JPH09252605A - Remote operation device for working machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote operation device for a working vehicle which is superior in operability. SOLUTION: An operation board 27 for remotely operating the working vehicle is provided with a hand rest part 28 which supports the part of a hand nearby the wrist and plural steering switch groups 29 and 30 are arranged side by side within a range wherein finger tips reach them while the hand is placed on the hand rest part 28. The steering switch groups 29 for indicating rightward steering and the steering switch group 30 for indicating leftward steering are arranged separately on a right and a left side. The indication steering angle of a steering switch 31 is set smaller than that of a steering switch 31 outside the steering switch 31 in the center of the each steering switch group, and respective steering switches 31 are so constituted as to output steering signals indicating mutually different steering angles.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device for agricultural machinery such as a cultivator and a lawn mower, a tractor and other work vehicles, and more particularly to a control panel most suitable for remote control of a cultivator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a work vehicle is remotely controlled to travel and steer, a joystick or lever provided on a control panel for remote control is known. This one controls the steering amount by arbitrarily changing the tilt angle of a joystick or the like, like a radio control.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned conventional remote control using the operation panel requires a technique for delicately adjusting the tilt angle of the joystick or the like, and the work vehicle is steered along the desired traveling path. Requires some skill. Therefore, in order to make it easy for even an amateur to operate, multiple push button switches are installed side by side instead of a joystick on the operation panel, and different steering amounts are set in advance for each switch, and these switches are pushed. It is conceivable to control the steering amount. However, by arranging these switches randomly, it is confusing to operate,
Not easy to use. Also, if the switches are too far apart from each other, the other switches cannot be operated without moving the operating hand, which complicates the operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device for a work vehicle having excellent operability.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, in the present invention, an operation panel for remotely operating a work vehicle is provided with a hand rest portion for supporting a portion of a palm near the wrist, and A plurality of steering switch groups are arranged side by side within a range where a fingertip can reach in a state where a hand is placed on the hand placing section, and the plurality of steering switch groups are right direction steering switch groups for instructing steering to the right. And the left and right steering switch groups that direct steering to the left, and the steering angle of the steering switches is smaller for steering switches located in the center of each steering switch group than steering switches located outside it. (EN) Provided is a remote control device for a work vehicle, characterized in that the respective steering switches are set to output steering signals indicating different steering angles.

According to the above structure, the remote-controlled operator is composed of a plurality of steering switch groups that specify the steering direction and the steering angle, and only the fingertip is moved without moving the hand placed on the hand placing portion. Steering control can be performed by operating each steering switch.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a preferred embodiment,
A region away from the manual placement part or the central part of the region where the plurality of steering switch groups of the operation panel are arranged in parallel,
A work state changeover switch for arranging the work vehicle into one of a working state and a non-working state is provided within a range where a fingertip can reach when the hand is placed on the hand placing portion.

Further, in a preferred embodiment, a rotary knob is provided between the hand rest portion of the operation panel and a plurality of steering switch groups, and the rotary knob is operated and rotated. The steering signal is output so as to increase or decrease the steering angle according to the angle.

Further, in a preferred embodiment,
Each steering switch of the plurality of steering switch groups is formed in a sagittal shape that indicates the left or right steering direction by using a single shape or a combination of a plurality of shapes.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of a work vehicle to which a remote control device according to the present invention is applied. The work vehicle of this example is a cultivator, and is composed of a tractor 1 equipped with forward / reverse clutchless switching, rear inner wheel automatic braking during turning, front outer wheel double speed, etc. as standard equipment. This tractor 1 has
The first camera 4 is mounted on the hood 3 on the front wheel 2 side, which is the steered wheel.
A first image transmitter 5 is provided, and a second camera 7, a second image transmitter 8, a receiver 10 with an antenna 9, and a camera pan drive servomotor 11 are provided on the rear wheel 6 side which is a driving wheel. Also, the handle 12 between the front wheel 2 and the rear wheel 6
A steering servomotor 13 is provided under the brake pedal 14, and a brake servomotor 15 is provided under the brake pedal 14. Further, a cultivating rotary 16 is provided behind the rear wheel 6. The first camera 4 is composed of a CCD camera and is installed on a folding frame 17 higher than the position of the eyes of a person in order to obtain a visual field near the front wheel 2. The first image transmitter 5 sends the image of the cultivated land captured by the first camera 4 to the remote control device side, which will be described later, and is installed on the folding mount 17 like the first camera 4. The second
Like the first camera 4, the camera 7 is composed of a CCD camera, and in order to obtain a field of view close to that of a passenger, a panning operation to the side and the back (arrow A around the axis C) is performed by the camera pan drive servomotor. Done at 11. The receiver 10 with the antenna 9 is of a pulse code modulation type in signal form and receives a command signal from a remote control device described later. The front wheel 2 is manually driven by the steering wheel 12, and is driven by the steering servomotor 13 during remote operation. The brake is driven by the brake pedal 14 or the brake servomotor 15 at the time of remote operation.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an image receiving system and a vehicle operating system in a remote station (a fixed position or a moving vehicle such as a one-box vehicle having high mobility) for remotely operating the tractor 1 of FIG. . The image receiving system in this example includes diversity antennas 18, 18 for receiving image radio waves from the first image transmitter 5 and the second image transmitter 8 in FIG. 1, and the diversity antennas 18, 18.
TV receiver 19 that amplifies and detects image radio waves received at
19, and image accelerators 20 and 20 for compressing the image signals detected by the TV receivers 19 and 19,
A monitor television 21, a receiver 23 with an antenna 22 for receiving a vehicle current position signal from stationary hygiene, an image signal compressed by the image accelerators 20 and 20 is processed and displayed on the monitor television 21, and A computer 24 for calculating a traveling locus or the like from the vehicle current position signal of the receiver 23 and displaying the calculated trajectory on the monitor TV 21. The vehicle operation system also includes an operation panel 27 having a transmitter 26 including a high-frequency module with an antenna 25.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing details of the operation panel 27 of FIG. The operation panel 27 is provided with a hand placing portion 28 for supporting a portion of the palm near the wrist in the center of the upper surface thereof, and within a range where a finger tip can reach when the hand is placed on the hand placing portion 28. Two steering switch groups are arranged side by side. The two steering switch groups are divided into right and left steering switch groups 29 for instructing the steering to the right and steering switch groups 30 for instructing the steering to the left, and the switches are arranged in a substantially arc shape. To be done. Each steering switch 31 of each steering switch group is composed of a push button switch, and the steering angle of the steering wheel located in the center of each steering switch group is set smaller than that of the steering switches located outside the steering switch group. Steering switch 31
Are configured to output steering signals indicating different steering angles. For example, each steering switch group is composed of three push button switches with steering angles of 7 °, 20 °, and 45 ° from the center, and each push button switch has a single shape (in the case of 7 °) or a combination (20 °). And 45 °)) to form a sagittal shape indicating the left or right steering direction. By pushing each steering switch 31, the steering servo motor 13 is driven to rotate it to a position corresponding to the steering angle. While the steering switch 31 is being pressed, the front wheel 2 which is the steered wheel of FIG. 1 is held at the steering angle position corresponding to the switch, and when the finger is released from the switch, the front wheel 2 automatically returns to the straight traveling state. . However, it may be pressed for a short time. In that case, the front wheel 2 is about to be steered to the steering angle position corresponding to the switch by driving the steering servomotor 13 only while the switch is being pressed. Since the switch is opened before the completion, the front wheels 2 automatically return to the straight traveling state before the steering is completed.

Further, on the outermost side of each steering switch group,
Since the standing wall 32 is provided, the outermost position of the steering switch group can be easily recognized by the touch when the standing wall 32 is touched without looking at the hand. Further, in the central portion of the area where the two steering switch groups of the operation panel 27 are arranged side by side or in the area away from the manual placing portion 28, the manual placing portion 2
A pumper switch 33, which is a work state changeover switch for switching the tractor 1 shown in FIG. 1 to either one of the working state and the non-working state, is provided within the reach of the fingertip when the hand is placed on 8. In this case, the working state or the non-working state means that the cultivating rotary 16 in FIG.
It refers to the state of being lowered or raised regardless of whether it is stopped. The pumper switch 33 is constantly urged by a spring to be in an upright state, and every time the operator tilts the front side with a finger,
The lowered state, which is the working state, and the raised state, which is the non-working state, are repeated.

A steering knob 34, which is a rotary knob, is disposed between the hand rest portion 28 of the operation panel 27 and the two steering switch groups. The steering volume 34 is configured to output a steering signal such that the steering angle of the front wheels 2 that are the steered wheels is increased or decreased according to the operation rotation angle. The steering volume 34 is rotated by, for example, the thumb and the ring finger (leftward steering in the case of left rotation, rightward steering in the case of right rotation).
Then, when you release your finger, it automatically returns to the straight-ahead position (neutral position). Further, the steering volume 34 is configured to be able to add a steering angle by operating the steering switch 31 at the same time. However, even if the steering angle limit is set to, for example, 45 ° and the steering switch 31 is operated in combination with the steering angle of 20 °, for example, the steering angle will not exceed 45 °.

Further, a slide type steering trim 55 for correcting the straight traveling reference traveling direction of the tractor 1 shown in FIG. 1 is provided in a region of the pumper switch 33 away from the hand placing portion 28.

The steering switch 3 which is the operator described above.
1, the pump switch 33, the steering volume 34, and the steering trim 35 are arranged in the central portion of the operation panel 27, but the operators for other purposes are also arranged around them. That is, a main switch 35 is provided around the right standing wall 32 on the further right side, and a slide type throttle volume 36 and a shuttle switch 37 including a toggle switch are further located on the left side of the left standing wall 32. It is provided. The throttle volume 36 controls a throttle valve for adjusting the fuel of the tractor 1 in FIG. 1, and the shuttle switch 37 controls forward, backward, and stop of the tractor 1 in FIG. A camera pan volume 38 for controlling the pan of the second camera 7 of FIG. 1 is provided in an area of the shuttle switch 37 away from the manual placement portion 28, and a position control of the tractor 1 of FIG. 1 is provided in an area further away. A GPS set switch 39, a turning record switch 40, and an engine emergency stop switch 41 are provided. The camera pan volume 38 is formed of a notch volume, has a moderation at a preset angular position, and has a feel when rotating.
It is configured so that the set angular position can be recognized.

By operating the turning recording switch 40, a steering steering signal by a steering switch, a steering volume or the like is recorded in a RAM in the transmitter 26 for 16 seconds. The recorded steering signal of the tractor is reproduced by pressing the left and right autonomous turning switches 42 and 43 provided inside the left and right standing walls 32 and 32, and the traveling of the tractor is controlled according to the reproduced steering signal. To be done. The steering switch 31 and the like, which are the operators described above, are
The switch layout is mainly composed of push button switches for the purpose of facilitating steering operation, and the right and left hands are ergonomically fitted in a natural shape.

Further, next to the transmitter 26 on the side of the operation panel 27, a power supply connector 44 for connecting to a driving power supply is provided.
And an interface (RS232C) 45 are arranged.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the operation panel 27 of FIG. 3, (A) shows the operation state of the steering switch groups 29, 30, and (B) shows the pumper switch 33 and the steering trim 35.
The respective operating states of are shown. As shown in FIG. 4 (A), with the part of the right hand palm near the wrist placed on the hand rest 28 of the operation panel 27, without moving the hand, only the finger is moved to form an arc-shaped arrow. The six steering switches 31 are selectively operated to control the left and right steering angles of the tractor 1 in FIG.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), by operating the pumper switch 33 with the index finger, the cultivating rotary 1 of the tractor 1 of FIG.
Raise and lower by 6. Further, the steering trim 55 is operated to correct the straight traveling reference traveling direction of the tractor whose position is controlled by GPS.

Next, the steering control of the tractor 1 of FIG. 1 using the image receiving system and the operation panel 27 of the vehicle operation system described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 will be briefly described.
First, the main switch 35 is turned on and the position control GPS set switch 39 is turned on. Then, the pumper switch 3
3 is operated to lower the tillage rotary 16, and the shuttle switch 37 is operated to move the tractor 1 forward in the cultivated land.
The running state of the tractor 1 is captured by the first camera 4 and the second camera 7 mounted on the tractor 1, and the image thereof is received by the diversity antenna 18 via the first image transmitter 5 and the second image transmitter 8. And is displayed on the monitor TV 21 via the TV receiver 19 and the like. The position information of the tractor 1 is stored in the computer 24 via the receiver 23 from the hygiene.
The position of the tractor 1 is controlled by GPS. The position information, the traveling locus, and the vehicle state are also displayed on the monitor TV 21. When changing direction,
The speed is lowered to operate the pumper switch 33 to raise the tillage rotary 16, and the right or left steering switch group 2
The steering switch 31 of 9 or 30 is selectively operated to drive the steering servomotor 13, rotate the front wheels 2 to a desired steering angle, and turn the tractor 1. When the completion of turning is confirmed on the monitor TV 21, the pumper switch 33 is operated to lower the cultivating rotary 16 into a working state, and the tractor 1 is again moved forward in the cultivated land. In this way, the tractor 1 is moved within the cultivated land. Such a steering signal of the tractor 1 can be stored by operating the turning recording switch 40, and the stored steering signal is reproduced by operating the autonomous turning switches 42 and 43. By using this, when repeating the cultivation work of the same pattern,
The tractor 1 can be automatically piloted. When the steering signal for turning right is stored, in order to turn left in the same pattern, the left autonomous turning switch 42 can be operated to reverse and use the traveling locus of turning right.

Although the above embodiments have been described with respect to agricultural tractors, the present invention is applicable to lawn mowers and other agricultural or horticultural machines, as well as bulldozers and other civil engineering machines.
It is also applicable to construction machinery.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the steering control can be performed by moving the fingertip without moving the hand resting portion of the operation panel while keeping the hand, and the tilt angle of the joystick or the like can be arbitrarily changed. As compared with the conventional example in which the steering amount is controlled by doing so, the steering control can be performed easily and the operability can be improved. Further, while the steering control is performed by the steering switch, the work state can be controlled by the work state changeover switch, and the operability can be further improved. In addition, the turning knob, which is configured to output a steering signal that increases or decreases the steering angle according to the operation turning angle, can be operated by simply extending or bending the finger without moving the turning knob with the hand. The operation of the switch and the rotary knob can be transferred quickly, and operability can be improved also from this point. Further, since the shape of each steering switch of the plurality of steering switch groups is formed in an arrow shape, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation in the steering direction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of a work vehicle to which a remote control device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an image receiving system and a vehicle operating system in a hand station for remotely operating the tractor 1 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing details of a control panel 27 of FIG.

4 is an operation explanatory view of an operation panel 27 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: tractor, 2: front wheels, 3: bonnet, 4: first
Camera, 5: first image transmitter, 6: rear wheel, 7: second camera, 8: second image transmitter, 9: antenna, 10: receiver, 11: camera pan drive servo motor, 12: handle, 13: Steering servo motor 13, 14: Brake pedal, 15: Brake servo motor, 16: Tillage rotary, 17: Folding stand, 18: Diversity antenna, 19: TV receiver, 20: Image accelerator, 21: Monitor TV, 22: Antenna, 23: Receiver, 24: Computer, 25: Antenna, 26: Transmitter, 27: Control panel, 28: Hand rest part, 29, 30: Steering switch group, 31: Steering switch, 32: Standing wall, 33:
Pumper switch, 34: Steering volume, 35: Main switch: 36: Throttle volume, 37: Shuttle switch, 38: Camera pan volume, 39: Position control GPS set switch, 40: Turning record switch, 41: Engine emergency stop switch 42, 43: Autonomous turning switch, 44: Power supply connector, 45: Interface connector, 55: Steering volume

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An operation panel for remotely controlling a work vehicle is provided with a hand rest part for supporting a part of a palm near the wrist, and within a reach of a fingertip with the hand resting on the hand rest part. A plurality of steering switch groups are arranged in parallel,
The plurality of steering switch groups are arranged so as to be laterally divided into a rightward steering switch group for instructing a rightward steering and a leftward steering switch group for instructing a leftward steering. The steering switches located in the center of each steering switch group are set smaller than the steering switches located outside the steering switches, and the steering switches are configured to output steering signals indicating different steering angles. A feature is a remote control device for work vehicles. 2. A central portion of an area where a plurality of steering switch groups of the operation panel are arranged side by side or an area further away from the hand placing portion, and a fingertip reaches when the hand is placed on the hand placing portion. The remote control device for a work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a work state changeover switch for switching the work vehicle to one of a working state and a non-working state is provided in the range. 3. A rotary knob is disposed between the hand-placing portion of the operation panel and a plurality of steering switch groups, and the rotary knob adjusts a steering angle in accordance with the operation rotation angle. The remote control device for a work vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a steering signal is output so as to increase or decrease. 4. The steering switch of each of the plurality of steering switch groups is formed in an arrow shape indicating a left or right steering direction by a single shape or a combination of a plurality of shapes.
A remote control device for a work vehicle according to any one of 3 to 3.