JPS6370307A - Steering control device for automatic traveling working car - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically correct a reference bearing to a bearing corresponding to the direction of a working process of a working car and to remove the interruption of working by changing the reference bearing by prescribed angle in the operating direction in case of repeating operation in the same direction by a manual steering means. CONSTITUTION:The direction of the machine body of an automatic traveling working car is detected by a bearing sensor 8 fitted to the machine body and steering operation is automatically executed by a bearing control means 100 based on the detecting information of the sensor 8 so that the machine body 1 is traveled in the previously set reference bearing (alpha). A manual steering means 101 in the means 100 executes steering operation with priority. When steering operation in the same direction is repeated by the means 101, the reference bearing (alpha) is changed by a prescribed angle (DELTAalpha) in the direction of the steering operation by a reference bearing changing means 102. Thus, the reference bearing is automatically corrected in the bearing corresponding to the working process by said changing operation to remove the interruption of working.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides an orientation sensor for detecting the orientation of an aircraft, and detects the orientation so that the aircraft travels in the direction of a preset reference orientation. The present invention relates to a steering control device for an automatic traveling work vehicle, which is provided with an azimuth control means that automatically performs turning operation based on information detected by a sensor, and is provided with a manual steering means that allows preferential steering operation.

[Conventional technology]

The above-mentioned steering control device for an automatic traveling work vehicle is configured to automatically travel toward a preset reference direction so that the work vehicle travels straight along a predetermined work path. For example, in order to temporarily change or correct the direction of the aircraft, a manual steering means that can be preferentially operated is also provided.

By the way, conventionally, the reference direction, which is the reference for the steering operation by the direction control means, has been taught, for example, by making the user travel along the work route in advance by manual operation, or has been manually set in the work 111. Once the settings were set, they were not to be changed until the work was completed.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the conventional configuration described above, once the reference orientation is set, it is not changed until the work is completed. , If the direction of the actual work process deviates from the reference direction as the work progresses, the actual work process may change even though the traveling direction of the work vehicle matches the set reference direction. This may lead to a situation where the vehicle deviates from the normal state, and the frequency of repeating manual correction increases, making it difficult to run automatically. Therefore,
If the deviation between the preset reference orientation and the actual work process direction becomes large, it may be necessary to reset the reference orientation during the work, which has the disadvantage of interrupting the work and reducing work efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to correct the deviation in the direction of the actual work process when the direction of the work process deviates from a preset reference direction. The goal is to be able to automatically correct the changes.

[Means for solving problems]

The characteristic configuration of the steering control device for an automatic traveling work vehicle according to the present invention is that when the manual steering means repeatedly performs a steering operation in the same direction, A reference orientation changing means for changing the reference orientation by a predetermined angle is provided, and its functions and effects are as follows.

[For production]

In other words, if a steering operation is repeatedly performed in the same direction using the manual steering means, it is determined that the reference direction and the direction of the actual work process are misaligned, and the manual steering operation is performed.
The reference orientation is changed by a predetermined angle toward the created direction, that is, the direction of the actual work process.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, when a steering operation in the same direction is repeatedly performed by the manual steering means, the reference direction is changed by a predetermined angle toward the steering direction, so that the reference direction is changed during the work process in which the work vehicle actually travels. The reference direction is automatically corrected to correspond to the direction of travel, and the reference direction can be made to correspond to the actual direction of travel without interrupting work and resetting.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in Figure 5, the planted stem culms of rice, wheat, etc. in the field are raised and harvested, and while the harvested stem culms are being conveyed, the posture is changed to a sideways posture, and the threshing feed chain (1) is reaped. The passing reaping section (2) and the threshing feed chain (
A threshing device (3) that threshes the stem culms that are pinched and conveyed in 1) and sorts and collects the grains is combined with a pair of left and right crawler traveling devices (
4) A self-propelled combine harvester as an automatically-propelled work vehicle is constructed by mounting on a machine (ν) equipped with (4).

Further, as means for detecting the orientation of the aircraft (V), an orientation sensor (8) using a geomagnetic sensor that detects the absolute orientation by sensing changes in the earth's magnetic field is provided on the upper part of the aircraft (V).

Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the reaping section (2)
At the bottom of the culm, there is a stock sensor (So
) is provided, and it is determined whether or not reaping work is in progress based on the information detected by the stock origin sensor (So), and based on the information detected by the orientation sensor (8), which will be described in detail later. , the aircraft (V) is placed in a preset reference direction (α
Direction control means (
100) is used as control information for starting and stopping.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 1, the weeding tools (5a) and (5b) at both left and right ends provided at the tip of the cutting section (2) are attached to the frames (6) and (6), respectively. is urged toward the front side of the body (V), and the reaping section (2)
A sensor bar (7) that contacts the base of the stem culm ()l) introduced into the body and swings toward the rear of the fuselage (V) by an angle corresponding to the contact position; 7) A tracing sensor (Sl), (SZ) consisting of a potentiometer (R) for detecting the swing angle of It's Nishide. In addition, since the stem culm (H) planted in the field comes into contact with the sensor bar (7) intermittently, the signal obtained from the potentiometer (R) may change intermittently. Become. Therefore, the body (
In order to detect the lateral deviation of V), signal processing such as averaging the output signal of the potentiometer (R) or extracting the maximum value per unit time is performed.

Further, the output from the engine (E) is configured to be transmitted to a traveling transmission section (10) via a hydraulic continuously variable transmission (9), and an input shaft to the transmission section (10) is configured. A rotation speed sensor (11) is provided which detects running speed and travel distance by detecting the rotation speed of (10a).

Also, the pair of left and right crawler running devices are connected to the transmission section (10)! (4), A steering clutch brake (i2L) that connects and disconnects power transmission to the left and right wheels separately.

(12R), this steering clutch brake (12L),
Hydraulic cylinder (13L) that operates on and off (12R)
), (13R), and this hydraulic cylinder (13L)
), (13R) are operated separately on the left and right sides (1).
4) is provided.

Moreover, each of the above-mentioned sensors (Sl) to (Szn, (8),
Based on the detection information G obtained by (11), the machine (V) is automatically driven to follow the stem culm (1 ()) and is controlled to travel in the direction of a preset reference direction (α). A control device (15) that also serves as an azimuth control means (100)
) and a memory (16) for storing the reference orientation (α).

Further, a control section (17) provided at the rear of the reaping section (2) is provided.
), the pair of left and right steering levers (17L) and (17R) constituting the manual steering means (101) which performs steering operation with priority over the direction control means (100) are operated. Accordingly, the steering clutch brake (12L
), (12R) are provided so that they can be operated separately for the left and right sides. In other words, the pair of left and right steering levers (17L
), (17R) are provided, and when either of the steering switches (18L) or (18R) is turned on, the direction is changed. Even during steering operation by the control means (100), the control valve (14) is actuated preferentially, so that steering can also be performed manually.

Hereinafter, while explaining the operation of the control device (15), the means for setting the reference direction (α), the direction control means (
100) allows the machine (V) to automatically travel in the direction of the reference direction (α), as well as reaping control that automatically travels along the stem culm (H), and after the end of one work process, the process Turn control for automatically causing the machine (V) to travel to the next work process in the intersecting direction will be described.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, automatic traveling for reaping work is performed in a so-called rotary reaping work form while repeatedly performing the reaping control and turn control. Before starting the reaping work, the outermost part of the reaping work range is artificially maneuvered while the reaping work is performed, and the information necessary to perform the automatic reaping work, that is, the reference direction (α) is detected and recorded in the memory (16), and the transmission (9) and Steering clutch brake (12L), (
By controlling the operation of 12R), automatic driving is possible.

In other words, by performing the reaping work by manually maneuvering the outermost part of the reaping work range in advance, a so-called headland necessary for turning is formed, and the stock sensor (
So) is turned ON until it is turned OFF, that is, from the beginning of one work process to '4! ! : Repeatedly sample the direction (θ) detected by the direction sensor (8) while reaching the end, and calculate the average direction over the entire length of one working process, and the traveling direction in the working process for each side surrounding the working range. This is stored in the memory (16) as the reference direction (α) shown. Then, the reference direction (α
) in order to memorize and set the cutting area, the process of manually maneuvering and driving the outermost part of the reaping work range is hereinafter referred to as outer circumference teaching.

By the way, the reference orientation (α
), a control program constituting the azimuth control means (100), manual steering means (101), reference azimuth changing means (102), which will be described in detail later, etc., and a control program for determining the operation of the sensors. It also stores various information such as control information.

Next, while explaining the operation of the control device (15), the direction control means (100) and the reference direction change means (10
2) will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operating state of the work mode selection switch (or) for selecting whether to perform the outer circumference teaching or automatic driving is determined, and if this switch (SWo) is in the ON state, the above-mentioned Processing for outer circumference teaching is executed. When the steering control start switch (SWI) is turned on while the work mode selection switch (outside) is in the OFF state, automatic driving control is started, and the stock sensor (So) and the The states of both the left and right scanning sensors (St) and (sz) are repeatedly determined at predetermined intervals (in this embodiment, this is set to approximately 50 m5).

Then, when the machine (V) is manually operated to start reaping work, the stock sensor (So) is turned on,
Reaping control is started. In addition, when the stock sensor (So) is in the OFF state, the left and right scanning sensors (s+)
, (SZ), and the stock sensor (So)
Even if the left and right scanning sensors (Sl
), (sz) are in the ON state, the reaping work is started.

When the reaping work is started, the direction (θ) detected by the direction sensor (8) is set to the reference direction (α) stored in the memory.
) so that the orientation control means (
100), and the scanning sensor (S
Based on the detection information from l) and (sz), the stem culm (H
) so that the lateral deflection of the aircraft (V) with respect to ) is maintained within a proper range.
, (12R) to perform steering control.

Next, the stock sensor (SO) and the copying sensor (Sl)
, (52) are both in the OFF state, and the stock sensor (So) and the copying sensor (Sl),
(Sz) are both 0FFL and the OFF state has elapsed for more than a predetermined time (in this embodiment, it is set to about 1.5 seconds), it is determined that one work process has ended. After finishing the reaping control, turn control for moving the machine (V) to the next stroke is started.

In addition, to determine the end of one work process, it is the stock sensor (So) that determines the state of both the stock sensor (So) and the copying sensors (Sl) and (SZ).
is in contact with the stem culm () I) introduced from the front of the aircraft and is 0N.
This stock sensor (S
o) alone cannot completely distinguish from a case where the stem culm (1j) is temporarily interrupted, so the body (1, 1
) All sensors in contact with the stem culm (H) introduced from the front (
This is because when it is determined that one work process has ended when all of So), (Sl), and (Sz) are in the OFF state, malfunctions in the work process end determination are reduced.

Specifically, when both the stock sensor (So) and the copying sensors (Sl), (SZ) are in the OFF state, the stock sensor (S,) and the copying sensor C5I)I(
It is determined whether the number of times (N) for repeatedly determining the state of S is reached at the predetermined period (50 ms) has reached the set number of times (30 times) corresponding to the predetermined elapsed time (1.5 seconds). ,
All sensors (So), (
s+).

Turn control (2) is started only when (SZ) is in the OFF state. By the way, the stock sensor (So) or copying sensor (Sl).

(SZ) is in the ON state, the number of times (N) for repeatedly determining the states of the stock sensor (SO) and copying sensors (51) and (sr) at the predetermined period (50 ms) is zero. All sensors (SO), (Sl
).

(SZ) are all turned OFF and this state continues for a predetermined period of time or more, the reaping control is continued.

To explain the orientation control, the orientation sensor (8
) is compared with the reference orientation (α) to determine whether the difference is within a preset tolerance, and if it is outside the tolerance, the direction of the deviation is determined. By changing the direction of the aircraft (V) in the opposite direction, the aircraft (V) is made to travel in the direction of the reference direction (α).

To explain the turn control, based on the intersection angle between the reference direction of the completed current work process and the reference direction of the next work process in the direction that intersects that work process, the turn control is performed back and forth along a pre-stored turn pattern. By repeating the advance, the machine (V) is automatically moved to the starting end of the next work stroke.

By the way, in reaping work with a combine harvester, there are two types: a so-called row cutting mode in which the combine harvester runs along the row of stem culms (+1) planted in the field, and a horizontal cutting mode in which the combine harvester runs in a direction transverse to this row. However, in both cases, the aircraft (V) is in the reference direction (α) set as the direction of the work process.
), the scanning sensor (S
The vehicle is driven in combination with steering control that follows the lateral deviation of the stem culm (H) caused by (sz) and (sz) so that it is maintained in an appropriate state.

However, the orientation control performed based on the orientation (θ) detected by the orientation sensor (8) and the copying sensor (Sl), (S
Since the steering control performed based on the detection information in z) cannot actually be performed at the same time, the steering operation is performed by alternately repeating the azimuth control and the steering control.

In the work process that involves row cutting, in order to prevent uncut leaves, steering control that follows the stem culm (1) is controlled to have priority over directional control, resulting in horizontal cutting. In the work process, the stem culm (+
Since the row 1) becomes unclear, the azimuth control is given priority over the steering control that follows the stem f\(l()).

Therefore, in the work process of the horizontal cutting mode, the direction of the reference direction (α) in the direction control is different from the actual work process (
If the aircraft (V) deviates from the direction indicated by (A) in FIG.
Since the deviation from the direction of the actual working process increases the spread of uncut areas, reference orientation changing means (102) is provided to automatically correct the reference orientation (α).

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, during the steering control described above, it is determined whether or not the orientation of the aircraft has been corrected by the orientation control means (100), and if there has been no correction, that is, the orientation is corrected. If the orientation (θ) detected by the sensor (8) is within the tolerance with respect to the reference orientation (α), the value of the number of corrections (K) for determining whether or not the orientation has been corrected is reset to zero. Then, the process ends.

On the other hand, the above direction side? When the direction of the aircraft is corrected by means III (100), the steering lever (17L).

The steering switch (18L) detects whether or not the (17R) is operated.
).

Based on the 0N10FF state of (18R), it is determined whether a manual operation is performed in the opposite direction to the correction direction by the azimuth control means (100), and if the steering operation is performed in the same direction or there is no manual operation. If so, the value of the number of corrections (K) for determining the presence or absence of the above-mentioned direction correction is reset to zero, and the process is terminated. If there is a manual steering operation, the number of times (K) is added up, it is determined whether the number of times (K) has reached the set number of times (gate), and the number of times (K) is determined to be the set number of times (M). If it has not been reached, the process ends.

If the value of the number of corrections (K) has reached the set number of times (M), it is determined that the reference direction (α) and the direction of the actual work process are deviated, and the manually operated steering A predetermined angle (△α) is added or subtracted from the reference azimuth (α) in accordance with the direction, and the reference azimuth (α) is automatically corrected in the direction of the manual steering. .

[Another example]

In the above embodiment, in order to set the base direction (α), the user manually travels around the outer circumference of the working range in advance, and during that time, the direction detected by the direction sensor (8) is sampled and taught. Although the case where this is done is illustrated as an example, the settings may be stored in advance by manual operation.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a configuration was explained in which the reference direction (α) is changed when the aircraft is driven in the horizontal mowing mode, but even in the case of the row mowing mode, the manual operation means (101) is used to change the aircraft (V). As the direction of the reference direction (α) is corrected,
may be changed.

Further, in the above embodiment, when the steering direction of the azimuth control means (100) and the manual steering means (101) are the same direction,
Although the reference orientation (α) has been exemplified in a configuration in which it is not changed, it may be changed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention was applied to a combine harvester, and the manual steering means (101) was provided on the machine body (V) side. The present invention may be configured to be remotely controlled so that it can be operated from the transmitter side, and the specific configuration of the steering control means for automatically driving the work vehicle, as well as the specific configuration of each part such as the sensor and actuator, is within the scope of the present invention. Depending on the configuration of the applicable work vehicle,
Various modifications can be made, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the travel control device for an automatic traveling work vehicle according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the configuration of the control system.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the reference orientation changing process, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the control device, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the work process, and FIG. 5 is an overall side view of the combine harvester. (V)...Aircraft, (8)...Direction sensor, (α)...Reference direction, (1m)...
・・Predetermined angle, (100) ・・・Direction control means,
(101)...Manual steering means, (102)...
...Reference direction changing means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A direction sensor (8) is provided to detect the direction of the aircraft (V),
A direction control means (100) that automatically performs a steering operation based on information detected by the direction sensor (8) so that the aircraft (V) travels in the direction of a preset reference direction (α). and a manual steering means (101) which can be steered preferentially. If the steering operation is repeated,
Steering control of an automatic traveling work vehicle provided with a reference orientation changing means (102) for changing the reference orientation (α) by a predetermined angle (Δα) in the direction of the steering operation by the manual steering means (101). Device.