JPH09252606A - Remote operation device for working vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote operation device for a working vehicle which can speedily start operation at a different target place through each operation. SOLUTION: An operation board for remotely operating the working vehicle is provided with a steering means which outputs a steering signal indicating a steering angle and a turning control means which throttles down the engine of the working vehicle to a low-speed side, places a working machine mounted on the working vehicle, from its operation, to a non-working state, and rotates a camera which is mounted on the working vehicle and picks up an image of a working state, in a steering direction by a previously set angle when the previously set angle is indicated through the operation of the steering means.

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 remote control device optimal for remotely controlling a cultivator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, while a work vehicle is running, a work machine mounted on the work machine is changed from a working state to a non-working state, and the work vehicle is swung to another destination, and then the working machine is put into the working state again. When starting work, the operator is operated to switch the working machine from the working state to the non-working state, and another operator is operated to turn the work vehicle to reach another destination. The operator was operated again to switch the work implement from the non-working state to the working state. In particular, when remotely controlling the work vehicle, it is necessary to rotate the camera mounted on the work vehicle to image the work situation in a direction that causes the camera to rotate. Therefore, another operator is operated to set the camera to the set angle. It was turning.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional case, the operator for switching the working vehicle between the working state and the non-working state and the operator for turning the working vehicle are different from each other. When operating the work vehicle remotely, the operator that rotates the camera is composed of another operator, so in order to quickly start work at another destination, use each operator in a short time. It has to be operated properly, and it takes some skill to perform these series of operations. In addition, even a skilled person was very troublesome to operate.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control device for a work vehicle capable of promptly starting work at another target location with a simple operation. To aim.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a steering means for outputting a steering signal indicating a steering angle to an operation panel for remotely operating a work vehicle, and the steering means. When a preset steering angle is instructed by the operation of, the throttle of the engine of the work vehicle is throttled to the low speed side, the work machine mounted on the work vehicle is changed from the working state to the non-working state, and Provided is a remote control device for a work vehicle, which is provided with a turning control means for rotating a camera mounted on the work vehicle for imaging a work situation in a steering direction by a set angle.

According to the above construction, by simply operating the steering means, the turning control means reduces the speed of the work vehicle, changes the working machine from the working state to the non-working state, and further rotates the camera in the steering direction by the set angle. Therefore, the work can be quickly started at another destination.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a preferred embodiment,
The steering means is composed of a plurality of steering switch groups arranged in parallel, and the plurality of steering switch groups include a rightward steering switch group for instructing a steering to the right and a leftward steering switch for instructing a steering to the left. The steering switches are arranged so as to be laterally separated from each other, and the steering angle designated by the steering switches is set smaller in the steering switches located in the center of each steering switch group than in the steering switches located outside the steering switches. The steering switch located at the outer end of one of the left steering switch groups indicates the preset steering angle.

[0008]

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.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an image receiving system and a vehicle operating system in a remote station (for example, a one-box vehicle) that remotely operates the tractor 1 of FIG. The image receiving system in this example includes diversity antennas 18 and 18 that receive image radio waves from the first image transmitter 5 and the second image transmitter 8 of FIG. 1 and image radio waves received by these diversity antennas 18 and 18. TV receivers 19 and 19 that perform amplification and detection, and these TV receivers 19 and 1.
9. Image accelerators 20 and 20 for compressing the detected image signal of 9, a monitor TV 21, a receiver 23 with an antenna 22 for receiving a vehicle current position signal from stationary hygiene, and a compression process by the image accelerators 20 and 20. And a computer 24 for processing the image signal thus processed and displaying it on the monitor TV 21, and for calculating a traveling locus from the vehicle current position signal of the receiver 23 and displaying it 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 the 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, which are steering means, are arranged in parallel. The two steering switch groups are divided into right and left steering switch groups 29 for instructing the steering to the right and left steering switches 30 for instructing the steering to the left. Is located in. 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. The steering switch 31 is configured to output steering signals that indicate different steering angles. For example, the steering angle of each steering switch group from the center is 7 °, 20 °, 45 °
It consists of three push button switches, each push button switch can be used alone (for 7 degree) or in combination (2
A combination of 0 ° and 45 °) is formed in a sagittal shape that indicates 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. This steering switch 31
While pressing, 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, and in that case, the steering servomotor 13 may be pressed only while the switch is being pressed.
The front wheels 2 are about to be steered to the steering angle position corresponding to the switch by driving the switch. However, since the switch is opened before the steering is completed, the front wheels 2 are automatically set to the straight traveling state before the steering is completed. Return. A standing wall 32 is provided on the outermost side of each steering switch group, so that the outermost position of the steering switch group can be easily recognized by the touch when touching the standing wall 32 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 placement portion 28,
A pumper switch 33, which is a work state changeover switch for switching the tractor 1 of FIG. 1 to either the working state or the non-working state, is provided within the reach of the fingertip when the hand is placed on the hand placing portion 28. To be done. In this case, the working state or the non-working state means the cultivating rotary 1 shown in FIG.
The state of 6 is lowered or raised regardless of whether it is rotated or stopped. The pumper switch 33 is always urged to the upright state by the spring, and every time the operator tilts the front side with the 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 which is remote 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, for example, a steering steering signal by a steering switch or a steering volume is recorded in a ROM 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 connector 44 for connecting to a driving power source.
And an interface (RS232C) 45 are arranged.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the operation panel 27 of FIG. 3, (A) shows an operation state of the steering switch groups 29, 30, and (B) shows a pumper switch 33 and a 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.

In the above steering control, while the tractor 1 which is a working vehicle is traveling, the cultivating rotary 16 which is a working machine mounted on the tractor 1 is changed from a working state (lowered state) to a non-working state (raised state). When turning and moving to another destination and lowering the cultivating rotary 16 again from there, the pumper switch 33 is operated to move the cultivating rotary 16 from the lowered state to the raised state. At the same time as switching, the steering switch 31 must be operated to rotate the tillage rotary 16, and the camera pan volume 38 must be operated to rotate the second camera 7 in the steering direction by the set angle. To get started quickly,
It is necessary to use each operator properly in a short time,
A certain degree of skill is required to perform these series of operations.
Moreover, even a skilled person is very troublesome to operate.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to be able to quickly start the work at another destination with a simple operation,
When a preset steering angle is instructed by operating the steering switch 31 which is the steering means on the operation panel 27 for remotely operating the tractor 1 which is a work vehicle, the engine of the tractor 1 is throttled to a low speed. And a turning control means for turning the cultivating rotary 16 from a lowered working state to a non-working raised state and further rotating the second camera 7 for picking up a working state in the steering direction by a set angle. Was set up.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the specific function of the turning control means. That is, specifically, the turning control means moves to another target location, so when the 45 ° steering switch 31 located at the outer end of the left and right steering switch groups is pressed (step S1), the steering servomotor 13 Starts to rotate and the tractor 1
Is set to a low speed (the throttle valve is set to a low speed side) (step S2) and the cultivating rotary 16 is raised (the pumper U
P) (step S3), and the second camera 7 further behind
Is rotated by a set angle in the steering direction (step S4),
Front wheels 2 driven by the steering servomotor 13
The turning operation is ended by changing the direction of (step S
5). According to this, just by pushing the steering switch 31,
Ready to move to another destination. This 45
In order to prevent erroneous operation, the steering switch 31 of ° cannot be raised or lowered unless the cultivating rotary 16 is pushed for a set time or longer. In addition, the series of operations described above is programmed in advance, and is incorporated into, for example, the computer 24 (FIG. 2), R
It can be sent from the transmitter 26 of the operation panel 27 to the vehicle side in the form of a sequence command signal via an interface such as C232C.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the relationship between the turning of the tractor 1 and the turning of the second camera 7. As shown in the figure, when the tractor 1 is moving forward, the second camera 7 is also facing forward, but since the tractor 1 moves to another destination, when turning right in the direction of arrow B, Second camera 7
Also rotates to the right by the set angle. In this case, when approaching the turning point, the camera 7 is first rotated as indicated by arrow E. As a result, the visual field range D of the camera 7 faces in the direction of turning (to the right) as shown. This is monitor TV 2
Observed in 1 and if there is no abnormality in the forward direction of turning, the vehicle returns to its original position while turning and photographs the front of the vehicle.

Although the steering means is composed of the steering switch in the above embodiment, it may be composed of the steering volume, the steering trim or the like.

Although the above embodiment has been described with respect to the agricultural tractor, the present invention is also applicable to lawnmowers and other agricultural machines or gardening machines, as well as bulldozers and other civil engineering and construction machines. .

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the throttle of the engine of the work vehicle is automatically throttled to the low speed side only by instructing the preset steering angle by operating the steering means. The work machine mounted on the work vehicle is changed from a working state to a non-working state, and a camera mounted on the work vehicle for capturing an image of the working state can be rotated by a set angle in the steering direction. The operation is much simplified and the operability is improved as compared with the conventional apparatus in which each operator has to be selectively used in a short time in order to start the work promptly. As a result, even a beginner can perform an appropriate operation, and it is possible to prevent erroneous operation and forgetting operation. When it is desired to operate the turning control means, only a predetermined steering switch needs to be operated, and the operability is further improved.

[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 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing details of an operation panel of FIG. 2.

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

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining a specific function of the turning control means according to the present invention.

6 is an explanatory diagram of a relationship between turning of the tractor of FIG. 1 and turning of a second camera.

[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, 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: GPS set switch for position control, 40: turning recording switch , 41: engine emergency stop switch, 42, 43: autonomous turning switch, 44: power connector, 45: interface connector, 55: steering volume

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Makoto Sugimoto 2500 Shin-kai, Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A steering means for outputting a steering signal indicating a steering angle to an operation panel for remotely operating a work vehicle,
When the preset steering angle is instructed by the operation of the steering means, the throttle of the engine of the work vehicle is throttled to the low speed side and the work machine mounted on the work vehicle is changed from the working state to the non-working state. Further, there is provided a turning control means for turning a camera mounted on the work vehicle to image a work situation in a steering direction by a set angle, and a remote control device for the work vehicle. 2. The steering means is composed of a plurality of steering switch groups arranged in parallel, and the plurality of steering switch groups includes a rightward steering switch group for instructing a rightward steering and a leftward steering switch group. The left and right steering switch groups for instructing are arranged so as to be distributed to the left and right, and the steering angle of the steering switches is set to be smaller in the steering switches located in the center of each steering switch group than in the steering switches located outside the steering switches. The work according to claim 1, wherein a steering switch located at an outer end of one of the directional steering switch group and the leftward steering switch group indicates the preset steering angle. Vehicle remote control device.