KR102532963B1 - Work vehicle automatic driving system - Google Patents

Abstract

The work vehicle automatic driving system includes an area setting unit for setting a work area into areas (CA1, CA2) obtained by dividing a work area into a plurality of areas (CA1, CA2) by dividing an outer periphery area SA and a work target area CA into a plurality of parts by an intermediate divided area CC, and driving across the areas. A path management unit that readablely manages a plurality of travel path elements constituting the path and a circulation path element constituting the circulation path that circumnavigates the outer area and the middle divided area, and each of the sections includes at least one work vehicle (1m, 1s), based on the position of the host vehicle and the work driving state of other vehicles, a path element selector is provided for selecting the next travel path element or the next driving path element to be driven next.

Description

Work vehicle automatic driving system

The present invention relates to an automatic work vehicle driving system for a plurality of work vehicles that cooperatively work and travel on work sheets while exchanging data.

In addition, the present invention relates to a work vehicle automatic driving system for a plurality of work vehicles that automatically travel while cooperatively working on a work piece.

[1] The pavement work machine according to Patent Literature 1 is provided with a route calculation unit and a driving support unit in order to perform pavement work by automatic travel. The route calculation unit obtains the outer shape of the pavement from topographical data, and calculates a travel route starting from the set travel start point and ending at the travel end point based on the outer shape and the working width of the pavement work machine. The driving support unit compares the vehicle position obtained based on the positioning data (latitude and longitude data) obtained from the GPS module with the travel path calculated by the path calculator, and controls the steering mechanism so that the traveling machine travels along the travel path. do.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a system for automatically running control of one work vehicle, but Patent Literature 2 discloses a system for performing work while driving two work vehicles in parallel. In this system, after specifying the pavement, when the positional relationship of the second work vehicle with respect to the first work vehicle is set, a travel route for performing work of the first work vehicle and the second work vehicle is determined. When the travel route is determined, the first work vehicle and the second work vehicle position the position of the host vehicle and perform work while traveling along the travel route.

[2] Patent Literature 1 discloses a system for automatically driving one work vehicle, but Patent Literature 3 discloses work for performing ground work with a master work vehicle and an unmanned self-operated work vehicle imitating the master work vehicle. A secondary cooperative system is disclosed. In this system, a parent position detection module for detecting a mother position, which is the position of a master work vehicle, a self position detection module for detecting a self position, that is, the position of the own work vehicle, and a target of the own work vehicle from the running trajectory of the mother work vehicle A self-driving target calculation unit that calculates the driving position, a parent parameter generation unit that links and creates parent job operation parameters related to job operation performed by the parent job vehicle with the parent location, and self-work based on the parent job operation parameters A child parameter generating unit generating self-driving parameters for a self-operated vehicle linked to a target driving position corresponding to the car; A steering control unit is provided. The parent work operation parameters related to the work operation executed in the parent work vehicle are created in a form linked to the location of the parent work vehicle, and based on this parent work operation parameter, the self work vehicle corresponding to the position of the parent work vehicle. Self-operated driving parameters for the self-operated vehicle linked to the target driving position are created. In this way, the own work vehicle can perform work operation that faithfully imitates the work operation of the parent work vehicle based on the work operation parameters, the own position, and the target travel position.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-112071 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-093125 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-188351

[1] Background Art The problems corresponding to [1] are as follows.

Not only when one work vehicle travels on a work surface, but also when a plurality of work vehicles travel on a work surface, as shown in Patent Document 2, the plurality of work vehicles are set to travel in advance so that contact between the work vehicles does not occur. When work travels along the path, contact between work vehicles is prevented. However, in actual work driving, while driving on the work site, due to changes in the work environment of the work vehicle due to mechanical factors such as refueling and discharge of crops, weather fluctuations, environmental factors such as work site conditions, etc. Suddenly, the work vehicle needs to change its travel route or temporarily depart from the work area. For this reason, even in autonomous driving, a flexible autonomous driving system capable of changing or departing a travel route during work travel is required. However, in such a flexible automatic driving system, in the case where a plurality of work vehicles are put into a vast work area, the exception handling accompanying the change or departure of the travel route in the middle of the work becomes complicated, and the system cost increases. A problem arises.

In view of such a situation, there is a demand for a work vehicle automatic driving system that functions appropriately even when a plurality of work vehicles are put into a vast work area.

[2] Background Art The problems corresponding to [2] are as follows.

The work vehicle is equipped with devices for driving engines, transmissions, etc., devices for driving work cylinders, etc., and adjustment of device parameters for determining the state of these devices is required before and after work starts. In the case of automatically driving a plurality of work vehicles, there are many cases in which a supervisor alone manages the plurality of work vehicles. For this reason, in the cooperative work driving system according to Patent Document 3, the work driving parameters of the own work vehicle are automatically applied to the work driving parameters of the parent work vehicle. However, since the state of the worksheet changes time-wise and also according to the place, it is necessary to adjust the device parameters according to the judgment of the supervisor. When a manager climbs on each work vehicle and adjusts the machine parameters, the working vehicle must be stopped from running, especially during work, which reduces work efficiency.

From such a situation, a system capable of adjusting the device parameters of all work vehicles as simply as possible and according to the intention of the supervisor is desired, even when a supervisor alone manages a plurality of work vehicles.

[1] A solution to the problem [1] is as follows.

A work vehicle automatic driving system for a plurality of work vehicles that cooperatively travels on a work piece while exchanging data divides the work piece into a plurality of outer circumferential areas and a work target area inside the outer circumferential area by a middle partition area. An area setting unit for setting the obtained segment, a host vehicle position calculation unit for calculating the position of the host vehicle, a travel path element group, which is an aggregate of a plurality of travel path elements constituting a travel path covering the area, and the outside area and the above A route management unit that readably manages a circle path element group, which is an aggregate of loop elements constituting a loop path that loops around the intermediate division area; and a path element selection unit that selects a next travel path element or a next driving path element to be driven next from the group of travel path elements or the group of wandering path elements based on the working driving state of another vehicle.

According to this configuration, the work target region is divided into a plurality of sections by dividing the middle division region. The outer periphery area and the middle divided area located around the outer periphery of the work target area are areas created by driving the work vehicle at the start of work. The shape dimensions of the outer periphery region, the work target region, the middle divided region, and the division are obtained from the time-of-day position of the vehicle representing the trajectory of the work vehicle. Based on these shape dimensions, it is possible to calculate and manage travel path elements that cover each section and travel path elements that circumnavigate the outer circumference area and the middle divided area. The division of the work target region by the intermediate division region is performed so that the division obtained by division has an appropriate size for the work travel of at least one work vehicle. In addition, since data can be exchanged between work vehicles, the work travel state of another vehicle can be read from data indicating the work travel state of the work vehicle included in the exchanged data. As a result, the work vehicle in charge of each section can perform work travel with a high degree of freedom by selecting a travel path element and a driving path element to travel next while considering the position of the host vehicle and the work travel state of other vehicles.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the other vehicle positional relationship indicating the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is included in the working running state of the other vehicle, and an other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit is provided that calculates the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the other vehicle. In this configuration, the work vehicle selects a travel path element to travel next based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and another vehicle, which indicates the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the other vehicle. Therefore, it becomes possible for the work vehicle to travel while maintaining a distance from another vehicle within a certain range or more, or to travel while avoiding other vehicles that are temporarily stopped.

When autonomous driving is performed with a plurality of work vehicles, there is a possibility that the work vehicles may perform inappropriate work travel for some reason. For this reason, a supervisor rides on one work vehicle, and this supervisor monitors the trend of other unmanned work vehicles to find inappropriate work travel at an early opportunity, and take measures such as interruption of the work travel. . For this reason, the information included in the positional relationship of other vehicles should include not only information for avoiding contact between the work vehicles, but also information for preventing the work vehicle from moving out of the range that can be recognized by a supervisor riding on the work vehicle. it becomes necessary From this point of view, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the positional relationship of the other vehicle includes a first positional relationship maintaining a work vehicle interval equal to or greater than a first distance at which contact between the work vehicles can be avoided, and a distance between the host vehicle and the other vehicle. A second positional relationship for maintaining a work vehicle interval equal to or less than a second distance at which a work driving state can be visually recognized is included.

Work driving for creating the middle divided area is performed at the beginning, but if another work vehicle is on standby while a specific work vehicle is creating the middle divided area, work efficiency deteriorates by the waiting time. For this reason, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the path element selection unit is configured such that the work travel for creating the intermediate divided area and the work travel for the section created by the intermediate divided area are performed simultaneously. It is configured to select path elements. In the stage in which a travel path element for work travel that creates an intermediate divided region is selected, the shape dimension of a section divided by the intermediate divided region can be estimated to some extent. In this regard, at the same time that the work travel for creating the intermediate divided area by a specific work vehicle is started, other work vehicles can start work travel in the section divided by the intermediate divided area.

When work travel for creating the middle divided area and work travel for the division divided by the middle divided area are performed simultaneously, it is necessary to prevent the work vehicles performing these work travel from contacting each other. For this reason, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the route element selection unit selects the next traveling route element for the section created by the intermediate divided region during work travel for creating the intermediate divided region. , except for travel path elements adjacent to the middle segmentation area.

[2] A solution to the problem [2] is as follows.

The work vehicle automatic driving system for a plurality of work vehicles that automatically travel while cooperatively working on a work site is equipped for each work vehicle and includes a group of devices whose status can be changed by adjusting device parameters and input by a supervisor of the work vehicle. a parameter acquisition unit that acquires the device parameters acquired by the parameter acquisition unit, and a parameter adjustment command for adjusting the device parameters for each work vehicle is generated based on the device parameters acquired by the parameter acquisition unit, and is transmitted to the work vehicle. A parameter adjustment command generation unit is provided.

According to this configuration, the device parameters input by the supervisor are acquired by the parameter acquisition unit, and the parameter adjustment command for adjusting the device parameters of each work vehicle based on the acquired device parameters is generated by the parameter adjustment command generation unit. is created by The generated parameter adjustment command is transmitted to a work vehicle requiring adjustment of device parameters. In the work car receiving the parameter adjustment command, the device parameters are adjusted based on the parameter adjustment command. In this way, one or more work vehicles are adjusted to the device parameters desired by the supervisor only by performing input operation of the device parameters once without the supervisor moving from place to place.

Many recent work vehicles are equipped with a touch panel having an interface connected to a control system of the work vehicle. In addition, the supervisor who monitors the cooperative work running of the work vehicle carries a communication terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet that can be connected to the control system of the work vehicle. Therefore, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the parameter acquisition unit acquires the current value of the machine parameter for each work vehicle, the machine parameter input is performed through a touch panel, and the display panel portion of the touch panel At , the current value of the device parameter is displayed. In this configuration, the current value of each device parameter of the work vehicle participating in the cooperative work travel is acquired by the parameter acquisition unit and displayed on the touch panel. The supervisor can check the need for adjustment while confirming the actual state of the working machine's work travel and the current state of the parameter devices of each work vehicle displayed on the touch panel held. When adjustment is necessary, the supervisor can perform an input operation for adjusting the device parameters of the working vehicle in question on the spot.

If the work vehicle is a harvester that harvests crops such as wheat or rice from the field, the harvesting unit can be raised and lowered, and depending on the condition of the field or crops, it is necessary to adjust the speed of the vehicle, the processing capacity of the harvesting unit, and the height of reaping. occurs. Therefore, in a harvester or the like, the device parameters to be adjusted by the supervisor include driving device parameters such as vehicle speed and engine speed, and working device parameters that control the height of the harvesting unit. By adjusting this before work travel and during work travel, appropriate harvesting work is performed.

When cooperative work driving is carried out with multiple work vehicles, a supervisor rides on one work vehicle as a master work vehicle, and the other work vehicles become slave work vehicles, aiming for remote control by a supervisor or work travel of the master work vehicle When follow-up control or both of them are performed, work efficiency is improved. In this regard, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of work vehicles are composed of a master work vehicle and a slave work vehicle on which the supervisor rides, and the parameter acquisition unit and the parameter adjustment command generation in the master work vehicle. A part is built, and the parameter adjustment command is transmitted from the master working vehicle to the slave working vehicle. In this configuration, the machine parameters of the master work vehicle are directly adjusted by the supervisor. Adjustment of the device parameters of the slave work vehicle is performed by a parameter adjustment command generated based on the device parameters input by the supervisor. This parameter adjustment command is transmitted to the control system of the slave work vehicle via the control system of the master work vehicle or the communication terminal carried by the supervisor.

1 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating work travel of a work vehicle in a work target area.
Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic flow of automatic travel control using a travel path determining device.
Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the basic flow of automatic travel control using the travel path determining device.
4 is an explanatory diagram showing a driving pattern repeating a U-turn and going straight.
5 is an explanatory diagram showing a travel pattern along a mesh-like route.
6 is a side view of a harvester that is one embodiment of a work vehicle.
7 is a control function block diagram in the work vehicle automatic driving system.
8 is a control function block diagram in the work vehicle automatic driving system.
Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram explaining a method of calculating a mesh straight line, which is an example of a travel path element group.
Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a travel path element group calculated by a ribbon-shaped partial element calculator.
Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a normal U-turn and a switchback turn.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of selecting travel path elements in the travel path element group shown in FIG. 10 .
Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a vortex travel pattern in a travel path element group calculated by the mesh path element calculation unit.
14 is an explanatory diagram showing a linear reciprocating travel pattern in a travel path element group calculated by the mesh path element calculation unit.
15 is an explanatory diagram explaining the basic generation principle of a U-turn travel path.
FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a U-turn travel path generated based on the generation principle of FIG. 15 .
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a U-turn travel path generated based on the generation principle of FIG. 15 .
FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a U-turn travel path generated based on the generation principle of FIG. 15 .
19 is an explanatory diagram of an α-turn travel path in a mesh-like travel path element group.
20 is an explanatory diagram showing a case in which work travel resumed after separation from a work target area is not performed subsequent to work travel before separation.
Fig. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing work travel by a plurality of cooperatively controlled harvesters.
22 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic travel pattern of cooperatively controlled travel using a travel path element group calculated by a mesh path element calculation unit.
Fig. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing departure travel and return travel in cooperatively controlled travel.
Fig. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of cooperatively controlled travel using a travel route element group calculated by a ribbon-shaped partial element calculation unit.
Fig. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of cooperatively controlled travel using a travel route element group calculated by a ribbon-shaped partial element calculation unit.
Fig. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing an intermediate division process.
Fig. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of cooperative control running on a pavement divided into intermediate sections.
Fig. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of cooperatively controlled running on a pavement partitioned into a grid.
29 : is explanatory drawing which shows the structure which can adjust parameters of a slave harvester from a master harvester.
Fig. 30 is an explanatory diagram explaining automatic travel for creating a U-turn travel space around a parking position.
Fig. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of route selection by two harvesters with different work widths.
32 : is explanatory drawing which shows the specific example of path|route selection by two harvesters from which work width|variety differs.
33 is a diagram showing an example of a traveling route element group composed of curved parallel lines.
34 is a diagram showing an example of a travel path element group including curved mesh lines.
35 is a diagram showing an example of a travel path element group composed of curved mesh lines.

[Overview of automatic driving]

Fig. 1 schematically shows work vehicle work travel in the work vehicle automatic travel system. In this embodiment, the work vehicle is a harvester 1 that performs harvesting work (reaping work) of harvesting crops while traveling as work travel, and is a model generally called an ordinary combine. The work paper driven by the harvester 1 is called a pavement. In the harvesting operation in the field, the area in which the harvester 1 traveled around while performing work along the boundary line of the field called a headland is set as the outer periphery area SA. The inside of the outer periphery area SA is set as a work target area CA. The outer circumferential area SA is used as a space for movement and a space for changing directions, etc., for the harvester 1 to discharging and refueling harvested crops. In order to secure the outer periphery area SA, the harvester 1 performs 3 to 4 round trips along the boundary line of the field as the first work run. In the round trip, since the field is worked by the working width of the harvester 1 for each turn, the outer periphery area SA has a width about 3 to 4 times the working width of the harvester 1. In this regard, unless otherwise noted, the outer periphery area SA is handled as pre-worked paper (pre-worked paper), and the work target area CA is handled as unrefined paper (unworked paper). In addition, in this embodiment, the work width is handled as a value obtained by subtracting the amount of overlap from the reaping width. However, the concept of working width differs depending on the type of working vehicle. The working width in the present invention is defined according to the type of work vehicle or the type of work.

In addition, the phrase "work driving" used in this application is used in a broad sense, including not only driving while actually performing work, but also driving without performing work for changing direction during work. there is.

In addition, in the present specification, the phrase "working environment of the work vehicle" may also include the state of the work vehicle, the state of the work site, commands by humans (supervisors, drivers, managers, etc.), and state information by evaluating this work environment. is saved This state information includes mechanical factors such as refueling and harvesting, environmental factors such as weather fluctuations and work site conditions, and human requests such as unexpected work stop orders. In addition, when a plurality of work vehicles are cooperatively traveling to work, the state information of other vehicles is handled as the work running state of other vehicles, and the positional relationship of other vehicles indicating the positional relationship between the host vehicle and other vehicles is also included in the work running state of other vehicles. . In addition, the positional relationship between work vehicles is also one of work environment or status information. In addition, the supervisor or manager may ride in the work vehicle, may be near the work vehicle, or may be far away from the work vehicle.

The harvester 1 is equipped with the satellite positioning module 80 which outputs positioning data based on the GPS signal from the artificial satellite GS used by GPS (Global Positioning System). The harvester 1 has a function of calculating a vehicle position, which is a positional coordinate of a specific location in the harvester 1, from positioning data. The harvester 1 has an automatic travel function that automates a travel harvesting operation by adjusting the calculated position of the host vehicle to match a target travel route. In addition, when the harvester 1 discharges the harvested product while traveling, it is necessary to approach and park the vehicle CV parked at the hillside. In the case where the parking position of the carrier vehicle CV is determined in advance, such approach travel, that is, temporary departure from work travel in the work target area CA and return to work travel can also be performed by automatic travel. A travel route for leaving the work area CA and returning to the work area CA is generated at the time when the outer periphery area SA is set. In addition, instead of the carrier CV, a refueling truck or other work support vehicles can be parked.

[Basic flow of work vehicle automatic driving system]

In order for the harvester 1 incorporated in the automatic driving system of the working vehicle of the present invention to perform harvesting work automatically, a driving route management device that generates a target driving route and manages the driving route is required. it gets done The basic configuration of this travel route management device and the basic flow of automatic travel control using this travel route management device will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 .

The harvester 1 that has arrived at the field harvests while traveling along the inner side of the boundary line of the field. This operation is called surrounding mowing and is a well-known operation in harvesting operations. At that time, in the corner area, driving is performed to repeat forward movement and backward movement so that no uncut grain culm remains. In this form, at least one outermost circumference is performed by manual running so that there is no mowing residue and also so that it may not collide with a headland. The remaining several laps on the inner circumference side may be run automatically by an automatic running program dedicated to mowing around the periphery, or may be performed by manual running following mowing around the outermost periphery. As the shape of the work target area CA left inside the travel trajectory of such a round trip, a polygon as simple as possible, preferably a rectangle, is adopted so as to be advantageous in work travel by automatic travel. Based on the positional data of the travel trajectory obtained by this inner periphery reaping, a circumnavigation path element for going around the outer periphery area SA is created.

In addition, the travel trajectory of this round trip can be obtained based on the host vehicle position calculated by the host vehicle position calculator 53 from the positioning data of the satellite positioning module 80. Further, from this travel trajectory, the outline data of the pavement, in particular, the outline data of the work target area CA, which is an undiscovered area located inside the travel trajectory of the round trip, is generated by the outline data generating unit 43 . The pavement is divided into an outer periphery area SA and a work target area CA by the area setting unit 44, and is managed.

Work travel to the work target area CA is performed by automatic travel. For this reason, a travel path element group, which is a travel path for travel covering the work target area CA (travel that completely fills the work width), is managed by the path management unit 60 . This travel path element group is an aggregate of a large number of travel path elements. The route management unit 60 calculates a traveling route element group based on the external appearance data of the work target area CA, and stores it in the memory in a readable manner.

In this work vehicle automatic travel system, the entire travel route is not determined in advance before work travel in the work target area CA, but the travel route can be changed during travel according to circumstances such as the working environment of the work vehicle. For this reason, a work state evaluation unit 55 is provided that evaluates the state of the harvester 1, the state of the work paper, the supervisor's command, and the like, and outputs state information obtained. In addition, the minimum unit (link) between points (nodes) capable of changing the travel path and points (nodes) is a travel path element. When automatic travel starts from a designated place, the next travel path element to be traveled next is sequentially selected from the group of travel path elements by the path element selector 63 . Based on the selected travel route element and the position of the host vehicle, the automatic travel control unit 511 generates automatic travel data so that the vehicle body follows the corresponding travel route element, and executes automatic travel.

In FIGS. 2 and 3 , a travel path generating device for generating a travel path for the harvester 1 is constructed by the external data generator 43, the area setting unit 44, and the path manager 60. there is. In addition, the travel path determining device for determining the travel path for the harvester 1 by the vehicle location calculation unit 53, the area setting unit 44, the path management unit 60, and the path element selection unit 63 is built Such a travel route generating device or travel route determining device can be built into the control system of a conventional automatically traveling harvester 1. Alternatively, it is also possible to build a travel route generating device or a travel route determining device in a computer terminal, connect the computer terminal and the control system of the harvester 1 so that data can be exchanged, and realize automatic travel.

In the case where a plurality of harvesters 1 cooperatively working and traveling are built into this working vehicle automatic driving system, another vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 is provided that calculates the positional relationship between the harvesters 1 with each other. The other vehicle position relationship calculation unit 56 determines the position of one harvester 1 (own vehicle position), the position of the other harvester 1 (other vehicle position), the traveling direction of one harvester 1, and the other harvester 1 The other vehicle positional relationship including the traveling direction of the vehicle is calculated. This other vehicle positional relationship is one of the data representing the working running state of the harvester 1. This work running state is state information output from the work state evaluation unit 55 by evaluating the state of the harvester 1, the state of the work paper, the supervisor's command, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2 , the other vehicle positional relationship calculated by the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 is sent to the working state evaluation unit 55 . When a plurality of harvesters cooperatively travel for work, the work condition evaluation unit 55 sends the work travel conditions of other vehicles to the path element selection unit 63 .

[Overview of Travel Path Elements]

As an example of a travel path element group, FIG. 4 shows a travel path element group in which a plurality of parallel dividing straight lines dividing the work target area CA into a ribbon shape are used as travel path elements. This driving path element group is a parallel arrangement of linear driving path elements in which two nodes (both end points, referred to as path changeable points where a path can be changed) are connected by one link. Travel path elements are set to be arranged at equal intervals by adjusting the amount of overlap of the working widths. When transitioning from the end point of a travel path element represented by one straight line to the end point of a travel path element represented by another straight line, U-turn travel (for example, 180° direction change travel) is performed. Automatic travel while connecting such parallel travel path elements by U-turn travel is hereinafter referred to as "straight reciprocating travel". This U-turn driving includes normal U-turn driving and switchback turn driving. The normal U-turn travel is performed only by moving the harvester 1 forward, and the travel trajectory becomes a U-shape. The switchback turn driving is performed using forward and backward movement of the harvester 1, and the driving trajectory does not become a U-shape, but as a result, the harvester 1 achieves the same direction change driving as the normal U-turn driving. lose In order to perform a normal U-turn driving, a distance between a route changeable point before the direction change driving and a route changeable point after the direction change driving is required to sandwich two or more travel path elements. At shorter distances, switchback turn driving is used. In other words, switchback turn driving is reversed unlike normal U-turn driving, so there is no effect of the turning radius of the harvester 1, and there are many options for traveling path elements that serve as transition destinations. However, since switching between forward and backward is performed in the switchback turn driving, the switchback turn driving basically takes more time than the normal U-turn driving.

As another example of the travel path element group, FIG. 5 shows a travel path element group composed of a plurality of mesh straight lines extending in the vertical and horizontal directions that mesh the work target region CA. Route change is possible at the intersection of mesh straight lines (route changeable points) and both end points of mesh straight lines (route changeable points). That is, this travel path element group uses the intersections and end points of mesh straight lines as nodes, constructs a path network in which the edges of each mesh partitioned by the mesh straight lines function as links, and enables travel with a high degree of freedom. In addition to the linear reciprocating travel described above, for example, "whirlpool travel" from outside to inward as shown in FIG. 5 and "zigzag travel" are also possible. It is also possible.

[Method to consider when selecting travel path elements]

The selection rules when the route element selector 63 sequentially selects the next driving route element, which is the driving route element to be driven next, are a static rule preset before work driving and a dynamic rule used in real time during work driving. can share Static rules include selecting travel path elements based on a predetermined basic travel pattern, for example, a rule for selecting travel path elements so as to realize straight reciprocating travel while performing U-turn travel as shown in FIG. 4 ; Rules for selecting travel path elements to realize counterclockwise spiral travel from the outside to the inside as shown in FIG. 5 are included. Dynamic rules are, in principle, used in preference to static rules. The dynamic rule includes the contents of state information such as the state of the harvester 1 in real time that changes every moment, the state of the work area, and the order of a supervisor (including a driver or manager). The work state evaluation unit 55 introduces various primary information (work environment), the state of the harvester 1, the state of the work site, the supervisor's command, and the like as input parameters and outputs state information. In addition, this primary information includes not only signals from various sensors and switches provided in the harvester 1, but also weather information, time information, and external facility information such as drying facilities. In addition, when cooperative work is performed with a plurality of harvesters 1, the state information output from the work state evaluation unit 55 also includes other vehicle positional relationships calculated by the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56. In addition, the state information of the other harvester 1 is also included in this primary information. Then, this state information is used as the work running state of the other vehicle.

[Overview of Harvester]

Fig. 6 is a side view of the harvester 1 as a work vehicle employed in the explanation in this embodiment. This harvester 1 is equipped with a crawler-type traveling body 11 . A driving unit 12 is provided at the front of the traveling body 11 . Behind the operation unit 12, the threshing device 13 and the harvested product tank 14 storing the harvested product are arranged side by side in the left and right directions. Moreover, in front of the traveling body 11, the harvesting part 15 is provided so that height adjustment is possible. Above the harvesting part 15, the reel 17 which raises a grain stem is provided so that height adjustment is possible. Between the harvesting part 15 and the threshing device 13, the conveying device 16 which conveys the harvested grain stem is provided. In addition, at the upper part of the harvester 1, a discharging device 18 for discharging the harvested product from the harvested product tank 14 is provided. A load sensor for detecting the weight of the harvested product (reserved state of the harvested product) is installed at the bottom of the harvested product tank 14, and a water meter or a seasoning meter is installed inside or around the harvested product tank 14. From the taste meter, measurement data of moisture value and protein value of the harvested product are output as quality data. The harvester 1 is provided with a satellite positioning module 80 configured as a GNSS module, a GPS module, or the like. As a component of the satellite positioning module 80, a satellite antenna for receiving a GPS signal or a GNSS signal is mounted on the upper part of the traveling body 11. In addition, the satellite positioning module 80 may include an inertial navigation module having a built-in gyroacceleration sensor or magnetic orientation sensor in order to supplement satellite navigation.

In FIG. 6 , a supervisor (including a driver or manager) who monitors the movement of the harvester 1 rides on the harvester 1, and a communication terminal 4 operated by the supervisor is carried into the harvester 1. has been However, the configuration in which the communication terminal 4 is attached to the harvester 1 may be sufficient. In addition, the supervisor and the communication terminal 4 may exist outside the equipment of the harvester 1 .

The harvester 1 is capable of automatic travel by automatic steering and manual travel by manual steering. In addition, as for automatic driving, automatic driving in which the entire driving route is determined in advance and driving as in the prior art and automatic driving in which the next driving route is determined in real time based on state information are possible. In this application, the former driving by determining the entire driving route in advance is referred to as conventional driving, and the latter, which determines the next driving route in real time, is referred to as automatic driving, and treats both as separate. The conventional driving route is configured so that, for example, several patterns are registered in advance, or a supervisor can set them arbitrarily in the communication terminal 4 or the like.

[About the function control block of automatic driving]

7 shows a control system constructed in this harvester 1 and a control system of the communication terminal 4. In this embodiment, the travel route management device for managing the travel route for the harvester 1 includes the first travel route management module CM1 built in the communication terminal 4 and the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 It is composed of the constructed second driving path management module CM2.

The communication terminal 4 includes a communication control unit 40, a touch panel 41, and the like, and serves as a user interface for inputting functions of the computer system and conditions necessary for automatic driving realized by the control unit 5. has a function The communication terminal 4 can exchange data with the management computer 100 through a wireless line or the Internet by using the communication control unit 40, and harvester 1 by wireless LAN, wired LAN, or other communication method. It is possible to exchange data with the control unit 5 of The management computer 100 is a computer system installed in a remote management center KS, and functions as a cloud computer. The management computer 100 stores information sent to each farmhouse, agricultural association, or agricultural enterprise, and can send it out according to a request. 7 shows a worksheet information storage unit 101 and a work plan management unit 102 as realizing such a server function. In the communication terminal 4, external data obtained from the management computer 100 or the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 through the communication control unit 40 and user instructions input through the touch panel 41 (for automatic driving) Data processing is performed based on input data such as necessary conditions). Then, the result of this data processing is displayed on the display panel portion of the touch panel 41, and the management computer 100 or the control unit of the harvester 1 ( 5) can be sent.

In the work area information storage unit 101, pavement information including a topographical map around the pavement and attribute information of the pavement (entrance and exit of the pavement, direction of the pavement, etc.) is stored. In the work plan management unit 102 of the management computer 100, a work plan describing work contents in a designated field is managed. The packaging information and the work plan can be downloaded to the communication terminal 4 or the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 through the operation of a supervisor or through an automatically executed program. The work plan contains various types of information (work conditions) regarding the work in the packaging as a work target. As this information (working condition), the following are mentioned, for example.

(a) driving patterns (straight-line round-trip, whirlpool, zig-zag, etc.).

(b) The parking position of the support vehicle of the carrier CV or the parking position of the harvester 1 for harvesting discharge.

(c) Type of work (work by one harvester 1, work by multiple harvesters 1).

(d) the so-called middle dividing line.

(e) Values of vehicle speed and rotational speed of the threshing device 13 according to crop species to be harvested (rice (rice (japonica rice, indica rice)), barley, soybean, vegetable seed, buckwheat, etc.), and the like.

In particular, from the information in (e), the setting of the parameters of the traveling device according to the type of crop or the setting of the parameters of the harvesting device is automatically executed, so setting errors are avoided.

In addition, the position where the harvester 1 parks to discharge the harvested goods to the carrier CV is the parking position for discharging the harvested goods, and the position where the harvester 1 parks to receive refueling from the refueling vehicle is the parking position for refueling. , set at substantially the same position in this embodiment.

The information (a) to (e) may be input by a supervisor through the communication terminal 4 as a user interface. The communication terminal 4 includes an input function for instructing the start or stop of automatic driving, an input function for determining which of the automatic driving and conventional driving is to be performed as described above, and vehicle driving including a driving speed changer and the like. An input function for fine-tuning the values of machine parameters for the machine group 71, the work device machine group 72 (see Figs. 7 and 8) including the harvesting unit 15 and the like is also built. Among the machine parameters of the working equipment group 72, the height of the reel 17, the height of the reaper 15, and the like can be cited as things whose values can be finely adjusted. In addition, this communication terminal 4 is also used for fine adjustment of the parameters of the vehicle driving device group 71 and the work device device group 72 at the time of cooperative automatic driving by a plurality of work vehicles, which will be described in detail later. do. Therefore, in the communication terminal 4, as shown in FIG. 8, a parameter acquisition unit 45 and a parameter adjustment command generation unit 46 are constructed.

The state of the communication terminal 4 can be switched to an animation display state of an automatic driving route or a conventional driving route, a parameter display/fine adjustment state, and the like by an artificial switching operation. In addition, this animation display is an animation of the driving trajectory of the harvester 1 traveling along an automatic driving route or a conventional driving route, which is a driving route in automatic driving or conventional driving, in which the entire driving route is determined in advance, and the touch panel ( 41) is displayed on the display panel. By displaying such an animation, the driver can intuitively confirm the travel route to be traveled from now on before driving.

The work sheet data input unit 42 inputs packaging information and work plans downloaded from the management computer 100 or information obtained from the communication terminal 4 . And, the schematic diagram of the pavement included in the pavement information, the position of the pavement entrance, or the parking position for receiving support from the work support vehicle is displayed on the touch panel 41 . By this, it is possible to support the driving for formation of the outer periphery area SA performed by the driver. When data such as a pavement entrance or parking location is not included in the pavement information, the user can input through the touch panel 41 . The external shape data generation unit 43 obtains from the driving trajectory data (time-series data of the vehicle position) of the harvester 1 received from the control unit 5. The shape and dimensions of the target region CA are calculated. The area setting unit 44 sets the outer periphery area SA and the work target area CA from travel trajectory data of the circumferential travel of the harvester 1. The set positional coordinates of the outer periphery area SA and the work area CA, that is, the outer shape data of the outer periphery area SA and the work area CA, are used to generate a travel route for automatic driving. In this embodiment, since the creation of the travel route is performed in the second travel route management module CM2 built in the control unit 5 of the harvester 1, the positional coordinates of the set outer periphery area SA and work target area CA are 2 It is sent to the driving route management module CM2.

When the pavement is large, an operation is performed to create an intermediate divided area dividing the pavement into a plurality of sections with a travel path breaking through the center. This operation is called mid-division. Position designation of this intermediate division can also be performed by touch operation with respect to the external view of the worksheet displayed on the screen of the touch panel 41 . Of course, setting the position of the intermediate division also affects the generation of the travel path element group for automatic travel, so it may be automatically performed when the travel path element group is created. At that time, if the parking position of the harvester 1 for receiving assistance from a work support vehicle such as a carrier CV is arranged on the extension of the middle division area, travel of harvested products from all divisions is performed efficiently.

The second driving path management module CM2 includes a path management unit 60, a path element selection unit 63, and a path setting unit 64. The route management unit 60 calculates a traveling route element group and a wandering route element group and stores them in a readable manner. The travel path element group is an aggregate of a plurality of travel path elements constituting a travel path covering the work target area CA. The wandering path element group is an aggregate of the traveling path elements constituting the traveling path that circumnavigates the outer circumferential area SA. As a functional unit that calculates a travel path element group, the path management unit 60 includes a mesh path element calculation unit 601, a ribbon-shaped path element calculation unit 602, and a U-turn path calculation unit 603. . The path element selector 63 sequentially selects the next travel path element to be driven next from the group of travel path elements based on various selection rules to be described in detail later. The path setting unit 64 sets the selected next travel path element as a target travel path for automatic travel.

The mesh path element calculation unit 601 calculates, as travel path elements, a travel path element group, which is a mesh straight line group composed of mesh straight lines that mesh-segment the work target region CA, and positional coordinates of intersections and end points of the mesh straight lines. can also be calculated. Since this travel path element becomes the target travel path when the harvester 1 automatically travels, the harvester 1 changes the route from one travel path element to the other travel path element at the intersection and end point of the mesh straight lines. possible. That is, the intersection and end points of the mesh straight lines function as path changeable points that allow the path change of the harvester 1.

9 shows an outline of the arrangement of the mesh straight line group, which is an example of the travel path element group, for the work target region CA. The mesh path element calculation unit 601 calculates a travel path element group so as to completely fill the work target area CA with a mesh straight line, with the working width of the harvester 1 as the mesh interval. As described above, the work target area CA is an area inside the outer periphery area SA formed by circumferential running of 3 to 4 turns in the working width toward the inside from the boundary of the pavement. Therefore, basically, the outer shape of the work target area CA is similar to that of the pavement. However, in order to facilitate the calculation of the mesh straight lines, there are cases in which the outer periphery area SA is created such that the work area CA is substantially polygonal, preferably substantially quadrangular. In FIG. 9 , the shape of the work target area CA is a deformed quadrangle composed of the first side S1, the second side S2, the third side S3, and the fourth side S4.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the mesh path element calculation unit 601 is parallel to the first side S1 from a position at a distance of half the working width of the harvester 1 from the first side S1 of the work target area CA. In addition, a first group of straight lines arranged on the work area CA at intervals equal to the work width of the harvester 1 is calculated. Similarly, from a position at a distance of half the working width of the harvester 1 from the second side S2, while being parallel to the second side S2, on the work target area CA at a distance equal to the working width of the harvester 1 The second straight line group arranged in , from a position at a distance of half the working width of the harvester 1 from the third side S3, while being parallel to the third side S3, an interval by the working width of the harvester 1 While being parallel to the fourth side S4, from a position at a distance of half the working width of the harvester 1 from the third straight line group arranged on the work target area CA, the fourth side S4, A fourth group of straight lines arranged on the work area CA at intervals equal to the work width is calculated. In this way, the first side S1 to the fourth side S4 serve as a reference line for generating a straight line group as a travel path element group. Since the straight line can be defined if there are positional coordinates of two points on the straight line, each straight line, which is a travel path element, is converted into data as a straight line defined by the positional coordinates of the two points of each straight line, and stored in a memory in a predetermined data format. . In addition to the route number as a route identifier for identifying each travel route element, this data format includes the route type, the side of the external rectangle that serves as a standard, the non-travel/default run, etc. as attribute values of each travel route element. there is.

Of course, the calculation of the straight line group described above can also be applied to a polygonal work area CA other than a rectangle. That is, assuming that the work target region CA has an N-cornered shape where N is an integer of 3 or greater, the traveling route element group includes N straight line groups from the first straight line group to the N-th straight line group. Each group of straight lines includes straight lines arranged at predetermined intervals (working width) parallel to any side of this N-gon.

Also in the outer periphery area SA, a travel path element group is set by the path management unit 60 . Travel path elements set in the outer periphery area SA are used when the harvester 1 travels in the outer periphery area SA. Attribute values such as a departure route, a return route, and an intermediate straight route for U-turn driving are given to travel route elements set in the outer periphery area SA. The departure path means a travel path element group used for the harvester 1 to leave the work target area CA and enter the outer periphery area SA. The return path means a travel path element group used for the harvester 1 to return to work travel in the work target area CA from the outer periphery area SA. An intermediate straight path for U-turn driving (hereinafter simply abbreviated as an intermediate straight path) is a straight path constituting a part of a U-turn driving path used for U-turn driving in the outer periphery area SA. That is, the intermediate straight path is a group of linear travel path elements constituting a straight line portion connecting the turning path on the start side of the U-turn travel and the turning path on the end side of the U-turn travel, and is a work target area CA in the outer periphery area SA. is a path parallel to each side of In addition, in the case where vortex travel is initially performed and work travel is performed by switching to straight reciprocating travel midway through, eddy travel makes the unshaven area smaller than the work target area CA in all sides due to vortex travel, so work travel can be performed efficiently. In order to do this, the U-turn driving within the work target area CA is efficient because there is no wasted driving because it is not necessary to deliberately move to the outer periphery area SA. Therefore, when U-turn travel is executed in the work target area CA, the intermediate straight path is parallelly moved to the inner circumference side according to the position of the undiscovered outer circumferential line.

In Fig. 9, the shape of the work target area CA is a deformed rectangle. For this reason, four sides serve as the generation criteria for the mesh path element group. Here, when the shape of the work target region CA is a rectangle or a square, two sides are used as a basis for generating the mesh path element group. In this case, the structure of the mesh path element group becomes simpler.

In this embodiment, the route management unit 60 is provided with a ribbon-shaped path element calculator 602 as an optional travel path element calculator. As shown in FIG. 4 , the travel path element group calculated by this ribbon-shaped path element calculation unit 602 is located on the reference side selected from the sides constituting the outline of the work target area CA, for example, the longest side. It is a group of parallel straight lines extending in parallel and covering the work target region CA with the working width (filling the working width completely). The travel path element group calculated by the ribbon-shaped path element calculator 602 divides the work target area CA into a ribbon shape. In addition, the travel path element group is an aggregate of parallel straight lines sequentially connected by a U-turn travel path for the harvester 1 to travel in a U-turn. That is, when the driving of one driving path element, which is a parallel straight line, ends, the U-turn path calculation unit 603 determines a U-turn driving path for transition to the next selected driving path element.

The U-turn path calculating unit 603 calculates a U-turn driving path for connecting two driving path elements selected from the driving path element group calculated by the ribbon-shaped path element calculating unit 602 through U-turn driving. The U-turn path calculation unit 603, when the outer periphery area SA is set, based on the outer shape and outer dimensions of the outer periphery area SA, the outer shape and outer diameter of the work target area CA, and the turning radius of the harvester 1, etc. In the outer periphery area SA, for each area corresponding to each side (outer side) of the outer periphery of the work area CA, one intermediate straight path parallel to the outer side of the work area CA is calculated, and further, normal U-turn travel and switchback are performed. When turn driving is performed, a turning path on the starting side connecting the currently traveling travel path element and the corresponding intermediate straight path, and a turning path on the ending side connecting the corresponding intermediate straight path and the traveling path element to be transferred are calculated. In addition, the principle of generating the U-turn travel path will be described later.

As shown in Fig. 7, in the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 in which the second travel route management module CM2 is built, various functions are built in to perform work travel. The control unit 5 is configured as a computer system, and has an output processing unit 7, an input processing unit 8, and a communication processing unit 70 as input/output interfaces. The output processing unit 7 is connected to a vehicle traveling device group 71, a working device device group 72, a notification device 73, and the like, which are equipped in the harvester 1. The vehicle driving device group 71 includes a steering device that performs steering by adjusting the speed of the left and right crawlers of the traveling body 11, as well as devices controlled for vehicle travel, such as a transmission mechanism and an engine unit, although not shown. there is. The working device group 72 includes devices constituting the harvesting unit 15, the threshing device 13, the discharging device 18, and the like. The notification device 73 includes a display, a lamp, and a speaker. In particular, on the display, along with the appearance of the pavement, various notification information, such as a travel route (trajectory) for which travel has been completed or a travel route to be traveled from now on, is displayed. Lamps or speakers are used to notify occupants (drivers or supervisors) of caution information or warning information, such as driving precautions or deviation from a target driving path in automatic steering driving.

The communication processing unit 70 has a function of receiving data processed by the communication terminal 4 and transmitting data processed by the control unit 5 . Thereby, the communication terminal 4 can function as a user interface of the control unit 5 . Since the communication processing unit 70 is also used to exchange data with the management computer 100, it has a function of handling various communication formats.

The input processing unit 8 is connected to a satellite positioning module 80, an odometer detection sensor group 81, a working system detection sensor group 82, an automatic/manual switching operating tool 83, and the like. The odometer detection sensor group 81 includes sensors for detecting driving conditions such as engine speed and speed change condition. The work system detection sensor group 82 includes a sensor that detects the height position of the harvester 15 and a sensor that detects the storage amount of the harvested product tank 14. The automatic/manual switching control tool 83 is a switch that selects either one of an automatic driving mode in which the vehicle travels with automatic steering and a manual travel mode in which it travels in manual steering. In addition, a switch for switching between automatic driving and conventional driving is provided in the driving unit 12 or built in the communication terminal 4 .

In addition, the control unit 5 includes a travel control unit 51, an operation control unit 52, a vehicle position calculation unit 53, a notification unit 54, a work state evaluation unit 55, and another vehicle position relationship calculation unit 56. ) is provided. The own vehicle position calculation unit 53 calculates the own vehicle position based on the positioning data output from the satellite positioning module 80 . Since this harvester 1 is configured to be able to run in both automatic driving (automatic steering) and manual driving (manual steering), the driving control unit 51 that controls the vehicle driving device group 71 includes an automatic driving control unit. 511 and a manual driving control unit 512 are included. The manual travel controller 512 controls the vehicle travel device group 71 based on the driver's operation. The automatic driving control unit 511 calculates the orientation and positional displacement between the travel path set by the path setting unit 64 and the position of the vehicle, generates an automatic steering command, and outputs it to the steering device through the output processing unit 7. . The operation control unit 52 controls the movement of operation devices provided in the harvesting unit 15, the threshing device 13, the discharging device 18, etc. constituting the harvester 1, the working device device group 72 give a control signal to The notification unit 54 generates a notification signal (display data or audio data) for notifying a driver or supervisor of necessary information via a notification device 73 such as a display. The work state evaluation unit 55 is a state including the state of the harvester 1, the state of the work site, and commands by humans (monitors, drivers, managers, etc.) from detection results of various sensors and operation results of various operating tools. output information The other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 calculates the other vehicle positional relationship indicating the positional relationship between the positional vehicle of other vehicles and the positional relationship of other vehicles when performing cooperative work with a plurality of harvesters 1 . For the calculation of this other vehicle positional relationship, the position of the host vehicle or travel route elements selected by the host vehicle and the location of other vehicles or travel route elements selected by the other vehicle are used. In addition, the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 also has a function of calculating contact estimation positions between work vehicles.

The automatic driving control unit 511 is capable of vehicle speed control as well as steering control. The vehicle speed is set by the occupant through the communication terminal 4 before starting work, for example, as described above. Vehicle speeds that can be set include the vehicle speed during harvest driving, the vehicle speed during non-work turning (U-turn driving, etc.), the vehicle speed when discharging harvest or refueling, and the vehicle speed when departing from the work target area CA and driving the outer periphery area SA, etc. included The automatic driving controller 511 calculates the actual vehicle speed based on the positioning data obtained by the satellite positioning module 80 . The output processing unit 7 sends a shift operation command for the traveling transmission device to the vehicle traveling device group 71 so that the actual vehicle speed matches the set vehicle speed.

[About the route of automatic driving]

An example of automatic travel in the work vehicle automatic travel system will be described separately as an example of linear reciprocating travel and an example of whirlpool travel.

First, an example of linear reciprocating travel using the travel path element group calculated by the ribbon-shaped path element calculation unit 602 will be described. 10 shows a travel path element group composed of 21 travel path elements displayed in a ribbon shape with a shortened straight line length by modeling, and a path number is assigned to the upper side of each travel path element. The harvester 1 at the start of work travel is located at the 14th travel path element. The degree of separation between the travel path element where the harvester 1 is located and the other travel path elements is assigned to the lower side of each path as an integer having a sign. The priority for the harvester 1 located at the 14th travel path element to shift to the next travel path element is shown as an integer value below the travel path element in FIG. 10 . The lower the value, the higher the priority, so it is selected first. When the harvester 1 shifts from a travel path element for which travel has been completed to a next travel path element, as shown in FIG. 11 , normal U-turn travel in which at least two travel path elements are interposed and transition to the next travel path element; Switchback turn driving in which two or less travel path elements are interposed, that is, transition to an adjacent travel path element is possible. In normal U-turn travel, when entering the outer periphery area SA from the end point of the travel path element of the destination, the direction is changed by about 180° to enter the end point of the destination travel path element. In addition, when the distance between the traveling route element of the origin and the traveling route element of the destination is large, a corresponding straight movement is entered between turns of about 90°. That is, normal U-turn driving is performed only with forward driving. On the other hand, in the switchback turn driving, when entering the outer circumferential area SA from the end point of the travel path element of the transition source, once turning approximately 90°, and then turning approximately 90° smoothly to the position where the travel path element of the transition destination enters smoothly. After moving backward, head toward the end point of the traveling route element of the destination. This complicates the steering control, but it is also possible to move to travel route elements with short distances from each other.

The selection of the next travel path element to be driven is performed by the path element selector 63. In this embodiment, as a basic priority of selection, an appropriate distance away from the travel path element serving as the sequence source by a predetermined distance. The travel path element is set to have the highest priority, and the priority is set so as to be lowered as it is farther away from the travel path element that becomes the order source compared to this appropriately spaced travel path element. For example, with regard to transition to the next travel path element, normal U-turn travel with a short travel distance has a short travel time and is efficient. Therefore, the priority of the traveling path element on both the left and right sides of which two are spaced is set to the highest (priority = "1"). The further away from the harvester 1, the longer the travel time of the normal U-turn travel, so the priority decreases (priority = "2", "3", ...). That is, the numerical value of the priority indicates the priority order. However, the travel time of the normal U-turn travel is longer, and the priority of transition to the travel path element next to the eight floats, which is less efficient than the switchback turn travel, is lower than the switchback turn travel. In switchback turn driving, the priority of shifting to a travel route element that is raised by one is higher than the priority of shifting to an adjacent travel route element. This is because driving on a switchback turn to an adjacent travel path element is highly likely to disturb the pavement by requiring a sharp turn. In addition, although transition to the next travel path element is possible in either left or right direction, a rule that transition to the left travel path element takes precedence over transition to the right travel path element is adopted according to a conventional working practice. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 10 , the harvester 1 located at route number: 14 selects the travel route element of route number: 17 as a travel route element to travel next. Such priority setting is performed each time the harvester 1 enters a new travel route element.

Travel route elements that have already been selected, that is, travel route elements for which work has been completed, are, in principle, disabled for selection. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, if route number: 11 or route number: 17 having a priority of "1" is a pre-worked area (prepared area), the harvester 1 located at route number: 14 , A travel route element of route number: 18 having a priority of "2" is selected as a travel route element to be driven next.

13 shows an example of vortex travel using travel path elements calculated by the mesh path element calculation unit 601 . The outer periphery area SA of the pavement and the work area CA shown in FIG. 13 are the same as those in FIG. 9 , and the travel path element group set in the work area CA is the same. Here, for the sake of explanation, the travel path elements taking the first side S1 as the reference line are L11, L12 . . . , L21, L22 . , L31, L32 . . . L31 , L32 . , L41, L42 . . . L41, L42 … is indicated by

A thick line in FIG. 13 represents a travel path that travels in a spiral shape from the outside to the inside of the harvester 1 . The travel path element L11 located at the outermost periphery of the work target area CA is initially selected as the travel path. A path change of approximately 90° is performed at the intersection of the travel path element L11 and the travel path element L21, and the harvester 1 travels along the travel path element L21. Further, a route change of approximately 70° is performed at the intersection of the travel route element L21 and the travel route element L31, and the harvester 1 travels along the travel route element L31. A path change of approximately 110° is performed at the intersection of the travel path element L31 and the travel path element L41, and the harvester 1 travels along the travel path element L41. Next, the harvester 1 shifts to the travel path element L12 at the intersection of the travel path element L12 inside the travel path element L11 and the travel path element L41. By repeating the selection of travel path elements like this, the harvester 1 works and travels in a swirling fashion from the outside to the inside of the work area CA of the field. In this way, when the whirlpool travel pattern is set, the route is changed at the intersection of the travel path elements located on the outermost periphery of the work target area CA while having the attribute of stray travel, and the harvester 1 changes direction do

FIG. 14 shows an example of U-turn driving using the same driving path element group shown in FIG. 13 . First, the travel path element L11 located at the outermost periphery of the work target area CA is initially selected as the travel path. The harvester 1 crosses the end (end point) of the travel path element L11, enters the outer periphery area SA, makes a 90° turn along the second side S2, and travels a path extending parallel to the travel path element L11. A 90° turn is made again to enter the beginning (end point) of element L14. As a result, through the normal U-turn travel of 180°, it shifts from the travel path element L11 to the travel path element L14 in which two travel path elements are floated. Further, when traveling through the travel path element L14 and entering the outer periphery area SA, a 180° normal U-turn travel is performed, and then the travel path element L17 extending parallel to the travel path element L14 is transferred. In this way, the harvester 1 shifts from the travel path element L17 to the travel path element L110, and from the travel path element L110 to the travel path element L16, and finally completes the work travel of the entire work area CA of the field. do. As is clear from the above description, the example of linear reciprocating travel using the travel path element group by the ribbon-shaped path element calculation unit 602 described with reference to FIGS. 10, 11, and 12 is the mesh path element calculation. It is also applicable to straight-line reciprocating travel using the travel path elements calculated by the unit 601.

In this way, straight-line reciprocating travel is feasible even with a travel path element group that divides the work area CA into a ribbon shape or a travel path element group that divides the work area CA into a mesh shape. In other words, as long as it is a driving path element group that divides the work target area CA into a mesh type, it can be used for straight reciprocating driving, whirlpool driving, and zigzag driving, and also changing the driving pattern from whirlpool driving to straight reciprocating driving during work. possible.

[Principle of creating a U-turn travel path]

A basic principle of generating a U-turn travel path by the U-turn path calculation unit 603 will be described with reference to FIG. 15 . 15 shows a U-turn travel path that transitions from a travel path element that is a turning member indicated by LS0 to a travel path element that is a turning point indicated by LS1. In normal driving, if LS0 is a travel path element in work target area CA, LS1 is a travel path element (= intermediate straight path) in outer periphery area SA, conversely, LS1 is travel in work target area CA If it is a path element, it is common for LS0 to be a travel path element (= intermediate straight path) in the outer periphery area SA. Linear expressions (or two points on a straight line) of travel path elements LS0 and LS1 are recorded in the memory, and from these linear expressions, the intersection point (indicated by PX in FIG. 15) and the intersection angle (indicated by θ in FIG. 15) this is calculated Next, along with touching the travel path element LS0 and the travel path element LS1, a tangent circle of a radius equivalent to the minimum turning radius of the harvester 1 (shown as r in FIG. 15 ) is calculated. An arc (a part of the tangent) connecting this tangent to the contact point of the travel path elements LS0 and LS1 (indicated by PS0 and PS1 in Fig. 15) becomes a turning path. So, the distance Y between the intersection point PX of the travel path elements LS0 and LS1 and the contact point of this tangent,

Y=r/(tan(θ/2))

save with Since the minimum turning radius is substantially determined according to the specifications of the harvester 1, r is a prescribed value. In addition, r does not have to be the same value as the minimum turning radius, and a reasonable turning radius may be set in advance by the communication terminal 4 or the like, and a turning operation corresponding to the turning radius may be programmed. In terms of traveling control, when the harvester 1 reaches the positional coordinates PS0 at which the distance to the intersection is Y while traveling on the travel path element LS0, which is a turning member, the harvester 1 starts turning travel, and then, during turning travel, the harvester When the difference between the direction of (1) and the direction of the travel path element LS1 as the turning destination reaches an acceptable value, the turning travel is terminated. At that time, the turning radius of the harvester 1 does not have to exactly match the radius r. By controlling the steering based on the distance and bearing difference from the travel path element LS1 as the turn destination, the harvester 1 can shift to the travel path element LS1 as the turn destination.

16, 17, and 18 show three specific U-turn driving. In Fig. 16, the travel path element LS0 as a turning member and the travel path element LS1 as a turning destination extend obliquely from the outer edge of the work target area CA, but may extend vertically. Here, the U-turn travel path in the outer circumference area SA is an extension of the travel path element LS0 and the travel path element LS1 to the outer area SA, an intermediate straight path that is a part (line segment) of the travel path elements of the outer circumference area SA, and two circles It consists of an arc-shaped turning path. This U-turn travel path can also be generated according to the basic principle described with reference to FIG. 15 . The intersection angle θ1 and intersection point PX1 of the intermediate straight path and the travel path element LS0, which is a turning member, and the intersection angle θ2 and intersection point PX2 of the intermediate straight path and the travel path element LS1, which is a turn, are calculated. Furthermore, the positional coordinates of the contact points PS10 and PS11 of the contact point PS10 and PS11 of the radius r (= turning radius of harvester 1) tangent to the travel path element LS0 as a turning member and the intermediate straight path, and the radius tangent to the travel path element LS1 as the turning point and the intermediate straight path The positional coordinates of the contacts PS20 and PS21 of the tangent of r are calculated. At these points PS10 and PS20, the harvester 1 starts turning. Similarly, with respect to the work target area CA in which the triangular protrusions are formed as shown in FIG. 17, a U-turn travel path bypassing the triangular protrusions can be similarly created. The intersections of the travel path elements LS0 and LS1 and the two intermediate straight paths which are parts (line segments) of the travel path elements of the outer periphery area SA are obtained. For calculation of each intersection point, the basic principle described using FIG. 15 is applied.

Fig. 18 shows turning travel by switchback turn travel, and the harvester 1 shifts from travel path element LS0 as a turning member to travel path element LS1 as a turning destination. In this switchback turn driving, an intermediate straight path parallel to the outer edge of the work target area CA, which is a part (line segment) of the travel path elements of the outer circumferential area SA, and a tangential circle of radius r tangent to the travel path element LS0, and the intermediate straight path and a tangent circle of radius r tangent to the travel path element LS1 is calculated. Based on the basic principle described with reference to FIG. 15, the positional coordinates of the point of contact between these two tangents and the intermediate straight path, the positional coordinates of the point of contact between the driving path element LS0, which is a turning member, and the tangential circle, and the point of contact between the traveling path element LS1 and the tangential circle, which is a turning point The location coordinates of are calculated. As a result, a U-turn travel path in switchback turn travel is generated. In addition, in the intermediate straight path in switchback turn travel, the harvester 1 travels backward.

[About direction-changing travel in whirlpool travel]

FIG. 19 shows an example of direction change driving used for route change at an intersection, which is a path changeable point of a travel path element in the above-described whirlpool travel. Hereafter, this direction change driving is referred to as α turn driving. The travel path (α-turn travel path) in this α-turn travel is a type of so-called forward/reverse position correction travel path, and includes a travel source travel path element (indicated by LS0 in FIG. 19 ) and a turn destination travel path element ( In FIG. 19 , it is indicated as LS1), and is a path that passes through a forward turning path and touches a travel path element as a turn destination in a backward turning path. Since the α-turn driving path is standardized, the α-turn driving path generated according to the intersection angle of the driving path element of the driving source and the driving path element of the turning destination is registered in advance. Accordingly, the path management unit 60 reads an appropriate α-turn travel path based on the calculated intersection angle and gives it to the path setting unit 64 . Instead of this configuration, an automatic control program is registered in the automatic travel control unit 511 for each intersection angle, and based on the intersection angle calculated by the route management unit 60, the automatic travel control unit 511 reads an appropriate automatic control program. A configuration may be employed.

[Rule of route selection]

The route element selection unit 63 includes a work plan received from the management center KS or a driving pattern artificially input from the communication terminal 4 (eg, a straight-line reciprocating driving pattern or a whirling driving pattern), the position of the own vehicle, Based on the state information output from the work state evaluation unit 55, travel path elements are sequentially selected. That is, unlike the case where the entire driving route is formed in advance based on only the set driving pattern, a suitable driving route corresponding to an unpredictable situation is formed before work. In addition to the basic rules described above, the following path selection rules A1 to A12 can be registered in advance in the path element selection unit 63, and an appropriate path selection rule is applied according to the driving pattern and state information.

(A1) When a shift from automatic driving to manual driving is requested by an operation by a supervisor (occupant), the selection of driving path elements by the path element selection unit 63 stops after the preparation for manual driving is completed. do. Such an operation includes operation of the automatic/manual changeover mechanism 83, operation of a braking operation mechanism (particularly, emergency stop operation), operation of a steering operation mechanism (such as a steering lever) at a predetermined steering angle or more, and the like. In addition, when the odometer detection sensor group 81 includes a sensor that detects the absence of a supervisor who is required to get on during automatic driving, for example, a seating detection sensor provided in a seat or a seat belt attachment detection sensor. , based on the signal from this sensor, the automatic driving control can be stopped. That is, when the absence of a supervisor is detected, the start of automatic running control or the running itself of the harvester 1 is stopped. In addition, even if it is an operation of a steering angle smaller than the predetermined steering angle in the steering operating tool, and a configuration in which only fine adjustment of the traveling direction is performed without stopping the automatic travel control when the manipulation of the small steering angle is performed is adopted, do.

(A2) The automatic travel control unit 511 monitors the relationship (distance) between the position of the outline line of the pavement and the position of the vehicle based on the positioning data. Then, the automatic travel control unit 511 controls automatic travel so as to avoid contact between the headland and the body at the time of turning in the outer periphery area SA. Specifically, the automatic driving is stopped to stop the harvester 1, the form of turn driving is changed (changing from normal U-turn driving to switchback turn driving or α-turn driving), or driving that does not pass through the area Route setting is performed. Also, “The turning area is narrow. Be careful. ] or the like may be configured to be notified.

(A3) When the storage amount of the harvest product in the harvest tank 14 becomes full or close to full load and discharge of the harvest product is required, a discharge request is requested as one of the state information from the work state evaluation unit 55 to the path element selection unit 63 (a type of request for departure from work travel in the work target area CA) is issued. In this case, on the basis of the parking position for carrying out the discharge work to the truck CV along the hillside and the position of the host vehicle, it departs from work travel in the work target area CA, travels in the outer periphery area SA, and travels appropriately toward the parking position. A route element (for example, a travel route element that becomes the shortest route) is selected from among the travel route element groups set in the outer periphery area SA to which the attribute value of the departure route is assigned, and the travel route element group set in the work target area CA. .

(A4) When it is evaluated that fuel exhaustion is imminent based on the remaining amount of the fuel tank calculated by a signal from a remaining fuel amount sensor or the like, a refueling request (a type of withdrawal request) is issued. In this case as well, as in (A3), appropriate travel path elements (for example, travel path elements that become the shortest path) to the refueling location are determined based on the parking position and vehicle position, which are preset refueling locations. is chosen

(A5) If the driver deviates from work travel in the work target area CA and enters the outer periphery area SA, it is necessary to return to the work target area CA again. As a travel path that is the starting point for returning to the work target area CA, a travel path element closest to the departure point or a travel path element closest to the current position in the outer area SA is set in the outer area SA. It is selected from those to which attribute values of the return path have been assigned and the travel path element group set in the work target region CA.

(A6) When determining a travel route to depart from the work run in the work target area CA and return to the work target area CA for the purpose of discharging harvest or refueling, to the previous work (pre-run) in the work target area CA. Thus, the travel path element to which the driving prohibited attribute has been assigned is revived as a travel path element capable of being driven. When a predetermined or more time reduction is possible by selecting the travel route element of the pre-work, the travel route element is selected. Further, it is also possible to use reverse for traveling in the work target area CA when departing from the work target region CA.

(A7) The timing to depart from work travel in the work target area CA for discharging crops or refueling is determined from the travel time or travel distance to each margin and the parking position. The degree of margin is the predicted travel time or travel distance from the storage amount of the current situation in the harvest product tank 14 to full load, in the case of discharge of the harvest product here. In the case of refueling, it is the estimated travel time or travel distance from the current remaining amount in the fuel tank to complete fuel exhaustion. For example, when passing near a parking position for discharging during automatic driving, based on the margin or the time required for discharging operation, etc., the case of passing the parking position, becoming full, leaving and returning to the parking position, and the parking position Among the cases in which discharge is also performed while passing through the vicinity, it is determined which of the cases is finally efficient travel (whether the total work time is short or the total travel distance is short). If the discharge operation is performed when the amount is too small, the number of times of discharge as a whole increases, which is not efficient, and when the amount is almost full, it is more efficient to discharge while passing through.

(A8) FIG. 20 shows a case where a travel path element selected in work travel resumed after departure from the work target area CA is not subsequent to the work travel before departure. In this case, a linear reciprocating travel pattern as shown in Figs. 4 and 14 is set in advance. In Fig. 20, the parking position is indicated by the symbol PP, and, as a comparative example, a travel route in the case of smoothly completing work travel in straight reciprocating travel accompanied by 180° U-turn travel in the work target area CA is indicated by a dotted line. there is. The actual driving trajectory is indicated by a thick solid line. As work travel progresses, straight travel path elements and U-turn travel paths are sequentially selected (step #01).

When a departure request occurs in the middle of work travel (step #02), a travel route from the work target area CA to the outer periphery area SA is calculated. At this point, a path that goes straight along the currently traveling travel path element and goes out to the outer circumference area SA, and a path that turns 90° from the currently traveling travel path element and moves forward (= a set of travel path elements having the attribute of default travel) portion) to the outer periphery area SA where the parking position exists. Here, the latter route with a shorter travel distance is selected (step #03). In this latter departure run, as a departure travel path element in the work target area CA after turning 90°, a travel path element set in the outer periphery area SA that has been moved in parallel to the departure point is used. However, if the departure request is made with sufficient time, the former route is selected. In the former departure run, since the harvesting operation continues during the departure run from the work target area CA, there is an advantage in terms of work efficiency.

When the harvester 1 departs from work travel in the work area CA, travels away from the work area CA and the outer periphery area SA, and arrives at a parking position, it receives assistance from the work support vehicle. In this example, the harvest stored in the harvest tank 14 is discharged to the vehicle CV.

When the discharge of the harvest is completed, it is necessary to return to the point where the departure request occurred in order to return to work driving. In the example of Fig. 20, since an unworked portion remains in the travel path element that was traveling when the departure request occurred, it returns to that travel path element. For this reason, the harvester 1 selects a travel path element in the outer periphery area SA from the parking position, travels in a left turn, and when reaching the end point of the target travel path element, turns 90° there and travels the travel path element. Enter and do work driving. When the point at which the departure request is generated is passed, the harvester 1 travels non-work, goes through the U-turn travel path, and travels the next travel path element (step #04). Thereafter, the harvester 1 continues straight-line reciprocating travel to complete the work travel in this work target area CA (step #05).

(A9) When the input work site data includes the position of a traveling obstacle in the field, or when the harvester 1 is equipped with an obstacle position detection device, obstacle avoidance based on the position of the obstacle and the vehicle position A travel path element for travel is selected. As selection rules for the purpose of avoiding obstacles, a rule for selecting travel path elements to be a detour path that is as close as possible to an obstacle, and a straight path without obstacles when entering the work area CA after exiting the outer circumference area SA once There is a rule for selecting possible travel path elements.

(A10) When the whirlpool travel pattern as shown in FIGS. 5 and 13 is set, when the length of the travel path element to be selected is shortened, the whirlpool travel pattern is automatically changed to the straight reciprocating travel pattern. This is because, when the area is narrowed, whirlpool driving including α-turn driving in which forward and backward motion tends to become inefficient.

(A11) In the case of driving in conventional driving, when the number of non-worked (non-traveling) travel path elements in the travel path element group in the non-work area, that is, the work target area CA, falls below a predetermined value. , it automatically switches from conventional driving to autonomous driving. In addition, when the harvester 1 is working in a swirling run from the outside to the inside of the work target area CA covered by the mesh straight line group, the remaining unworked area is reduced, and the number of non-worked travel route elements is less than or equal to a predetermined value. When it becomes , it is switched from vortex travel to straight reciprocating travel. In this case, as described above, in order to avoid wasteful travel, a travel path element having an attribute of an intermediate straight path is moved in parallel from the outer periphery area SA to the vicinity of the non-work area of the work target area CA.

(A12) In fields such as rice farming and barley farming, the efficiency of harvesting work can be improved by running the harvester 1 in parallel with rows of rice seedlings (headlands). For this reason, in the selection of travel path elements by the path element selector 63, the more travel path elements parallel to the jaw, the easier they are to be selected. However, at the start of work travel, if the posture of the machine is not in a posture or position parallel to the nail direction, even if it travels along a direction crossing the nail direction, work is performed by traveling to a posture parallel to the jaw. make up Thereby, wasteful travel (non-work travel) can be reduced even slightly, and the work can be finished quickly.

[Coordinated driving control]

Next, work travel by the work vehicle automatic travel system into which a plurality of work vehicles are put in will be described. Here, for ease of understanding, work travel (automatic travel) by the two harvesters 1 will be described. Fig. 21 shows a state in which the first work vehicle functioning as the master harvester 1m and the second work vehicle functioning as the slave harvester 1s cooperate to work and run on one field. In order to distinguish the two harvesters 1, the names of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s are given to each, but when there is no need to differentiate, simply call the harvester 1. In addition, a supervisor rides on the master harvester 1m, and the supervisor operates the communication terminal 4 carried in the master harvester 1m. For convenience, the terms master and slave are used, but do not represent a strict master-slave relationship. Data communication is possible between the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s through each communication processing unit 70, and exchange of status information is performed. Also, the state information corresponds to the work travel state. The communication terminal 4 not only gives the master harvester 1m an order from the supervisor, data related to the driving route, etc., but also sends a supervisor to the slave harvester 1s via the communication terminal 4 and the master harvester 1m. It is possible to give commands or data related to driving routes. For example, the state information output from the work state evaluation unit 55 of the slave harvester 1s is also transmitted to the master harvester 1m, and the state information output from the work state evaluation section 55 of the master harvester 1m is also transmitted to the slave harvester (1s). Therefore, both route element selectors 63 have a function of selecting the next traveling route element in consideration of both state information and both host vehicle positions. Further, in the case where the path management unit 60 and the path element selection unit 63 are built in the communication terminal 4, both harvesters 1 provide status information to the communication terminal 4, and therefrom It will receive the next driving route element selected.

FIG. 22, similarly to FIG. 9, shows a work target region CA encompassed by a mesh straight line group composed of mesh straight lines that are mesh-divided by the work width. Here, the master harvester 1m enters the travel path element L11 from around the vertex of the lower right corner of the deformed rectangle representing the work target area CA, turns left at the intersection of the travel path element L11 and the travel path element L21, and travels through the travel path element L21. go into Further, a left turn is made at the intersection of the travel route element L21 and the travel route element L32 to enter the travel route element L32. In this way, the master harvester 1m performs a left-turning vortex run. In contrast, the slave harvester 1s enters the travel path element L31 from the vicinity of the upper left apex of the work target area CA, turns left at the intersection of the travel path element L31 and the travel path element L41, and enters the travel path element L41. Further, a left turn is made at the intersection of the travel route element L41 and the travel route element L12 to enter the travel route element L12. In this way, the slave harvester 1s performs left-turning vortex travel. As is clear from FIG. 22, cooperative control in which the travel locus of the slave harvester 1s enters between the travel loci of the master harvester 1m is performed. Therefore, the running of the master harvester 1m becomes a spiral running at intervals by the width of the sum of the working width of the self and the working width of the slave harvester 1s. In addition, the movement of the slave harvester 1s becomes a whirlpool run at intervals by the width obtained by adding the working width of the slave harvester 1m to the working width of the master harvester 1m. The travel trajectory of the master harvester 1m and the travel trajectory of the slave harvester 1s create a double vortex.

In addition, since the work target area CA is defined by the outer circumferential area SA formed by the outer circumferential running, the circumferential running for forming the outer circumferential area SA is first performed between the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s. Which one needs to be done. It is also possible to perform this circumferential run by cooperative control of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s.

The driving trajectory shown in FIG. 22 is theoretical. In reality, the travel trajectory of the master harvester 1m and the travel path of the slave harvester 1s are corrected in response to the state information output from the work state evaluation unit 55 (including the positional relationship of other vehicles and the estimated contact position) However, the driving trajectory does not become a perfect double vortex. An example of such corrective travel will be described below using FIG. 23 . In FIG. 23, in the outer side (headland) of the field, in the position corresponding to the center outer side of 1st side S1, the truck CV which conveys the crop harvested by the harvester 1 is parked. Then, a parking position in which the harvester 1 is parked is set at a position adjacent to the carrier vehicle CV in the outer periphery area SA for the work of discharging harvest to the carrier vehicle CV. Fig. 23 shows that the slave harvester 1s deviates from the travel path element in the work target area CA in the middle of work travel, travels around the outer area SA, discharges the harvested product to the carrier vehicle CV, and returns to the outer area SA. It shows how to drive around and return to a travel path element in the work target area CA.

First, the path element selection unit 63 of the slave harvester 1s, when a departure request (harvested product discharge) occurs, based on the storage amount margin, the travel distance to the parking position, and the like, the departure path in the outer periphery area SA. A travel path element having an attribute value of , and a travel path element serving as a departure source of the departure path attribute to the travel path element are selected. In this embodiment, the travel path element set in the area where the parking position is set among the outer periphery area SA and the travel path element L41 currently traveling are selected, and the intersection of the travel path element L41 and the travel path element L12 is the departure point. has been The slave harvester 1s, which has advanced to the outer circumference area SA, travels along the travel path element (departure path) of the outer circumference area SA to the parking position, and discharges harvest from the parking position to the truck CV.

The master harvester 1m continues the work run in the work area CA even while the slave harvester 1s leaves the work run in the work area CA and discharges the harvested product. However, while the travel path element L42 is traveling, the master harvester 1m originally planned to select the travel path element L13 at the intersection of the travel path element L42 and the travel path element L13. However, since the travel of the travel path element L12 by the slave harvester 1s was canceled due to the departure of the slave harvester 1s, the travel path element L12 is unpredicted (non-traveled). For this reason, the path element selector 63 of the master harvester 1m selects the travel path element L12 instead of the travel path element L13. That is, the master harvester 1m travels to the intersection of the travel path element L42 and the travel path element L12, turns left there, and travels the travel path element L12.

When the slave harvester 1s finishes discharging the harvested product, the route element selection unit 63 of the slave harvester 1s determines the current position and automatic travel speed of the slave harvester 1s and the travel route in the work target area CA. Based on the attribute of the element (non-travel/pre-travel), the current position of the master harvester 1m and the automatic travel speed, etc., a travel route element to be returned is selected. In this embodiment, the travel path element L43, which is an unworked travel path element located at the outermost side, is selected. The slave harvester 1s travels the outer circumference area SA from the parking position in a left turn along the travel path element having the attribute of the return path, and enters the travel path element L43 from the left end of the travel path element L43. When the route element selector 63 of the slave harvester 1s selects the traveling route element L43, the information is transmitted to the master harvester 1m as status information. If it is assumed that the route element selector 63 of the master harvester 1m has selected the travel route up to the travel route element L33, it selects the travel route element L44 on the inner side of the travel route element L43 as the next travel route element. At that time, the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 determines the master harvester 1m near the intersection of the travel path element L33 and the travel path element L44 where the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s are traveling (selected). It is assumed that the slave harvester 1s will come into contact with In this way, the other vehicle positional relationship calculator 56 calculates the vicinity of the intersection as the estimated contact position. Therefore, the other difference positional relationship calculation unit 56 calculates the difference in transit time of the vicinity of the intersection of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s at the intersection, and the difference in transit time is equal to or less than a predetermined value (master harvester 1m ) and the slave harvester 1s are estimated), the automatic travel control unit 511 is commanded to temporarily stop the harvester 1 (here, the master harvester 1m) having a later passage time to avoid collision. . After the slave harvester 1s passes the intersection, the master harvester 1m starts its automatic travel again. In this way, since the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s exchange information such as the position of the host vehicle and the selected driving route element, collision avoidance behavior and delay avoidance behavior can be executed. Further, the travel control unit 51 of both harvesters 1m and 1s or one of the travel control units 51 calculates the difference in passage time near the intersection between the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s at the intersection, , If the transit time difference is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the harvester 1 (here, the master harvester 1m) having a later transit time may be controlled so as to temporarily stop for collision avoidance.

As shown in Figs. 24 and 25, such collision avoidance behavior and delay avoidance behavior are also executed in straight-line reciprocating travel. In Fig. 24 and Fig. 25, the group of parallel straight lines consisting of straight lines parallel to each other is L01, L02,... It is represented by L10, L01 to L04 are previously worked travel path elements, and L05 to L10 are unworked travel path elements. In Fig. 24, the master harvester 1m is traveling in the outer periphery area SA to go to the parking position indicated by the chain double-dotted line. In order to avoid contact with the master harvester 1m, the slave harvester 1s is temporarily stopped at the lower end of the work area CA, specifically at the lower end of the travel path element L04, as a collision avoidance action. In FIG. 25, the master harvester 1m which crossed the front of the slave harvester 1s stopped at the parking position. Therefore, when the slave harvester 1s enters the outer periphery area SA to shift from the travel path element L04 to the travel path element L07 in U-turn travel, it collides with the master harvester 1m. When the master harvester (1m) is parked in the parking position, it is impossible to enter or depart from the work area CA using the travel path elements L05, L06, L07, and thus the travel path elements L05, L06, L07 is temporarily prohibited from driving (selection prohibited). When the master harvester 1m finishes the discharge operation and moves from the parking position, the path element selection unit 63 of the slave harvester 1s considers the travel path of the master harvester 1m, and travels path elements L05 to L05. From L10, the travel path element to be transferred next is selected, and the slave harvester 1s resumes the automatic travel.

In addition, it is also possible for the slave harvester 1s to continue working even while the master harvester 1m is performing discharging work or the like at the parking position. An example thereof is shown in FIG. 25 . In this case, the route element selection unit 63 of the slave harvester 1s normally selects the travel route element L07 three lanes ahead whose travel route element priority is "1" as the travel route element of the destination. However, the travel path element L07 is prohibited from travel as in the example of FIG. 24 . Thus, the travel route element L08 having the next highest priority is selected. As a movement path from the travel path element L04 to the travel path element L08, a path that reverses the current travel path element L04 that has been the default travel (shown as a solid line in FIG. A plurality of paths, such as a path out to the outer periphery area SA (indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 25), are calculated, and the most efficient path, for example, the shortest path (a solid line path in this form) is selected.

As described above, even when a plurality of harvesters 1 cooperate to work on one field, each path element selection unit 63 receives a work plan received from the management center KS or the communication terminal 4. Based on the artificially input driving pattern (for example, straight-line reciprocating driving pattern or spiral driving pattern), the position of the host vehicle, the state information output from each work state evaluation unit 55, and the selection rule registered in advance Thus, the driving path elements are sequentially selected. Hereinafter, selection rules (B1) to (B10) specific to the case where a plurality of harvesters 1 cooperate to work and travel, which are rules other than the above-mentioned (A1) to (A12), are enumerated.

(B1) The plurality of harvesters 1 that work and run cooperatively travel automatically in the same travel pattern. For example, when a linear reciprocating travel pattern is set for one harvester 1, a straight reciprocating travel pattern is also set for the other harvester 1.

(B2) In the case where the spiral travel pattern is set, when one harvester 1 deviates from work travel in the work target area CA and enters the outer periphery area SA, the other harvester 1 moves further outside travel path elements. Choose As a result, instead of leaving the travel scheduled route of the harvester 1 that has departed, the traveling route element on which the harvester 1 that has departed is scheduled to travel is preempted.

(B3) In the case where the spiral travel pattern is set, when the detached harvester 1 returns to work travel in the work target area CA, it is far from the harvester 1 during work travel, and the non-work attributes Select a driving route element with

(B4) When the spiral travel pattern is set, when the length of the travel path element to be selected is shortened, work travel is executed with only one harvester 1, and the remaining harvesters 1 depart from the work travel. do.

(B5) When a whirlpool driving pattern is set, in order to avoid the risk of collision, the plurality of harvesters 1 select travel path elements from a travel path element group parallel to the sides of the polygon representing the outline of the work target area CA. It is forbidden to select both at the same time.

(B6) When a straight-line reciprocating travel pattern is set, when a certain harvester 1 is driving a U-turn, the other harvester 1 is automatically prevented from entering the area in which the U-turn travel is being performed among the outer periphery areas SA. driving is controlled.

(B7) When the straight round-trip travel pattern is set, as the next travel path element, the other harvester 1 is scheduled to travel next or a travel path at least two or more away from the travel path element currently traveling. element is selected.

(B8) Determination of the timing to depart from work driving in the work target area CA and selection of driving route elements for harvesting or refueling are not only the margin and driving time to the parking position, but also the plurality of harvesters (1) It is done in addition to the condition that do not escape at the same time.

(B9) When conventional running is set in the master harvester 1m, the slave harvester 1s automatically runs following the master harvester 1m.

(B10) When the capacity of the harvest tank 14 of the master harvester 1m and the capacity of the harvest tank 14 of the slave harvester 1s are different, if the discharge request is issued at the same time or almost the same time, the harvester with a small capacity ( 1) performs the discharge operation first. The discharge waiting time (non-working time) of the harvester 1 that cannot discharge is shortened, and the harvesting operation of the field can be completed even slightly earlier.

Further, in this work vehicle automatic driving system, when one field is considerably wide or when the work area CA is large, the work area CA is divided into a plurality of sections, and at least one harvester 1 is installed in each section. Control based on the rule of working travel is also performed. The work of dividing the work target region CA into a plurality of divisions and running the work is referred to as an intermediate division operation, and the divided region having a predetermined width and dividing into a plurality of divisions is referred to as an intermediate division region. In the division work in this system, the region setting unit 44 sets the work target region CA as a plurality of divisions obtained by dividing the work target region CA into a plurality of divisions by an intermediate division region. The path management unit 60 includes a travel path element group, which is an aggregate of a plurality of travel path elements constituting a travel path covering each segment divided by the middle divided area, and a driving path element group that circumnavigates the outer area SA and the middle divided area. A wandering route element group, which is an aggregate of wandering route elements constituting the wandering route, is managed in a readable manner. Therefore, the path element selector 63 determines the next travel path element to be driven next or the next travel path element to be driven next, based on the position of the own vehicle and the work travel state of the other vehicle, so that each section is operated by one or a plurality of harvesters 1. The next driving path element is selected from the driving path element group or the driving path element group. In addition, the other vehicle positional relationship calculated by the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 includes a first positional relationship that maintains a work vehicle interval equal to or greater than the first distance at which contact between the harvesters 1 can be avoided, and the work of the other vehicle from the own vehicle. A second positional relationship is included that maintains a working vehicle interval equal to or less than a second distance at which the driving state can be visually recognized. Thereby, it is possible not only to avoid contact of harvesters 1 with each other, but also to prevent other harvesters 1 from departing from a range that can be visually recognized by a supervisor riding on the harvester 1.

Hereinafter, the mode of operation by the harvester 1 in the intermediate division operation will be described using Figs. 26 and 27. Fig. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing a middle part of an intermediate division process in which a band-shaped intermediate divided region CC is formed in the center of the work target region CA to divide the work target region CA into two sections CA1 and CA2; It is an explanatory diagram showing after completion of the process. In this embodiment, the master harvester 1m forms the intermediate divided region CC. While the master harvester 1m is performing intermediate division, the slave harvester 1s performs work travel in a straight reciprocating travel pattern, for example, in section CA2. Prior to this work run, a travel path element group for segment CA2 is created. At that time, in division CA2, selection of a travel path element corresponding to one working width at a position closest to intermediate division region CC is prohibited until the intermediate division process is finished. Thereby, contact with the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s can be avoided.

When the intermediate division process is finished, the master harvester (1m) uses the travel path element group calculated for compartment CA1, and the travel is controlled like a single work run, and the slave harvester (1s) travels along the calculated travel path for compartment CA2. Using a group of elements, travel is controlled like single work travel. When one of the harvesters 1 completes the work first, it enters the compartment where the work remains, and cooperative control of the harvester 1 and the other harvester 1 is started. The harvester 1 whose work in the section in charge has been completed automatically travels toward the section in charge of another harvester 1 in order to support the work of the other harvester 1.

When the scale of the pavement is larger, as shown in Fig. 28, the pavement is divided in the middle in a grid pattern. This intermediate division can be performed by the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s. The work by the master harvester 1m and the work by the slave harvester 1s are assigned to the division formed by the lattice-like intermediate division, and in each division, work travel by the single harvester 1 is carried out. However, the travel path element is selected under the condition that the distance between the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s does not fall beyond a predetermined value. This means that if the slave harvester 1s is too far away from the master harvester 1m, it is difficult for the supervisor riding on the master harvester 1m to monitor the working run of the slave harvester 1s and to communicate state information with each other. because it loses In the case of the form shown in Fig. 28, the harvester 1 whose work in the section in charge has been completed may automatically run toward the section in charge of another harvester 1 in order to support the work of the other harvester 1. Alternatively, the vehicle may automatically drive toward the next section in charge of the host vehicle.

Since the parking position of the carrier vehicle CV and the parking position of the refueling vehicle are outside the outer periphery area SA, depending on the section in which the work is running, the travel route for discharging crops and refueling becomes longer, and the travel time is wasted. do. For this reason, at the time of traveling to and from the parking position and returning driving from the parking position, travel route elements and circumnavigation route elements for performing work travel in the section serving as the passage are selected.

[About fine adjustment of parameters such as work tools and equipment groups during cooperative automatic driving]

When the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s cooperate to work and run, usually a supervisor rides on the master harvester 1m. For this reason, the supervisor, for the master harvester 1m, via the communication terminal 4 as needed, parameters for the vehicle driving device group 71 and the working device group 72 in the automatic driving control. You can fine-tune the value of In order to realize the parameter values for the vehicle traveling device group 71 and the working device device group 72 of the master harvester 1m also in the slave harvester 1s, as shown in FIG. 29, the master harvester 1m ) from which the parameters of the slave harvester 1s can be adjusted. However, even if the communication terminal 4 is provided also in the slave harvester 1s, there is no problem at all. This is because the slave harvester 1s may also be used as a master harvester 1m when independently traveling automatically.

In the communication terminal 4 shown in FIG. 29, a parameter acquisition unit 45 and a parameter adjustment command generation unit 46 are built. The parameter acquisition unit 45 acquires device parameters set in the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s. Thereby, the setting value of the device parameter of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s can be displayed on the display panel part of the touch panel 41 of the communication terminal 4. In order to adjust the device parameters of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s through the touch panel 41, the supervisor aboard the master harvester 1m inputs update of the device parameters or obtains from the current value. An adjustment amount using an increase/decrease value is input. In this specification, "input of device parameters" means updating and inputting the values of parameters of the selected device, and inputting increased or decreased values from the current values of the parameters. Input of the device parameters is performed using buttons and sliders displayed on the display panel portion of the touch panel 41 in this embodiment, but switches and buttons of the communication terminal 4 may be used. Furthermore, a switch or button equipped to the master harvester 1m may be used. Control unit 5 and communication terminal 4 of all harvesters 1 are connected by a communication line or vehicle-mounted LAN so that data exchange is possible. When the supervisor operates switches or buttons equipped to the master harvester 1m and inputs the parameters of the device, the adjustment result is sent to the communication terminal 4, so it can be checked on the touch panel 41. The parameter adjustment command generation unit 46 generates, based on the input device parameters, a parameter adjustment command for adjusting the corresponding device parameters, and transmits it to the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s. As a communication interface for such communication, a communication processing unit 70 is provided in the control units 5 of the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s, and a communication control unit 40 is provided in the communication terminal 4. has been Regarding the adjustment of the device parameters of the master harvester 1m, a supervisor may directly perform it using various operating tools equipped with the master harvester 1m. Device parameters are divided into traveling device parameters and work device parameters. The driving device parameters include vehicle speed and engine rotation speed. In addition, the height of the harvesting part 15 and the height of the reel 17 are included in the working machine parameters.

An example of an adjustment procedure of device parameters during cooperative automatic driving is shown below.

(1) A supervisor riding on the master harvester 1m notices that the height of the harvesting part 15 of the specific slave harvester 1s is low.

(2) From the harvesters 1 displayed on the touch panel 41, the slave harvester 1s requiring adjustment is selected.

(3) A list of devices of the selected slave harvester 1s is displayed, and a harvester lifting device for setting the height of the harvester 15 is selected from this list of devices.

(4) The current value of the device parameter of the selected harvester lifting device and increase/decrease buttons are displayed.

(5) A supervisor operates an increase/decrease button to set a desired increase/decrease value.

(6) The parameter acquisition unit 45 introduces a value based on the set increase/decrease value as an updated device parameter.

(7) Based on the equipment parameters introduced by the parameter acquisition section 45, the parameter adjustment command generation section 46 adjusts the device parameters for the harvester elevating device of the selected slave harvester 1s. Create a reconciliation order.

(8) The generated parameter adjustment command is transmitted to the selected slave harvester 1s.

(9) The control unit 5 of the slave harvester 1s that has received the parameter adjustment command adjusts the height of the harvester 15 based on the parameter adjustment command.

(10) Adjusted equipment parameters relating to the height of the harvesting part 15 after adjustment are transmitted to the communication terminal 4.

(11) The adjusted device parameters are displayed on the touch panel 41 of the communication terminal 4.

This equipment parameter adjustment procedure was an adjustment procedure of the equipment parameters for a specific slave harvester 1s, but simultaneous adjustment of equipment parameters for the master harvester 1m and all slave harvesters 1s is also possible. In that case, on the touch panel 41, all harvesters 1 are selected as objects of device parameter adjustment.

As described above, the automatic travel control unit 511 has a function of calculating the current position and actual vehicle speed of the harvester 1 based on the positioning data obtained by the satellite positioning module 80. Further, the other vehicle positional relation calculation unit 56 may have a function of calculating the current position of the harvester 1 and the actual vehicle speed based on the positioning data obtained by the satellite positioning module 80 . In cooperative automatic driving, by using this function, an actual vehicle speed based on the positioning data of a preceding harvester 1 in the same direction is compared with an actual vehicle speed based on the positioning data of a following harvester 1, If there is a difference, vehicle speed adjustment is performed so that the vehicle speed of the following harvester 1 coincides with the vehicle speed of the preceding harvester 1. Thereby, abnormal approach or contact due to a difference in vehicle speed between the preceding harvester 1 and the succeeding harvester 1 is prevented.

The communication processing unit 70 of the harvester 1 or the communication control unit 40 of the communication terminal 4 may be provided with a communication function to send a call or mail to a registered portable communication terminal such as a mobile phone. When such a communication function is provided, when the storage amount of harvest exceeds a predetermined amount, a call (artificial voice) or an e-mail is sent to the driver of the delivery truck CV to which the harvest is discharged to the effect that the harvest is discharged. are sent out Similarly, when the fuel remaining amount falls below a predetermined amount, a call (artificial voice) or mail is sent to the driver of the refueling vehicle to the effect of requesting refueling.

[Other Embodiments]

(1) In the above-described embodiment, automatic driving is performed on the premise that a space of sufficient width is secured even in U-turn driving in straight reciprocating driving and α-turn driving in whirlpool driving by pre-circling driving. explained. However, in general, the space required for U-turn travel is wider than the space required for α-turn travel. Therefore, there may be cases where the space formed by the pre-circling travel is not sufficient for U-turn travel. For example, as shown in Fig. 30, when performing a U-turn run while working with one harvester 1, there is a possibility that a divider or the like may contact the headland and collapse the headland. Therefore, when a straight-line reciprocating travel pattern is set as the travel pattern, in order to avoid the situation of collapsing the headland as described above, when work travel is started, first, at least one turn in the outermost circumferential portion of the work target area CA By automatically working running, the outer circumferential area SA is expanded toward the inner circumferential side. Even if the width of the outer circumference area SA formed by the previous rounding travel is insufficient for U-turn travel, by extending the outer circumference area SA toward the inner circumference in this way, it becomes possible to perform the U-turn travel without problems. In addition, when the harvester 1 is stopped at a prescribed parking position for discharging harvested products to a work support vehicle stopped around the field, for efficient work, the harvester 1 is placed at the parking position to a certain extent, accurately, and , it is necessary to stop in an attitude (direction) suitable for support work. This is the same whether it is automatic driving or manual driving. Among the outer lines of the work area CA, the outer line on the side where the U-turn travel is performed does not change according to the straight-line reciprocating travel, so if the outer area SA is narrow, the harvester 1 moves to the work area CA, which is the non-work area. There is a possibility of rushing in and damaging crops, etc., or collapsing the headland by contacting the headland. For this reason, it is preferable to perform additional circumnavigation (additional circumnavigation) before starting the travel operation of the work target area CA by linear reciprocating travel. Such additional circumnavigation may be performed by an instruction from a supervisor or may be performed automatically. Also, as described above, the pre-circumferential running to create the outer periphery area SA is usually performed in a plurality of laps and spirals. For the outermost circumferential travel path, artificial steering is employed because the travel path is complex and differs from pavement to pavement. After that, the round trip is performed by automatic steering or artificial steering. 30, when the parking position PP and the U-turn path group UL overlap, while the harvester 1 is parked at the parking position PP, by the harvester 1, another harvester 1 ), a situation in which U-turn driving is inhibited is assumed. Therefore, when the parking position PP and the U-turn route group UL overlap at the point of time when the preliminary rounding is completed, it is preferable to perform the above-described additional rounding.

The travel path for the additional travel can be calculated based on the travel trajectory of the harvester 1 in the previous travel, the external data of the work area CA, and the like. Therefore, it is possible to perform the additional round trip by automatic steering. Hereinafter, an example of the flow of additional circumnavigation in automatic travel will be described with reference to FIG. 30 .

<Step #01>

By the preliminary rounding, the field is divided into an outer periphery area SA where the harvesting operation is completed and a work target area CA where the harvesting operation is to be performed from now on. After the preliminary rounding, as shown in step #01 of FIG. 30 , the parking position PP and the U-turn route group UL overlap in the outer periphery area SA. Further, the width of the portion where the U-turn path group UL is set in the outer periphery area SA is not expanded only by straight-line reciprocating travel. Therefore, in order to expand the width of this part, the additional rounding shown in step #02 of Fig. 30 is executed either automatically or based on the instructions of the supervisor.

<Step #02>

In this additional rounding, a plurality of rounding path elements constituting a rectangular rounding path (thick lines in Fig. 30) are calculated. These wandering travel path elements include the travel path element Ls at the left end and the travel path element Le at the right end of the travel path elements calculated for linear reciprocating travel. Further, both the travel path element Ls and the travel path element Le are straight. In addition, in a rectangular circumferential travel path, the travel path element Ls and the travel path element Le are opposite sides. Further, here, the winding travel path elements include the travel path element Ls, the travel path element Le, the travel path element connecting the upper ends of the travel path element Ls and the travel path element Le, the travel path element Ls, and the travel path element. It is a travel path element that connects the lower ends of Le. When automatic driving is started, the path element selection unit 63 selects a circuit element suitable for this additional circuit path, and automatic driving (work driving in the circuit driving) is executed.

<Step #03>

As shown in step #03 of FIG. 30 , the outer periphery area SA is expanded by this additional circumferential travel. Thereby, the space which has the width|variety corresponding to the working width of the harvester 1 at least is newly formed between the parking position PP and the non-work area. Next, as the work target area CA is reduced by the working width of the number of turns in this additional driving, the travel path element Ls at the left end and the travel path element Le at the right end move inward by the amount that the work target area CA is reduced. . Then, for a new work target area CA having a rectangular shape with the moved travel path element Ls and the travel path element Le as opposite sides, a work travel path is determined by a linear reciprocating travel pattern, and automatic work travel of the new work destination area CA is performed. is initiated

In step #01 of Fig. 30, there are cases where the parking position PP does not overlap with the U-turn route group UL and the parking position PP does not face the U-turn route group UL. For example, there is a case where the parking position PP is located facing the travel path element Ls at the left end. In this case, since the area around the parking position is expanded by performing straight-line reciprocating travel in which the travel path element Ls is first selected, the aforementioned additional circumnavigation is no longer executed. Alternatively, only the additional circumnavigation of about one lap may be performed.

In addition, even in the case of cooperative work travel by a plurality of harvesters 1, it may be configured so that the above-mentioned additional circumferential travel is performed automatically. In the case of cooperative work, when a straight-line reciprocating driving pattern is set as the driving pattern, and the parking position PP is set to a position facing the U-turn route group UL, several laps (about 3 to 4 laps) immediately after the start of work driving An additional round trip of is performed automatically. As a result, the work target area CA is reduced, and a wide space is secured on the inner circumferential side of the parking position PP. Therefore, even if one harvester 1 is stopped at the parking position PP, the other harvester 1 makes a U-turn on the inner circumferential side of the parking position PP with a margin or passes through the inner circumferential side of the parking position PP. possible.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, when a straight-line reciprocating travel pattern is set, a parking position for working with support vehicles such as a carrier CV is set in an area where U-turn travel is performed in the outer periphery area SA. If it is, the harvester 1 other than the harvester 1 stopped for the discharge operation or the like is configured to stop and wait until the discharge operation or the like is completed, or a travel path element bypassing the parking position PP is selected. . However, in such a case, in order to secure a space sufficient for U-turn travel to the inner periphery from the parking position PP, when automatic travel (work travel) is started, one or more harvesters 1 are automatically subject to work. The outer periphery of the area CA may be configured to run around several times.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, setting and selection of travel path elements were described assuming that the working widths of the master harvester 1m as the first work vehicle and the slave harvester 1s as the second work vehicle were the same. Here, when the working width of the master harvester 1m and the working width of the slave harvester 1s are different, how the setting and selection of travel path elements are made will be described with two examples. The working width of the master harvester (1m) is described as a first working width and the working width of the slave harvester (1s) is a second working width. For ease of understanding, specifically, the first working width is set to "6" and the second working width is set to "4".

(3-1) Fig. 31 shows an example in the case where a linear reciprocating travel pattern is set. In this case, the route management unit 60 calculates a travel route element group, which is an aggregate of a large number of travel route elements covering the work target area CA. At this time, the width of each traveling path element is set to a reference width that is the greatest common divisor or approximate greatest common divisor of the first working width and the second working width. Since the first working width is "6" and the second working width is "4", the standard width is set to "2". In Fig. 31, in order to identify travel route elements, numbers from 01 to 20 are assigned to each travel route element as a route number.

The master harvester 1m starts from the travel route element of route number 17, and the slave harvester 1s starts from the travel route element of route number 12. As shown in FIG. 7 , the path element selector 63 includes a first path element selector 631 having a function of selecting a travel path element of the master harvester 1m and a travel path of the slave harvester 1s. It is divided into a second path element selection unit 632 having a function of selecting elements. When the path element selection unit 63 is built in the control unit 5 of the master harvester 1m, the next travel path element selected by the second path element selection unit 632 communicates with the master harvester 1m. Through the processing unit 70 and the communication processing unit 70 of the slave harvester 1s, it is given to the route setting unit 64 of the slave harvester 1s. In addition, the center of the work width or the center of the harvester 1 and the travel route elements do not necessarily coincide, and if there is a deviation, automatic travel control in consideration of the deviation is performed.

As shown in FIG. 31 , the first path element selector 631 selects an area of an integral multiple of the first working width or the second working width (either non-traveling or base running), or the first working width The next travel path element is selected from the group of travel path elements that are non-traveled so as to leave an area of the sum of the integer multiple and the integer multiple of the second working width (either non-run or base run). The selected next driving path element is given to the path setting unit 64 of the master harvester 1m. Similarly, the second path element selector 632 selects an area of an integral multiple of the first work width or the second work width (either non-travel or base run), or an integer multiple of the first work width and the second task. The next travel path element is selected from the group of travel path elements that are non-traveled so as to leave an area of the sum of integer multiples of the width (either non-run or base run).

That is, after the master harvester 1m or the slave harvester 1s automatically travels along the next travel path element given by the first path element selector 631 or the second path element selector 632, the operation In the target area CA, an unrunning area having a width that is an integral multiple of the first working width or the second working width continues to remain. However, although there is a possibility that an unworked area with a narrow width less than the second working width will remain in the end, such a last remaining unworked area is either the master harvester 1m or the slave harvester 1s. Work is driven by

(3-2) Fig. 32 shows an example of a case in which a spiral travel pattern is set. In this case, a travel path element group constituted by a group of vertical straight lines and a group of horizontal straight lines, each of which has a first working width, is set in the work target area CA. The travel route elements belonging to the group of horizontal straight lines are given symbols X1 to X9 as their route numbers. In addition, symbols Y1 to Y9 are given as path numbers to travel path elements belonging to the group of vertical straight lines.

In Fig. 32, a spiral running pattern in which the master harvester 1m and the slave harvester 1s draw a left-turning double spiral line from outside to inside is set. The master harvester 1m starts from the travel path element of route number Y1, and the slave harvester 1s starts from the travel path element of route number X1. The path element selection unit 63 is also divided into a first path element selection unit 631 and a second path element selection unit 632 in this case as well.

As shown in FIG. 32 , the master harvester 1m first travels the travel path element of the path number Y1 selected first by the first path element selector 631. However, since the driving path element group shown in FIG. 32 is initially calculated with the first working width as an interval, for the slave harvester 1s having a second working width narrower than the first working width, the second path element selection The travel path element of the path number X1 initially selected by the unit 632 is corrected in position coordinates to fill the difference between the first working width and the second working width. That is, by 0.5 times the difference between the first working width and the second working width (hereafter, this difference is referred to as the width difference), the traveling path element of the route number X1 is corrected closer to the outside (#01 in FIG. 32). Similarly, route numbers Y2, X8, and Y8, which are the next travel route elements selected along with the travel of the slave harvester 1s, are also modified (FIG. 32, #02, #03, and #04). The master harvester 1m travels the same route number Y1 to route number X9 as originally, and travel route elements of Y9 (Fig. 32, #03 and #04), but the travel route elements of route number X2 selected next , since the slave harvester 1s is running on the outside, position correction is performed by the width difference (Fig. 32, #04). For the slave harvester 1s, when the travel route element of route number X3 is selected, since the slave harvester 1s has already traveled the travel route element of route number X1 located outside route number X3, 1.5 of the width difference Position correction is performed twice as much (Fig. 32, #05). In this way, thereafter, according to the number of traveling path elements that the slave harvester 1s traveled outside of the sequentially selected traveling path elements, in order to offset the difference between the first working width and the second working width , position correction of the selected travel route element is performed (Fig. 32, #06). Position correction of travel path elements is performed by the path management unit 60 here, but it is also possible to perform the first path element selection unit 631 and the second path element selection unit 632 .

In the driving example using FIGS. 31 and 32, the first path element selection unit 631 and the second path element selection unit 632 are described as being built in the control unit 5 of the master harvester 1m. . However, the second path element selection unit 632 may be built in the slave harvester 1s. At this time, the slave harvester 1s receives data indicating a travel path element group, and the first path element selection unit 631 and the second path element selection unit 632 exchange the travel path elements selected by each. , it is sufficient to select the element of its next travel path and perform the necessary positional coordinate correction. In addition, the route management unit 60, the first path element selection unit 631, and the second path element selection unit 632 are all built in the communication terminal 4, and the selected travel path elements are sent from the communication terminal 4. A configuration for sending to the route setting unit 64 is also possible.

(4) In the above embodiment, the control function block described based on FIG. 7 is merely an example, and it is also possible to further divide each functional unit or to integrate a plurality of functional units. In addition, the functional units are assigned to the control unit 5, communication terminal 4, and management computer 100 as upper control devices, but the assignment of these functional units is also an example, and each functional unit is assigned to an arbitrary upper control device. It is also possible. If upper control devices are connected so that data exchange is possible, it is also possible to allocate to another upper control device. For example, it is also possible to build all of the functions of the communication terminal 4 into the master harvester 1m. In addition, in the control function block diagram shown in FIG. 7 , the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 is built in the control unit of the harvester 1, but it may be built in the communication terminal 4. In this case, information such as the current position of each harvester 1 and elements of a travel route currently traveling (selected) is sent from each harvester 1 to the communication terminal 4 . Conversely, the other vehicle positional relationship calculated by the other vehicle positional relationship calculation unit 56 is sent to the work state evaluation unit 55 of each work vehicle 1 . In addition, in the control function block diagram shown in FIG. 7 , the worksheet data input unit 42, the external data generator 43, and the area setting unit 44 are the first travel path management module CM1, and the communication terminal 4 is built on In addition, a path management unit 60, a path element selection unit 63, and a path setting unit 64 are built into the control unit 5 of the harvester 1 as the second travel path management module CM2. Instead of this, the route management unit 60 may be included in the first travel route management module CM1. In addition, the external appearance data generating unit 43 and the area setting unit 44 may be included in the second travel route management module CM2. All of the first travel route management modules CM1 may be built into the control unit 5, and all of the second travel route management modules CM2 may be built into the communication terminal 4. It is preferable to build as many control functions related to travel route management as possible into the transportable communication terminal 4, since the degree of freedom in maintenance and the like is increased. The allocation of this functional unit is limited by the data processing capabilities of the communication terminal 4 and the control unit 5 and the communication speed between the communication terminal 4 and the control unit 5.

(5) The travel route calculated and set in the present invention is used as a target travel route for automatic driving, but it is also possible to use it as a target travel route for manual driving. That is, the present invention can be applied not only to automatic driving but also to manual driving, and, of course, mixed operation of automatic driving and manual driving is also possible.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the pavement information sent from the management center KS originally includes a topographical map around the pavement, and the accuracy of the outer shape and dimensions of the pavement can be improved by driving around the pavement boundary. An example of improvement was shown. However, the pavement information may not include a topographical map around the pavement, or at least a topographical map of the pavement, but may be configured such that the outer shape and dimensions of the pavement are calculated only by driving around the pavement. In addition, the packaging information sent from the management center KS, the contents of the work plan, and the items input through the communication terminal 4 are not limited to those of the above-described form, and can be changed within a range that does not deviate from the spirit of the present invention do.

(7) In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a ribbon-shaped path element calculating unit 602 is provided separately from the mesh path element calculating unit 601, and the ribbon-shaped path element calculating unit 602 , an example in which a travel path element group, which is a group of parallel straight lines covering the work target area CA, is calculated is shown. However, linear reciprocating travel may be realized by using travel path elements that are mesh-shaped straight groups calculated by the mesh path element calculation unit 601 without providing the ribbon-shaped path element calculation unit 602 .

(8) In the above-described embodiment, when the cooperative driving control is being performed, parameters of the vehicle running device group 71 and the working device device group 72 of the slave harvester 1s are based on the result seen with the eyes of the observer. An example of changing the However, the video (moving image or still image taken at regular intervals) captured by the camera mounted on the master harvester 1m or the slave harvester 1s is projected onto a monitor mounted on the master harvester 1m, etc., A supervisor may look at this video, determine the working condition of the slave harvester 1s, and change the parameters of the vehicle traveling device group 71 or the working device device group 72. Or you may comprise so that the parameter of the slave harvester 1s may be changed in association with the parameter of the master harvester 1m being changed.

(9) In the embodiment described above, an example in which a plurality of harvesters 1 that work and travel cooperatively travels automatically in the same travel pattern is shown. However, it may be configured to automatically travel in different travel patterns. In this case, a structure in which the travel patterns of the plurality of harvesters 1 become mutually different travel patterns may be used, for example, by switching the travel pattern setting in the middle of work.

(10) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which cooperative automatic driving is performed by two harvesters 1 has been shown, but a working vehicle automatic driving system and traveling route are similar to cooperative automatic driving by three or more harvesters 1 It is feasible by the management device.

(11) In the embodiment described above, at the very beginning of the harvesting work in the field, the harvester 1 performs circumferential mowing. In addition, circumferential harvesting is an operation to harvest while going around along the inner side of the boundary line of the field. After this circumferential harvesting, the area setting unit 44 sets the area on the outer periphery side of the field around which the harvester 1 has traveled as the outer periphery area SA, and sets the inner side of the outer periphery area SA as the work target area CA. do. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the surrounding harvesting by the harvester 1 is not an essential operation in the present invention. Further, the area setting unit 44 may be configured to set the work target area CA without setting the outer periphery area SA. For example, the area setting unit 44 may be configured to set the work target area CA according to an operation input by a supervisor via the communication terminal 4 .

(12) In FIG. 4, as an example of a travel path element group, a travel path element group having as travel path elements a plurality of parallel dividing straight lines that divide the work target region CA into a ribbon shape is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the travel path element group shown in FIG. 33 , curved parallel lines are used as travel path elements. In this way, the parallel lines may be curved. In addition, the parallel line group may contain curved parallel lines.

(13) In FIG. 5, as an example of a travel path element group, a travel path element group composed of a plurality of mesh straight lines extending in vertical and horizontal directions for mesh-segmenting the work target region CA is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the traveling route element group shown in FIG. 34 , mesh lines in the horizontal direction on the ground are straight, and mesh lines in the vertical direction on the ground are curved. In addition, in the travel route element group shown in FIG. 35, both the mesh lines in the horizontal direction and the mesh lines in the vertical direction on the ground are curved. In this way, the mesh line may be curved. Also, the mesh line group may contain curved mesh lines.

(14) In the above-described embodiment, straight-line reciprocating travel is performed by repeating travel along the linear travel path element and U-turn travel. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured so that reciprocating travel is performed by repeating travel along curved travel path elements as shown in FIGS. 33 to 35 and U-turn travel.

In the work vehicle automatic driving system of the present invention, in addition to the harvester 1, which is a normal combine, as a work vehicle, other harvesters 1 such as a self-removing combine or corn harvester, or tillage, if the work vehicle can travel while automatically working on the work site It can also be applied to a tractor equipped with a working device such as a device, a faucet work machine, and the like.

1: harvester (work vehicle)
1m: Master Harvester
1s: slave harvester
4: communication terminal
5: control unit
41: touch panel
42: worksheet data input unit
43: appearance data generation unit
44: area setting unit
45: parameter acquisition unit
46: parameter adjustment command generation unit
50: communication processing unit
51: driving control unit
511: automatic driving control unit
512: manual driving control unit
52: work control unit
53: Own vehicle location calculation unit
54: notification department
55: work state evaluation unit
56: other vehicle position relationship calculation unit
60: route management unit
62: ribbon type path element calculation unit
63: path element selection unit
64: route setting unit
70: communication processing unit
71: vehicle driving device group
72: group of working devices
80: satellite positioning module
SA: outsourcing area
CA: work target area
CC: Middle Partition

Claims (9)

It is a work vehicle automatic driving system for a plurality of work vehicles that cooperatively work and travel the work place while exchanging data.
an area setting unit configured to set the worksheet to a partition obtained by dividing an outer periphery area and a work target area inside the outer periphery area into a plurality of divisions by an intermediate division area;
a host vehicle location calculation unit that calculates a host vehicle location;
A travel path element group, which is an aggregate of a plurality of travel path elements constituting a travel path covering the section, and a traveling path element group, which is an aggregate of traveling path elements constituting a circulation path that circumnavigates the outer circumferential area and the middle divided area. A path management unit for readable management of
Based on the position of the host vehicle and the work driving state of the other vehicle, the next travel path element or the next driving path element to be driven next is selected so that each of the sections is driven by at least one work vehicle, the travel path element group or the A path element selection unit for selecting from a circle path element group;
The middle division area is created by work travel performed by at least one of the plurality of work vehicles. It is a work vehicle automatic driving system for a plurality of work vehicles that cooperatively work and travel the work place while exchanging data.
an area setting unit configured to set the worksheet to a partition obtained by dividing an outer periphery area and a work target area inside the outer periphery area into a plurality of divisions by an intermediate division area;
a host vehicle location calculation unit that calculates a host vehicle location;
A travel path element group, which is an aggregate of a plurality of travel path elements constituting a travel path covering the section, and a traveling path element group, which is an aggregate of traveling path elements constituting a circulation path that circumnavigates the outer circumferential area and the middle divided area. A path management unit for readable management of
Based on the position of the host vehicle and the work driving state of the other vehicle, the next travel path element or the next driving path element to be driven next is selected so that each of the sections is driven by at least one work vehicle, the travel path element group or the A path element selection unit for selecting from a circle path element group;
The route element selection unit selects the next travel route element so that work travel for creating the middle divided area and work travel for the section created by the middle divided area are performed simultaneously. It is a work vehicle automatic driving system for a plurality of work vehicles that cooperatively work and travel the work place while exchanging data.
an area setting unit configured to set the worksheet to a partition obtained by dividing an outer periphery area and a work target area inside the outer periphery area into a plurality of divisions by an intermediate division area;
a host vehicle location calculation unit that calculates a host vehicle location;
A travel path element group, which is an aggregate of a plurality of travel path elements constituting a travel path covering the section, and a traveling path element group, which is an aggregate of traveling path elements constituting a circulation path that circumnavigates the outer circumferential area and the middle divided area. A path management unit for readable management of
Based on the position of the host vehicle and the work driving state of the other vehicle, the next travel path element or the next driving path element to be driven next is selected so that each of the sections is driven by at least one work vehicle, the travel path element group or the A path element selection unit for selecting from a circle path element group;
The path element selector selects the next travel path element for the section created by the middle divided area during work driving to create the middle divided area, and selects a travel path element adjacent to the middle divided area. Excluding, work vehicle automatic driving system. According to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The other vehicle positional relationship indicating the positional relationship between the own vehicle and the other vehicle is included in the work driving state of the other vehicle,
An automatic driving system for a work vehicle, wherein a positional relationship calculation unit for calculating the positional relationship of another vehicle is provided. According to claim 4,
The other vehicle positional relationship includes a first positional relationship maintaining a work vehicle interval equal to or greater than a first distance at which contact between the work vehicles can be avoided, and a work distance equal to or less than a second distance at which the work running state of the other vehicle can be visually recognized from the own vehicle. A work vehicle automatic driving system comprising a second positional relationship for maintaining a vehicle distance. It is a work vehicle automatic driving system for a plurality of work vehicles that automatically drive while working cooperatively on the work site,
A group of devices that are equipped for each work vehicle and whose state can be changed by adjusting device parameters;
A communication terminal capable of exchanging data with the work vehicle,
The communication terminal includes a parameter acquisition unit, a touch panel, and a parameter adjustment command generation unit;
The parameter acquisition unit acquires a current value of the device parameter of the device group set in each of the work vehicles;
The touch panel displays a device list of the specified work vehicle, and the current value of the device parameter of the device selected by the operator from the device list is used as data indicating the current state of the parameter device of each work vehicle. display,
The parameter adjustment command generation unit generates a parameter adjustment command for adjusting the selected device parameter of the specified work vehicle based on an increase/decrease value set using an increase/decrease button of the communication terminal, so that the specified work vehicle send,
wherein the touch panel displays a current value of the machine parameter whose adjustment has been completed based on the parameter adjustment command transmitted from the specified work vehicle. delete According to claim 6,
The work vehicle is a harvester equipped with a harvesting unit capable of moving up and down,
The machine parameters include driving machine parameters and working machine parameters;
The driving device parameters include vehicle speed and engine speed,
The work vehicle automatic driving system, wherein the work device parameter includes the height of the harvesting part. According to claim 6,
The plurality of work vehicles are composed of a master work vehicle and a slave work vehicle on which the operator rides, and the parameter acquisition unit and the parameter adjustment command generation unit are built in the master work vehicle,
wherein the parameter adjustment command is transmitted from the master work vehicle to the slave work vehicle.

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