel start point in a spiral travel pattern. It is an explanatory view showing a 270° turn in a spiral travel pattern.

Next, a conventional combine harvester will be described as an example of a harvester capable of automatic operation and manual operation according to the present invention. In this specification, unless otherwise specified, "front" (direction of arrow F shown in FIG. 1) means forward with respect to the longitudinal direction (running direction) of the aircraft, and "rear" (direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 1) means forward. (direction) means rearward with respect to the longitudinal direction (travel direction) of the aircraft. In addition, the left-right direction or lateral direction means a cross-body direction (body width direction) orthogonal to the body longitudinal direction.
"Up" (direction of arrow U shown in FIG. 1) and "down" (direction of arrow D shown in FIG. 1) are the positional relationships in the vertical direction (vertical direction) of the aircraft 10, and the relationships in terms of ground height. shows.

As shown in FIG. 1, this combine harvester includes a body 10, a crawler-type traveling device 11, a driving section 12, a threshing device 13, a grain tank 14, a harvesting section 15, a conveying device 16, a grain discharging device 18, and a self-vehicle. A position detection module 80 is provided.

The traveling device 11 is provided at the bottom of the aircraft body 10. The combine harvester is configured to be self-propelled by a traveling device 11. The driving unit 12 , the threshing device 13 , and the grain tank 14 are provided above the traveling device 11 and constitute the upper part of the machine body 10 . A driver who operates the combine harvester and a supervisor who monitors the work of the combine harvester can board the operating section 12 . Note that the supervisor may monitor the work of the combine from outside the combine.

The grain discharge device 18 is provided above the grain tank 14. Further, the own vehicle position detection module 80 is attached to the upper surface of the driving section 12.

Harvesting section 15 is provided at the front of the combine harvester. The conveying device 16 is provided on the rear side of the harvesting section 15. Further, the harvesting section 15 includes a cutting mechanism 15a and a reel 15b. The cutting mechanism 15a cuts the planted grain culms in the field. Further, the reel 15b rake in the planted grain culm to be harvested while being rotated. With this configuration, the harvesting section 15 harvests grains (a type of agricultural product) in the field. The combine harvester is capable of working travel in which the harvesting section 15 harvests grains in the field while the traveling device 11 travels.

The harvested grain culm cut by the cutting mechanism 15a is transported to the threshing device 13 by the transport device 16. In the threshing device 13, the harvested grain culm is threshed. The grains obtained by the threshing process are stored in the grain tank 14. The grains stored in the grain tank 14 are discharged to the outside of the machine by a grain discharge device 18 as necessary.

Furthermore, a general-purpose terminal 4 is arranged in the operating section 12 . In this embodiment, the general-purpose terminal 4 is fixed to the operating section 12. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the general-purpose terminal 4 may be configured to be detachable from the operating section 12, or the general-purpose terminal 4 may be placed outside the combine harvester.

As shown in FIG. 2, this combine automatically travels along a travel route set in the field. For this purpose, the own vehicle position is required. The own vehicle position detection module 80 includes a satellite positioning unit 81 and an inertial navigation unit 82. The satellite positioning unit 81 receives a GNSS (global navigation satellite system) signal (including a GPS signal), which is position information transmitted from an artificial satellite GS, and outputs positioning data for calculating the own vehicle position. The inertial navigation unit 82 incorporates a gyroscopic acceleration sensor and a magnetic orientation sensor, and outputs a position vector indicating the instantaneous direction of travel. The inertial navigation unit 82 is used to supplement the vehicle position calculation by the satellite positioning unit 81. Inertial navigation unit 82 may be located at a different location from satellite positioning unit 81.

The procedure for performing harvesting work in a field using this combine harvester is as explained below.

First, the driver/supervisor manually operates the combine harvester, and as shown in FIG. 2, harvests while traveling around the outer periphery of the field along the boundary line of the field. This round trip is called a circumferential mowing trip. The area that has become a mown area (already worked area) due to the surrounding mowing drive is set as the outer circumferential area SA. Then, the unworked area left as uncut land (unworked land) on the inner peripheral side of the outer peripheral area SA is set as the work target area CA. In this embodiment, the surrounding mowing drive is performed so that the work target area CA is a quadrangle. Of course, a triangular or pentagonal work area CA may be employed.

Further, at this time, in order to ensure a certain width of the outer circumferential area SA, the driver drives the combine three to four laps. In this traveling, the width of the outer circumferential area SA increases by the working width of the combine every time the combine goes around once. After the first two to three laps are completed, the width of the outer peripheral area SA becomes about two to three times the working width of the combine harvester.

The outer peripheral area SA is used as a space for the combine harvester to change direction when harvesting in the work area CA. Furthermore, the outer peripheral area SA is also used as a space for movement, such as when moving to a grain discharge stop location or a fuel replenishment location after completing the harvest run.

Note that the transport vehicle CV shown in FIG. 2 can collect and transport grains discharged from the grain discharge device 18 by the combine harvester. At the time of grain discharge, the combine moves to the vicinity of the transport vehicle CV, and then the grain is discharged to the transport vehicle CV by the grain discharge device 18.

When the inner map data indicating the shape of the work target area CA is created, route elements are calculated parallel to each side of the rectangular work target area CA and at intervals that take into account the work width and overlap. A travel route for automatic travel is calculated based on these route elements. The travel route along which the combine automatically travels so as to cover the work area CA varies depending on the travel pattern. The travel patterns mainly used by combine harvesters are a reciprocating travel pattern (shown in Figure 3) in which multiple parallel travel paths are connected by U-turns, and a spiral travel pattern along the outer edge of the work area CA. The running spiral running pattern (shown in Figure 4).

In the reciprocating travel pattern shown in FIG. 3, the combine travels while connecting travel paths parallel to one side of the work area CA by U-turn turning travel. U-turn turning includes a normal U-turn that straddles one or more travel routes, and a switchback turn that connects adjacent travel routes. A normal U-turn is a 180-degree turn that includes two forward 90-degree turns and a straight run, and the straight run may be omitted. A switchback turn is a 180 degree change in direction using a 90 degree forward turn, a backward 90 degree turn, and a 90 degree forward turn.

In the spiral travel pattern shown in FIG. 4, the combine runs in a spiral manner toward the center along a travel route similar to the outer shape of the work area CA. For turning at corners during each lap, a turn called an alpha turn is used, which is a combination of straight going, backward turning, and forward turning. Note that during the work, it is also possible to change from spiral travel to straight-line reciprocating travel, or from straight-line reciprocating travel to spiral travel.

FIG. 5 shows the control system of the combine. The control system of the combine is composed of a control device 5 consisting of a large number of electronic control units called ECUs connected via an in-vehicle LAN, and various input/output devices that communicate signals and data with the control device 5. There is.

The control device 5 includes an output processing section 58 and an input processing section 57 as input/output interfaces. The output processing section 58 is connected to various operating devices 70 via a device driver 65. The operating equipment 70 includes a traveling equipment group 71 that is traveling-related equipment and a working equipment group 72 that is work-related equipment. The traveling equipment group 71 includes, for example, engine equipment, transmission equipment, braking equipment, steering equipment, and the like. The working equipment group 72 includes control equipment for the harvesting section 15, the threshing device 13, the conveying device 16, and the grain discharging device 18.

The input processing section 57 is connected to a traveling state sensor group 63, a working state sensor group 64, a traveling operation unit 90, and the like. The driving state sensor group 63 includes a vehicle speed sensor, an engine rotation speed sensor, a parking brake detection sensor, a shift position detection sensor, a steering position detection sensor, and the like. The working state sensor group 64 includes sensors that detect the driving states and postures of harvesting work devices (such as the harvesting section 15, threshing device 13, conveying device 16, and grain discharging device 18 shown in FIG. A sensor is included to detect the condition of the grain.

The travel operation unit 90 is a general term for operating tools that are manually operated by the driver and whose operation signals are input to the control device 5. The travel operation unit 90 includes a main shift lever 91 as a shift lever, a steering lever 92, a mode operation tool configured as a mode changeover switch 93, an automatic travel permission operation tool 94, and the like. ing. The mode changeover switch 93 has a function of sending a command to the control device 5 for switching between automatic operation and manual operation. The automatic travel permission operating tool 94 outputs an automatic travel permission signal through operation by the driver (one of the automatic travel permission conditions). In this embodiment, the automatic driving permission operating tool 94 is composed of two button switches as two operating parts, and has a first button (first operating device) and a second button (second operating device). If they are not operated at the same time, the automatic driving permission signal will not be output and the automatic driving permission conditions will not be met.

The notification device 62 is a device for notifying the driver or the like of a warning regarding the working state or driving state, and is a buzzer, a lamp, or the like. Note that the general-purpose terminal 4 also functions as a device that notifies the driver and the like of work status, driving status, and various other information through the display on the touch panel 40.

This control device 5 is further connected to a general-purpose terminal 4 through an on-vehicle LAN. The general-purpose terminal 4 is a tablet computer equipped with a touch panel 40. The general-purpose terminal 4 includes a route calculation section 41, a work travel management section 42, and an input/output control section 43. The input/output control unit 43 also has a function of constructing a graphic interface using the touch panel 40 and a function of exchanging data with the remote management computer 100 via a wireless line or the Internet. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a mode changeover switch 93 and an automatic driving permission operating tool 94 are attached to the right side of the general-purpose terminal 4.

As shown in FIG. 5, the work travel management section 42 includes a travel trajectory calculation section 421, a work area determination section 422, and a discharge position setting section 423. The travel trajectory calculation unit 421 calculates a travel trajectory based on the own vehicle position given from the control device 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the work area determining unit 422 divides the field into an outer circumferential area SA and a work target area CA based on a travel locus obtained by manually driving the combine several times around the outer circumferential area SA of the field. Separate into. The outermost line of the outer circumferential area SA is used to calculate the boundary line with the edge of the field, and the innermost line of the outer circumferential area SA is used to calculate the unworked area (the shape of the work target area CA) in which automatic travel is performed. The discharge position setting unit 423 sets the discharge stop position of the combine harvester when the grains in the grain tank 14 are discharged to the transport vehicle CV by the grain discharge device 18 when the grain tank 14 is full. The discharge stop position is limited to be set in an outer circumferential area SA formed on the outer circumferential side of the field by the circumferential mowing run, and at a location other than a corner of the polygonal outer circumferential area SA.

The route calculation unit 41 calculates a travel route for automatic travel in the unworked area determined by the work area determination unit 422. Note that the travel pattern (reciprocating travel pattern or spiral travel pattern) for automatically traveling in the unworked area is input through the touch panel 40. When the driver inputs that manual travel in the outer peripheral area SA has been completed, route calculation using the selected route pattern is automatically performed.

The control device 5 includes a vehicle position calculation section 50, a travel control section 51, and a work control section 52. The own vehicle position calculation unit 50 calculates the own vehicle position in the form of map coordinates (or field coordinates) based on positioning data sequentially sent from the satellite positioning unit 81. The own vehicle position calculation unit 50 can also calculate the own vehicle position using the position vector and travel distance from the inertial navigation unit 82. The own vehicle position calculation unit 50 can also calculate the own vehicle position by combining signals from the satellite positioning unit 81 and the inertial navigation unit 82. Further, the vehicle position calculation unit 50 can obtain the accuracy level of the satellite positioning unit 81 from the positioning data from the satellite positioning unit 81. This accuracy level is determined based on the number of satellites used to generate positioning data, the strength of satellite radio waves, etc. If the accuracy level falls below a predetermined level, reliable calculation of the vehicle's position becomes impossible, and automatic driving becomes impossible.

The notification unit 56 generates notification data based on commands and the like from each functional unit of the control device 5 and provides the notification data to the notification device 62 .

The travel control unit 51 has an engine control function, a steering control function, a vehicle speed control function, etc., and provides a travel control signal to the travel equipment group 71. The work control unit 52 provides a work control signal to the work equipment group 72 in order to control the movement of the harvesting work equipment.

This combine harvester can run in both automatic mode, where harvesting is carried out automatically, and manual mode, where harvesting is carried out manually. For this reason, the travel control section 51 includes a manual travel control section 511, an automatic travel control section 512, a travel route setting section 513, and an automatic travel management section 514.

When the automatic driving mode is set, the automatic driving control unit 512 generates a control signal for changing vehicle speed including automatic steering and stopping, and controls the traveling equipment group 71. The control signal related to automatic steering is configured to eliminate the azimuth deviation and positional deviation between the target driving route set by the driving route setting unit 513 and the own vehicle position calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 50. generated. A control signal for changing the vehicle speed is generated based on a preset vehicle speed value.

When the manual travel mode is selected, when a manual operation signal is sent to the manual travel control unit 511 based on the operation by the driver, the manual travel control unit 511 generates a control signal and controls the travel equipment group 71. This enables manual operation. Note that the travel route calculated by the route calculation unit 41 can be used for guidance for the combine to travel along the travel route even in manual operation.

When the driving mode is switched to the automatic driving mode by the mode changeover switch 93, the automatic driving management unit 514 determines whether automatic driving is permitted based on preset automatic driving permission conditions, and this determination result indicates whether automatic driving is permitted. If so, an automatic travel start command is given to the automatic travel control unit 512.

The automatic travel permission conditions regarding the aircraft state set in this embodiment are listed below.
(1) Positioning data relationship (1-1) The accuracy of the positioning data included in the position information from the satellite positioning unit 81 exceeds a predetermined level.
(1-2) Since the satellite positioning unit 81 uses RTK (Real Time Kinematic) GPS, the base station is located within 10 m of the predetermined position.

(2) Vehicle status (2-1) The cabin entrance/exit door covering the driving section 12 is closed.
(2-2) Seat belts are fastened.
(2-3) The grain discharge device 18 is held in the storage position.
(2-4) Not refueling.
(2-5) Fine adjustment data for the operating device 70 is set.
(2-6) The main shift lever 91 and the steering lever 92 are in the neutral position.
(2-7) The reaping and threshing lever is at the stop position.
(2-8) The parking brake is released.
(2-9) The inclination of the aircraft body 10 is within a predetermined range.
(2-10) No clogging occurs in the harvest conveyance system.
(2-11) Grain tank 14 is not full.

(3) Control-related (3-1) No ECU abnormality has occurred.
(3-2) There is no communication abnormality in the in-vehicle LAN.
(3-3) The discharge stop position is set in the discharge position setting section 423.

(4) Travel route relationship (4-1) Map information of the work target area CA, which is an unworked area, has been created, and a travel route for automatically traveling in the work target area CA has been calculated.
(4-2) The travel route used when starting automatic travel selected by the travel route setting unit 513 (automatic travel start travel route) is captured at the current vehicle position, in other words, the combined is located at the automatic travel starting point where the automatic travel starting route can be captured.

Capturing a travel route will be schematically explained using FIG. 7. FIG. 7 schematically shows a combine harvester, a travel route, and a route search zone. In the figure, CP is the reference point of the combine harvester, and the own vehicle position calculated by the own vehicle position calculation unit 50 is the coordinate position of this reference point. The automatic travel starting travel route is indicated by Ls, and other travel routes are indicated by L. In this example, the route search zone that is thinly colored in the figure is a fan shape with a center angle of about 45° that extends in the traveling direction with the own vehicle position as the center. From this, the automatic travel permission condition that the travel route used when starting automatic travel is captured at the own vehicle position is satisfied if the automatic travel start travel route is found within the route search zone. Once a driving route is calculated and a driving pattern is selected, an automatic driving start point is calculated. At this time, the automatic travel start point is calculated such that when the combine harvester is located near the automatic travel start point, the automatic travel start travel route is captured within the route search zone.

The automatic driving start point is calculated using different algorithms depending on the selected driving pattern. In the reciprocating travel pattern, as shown in FIG. 8, the end of one of a plurality of travel routes (indicated by symbols L1...L13 in FIG. 8) covering the work target area CA (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 8). However, basically, in consideration of work efficiency, the outermost travel route L1, which is close to the current position of the combine harvester's own vehicle, is set as the automatic travel start travel route Ls. However, if the work area CA is vast, a travel route that divides the work target area CA into two, called intermediate travel, is set as the automatic travel start travel route Ls. The target travel route after the automatic travel start travel route Ls is set in consideration of the distance required for a 180 degree U-turn of the combine harvester.

In the spiral travel pattern, as shown in FIG. 9, the automatic travel start point is set in the outer peripheral area SA near one of the corners of the outermost spiral travel route (labeled L1...L4 in FIG. 9). Configurable. In the example of FIG. 9 as well, in consideration of work efficiency, the counterclockwise traveling route L1 at the corner closest to the current position of the own vehicle of the combine is set as the automatic traveling starting traveling route Ls.

When all automatic driving permission conditions are met, it is reported that automatic driving is permitted. In the automatic operation permission state, the combine is stopped but is in an automatic operation state. The first button and the second button constituting the automatic driving permission operating tool 94 have a lamp function, and are lit in the automatic driving permission state. Note that the first button and the second button repeatedly flash rapidly when the combine has reached the automatic travel start point where the automatic travel start travel route can be captured. If the first button and the second button are pressed and all automatic driving permission conditions are met, the blinking will change to lighting. When the driver displaces the main shift lever 91 from the neutral position to the forward shift position in this automatic operation permission state (the combine is stopped but the automatic operation state is maintained), this displacement acts as a trigger. Then, a travel start command is given to the automatic travel control unit 512, and the combine starts automatic travel along the automatic travel start travel route.

If the above-mentioned automatic driving permission conditions are no longer satisfied during automatic driving, automatic driving is stopped.
The automatic operation cancellation conditions under which automatic operation is canceled are listed below.
(1) Positioning data relationship (1-1) The accuracy of positioning data falls below a predetermined level.

(2) Vehicle status (2-1) The cabin entrance/exit door is opened.
(2-2) The seat belt becomes unfastened after a predetermined time has elapsed.
(2-3) The grain discharge device 18 is activated.
(2-4) Slip exceeding the allowable range occurs.
(2-5) The steering lever 92 is operated.
(2-6) The main shift lever 91 is operated to the stop position while the vehicle is traveling forward, or the main shift lever 91 is operated while the vehicle is traveling backward.
(2-7) The reaping and threshing lever is operated.
(2-8) The parking brake is activated.
(2-9) Aircraft tilt exceeds the specified range.
(2-10) Clogging occurs in the harvest conveyance system.

(3) Control-related (3-1) An abnormality occurs in the ECU.
(3-2) A communication error occurs in the in-vehicle LAN.
(3-3) The mode changeover switch 93 is switched to manual travel mode.
(3-4) At least one of the first button and the second button of the automatic travel permission operating tool 94 is operated.

(4) Travel route relationship (4-1) The inability to capture the travel route continues for a predetermined period of time or longer.

The touch panel 40 of the general-purpose terminal 4 has a function as a graphic interface capable of inputting and outputting, so that various input operations are possible. However, operation while driving poses a safety problem. However, the touch panel 40 displays information that the user would like to check even while driving, such as the position of the combine harvester in the field, the relationship between the target driving route and the vehicle's position. Therefore, even while the vehicle is running, only the screen enlargement, screen reduction, and current location display on the touch panel 40 can be operated.

In the spiral travel pattern, as shown in FIG. 4, an alpha turn is used as a quick direction change that does not take up much space, using a straight run, a backward turn, and a forward turn. The outer circumferential area SA, which is a previously cut area, is used as a space for changing direction at such a corner, but as work travel in a spiral pattern progresses, the outer circumferential area SA becomes larger and cannot be used for changing direction. The available space will also be larger. When the outer circumferential area SA becomes large in this way, it is also possible to shift to the next traveling route by performing a 270° clockwise turn as shown in FIG. 10 during counterclockwise spiral traveling. This 270° turn has the advantage that automatic steering control is simpler than the alpha turn because it requires no backward movement and is a forward only turn.

A management computer 100 capable of exchanging data with the general-purpose terminal 4 is constructed with an agricultural work management section 101 having a database function. The agricultural work management section 101 stores and manages agricultural work information for each field every year. The farm work information includes map information of the field, map information of farm roads around the field, types and methods of farm work performed on the field, and the like. For example, farm work information related to harvest work by a combine harvester includes the number of circumference mowing rounds, the adopted driving pattern, and the discharge stop that is the stopping position in the field when the grain accumulated in the grain tank 14 is discharged to the transport vehicle CV. Locations, travel routes, travel trajectories, yield maps, etc. are stored and managed. This agricultural information stored for each harvesting operation is then used for harvesting and other agricultural operations. For example, when performing harvesting work, if the driving pattern of the previous harvesting work, the discharge stop position, etc. are used as initial values, the effort required for initial settings can be reduced.

[Another embodiment]
(1) The automatic driving permission conditions and automatic driving termination conditions shown in the embodiments described above are just examples, and the self-driving starting point where the automatic driving starting route can be captured is the characteristic of the present invention. You are free to choose any of the conditions other than the condition that is located.

(2) Each functional unit shown in FIG. 5 is divided mainly for the purpose of explanation. In practice, each function may be integrated with other functions or may be divided into multiple functions. For example, a functional unit constructed in the general-purpose terminal 4 may be incorporated into the control device 5.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the driver manually operates the combine harvester, and as shown in FIG. After that, it calculates the driving route and switches to automatic driving. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an operating method in which a traveling route for lap driving is first calculated, the combine is automatically operated, and when a special situation occurs, switching to manual operation is possible. Further, a driving method may be adopted in which a straight or nearly straight driving route is automatically driven, and a driving route that involves sharp turns such as direction changes is manually driven. At that time, the above-mentioned automatic driving permission conditions are also applied in the transition from manual driving to automatic driving.

The present invention can be used not only for ordinary combine harvesters but also for self-extracting combine harvesters. It can also be used in various harvesting machines such as a corn harvesting machine, a potato harvesting machine, a carrot harvesting machine, and a sugarcane harvesting machine.

4: General-purpose terminal 40: Touch panel 41: Route calculation section 42: Work travel management section 421: Travel trajectory calculation section 422: Work area determination section 423: Discharge position setting section 43: Input/output control section 5: Control device 50: Self-vehicle Position calculation unit 51 : Travel control unit 511 : Manual travel control unit 512 : Automatic travel control unit 513 : Travel route setting unit 514 : Automatic travel management unit 52 : Work control unit 56 : Notification unit 80 : Self-vehicle position detection module 81 : Satellite positioning unit 82: Inertial navigation unit 90: Travel operation unit 91: Main gear shift lever 93: Mode selection switch 94: Automatic travel permission operating tool 100: Management computer 101: Agricultural work management department CA: Work target area SA: Outer area

Claims (10)

A harvester capable of automatic and manual travel,
a manual travel control unit that performs the manual travel based on a manual operation signal;
a route calculation unit that calculates a travel route for automatic travel with respect to an unworked area formed on the inner circumferential side of the field due to the peripheral mowing travel in the manual travel;
an automatic travel control unit that performs the automatic travel so as to eliminate azimuth deviation and positional deviation between the own vehicle position and the travel route;
an automatic travel management unit that determines permission or disapproval of the automatic travel based on automatic travel permission conditions, and when the determination result is permission, provides an automatic travel start command to the automatic travel control unit,
The automatic driving permission condition includes that the own vehicle is located at the automatic driving starting point ,
The automatic travel start point can capture an automatic travel start travel route selected from the travel routes, and calculate an azimuth shift and a positional shift between the automatic travel start travel route and the own vehicle position. , a harvester that is calculated . A satellite positioning unit that outputs position information used to calculate the own vehicle position is provided,
The harvester according to claim 1, wherein the automatic travel permission condition includes that the accuracy of the satellite positioning unit exceeds a predetermined level. The harvester according to claim 2, wherein the automatic travel is canceled when the accuracy of the satellite positioning unit decreases to a predetermined level. A discharge position setting unit is provided for setting a discharge stop position for discharging the harvested crops,
The harvester according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the automatic travel permission condition includes that the discharge stop position is set. 5. The harvester according to claim 4, wherein the discharge stop position is set in an outer circumferential area formed on the outer circumferential side of the field by the circumferential mowing run, and at a location other than a corner of the outer circumferential area. The travel pattern in the automatic travel includes a reciprocating travel pattern in which the vehicle travels by connecting a plurality of parallel travel routes by U-turns, and a spiral travel pattern in which the vehicle travels in a spiral shape along the outer edge of the unworked area. and
The harvester according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the automatic travel start point is calculated using different algorithms depending on the travel pattern. The harvester according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the automatic travel start command is given to the automatic travel control section using a shift of a shift lever from a neutral position to a forward shift position as a trigger. When the gear shift lever is displaced when reversing in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle comes to a stop and the automatic driving mode is canceled;
The harvester according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the harvester stops when the speed change lever is moved to a stop position during forward movement in the automatic running mode. The automatic driving permission condition includes the operation of an automatic driving permission operating tool,
The automatic travel permission operating tool has a plurality of operation parts, and in the manual travel, a signal requesting the automatic travel is output by operating the plurality of operation parts, and in the automatic travel, at least one of the operation parts The harvester according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the automatic travel is canceled by an operation on the harvester. The automatic driving permission conditions include a specific aircraft state,
The harvester according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the automatic travel is canceled if an abnormality occurs in at least one of the machine body states during the automatic travel.

Images