Combine-harvester

Abstract

To provide a combine-harvester capable of appropriately evaluating the risk of manual threshing work.SOLUTION: A combine-harvester equipped with cameras (103, 104) which monitor the manual threshing work of a worker, comprises a work state estimation device (120) which evaluates the risk of work of the worker from images captured by the cameras (103, 104). The work state estimation device (120) includes a posture estimation unit (122) which estimates the worker's posture. The combine-harvester further comprises a threshing device (4) which threshes grain culms and a feed chain (4B) which supplies the grain culms to the threshing device (4). The work state estimation device (120) includes a proximity determination unit (124) which evaluates a distance between a position of the worker's torso and the threshing device (4) or the feed chain (4B), on the basis of posture information of the worker estimated by the posture estimation unit (122).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a combine harvester.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a combine harvester provided with a camera for imaging a handling work part in order to evaluate the risk of handling work is known.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, although it is described that it is determined by image analysis processing that an operator has moved backward from a handling position for a predetermined time, since only the movement time is evaluated, it cannot be said to be sufficient as an evaluation of risk, and there is room for great improvement.

[0005] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a combine harvester capable of appropriately evaluating the risk of handling work.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention that has solved the above problems is as follows.

[0007] That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a combine harvester provided with cameras (103, 104) for monitoring an operator's handling work, and includes a working state estimation device (120) for evaluating the risk level of the operator's work from the video captured by the cameras (103, 104), and the working state estimation device (120) has a posture estimation unit (122) for estimating the operator's posture.

[0008] The invention according to claim 2 comprises a threshing device (4) for threshing cereal straws, and a feed chain (4B) for supplying cereal straws to the threshing device (4). The working state estimation device (120) has a proximity determination unit (124) that evaluates the distance between the threshing device (4) or the feed chain (4B) and the position of the operator's torso based on the posture information of the work vehicle estimated by the posture estimation unit (122). The invention is a combine according to claim 1.

[0009] The invention according to claim 3 is a combine according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the working state estimation device (120) has an operation determination unit (125) that detects the movement of the operator's torso in the rearward direction of the machine body based on the posture information of the work vehicle estimated by the posture estimation unit (122).

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, the safety of handling operations can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 14

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the combine is provided with a traveling device 2 composed of a pair of left and right crawlers that travel on the soil surface below the body frame 1, a harvesting device 3 for harvesting the cereal straw in the field is provided in front of the body frame 1, a threshing device 4 for threshing and sorting the harvested cereal straw is provided on the left rear side of the harvesting device 3, and a control unit 5 on which an operator rides is provided on the right rear side of the harvesting device 3.

[0013] An engine room 6 for mounting the engine E is provided below the control unit 5, a grain tank 7 for storing the threshed and sorted grains is provided on the rear side of the control unit 5, and a discharge auger 8 composed of a vertical elevating part for discharging the grains to the outside and a horizontal discharge extending in the front-rear direction is provided on the rear side of the grain tank 7. Further, the control unit 5 is covered with a cabin 9 equipped with a lighting light at the upper part.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 3, the frame 10 forming the cabin 9 includes a left frame 11, a right frame 12, a rectangular connecting frame (also referred to as the "first connecting frame") 13 connecting the front parts of the left frame 11 and the right frame 12, and a plurality of connecting frames (also referred to as the "second connecting frames") 14 extending in the left-right direction connecting the rear parts of the left frame 11 and the right frame 12.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 4, the left frame 11 is formed by left vertical frames 15A to 15D extending in the vertical direction and left front-rear frames 16A to 16E extending in the front-rear direction. In this specification, the left vertical frames 15A to 15D are collectively referred to as the left vertical frame 15, and the left front-rear frames 16A to 16E are collectively referred to as the left front-rear frame 16.

[0016] The left front - rear frame 16A is connected to the upper parts of the left upper - lower frame 15A and the left upper - lower frame 15D, and its front part extends forward beyond the left upper - lower frame 15A. The left front - rear frame 16B is connected to the upper part of the left upper - lower frame 15A and the upper side of the left upper - lower frame 15A.

[0017] The left front - rear frame 16C is connected to the middle part of the left upper - lower frame 15A, and the lower parts of the left upper - lower frame 15C and the left upper - lower frame 15D. The left front - rear frame 16D is connected to the lower middle part of the left upper - lower frame 15A and the middle part of the left upper - lower frame 15B, and extends rearward beyond the left upper - lower frame 15B. The left front - rear frame 16E is connected to the lower parts of the left upper - lower frame 15A and the left upper - lower frame 15B. Its front part extends forward beyond the left upper - lower frame 15A, and its rear part extends rearward beyond the left upper - lower frame 15B. Thereby, the rigidity of the left frame 11 can be enhanced, and the deformation of the left frame 11 can be suppressed.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 5, the right frame 12 is formed by right upper - lower frames 17A - 17C extending in the vertical direction, right front - rear frames 18A, 18B extending in the front - rear direction, and a right curved frame 19 connecting the lower part of the right upper - lower frame 17C and the rear part of the right front - rear frame 18B.

[0019] In this specification, the right upper - lower frames 17A - 17C are collectively referred to as the right upper - lower frame 17, and the right front - rear frames 18A, 18B are collectively referred to as the right front - rear frame 18.

[0020] The right front - rear frame 18A is connected to the upper parts of the right upper - lower frame 17A and the right upper - lower frame 17B, and its front part extends forward beyond the right upper - lower frame 17A. The right front - rear frame 18B is connected to the lower part of the right upper - lower frame 17A and the right curved frame 19. Also, the right upper - lower frame 17B is connected to the front part on the rear side of the right front - rear frame 18A and the right curved frame 19. Thereby, the rigidity of the right frame 12 can be enhanced, and the deformation of the right frame 12 can be suppressed.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the left connecting frame 13L extending in the front-rear direction of the connecting frame 13 is connected to the lower parts of the left upper and lower frames 15A and 15B. The right connecting frame 13R extending in the front-rear direction of the connecting frame 13 is connected to the lower parts of the right upper and lower frame 17A and the right curved frame 19. Further, the connecting frame 14 is connected to the rear parts of the left front-rear frame 16C and the right curved frame 19. Thereby, the left frame 11 and the right frame 12 can be firmly connected to enhance the rigidity of the frame 10 and suppress the deformation of the frame 10.

[0022] At the inner peripheral part of the connecting frame 13, the upper part of a rectangular parallelepiped storage box 20 with an open upper part is fixed. In the storage space of the storage box 20, a battery 20A, a pump 20B, etc. are stored, and a stepped step (not shown) used by the operator during lifting is attached to the opening formed in the right wall of the storage box 20.

[0023] At the rear part of the frame 10, a partitioning member 21 for partitioning the control part 5 and the engine room 6 is provided. At the front part of the partitioning member 21, a support member 22 for supporting the operator's seat used by the operator is provided, and at the left part of the partitioning member 21, a convex part 23 is formed by bending the partitioning member 21 upward with the left side and the lower side open. Thereby, the front part of an exhaust gas purification device (DPF) for purifying impurities contained in the exhaust gas exhausted from the engine E can be arranged to penetrate into the convex part 23.

[0024] The partitioning member 21 is formed by a part 21A extending upward from the lower end part detachably fixed to the rear part of the connecting frame 13, a part 21B extending upward and rearward from the upper end part of the part 21A, a part 21C extending gently upward and rearward from the upper end part of the part 21B, a part 21D extending upward from the upper end part of the part 21C, and a part 21E extending upward and rearward from the upper end part of the part 21D. Note that the rear end part of the part 21E is detachably fixed to the connecting frame 14.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 6, the left upper and lower frame 15A extends upward from the lower end portion connected to the connecting frame 13, then curves upward and leftward, and then extends upward after curving upward. Similarly, the left upper and lower frame 15B extends upward from the lower end portion, then curves upward and leftward, and then extends upward after curving upward. As a result, a large space can be formed on the left side of the driver's seat in the control unit 5, and the stress caused by the narrow space for the operator can be reduced. Also, the right upper and lower frame 17A extends upward from the lower end portion connected to the connecting frame 13.

[0026] A plate-shaped left wall 25 is provided on the left frame 11. The left wall 25 is formed by a portion 25A extending downward along the left frame 11, a portion 25B extending downward and rightward from the lower end portion of the portion 25A, and a portion 25C extending downward from the lower end portion of the portion 25B.

[0027] A window (not shown) is provided in the rectangular opening formed in the upper part of the portion 25A, and the lower end portion of the portion 25C is in contact with the connecting frame 13. Also, a plate-shaped cover member 26 extending upward and leftward from the upper surface of the connecting frame 13 is provided at the lower part of the portion 25A, the portion 25B, and the portion facing the portion 25C.

[0028] A plate-shaped right wall 27 is provided on the right frame 12, and a window (not shown) is provided in the rectangular opening formed in the upper part of the right wall 27.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, a support portion (also referred to as "first support portion") 30 provided at the front portion of the body frame 1 is provided below the front connecting frame 13A of the connecting frame 13. The support portion 30 is formed by a left and right support member 30A extending in the left and right direction disposed below the front connecting frame 13A, a left upper and lower support member 30L extending from the left portion of the left and right support member 30A to the body frame 1, and a right upper and lower support member 30R extending from the right portion of the left and right support member 30A to the body frame 1. Note that the support portion 30 is provided in front of the output shaft 36A of the transmission 36.

[0030] The lower surface of the front connection frame 13A and the upper surface of the left and right support members 30A are connected via a pair of left and right vibration damping members (also referred to as "first vibration damping members") 31 such as vibration damping rubbers or shock absorbers provided at a predetermined interval in the left and right direction. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the vibration generated in the body frame 1 during traveling or the like from being transmitted to the front connection frame 13A via the left and right support members 30A, and suppress the shaking of the cabin 9.

[0031] Also, an oil filter 33 for removing impurities in the oil supplied to a hydraulic continuously variable transmission 32 that increases or decreases the output rotation of the engine E is attached to the middle part of the lower surface of the left and right support members 30A. Thereby, it is possible to easily arrange a flexible hose connecting the continuously variable transmission 32 and the oil filter 33.

[0032] A support portion (also referred to as "second support portion") 35 provided at the front portion of the body frame 1 is provided below the left front and rear frame 16D. The support portion 35 includes a front and rear support member 35A extending in the front and rear direction disposed below the left front and rear frame 16D, a front upper and lower support member 35F extending from the front portion of the front and rear support member 35A to a transmission 36 that increases or decreases the output rotation of the continuously variable transmission 32 disposed at the front portion of the body frame 1, and a rear upper and lower support member 35B extending from the rear portion of the front and rear support member 35A to the transmission 36. Thereby, it is possible to shorten the lengths of the front upper and lower support member 35F and the rear upper and lower support member 35B, increase the rigidity of the support portion 35, and prevent deformation of the support portion 35.

[0033] The lower surface of the left front and rear frame 16D and the upper surface of the front and rear support member 35A are connected via a vibration damping member (also referred to as "second vibration damping member") 37 such as a vibration damping rubber or a shock absorber. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the vibration generated in the body frame 1 during traveling or the like from being transmitted to the left front and rear frame 16D via the front and rear support member 35A, and suppress the shaking of the cabin 9.

[0034] Below the connecting frame 14, a support portion (also referred to as the "third support portion") 38 provided at the rear portion of the front side in the airframe frame 1 is provided. The support portion 38 is formed by a left and right support member 38A extending in the left and right direction disposed below the connecting frame 14, a left upper and lower support member 38L extending from the left portion of the left and right support member 38A to the airframe frame 1, and a right upper and lower support member 38R extending from the right portion of the left and right support member 38A to the airframe frame 1. Further, left and right reinforcing members 38D extending in the left and right direction are provided at the lower portions of the upper sides of the left upper and lower support member 38L and the right upper and lower support member 38R. Thereby, the rigidity of the support portion 38 can be increased and deformation of the support portion 38 can be prevented.

[0035] The lower surface of the connecting frame 14 and the upper surface of the left and right support member 38A are connected via a pair of left and right vibration isolation members (also referred to as the "third vibration isolation members") 39 such as vibration isolation rubbers or shock absorbers provided at a predetermined interval in the left and right direction. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the vibration generated in the airframe frame 1 during traveling or the like from being transmitted to the connecting frame 14 via the left and right support member 38A and suppress the shaking of the cabin 9.

[0036] In plan view, vibration isolation members 31, vibration isolation members 37, and vibration isolation members 39 are provided in order from the front side. The vibration isolation member 37 is provided on the left side of the vibration isolation member 31 and the vibration isolation member 39 and is located at the center in the left and right direction of the transmission 36. The vibration isolation member 39 is shifted to the left side of the vibration isolation member 31, that is, the left vibration isolation member 39 is provided on the left side of the left vibration isolation member 31, and the right vibration isolation member 39 is provided on the left side of the right vibration isolation member 31. Further, the interval between the left vibration isolation member 39 and the right vibration isolation member 39 is provided wider than the interval between the left vibration isolation member 31 and the right vibration isolation member 31.

[0037] It is preferable to use vibration isolation rubbers larger than the vibration isolation member 31 for the vibration isolation member 37 and the vibration isolation member 39. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the vibration of the left front and rear frame 16D and the connecting frame 14 having larger amplitudes due to vibration in the front and rear direction and the left and right direction than the front connecting frame 13A.

[0038] In a side view, the vibration isolation member 31 is provided above the transmission 36, the vibration isolation member 37 is provided above the vibration isolation member 31, and the vibration isolation member 39 is provided above the vibration isolation member 37. The vibration isolation member 37 is preferably provided positioned on an imaginary line connecting the vibration isolation member 31 and the vibration isolation member 39. Thereby, it is possible to further suppress the vibration generated in the airframe frame 1 during traveling or the like from being transmitted to the frame 10 via the left and right support members 30A, the front and rear support members 35A, and the left and right support members 38A, further suppressing the shaking of the cabin 9, and it is also possible to quickly attenuate the vibration transmitted to the frame 10.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 11, a rectangular opening 41 for maintenance work facing the parking brake pedal 40 for braking the traveling device 2 is formed at the lower front part of the right wall of the cabin 9. Thereby, the maintenance work of the parking brake pedal 40 can be easily performed through the opening 41. Note that normally, the opening 41 is covered with a rectangular cover 42.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a front panel 45 is provided on the front side of the driver's seat of the control unit 5, and a side panel 50 is provided on the left side.

[0041] The front panel 45 is provided with a monitor 46 for displaying the traveling speed of the traveling device 2 and the output rotation of the engine E. Also, on the right side of the monitor 46, an operation lever (not shown) for turning the traveling device 2 and raising and lowering the mowing device 3 is provided.

[0042] The left part of the side panel 50 is provided close to the left front and rear frame 16D that supports the left wall of the cabin 9. A shift lever 51 for operating the continuously variable transmission 32 is provided at the front part of the side panel 50, an emergency stop switch (also referred to as a "switch") 52 for emergently stopping the engine E is provided on the rear side of the shift lever 51, and a mowing and threshing lever 53 for operating a mowing clutch that transmits the output rotation of the engine E to the mowing device 3 and a threshing clutch that transmits it to the threshing device 4 is provided on the right side of the emergency stop switch 52.

[0043] The emergency stop switch 52 is provided in the recess 55 of the side panel 50, and the upper part of the emergency stop switch 52 is provided at substantially the same position as the upper surface of the side panel 50. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the emergency stop switch 52 from being accidentally pressed.

[0044] In a side view, the front wall of the recess 55 is formed with a front upward slope, and the rear wall is formed with a rear upward slope. Also, in the front-rear direction, the emergency stop switch 52 is moved to the front and provided behind the grip portion of the mowing lever 53 in a front inclined posture, and is moved to the rear and provided behind the grip portion of the mowing lever 53 in a rear inclined posture. Thereby, when overheating of the engine E or the like occurs, the emergency stop switch 52 can be quickly pressed.

[0045] The rear part of the side panel 50 is provided with a power port 71 for taking out power from the vehicle battery into the cabin 9. This power port 71 is of the USB (Universal Serial Bus) type and supplies power to a portable information terminal or the like held by an operator.

[0046] Also, a power steering lever is provided in the front right part of the cabin 9. This power steering lever raises and lowers the mowing device 3 by front-rear operation and steers the machine body by left-right operation. Also, a camera for imaging the front of the machine body is mounted in the upper front part of the cabin 9. This camera is viewed by an administrator who checks the working state remotely, or used for image analysis by an evaluation system such as machine learning. By the way, when this type of camera is used, when the steering operation of the machine body is performed, it is not possible to photograph the intended destination of the operator until the actual traveling direction of the machine body changes, and there is room for improvement in convenience as a means for confirmation. Therefore, when the power steering lever is operated, it is preferable to turn the optical axis of the camera in the direction of the power steering lever operation according to the operation angle and operation time. Also, conversely, it can be turned to the side opposite to the operation direction of the power steering lever.

[0047] Next, the handling work section will be described. The handling work section is a part for the operator to supply the manually cut cereal straws to the threshing device 4. More specifically, in the region in front of the front wall 4A of the threshing device 4, the conveying working part is exposed upward at the front part of the feed chain 4B that supplies the cereal straws to the threshing device 4. Therefore, the region from the front wall 4A of the threshing device 4 to the front end of the feed chain 4B on the front side of such a threshing device 4 becomes the handling work section. The handling (pillow handling) work of putting the cereal straws into this handling work section is dangerous because clothes and the human body may interfere with the fast-moving feed chain 4B. Therefore, when a dangerous event occurs in the working state, the work vehicle control device 110 (Fig. 14) executes control to ensure the safety of the feed chain 4B and the like accordingly.

[0048] An emergency stop switch 101, a cutting unit clutch sensor 102, etc. are connected to the input interface of the work vehicle control device 110.

[0049] An engine control device 131, a cutting unit clutch 132, a threshing unit clutch 133, a warning output device 134, a handling cylinder cover release mechanism 135, etc. are connected to the output interface of the work vehicle control device 110.

[0050] Also, a working state estimation device 120 is connected to the work vehicle control device 110. A first camera (also referred to as a "camera") 103 and a second camera (also referred to as a "camera") 104 are connected to the working state estimation device 120, and the captured video can be input.

[0051] The emergency stop switch 101, although not shown in detail, is provided on the outer surface on the left side at the front part of the threshing device 4 and is operated when the operator feels danger. The cutting unit clutch sensor 102 detects the connection state of the cutting clutch provided in the conduction path from the engine E to the cutting device 3.

[0052] Although the engine control device 131 is described as being connected to the output interface for convenience, in reality, it is connected to the work vehicle control device by a so-called CAN connection, communicates command signals, etc., and acquires the state data of the engine E and controls the rotational speed, etc. The mowing unit clutch 132 and the threshing unit clutch 133 connect and disconnect the power of the engine E to the mowing device 3 and the threshing device 4. The warning output device 134 notifies the operator of a dangerous situation. The installation location is arbitrary, but it is preferably provided around the front of the threshing device 4. The handle housing cover release mechanism 135 is provided above the threshing device 4 and is an actuator for forcibly opening the handle housing cover that covers the upper half of the handle housing. Since a clamping rod that opposes the upper side of the feed chain 4B is attached to the handle housing cover, in addition to the upper half of the handle housing being exposed when the handle housing cover is opened, the clamping of the straw by the feed chain 4B is released.

[0053] The first camera 103 and the second camera 104, which are connected to the working state estimation device 120 by wire or wirelessly, are both cameras for imaging the vicinity of the operator's working area. The first camera 103 is fixed to the left frame 11 at the lower part of the left side of the cabin 9. This first camera 103 is installed in a posture where the optical axis faces the left-right direction and images the vicinity of the operator's working area from the cabin 9 side. The second camera 104 is provided at the rear of the mowing device 4 and is arranged in the space below the conveying cover that covers the upper side of the straw conveying mechanism leading to the threshing device 4 and is fixed to the support frame of the conveying cover. This second camera has an optical axis facing the front-rear direction and images the vicinity of the operator's working area from the side of the mowing device 4, which is in front of the operator's working area.

[0054] The operation state estimation device 120 evaluates the state of the handling operation mainly based on the video data captured by the first camera 103 and the second camera 104. On the front wall 4A of the threshing device 4, markers are provided for specifying the angle and position of the video captured by the camera with respect to the camera. The marker is a black-and-white image of several pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions, and is recognized by the operation state estimation device 120 according to its arrangement. A plurality of markers are provided, and the relationship between the real coordinate system and the camera coordinate system is evaluated according to the positional relationship in which they appear in the video. For example, markers are respectively provided at the four vertices of a rectangle in a single plane on the front surface of the front wall 4A, and by observing the shape of this quadrilateral in the camera video, it is possible to recognize how the real coordinate system is projected, and to evaluate the position and size of the object moving into the video.

[0055] Such coordinate system identification processing is performed by the first camera 103 and the second camera 104 respectively. By considering the relative postures and positions of each other, it is possible to more accurately evaluate the position and the like of the object captured by both cameras. In this way, the person detection unit 121, the posture estimation unit 122, the clothing determination unit 123, the proximity determination unit 124, and the motion determination unit 125 as various functions provided in the operation state estimation device 120 use the coordinate information obtained by the above coordinate system identification processing together with the videos of the first camera 103 and the second camera 104 to perform various processes.

[0056] Note that the various estimation units and determination units provided in the operation state estimation device 120 are learned models based on machine learning. After giving teacher data for basic learning for determination, fine-tuning for optimization of the vehicle body and the camera is performed.

[0057] The person detection unit 121 of the operation state estimation device 120 detects the area in which a person appears in each video of the first camera 103 and the second camera 104. Although it is arbitrary how the person detection unit 121 outputs the determined information, it outputs the area coordinate information including the size and position of the rectangular shape surrounding the area where the person appears together with the probability value that it is a person.

[0058] The posture estimation unit 122 estimates the posture of the person based on the information of the person area extracted by the person detection unit 121. In the posture estimation, the posture is estimated by fitting the person in the video to a predefined human body shape model. That is, the positions corresponding to several key points such as the shoulders, elbows, and head are specified from the image, and a model of straight-line bone segments connecting these points is defined in the evaluation space of the real coordinate system to estimate in what position and with what body posture the operator exists. Since the ranges captured by the first camera 103 and the second camera 104 are generally limited to the upper body, only the posture of the upper body is estimated to reduce the computational amount of video analysis.

[0059] The posture estimation unit 122 outputs meta-evaluation data regarding the posture of the person that summarizes them, centering on the coordinate information of each key point.

[0060] The clothing determination unit 123 estimates and determines the state of the clothing of the person in each of the videos of the first camera 103 and the second camera 104. In particular, it estimates the presence or absence of wearing gloves, which has a great influence on the risk level of the work, and the presence or absence of clothing disorder where entanglement risk is assumed.

[0061] The clothing determination unit 123 determines the presence or absence of wearing gloves. Specifically, from the position information of the head or neck obtained by the posture estimation unit 122, the video pixel information of the area corresponding to the part is referred to, and the skin color of the operator is calculated. Similarly, the skin color of the area of the hand indirect part is calculated. Using the differences between these colors and the evaluation results by a function that evaluates the skin color-likeness of a separately prepared color code (such as RGB value), it is determined whether gloves are worn on the hands. In addition, the clothing determination unit 123 also determines the state of wearing a towel around the neck. This is also preferably determined from the color of the neck in the same way as the wearing of gloves.

[0062] The clothing determination unit 123 makes the above-described determination, but since only the information on the presence or absence of mere clothing problem points is insufficient as a risk evaluation, the risk level due to clothing is quantified and output.

[0063] The proximity determination unit 124 determines the degree of proximity of the operator's body to the movable part in the handling operation part. In the handling operation, the operator passes both arms above the feed chain 4B and positions them on the handling operation part. In addition, since the forearm part is hidden by the straw bundle, it is difficult to evaluate the dangerous approach state to the movable part in the image. Therefore, the proximity determination unit 124 uses the output result of the above-described posture estimation unit 122 to evaluate the dangerous approach to the movable part based on the degree of proximity of the operator's torso to the danger area. That is, since the positions and shapes of the threshing device 4 and the feed chain 4B are known, it is possible to specify in advance the areas in which they exist in the coordinate system of the imaging area. A danger area is defined as an area within a certain distance from these members around them, and the degree of danger is evaluated based on the distance of the closest part of the torso (which is generally a bone segment connecting the key point of the neck and the key point of the waist). When defining the danger area, it is not necessarily required to have a uniform distance from the movable part. It can be defined wider towards the rear of the machine body, which is the downstream side of the feed chain 4B in the conveying direction, or can be defined wider for the exposed part of the feed chain 4B and the opening of the threshing device 4, etc., and can be appropriately specified according to the actual risk. Note that the proximity determination unit 124 quantifies and outputs the degree of danger due to proximity, and preferably further distinguishes and outputs the degree of danger due to the threshing part (handling cylinder) and the degree of danger due to the feed chain 4B.

[0064] The motion determination unit 125 determines whether the operator's body has made a dangerous motion. Dangerous motions are generally classified into two types. The first is a motion of approaching the movable part rapidly, and the second is a motion of shifting rapidly to the downstream side (the rear side of the machine body) in the conveying direction of the feed chain 4B. Both indicate a possible sign that the operator may be involved in the movable part. Also, regarding the motion of approaching the movable part rapidly, even if it is not in a situation of being involved, it is reasonable to evaluate it as a working motion with a high degree of danger.

[0065] Therefore, the motion determination unit 125 monitors the movement of the trunk using the output result of the posture estimation unit 122, and particularly evaluates whether there is a large acceleration in the movement of the trunk. In this way, the degree of danger regarding the speed and acceleration of approaching the movable part and moving toward the rear side of the aircraft body is evaluated and output numerically.

[0066] With the configuration as described above, the work state estimation device 120 comprehensively evaluates the danger of the work based on the output results from the clothing determination unit 123, the proximity determination unit 124, and the motion determination unit 125, and outputs a countermeasure operation command for designating a danger elimination operation to the work vehicle control device 110.

[0067] The countermeasure operation command includes, according to the degree of danger evaluated by the work state estimation device 120, engine E stop, handling cover release by the handling cover release mechanism 135, stop of the feed chain 4B, deceleration of the feed chain 4B, warning by the warning output device 134, etc. in descending order of the degree of danger. The operations listed above can also be performed in combination. That is, for example, when performing an operation for a higher degree of danger, operations prepared for a lower degree of danger can also be combined and executed. Also, the threshold values for classifying the countermeasure operations can be adjusted by the operator or the mechanic.

[0068] In the above example, it is assumed that the work state estimation device 120 comprehensively considers the output results from the clothing determination unit 123, the proximity determination unit 124, and the motion determination unit 125. However, it can be evaluated by taking the maximum value of the degree of danger output by these, simple average, or an average value with weighting for any of them. Also, only one of the determination units can be used, in which case the calculation amount of the work state estimation device 120 can be reduced, and the processing can be realized by a device with low computing resources.

[0069] Also, the work state estimation device 120 evaluates the images of the two cameras, the first camera 103 and the second camera 104, but a single camera or images of three or more cameras may also be used.

Explanation of Signs

[0070] 4 Threshing device 4B Feed chain 103 First camera 104 Second camera 120 Working state estimation device 122 Posture estimation unit 124 Proximity determination unit 125 Motion determination unit

Claims

1. A combine harvester comprising cameras (103, 104) for monitoring an operator's handling work, comprising a working state estimation device (120) for evaluating the risk level of the operator's work from the images captured by the cameras (103, 104), wherein the working state estimation device (120) has a posture estimation unit (122) for estimating the posture of the operator. The combine harvester is characterized by this.

2. A threshing device (4) for threshing grain straws, comprising a feed chain (4B) for supplying grain straws to the threshing device (4), wherein the working state estimation device (120) has a proximity determination unit (124) for evaluating the distance between the threshing device (4) or the feed chain (4B) and the position of the operator's torso based on the posture information of the work vehicle estimated by the posture estimation unit (122). The combine harvester according to Claim 1.

3. The working state estimation device (120) has an action determination unit (125) for detecting the movement of the operator's torso in the rear direction of the machine body based on the posture information of the work vehicle estimated by the posture estimation unit (122). The combine harvester according to Claim 1 or Claim 2.

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