Work vehicle

Abstract

To provide a work vehicle capable of improving efficiency of wrapping work by computing a wrapping travel path, based on a record of a work route by a roll baler.SOLUTION: A work vehicle moves along position information by a GNSS receiver 102 on a map in which a work travel path 20 and a circling travel path 22 by a roll baler 140B are registered. The work vehicle includes a work locus recording control section 330 that records a roll release point P together with a work locus, and generates a wrapping travel path 23 when a wrapping machine 140W is attached, based on the recorded roll release point P. A traveling direction of the wrapping travel path 23 is set to be orthogonal to an axial direction X of a cylindrical roll at the roll release point P.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a work vehicle that can be equipped with a round baler and a wrapping machine. [Background technology]

[0002] A known work vehicle is equipped with a roll baler work machine at the rear of the vehicle body and autonomously travels along a travel route based on position information obtained from a positioning device installed on the vehicle and information about a predetermined travel route (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-187918 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] According to Patent Document 1, roll packaging work can be performed while the machine is traveling automatically.

[0005] However, there is no mention of autonomous driving in the roll baler operation, which involves lifting rolls from the field and wrapping them in film or the like.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a work vehicle that can improve the efficiency of wrapping work by calculating a wrapping travel route based on the record of the work route taken by the roll baler. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the invention described in claim 1 was constructed.

[0008]

[0009] Claim 2In the invention described in claim 1 or claim 2, when it is determined that the vehicle cannot continue to travel straight or turn from the position of the roll release point P, a reverse route is generated.

[0010] Claim 3 The invention described in Claim 1 In the described invention, the circular travel path 22 is generated by targeting the roll release points P in order from the roll release point P closest to the end of the straight travel path 20. 。

[0011] [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The present invention According to this, an automatic wrapping travel route is generated, and the work vehicle 100 equipped with the wrapping machine 140W can automatically travel along this wrapping travel route, thereby efficiently wrapping the rolls at the roll release points P1 to P15. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of an agricultural tractor as a work vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a management system. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a plurality of farm fields. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a headland traveling route and a round-trip traveling route. [Figure 5] (A) is a side view with a work machine roll baler attached, and (B) is a plan view with a work machine wrapping machine attached. [Figure 6] This is a diagram showing the travel trajectory (autonomous travel path) of the baler operation and the roll release point. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a lapping travel route. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] 1 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a work vehicle 100 of a work vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The work vehicle 100 is an agricultural vehicle capable of traveling within a reciprocating adjacent work travel range 13, and is configured to travel by transmitting the rotational power of this engine 105 covered by a hood 107 to front wheels 103 and rear wheels 104 via multiple transmissions. A control unit 106 is provided behind the engine 105, and a work implement 140 capable of tilling the reciprocating adjacent work travel range 13 is attached to the rear of the vehicle behind the control unit 106.

[0016] The control section 106 is provided with a cabin equipped with a steering wheel operated by the operator and a driver's seat. A GNSS receiver 102 is mounted on the cabin roof 108, which is the ceiling of the cabin, and is configured to receive radio waves from an artificial satellite 170 at predetermined time intervals to measure the position of the work vehicle 100.

[0017] A three-point link mechanism 145 consisting of an upper top link 145a and left and right lower links 145b on the lower side is provided at the rear of the body of the work vehicle 100, and a work implement 140 is connected to this. The work implement 140 is a tillage implement, and is provided with tillage tines 146 that till the soil in the field, a rotary cover 147 that covers the top of the tillage tines 146, and a rear cover 148 that is supported at the rear of the rotary cover 147 so that it can move up and down. In addition to the tillage implement 140R, the work implement 140 may be a roll baler 140B or a wrapping machine 140W, which will be described later, or the like.

[0018] A work implement lifting cylinder 141 is connected to the lower link 145b of the three-point link mechanism 145 via a lift arm 142, and the lower link 145b can be raised and lowered by extending and contracting the work implement lifting cylinder 141.

[0019] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a work vehicle management system 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The work vehicle 100 is equipped with a position information acquisition unit 301, which is a position information acquisition means that acquires its own position information from radio waves received by the GNSS receiver 102 in Figure 1, an autonomous driving ECU 302 that controls the autonomous driving of the vehicle, and a vehicle ECU 303 that controls the driving of the vehicle and the operation of the work equipment, and the vehicle ECU 303 is equipped with a communication unit 304 that communicates with cloud C that forms a communication network, and a route calculation unit 306 that calculates a driving route from the position information and topographical information.

[0020] Therefore, the work vehicle 100 is configured to be able to transmit its own location information, acquired by the location information acquisition unit 301, to the cloud C via the communication unit 304 at predetermined time intervals and store it there, and also to be able to acquire the information stored in the cloud C.

[0021] The remote management device 200 is a portable electronic computing device and is configured with a management terminal 201 that can be operated by a management user. The management terminal 201 is equipped with a communication device 202 that can communicate with cloud C, and a terminal control unit 204 that controls the management terminal 201. Therefore, by carrying the management terminal 201, the management user can exchange information with cloud C via the communication device 202.

[0022] In this way, the work vehicle 100 and the remote management device 200 are configured to be able to communicate via cloud C, so that the management user can use the remote management device 200 to monitor the status of the work vehicle 100 and send commands, making it possible to manage the work vehicle 100 remotely.

[0023] Cloud C is provided with a management server 320, which stores a terrain information database 322 that stores terrain information about the field and its surroundings, and a position information database 323 that stores position information about the work vehicle 100. Therefore, the management user can access the management server 320 and refer to the terrain information database 322 and position information database 323 to understand the positional relationship between the work vehicle 100 and the field.

[0024] 3 is a schematic diagram showing the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13 set for each of a plurality of managed field areas 10, and each of the plurality of managed field areas 10 is configured so that a travelling vehicle 100 can travel for work within the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13. Each round-trip adjacent work travel range 13 is adjacent to a management passage 12, and is configured so that the work vehicle 100 can enter and exit through an entrance / exit 11.

[0025] The management terminal 201 is equipped with a field identification means for identifying which work vehicle 100 is working in which round-trip adjacent work driving range 13, and is configured to access the management server 320 via cloud C shown in Figure 2, and compare the location information of each round-trip adjacent work driving range 13 stored in the topographical information database 322 with the location information of the work vehicle 100 stored in the location information database 323, thereby identifying the work vehicle 100 that is located in the range where the round-trip adjacent work driving range 13 is located, and to associate the work vehicle with the field in which the work vehicle is working.

[0026] Here, in the management terminal 201, the terminal control unit 204 can obtain the topographical information of the management passage 12 of the management area 10 and the round-trip adjacent work driving range 13 from the topographical information database 322 shown in Figure 2 via the cloud C using the positioning device 203.

[0027] As shown in Figure 4, when the work vehicle 100 travels for work within the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13, the route calculation unit 306 shown in Figure 2 calculates a round-trip travel route 20, which is the route for travelling through the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13, based on the topographical information of the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13 and the working width w of the work vehicle 100. To travel for work evenly throughout the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13, it is sufficient to travel straight through the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13 a distance calculated by dividing the width of the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13 by the working width w, and the round-trip travel route 20 is calculated so as to travel round trip through the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13 using a straight route that travels straight through the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13 and a turning route that leaves the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13, turns at the headland 14, and returns to the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13. Once the round-trip travel route 20 is calculated, the work vehicle 100 is configured to travel autonomously along the round-trip travel route 20 from one end of the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13 to the other end, passing through the entire field during work travel.

[0028] Figure 5(A) shows an example of a roll baler 140B attached to the rear of work vehicle 100, which is connected via a connecting hitch 145 at the rear of work vehicle 100. Roll baler 140B is a grass collection machine that collects hay, straw, etc. from a field and compresses and packs it into a cylindrical shape. In Figure 5(A), a baler unit 153 having a forming chamber 152 is mounted above a frame 151 having wheels 150, and a pickup unit 154 for picking up straw from the field is provided in front of baler unit 153.

[0029] As in Figure 4 above, in a specified managed field area 10, the route calculation unit 306 in Figure 2 calculates a round-trip travel route 20 obtained based on the topographical information of the round-trip work travel range for baler work and the baler work width wb of the work vehicle 100.

[0030] The work vehicle 100 can then autonomously travel along the round-trip travel route 20 from one end of the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13 to the other end, turn at the other end and follow the adjacent travel route 20, and then travel along the circular travel route 22 drawn in the circular route range 21 outside the round-trip adjacent work travel range 13, thereby performing baler work throughout the entire field area 10.

[0031] The automatic driving ECU 302 is equipped with a work trajectory recording control unit 330 and is configured to record the work trajectory. This work trajectory recording control unit 330 is also configured to record the roll release point P along with the travel trajectory D that roughly follows the round-trip travel route 20. That is, when the collected grass reaches a specified amount, the roll baler 140B discharges the formed roll near the center of its travel direction. This discharge position is estimated from the position of the GNSS receiver 102 mounted on the vehicle and recorded. This allows a driving route to be generated that takes into account the offset amount of the wrapping machine, which will be described later, making automatic driving possible.

[0032] An example is shown in Figure 6. The baler performs baling work while moving from work start point S along reciprocating travel path 20, turns as shown by dotted line Q1 at the end of straight-line path indicated by the arrow end of straight-line travel path D1, and then continues baling work, repeating straight-line travel paths D2, D3... and turning paths Q2, Q3.... During this baling work, release cover 155 at the rear of baler unit 153 opens and a cylindrical roll of formed hay or the like is discharged into the field. Work path recording control unit 330 recognizes this roll release from release cover 155 by detection by opening / closing sensor 156 and records it as roll release points P1, P2....

[0033] Incidentally, if the roll release point P falls within the circling range 21 due to, for example, the opening of the release cover 155 during a turn, the roll release point P is recorded with an abnormal marking. In Fig. 6, the roll release points indicated by symbols P11 to P15 are marked with an abnormal marking. If an automatic driving route is generated based on the circling travel path 22, a roll released within the baler circling range 21 will become an obstacle and will not be able to travel during automatic driving. Therefore, displaying the roll with an abnormal marking is effective for generating a route that avoids the roll.

[0034] The released roll is also imaged by an imaging device 331 located at the rear of the work vehicle 100, and if the released roll position overlaps two of the reciprocating travel route 20 and the circular travel route 22, it is recorded with an abnormal marking. In Figure 6, the roll release points indicated by symbols P2 and P10 correspond to these abnormal markings. In this case, too, if an automatic driving route is generated based on the circular travel route 22, the roll released into the baler's circulation range 21 will become an obstacle and will not be able to be driven during automatic driving, so displaying it with an abnormal marking is effective in generating an avoidable route.

[0035] The path calculation unit 306 calculates the wrapping travel path 23 for the wrapping machine 140W based on the position of the roll release point P. Since the route is generated based on the roll release points P plotted sequentially as described above, it is possible to efficiently generate a route for the wrapping work, i.e., generate the wrapping travel path 23, by referring to the route for the baling operation, for example.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 5(B), the wrapping machine 140W is mounted to be located to the side of the work vehicle 100, and is configured to load a roll from the field, wrap it with film, and then unload it back into the field. Furthermore, during wrapping, the roll is collected into the wrapping machine 140W body while rotating it in the radial direction, so it is necessary to approach the roll in a direction perpendicular to the cylindrical axial direction (X). For this reason, when generating the wrapping travel path 23, the imaging device 331 determines the relationship between the axial direction of the cylindrical roll and the traveling direction of the work vehicle 100, and it is desirable to mount the wrapping machine 140W to the side of the work vehicle 100 so that the wrapping machine 140W can approach the roll in a direction perpendicular to the roll axial direction.

[0037] When calculating the wrapping travel path 23, the roll release direction on either the round-trip straight travel path 20 or the circular travel path 22 is estimated, and the wrapping travel path 23 is calculated so that the roll approaches from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the roll. The calculation also takes into consideration the offset amount (ε) of the wrapping machine 140W with respect to the work vehicle 100. The offset amount is taken into account because the wrapping machine 140W cannot approach the roll properly on the travel paths 20, 22 for baling work. The wrapping machine 140W may be mounted on the front or rear of the work vehicle 100, and in either case, the approach direction relative to the roll must also be calculated and set.

[0038] An example of a wrapping travel path is shown in Figure 7. Based on the route order from start point A to end point Z of the automatic driving route (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the baler travel route) consisting of the round-trip straight travel path 20 and circular travel path 22 when the roll baler 140B is installed, the first wrapping roll is selected as the roll release point P1 on the route, and wrapping work is performed. The start point guidance routes a-b from the entrance / exit G to the roll release point P1 are generated by calculation toward the round-trip travel path 20 where the first roll is located. By utilizing the straight route used during baler work, i.e., the round-trip travel path 20, it is easy to generate the start point guidance route. After the roll release point P1, the robot moves approximately along the round-trip travel path 20 (route b-c in Figure 7), and wrapping work is performed at the roll release point P2.

[0039] The roll at roll release point P10, the end point c of routes b-c, is recorded with the abnormality marking. If it is determined that straight-line travel or turning is not possible from roll release point P10, reverse routes c-d are generated to avoid the obstacle after the roll is retrieved. If forward travel cannot be continued after wrapping at a predetermined position, a route that allows wrapping to continue can be generated by avoiding the obstacle along a reverse route. The straight-line route in the reverse direction is the route closest to the vehicle's position on the straight-line path 20 during roll baler 140B operation, or a route parallel to that route. The vehicle is configured to travel along reverse routes c-d and resume forward travel when it reaches the end of the straight-line path 20 of the roll baler 140B, and routes d-e are generated with the next process target line being the straight-line path 20 of the roll baler 140B, which is the next roll release point P3.

[0040] When forward travel cannot be made along routes d-e and a reverse route e-f is instead generated, if there is a roll release point P3 on the reverse route e-f, the next roll release point P4 is compared with the roll release point P3 on the reverse route e-f, and a reverse route e-f is generated to a position from which the vehicle can travel to the next roll release point P4 or P5. This results in a forward route f-g from which the vehicle can travel to the next roll release point P4 or P5. In other words, when generating a wrapping route by temporarily diverging from the bale travel route and generating a new reverse route while utilizing the bale travel route, the bale travel route is used to set the vehicle to the next roll release point P in the shortest time possible, making it easy to generate a wrapping travel path.

[0041] When moving from the current roll release point P to the next roll collection point, if it is possible to generate a route that allows lateral movement to a straight route that goes directly to the next roll collection point (f to P4 in Figure 7), a new lateral movement route that moves to a straight route is generated, and if it is not possible to generate a route that allows lateral movement (P4 to P5 in Figure 7), a route that involves a turn is generated (routes f to g in Figure 7).

[0042] For roll release points on a straight route, if a lateral movement route perpendicular to the roll is possible for the next roll release point P6, P7, P8, or P9, a rule stipulates that routes g through h may be generated to retrieve the next roll first. In addition to the lateral movement route, if lateral movement is not possible but a rotation route is possible, these routes g through h are also stipulated as rules. By utilizing the round-trip work route 20 for baler work, i.e., the linear work route, routes shorter than those for baler work can be generated, enabling efficient automated operation. In other words, by using the basic configuration of recovering rolls from the roll release point P in the order based on the baler rotation route from the linear work end point, the wrapping work order for the rolls at the roll release point P during rotation work is automatically recovered. This eliminates the need for new route generation; simply offsetting the wrapping machine 140W allows for the easy generation of wrapping work route 23.

[0043] The travel distance to the next process collection point is calculated, and in Figure 7, on a route of approximately two and a half laps, this is covered by the travel distance from h to P12 to P14 to P11 to P13 and the travel distance of approximately one lap by methods such as backward travel i to j. For this, when it is possible to generate a lateral movement route for a roll point on the turning work route, an automatic driving route is generated using a rule that generates a route to collect the next order first (for example, roll release point P14). The automatic driving route is then completed by travel routes i to j and routes j to a with shorter travel distances.

[0044] As described above, an automatic wrapping travel path 23 (a to b...j to a) is generated by combining a forward route and a reverse route based on rules, and the work vehicle 100 equipped with the wrapping machine 140W travels automatically along this wrapping travel path 23, thereby efficiently wrapping the rolls at the roll release points P1 to P15.

[0045] During wrapping work, just before approaching the roll, the work vehicle 100 and wrapping machine 140W can accurately pick up the roll by correcting their direction using the image data from the imaging device 331 to determine whether they are in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the roll in the field. The roll released during baling work moves in a direction in which it can rotate, and even if there is a discrepancy between the recorded roll release point P, which estimates the release position, and the actual roll position, when collecting and wrapping the roll with the wrapping machine 140W, by fine-tuning the travel line of the work vehicle 100 based on the roll position based on the image data from the imaging device 331, reliable roll collection and wrapping can be performed.

[0046] In addition, if the roll release point P on the recorded baler travel route is further away from the actual roll position during operation than a specified distance, the recovery wrapping work for the roll in question is not performed, and the wrapping travel path 23 for the roll at the next roll release point P is reset. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 20 Work route 22 Circuit Route 23 Wrapping route 102 GNSS receiver 140B Round Baler 140W wrapping machine 330 Work trajectory recording control unit 331 Imaging Device P Roll release point X (roll) axis direction

Claims

1. A roll baler (140B) and a wrapping machine (140W) that wraps the rolls discharged by the roll baler (140B) can be attached to a work vehicle, a work locus recording control unit (330) for recording a roll discharge point (P) by the roll baler (140B) when the roll baler (140B) is installed; a route calculation unit (306) for generating a wrapping travel route (23) based on the recorded roll release point (P); When the wrapping machine (140W) is installed, it moves along the wrapping travel path (23), The direction of the wrapping travel path (23) at the roll release point (P) is a direction intersecting the axial direction (X) of the cylindrical roll, A work vehicle configured to adjust the position of a roll release point (P) in a direction intersecting the axial direction (X) of a cylindrical roll based on image data of the roll position captured by an imaging device (331).

2. A work vehicle as described in claim 1, configured to generate a reverse route when it is determined that the roll release point (P) is in a position where forward travel is not possible.

3. A work vehicle as described in claim 1, which travels along a wrapping travel path (23) in order from the roll release point (P) closest to the end of the work travel path (20) among multiple roll release points (P).

Images