Work vehicle

Abstract

To provide a work vehicle which enables various kinds of antenna devices which are effective for automatic travelling etc. of the work vehicle to be mounted thereon efficiently.SOLUTION: A work vehicle includes: a cabin; a support frame 100 which is disposed along a lateral width direction at an upper part position of an exterior part of the cabin; and a pair of left and right mirror attachment parts 150 supporting a pair of left and right (back) mirrors 110. The cain has a pair of left and right front columns 201. The pair of left and right front columns 201 directly or indirectly supports the support frame 100 and the pair of left and right mirror attachment parts 150.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a work vehicle suitable for automatic travel along a target travel route while acquiring position information of the work vehicle using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). [Background technology]

[0002] As an example of a work vehicle that employs the above-mentioned automatic driving system, a tractor is shown in Patent Document 1, in which a GPS antenna (GNSS antenna) that acquires satellite positioning information from positioning satellites is provided on the upper side of the cabin roof. Specifically, a mounting stay having a substantially horizontal mounting seat higher than the top surface of the cabin roof is formed at the intersection of a longitudinal line at approximately the center of the vehicle body's tread width and a lateral line at approximately the center of the wheel base on the upper side of the cabin roof, and a GPS antenna is attached to the mounting seat of this mounting stay. Furthermore, when a GPS antenna having a gyro sensor is used as the GPS antenna, the inclination angle of the cabin roof can also be detected. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-2874 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The above-mentioned conventional technology discloses a technique for improving the detection accuracy of the GPS antenna, or the detection accuracy of the GPS antenna and gyro sensor, by adjusting the mounting position of the GPS antenna on the upper side of the cabin roof. However, in the above-mentioned automated driving system, various external devices are provided in addition to the work vehicle, such as a wireless communication terminal that issues various instructions to the work vehicle and a base station for acquiring position information of the work vehicle. Therefore, when actually performing automatic driving of a work vehicle, it is necessary to efficiently mount not only a GPS antenna but also various antenna devices for communicating between the work vehicle and external devices on the work vehicle, and in this respect there is room for improvement in the above-mentioned conventional technologies.

[0005] In view of this situation, a main object of the present invention is to provide a work vehicle that can efficiently mount various antenna devices that are effective for automatic driving of the work vehicle, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A work vehicle according to one embodiment is a work vehicle equipped with a cabin, the work vehicle including a support frame disposed in an upper position outside the cabin along the left-right width direction, and a pair of left and right mirror mounting parts supporting a pair of left and right mirrors. The cabin has a pair of left and right front pillars. The pair of left and right front pillars directly or indirectly support the support frame and the pair of left and right mirror mounting parts. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] Overall side view of a tractor equipped with an antenna unit according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] Control block diagram of the tractor, the reference station, and the wireless communication terminal [Diagram 3] Front view of the antenna unit mounting part of the tractor [Figure 4] Side view of the antenna unit mounting part of the tractor [Diagram 5] A perspective view of an antenna unit mounting portion of a tractor. [Figure 6] Front cross-sectional view of the antenna unit [Figure 7] Rear cross-sectional view of the antenna unit [Figure 8] Right side cross-sectional view of the antenna unit [Figure 9] Perspective view of the antenna unit when the cover is removed [Figure 10] A perspective view of the antenna unit with the cover removed when other units are attached. [Figure 11] Plan view of antenna unit with other units attached, with cover removed DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The automatic driving system shown in Figures 1 and 2 uses a work vehicle antenna unit 50 according to the present invention, and is configured to generate a target driving route and automatically drive a tractor 1 as a work vehicle along the generated target driving route. In addition to the tractor 1 capable of automatic driving, this automatic driving system is equipped with a wireless communication terminal 30 that issues various instructions to the tractor 1, and a reference station 40 for acquiring position information of the tractor 1.

[0009] First, a tractor 1 will be described with reference to FIG. This tractor 1 has a body section 2 to which a ground work machine (not shown) can be attached at the rear side, the front part of the body section 2 is supported by a pair of left and right front wheels 3, and the rear part of the body section 2 is supported by a pair of left and right rear wheels 4. A bonnet 5 is disposed at the front part of the body section 2, and an engine 6 serving as a drive source is housed within the bonnet 5. A cabin 7 for a driver to sit in is provided behind the bonnet 5, and within the cabin 7 are provided a steering wheel 8 for the driver to steer, a driver's seat 9 for the driver, etc.

[0010] The engine 6 may be, for example, a diesel engine, but is not limited thereto and may be, for example, a gasoline engine. In addition to the engine 6 or instead of the engine 6, an electric motor may be used as a drive source.

[0011] In addition, in this embodiment, the tractor 1 is used as an example of a work vehicle, but work vehicles include, in addition to tractors, rice transplanters, combine harvesters, civil engineering and construction work equipment, snowplows, and other riding work vehicles.

[0012] A three-point link mechanism consisting of a pair of left and right lower links 10 and upper links 11 is provided on the rear side of the machine body 2, and a ground work machine can be attached to the three-point link mechanism. Although not shown, a lifting device having a hydraulic device such as a lifting cylinder is provided on the rear side of the machine body 2, and this lifting device lifts and lowers the three-point link mechanism, thereby lifting and lowering the ground work machine. Ground working machines include cultivators, plows, fertilizer applicators, and the like.

[0013] 2, the tractor 1 is equipped with an engine device 21 capable of adjusting the rotation speed of the engine 6, a transmission device 22 that changes the speed of the rotational driving force from the engine 6 and transmits it to the drive wheels, and a control unit 23 that can control the engine device 21 and the transmission device 22. The transmission device 22 is configured by combining, for example, a main transmission device made of a hydraulic continuously variable transmission device and an auxiliary transmission device made of a gear-type multi-stage transmission device.

[0014] This tractor 1 can be driven with a driver inside the cabin 7, but is also configured to be capable of automatic driving based on instructions from a wireless communication terminal 30, even without a driver inside the cabin 7.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2, the tractor 1 is equipped with a steering device 24, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 25 for obtaining information on changes in attitude of the vehicle, a GNSS antenna 26 for receiving radio signals transmitted from positioning satellites (navigation satellites) 45 that constitute a global positioning system (GNSS), a wireless communication unit 27 for transmitting and receiving various signals via a wireless communication network established with a wireless communication terminal 30, etc., a base station antenna 29 for receiving a wireless signal (for example, a wireless signal with a frequency band of 920 MHz) from a reference station wireless communication device 41 of a reference station 40, etc., and is configured to be capable of automatic driving while obtaining its own current position information (position information of the vehicle unit 2).

[0016] The inertial measurement unit 25, the GNSS antenna 26, the wireless communication unit 27, and the base station antenna 29 are housed in an antenna unit 50 equipped with a unit cover 51, as shown in Figures 6 to 9. This antenna unit 50 is attached to a support frame 100 along the left-right width direction fixed to a cabin frame 200 of the cabin 7 at an upper position on the front side outside the cabin 7, as shown in Figures 3 to 5. The specific internal arrangement and mounting structure of the antenna unit 50 will be described in detail after the explanation of the automatic driving system.

[0017] The steering device 24 is provided, for example, at a midpoint of the rotation axis of the steering wheel 8, and is configured to be able to adjust the rotation angle (steering angle) of the steering wheel 8. By the control unit 23 controlling the steering device 24, not only straight driving can be performed, but also turning driving with a desired turning radius can be performed by adjusting the rotation angle of the steering wheel 8 to a desired rotation angle.

[0018] The inertial measurement unit 25 determines three-dimensional angular velocity and acceleration using a three-axis gyro and a three-directional accelerometer. The detection values ​​of the inertial measurement unit 25 are input to the control unit 23, which performs calculations using an attitude / orientation calculation means to determine attitude information of the tractor 1 (the azimuth angle (yaw angle) of the machine, the left / right tilt angle (roll angle) of the machine, and the front / rear tilt angle (pitch angle) in the traveling direction of the machine).

[0019] In the global positioning system (GNSS), in addition to GPS (USA), satellite positioning systems such as the Quasi-Zenith Satellite (Japan) and GLONASS (Russia) can be used as positioning satellites 45.

[0020] In this embodiment, the wireless communication unit 27 is configured as a Wi-Fi unit with a frequency band of 2.4 GHz, but the wireless communication unit 27 can be configured as a unit other than Wi-Fi, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). A signal received by a wireless communication antenna 28 of this wireless communication unit 27 can be input to the control unit 23 as shown in Fig. 2, and a signal from the control unit 23 can be transmitted by the wireless communication antenna 28 to a wireless communication device 31 of the wireless communication terminal 30, etc.

[0021] Here, as a positioning method using a satellite positioning system, a positioning method can be applied that includes a reference station 40 installed at a predetermined reference point, and uses correction information from the reference station 40 and satellite positioning information of the tractor 1 (mobile station) to determine the current position of the tractor 1. For example, various positioning methods such as DGPS (differential GPS positioning) and RTK positioning (real-time kinematic positioning) can be applied.

[0022] In this embodiment, for example, RTK positioning is applied, and as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, in addition to being provided with a GNSS antenna 26 on the tractor 1 which is the mobile station side, a reference station 40 equipped with a reference station positioning antenna 42 is provided. The reference station 40 is disposed at a position (reference point) which does not interfere with the travel of the tractor 1, such as around a farm field. Position information of the reference point where the reference station 40 is to be installed is known in advance. The reference station 40 is provided with a reference station wireless communication device 41 capable of transmitting and receiving various signals to and from the base station antenna 29 of the tractor 1, and is configured to be able to transmit and receive various information between the reference station 40 and the tractor 1.

[0023] In the RTK positioning, the carrier phase (satellite positioning information) from the positioning satellite 45 is measured by both the reference station positioning antenna 42 of the reference station 40 installed at the reference point and the GNSS antenna 26 of the tractor 1, which is the mobile station side of the target for which position information is sought. The reference station 40 generates correction information including the measured satellite positioning information and the position information of the reference point, etc., every time it measures satellite positioning information from the positioning satellite 45 or every time a set period elapses, and transmits the correction information from the reference station wireless communication device 41 to the base station antenna 29 of the tractor 1. The control unit 23 of the tractor 1 obtains the current position information of the tractor 1 using the satellite positioning information measured by the GNSS antenna 26 and the correction information transmitted from the reference station 40. The control unit 23 obtains, for example, latitude information and longitude information as the current position information of the tractor 1.

[0024] In the automatic driving system, in addition to the tractor 1 and the reference station 40, the control unit 23 of the tractor 1 is provided with a wireless communication terminal 30 capable of instructing the automatic driving of the tractor 1. The wireless communication terminal 30 is composed of, for example, a tablet-type personal computer having a touch panel, and various information can be displayed on the touch panel, and various information can be input by operating the touch panel. The wireless communication terminal 30 is provided with a wireless communication device 31 and a route generation unit 32 that generates a target driving route, and the route generation unit 32 generates a target driving route for the automatic driving of the tractor 1 based on various information inputted on the touch panel.

[0025] The control unit 23 provided in the tractor 1 is configured to be able to transmit and receive various information to and from the wireless communication terminal 30 via a wireless communication network using the wireless communication device 31 and the like. The wireless communication terminal 30 is configured to be able to instruct the automatic driving of the tractor 1 by transmitting various information for automatically driving the tractor 1, such as a target driving route, to the control unit 23 of the tractor 1. The control unit 23 of the tractor 1 is configured to obtain current position information of the tractor 1 from a signal received by the GNSS antenna 26, obtain displacement information and orientation information of the vehicle from the inertial measurement unit 25, and control the transmission 22, steering device 24, and the like based on the current position information, displacement information, and orientation information so that the tractor 1 automatically drives along the target driving route generated by the route generation unit 32.

[0026] Next, the internal arrangement and structure of the antenna unit 50 will be described. Figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the antenna unit 50 as viewed from the front side, Figure 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the antenna unit 50 as viewed from the rear side, Figure 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the antenna unit 50 as viewed from the right side, and Figure 9 is an oblique view of the unit cover 51 with the upper cover body 53 separated. The unit cover 51 of the antenna unit 50 is mounted on the tractor 1 in a position in which the left-right width direction of the machine body 2 is the longitudinal direction relative to the forward direction. As shown in Figs. 6 to 9, the unit cover 51 has a lower cover body 52 made of resin and having a generally rectangular shape in plan view that opens upward, and an upper cover body 53 made of resin and having a generally rectangular shape in plan view that opens downward. The opening joint of the upper cover body 53 is externally fitted and joined to the opening joint of the lower cover body 52 in a watertight manner so as to be detachable. As shown in Fig. 9, the opening joint of the upper cover body 53 and the opening joint of the lower cover body 52 are fixedly connected by screws 54 at one location each on the left and right side walls and at two locations on the left and right directions on the rear wall.

[0027] As shown in Figs. 6 to 9, a metal base plate 55, which is an example of a unit base that can be attached to the tractor 1, is attached to the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 52A of the lower cover body 52. ​​The base plate 55 is made of sheet metal and has a generally rectangular shape in a plan view, and is attached to the lower cover body 52 in a position in which the left-right width direction of the machine body 2 is the longitudinal direction with respect to the forward movement direction. A gap with a set interval is formed between the lower surface of the base plate 55 and the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 52A of the lower cover body 52. ​​As shown in Figs. 5 to 7, the gap is regulated to the set interval by forming mounting recesses 52a at multiple locations (four locations in this embodiment) on the bottom plate portion 52A of the lower cover body 52, which protrude inward to a position where they can abut against the lower surface of the base plate 55, and placing the lower surface of the base plate 55 on the upper surface of each mounting recess 52a. Each mounting recess 52 a of the bottom plate portion 52 A of the lower cover body 52 and the base plate 55 are fixedly connected by a first bolt 56 and a first nut 57 .

[0028] As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, cylindrical first screw members 90 for mounting to a support frame 100 on the tractor 1 side are fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 55 at two locations, one at the front and one at the rear, which are offset outward in the longitudinal direction from the central mounting area of ​​the inertial measurement unit 25 and the GNSS antenna 26 described later. The lower end of each first screw member 90 penetrates the bottom plate portion 52A of the lower cover body 52 and protrudes slightly downward. Among them, horizontal connecting plate portions 91a of a pair of left and right connecting members 91 formed by bending the pair of front and rear first screw members 90 in a substantially inverted "L" shape when viewed from the front of the vehicle are disposed at the lower end of the pair of front and rear first screw members 90 located at one end side of the longitudinal direction of the base plate 55 and the lower end of the pair of front and rear first screw members 90 located at the other end side of the longitudinal direction. The horizontal connecting plate portions 91a of both connecting members 91 are fixedly connected by second bolts 92 that penetrate the horizontal connecting plate portions 91a and screw into the first screw members 90 from below. In this fixed connection state, a gap is provided between the lower surface of the bottom plate portion 52A of the lower cover body 52 and the upper surface of the horizontal connecting plate portion 91a of the connecting member 91, so that the lower cover body 52 is not subjected to load from the base plate 55 side.

[0029] As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, cylindrical second screw members 93 for mounting a camera 78 (see Figs. 3 and 9) for photographing the front of the machine body are fixed to two locations on the left and right of the front end portion of the longitudinal center of the lower surface of the base plate 55 (the front end portion of the base plate 55 that becomes the front side of the machine body 2 when mounted on the tractor 1), and the lower end portion of each second screw member 93 penetrates the bottom plate portion 52A of the lower cover body 52 and protrudes slightly downward. The mounting bracket (not shown) of the camera 78 (see Figs. 3 and 9) arranged at the lower end portion of the second screw member 93 is fixedly connected by a bolt (not shown) screwed from below into the second screw member 93. In this fixed connection state, a gap is provided between the lower surface of the bottom plate portion 52A of the lower cover body 52 and the upper surface of the mounting bracket of the camera 78, so that the load of the camera 78 side is not applied to the lower cover body 52.

[0030] 6 and 7, the inertial measurement unit 25 and the GNSS antenna 26, both of which are disposed at the center or approximately the center in the left-right width direction of the fuselage unit 2, are provided in a vertically overlapping state in the longitudinal center of the base plate 55. Of these, the GNSS antenna 26 is disposed above the inertial measurement unit 25. More specifically, the housing 25A of the inertial measurement unit 25 is fixedly connected to the base plate 55 by a third bolt 58 with its left-right center position positioned at the longitudinal center position of the base plate 55, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. On the other hand, as shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 9, the housing 26A of the GNSS antenna 26 is attached to the base plate 55 via a hat-shaped metal first bracket 60 with its left-right center position located at the longitudinal center position of the base plate 55. The first bracket 60 is formed in a hat shape that goes around the upper part of the housing 25A of the inertial measurement unit 25 along the longitudinal direction of the base plate 55. Both legs 60a of the hat-shaped first bracket 60 are fixedly connected to the base plate 55 by a fourth bolt 61. The width of the hat-shaped first bracket 60 in the front-rear direction (also the front-rear direction of the aircraft) is configured to be slightly larger than the front-rear direction width of the housing 25A of the inertial measurement unit 25, and a front side plate 60b that covers the front side of the inertial measurement unit 25 is bent and formed at the front end edge of the first bracket 60 as shown in Fig. 6. With this configuration, the first bracket 60 is configured as a shielding wall that shields the wireless communication unit 27 described later. Also, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the first predetermined distance L1 between the GNSS antenna 26 attached to the first bracket 60 and the inner surface 53a of the longitudinal center portion of the upper cover body 53 of the unit cover 51 is set to 30 mm or more.

[0031] 3, 6 and 7, when mounted on the tractor 1, the inertial measurement unit 25 and the GNSS antenna 26 are both arranged vertically at the center or approximately the center in the left-right width direction of the body 2, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the current position information of the tractor 1 obtained from the signal received by the GNSS antenna 26 and the detection accuracy of the displacement information and orientation information of the body obtained from the inertial measurement unit 25. Moreover, the width of the unit cover 51 in the front-rear direction is reduced, allowing the antenna unit 50 to be made more compact. 6 and 7, only the resin upper cover body 53 is present above the GNSS antenna 26, and no radio wave blocking object is present. Therefore, for example, unlike a case where the inertial measurement unit 25 is placed above the GNSS antenna 26, the inertial measurement unit 25 does not become an obstacle to reception of the GNSS antenna 26, and the carrier phases (satellite positioning information) from a predetermined number of positioning satellites 45 can be reliably received. Furthermore, as described above, the first specified distance L1 between the GNSS antenna 26 and the inner surface 53a of the upper cover body 53 of the unit cover 51 is set to 30 mm or more, thereby suppressing radio wave interference caused by the proximity of the GNSS antenna 26 and the inner surface 53a of the unit cover 51, and improving the detection accuracy of the current position information of the tractor 1 obtained from the received signal of the GNSS antenna 26.

[0032] As shown in Figs. 6 to 8, a housing 27A of a wireless communication unit 27 having two wireless communication antennas 28 in the left-right direction is fixedly connected to one longitudinal end of the base plate 55 (the right end in the left-right direction of the body section 2 with respect to the forward movement direction) by a fifth bolt 62. The two wireless communication antennas 28 of the wireless communication unit 27 are arranged in parallel at the front side of the base plate 55 and along the longitudinal direction of the base plate 55. This arrangement ensures that the two wireless communication antennas 28 are located a sufficient distance forward from the cabin frame 200 (see Fig. 4), which is a metal part of the tractor 1.

[0033] The two wireless communication antennas 28 of the wireless communication unit 27 can increase the communication speed with the wireless communication device 31 of the wireless communication terminal 30. Moreover, since the two wireless communication antennas 28 are arranged in parallel in the front portion of the base plate 55 along the longitudinal direction of the base plate 55, the two wireless communication antennas 28 are less susceptible to radio wave blocking by the cabin frame 200, which is a metal part of the tractor 1, and the wireless communication unit 27 can maintain a good communication state. Furthermore, most of the outer periphery of the inertial measurement unit 25, except for connectors, etc., is shielded by a metal housing 25A, and the metal hat-shaped first bracket 60 located between the wireless communication unit 27 and the inertial measurement unit 25 functions as a shielding wall, thereby suppressing radio wave interference between the wireless communication unit 27 and the inertial measurement unit 25.

[0034] At the other longitudinal end of the base plate 55 (the left end in the left-right direction of the aircraft unit 2 in the forward direction), as shown in Figures 6, 7 and 9, a base station antenna 29 that receives information from the reference station 40 is arranged. As a result, on the base plate 55, the wireless communication unit 27, the GNSS antenna 26 (inertial measurement unit 25), and the base station antenna 29 are arranged in this order in the left-right direction of the aircraft unit 2 from the right side in the left-right direction of the aircraft unit 2 in the forward direction. As shown in Figures 6, 7 and 9, the base station antenna 29 is composed of a base 29A equipped with a magnet 65, and a round bar-shaped antenna bar 29B extending upward from the base 29A.

[0035] 6, 7 and 9, a height-raising portion 95 for placing the base station antenna 29 higher than the antenna mounting portion is provided between the base station antenna 29 and the antenna mounting portion of the base plate 55. This height-raising portion 95 is formed of a height-raising bracket 96 formed by bending a metal plate twice at a right angle as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The height-raising bracket 96 is provided with a mounting base plate portion 96a in a horizontal position fixedly connected to the other end portion in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 55 by a sixth bolt 97 and a sixth nut 98, a height-raising plate portion 96b extending vertically upward from one end portion of the mounting base plate portion 96a, and an antenna mounting plate portion 96c extending horizontally from the upper end of the height-raising plate portion 96b.

[0036] Due to the above-mentioned arrangement of the base station antenna 29, the distance between the antenna bar 29B of the base station antenna 29 located at the other end in the longitudinal direction and the wireless communication antenna 28 of the wireless communication unit 27 located at one end in the longitudinal direction is increased, thereby making it possible to suppress radio wave interference between the antenna bar 29B of the base station antenna 29 and the wireless communication antenna 28 of the wireless communication unit 27. Moreover, the base station antenna 29 can be easily attached to the metal elevation bracket 96 by the magnetic force of the magnet 65 provided on the base 29A. Furthermore, the upper end of the base station antenna 29 can be placed at a higher position by the elevation caused by the elevation bracket 96, and compared to the case where a long base station antenna 29 is used, it is possible to improve the reception performance of the reference station 40 for the reference station wireless communication device 41 while suppressing breakage of the base station antenna 29 due to swinging caused by vibrations caused by the tractor 1 while traveling.

[0037] Next, the unit cover 51 of the antenna unit 50 will be described. 6 to 9, a bulge 53A is formed in the front half of one longitudinal end side (the right end side in the left-right direction of the body section 2 with respect to the forward movement direction) of the upper cover body 53 of the unit cover 51, the bulge 53A protruding above the upper surface position of the longitudinal center part of the upper cover body 53 and the upper ends of both wireless communication antennas 28 of the wireless communication unit 27. Then, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8, a second predetermined distance L2 between an inner surface 53b of the bulge 53A and the upper ends of the wireless communication antennas 28 is set to 30 mm or more. The second predetermined distance L2 formed between the upper end of the wireless communication antenna 28 and the inner surface 53b of the bulge portion 53A of the upper cover body 53 suppresses radio wave interference caused by the proximity of the wireless communication antenna 28 and the inner surface 53b of the bulge portion 53A of the unit cover 51, thereby improving communication accuracy between the wireless communication unit 27 and the wireless communication device 31 of the wireless communication terminal 30.

[0038] 9, a through hole 70 is formed in the other longitudinal end of the upper cover body 53, through which the antenna bar 29B of the base station antenna 29 passes and protrudes upward to the outside. A vibration-proof elastic body 71 such as a cylindrical rubber is attached to the opening periphery of this through hole 70, as shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 9, which contacts the outer circumferential surface of the penetration part of the antenna bar 29B of the base station antenna 29. A grommet is used as the vibration-proof elastic body 71, which contacts the entire circumference of the antenna bar 29B and also exhibits watertightness.

[0039] If the vibration-proof elastic body 71 were not present, an annular gap would be generated between the opening periphery of the through hole 70 in the upper cover body 53 and the outer circumferential surface of the through portion of the antenna bar 29B. When the traveling vibration of the tractor 1 or the like acts on the base station antenna 29, the antenna bar 29B would swing within the range of the annular gap, and there is a possibility that the antenna bar 29B would break at its base. However, in this embodiment, as described above, the vibration-proof elastic body 71 provided on the opening periphery of the through hole 70 in the upper cover body 53 supports the upper and lower middle parts of the antenna bar 29B, and the support structure of the base station antenna 29 is a two-point support structure overall, so that breakage of the antenna bar 29B caused by traveling vibration or the like can be suppressed.

[0040] In this embodiment, the vibration-proof elastic body 71 is attached to the opening periphery of the through hole 70 of the upper cover body 53, but this vibration-proof elastic body 71 may also be attached to the upper surface or inner surface 53a of the upper cover body 53.

[0041] 6, 10, and 11, an installation space 73 for another unit 72 is formed on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 55, and between the inertial measurement unit 25 and the GNSS antenna 26, and the base station antenna 29. Here, Figs. 6, 7, and 9 show a state in which the other unit 72 is not installed in the installation space 73, and the installation space 73 is a hollow space, and Figs. 10 and 11 show a state in which the other unit 72 is installed in the installation space 73.

[0042] The other unit 72 may be, for example, a controller for a liquid crystal monitor that controls part of the automatic driving control. In the automatic driving specification tractor 1 of this embodiment, a liquid crystal monitor is provided in the cabin 7, and this liquid crystal monitor is equipped with a controller that controls part of the automatic driving control. However, when converting other work vehicles such as a standard specification rice transplanter to an automatic driving specification, a controller that controls the automatic driving control for the liquid crystal monitor that is to be added later is required. In this case, the controller can be easily attached using the attachment space 73 secured in the base plate 55.

[0043] 6 to 7, a camera 78 (see FIGS. 3 and 9) for photographing the area in front of the vehicle body is disposed at the lower end of each of the second screw members 93 protruding from the bottom plate portion 52A of the lower cover body 52. ​​A mounting bracket (not shown) for this camera 78 is fixedly connected with a bolt (not shown) that is screwed into the second screw member 93 from below. The image photographed by the camera 78 can be displayed on the touch panel of the wireless communication terminal 30 via wireless communication between the wireless communication unit 27 of the tractor 1 and the wireless communication device 31 of the wireless communication terminal 30.

[0044] 6 to 11 omit the electric wires connected to the inertial measurement unit 25, the GNSS antenna 26, the wireless communication unit 27, and the base station antenna 29 mounted on the base plate 55, and only a portion of a single harness 80 formed by assembling these electric wires within the unit cover 51 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown in FIG. 4, this harness 80 is led out to the outside from a harness lead-out hole 81 (see FIG. 9) formed on the longitudinal center side of the rear wall of the lower cover body 52. ​​A grommet (not shown) is attached to this harness lead-out hole 81.

[0045] Next, the mounting structure of the antenna unit 50 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 to 5, both ends of a support frame 100 of the antenna unit 50 are fixedly connected to mirror mounting portions 150 provided on left and right front pillars 201 constituting a cabin frame 200. As shown in Figures 3 to 5, each of the left and right mirror mounting portions 150 has a mounting base material 151 fixed to the upper side of the front support 201 by welding or the like, which is configured in a roughly U-shape when viewed from above, and a mirror mounting member 152 equipped with a hinge portion that rotatably supports the support arm 111 of the rearview mirror 110 is fixedly connected to this mounting base material 151 by a bolt (not shown). Second brackets 112 extending directly upward when viewed from the side of the aircraft are fastened together with bolts between the left and right mounting bases 151 and the left and right mirror mounting members 152. Each second bracket 112 includes a vertical support plate portion 112a extending upward from between the mounting base material 151 and the mirror mounting member 152, a mounting plate portion 112b bent along a horizontal plane from the upper end of the vertical support plate portion 112a, and a reinforcing plate portion 112c fixed to the bent corner formed by these two portions.

[0046] As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the support frame 100 is provided with pipe-shaped support members 101 having a circular cross section and formed by bending both ends in the left and right width direction downwards into a generally flattened gate shape when viewed from the front of the aircraft. Attachment plates 102 having a generally "L" shape when viewed from the front of the aircraft and having a mounting lower surface along a horizontal plane are fixed to both ends of the pipe-shaped support member 101. Reinforcing plates 103 are fixed to both end portions of the pipe-shaped support member 101 and both attachment plates 102. Both mounting plates 102 of the support frame 100 are placed on the upper surfaces of mounting plate portions 112b of left and right second brackets 112 which are fastened together between the mounting base material 151 and the mirror mounting member 152. Both mounting plates 102 of the placed support frame 100 and the mounting plate portions 112b of both second brackets 112 are fixed and connected by seventh bolts 104 and seventh nuts 105, respectively.

[0047] As described above, the left and right mirror mounting parts 150 are attached to the upper parts of the front pillars 201 of the sturdy cabin frame 200, and are disposed at a height position close to the roof 190 of the cabin 7. Therefore, by utilizing both mirror mounting parts 150, which are sturdy and have a sufficient ground clearance, and by simply adding a simple support structure in which the second brackets 112 are extended directly upward from both mirror mounting parts 150, the support frame 100 of the antenna unit 50 can be firmly attached at an appropriate height position. Furthermore, since the upper mounting surfaces of the mounting plate portions 112b of the left and right second brackets 112, which are fastened together between the mounting base material 151 and the mirror mounting member 152, and the lower mounting surfaces of both mounting plates 102 of the support frame 100 are both formed on horizontal surfaces, it becomes easy to position the middle portion of the pipe-shaped support material 101 horizontally along the left-right direction, and mounting errors of the antenna unit 50 attached to the horizontal middle portion of the pipe-shaped support material 101 can be suppressed.

[0048] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 3 to 5, when the support frame 100 is installed across the left and right second brackets 112, the horizontal middle portion of the pipe-shaped support material 101 of the support frame 100 is positioned horizontally along the left and right width direction of the aircraft, near an upper position of the front end of the roof 190 of the cabin frame 200. 3 to 5, a pair of left and right third brackets 120 having a substantially "L" shape in a side view of the aircraft body, which support the pair of left and right connecting members 91 of the antenna unit 50, are fixed to the horizontal middle part of the pipe-shaped support member 101. The vertical connecting plate parts 91b of the connecting members 91 on the antenna unit 50 side and the two third brackets 120 on the support frame 100 side, which face each other closely in the left and right width direction of the aircraft body part 2, are fixed and connected by two eighth bolts 121 and eighth nuts 122 that are horizontal along the left and right width direction of the aircraft body part 2. When the vertical connecting plate portions 91b of both connecting members 91 on the antenna unit 50 side are fixedly connected to both third brackets 120 on the support frame 100 side by two sets of two eighth bolts 121 and eighth nuts 122, the antenna unit 50 is in a working position (working posture) in which the base station antenna 29 mounted thereon faces vertically.

[0049] Circular first bolt insertion holes (not shown) are formed in two locations, front and rear, of the vertical connecting plate portions 91b of both connecting members 91. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, each of the third brackets 120 on the support frame 100 side has a horizontal second bolt insertion elongated hole 123 that runs along the front-rear direction and has a length corresponding to the pitch of the first bolt insertion holes. Each of the third brackets 120 on the support frame 100 side has a single circular second bolt insertion hole 124 formed immediately below the front end position of the second bolt insertion elongated hole 123 and at a position spaced vertically by a distance corresponding to the pitch of both the first bolt insertion holes. Then, with the antenna unit 50 in the working position, the eighth bolt 121 on the front side is removed, and the eighth bolt 121 on the rear side is loosened. In this state, the eighth bolt 121 on the rear side is moved forward together with the antenna unit 50 along the second bolt insertion long hole 123 of both third brackets 120 to the front end position, and the antenna unit 50 is rotated downward about the axis of the eighth bolt 121. In this state where it is rotated to the front lower position, the antenna unit 50 hangs down with the eighth bolt 121 as a pivot axis, and the first bolt insertion hole (not shown) on the front end side of both connecting members 91 on the antenna unit 50 side and the second bolt insertion hole 124 of both third brackets 120 on the support frame 100 side are aligned. The removed eighth bolt 121 is inserted through the aligned first bolt insertion hole and second bolt insertion hole 124, and each eighth bolt 121 is screwed in to the tightening side, thereby fixedly connecting both connecting members 91 on the antenna unit 50 side and both third brackets 120 on the support frame 100 side. In this fixed and connected state, the antenna unit 50 is in a non-operating position (non-operating posture) at a low forward position with the base station antenna 29 mounted thereon facing horizontally forward.

[0050] With the above-mentioned configuration, the antenna unit 50 is attached to the support frame 100 so as to be displaceable from a working position to a non-working position on the front lower side. The second bolt insertion elongated holes 123 of both third brackets 120, the first bolt insertion holes on the rear end sides of both connecting members 91 on the antenna unit 50 side, and the eighth bolt 121 form a guide section 125 that guides the movement of the antenna unit 50 in the front-rear direction between the working position and the non-working position on the front lower side. In this embodiment, the non-working position of the antenna unit 50 is a position in which it has moved forward from the working position to the maximum extent within the bolt movement range of the second bolt insertion hole 123, and has also been rotated downward 90 degrees to a lower position around the eighth bolt 121 abutting the front end position of the second bolt insertion hole 123.In this non-working position, the base station antenna 29 is in a position in which it protrudes horizontally forward, as described above.

[0051] 1 and 3, when the antenna unit 50 is in the working position, the base station antenna 29 and a part of the unit cover 51 of the antenna unit 50 protrude above the highest part of the roof 190 of the cabin 7. However, when the tractor 1 is transported, etc., if the base station antenna 29 protruding above the roof 190 of the cabin 7 becomes an obstacle, the antenna unit 50 is moved from the working position to a non-working position on the front lower side. In this non-working position, the base station antenna 29 is in a position protruding forward in the horizontal direction, and the antenna unit 50 including the unit cover 51 can be disposed at a height position approximately the same as or lower than the highest part of the upper surface of the roof 190 of the cabin 7.

[0052] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the operation of changing the position of the antenna unit 50 between the working position and the non-working position is performed manually, but this operation of changing the position of the antenna unit 50 may be performed by a drive unit such as an actuator.

[0053] Other embodiments (1) In the above-described embodiment, the wireless communication antenna 28 of the wireless communication unit 27 is housed within the unit cover 51 of the antenna unit 50. However, if necessary, the wireless communication antenna 28 may be protruded upward and to the outside through a through hole formed in the upper cover body 53.

[0054] (2) In the above-described embodiment, the first predetermined distance L1 between the GNSS antenna 26 and the inner surface 53a of the upper cover body 53 of the unit cover 51 is set to 30 mm or more. However, this first predetermined distance L1 can be set arbitrarily depending on the reception conditions of the carrier phase (satellite positioning information) from a predetermined number of positioning satellites 45.

[0055] (3) In the above-described embodiment, the second predetermined distance L2 between the inner surface 53b of the bulge portion 53A of the unit cover 51 and the upper end of the wireless communication antenna 28 is set to 30 mm or more. However, this second predetermined distance L2 can be set arbitrarily depending on the communication state between the wireless communication unit 27 and the wireless communication device 31 of the wireless communication terminal 30.

[0056] (4) In the above-described embodiment, a pair of left and right connecting members 91 are attached to the underside of the unit cover 51. However, this is not limited to an attachment structure, and any attachment structure can be adopted depending on the attachment conditions of the work vehicle.

[0057] (5) In the above embodiment, the wireless communication unit 27 has two wireless communication antennas 28 arranged in parallel, but the wireless communication unit 27 may have only one wireless communication antenna 28, or may have three or more wireless communication antennas 28 arranged in parallel.

[0058] (6) In the above embodiment, the raised portion 95 is configured as the raised bracket 96 formed by bending a metal plate twice at a right angle, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The raised portion 95 may have any structure as long as it can position the base station antenna 29 higher than the antenna mounting portion.

[0059] <Notes on the invention> The tractor of the first embodiment is a tractor equipped with a cabin, and includes a support frame arranged along the left-right width direction at an upper position outside the cabin, and a GNSS antenna supported by the support frame while being positioned at a central position in the left-right width direction of the tractor body. The tractor according to a second aspect is the same as the tractor according to the first aspect, further comprising a camera positioned below the GNSS antenna. A third aspect of the present invention relates to a tractor according to the second aspect, wherein the camera is directly or indirectly supported by the support frame. A tractor according to a fourth aspect is the tractor of the second or third aspect, wherein a gap is provided between a lower surface of an antenna unit including the GNSS antenna and an upper surface of a mounting bracket for the camera. Furthermore, the first characteristic configuration of the present invention is that a GNSS antenna and an inertial measurement unit are arranged in the longitudinal center of a unit base that can be attached to a work vehicle, a wireless communication unit is arranged at one longitudinal end side of the unit base, and a wireless communication antenna of the wireless communication unit is arranged in a front portion of the unit base that will be on the front side of the aircraft when attached to the work vehicle, and the GNSS antenna is disposed on top of the inertial measurement unit.

[0060] Since the GNSS antenna and inertial measurement unit are disposed in the longitudinal center of the unit base that can be attached to a work vehicle, for example, when the unit base is attached to the work vehicle in a well-balanced manner in the left-right direction, the longitudinal center of the unit base is disposed in the left-right center position of the work vehicle. This allows the GNSS antenna and inertial measurement unit to be disposed in the left-right center position of the work vehicle, improving both the detection accuracy of the current position information of the work vehicle obtained from the received signal of the GNSS antenna and the detection accuracy of the attitude change information of the vehicle obtained from the inertial measurement unit. Furthermore, the wireless communication unit disposed on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the unit base makes it possible to wirelessly communicate various signals with an external device such as a wireless communication terminal. Moreover, since the wireless communication antenna of the wireless communication unit is disposed at one longitudinal end of the unit base that is separated from the inertial measurement unit, a sufficient distance can be secured between the wireless communication antenna of the wireless communication unit and the center of the inertial measurement unit. Furthermore, since the wireless communication antenna of the wireless communication unit is disposed at the front portion of the unit base that is at the front side of the vehicle body when mounted on the work vehicle, a sufficient distance can be secured in the front-rear direction from metal parts of the work vehicle, such as the cabin frame, to the wireless communication antenna of the wireless communication unit when mounted on the work vehicle. This suppresses radio wave interference between the wireless communication unit and the inertial measurement unit, and is less susceptible to radio wave shielding by metal parts of the work vehicle, thereby reducing the causes of communication failure between the wireless communication unit and a wireless communication terminal, etc.

[0061] Therefore, by rationally devising the installation position and orientation of the GNSS antenna, inertial measurement unit, and wireless communication antenna of the wireless communication unit relative to the unit base as described above, the antenna unit itself can be made compact while improving the detection accuracy of both the inertial measurement unit and the GNSS antenna, and the wireless communication unit can be efficiently mounted on a work vehicle while maintaining good communication conditions.

[0062] A second characteristic configuration of the present invention is that a plurality of the wireless communication antennas are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the unit base at a front side portion of the unit base.

[0063] According to the above configuration, the multiple wireless communication antennas of the wireless communication unit can increase the communication speed with an external device such as a wireless communication terminal. Moreover, since the multiple wireless communication antennas are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the unit base at the front side of the unit base, all of the wireless communication antennas are less susceptible to radio wave blocking by metal parts such as the cabin frame of the work vehicle, and the wireless communication unit can maintain good communication conditions.

[0064] A third characteristic configuration of the present invention is that the distance between the GNSS antenna and an inner surface of a unit cover that covers the unit base is set to 30 mm or more.

[0065] According to the above configuration, radio wave interference caused by the proximity of the GNSS antenna and the inner surface of the unit cover can be suppressed, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the current position information of the work vehicle obtained from the signal received by the GNSS antenna.

[0066] A fourth characteristic configuration of the present invention is that a base station antenna for receiving information from a reference station is arranged on the other longitudinal end side of the unit base, and a raising section is provided between this base station antenna and the antenna mounting portion of the unit base for positioning the base station antenna at a higher position than the antenna mounting portion.

[0067] According to the above configuration, the upper end of the base station antenna can be positioned at a higher position by the amount of elevation provided by the elevation section, and compared to the case of using a long base station antenna, it is possible to improve reception performance for the reference station while suppressing breakage of the base station antenna due to shaking caused by vibrations caused by the work vehicle when traveling, etc.

[0068] A fifth characteristic feature of the present invention is that a mounting space for another unit is formed on the other longitudinal end side of the unit base.

[0069] According to the above configuration, for example, other units such as a controller that controls part of the automatic driving control can be easily attached using the attachment space secured on the other longitudinal end side of the unit base. Moreover, such other units can be efficiently and compactly stored in the antenna unit.

[0070] A tractor in one embodiment is a tractor with a cabin, and includes a pair of brackets supporting a GNSS antenna at an upper position outside the cabin, and a camera positioned between the pair of brackets in the direction in which the pair of brackets are aligned.

[0071] A work vehicle in one embodiment is a work vehicle equipped with a cabin and a bracket supporting an antenna unit that receives positioning information at an upper position outside the cabin, the bracket supporting the antenna unit so that its front end is positioned forward of the front end of the roof of the cabin. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1. Work vehicle (tractor) 25 Inertial Measurement Unit 26 GNSS antenna 27 Wireless communication unit 28 Wireless communication antennas 29 Base Station Antenna 40 Reference station 51 Unit cover 55 Unit base (base plate) 72 other units 73 Mounting space 95 Raised part L1 distance (first predetermined distance)

Claims

1. A work vehicle equipped with a cabin, A support frame arranged along the left-right width direction at an upper position outside the cabin; a pair of left and right mirror mounting portions for supporting a pair of left and right mirrors; The cabin has a pair of left and right front support pillars, the pair of left and right front support columns directly or indirectly support the support frame and the pair of left and right mirror mounting portions; Work vehicle.

2. a pair of left and right brackets extending upward from the pair of left and right mirror mounting portions; The support frame is installed between the pair of left and right brackets. A work vehicle according to claim 1.

3. The upper portions of the pair of left and right brackets have horizontal surfaces, The support frame is supported on the horizontal surface. The work vehicle according to claim 2.

4. Further comprising a support object supported by the support frame. A work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The front end of the support object is located forward of the front end of the cabin roof. A work vehicle according to claim 4.

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