JP2019008646A - Work vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To be requested to take measures corresponding to that in a traveling vehicle body in a case where positioning accuracy is deteriorated due to the fact that a reception condition of transmission information from a satellite is not good and the like.SOLUTION: A work vehicle is comprised of: a positioning unit 63 for measuring a position and an azimuth of a vehicle body using GNSS; and an automatic travel control unit 60 for controlling operation of travel driving means 59, 62 of the vehicle body so that the vehicle body travels along a set route based on the measurement result of the positioning unit 63; wherein: the automatic travel control unit 60 compares information on the azimuth of the vehicle body measured by the positioning unit 63 with information on an azimuth of the vehicle body measured by an inertial measuring device 68 to determine whether the measurement information by the positioning unit 63 is appropriate information; and executes corresponding post-processing if it is determined that the information is not appropriate information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning unit that measures the position and orientation of a vehicle body using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and based on the measurement result of the positioning unit, the vehicle body follows a set route. The present invention relates to a work vehicle provided with an automatic travel control unit that executes automatic travel control for controlling the operation of the travel drive means of the vehicle body so as to travel.

  Conventionally, using a well-known GPS (Global Position System) that is an example of GNSS, the aircraft is equipped with a positioning unit that measures the position and orientation of a traveling vehicle body based on transmission information transmitted from a plurality of satellites. When the vehicle travels while traveling straight at a normal work speed in the field, based on the information measured by the positioning unit and the information about the preset setting route, the aircraft should travel along the setting route. The automatic travel control is configured to be executed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2016-24540 A

  As described above, when obtaining the position of the vehicle body based on transmission information transmitted from a plurality of satellites, the plurality of satellites to be received are not always in an appropriate position with respect to the current position of the vehicle body. . In other words, positioning accuracy improves if the position of the vehicle body, that is, the geometrical arrangement of the satellites as seen from the reception point of the transmission information is scattered over a wide range as seen from the reception point, but the positioning accuracy is improved. In this case, the positioning accuracy is deteriorated. In addition, there is a possibility that radio waves from any of the satellites are blocked by an obstacle and do not reach the work vehicle satisfactorily.

  In the conventional configuration, the reception status of information transmitted from multiple satellites is not taken into account when performing automatic cruise control, so if the positioning accuracy deteriorates due to the deterioration of the reception status, appropriate automatic cruise control can be performed. Therefore, the vehicle body may travel in a direction different from the target route.

  Therefore, when the positioning accuracy is deteriorated due to the poor reception status of the transmission information from the satellite, it has been demanded to take measures corresponding to that in the traveling vehicle body.

The characteristic configuration of the work vehicle according to the present invention is:
A positioning unit that measures the position and orientation of the vehicle body using GNSS;
An automatic travel control unit that performs automatic travel control for controlling the operation of the travel drive means of the vehicle body so that the vehicle body travels along the set route based on the measurement result of the positioning unit;
The positioning unit is equipped with an inertial measurement device,
The automatic travel control unit compares the vehicle body azimuth information measured by the positioning unit with the vehicle body azimuth information measured by the inertial measurement device, and the measurement information by the positioning unit is appropriate. Whether or not the information is information is determined, and if it is determined that the information is not appropriate, post-processing corresponding to the information is executed.

  According to the present invention, for example, the direction information of the vehicle body is obtained from the measurement result of an inertial measurement device such as a gyroscope or an acceleration sensor, and the direction information measured using the GNSS by the positioning unit is measured by the inertial measurement device. Compare the direction information of the car body. Direction information measured using GNSS is appropriate when transmission information transmitted from multiple satellites is received well, but may not be appropriate unless transmission information is received well . On the other hand, it is assumed that the direction information measured by the inertial measurement device is highly accurate for a short time.

  Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the measurement information obtained by the positioning unit is appropriate information by comparing the information of those directions. If the information is not appropriate, it is not appropriate to continue the automatic travel control based on the direction information measured using the GNSS. Therefore, post-processing corresponding to that is executed. As the post-processing, for example, it is possible to take appropriate measures such as urging the switching operation to manual control by stopping the automatic traveling control or notifying that the state is inappropriate.

  Therefore, when the positioning accuracy deteriorates due to the poor reception status of the information transmitted from the satellite, it is possible to take measures corresponding to it in the traveling vehicle body.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the automatic travel control unit is configured to compare information on the azimuth of the vehicle body based on the change speed of the azimuth.

  According to this configuration, by comparing the azimuth change rate measured using GNSS with the azimuth change rate of the vehicle body measured by the inertial measurement device, if there is a difference between these change rates, GNSS It is possible to easily detect that the direction information measured using is not appropriate, and it can be determined in the middle of the change in direction, so it is possible to quickly determine before the direction greatly changes it can.

In the present invention, the automatic travel control unit is configured such that a deviation between a change rate of the azimuth direction of the vehicle body measured by the positioning unit and a change rate of the azimuth direction of the vehicle body measured by the inertial measurement device exceeds a set allowable value. Is configured to determine that the information is not appropriate,
It is preferable that the setting allowable value is configured to be adjustable.

  According to this configuration, since it is possible to change the detection sensitivity when determining whether or not the vehicle body direction information is appropriate, it is possible to match the user's preference and improve usability. .

  In the present invention, when the automatic travel control unit determines that the measurement information by the positioning unit is not appropriate information, it is preferable that the automatic travel control is stopped as the post-processing.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the automatic traveling control from continuing for a long time in a state where the vehicle body direction information is not appropriate.

It is a whole side view of a riding rice transplanter. It is a schematic plan view showing a steering configuration and the like. It is a block diagram which shows a control structure. It is a top view which shows the driving | running route of the work vehicle in an agricultural field, the auxiliary | assistant work point for auxiliary | assistant work, etc. FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a riding rice transplanter which is an example of a work vehicle will be described with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment, the direction indicated by the reference symbol F described in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the front side of the aircraft, and the direction indicated by the reference symbol B described in FIGS. The direction indicated by the reference symbol U shown in FIG. Further, the direction indicated by the symbol R shown in FIG. 2 is the right side of the aircraft, and the direction indicated by the symbol L is the left side of the aircraft.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the riding rice transplanter exemplified in this embodiment is a riding type four-wheel drive type traveling vehicle body 1, and a parallel quadruple link connected to the rear part of the traveling vehicle body 1 so as to be able to swing up and down. Type link mechanism 2, hydraulic lifting cylinder 3 that swings and drives the link mechanism 2, seedling planting device 4 that is connected to the rear end of the link mechanism 2 in a rollable manner, and the rear end of the traveling vehicle body 1 To a seedling planting device 4 and so on. The lifting cylinder 3 is supplied and discharged with pressure oil by an electrically controlled valve unit 3A.

  The traveling vehicle body 1 includes, as the traveling device 6, left and right front wheels 6A that can be steered and left and right rear wheels 6B that cannot be steered. An engine 7 is mounted on the front portion of the traveling vehicle body 1, and power from the engine 7 is supplied to the front wheels 6A and the rear wheels 6B via a hydraulic continuously variable transmission 8 and a transmission mechanism (not shown) in the transmission case 9. On the other hand, the seedling planting device 4 is intermittently transmitted to the seedling planting device 4 via the planting clutch 10 (see FIG. 3), and is intermittently transmitted to the fertilizer application device 5 via the fertilizing clutch 11 (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 3, the planting clutch 10 is turned on and off by the operation of the first clutch motor 12. The fertilizer application clutch 11 is turned on and off by the operation of the second clutch motor 13.

  The seedling planting device 4 is configured in an eight-row planting format, and includes a leveling float 14, a seedling mount 15, an eight-row planting mechanism 16, and the like. The leveling float 14 slides on the muddy surface of the paddy field as the traveling vehicle body 1 travels in a state where they are in contact with the ground, thereby leveling the muddy surface such as a planting planned place. The seedling stage 15 is formed so that eight mat-like seedlings can be placed thereon. The seedling table 15 reciprocates in the left-right direction with a fixed stroke corresponding to the left and right width of the mat-shaped seedling, and the vertical feed mechanism 17 moves on the seedling table 15 every time the seedling table 15 reaches the left and right stroke ends. The mat-like seedlings are vertically fed at a predetermined pitch toward the lower end of the seedling stage 15. The eight planting mechanisms 16 are of a rotary type and are arranged in the left-right direction at regular intervals corresponding to the planting strips. And each planting mechanism 16 cuts out one seedling from the lower end of each mat-like seedling placed on the seedling stage 15 by the power from the traveling vehicle body 1 and plantes it in the mud after the leveling. Thereby, in the operating state of the seedling planting device 4, seedlings can be taken out from the mat-like seedlings placed on the seedling stage 15 and planted in the mud portion of the paddy field.

  The fertilizer applicator 5 includes a horizontally long hopper 26, a feeding mechanism 27, an electric blower 28, a plurality of fertilizer hoses 29, and a grooving device 30 provided for each strip. The hopper 26 stores granular or powdered fertilizer. The feeding mechanism 27 is operated by the power transmitted through the fertilizing clutch 11 and feeds out two fertilizers from the hopper 26 by a predetermined amount. The blower 28 is operated by electric power from a battery (not shown) mounted on the traveling vehicle body 1, and generates a conveying wind for conveying the fertilizer fed by each feeding mechanism 27 toward the mud surface of the field. Each fertilizer hose 29 guides the fertilizer conveyed with conveyance wind to each groove producing machine 30. Each grooving device 30 is arranged in each leveling float 14. And each grooving device 30 raises / lowers with each leveling float 14, and forms the fertilizer groove in the mud part of a paddy field, and guides a fertilizer in the fertilization groove at the time of the work running which each leveling float 14 contacts.

  The fertilizer application device 5 has an operation state in which the fertilizer stored in the hopper 26 is supplied to the field by a predetermined amount by an intermittent operation of the power application fertilizer clutch 11 and an intermittent operation of the blower 28, and an inoperative state in which the supply is stopped. And can be switched.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the traveling vehicle body 1 includes a driving unit 40 on the rear side. The driving unit 40 includes a steering wheel 41 for front wheel steering, a main speed change lever 42 that enables a change in setting of the engine speed and a speed change operation of the continuously variable transmission 8, and a sub speed change that enables a speed change operation of the sub speed change device. The first operation lever 45 and the second operation lever 46 that enable the lever 43, the raising / lowering operation and switching of the operation state of the seedling planting device 4, a liquid crystal display type display unit 47 that displays various information and notifies the operator. (Refer to FIG. 3), and a driver's seat 48 for the operator.

  The main transmission lever 42 is disposed adjacent to the left side of the steering wheel 41. The main transmission lever 42 is a swing operation type that can swing in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and is linked to an operation shaft (not shown) of the continuously variable transmission 8. The main transmission lever 42 has a neutral position, a plurality of forward shift positions on the front side of the vehicle with respect to the neutral position, and a plurality of reverse speeds on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the neutral position by the holding action of the detent unit (not shown). The shift position is configured.

  The first operation lever 45 is a swing type that can be switched to planting, descending, neutral, ascending, and automatic operation positions, and is disposed adjacent to the right side of the driver seat 48. The second operation lever 46 is a neutral return type that swings up and down, and is disposed adjacent to the lower right of the steering wheel 41. The second operation lever 46 commands the raising and lowering of the seedling planting device 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the steering wheel 41 includes a steering gear 50 that rotates integrally with the steering wheel 41 via a steering shaft 49, a sector gear 51 that meshes with the steering gear 50, and a steering member 52 that swings integrally with the sector gear 51. And, the left and right front wheels 6A are connected to each other via left and right tie rods 54 extending between the steering member 52 and the operation arms 53 of the left and right front wheels 6A.

  The traveling vehicle body 1 includes a mechanism for intermittently operating the left and right side clutches 55 in conjunction with the operation of the steering wheel 41. That is, the left and right linkage rods 58 that link the steering member 52 and the operation arms 57 of the left and right side clutches 55 are provided. The left and right linking rods 58 are provided with elongated holes 58 a that set the relationship between the operation angle θ of the steering member 52 and the on / off operation of the left and right side clutch 55 at the linking position with the operation arm 57.

  With the above configuration, the left and right front wheels 6 </ b> A are steered from the rectilinear position to the turning direction according to the amount of turning operation of the steering wheel 41. If the steering member 52 has a swing angle smaller than the second set angle θb, the side clutch 55 maintains the connected state, and if the steering member 52 becomes larger than the second set angle θb, the left side clutch 55 is in the disconnected state. Switch to. On the other hand, the right side clutch 55 is maintained in the connected state. Thereby, the transmission to the left rear wheel 6B located inside the turning is cut off, and a small left turning state is obtained in which the turning radius of the traveling vehicle body 1 is reduced. The swinging operation of the steering member 52 is performed by a steering motor 59 as will be described later, in addition to the manual turning operation of the steering wheel 41. The swing shaft of the steering member 52 is provided with a steering angle sensor 56 that detects a swing angle (steering angle).

  The traveling vehicle body 1 is provided with a control device 60 that executes various controls. The control device 60 includes a microcomputer. The control device 60 controls the raising / lowering operation of the seedling planting device 4 and the operating state of the seedling planting device 4 and the fertilizer application device 5 based on commands from the first operation lever 45 and the second operation lever 46.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the traveling vehicle body 1 automatically operates the steering shaft 59, that is, the steering member 52 that can rotate the steering member 52 and the main transmission lever 42 via the gear mechanism 61 (see FIG. 2). An electric transmission motor 62 that enables this, a positioning unit 63 that measures the position and orientation of the traveling vehicle body 1, and the like are provided. Further, a manual type automatic on / off switch 64 is provided that enables selection between a manual operation mode of the operation mode and an automatic operation mode for executing automatic traveling control described later. This automatic on / off switch 64 is provided in the vicinity of the grip portion of the main transmission lever 42 so that a finger can be operated.

  The positioning unit 63 includes a satellite navigation device 65 that measures the position and orientation of the traveling vehicle body 1 using a well-known GPS (Global Positioning System) which is an example of a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). As a positioning method using GPS, in this embodiment, the position of the vehicle body is measured by using GPS positioning data and error correction information transmitted from a reference station whose position is known in advance on the ground side. D-GPS (Differential GPS) that can be used is adopted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the positioning unit 63 is for satellite navigation that receives radio waves transmitted from GPS satellites (not shown) and data transmitted from a reference station (not shown) installed at a known position. The antenna unit 66 is provided. The reference station transmits error correction information obtained by receiving radio waves from GPS satellites by wireless communication. The satellite navigation device 65 obtains the position and azimuth of the traveling vehicle body 1 based on positioning data obtained by receiving radio waves from GPS satellites and information from the reference station.

  The antenna unit 66 is arranged at the left and right center of the upper end of the spare seedling frame 67 so that the reception sensitivity of radio waves from GPS satellites is increased. Therefore, the position and orientation of the traveling vehicle body 1 measured using the GPS include a positioning error due to the positional deviation of the antenna unit 66 due to yawing, pitching, or rolling of the traveling vehicle body 1.

  Therefore, the antenna unit 66 has a three-axis gyroscope (not shown) and a three-direction acceleration sensor (not shown) in order to enable correction for removing the positioning error. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) 68 that measures the yaw angle, pitch angle, roll angle, etc. of the traveling vehicle body 1 is provided. The positioning unit 63 uses the position and azimuth information of the traveling vehicle body 1 measured using GPS, and the position of the antenna unit 66 accompanying yawing, pitching, or rolling of the traveling vehicle body 1 measured by the inertial measurement device 68. Correction is made based on the information of the deviation.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 60 includes a storage unit 60A in which map data indicating a travel route Q and auxiliary work points P0 in a preset field are written, and the travel route Q and positioning. Whether the direction information of the traveling vehicle body 1 measured by the automatic operation control unit 60B for automatically driving the traveling vehicle body 1 on the work traveling route Qa based on the positioning result of the unit 63 and the satellite navigation device 65 is appropriate. Azimuth information discriminating unit 60C, and discriminating that the information is not appropriate based on the discrimination result of the azimuth information discriminating unit 60C, a post-processing unit 60D that executes post-processing corresponding thereto. The automatic operation control unit 60B has various control programs for appropriately controlling the operation of the transmission motor 62, the steering motor 59, and the like.

  The satellite navigation device 65 measures the position data of the traveling vehicle body 1 every time unit time elapses. And the change of a position, ie, the moving direction (azimuth | direction) of the traveling vehicle body 1, can be calculated | required from the information of the position for every unit time. Further, the direction change speed can be obtained from the elapsed time and the direction change amount.

  Then, the azimuth information discriminating unit 60C provides information on the azimuth change speed of the traveling vehicle body 1 measured by the satellite navigation device 65, and the angular velocity of the yaw angle detected by the gyroscope in the inertial measurement device 68 (azimuth change speed). ) And whether the deviation exceeds a preset value or not, whether the information on the direction of the traveling vehicle body 1 measured by the satellite navigation device 65 is appropriate or not. Is determined.

  If the deviation of the direction change speed exceeds the set allowable value, it is determined that the information on the direction of the traveling vehicle body 1 measured by the satellite navigation device 65 is not appropriate, and if it does not exceed the set allowable value, it is appropriate. Is determined. When the azimuth information discriminating unit 60C discriminates that the azimuth information of the traveling vehicle body 1 is not appropriate, the post-processing unit 60D stops the automatic driving control when the automatic driving control unit 60B performs the automatic driving control. . When the automatic travel control is stopped, this is displayed on the display unit 47 to notify the driver.

  The set allowable value for the deviation can be changed and adjusted by a deviation adjuster 69 provided in the operation unit 40. If this set allowable value is set to a small value, it is determined that the radio wave reception state has fluctuated slightly, so that it is determined to be inappropriate, and automatic traveling control is frequently stopped. On the other hand, if the set allowable value is set to a large value, the direction of the traveling vehicle body 1 is likely to deviate from the set route because the determination is not made unless the radio wave reception state fluctuates greatly. Therefore, the deviation adjuster 69 can change and adjust the size of the set allowable value according to the user's preference.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the field travel route Q includes a plurality of linear work travel routes Qa, a plurality of mobile travel routes Qb, a plurality of work start points P1, an auxiliary work point P0, and a plurality of work. The end point P2, etc. are included. The auxiliary work point P0 is a specific point suitable for performing auxiliary work related to mat-like seedlings and fertilizers whose loading amount changes as the vehicle travels. The auxiliary work points P0 include spare seedlings and fertilizers. And an auxiliary worker is waiting for the auxiliary work.

  When the first operation lever 45 is set to the automatic position and the automatic operation mode is selected by manual operation of the automatic on / off switch 64, the automatic operation control unit 60B uses the work travel route Qa. Automatic traveling control for automatically traveling the traveling vehicle body 1 is executed.

Hereinafter, the control operation in the automatic travel control of the automatic operation control unit 60B will be described.
In the automatic travel control, first, based on the information on the travel route Q and the positioning result of the positioning unit 63, it is determined whether or not the travel vehicle body 1 has moved to the work start point P1 on the first work travel route Qa. . When the traveling vehicle body 1 moves to the work start point P1, automatic driving is started.

  In automatic driving, whether or not the position and orientation of the traveling vehicle body 1 are within the allowable range of the work traveling route Qa based on the map data indicating the traveling route Q stored in the storage unit 60A and the positioning result of the positioning unit 63. It is determined whether or not the traveling vehicle body 1 has moved from the entrance Qz to the farm field to the work end point P2. When one or both of the position and direction of the traveling vehicle body 1 are out of the allowable range of the work travel route Qa while traveling on the work travel route Qa, a trajectory correction process for returning to the allowable range is performed. In the track correction process, the operation of the transmission motor 62 is controlled so that the vehicle speed decreases from the speed for normal traveling to the speed for track correction. Then, the operation of the steering motor 59 is controlled so as to correct the deviation from the work travel route Qa. Thereafter, when it is detected that the position and direction of the traveling vehicle body 1 have returned to the allowable range of the work travel route Qa, the operation of the speed change motor 62 is performed so that the vehicle speed increases from the speed for correcting the track to the speed for normal travel. Control.

  When the traveling vehicle body 1 moves to the work end point P2, the automatic driving on the work travel route Qa is terminated. After the automatic driving is completed, the vehicle is in a standby state where automatic driving is not performed until the traveling vehicle body 1 moves to the work start point P1 of the next stroke. When the traveling vehicle body 1 moves to the work starting point P1, automatic driving is performed. Start. Hereinafter, such automatic operation is repeated. Note that, on the travel travel route Qb in which the automatic travel control is not executed, the steering operation is manually performed by the operator. At the work end point P2, the raising operation of the seedling planting device 4 and the accompanying turning off operation and turning operation of the fertilizer clutch 11 and the planting clutch 10 are performed. At the work start point P1, the lowering operation of the seedling planting device 4 is performed. The operation of entering the fertilizing clutch 11 and the planting clutch 10 is performed accordingly. Therefore, in this embodiment, the control device 60 corresponds to the automatic travel control unit, and the transmission motor 62 and the steering motor 59 correspond to the travel drive means of the vehicle body that is controlled to travel along the set route. To do.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the post-processing unit 60D stops the automatic travel control as the post-processing, but it is in an inappropriate state instead of or in addition to such a configuration. For example, this may be notified by the display unit 47, or a warning sound may be generated with a buzzer or the like to prompt an operation to switch to manual operation.

(2) In the above embodiment, the setting allowable value for the deviation is configured to be changeable and adjustable, but instead of this configuration, the setting allowable value may be maintained at a constant value.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the information on the azimuth of the vehicle body is compared based on the changing speed of the azimuth. However, instead of this configuration, the measured value of the azimuth may be compared.

(4) Although the riding rice transplanter was illustrated as a work vehicle in the said embodiment, other work vehicles, such as a tractor and a harvester, may be sufficient.

  The present invention can be applied to a work vehicle in which the position and orientation of a vehicle body are measured using GNSS.

59, 62 Traveling drive means 60 Automatic travel control unit 63 Positioning unit 68 Inertial measurement device

Claims (4)

A positioning unit that measures the position and orientation of the vehicle body using GNSS;
An automatic travel control unit that performs automatic travel control for controlling the operation of the travel drive means of the vehicle body so that the vehicle body travels along the set route based on the measurement result of the positioning unit;
The positioning unit is equipped with an inertial measurement device,
The automatic travel control unit compares the vehicle body azimuth information measured by the positioning unit with the vehicle body azimuth information measured by the inertial measurement device, and the measurement information by the positioning unit is appropriate. A work vehicle configured to determine whether or not the information is appropriate, and to perform post-processing corresponding to the information if the information is not appropriate.   The work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the automatic traveling control unit is configured to compare information on a direction of the vehicle body based on a change speed of the direction. When the deviation between the vehicle body azimuth change speed measured by the positioning unit and the vehicle body azimuth change speed measured by the inertial measurement device exceeds a set allowable value, the automatic travel control unit Configured to determine that it is not information,
The work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the setting allowable value is changeable and adjustable.   The work according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the automatic traveling control unit determines that the measurement information by the positioning unit is not appropriate information, the automatic traveling control unit stops execution of the automatic traveling control as the post-processing. car.

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