JPS60118102A - Self-propelling working machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an automatic driving work vehicle, more specifically, a work area in a predetermined range based on a boundary detection result of a tracing sensor that detects a boundary between a treated work area and an untreated work area. The vehicle is configured to automatically travel based on a traveling order sequence for a plurality of predetermined traveling strokes while detecting the boundary, and a direction change sequence for gradually moving to the next traveling stroke after completing one traveling stroke. Regarding the self-driving work vehicle.

Conventionally, this type of self-driving work vehicle, for example, a ground work vehicle such as a lawnmowing work vehicle, has been equipped with this technology to automatically perform ground work within a predetermined range of work area, with the surrounding area being treated as a work area in advance. The work area is divided in advance into a plurality of traveling strokes corresponding to the working width, and control is performed to automatically travel while sequentially moving between the plurality of traveling strokes.

The order sequence for running each of the above-mentioned travel strokes is such that each travel stroke is set in parallel, and the next stroke has 180
A reciprocating mode in which the direction is changed by 90 degrees, or a travel process is set to rotate around the work area sequentially from the outer periphery to the inner periphery, and the direction is changed 90 degrees in the next step. There are some types of driving, such as roundabout driving, but in any driving type, the scanning steering control is performed in each traveling stroke based on the results of detection of the traveling location, that is, the boundary of each stroke by the tracing sensor, so the traveling direction cannot be changed. Although the deviation in direction is relatively small, since the direction change at the end of each stroke is generally performed by fixed pattern control based on a preset sequence, the direction of the vehicle body may deviate during this direction change. However, there are cases in which the workpiece meanderes significantly before following the boundary of the next stroke, resulting in the inconvenience that the work traces near the end of the stroke become irregular.

In addition, since the above-mentioned direction change was performed by turning with forward and backward movement, whether it was a 90-degree direction change or a 180-degree direction change, it took a long time to bend over to change direction, making the work less efficient. If you are installing a sensor that detects obstacles to prevent collisions with obstacles during automatic driving, as described above, the vehicle body will have to be moved backwards. The disadvantage was that unless sensors were installed on both the front and rear, safety could not be guaranteed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to perform the direction change by traveling only in one direction, and to change the direction while repeatedly performing ground work while automatically changing direction. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic traveling work vehicle equipped with a means for controlling the subsequent vehicle body orientation and position relative to the boundary so that the latter automatically aligns with the boundary at the end of the next stroke.

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic driving work vehicle according to the present invention is configured such that both the front wheels and the rear wheels can be steered, and is equipped with an orientation sensor that detects the direction of the vehicle body, and is equipped with a direction sensor that detects the orientation of the vehicle body. When changing direction, after the copying sensor detects the end of one travel stroke, the traveling direction is not reversed until the detected force position by the direction sensor matches the preset reference force position for the next stroke. After automatically steering the vehicle to turn in the direction of the next stroke, thereafter, based on the boundary detection result of the next stroke by the copying sensor, the vehicle body is moved in parallel to correct the position in the left and right direction for the next stroke. Pi has a feature in that it has a means for steering the front wheels and the rear wheels in the same direction.

Because of the above characteristics, the following excellent effects have been achieved.

In other words, the direction change at the end of each stroke is performed while continuously traveling in the direction of the next stroke without reversing the running direction, and the direction and position of the vehicle body relative to the next stroke are corrected, so that the vehicle body can perform the work of the next stroke. Since the start can be made in a state that coincides with the boundary of the next stroke, the work efficiency is extremely improved and the work trace can be made to proceed in a very straight line from the end of each stroke.

Next, the purpose, structure, and effects of another invention will be explained.

The second invention aims to implement the first invention described above, and further aims to provide an automatically traveling work vehicle equipped with a means for accurately changing direction, and is similar to the first invention described above. The automatic driving work vehicle has the above-mentioned scanning sensor and is configured to automatically travel based on a travel order sequence for a plurality of predetermined travel strokes and a direction change sequence for moving to the next stroke. The present invention is characterized in that means is provided for automatically decelerating the traveling passenger to perform a direction change based on a direction change sequence.

Because of the above characteristics, the following excellent effects have been achieved.

In other words, by reducing the traveling speed, it is possible to absorb control response delays such as the processing time required to determine the conditions for starting the direction change sequence and the delay in actuator operation for steering operation, as well as Since slips and the like can be reduced, it has become possible to change direction more accurately with fM1.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, front and rear wheels (2) of a vehicle body (1).

The lawn mowing equipment M (4) is suspended in the middle part of (3) so as to be movable up and down, and the configuration described below is for determining the boundary between the uncut area IB) which is the boundary of the working area and the boundary of the mowed area 1cI (Ll). The following scanning sensors (5) and (5) are provided on the front left and right sides of the vehicle body, respectively, and the lawn mowing vehicle as the boundary is constructed by these scanning sensors (5) and (51) VC.

Furthermore, in order to continuously detect the moving distance IZI of the vehicle body ill VcVi and this vehicle body il+, the unit traveling distance (/
A fifth wheel (6A) is provided as a distance sensor (6) that generates a predetermined number of pulse signals per , ). A geomagnetic sensor for detecting the magnetic field is provided as an azimuth sensor (7).

In addition, the front wheel (2+, f2+ and rear wheel 311
+31 is configured so that both of them can be steered, and by steering the front and rear @ (211!3) in the same direction, the vehicle body il+ can move in parallel without changing the direction, and the front and rear Ring (2).

By steering (3) in a relatively opposite direction, it is possible to turn with a very small turning radius.

The scanning sensor (6) includes two optical sensors (S,).
, (S,), and this optical sensor -
(Sθ, (S,) are, as shown in Fig.
E! 9) by sensing the presence/absence of grass passing through the vehicle body fi + the arrangement adjacent to the left and right directions.
, already mowed land (tc)).

Nao, copying sensor (5) is optical sensor (S,)
.

The sensor is not limited to one using (S,), and may be constructed from any type of sensor, including contact type and non-contact type.

The discrimination signals of the unmowed area fBj and the mown area tcl obtained from the light receiving elements (P, ), (P,) of the optical sensors (S, ), (S,) indicate that the grass passes intermittently. This results in a discontinuous pulse-like signal. Therefore, in order to convert the signal into a continuous discrimination signal, the signal is configured to be inputted to a control device 110 (to be described later) after performing an integral process.

To integrate the output signal (C1) of the light receiving element (P,), as shown in figure vJ3, the distance sensor (6)
A programmer pre-rekakunku (11) that counts the number of output pulses and outputs a carry signal (C2) every preset count value (K), and this kakunri (11)
A flip-flop f12 is provided which is reset by the carry signal (C,) of the light receiving element (R3), and the output signal (C1) of the light receiving element (R3) resets the force sensor 1113 and resets the 7 lip 70 t+21. Kakunta 111) and Flip 7
A digital filter (131) is used to obtain a discrimination signal (C,) of a continuous boundary ft, corresponding to the uncut area +131 and the uncut area 1cI.

The operation of this digital filter (131) will be briefly explained below.

The power counter (11) is repeatedly reset by the pulse signal (C1) of the light receiving element (P,) regardless of its count value INI, and a flip is performed by 70 points (1z cent).Then, the grass disappears. The lever pulse signal -It(C,) becomes "L" level, and
When the force sensor (Lll) counts the output signal (C,) of the distance sensor (6) up to the count value (No) corresponding to this predetermined distance (E.) after traveling a predetermined distance (1°), only, the kakunta (1υ is the carry signal (
C, ) is output, and the flip 70 knob +I3 is reset. Therefore, the output of this flip 70 (1z) corresponds to the grass detection state, that is, the detection of uncut ground fBl.
A discrimination signal (C,) that continuously repeats the //L// level corresponding to the detection of the H// level or no grass state, that is, mowed land + C). is obtained.

Below, we will discuss a control system that controls the movement of the lawn mowing crew based on each detection pattern by the following sensors (5), (5), distance sensor (6), and direction sensor (7) configured as described above. explain.

As shown in Fig. 3, the main part of the control system is a control device (lO) composed of a microcomputer.
Signals from each of the above-mentioned sensors (6), (5), +619 +7; are input, and each of these sensors f51,
[51, tel * By calculating the detected parameters of ffl, the front and rear wheels (21, +31
Hydraulic cylinder for each steering operation +141,
Electromagnetic pulp that activates f151 ++61, t+
71 and a hydraulic continuously variable transmission (a motor for operating the shift position marked 1), which is configured to generate a control signal to turn each actuator [ffl].

In addition, in Figure 4, (R,), (R,)ri before and after (
21,;31) A potentiometer for detecting the actual steering angle and feeding it back to the control device 11O), and (R1) is a potentiometer for similarly detecting the rare gear shift position of the transmission device (11O).

Then, as shown in Fig. 4, the perimeter of the already cut area is set to 1 cl.
lcl, the mowing work area fAl is mowed along the boundary +Ll between the unmowed area IBi and the mowed area ICI, and the mowing work is performed automatically at the end of each stroke (L in the direction of the next stroke). Change direction and go inside the outer periphery of the work area.
The robot automatically travels continuously while changing the travel direction by approximately 90 degrees in order to weigh each line in the same direction.

A control sequence for automatically changing direction at each stroke end (L') will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 4, based on the detection result of the boundary (L) by the scanning sensor (5), automatic travel is performed between strokes, and the cumulative travel distance (/) by the distance sensor (5) is determined by the outer circumference teaching, etc. The distance ('1k) is the predetermined distance (a) subtracted from this one-line weighing distance (7k), which is preset.
-a) When the IC is reached, the motor (19) is driven to automatically operate the gear shift position of the transmission fllD, and the traveling speed change is once decelerated from normal, and the integral time constant ( τ), that is, the preset value of Progerama Rekakunta (111) is changed from the preset count value (No) to a value smaller than normal (ordinarily), and the response of the change in the detection signal of the boundary Ll of the copying sensor (5) is Make it faster.

Then, both of the tracing sensors (wa, (ke) detect the already mowed area (C1, that is, the tracing sensor (';)e +F)
The four optical sensors that make up - (S,), (S,), ・
・When at least three optical sensors detect the mowed field fcl and reach the end of the stroke (L), the direction is automatically changed based on the seeding explained below. It begins.

When the direction change is performed, when the copying sensor sensor detects the end of one stroke (L'), the front wheel 121 @
(Steering the rear wheels 131 and +31 at the maximum steering angle in the direction of the next stroke, and steering the rear wheels 131 and +31 at the maximum steering angle in the opposite direction to the front wheels f21 and +21 to move forward only with a very small turning radius.) It turns in the direction of the next stroke.

Then, during this turn, a change in the detected azimuth (-) by the azimuth sensor (6) is checked, and this detected azimuth (-) is set in the same manner as when the distance (X'k) of the above-mentioned stroke is set in advance. When the direction coincides with the reference direction (ψk) of the next stroke, the steering jig operation of the turning stop is completed, and the front wheel f2+ (21 and the rear wheel i:ll t :31
While moving the car body in parallel by steering in the same direction at a predetermined steering angle, the horizontal position of the car body fi+ is corrected based on the detection result of the boundary (L) by the copying sensor i51*isl, and the position of the car body fi+ is corrected in the next stroke. Boundary L) It should be along the IC.

Thereafter, the integration time constant (r) of the digital film f13... is returned to the normal time constant, the traveling speed is returned to normal, and the cumulative distance (l) by the front P distance sensor (6) is returned to the normal time constant. The scanning sensor (5
), the boundary between uncut land + Bl and cut land tcl according to (4) (
One-line weighing is automatically carried out by performing normal scanning steering control based on the Ll detection result.

Therefore, when mowing the lawn in the work area (N), if the work is done only by moving forward, including the change of direction between each stroke, 7 times can be achieved, and the work efficiency has become extremely high.

Incidentally, Figure $5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device described above.

In addition, in this example, only the so-called circular driving style in which the vehicle makes approximately 90 turns and travels sequentially from the outer circumferential direction to the inner circumferential direction of the work area, but the traveling direction is changed by 180 degrees at the end of the -stroke. The present invention can also be implemented in the same way when the vehicle travels back and forth.

In other words, when changing direction by 180 degrees, the reference direction (ψk) for the next stroke is set to the value obtained by reversing the sign of the current reference direction (→k
), and the front and rear wheels t2i q :3
Before turning by steering 1 in the opposite direction, VC is previously operated in the opposite direction for a predetermined distance in the mown field tc 1 direction, and then the direction is changed 180 degrees by moving forward in the same way as the Kino M gA+ in the previous work. Is possible.

Furthermore, when performing the direction change, if the difference in direction between the current stroke and the next stroke is small, the front and rear wheels +2+ + r3
) in the opposite direction to turn, so 1
``J not, front wheel +219 +21 or rear wheel 13)
, i3) may be turned by sweeping the steering wheel.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] The drawings show an embodiment of the automatic driving vehicle according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of the lawn mowing vehicle, FIG. 2 is a front view of the scanning sensor, and FIG. 8 is a front view of the mowing vehicle. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control system, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of direction change, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device. (1)...Vehicle body, (2)...Front wheels, (
3)...Rear wheel, (5)...Copying sensor, (7)...Force position sensor, (B)...
・・Untreated working area, (C1... Treated working area,
(L) Middle...Boundary, ψ)...Detection power level, (ψ
k)...Reference direction. Agent Patent Attorney Osamu Kitamura

Claims (1)

[Claims] ■ A tracing sensor f5 for detecting a boundary Ll between a treated work area +C1 and an untreated work area fB) in a predetermined range of work areas.
Based on the boundary detection result of 1*tnl, the boundary L+
Based on the travel order sequence for a plurality of predetermined travel strokes while detecting the
A self-driving work vehicle configured to travel automatically,
Front wheel +21, +21 and rear wheel '31 * +31
Both of them are configured to be capable of steering operation, and are provided with a direction sensor (7) for detecting the direction of the vehicle body fi+, and when the direction is changed based on the direction change sequence, the following sensors (5) and (6) - After detecting the end of the travel stroke, the detection direction ψ by the force position sensor (7:
) and automatically operate the steering to turn in the direction of the next stroke without reversing the preset next stroke.
After that, the copying sensor +51, +51 ic
Based on the detection result of the boundary fLl of the next stroke, the front wheels (2), m and the rear wheels sle (
31 in the same direction. ■ In the steering operation for turning in the next stroke direction, the front 11+ t (2+ and rear @ (31, (
31 in relatively opposite directions. - Steering operation for turning in the next stroke direction is performed using the front wheels +21, +21 or the rear wheels f31. [
31. The automatic traveling work vehicle according to claim 0, wherein either one of the three parts is operated by steering. A scanning sensor detects the boundary fL) with the processing work site IB), and based on the boundary detection result of the prisoner, a travel order sequence for a plurality of predetermined travel distances while protruding the boundary fL), and one An automatic driving work vehicle configured to automatically travel based on a direction change sequence for moving to the next stroke after completing a travel stroke, and in which the vehicle changes direction based on the direction change sequence. An automatic traveling work vehicle characterized by being provided with means for automatically reducing the speed.