JPH06319305A - Automatic operation method for agricultural machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To extremely improve workability and operation accuracy and to greatly enhance operation efficiency in comparison with a conventional method in operating and traveling an agricultural machine without an operator. CONSTITUTION:The automatic operation method for an agricultural machine in which plural traveling machine bodies 1 are automatically run in an operation stroke and two operators positioning at both end parts of a field remotely control only when the machine bodies are rotated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic working system for agricultural machines such as tractors, rice transplanters, combine harvesters and management machines.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in this type of agricultural machine, it has been proposed that the traveling machine body be operated unattended in order to improve work safety and work efficiency. Then, as proposed in the past, there are known ones in which the entire field is driven unattended by remote control by a transmitter, and ones in which the entire field is autonomously driven based on detection by a direction sensor or the like. . However,
In the case of remote control of the entire field, it is necessary to always perform the correction operation of the traveling direction while monitoring the traveling direction of the aircraft, so it is not easy to get tired by continuous operation, and the aircraft separates from the operator. As there is no sense of perspective, accurate remote control becomes difficult, and it is almost impossible to accurately rotate the aircraft on the opposite side of the field, so it is difficult to expect highly accurate work. . On the other hand, in the case where the whole field is autonomously driven, although a practical work accuracy can be achieved in the straight work line, there is a difficulty in the rounding when the end of one work line is moved to the start of the next work line. In other words, when traveling around the aircraft, it is not permissible to slip the wheels and the distance to the next work stroke is not always constant, so it is actually difficult to accurately enter the next work stroke. Yes,
As a result, the reality is that it has not reached the stage of practical use.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention was devised with the object of providing an automatic working system for agricultural machines capable of eliminating these drawbacks in view of the above circumstances. In an agricultural machine provided with a remote control means for controlling the traveling of the machine based on a remote control signal from the transmitter, the traveling machine traveling every time the traveling of the work process is completed and traveling of the next work process, While the transmitters are respectively positioned at both ends of the field where the machine is traveling, the traveling machine is provided with an autonomous traveling control means that autonomously travels the work stroke based on the detection of the direction sensor, and is the same only when the vehicle is traveling. It is assumed that remote control is performed by a transmitter located on the side, and further, the remote control means is provided with a signal determination means for determining whether or not the transmitted remote operation signal is for itself.
It is characterized in that a plurality of traveling machines that are traveling simultaneously can be selectively operated remotely by the transmitter. Further, according to the present invention, when the agricultural machine is unmanned for work traveling, the workability and the work accuracy are significantly improved as compared with the conventional method, and further the work efficiency is dramatically improved. It was made possible.

[0004]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 is a traveling machine body of a tractor, and the traveling machine body 1 is one in which a rotary tillage type working unit 3 is connected to a rear portion of the machine body via an elevating link mechanism 2. The operating units such as the traveling clutch mechanism, the main speed change mechanism, the working unit lifting mechanism, the steering mechanism, the slot mechanism, the PTO clutch mechanism, the side brake (side clutch) mechanism, etc., operate unmanned on behalf of the operator. Is provided.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a pair of left and right sensor arms provided at the front of the machine body. The sensor arms 4 are located in the lower part of the front end of the machine body so as to be located between the rows of the stumps (rice stocks) left uncut. In addition to being projecting in a slanting direction toward each other, the protruding tips detect the inwardly protruding detection bars and the angle change of the detection bars (swing angle due to contact with the stump). A direction sensor 5 having an analog angle sensor for inputting to a control unit 6 which will be described later is provided, but the sensor arm 4 further includes a detection posture that projects downward and rearward, and a detection posture that is rearward from the detection posture. An electric cylinder 7 is connected so as to retreat and swing upward and move up and down to a retracted posture along the bottom of the traveling machine body 1.

The control unit 6 is constructed by using a so-called micro computer (including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an interface, etc.). The control unit 6 includes the left and right direction sensors 5 and a transmission which will be described later. A receiver 9 for receiving a remote control signal from the machine 8, a machine code setting switch 1 for setting a machine code (machine identification code)
0, remote control main switch 11 for turning on / off remote control, turning angle sensor 12 for detecting the turning angle of the machine, vehicle speed sensor 13 for detecting the traveling speed of the machine, main transmission mechanism Main shift sensor 14 for detecting the gear shift position, lift sensor 15 for detecting the up-and-down position of working unit 3, steering sensor 16 for detecting the steering angle of the steering mechanism, and slot for detecting the operating position of the throttle mechanism. While inputting signals from the sensor 17 and the like, operation signals are output to the unmanned operation mechanisms, the electric cylinder 7, the rotary lamp 18 and the like based on the determination based on these input signals. That is, the control unit 6 holds the received signal and checks the contents, the switch input control that controls the signal input from each switch, the A / D input control that controls the signal input from the sensors, and the direction sensor 5. Autonomous traveling control that makes the aircraft autonomously move on the basis of the detection of remote control, Remote operation control that controls the operation of each unmanned operation mechanism according to the content of the received signal (steering control, brake control, speed change control, traveling clutch control, work height control , Slot control and work PTO control), and output control for controlling the output of various signals.

On the other hand, the transmitter 8 is provided with a transmission control section 19 constructed by using a microcomputer.
Then, the transmission control unit 19 turns ON the machine code switching switch 20 for switching the machine code and the autonomous traveling control.
An autonomous traveling switch 21 for turning off, and a group of switches corresponding to each of the unmanned operation mechanisms (a traveling clutch switch 22, a main shift switch 23, a work unit elevating switch 2).
4. Steering volume 25, slot switch 26, PTO clutch switch 27, side brake switches 28L, 28R) while inputting these signals based on the transmission control described later. .

Next, of the various controls described above, the transmission control, the reception control, and the autonomous traveling control, which are the gist of the present invention, will be described below based on the flow chart. First, in the transmission control, the content of the counter is referred to, and when it is "0", the matrix data generated based on the operation state of each switch (the machine code is located at the beginning and the end, and between them, Is the operation data 1 to n for each switch)
It is temporarily stored in the transmission data buffer of bit width. Then, after confirming that the communication is in the enabled state, the contents of the counter are referred to again, and if it is "0", the synchronization data "FFH" (111) is sent to the accumulator A.
11111B) and set the counter to "1".
Is set, and thereafter, the set synchronization data is transmitted to the accumulator A. After transmitting the synchronization data, the stored data in the transmission data buffer is sequentially transmitted serially while counting up the counter, but when transmitting the operation data 1 to n, The data values are added and stored in the checksum S. Then, the added data stored in the checksum S is transmitted after the operation data 1 to n after the 0th bit and the 7th bit are reset in order to avoid coincidence with the synchronization data by accident. I'm running.

On the other hand, in the reception control, first, after saving the register, it is judged whether or not the hardware reception state is normal, and if the judgment is YES, the reception data is stored in the accumulator A. To do. Then, it is determined whether or not the received data stored in the accumulator A is "FFH". If the determination is YES, it is determined that it is the head of the normal remote control signal and the counter " 1 "is set, the register is restored and the interrupt is permitted, and then the state is restored once. After that, the received data stored in the accumulator A is sequentially stored in the received data buffer while counting up the counter, but the counter is between "2" and "m-2" (m is the total number of received data). Each time it is received, the data value is added and stored in the checksum, and thereafter, the 0th bit and the 7th bit of the addition data stored in the checksum are reset. After all m received data are stored in the received data buffer, whether or not the leading machine code and the last machine code match, and further, the value of the added checksum and the value of the received checksum R are compared. If both judgments are YES, it is judged that one set of remote control signals has been normally received, the reception timer described later is started and stored in the reception data buffer. The received data is transferred to the data buffer.

By the way, the reception timer is referred to in a main routine including autonomous traveling control, and when the reception timer is in an end state (a state in which timing is not started), reception abnormality (radio wave interference, transmission The contents of the RC data buffer (final data buffer referred to by autonomous traveling control, etc.) are erased when it is judged that the remote control signal is normal. When it is judged that the data has been received, it is further judged whether or not the machine code set by the machine code setting switch 10 and the machine code in the data buffer match. If the two machine codes match, it is judged that the signal is a remote control signal for the own machine and the data 1 to n in the data buffer are transferred to the RC data buffer, but if the machine codes do not match, the RC data buffer is transmitted. It is supposed to erase the contents of.

Lastly, the autonomous traveling control will be described. In the control, after confirming that the remote control main switch 11 is turned on first, the autonomous traveling switch 21 of the transmitter 8 is operated based on the contents of the RC data buffer. It is determined whether or not it has been done. If YES is determined here, the state of the autonomous flag is determined after the autonomous flag is inverted. Then, when the autonomous flag is in the reset state, the process returns to the main routine. However, in the case of the set state, the revolving light 18 is turned on, the throttle is raised (rated speed), and the traveling clutch is turned on. ON of PTO clutch
The autonomous running start processing such as operation is sequentially performed, and the stock copy direction automatic control defined by a subroutine is executed. Then, in the stock copy direction automatic control, the detection values of the left-right direction sensor 5 that fluctuate based on the contact with the stump are compared, and the steering mechanism is automatically steered to match the detection values so that the machine body is lined with the stump. While the vehicle is autonomously traveling along the road, whether or not the left and right direction sensors 5 are both in the non-contact state during the autonomous traveling, and whether the non-contact state continues for a predetermined time or more (4 seconds or more in the embodiment). It has come to judge whether or not. When the determination is YES, it is determined that the circulation space where no stump exists (farm road, headland, etc.) is reached, and the stock copy direction automatic control is canceled, and the resetting of the rotation angle ( Initialization for detecting 90 ° travel described later), PTO clutch OFF operation,
Although the autonomous traveling end processing such as the operation of lowering the throttle (intermediate rotation speed) is executed, in the present embodiment, the vehicle is stopped after the vehicle is guided to a predetermined standby position. That is, after completing the autonomous traveling ending process, the aircraft is made to rotate 90 ° in a direction opposite to the traveling direction at the time of the previous remote control, and then the traveling clutch is turned off and the throttle is lowered (idling). The final termination processing such as the turning-off operation of the revolving light 18 and the reset processing of the autonomous flag is performed.

In the embodiment of the present invention constructed as described above, a field (a field in which stumps left behind are tidily present and a strolling space free of stumps at both ends is secured) is cultivated. In this case, a plurality of (three in the embodiment) traveling machines 1, two transmitters 8 and two operators are prepared. Then, in the field, each traveling machine body 1 is set at each work start position, and the operator is positioned on both ends of the field in a distributed manner, and the traveling of the machine body is started in this state. Then, each traveling machine body 1 executes the stock copy direction automatic control based on the detection of the direction sensor 5 to autonomously travel the work stroke, but when the traveling space is reached, the machine body automatically stops. Here, the operator located on the same side operates the transmitter 8 in a state that the machine code switching switch 20 of the transmitter 8 is matched with the machine code set on the machine to be operated, and operates the machine. After leading to the start position of the next work stroke, the autonomous traveling switch 21 is operated thereafter. Then, the traveling machine body 1 restarts the stock copy direction automatic control and autonomously travels in the next work process. By repeating such a series of operations by the operators located at both ends of the field, the traveling machine body 1 is operated. It enables simultaneous work.

As described above, according to the present invention, the traveling body 1
Although the vehicle is unmanned, the traveling machine body 1 is autonomously traveled during the work process, and an operator located on the same side is remotely operated only when the machine body travels. Therefore, like the one that remotely controls all the strokes including the work stroke, the continuous operation of constantly monitoring the traveling direction of the aircraft and performing the correction operation of the traveling direction becomes unnecessary, and the operator is not required. Perhaps you can significantly reduce the operation labor, or you will not remotely operate the aircraft far from the operator,
The remote operation can be remarkably facilitated to perform extremely highly accurate work. Further, since a signal discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the signal corresponds to the own machine is provided, it is possible for two operators to perform plural operations. Since the traveling machine bodies 1 can be simultaneously driven, work efficiency can be dramatically improved.

In addition, since it is premised that a plurality of traveling machines 1 work simultaneously, even if the machine to be used is small, it is possible to exhibit work efficiency comparable to or larger than a large machine. There is also an advantage that even if one traveling machine body 1 fails, damage can be reduced as compared with the case where a large machine fails.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the corresponding signal is discriminated based on the machine code added to the remote control signal, a plurality of traveling machine bodies 1 can be selectively selected with an extremely easy structure of switching the machine code. The remote control can be performed, and as a result, the cost can be remarkably reduced as compared with the case where the frequency is switched.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the traveling body 1 enters the traveling space, the traveling body 1 is rotated by 90 °.
Even if it is a field where the traveling space is sloping (so-called agricultural road turn field where a gently sloping traveling space is secured between the original farm road and the farm field), since it is rotated and then stopped. It is possible to reliably maintain the stopped state of the traveling vehicle body 1 without the traveling vehicle body 1 that has stopped moving backward along the slope.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and the autonomous traveling control means is not limited to the stock copying direction automatic control, for example.
It may be performed based on the direction detection of a visual sensor, a laser light sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an electromagnetic wave sensor, or the like. Further, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the operation unit 30 capable of rotating the machine body may be added to a position outside the machine body such as a rear position of the working unit 3. In addition, this device has an advantage that even if the remote operation is disabled due to a temporary battery exhaustion or the like, the work can be continued by the same work method without getting on the airplane.

[0018]

In summary, since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to remotely control the traveling machine body that travels each time the work of one work stroke is completed and travels in the next work stroke. However, in the work process, the traveling machine is autonomously driven, and the transmitters located at both ends of the field are used for remote control only when the machine is traveling. It is possible to remarkably reduce the operation labor of the operator by eliminating the need for a continuous operation such as a correction operation in the traveling direction while constantly monitoring. Moreover, since the remote control when the aircraft is traveling is always performed by the transmitter located on the same side, it is not necessary to remotely control the remote vehicle, and as a result, the remote control is significantly facilitated. It's unforgivable and you can perform extremely accurate work. Furthermore, since the traveling machine body is provided with the signal discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the signal is a signal corresponding to the traveling machine body, it is possible to simultaneously drive a plurality of traveling machine bodies with two transmitters. The work efficiency can be dramatically improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a tractor.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration on the machine side.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration on the transmitter side.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing transmission control.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing reception control.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a main routine.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing autonomous control.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a field showing a working example.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a tractor showing a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 traveling machine body 5 direction sensor 6 control unit 8 transmitter 9 receiver

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] September 14, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 4

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 4]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 5]

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 7

[Correction method] Change

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[Figure 7]

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Tsuguhiko Furukawa 3-19-2-929-2 Azuma Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture (72) Inventor One person Shigeta 4-406-402 Matsudai, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture (72) Inventor Ikuo Hosokawa 667 Izaya-cho, Higashi-Izumo-cho, Yazuka-gun, Shimane Prefecture 1 Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaoka Matsuoka 667, Izuya-cho, Higashi-Izumo-cho, Yatsuka-gun Shimane Prefecture 1 Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd. (72) Invention Mr. Hiroaki Yamazaki 667, Izuya-cho, Higashi-Izumo-cho, Yatsuka-gun, Shimane Prefecture 1 Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Kuwagaki 667, Ibi-cho, Higashi-Izumo-cho, Yatsuka-gun, Shimane Prefecture 1 Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A remote control means for controlling the traveling of an aircraft based on a remote operation signal from a transmitter is provided on a traveling aircraft that travels each time the traveling of one working stroke is completed and travels for the next working stroke. In the agricultural machine consisting of, while the transmitter is located at both ends of the field where the machine travels, the traveling machine is provided with an autonomous traveling control means for autonomously traveling the work process based on the detection of the direction sensor, It is assumed that the transmitter located on the same side is used for remote control only when the aircraft is traveling, and the remote control means is provided with signal determining means for determining whether or not the transmitted remote control signal is for the own machine. hand,
An automatic work system for an agricultural machine, characterized in that a plurality of traveling machines simultaneously traveling can be selectively remote-controlled by the transmitter.