Title of invention: Agricultural vehicle, automatic driving control program, recording medium recording automatic driving control program, automatic driving control method
Technical field
[0001]
　TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an agricultural vehicle capable of automatically traveling on a field bordered by a boundary object.
Background technology
[0002]
　The agricultural vehicle according to Patent Document 1 includes a measuring device that detects the position of a traveling machine using a satellite positioning system, an automatic traveling control unit that automatically drives the traveling machine along a set work traveling line, and a farm field and a ridge. and an automatic deceleration unit that stops the traveling machine when it approaches the ridge line, which is the boundary line between the two.
prior art documents
patent literature
[0003]
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-117559
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004]
　In order to travel across a field bordered by a boundary object such as a ridge, the agricultural vehicle repeats forward traveling toward the boundary object and turning traveling (turning traveling) when approaching the boundary object. In the case of turning, the machine may turn on a turning trajectory that differs from the assumed turning trajectory depending on the start timing of turning, the road surface condition of the field, the vehicle speed during turning, and the like. When an agricultural vehicle that automatically travels as in Patent Document 1 makes a turn near the boundary line, when the machine body turns closer to the boundary line than the assumed turning trajectory, the position of the machine body reaches the boundary line, and the machine body reaches the boundary line. stops in an emergency. If the aircraft suddenly stops during automatic driving, it is switched to manual operation, and it is necessary to manually perform turning driving so as not to cross the boundary line. Since such cross-border avoidance turning travel is troublesome, the work is delayed.
[0005]
　Therefore, there is a demand for an agricultural vehicle that can avoid, as much as possible, the emergency stop of the machine body due to the machine body crossing the boundary line during turning travel in automatic driving.
Means to solve problems
[0006]
　An agricultural work vehicle according to the present invention can automatically travel in a field bounded by a boundary object, and has a body position calculation unit that calculates a body position, which is the position of the body in the field. A cross-border prevention control unit that prohibits the machine body from traveling beyond the boundary line based on a boundary line set to avoid contact with a boundary object and the position of the machine body; A turning trajectory estimation unit for estimating a certain turning trajectory, and a turn crossing border determination unit for determining whether or not the body actually crosses the boundary during turning based on the estimated turning trajectory.
[0007]
　According to this configuration, when the body turns, the turning trajectory during the turning is estimated in advance. It is determined whether the The estimation of the turning trajectory by the turning trajectory estimating section and the determination by the turning time crossing determination section can be performed either before the actual turning or during the actual turning, or both. When it is determined that the boundary line is crossed, recovery measures are taken before the crossing prevention control section prohibits the aircraft from traveling. This recovery process can be either manual or automatic. Such recovery measures are not only easier than those performed after travel of the aircraft is prohibited by the cross-border prevention control unit, but also have the advantage of less time loss.
[0008]
　As recovery processing, before the aircraft crosses the boundary line, planned turning is canceled and cross-border avoidance turning is performed by moving the turning starting point or changing the turning radius. Therefore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, when it is determined by the turning-time crossing-border determination unit that the aircraft will cross the boundary line, cross-border avoidance turning traveling is performed.
[0009]
　As an example of cross-border avoidance turning, if the steering angle of the planned turning is less than the maximum steering angle, the turning trajectory is estimated using the maximum steering angle, and the estimated turning trajectory is used. If the result of the boundary crossing determination when turning is good, it is possible to avoid crossing the boundary line by turning at the maximum steering angle. Therefore, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cross-border avoidance turning includes turning at the maximum steering angle. In order to avoid crossing the boundary line more reliably, it is preferable to perform direction-changing travel (a type of turning travel) using reverse travel, which is generally called turning back travel. For this reason, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cross-border avoidance turning travel includes backward movement.
[0010]
　In many agricultural works in a field by an agricultural vehicle, the field to be worked is divided into an outer peripheral area and an inner area located inside the outer peripheral area, and the work in the inner area consists of straight running and turning for work. This is done repeatedly with turning travel (mainly U-turn travel) where work is not performed for the sake of safety. For this reason, it is often the case that the aircraft is controlled to temporarily stop before transitioning from running straight in the inner area to turning in the outer area. In order to utilize such control, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the agricultural field is divided into an outer peripheral area along the boundary line and an inner area located inside the outer peripheral area, The automatic traveling operation in the inner area is performed by repeating the straight traveling in the inner area and the turning traveling in the outer peripheral area. During the temporary stop, the estimation of the turning trajectory and the determination of crossing the border at the time of turning are performed. As a result, it is possible to effectively utilize the temporary stop of the aircraft that occurs when the straight traveling is changed to the turning traveling. Note that the term "straight running" used in the present invention does not mean only straight running, but also includes curved running with a large radius of curvature.
[0011]
　Even if it is determined that the aircraft does not cross the boundary by estimating the traveling locus of the turning before turning, there is a possibility that the aircraft will cross the boundary due to a slip or the like during the turning. In order to avoid this, even in the middle of turning, crossing the border is judged based on the turning trajectory estimated at that time. It is necessary to switch to a new turning travel that For this reason, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, when it is determined by the cross-border determination unit during turning that the aircraft body crosses the boundary line during the turning travel, the aircraft body is stopped and a new vehicle is restarted. An evasive turn is sought.
[0012]
　Since control is performed to avoid interference with boundary objects based on the boundary line and the body position, it is preferable that the boundary line and the body position are calculated by the same method. For this reason, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the aircraft position calculation unit calculates the aircraft position using satellite positioning, and the position of the boundary line is a lap along the outermost circumference of the agricultural field. It is calculated based on the position of the machine body (running trajectory) during running.
[0013]
　Further, an automatic traveling control program according to the present invention is an automatic traveling control program for an agricultural vehicle capable of automatically traveling that travels in a field bordered by a boundary object, wherein the position of the vehicle in the field is Based on an airframe position calculation function for calculating an airframe position, a boundary line set to avoid contact between the airframe and the boundary object, and the airframe position, the airframe is prohibited from traveling beyond the boundary line. A cross-border prevention control function, a turning trajectory estimation function for estimating a turning trajectory that is the trajectory of the aircraft during turning travel, and whether or not the aircraft actually crosses the boundary line in actual turning travel based on the estimated turning trajectory. and a border crossing determination function for determining whether or not.
[0014]
　Further, a recording medium recording an automatic driving control program according to the present invention is a recording medium recording an automatic driving control program for an agricultural vehicle capable of driving automatically and traveling in a field bordered by a boundary object, Based on a machine position calculation function for calculating a machine position, which is the position of the machine in the agricultural field, and a boundary line set to avoid contact between the machine and the boundary object and the machine position, A cross-border prevention control function that prohibits traveling beyond the boundary line, a turning trajectory estimation function that estimates a turning trajectory that is the trajectory of the aircraft during turning travel, and an actual turning travel based on the estimated turning trajectory. and a cross-border determination function during turning for determining whether or not the aircraft crosses the boundary line.
[0015]
　Further, an automatic traveling control method according to the present invention is an automatic traveling control method for an agricultural vehicle capable of automatically traveling that travels in a field bordered by a boundary object, wherein the position of the machine body in the field is Based on a body position calculation step of calculating a body position, and a boundary line set to avoid contact between the body and the boundary object and the body position, the body is prohibited from traveling beyond the boundary line. a cross-border prevention control step; a turning trajectory estimation step of estimating a turning trajectory that is the trajectory of the aircraft during turning; and a cross-border determination step for determining whether or not.
Brief description of the drawing
[0016]
[Fig. 1] A side view of a rice transplanter as an example of an agricultural vehicle.
2 is a flow chart showing the flow of seedling planting work by automatic driving; [0022]FIG.
3 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of obstacle detectors; FIG.
[Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing area division of a field for which travel routes are set.
[Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a circular travel route set in the outer peripheral area and the travel of the rice transplanter.
[Fig. 6] Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the reciprocating travel route set in the inner area and the travel of the rice transplanter.
7 is a functional block diagram showing a control system of the rice transplanter; FIG.
8 is a flow chart showing an example of a cross-border prevention routine; FIG.
MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0017]
　As an embodiment of the agricultural vehicle according to the present invention, a riding-type rice transplanter will be taken up and explained below. This rice transplanter can automatically travel in a field bounded by boundary objects. In this specification, unless otherwise specified, the term "front" means forward with respect to the longitudinal direction of the aircraft (running direction), and the term "rear" means rearward with respect to the longitudinal direction of the aircraft (running direction). Further, the left-right direction or the lateral direction means the body transverse direction (body width direction) orthogonal to the body longitudinal direction. "Upper" or "lower" refers to the positional relationship in the vertical direction (vertical direction) of the fuselage and indicates the relationship at ground level.
[0018]
　FIG. 1 is a side view of a rice transplanter. The rice transplanter is a riding type and has a four-wheel-drive traveling body (hereinafter referred to as a body 1). The machine body 1 includes a parallel quadruple link type link mechanism 11 connected to the rear part of the machine body 1 so as to be able to swing up and down, a hydraulic lifting cylinder 11 a that drives the link mechanism 11 to swing, A seedling planting device 3 (an example of an agricultural material administration device) connected in a rollable manner, a fertilizing device 4 extending from the rear end of the machine body 1 to the seedling planting device 3, and the like are provided.
[0019]
　The body 1 includes wheels 12, an engine 13, and a hydraulic continuously variable transmission 14 as mechanisms for running. The wheels 12 include steerable left and right front wheels 12A and non-steerable left and right rear wheels 12B. The engine 13 and the continuously variable transmission 14 are mounted on the front portion of the airframe 1 . Power from the engine 13 is supplied to the front wheels 12A, the rear wheels 12B and the like via the continuously variable transmission 14 and the like.
[0020]
　The seedling planting device 3 is configured in an eight-row planting format, for example. The seedling planting device 3 includes a seedling platform 31, a planting mechanism 32 for eight rows, and the like. The seedling planting device 3 can be changed to a two-row planting, a four-row planting, a six-row planting, etc. by controlling each row clutch (not shown).
[0021]
　The seedling mounting table 31 is a pedestal on which 8 rows of mat-like seedlings are mounted. The seedling mounting table 31 reciprocates in the horizontal direction with a constant stroke corresponding to the lateral width of the mat-like seedling, and the vertical feeding mechanism 33 moves the seedling mounting table 31 upward each time the seedling mounting table 31 reaches the left and right stroke ends. Each mat-like seedling is longitudinally fed at a predetermined pitch toward the lower end of the seedling placement table 31.例文帳に追加 The eight planting mechanisms 32 are of a rotary type and are arranged in the horizontal direction at regular intervals corresponding to the intervals between the planting rows. Then, each planting mechanism 32 cuts off one seedling from the lower end of each mat-like seedling placed on the seedling placement table 31 by power from the machine body 1, and plants it in the muddy part after leveling.
[0022]
　The seedling planting device 3 is provided with a seedling amount adjustment function for adjusting the amount of seedlings taken by the planting mechanism 32 . The planting mechanism 32 passes through a seedling outlet formed in a guide rail that slides and guides the lower end of the seedling platform 31 to take out and plant one seedling. The seedling amount is adjusted by vertically changing the position of the seedling mounting base 31 and the guide rail that slides and guides the lower end of the seedling mounting base 31 .
[0023]
　As shown in FIG. 1, the fertilizing device 4 includes a horizontally long hopper 41, a delivery mechanism 42, an electric blower 43, a plurality of fertilizing hoses 44, and a grooving device 45 provided for each row. The hopper 41 stores granular or powdery fertilizer. The delivery mechanism 42 is operated by the power transmitted from the engine 13 and delivers two rows of fertilizer from the hopper 41 by a predetermined amount. This fertilizing device 4 has a delivery amount adjustment function for changing the amount of fertilizer delivered by the delivery mechanism 42 .
[0024]
　The blower 43 is operated by electric power from a battery (not shown) mounted on the machine body 1, and generates a transport wind that transports the fertilizer delivered by each delivery mechanism 42 toward the muddy surface of the field. The fertilizing device 4 can be switched between an operating state in which the fertilizer stored in the hopper 41 is supplied to the field by a predetermined amount and a non-operating state in which the supply is stopped by intermittent operation of the blower 43 or the like.
[0025]
　Each fertilizing hose 44 guides the fertilizer conveyed by the conveying wind to each grooving device 45 . Each grooving device 45 is provided on each leveling float 15 . Each grooving device 45 ascends and descends together with each leveling float 15, forms a fertilizing groove in the muddy part of the paddy field, and guides the fertilizer into the fertilizing groove during work traveling in which each leveling float 15 touches the ground.
[0026]
　The machine body 1 is provided with an operation section 20 on the rear side. The driving unit 20 includes a steering wheel 21 for steering the front wheels, a main shift lever 22 for adjusting the vehicle speed by operating the continuously variable transmission 14, and a shift operation for the sub-transmission. and a work operation lever 25 for enabling the up/down operation of the seedling planting device 3 and the switching of the operating state. Furthermore, a general-purpose terminal 9 is provided in front of the driver's seat 16 . The general-purpose terminal 9 includes a notification device that displays various types of information to notify the operator, and a touch panel that accepts input of various types of information. A driving mode switching operation tool 24 for the driver is provided around the steering wheel 21 . Furthermore, a preliminary seedling frame 17 for storing preliminary seedlings is provided in front of the operating section 20 .
[0027]
　The steering wheel 21 is connected to the front wheels 12A via a steering mechanism (not shown), and the steering angle of the front wheels 12A is adjusted by rotating the steering wheel 21. FIG. A steering motor M1 is also connected to the steering mechanism, and the steering angle of the front wheels 12A is adjusted by operating the steering motor M1 based on a steering signal during automatic running. Further, a shift operation motor M2 is also provided for automatically operating the main shift lever 22. During automatic running, the shift operation motor M2 operates based on a shift signal, thereby shifting the continuously variable transmission 14. position is adjusted.
[0028]
　An extension frame 17a extending upward is provided on the upper part of the preliminary seedling frame 17. - 特許庁
Mounted on the extension frame 17a are a multi-layer lamp 18 in which a plurality of color lamps for informing the outside of the rice transplanter are arranged in a vertical direction, and a positioning unit 8. As shown in FIG. The positioning unit 8 outputs positioning data for calculating the position and orientation of the aircraft 1 (aircraft orientation). The positioning unit 8 includes a satellite positioning module 8A that receives radio waves from satellites of the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and an inertial measurement module 8B that detects triaxial tilt and acceleration of the airframe 1 .
[0029]
　FIG. 2 shows an example of a processing procedure in the seedling planting work in which automatic traveling and manual traveling by the rice transplanter are combined. In the example of FIG. 2, this seedling planting work includes pre-work processing #A, map creation processing #B, boundary line calculation processing #C, route generation processing #D, work start point guidance processing #E, inner reciprocating planting processing. Attachment processing #F and perimeter planting processing #H are included.
[0030]
　In the work preprocessing #A, a communication check between each unit of the control system of the rice transplanter, a communication check of the positioning unit 8, and the like are performed. Furthermore, since the rice transplanter is remotely controlled using a remote controller 90 (see FIG. 1) and obstacles are detected by an obstacle detector 80 (see FIG. 3), the functions of the remote controller 90 and the obstacle detector 80 are also checked. This is done as a pretreatment. As shown in FIG. 3, the obstacle detectors 80 in this embodiment are of the sonar type, and include four front sonars 80f whose detection ranges are in front of the airframe 1, and two side detectors whose detection ranges are the left and right sides of the airframe 1. It consists of a sonar 80s and two rear sonars 80r whose detection ranges are in front of the airframe 1. FIG.
[0031]
　The map creation process #B is a process of measuring the map of the field to be worked, that is, the outline of the field. The rice transplanter travels along borders such as ridges bordering the field, that is, along the outermost periphery of the field, based on the position signal from the positioning unit 8 obtained when the machine manually travels (map creation teaching travel). A trajectory is calculated. From this travel locus, a farm field outline as map information of a farm field, that is, a farm field map is obtained.
[0032]
　In the boundary line calculation process #C, as shown in FIG. 4, the position of the machine body 1, which is the limit for the rice transplanter to avoid contact with the boundary objects in the field, is determined from the traveling trajectory calculated in the map creation process #B. A demarcated boundary line is calculated. During normal running of the rice transplanter, the rice transplanter does not come into contact with boundary objects such as ridges unless the position of the machine body 1 crosses this boundary line (also called cross-border line). When the position of the body 1 reaches the boundary line, the body 1 is forced to stop. Since this rice transplanter can travel automatically, even if an unexpected slip or steering wobble occurs, a safety distance is added so that the rice transplanter does not come into contact with boundary objects such as ridges. is determined.
[0033]
　In the route generation process #D, a target travel route for automatic travel set in the field map created in the map creation process #B is created by a predetermined algorithm. The travel route generated for the seedling planting work in automatic travel will be described below.
[0034]
　A field defined by the field map is divided into an outer peripheral area and an inner area, as shown in FIG. The generated travel route consists of a circular travel route set in the outer peripheral area (see FIG. 5) and a round trip travel route set in the inner area (see FIG. 6). The rice transplanter first performs seedling planting work (a kind of automatic traveling work) in the inner area along the reciprocating travel route (referred to as an internal work travel mode), and then carries out seedling planting in the outer peripheral region along the circular travel route. Planting work is performed (referred to as lap work travel mode).
[0035]
　The circular traveling route consists of a linear circular route extending parallel to the boundary object (bank) of the field, and a turn-changing route incorporating forward and backward movement to connect the linear circular routes. In FIG. 5, the circular straight route is given the reference R1, and the turning route is given the reference R2. The reciprocating travel route consists of a large number of straight routes substantially parallel to each other and turning routes (U-turn routes) connecting the straight routes. In each straight path, seedling planting starts from the planting start position (also turning end position) and ends at the planting end position (turning start position). In FIG. 6, the planting start position is given the symbol US, the planting end position is assigned the symbol UF, the straight path is assigned the symbol R3, and the turning path is assigned the symbol R5. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the transition route for transitioning from the round trip route to the round trip route is denoted by reference symbol R4. In the example here, the transition path is similar to the turning path. Further, in FIGS. 5 and 6, the working width of the rice transplanter is indicated by W, and the entrance/exit of the rice transplanter to the field is hatched and given the reference GA. FIG. 6 shows a starting guide route (designated by symbol R6 in FIG. 6) from the entrance to the travel start position (designated by symbol S in FIG. 6) of the round-trip travel route. Since the rice transplanter travels without performing work on the turning path, turning path, starting guidance path, and transition path, these paths are indicated by dotted lines. Since the rice transplanter travels on the circular straight route and the straight route while performing work, these routes are indicated by solid lines.
[0036]
　In the work start point guidance process #E, first, the rice transplanter manually travels, enters the field through the doorway, and stops at a predetermined position. Thereafter, the rice transplanter automatically travels to the travel start position along the start guide route, which is the travel route to the travel start position, which is the start point of the seedling planting work.
[0037]
　In the inside reciprocating planting process #F, the traveling mode becomes the internal work traveling mode, and the vehicle automatically travels along the reciprocating traveling route shown in FIG. 6 to perform the seedling planting work in the inner area. When seedling supply is required, seedling supply processing #G is performed.
[0038]
　When the inner reciprocating planting process #F is finished, the traveling mode becomes the lap work travel mode, and the outer planting process #H, which is the seedling planting work along the lap traveling route shown in FIG. 5, is executed. In this embodiment, the traveling route is composed of an inner traveling route for one inner circumference that is first traveled, and an outer traveling route for one outer circumference that is subsequently traveled. Basically, the end position of the outer circumferential travel route is the entrance/exit of the farm field, so after the seedling planting work along the outer circumferential travel route, the rice transplanter leaves the farm field through the entrance/exit. The seedling planting work along the inner circumference traveling route is carried out automatically. Since the seedling planting work along the outer circumference traveling route requires precise traveling, even in automatic traveling, manned automatic traveling with a driver as a supervisor on board is preferable.
[0039]
　FIG. 7 shows a control block diagram of the control system of this rice transplanter. The control system of the rice transplanter comprises a control device 100 for controlling various operations of the rice transplanter, a general-purpose terminal 9 capable of exchanging data with the control device 100, and a remote controller 90. FIG. Signals from the positioning unit 8 , the operation mode switching operation tool 24 , the travel sensor group 28 , the work sensor group 29 and the obstacle detector 80 are input to the control device 100 . A control signal from the control device 100 is output to the traveling equipment group 1A and the work equipment group 1B.
[0040]
　The traveling device group 1A includes, for example, a steering motor M1 and a shift operation motor M2, and the steering angle is adjusted by controlling the steering motor M1 based on a control signal from the control device 100. The vehicle speed is adjusted by controlling the shift operation motor M2.
[0041]
　The work equipment group 1B includes, for example, an elevating cylinder 11a for adjusting the elevation of the seedling planting device 3, a seedling amount adjusting device for adjusting the amount of seedlings taken by the planting mechanism 32, and a fertilizer feeding amount by the feeding mechanism 42. It includes a device for adjusting the amount of feeding.
[0042]
　The traveling sensor group 28 includes various sensors for detecting conditions such as steering angle, vehicle speed, engine speed, and set values ​​for them. The work sensor group 29 includes various sensors for detecting the states of the link mechanism 11 , the seedling planting device 3 and the fertilizing device 4 .
[0043]
　The control device 100 includes a travel control unit 6, a work control unit 51, a body position calculation unit 52, a travel route management unit 53, an operation control state detection unit 55, a cross-border management unit 57, an input signal processing unit 50a, and a communication unit 50b. are provided.
[0044]
　The input signal processing unit 50 a processes signals from various sensors, switches, levers, etc. provided in the rice transplanter and transfers them to the functional units built in the control device 100 . The communication section 50b has a wireless communication function, performs data communication with the outside, for example, data communication with the remote controller 90, and receives data and transfers it to the input signal processing section 50a.
[0045]
　The travel control unit 6 includes an automatic travel control unit 6A, a manual travel control unit 6B, and a control management unit 6C. The automatic travel control unit 6A performs speed control and steering control during automatic travel. The lateral deviation and heading deviation are reduced based on the lateral deviation and heading deviation calculated by comparing the target driving route set by the driving route managing unit 53 and the aircraft position calculated by the aircraft position calculating unit 52. Steering control is performed so as to
[0046]
　In this rice transplanter, in addition to the automatic traveling mode in which the machine automatically travels along the target traveling route, it is equipped with a straight line maintenance operation mode in which it automatically travels straight so as to maintain the orientation of the reference line defined by at least two points. ing. The straight travel route managed by the travel route management unit 53 can be diverted as the reference line used in the straight line maintenance operation mode.
[0047]
　In the manual driving mode, the manual driving control unit 6B controls the steering motor M1 based on the amount of operation of the steering wheel 21. FIG. The control management unit 6C selects one of the automatic driving mode, the straight line maintenance driving mode, and the manual driving mode based on the signal from the driving mode switching operation tool 24 .
[0048]
　The work control unit 51 automatically controls the work equipment group 1B based on a program given in advance during automatic travel, and controls the work equipment group 1B based on the driver's operation during manual travel. The body position calculator 52 calculates the map coordinates (body position) of the body 1 based on the satellite positioning data sequentially sent from the positioning unit 8 .
[0049]
　In this embodiment, the general-purpose terminal 9 includes a field information storage unit 91 , a field map creation unit 92 , a travel route generation unit 93 , a boundary line calculation unit 94 and a travel locus generation unit 95 . The field information storage unit 91 stores field information such as planted seeds, field entrance (exit) positions, seedling replenishment possible positions, and the like. The field map creating unit 92 performs the map creating process described with reference to FIG. Based on the farm field map created by the farm field map creating unit 92, the running route generating unit 93 divides the farm field into an inner region, and creates a circular running route for running in the outer peripheral region and a round-trip running route for the inner region. Generate. The boundary line calculation unit 94 performs the boundary line calculation process described using FIG. The map creation process by the field map creation unit 92 and the boundary line calculation process by the boundary line calculation unit 94 require the travel locus in the map creation teaching run. The travel locus generator 95 generates a travel locus of the aircraft 1 based on the aircraft position calculated by the aircraft position calculator 52 .
[0050]
　The travel route management unit 53 receives and manages the travel routes generated by the travel route generation unit 93 from the general-purpose terminal 9, and sequentially sets travel routes that are targets for mechanical steering in the automatic travel mode.
[0051]
　The operation control state detection unit 55 detects a travel control state and a work control state based on control information handled by the control device 100 .
[0052]
　The cross-border management unit 57 has a function to prevent the aircraft 1 from coming into contact with boundary objects such as ridges when the aircraft 1 crosses the boundary line (boundary line data) calculated by the boundary line calculation unit 94. .
For this reason, the cross-border management unit 57 includes a boundary storage unit 57a, a cross-border prevention control unit 57b, a turning trajectory estimation unit 57c, and a cross-border judgment unit 57d when turning.
[0053]
　The boundary line storage unit 57a stores the boundary line received from the boundary line calculation unit 94 . The cross-border prevention control section 57b determines whether or not the machine body 1 will cross the boundary line based on the machine body position, and gives a stop command to the traveling control section 6 to prohibit the machine body 1 from traveling across the boundary line. The cross-border prevention control unit 57b has a straight cross-border prevention mode for preventing the machine body 1 traveling straight ahead from crossing the border and a turning cross-border prevention mode for preventing the machine body 1 traveling on a turn from crossing the border.
[0054]
　In the straight-ahead crossing prevention mode, the border crossing prevention control unit 57b uses the aircraft position given from the aircraft position calculation unit 52 and the boundary line facing the aircraft traveling direction read from the boundary storage unit 57a to determine the aircraft 1 and the boundary line. Calculate the separation distance between When the calculated separation distance is within a predetermined distance, the cross-border prevention control section 57b gives a stop command to the traveling control section 6. FIG.
[0055]
　During turning travel, the rear end or front end of the aircraft 1 swings sideways, so border crossing prevention control based on the calculation of the separation distance, such as the straight crossing prevention mode, is not used. Preventive controls are in place. In this turn-crossing prevention mode, cross-border prevention control based on the estimated turning trajectory of the aircraft 1 is performed using the turning trajectory estimation unit 57c and the cross-border determination unit 57d when turning. The turning trajectory estimator 57c estimates a turning trajectory, which is the trajectory of the machine body 1 during turning travel. The turning-time border-crossing determination unit 57d determines whether or not the body crosses the boundary line in actual turning traveling based on the estimated turning trajectory.
[0056]
　Next, the border crossing prevention control routine (border crossing prevention routine) by the border crossing management unit 57 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this routine, first, it is checked whether or not the start of turning travel is approaching from the set travel route for automatic travel (#01).
If the start of turning travel is not imminent, step #01 is repeated. Immediately before the start of turning (#01 Yes branch), at least a part of the aircraft 1 moves to a preset border crossing prevention area (in this embodiment, a border crossing prevention line and ridge set on the internal It is checked whether it is in the area between the boundary objects such as , or the outer peripheral area described above (#02). If the aircraft 1 is outside the cross-border prevention area (#02 "outside" branch), the process returns to step #01. If the aircraft 1 is within the border crossing prevention area (#02 "inside" branch), the following border crossing determination process before turning travel is performed.
[0057]
　In the pre-turning cross-border determination process, the turning trajectory during turning traveling is estimated by the turning trajectory estimation unit 57c from the body position and the steering angle used for turning traveling (#11). Next, based on the estimated turning trajectory, the turn-time crossing-border determining unit 57d determines whether or not the body 1 will cross the boundary during actual turning travel from now on (#12). If the result of this cross-border determination is "no cross-border" (#12 "non-border crossing" branch), the current turning travel is permitted (#21), and the turning travel is started (#22).
[0058]
　If the cross-border determination result is "cross-border" (#12 "cross-border" branch), the cross-border prevention control unit 57b sets the first cross-border avoidance turning travel for avoiding crossing (#13). The turning trajectory in the avoidance turning travel is estimated by the turning trajectory estimation unit 57c (#14). Based on the estimated turning trajectory, it is determined whether or not the body 1 crosses the boundary during this cross-border avoidance turning travel (#12). If the result of this cross-border determination is "no cross-border" (#12 "non-border crossing" branch), cross-border avoidance turning traveling is permitted (#21), and turning traveling is started (#22). If the cross-border judgment result is "cross-border" (#12 "cross-border" branch), the process returns to step #13, and the second cross-border avoidance turning traveling is set. Cross-border avoidance running using reverse (so-called cross-border running) reliably avoids crossing the border, but causes time loss. Cross-border avoidance traveling only forward (turning traveling using the maximum steering angle and the speed difference between the left and right wheels) is not reliable cross-border avoidance, but time loss is small. Therefore, only forward cross-border avoidance traveling is used for the first cross-border avoidance turning travel, and cross-border avoidance traveling using backward travel is used for the second cross-border avoidance turning travel.
[0059]
　When the turning travel is started, it is checked based on the information from the operation control state detection section 55 whether or not the turning travel has ended (#23). When the turning travel ends (#23 Yes branch), the process returns to step #01, and this cross-border prevention routine is repeated. If the vehicle is in the middle of turning (#23, No branch), the following boundary crossing determination process during turning is performed.
[0060]
　In the cross-border determination process during turning, first, an actual cross-border determination is performed to determine whether or not at least a part of the aircraft 1 is crossing the border at the current position (#31). If the result of the actual cross-border determination is "not cross-border" (#31 "non-border crossing" branch), the process returns to step #23 to continue turning. If the result of the actual crossing determination is "border crossing" (#12 "border crossing" branch), the crossing prevention control unit 57b gives a stop command to the travel control unit 6, and the machine body 1 stops (#33). Next, the cross-border prevention control section 57b sets the cross-border avoidance turning travel in which the vehicle moves away from the cross-border line by moving backward (#34), and the turning trajectory of the set cross-border avoidance turning travel is estimated by the turning trajectory estimation section 57c. (#35). Based on the estimated turning trajectory, it is determined whether or not the body 1 crosses the boundary during this cross-border avoidance turning travel (#36). If the cross-border determination result is "no cross-border" (#36 "non-border crossing" branch), the cross-border avoidance turning traveling is permitted, the turning traveling is resumed (#37), and the control returns to step #23.
[0061]
　If the cross-border determination result is "border crossing" (#12 "border crossing" branch), a warning is issued through the general-purpose terminal 9 that the body 1 cannot leave the boundary line in automatic travel (#41). At the same time, automatic operation is canceled (#42), and this cross-border prevention routine ends. After that, the cross-border prevention control is turned off, and the aircraft 1 is moved out of the boundary line while carefully avoiding interference between the aircraft 1 and the boundary object by manual driving.
[0062]
　At step #02, if the state of the aircraft 1 is just before the start of turning and the aircraft 1 is in the cross-border prevention area, the aircraft 1 may be temporarily stopped before proceeding to the next step.
[0063]
[Another Embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, in steps #13, #14, and #15, the first cross-border avoidance turning traveling only forward and the second cross-border avoiding traveling traveling backward are performed as the cross-border avoidance turning traveling. Although the avoidance turning travel is applied in order, only the second cross-border avoidance turning travel may be applied.
(2) In the above embodiment, the farm field map creation unit 92, the travel route generation unit 93, the boundary line calculation unit 94, and the travel route generation unit 95 are built in the general-purpose terminal 9, but at least some of them are controlled It may be built into the device 100 . Furthermore, it may be constructed in an external management computer capable of exchanging data with the control device 100 .
(3) The steering angle on the turning path by the automatic travel control unit 6A may be controlled so as to follow the generated turning path, or the steering angle may be determined in advance so as to form a predetermined turning path. You may perform by the control which uses.
(4) In the above embodiment, a rice transplanter is used as an agricultural vehicle, but it may be an agricultural vehicle such as a combine, a tractor, a direct seeder, or a spraying (dispersing) management machine.
(5) It may be configured as an automatic travel control program that causes a computer to realize the function of each member in the above embodiment. Further, it may be configured as a recording medium in which an automatic travel control program for causing a computer to realize the function of each member in the above embodiment is recorded. Moreover, it may be configured as an automatic travel control method that performs one or a plurality of steps that are performed by each member in the above embodiment.
[0064]
　It should be noted that the configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same shall apply hereinafter) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments as long as there is no contradiction. The embodiments disclosed in this specification are exemplifications, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the object of the present invention.
Industrial applicability
[0065]
　INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable to agricultural vehicles capable of automatically traveling.
Code explanation
[0066]
1: Airframe
6: Travel control unit
8: Positioning unit
8A: Satellite positioning module
8B: Inertial measurement module
9: General-purpose terminal
52: Airframe position calculation unit
53: Travel route management unit
55: Operation control state detection unit
57: Cross-border management unit
57a: Boundary line storage unit
57b: Border crossing prevention control unit
57c: Turning trajectory estimation unit
57d: Turning time crossing border determination unit
94: Boundary line calculation unit
95: Traveling trajectory generation unit
100: Control device
The scope of the claims
[Claim 1]
　An agricultural vehicle capable of automatically traveling that travels in a field bordered by a boundary object,
　the vehicle position calculating unit calculating a position of the machine body in the field field, and the machine
　body and the boundary object. A cross-border prevention control unit that prohibits the machine body from traveling beyond the boundary line based on the boundary line set to avoid contact with the machine body and the position of the machine
　body; and
　a turn-time crossing determination unit that determines whether or not the machine body crosses the boundary line during actual turning travel based on the estimated turning trajectory.
[Claim 2]
　2. The agricultural vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined by said cross-border determination unit when turning that said vehicle body will cross said boundary line, cross-border avoidance turning traveling is performed.
[Claim 3]
　3. The agricultural vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the cross-border avoidance turning includes turning at a maximum steering angle.
[Claim 4]
　The agricultural work vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the cross-border avoidance turning travel includes backward travel.
[Claim 5]
　The agricultural field is divided into an outer peripheral area along the boundary line and an inner area positioned inside the outer peripheral area. During the transition from the straight running to the turning, the aircraft is temporarily stopped, and during the temporary stop, the turning trajectory is estimated and the boundary crossing determination is performed at the time of turning. The agricultural vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
[Claim 6]
　6. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when it is determined by the cross-border determination unit during turning that the vehicle body crosses the boundary line during the turning travel, the vehicle body is stopped and a new avoidance turn is searched for. Agricultural vehicles described in the paragraph.
[Claim 7]
　2. The position of the machine body is calculated using satellite positioning, and the position of the boundary line is calculated based on the position of the machine body during traveling along the outermost circumference of the field. 7. The agricultural vehicle according to any one of 6.
[Claim 8]
　An automatic travel control program for an agricultural vehicle capable of automatically traveling that travels in a field bordered by a boundary object,
　comprising: a body position calculation function for calculating a body position, which is the position of the body in the field;
　A cross-border prevention control function for prohibiting the aircraft from traveling beyond the boundary line based on the boundary line set to avoid contact between the aircraft and the boundary object and the position of the
　aircraft, and turning the aircraft. A turning trajectory estimating function for estimating a turning trajectory that is a trajectory of time,
　a turning time border crossing determining function for determining whether or not the aircraft crosses the boundary line in actual turning travel based on the estimated turning trajectory, Automatic cruise control program including.
[Claim 9]
　A recording medium recording an automatic travel control program for an agricultural vehicle capable of automatically traveling in a field bounded by a boundary object,
　the machine body calculating a position of the machine in the field.
　a cross-border prevention control function for prohibiting the aircraft from traveling over the boundary line based on a boundary line set to avoid contact between the aircraft and the boundary object and the aircraft position; a position calculation function ;
　A turning trajectory estimation function for estimating a turning trajectory, which is a trajectory during turning travel of the aircraft, and a turning trajectory
　determining whether or not the aircraft actually crosses the boundary line in actual turning travel based on the estimated turning trajectory. A recording medium recording an automatic driving control program including a cross-border determination function.
[Claim 10]
　An automatic travel control method for an agricultural vehicle capable of automatically traveling that travels in a field bordered by a boundary object,
　comprising: a body position calculation step of calculating a body position, which is the position of the body in the field;
　a cross-border prevention control step of prohibiting the aircraft from traveling beyond the boundary line based on the boundary line set to avoid contact between the aircraft and the boundary object and the position of the
　aircraft; and turning the aircraft. A turning trajectory estimating step of estimating a turning trajectory that is a trajectory of time;
　a turning time border crossing determining step of determining whether or not the aircraft crosses the boundary line in actual turning travel based on the estimated turning trajectory; Automatic driving control method including.