JPH05189031A - Travel contr0ller for working vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate and automate the switching of passages by performing travel control and steering control based upon a travel pattern for work passage switching successively without temporarily stopping a working vehicle by using the detection signal regarding the start end part of a work passage as a start command. CONSTITUTION:Motors 11, 13, and 14 are driven by driving circuits 11a, 13a, and 14a, which are controlled by a control means 15 constituted by using a microcomputer. Ultrasonic sensors 16 measure the distances between left and right ridges in the field and the working vehicle A and fitted at four front and rear, and right and left positions of the travel machining body. The control means 15 make the couple of left and right ultrasonic sensors 16 effective in forward movement and the rear side effective in backward movement. The steering control is performed by decreasing the rotating speeds of a left and a right driving ring according to the difference between the distances to the left and right ridges detected by the left and right ultrasonic sensors 16. A mark sensor 17 is a kind of magnetic sensor and detects a magnetic body plate on the work passage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering position detecting means for detecting the lateral position of a work vehicle with respect to each of a plurality of work passages branched from a plurality of main passages. Passage end detecting means for detecting the starting end and the ending end of the working passage, and the both detecting means for running the working passage from the starting end to the ending end and then switching the running direction to the starting end. And a control means for controlling the traveling and steering of the work vehicle based on the detection information of 1.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such a work vehicle guidance system is for automatically driving a work vehicle for agriculture, which carries out work such as spraying a chemical along a ridge. In this case, generally, the ridge corresponds to the working passage, and the passage when the work vehicle moves from the ridge to the ridge corresponds to the mother passage. Normally, the work vehicle travels back and forth in the work passage to perform work, and does not turn at the end of the work passage but switches the traveling direction from forward to reverse.
It is often difficult to secure space for turning, and
This is because, for example, in the case of a working vehicle for spraying a chemical solution, the hose for supplying the chemical solution is an obstacle and is hard to turn.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2-262 filed by the applicant earlier
In No. 223, ultrasonic sensors are attached to the left and right of the work vehicle, and steering control is performed based on the detection signals of the work vehicles so that the work vehicle travels independently in the furrow (work passage). In addition, the traveling distance is calculated from the feed amount of the chemical solution supply hose, and the traveling direction is switched by discriminating the end portion of the working passage by this, and when it returns to the starting end portion of the working passage, it is temporarily stopped and the next It was designed to be moved to the beginning of the work passage.

[0004]

The above-mentioned human operation for switching the work passage is performed by operating the handle to turn the work vehicle or moving the work vehicle forward and backward. However, when the work vehicle becomes heavier, it is directly operated by human power. It's difficult to do.
It may be possible to perform turning and forward / backward movement electrically by operating a manual switch, but turning operation in a narrow space of the main passage is not easy at all.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to facilitate a switching operation of a work passage in traveling control of a work vehicle or to perform an automatic operation without any manual operation. To let you do it.

[0006]

A traveling control device for a work vehicle according to the present invention detects a lateral position of a work vehicle with respect to the work passage in each of a plurality of work passages branched from a plurality of locations of a mother passage. Steering position detecting means, passage end detecting means for detecting a start end and a terminal end of the working passage, and a traveling end to a terminating end of the working passage. In order to make the vehicle travel, the control means for controlling the traveling and steering of the work vehicle is provided based on the detection information of the both detection means.
The characteristic configuration is that the work vehicle is returned from the starting end portion of the work passage to the mother passage in a turning traveling state, and then the traveling direction is changed to travel along the mother passage, and then the adjacent work passage is formed. Storage means for storing a traveling pattern for switching the working passage to be traveled in a turning traveling state is provided at the start end portion of the vehicle, and the control means controls traveling based on the traveling pattern stored in the storage means in response to a start command. And steering control.

[0007]

According to the above characteristic structure, the work vehicle reciprocates in the work passage by the traveling control and the steering control of the control means based on the detection information of the steering position detecting means and the passage end detecting means, and the starting end is reached. When the start command is given when returning to the section, the control means executes traveling control and steering control based on the traveling pattern for switching the working passage stored in the storage means. That is, the work vehicle is returned from the starting end of the working passage to the mother passage in a turning traveling state, and then the traveling direction is changed to run along the mother passage, and then the working vehicle is turned to the starting end of the adjacent working passage. Run in running condition.

When the starting command is given to the control means, when the work vehicle travels back and forth in the working passage and returns to the starting end, the passage end detecting means detects the starting end of the working passage. The control means may temporarily stop the work vehicle and wait for a start command by a manual operation. Alternatively,
Using the detection signal of the starting end of the working passage by the passage end detecting means as a start command, the running control and the steering control based on the running pattern for changing the working passage are continuously executed without temporarily stopping the work vehicle. You may comprise.

[0009]

As described above, the work vehicle is automatically adjacent to the work vehicle that has come back to the starting end of the work passage and is given a start command, or no manual operation is performed. It became convenient because it can be run to the beginning of the work passage.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The work vehicle of the present embodiment is mainly for spraying a chemical solution on crops in a house. As shown in FIG. 2, the chemical liquid supply device 2 installed outside the house 1 and the work vehicle A are connected by a hose 3 for supplying the chemical liquid.
Spreads the chemical solution on the crops planted in the left and right ridges while reciprocating through the plurality of ridges, that is, the working passage 4. Further, a mother passage 5 is provided as a passage for moving from one work passage 4 to an adjacent work passage 4. In other words, the plurality of work passages 4 branch from a plurality of locations of the mother passage 5.

The work vehicle A, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,
A spray boom 9 for spraying a chemical liquid is provided upright on the front part of a traveling machine body including a front wheel 6 which is one caster type idler wheel, a rear wheel 7 which is a pair of left and right driving wheels, a steering handle 8 and the like. The hose reel 10 is provided in a state where the axle of the rear wheel 7 and the rotating shaft overlap with each other, and the work vehicle A moves backward while winding the hose 3 around the hose reel 10 and moves forward while extending. For this purpose, a reel winding motor 11 is provided, and the work vehicle A is rotationally driven only when the vehicle is moving backward. The winding motor 11 and the hose reel 10 are connected by a friction plate in the hose winding direction, and are connected via a clutch mechanism (not shown), a sprocket and a chain 12 which are free in the hose feeding direction.

Further, the work vehicle A reciprocates in the work passage while injecting the chemical liquid supplied from the chemical liquid supply device 2 through the hose 3 left and right from a plurality of spray nozzles 9a provided in the spray boom 9. For this purpose, a pump motor 13 for spraying the chemical liquid is provided and is rotationally driven while traveling in the work passage. It should be noted that it is configured so that it can be switched between spraying only while the work passage is moving backward and spraying in forward and backward (reciprocating).

The drive wheels (rear wheels) 7 are rotatably driven for left and right respectively. For this purpose, a pair of left and right traveling motors 14 are provided, and each of them drives the left and right drive wheels 7 via a sprocket and a chain 15, respectively. Then, the work vehicle A is moved straight by driving the left and right drive wheels 7 at the same rotation speed, and the work vehicle A is steered by making a difference in rotation speed. Further, the work vehicle A is moved forward and backward by rotating the work vehicle A forward and backward.

As shown in FIG. 1, the motors 11 and 1 are
Reference numerals 3 and 14 are driven by respective drive circuits 11a, 13a and 14a, and each drive circuit is controlled by a control means 15 configured by using a microcomputer. The control means 15 also controls a traveling lamp that lights up during traveling, a reverse lamp that lights up during reverse traveling, and the like. Further, the detection signal of the ultrasonic sensor 16 as the steering position detecting means for detecting the lateral position of the work vehicle A with respect to the work passage 4 and the like, and the passage for detecting the start end portion and the end portion of the work passage 4 etc. The detection signal of the mark sensor 17 as the edge detection means is also input.

The ultrasonic sensor 16 includes the left and right ridges and the work vehicle A.
It is for measuring the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle, and as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. The control means 15 enables the pair of left and right ultrasonic sensors 16 on the front side during forward movement, and enables the pair of left and right ultrasonic sensors 16 on the rear side during backward movement. Then, steering control is performed based on the detection signals of the left and right ultrasonic sensors 16, and thus the work vehicle A is caused to travel along the work passage.

The above steering control is performed by the left and right ultrasonic sensors 16
The rotation speed of the left or right drive wheel 7 is reduced based on the difference between the distance to the left ridge and the distance to the right ridge detected by. For example, if it is determined from the detection signals of the left and right ultrasonic sensors 16 that the work vehicle A is displaced to the right from the center of the left and right ridges, the control means 1
5 lowers the rotation speed of the left drive wheel 7 to steer the work vehicle A to the left, thereby returning it to the center of the left and right ridges.

The rotation speed of the traveling motor 14 for driving the drive wheels 7 is gradually reduced by duty control.
That is, the control means 15 gives a pulse signal whose duty ratio changes according to the amount of deviation between the work vehicle A and the center of the left and right ridges to the drive circuit 14a of the traveling motor 14, and the drive circuit 1
4a rotationally drives the traveling motor 14 at a rotational speed according to the duty ratio. When the deviation amount is zero, the duty ratio of both the left and right drive circuits 14a is 100%.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the mark sensor 17 is a kind of magnetic sensor provided at the right front portion of the traveling machine body of the work vehicle A, and as shown in FIG. And the magnetic plate installed at the end (hereinafter,
It is for detecting 18). Based on the detection signal of the mark sensor 17, the control means 15 causes the work vehicle A to reach the end portion of the work passage 4,
The traveling direction is switched from forward to reverse, and the work vehicle A is temporarily stopped as the work vehicle A reaches the starting end portion of the work passage 4. The mark 18 is made by magnetizing a steel plate or the like, and the mark sensor 17 discriminates two kinds of information (start end portion or end portion) depending on whether the surface is N pole or S pole. You can

When the switching traveling start switch 19 is pressed to give a start command to the work vehicle A which is temporarily stopped at the starting end, the control means 15 reads the work passage switching pattern stored in the storage means 20, and The traveling control and the steering control of the work vehicle A are executed according to the above. That is, the vehicle is returned to the mother passage 5 in the backward right turn state, and then the traveling direction is changed to advance the mother path 5 by a predetermined distance, and then the forward right turn state is reached to the start end portion of the adjacent work passage 4. To run. After that, the work vehicle A repeats the reciprocating traveling of the work passage 4. still,
The predetermined distance is a distance corresponding to the ridge interval, and can be separately set as the time for driving the traveling motor 14.

In FIG. 1, the "hydraulic pressure switch" is a switch which is turned on when the hydraulic pressure of the chemical liquid from the pump to the boom 9 is abnormally lowered to stop the work vehicle A. In addition, the work vehicle A is turned on when the boom 9 is tilted abnormally.
A switch for stopping the vehicle, a manual switch for manually moving the work vehicle A forward and backward, or for turning the vehicle are also provided (not shown).

Other examples will be listed below. The passage end detecting means for detecting the start end portion and the end portion of the working path 4 is not limited to the magnetic sensor for detecting the magnetized plate as the mark as in the above embodiment, but may be, for example,
A simple metal plate may be installed as a mark at the start end and the end, and the work vehicle A may be provided with a proximity sensor for detecting the metal plate. Even with the marks having the same function, the control means of the work vehicle A can determine whether the work vehicle A is in the forward movement or in the reverse movement, that is, the start end portion or the end portion. Or work route 4
A dead-end pole or the like may be installed at the end of the work vehicle, and a switch that is turned on when the work vehicle A comes into contact with the pole may be provided as the end detection means. In addition, various passage edge detecting means can be considered.

As in the above embodiment, when the work vehicle A returns to the starting end of the work path 4 and is not stopped once, a detection signal when the aisle end detecting means detects the starting end of the work path 4 May be used as the start command, and subsequently, the traveling control and the steering control based on the traveling pattern for switching the work passage may be automatically executed.

A mark is also provided at a position before the branch point of the mother passage 5 to the work route 4, and is used as a reference point when the work vehicle A turns forward from the mother passage 5 and branches to the work route 4, or After turning right backward from 4 and returning to the mother passage 5,
You may comprise so that it may become a reference point when switching to forward. In this case, the forward distance (time) information included in the traveling pattern for switching the working passage stored in the storage unit 20 is unnecessary, and the traveling pattern includes the mark detection information in the switching condition.

It should be noted that reference numerals are given in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the accompanying drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a travel control device for a work vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan layout view showing a traveling route of a work vehicle, etc.

[Fig. 3] Side view of the work vehicle

[Fig. 4] Bottom view of the work vehicle

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Working Passage 5 Mother Passage 15 Control Means 16 Steering Position Detecting Means 17 Passage End Detecting Means 20 Storage Means A Work Vehicle

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steering system for detecting a lateral position of a work vehicle (A) with respect to a work passage (4) in each of a plurality of work passages (4) branched from a plurality of locations of a mother passage (5). Position detecting means (16), passage end detecting means (17) for detecting the start end and the end of the working passage (4), and running from the starting end of the working passage (4) to the end. Next, the control means (1) for controlling the traveling and steering of the working vehicle (A) on the basis of the detection information of the both detection means (16, 17) so as to switch the traveling direction and travel to the starting end portion.
5) is a traveling control device for a working vehicle, wherein the working vehicle (A) is returned from the starting end of the working passage (4) to the mother passage in a turning traveling state, and then, the traveling direction. A storage means (20) for storing a traveling pattern for switching the working passage to be run in a turning traveling state at the start end of the adjacent working passage (4) after switching the vehicle to travel along the mother passage (5). Traveling of a work vehicle provided so that the control means (15) is configured to execute travel control and steering control based on a travel pattern stored in the storage means (20) in response to a start command. Control device.