JPH05260805A - Device for controlling traveling of working vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out ready setting of an estimated point of operation completion and certainty of stopping action. CONSTITUTION:A device for controlling traveling of working vehicle for mowing lawn is equipped with a standard direction setting means 10 for setting a direction shown by a boundary L between an untreated working ground A and a treated working ground B as a standard direction and with boundary detecting means 22 and 23 for discovering the boundary L between both the working grounds A and B. Based on information of the standard direction setting means 10 and information of the boundary detecting means, a working vehicle V is traveled along plural working strokes set in parallel with the standard direction and the working vehicle is transferred to a starting part of the following adjoining working stroke with arrival of end part of one working stroke. A control means 11 for regulating traveling of the working vehicle 1 so as to automatically run plural working strokes is constituted in such a way that an operation completion indicating means 15 attached to an estimated point of operation completion of the untreated working ground A completes its operation based on information detected by an operation completion detecting means S5 attached to the working vehicle V.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reference azimuth setting means for setting a direction indicated by a boundary between an unprocessed work site and a processed work site as a reference azimuth, and boundary detection means for detecting a boundary between the two work sites. Is provided, and the work vehicle is caused to travel along each of a plurality of work strokes set in parallel to the reference azimuth based on the information of the reference azimuth setting means and the information of the boundary detection means. Along with reaching the end portion of one work stroke, the work vehicle is moved to the start end portion of the next work stroke adjacent to the one work stroke so that the work vehicle automatically travels through the plurality of work strokes. The present invention relates to a traveling control device for a work vehicle, which is provided with control means for traveling control.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A traveling control device for a work vehicle of this type is used, for example, in a self-propelled work vehicle for performing lawn mowing work, farming work, etc. without manpower. Based on the size of the target untreated work site and the working width of the working device equipped on the work vehicle, the traveling direction, the length of the stroke, the number of strokes, etc. are set in advance for each of the plurality of work strokes. When the work vehicle runs along the line and reaches the end of each work stroke, the work vehicle travels to turn to the next adjacent work stroke, and when the travel of the plurality of work strokes is completed, the work vehicle stops and automatically stops. It is intended to finish the work.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional means, for example, an operator sets the number of strokes of the work stroke in advance, but the setting itself is troublesome depending on the shape of the work target site and the like. In some cases, the settings may be incorrect, and in that case, the work vehicle may determine that the work is complete and automatically stop, leaving some of the work target area, or conversely, the work vehicle may enter a location other than the work target location. As a result, a problem such as unnecessary traveling may occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to be able to accurately and easily set a scheduled work end point and to surely stop the work vehicle at that point. Is to

[0005]

The work vehicle traveling control device according to the present invention is characterized in that a work end display means is installed at a scheduled work end point of the unprocessed work site, and the work is performed on the work vehicle. Work end detection means for detecting the end display means is provided, and the control means is configured to end the work based on the detection information of the work end detection means.

[0006]

According to the characterizing feature of the present invention, the scheduled work end point is set by installing work end display means made of, for example, an iron plate or the like, and the work vehicle travels to perform the work. When the end display means is mounted on the work vehicle and detected by work end detection means such as a proximity sensor, the traveling is stopped and the work is ended.

[0007]

Therefore, according to the characteristic configuration of the present invention, the scheduled work end point can be set accurately and easily, and the work vehicle can be stopped at that point surely. It is possible to obtain a traveling control device for a work vehicle having excellent operation reliability.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention applied to a lawnmower will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a rotary blade 2 for lawn mowing is attached to the lower portion of a working vehicle V equipped with an engine E, and a steering idler is provided at the front and rear of the working vehicle V. A pair of left and right drive rear wheels 1 to which the driving force of the engine E is transmitted via the front wheels 1F and a transmission and a drive case 3 not shown.
L and 1R are attached to form a lawnmower. The front wheel 1F is a steering gear 1 that directly steers the front wheel 1F.
A, a steering motor M1 for automatic steering, and a motor gear 1B for transmitting the driving force of the steering motor M1 to the steering gear 1A, which is attached to the work vehicle V, and the front wheel 1F. An encoder 14 for detecting the number of rotations is provided on the rotation shaft portion of the. The rotary blade body 2 is configured such that the driving force of the engine E is turned on and off via an electromagnetically operated rotary blade clutch 12 (not shown). In order to detect the current azimuth at the time of traveling, a fluxgate type geomagnetic sensor S0 using a toroidal core is installed, and a pair of left and right proximity sensors S5 are installed at the front left and right lower positions. There is.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the front side of the work vehicle V, four grass height detecting sensors S1, S2, S3, S which are reflection type photo interrupters for detecting the presence or absence of uncut grass.
Rocking mechanism 2 for rocking back and forth 4 in the vehicle width direction of work vehicle V
3 are distributed and arranged, and the turf height detection sensor S
1, S2, S3 and S4 detect the grass condition where the grass is not cut when the grass height is large, and the grass condition where the grass is cut when the grass height is small. To detect. Therefore, the lawn height detecting sensors S1, S2, S3, S4 constitute the lawn presence detecting means 22.

In the swing mechanism 23, a front end of the work vehicle V is pivotally mounted at its base end to be rotatable about a longitudinal axis, and a bifurcated end arm 24 is positioned by a spring 27 in the machine advancing direction. The cam mechanism 25 is arranged so that the eccentric cam 25A abuts on the auxiliary arm 24A attached to the base end portion of the arm 24.
At each forked end of the arm 24, there is a space W in the vehicle width direction.
The turf height detection sensors S1 and S2 arranged apart from each other
Alternatively, the lawn height detection sensors S3, S4 are attached via the attachment member 26. The mounting member 26 is
Lawn height detection sensors S1, S2 or lawn height detection sensor S
In order to adjust the ground height of S3 and S4, the vertical position is adjusted by the vertical adjustment mechanism provided in the middle thereof, and then the tip side portion 26B is fixed. With the above-described configuration, the eccentric cam 25A is used for the sensor swing motor m.
When rotated (see FIG. 1), the arm 24 swings in the vehicle width direction, and the pair of left and right lawn height detection sensors S1 and S2 or the lawn height detection sensors S3 and S4 respectively scan a scanning distance W. /
Only two round trips are scanned.

Therefore, each of the lawn height detection sensors S1 and S2 or the lawn height detection sensors S3 and S4, which are swung by the swing mechanism 23, scans for the presence or absence of lawn at a predetermined ground height. The distance W / 2 is sampled at intervals of 8 divisions, whereby a pair of sensors S1, S
16 pieces of grass presence / absence data D0 to D15 are obtained by the rocking operation of 2 or S3, S4. Each data D0 to D15
Is digital data indicating "1" when the lawn is detected and "0" when the lawn is not detected. The sampling interval is the potentiometer G provided on the rotation shaft of the eccentric cam 25A.
It is determined by detecting the scanning position by. As described above, the lawn presence / absence detection unit 22 including the lawn height detection sensors S1, S2, S3, and S4 and the swing mechanism 23 allow the boundary L between the unprocessed work site A and the processed work site B (see FIG. 3). The boundary detecting means 22 and 23 for repeatedly detecting the above) are formed.

The mounting member 26 is pivotally supported by the arm 24 so as to be swingable back and forth in the traveling direction with its upper base end serving as a fulcrum. A projecting portion 26A that projects to the front is provided. Between this projecting portion 26A and the tip of the arm 24, a spring 28 for urging the mounting member 26 toward the front side of the machine body is provided, and the mounting member 26 An adjusting screw 29 for adjusting the angle is screw-fitted and supported by the protruding portion 26A in a state where the tip end of the adjusting screw 29 abuts the arm 24 by the urging force of the spring 28. Thereby, the turf height detection sensor S1,
When S2 or the lawn height detection sensors S3, S4 collide with a foreign matter or the like, the rearward falls to avoid damage to the lawn height detection sensor as much as possible, and the rearward fall collides with the foreign matter or the like. Since it is limited to only the height detection sensor, the detection operation of other grass height detection sensors can be continuously performed.

As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the driving rear wheels 1L, 1R located on the turning center side at the time of turning are floated on the inside of the pair of left and right driving rear wheels 1L, 1R. It is freely movable up and down to a descending state in which it descends and an ascending state in which the driving rear wheels 1L and 1R located on the side of the center of turning after the turning is completed are raised and the turning center is formed in the lowered state. A pair of left and right lifting grounding bodies 9 are attached to the vehicle body V through a grounding mechanism, and a grounding portion 9A that grounds the grounding of the lifting grounding body 9 is lifted in a rotatable state about a vertical axis. It is supported by the base end side of the expression grounding body 9. In the grounding mechanism, bent portions of a pair of left and right doglegged links 4 are attached to the drive case 3 so as to be swingable around respective fulcrums P1 and P2, and a lifting grounding body 9 is attached to one end of the link 4. A spring 5 for urging the elevating grounding body 9 upward is attached to the other end, and the other end of the link 4 is grounded to the elevating grounding body 9 against the urging force of the spring 5. Cam mechanism 6 for rocking operation
It consists of and.

The cam mechanism 6 includes a cam 6A and a cam 6A.
It is composed of a pair of gears 7 for rotating the gears and a grounding motor 8 connected to the gears 7.
With each rotation, the pair of left and right lift-type grounding bodies 9 are connected to each other by the pair of left and right drive rear wheels 1 on the side of the lift-type grounding body 9.
The descending state in which the L and 1R are lowered so as to float and the ascending state in which the lifted driving rear wheels 1L and 1R are raised so as to contact the ground are alternately repeated.

On the rear side of the work vehicle V, a support arm 19 having a base end portion supported at a rear portion thereof extends rearward and obliquely upward, and an operation panel 20 is provided at a front end portion of the support arm 19. As shown in FIG. 9, the operation panel 2 is attached.
0 is an operation panel base 1 directly supported by the support arm 19.
6 and an operation portion 17 rotatably supported by the operation panel base 16 about a horizontal axis along the traveling direction. The operation portion 17 is provided with a shaft portion 18 pivotally supported by side plates at both left and right ends thereof and extending in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. The grip portion 18 is provided at a central position of the shaft portion 18.
A is attached, and a rotary switch SW1 for changing the vehicle speed is attached to the right side plate portion of the operation portion 17 so as to rotate in association with the shaft portion 18. With this mechanism, when the operator grips the grip portion 18A and rotates the shaft portion 18 toward the farthest side in the traveling direction, the neutral position is obtained, and when the operator next rotates the shaft portion 18 toward the near side, the low speed position is obtained. When it is rotated to the front side, it is set to a high speed position.

A potentiometer F for steering is attached to the pivot shaft portion of the operation panel base 16 which pivotally supports the operation portion 17 so as to interlock with the pivot portion, and this mechanism allows an operator to grip the grip portion. When the user grasps 18A and rotates the operation portion 17 toward the operation panel base 16 in the right direction, a right steering operation is instructed, and when the operation portion 17 is rotated in the left direction, a left steering operation is instructed. Further, a push button type start switch SW3 for starting automatic traveling and teaching traveling is attached to the right side plate portion of the operation portion 17, and a push button for instructing a turning operation is provided on the left side portion of the operation portion 17. A rotary turn switch SW4 and a mower switch SW5 for switching the operation of the rotary blade body 2 on and off are attached.
Further, the operation panel base 16 is provided at its upper surface position with a three-state changeover mode switch SW2 for switching the traveling mode to three modes of manual traveling, automatic traveling and teaching traveling.

As shown in FIG. 1, a control device H using a microcomputer is provided.
In addition, the turf height detection sensors S1, S2, S3, S4, the swing position detection potentiometer G, the geomagnetic sensor S0, the encoder 14, the proximity sensor S5,
In addition, signals from the steering potentiometer F on the operation panel 20 and various switches SW1 to SW5 are input. Further, from the control device H to the steering motor M1, the rotary blade clutch 12, the sensor swinging motor m, the grounding motor 8, and the speed change motor M2 for speed-changing the speed change device. The drive signal is output. Further, the control device H is connected to a memory M for storing information.

Using the memory M and the geomagnetic sensor S0, the direction of the first work stroke K1 in which the work vehicle V is turned by the worker at the start of work, that is, the unprocessed work site A and the processed work site B, The direction indicated by the boundary L (see FIG. 3)
The angle L between the direction J of the geomagnetism detected by the geomagnetic sensor S0 and the reference direction θ ₀ is stored in the memory M, so that the boundary L between the unprocessed work site A and the processed work site B is stored.
The reference azimuth setting means 10 for setting the direction indicated by as the reference azimuth is configured.

Further, by utilizing the control device H, information of the reference azimuth setting means 10 and the boundary detection means 22, 2 are set.
Based on the information of No. 3, the work vehicle V is caused to travel along each of the plurality of work strokes set parallel to the reference azimuth θ ₀ , and at the end of one work stroke. Control means 11 for moving the work vehicle V so as to automatically travel the plurality of work strokes by moving the work vehicle V to the start end portion of the next work stroke adjacent to the one work stroke.
Is configured.

That is, while the work vehicle V is directed in the direction of the initially set reference azimuth θ ₀ , the 16 turf presence / absence data D0 to D15 obtained as described above are processed by the following formulas to determine the boundaries. The position deviation X with respect to L is obtained, and the steering motor M1 is controlled so that this deviation becomes zero.

## EQU1 ## X = 8- (D0 + D1 + ... + D15) Specifically, if the deviation X is negative, the work vehicle V is deviated to the untreated area A side, and thus the treated area B side (FIG. 3). If the deviation X is positive, the work vehicle V is deviated to the treated land B side, and therefore the corrected steering is performed to the untreated land A side (right side in the traveling direction in FIG. 3). Let Therefore, in the proper steering state, the boundary L coincides with the central position of the pair of grass height detection sensors S1, S2 or S3, S4 located on the processed land B side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, an iron plate 15 as a work completion display means is installed at a planned location where the lawn mowing work of the work vehicle V on the unprocessed work site A is completed, and the control means is provided. Reference numeral 11 is configured so that the work vehicle V travels and the work is completed on the basis of the information detected by the pair of left and right proximity sensors S5 as the work completion detecting means mounted on the work vehicle V. There is. still,
The proximity sensors S5 are provided on both the left and right sides so that the unprocessed work site A may be located on the left and right sides in the traveling direction. In either case, the iron plate 15 can be reliably detected. Is.

Next, the control operation of the controller H will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS.

The control is started when the power is turned on, and it is determined whether or not the start switch SW3 is turned on. When the start switch SW3 is turned on, based on the instruction information of the mode changeover switch SW2. , It is determined whether it is the manual driving mode in which the vehicle is artificially operated, the teaching mode in which various driving control information is set for automatic driving, or the reproduction mode in which automatic driving is started. .. When the selected mode is the manual mode, and when the start switch SW3 is off, it is determined that the mode is the manual mode, and the manual traveling control process for the manual operation of the operator is performed. When the selected mode is the teaching mode, the teaching control process is performed. When the selected mode is the automatic mode, the start switch SW is used.
After 3 is turned on, the worker waits until the time (3 seconds) required for the worker to evacuate to a safe position away from the work vehicle V elapses, and then the automatic traveling control process is performed.

Explaining the teaching control, as shown in FIG. 3, after the work vehicle V is directed toward the first work stroke K1 at the work start point, the mower switch SW5, the vehicle speed change switch SW1 and the like are operated. Then, the work traveling is started by manual operation, and the direction of the work vehicle V at this time is stored as the azimuth θ ₀ . When the vehicle arrives at the end of the first work stroke K1, the turn switch SW4 is turned on to turn the turn switch SW4 in the direction of the second work stroke K2, and then travel along the second work stroke K2. At this time, the distance from the work starting point to the turning point is stored as the work stroke length d ₀ , and the direction of the second work stroke K2 is stored as the azimuth θ ₁ . From the above, θ ₀ is set as the reference azimuth of the first, third, etc. odd-numbered work strokes, and θ ₁ is set as the reference azimuth of the even-numbered work strokes, such as the second, the fourth, etc., and the length of the work stroke is set. d
₀ will be set.

Explaining the automatic traveling control, first, the reference azimuth of the work stroke at the start of automatic traveling is set to the above-mentioned θ ₀ or θ _1, and the steering operation direction of the front wheels 1F is adjusted to this reference azimuth. After the traveling is started, it is judged whether or not the set work stroke length d ₀ has been traveled, and if it is traveling, it is judged that the end of the travel has been reached, and the automatic turning operation is performed. If the vehicle has not traveled the length d ₀ of the work stroke, the detection means 22 detects the presence / absence data D 0 of turf.
~ Enter D15. If this data is all "0", it is determined that the end of the stroke has been reached, so the automatic turning operation is performed in the same manner as above. The data D0 to D15 are all "0"
If it is not, it is determined that it is not the end of the stroke, and the position of the boundary L is detected from this to calculate the position deviation X with respect to the proper steering position of the work vehicle V, and at the same time, the current detected direction θ.
Deviation between the reference azimuth and the reference azimuth θ ₀ or θ ₁ Δθ = θ−θ
₀ (or Δθ = θ−θ ₁ ) is calculated. Then, the position deviation X and the azimuth deviation Δθ are multiplied by predetermined gain coefficients p and q, and the steering angle θ _ST is obtained by the following formula, and the steering operation is performed at this steering angle θ _ST .

[Equation 2] θ _ST = p · X + q · Δθ

Further, as described above, when the proximity sensor S5 of the work vehicle V detects the iron plate 15 and it is determined that the work end scheduled point is reached, the end of the work stroke running at that time. After traveling to, stop traveling and finish the work. When the iron plate 15 is not detected, the work of the work process is continued.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the boundary detection means 22 and 23 for detecting the boundary L between the unprocessed work site A and the processed work site B are configured to swing in the lateral direction of the machine body. However, a plurality of sensors may be fixed and provided in the lateral direction of the machine body.

Further, in the above embodiment, the work end display means 1
Although the iron plate is used as 5 and the proximity sensor is used as the work completion detecting means S5, the invention is not limited to this. For example, a light emitting type display means and a light receiving type detection means may be used, respectively, or a display object may be displayed. The detection means may be mechanically contacted and turned on.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the lawnmower working machine, but it can be applied to other various types of working machines for automatic running such as grass cutting working machines.

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.

[0032]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a traveling control device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a boundary detecting means.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a work form

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a work vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a work vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the lawn presence detection means.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the turning mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view of the turning mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the operation panel

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of control operation.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of control operation.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of control operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A unprocessed work site B processed work site L boundary S5 work end detection means V work vehicle 10 reference direction setting means 11 control means 15 work end display means 22, 23 boundary detection means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reference azimuth setting means (10) for setting a direction indicated by a boundary (L) between an unprocessed work site (A) and a processed work site (B) as a reference azimuth, and both work sites (A). ), (B) is provided with a boundary detecting means (22, 23) for detecting the boundary (L), and the information of the reference azimuth setting means (10) and the information of the boundary detecting means (22, 23) are used. Based on this, the work vehicle (V) is caused to travel along each of a plurality of work strokes set in parallel to the reference azimuth, and the one work stroke is reached as the end portion of one work stroke is reached. Control means (1) for moving the work vehicle (V) to the start end portion of the next work stroke adjacent to the stroke and automatically controlling the work vehicle (V) to travel the plurality of work strokes.
1) is a traveling control device for a work vehicle, wherein work completion display means (15) is installed at a scheduled work completion point of the unprocessed work site (A), and the work vehicle (V) is installed on the work vehicle (V). Work end detection means (S5) for detecting the work end display means (15) is provided, and the control means (1)
1) is a traveling control device for a work vehicle configured to end the work based on the detection information of the work end detection means (S5).