Work vehicles

Abstract

To provide a work vehicle that can adequately block sunlight. [Solution] In a work vehicle with a cockpit (8) inside a cabin (7), a roll screen (30) is equipped with rail mounting stays (33) that connect to rails (31) located on the front and left and right sides of the upper part inside the cabin (7). A moving device (33d, 33d) driven by a motor (33b) that moves along the rails (31) is provided on the rail mounting stays (33). Means for acquiring the position of the sun and means for acquiring the orientation of the work vehicle (29) are provided. A control device (13) calculates a target position to block sunlight from the worker seated in the cockpit (8) based on the position of the sun and the orientation of the work vehicle and moves the roll screen (30). A position detection device (101) detects the current position of the roll screen (30). The device determines whether the current position is at the target position and corrects it if the position deviation is greater than a predetermined value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a work vehicle such as an agricultural tractor.

Background Art

[0002] There is a tractor with a sun visor attached to the upper front of the driver's seat (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in field work, the tractor turns many times and changes its traveling direction, so the direction of the sunlight also changes each time, and it is not sufficient to only block the sunlight in front.

[0005] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a work vehicle that can appropriately block sunlight.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] Therefore, the work vehicle according to the invention is a work vehicle having a driver's seat (8) inside a cabin (7), equipped with a roll screen (30) with rail mounting stays (33) connected to rails (31) arranged on the front and left and right sides of the upper part inside the cabin (7), a moving device (33d, 33d) driven by a motor (33b) that moves along the rails (31) provided on the rail mounting stays (33), means for acquiring the position of the sun and means for acquiring the orientation of the work vehicle (29), a control device (13) that calculates a target position to block sunlight from the worker seated in the driver's seat (8) from the position of the sun and the orientation of the work vehicle and moves the roll screen (30), and a position detection device (101) that detects the current position of the roll screen (30), determines whether the current position is at the target position and corrects if the position deviation is greater than a predetermined value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the relative position of the sun can be calculated from the position of the sun and the orientation of the work vehicle, and the roll screen (30) can be moved to a position that blocks sunlight from the worker seated in the cockpit (8), thereby effectively blocking sunlight. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a side view of a tractor according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a plan view showing the main parts of the cabin. [Figure 3] This is a left-side view of the inside of the hood. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view of an air conditioner condenser. [Figure 5] This is a perspective view of a roller blind. [Figure 6] This is an end view illustrating the operation of the rail and roller screen. [Figure 7] This is a plan view of a cabin illustrating another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] This is an end view illustrating the operation of the wire storage section. [Figure 9] This is a block diagram of a management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] As one embodiment of the present invention, an agricultural tractor 1 equipped with a rotary tiller W, which is a type of work vehicle, will be described.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, Tractor 1 is an agricultural tractor that performs work in fields and other areas while moving under its own power.

[0011] In the following, the forward and backward directions refer to the direction of travel when the tractor 1 is moving straight, with the front side of the direction of travel defined as "forward" and the rear side as "rear." The direction of travel of the tractor 1 is the direction from the driver's seat 8 (described later) toward the steering wheel 9, which serves as the steering device, when moving straight.

[0012] The left-right direction is the direction perpendicular to the front-back direction. In the following, left and right are defined with respect to the "front" side. That is, with the operator of tractor 1 (also called the "driver") seated in the driver's seat 8 and facing forward, the left side is "left" and the right side is "right".

[0013] The vertical direction refers to the vertical direction. The front-back, left-right, and up-down directions are orthogonal to each other. Note that these directions are defined for the sake of explanation, and the present invention is not limited by these directions. Also, in the following, tractor 1 may be referred to as the machine body or vehicle body.

[0014] As shown in Figure 1, the tractor 1 comprises a vehicle body 2 and a linkage mechanism L for implements at its rear. The vehicle body 2 comprises a vehicle frame 3 which serves as the main frame, left and right drive front wheels 4 steered by a steering wheel 9, left and right drive rear wheels 5, a bonnet 6, an engine E, a control unit 7a inside the cabin 7, and a transmission case 10.

[0015] The bonnet 6 is provided at the front part of the traveling vehicle body 2 so as to be openable and closable. The front part of the bonnet 6 can rotate (open and close) in the vertical direction with the rear part as the rotation center. The bonnet 6 covers the engine E mounted on the vehicle body frame 3 in the closed state.

[0016] The engine E is the drive source of the tractor 1 and is a heat engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine.

[0017] An air conditioner condenser (air conditioner condenser) 50 is provided on the base plate 60 inside the bonnet 6. The air conditioner condenser 50 is supported by a condenser bracket 51. The condenser bracket 51 is erected in front of the radiator 70. The air cleaner bracket 71 and the condenser bracket 51 are fixed to each other. In this case, fixing by welding is preferable.

[0018] The condenser bracket 51 includes a pipe-shaped frame portion 52. The breather hose 72 (for blow-by gas discharge) of the front axle is inserted into the condenser bracket 51. Thereby, the routing of the breather hose 72 becomes easy, and the space efficiency inside the bonnet 6 can be improved.

[0019] Also, a hole portion for the breather hose 72 is formed in the upper part of the frame portion 52 of the condenser bracket 51. Thereby, the pressure of the axle bracket can be released to the atmosphere. An air conditioner condenser 50 is provided in front of the frame portion 52 of the condenser bracket 51.

[0020] Left and right condenser brackets (51L, R) are provided at both the left and right ends of the condenser bracket 51. A hook plate 53 composed of a condenser bracket mounting portion 531 and an L-shaped or U-shaped hook portion 532 is assembled to the left condenser bracket 51L using a butterfly bolt 54.

[0021] The hook plate 53 is provided with a notch 533, and by passing the notch 533 through the pin 55 of the left condenser bracket 51L, the hook plate 53 can be rotated freely within the range of the notch 533, allowing the mounting position to be changed according to the work being done. In other words, by providing the hook plate 53, the air conditioner condenser 50 can be easily pulled out for maintenance.

[0022] Specifically, when pulling out the air conditioner condenser 50, the wing bolt 54 is loosened and the hook plate 53 is rotated so that the hook portion 532 is parallel in the vertical direction, and the condenser bracket 51 can be pulled out from the frame portion 52 by pushing the hook portion 532. After pulling it out, the hook portion 532 can be hooked onto the frame portion 52 by fixing the hook plate 53 with the wing bolt 44 while the hook portion 532 is rotated so that the hook portion 532 is parallel in the front-to-back direction, and the position of the air conditioner condenser 50 can be easily fixed.

[0023] The control unit 7a is located inside a cabin 7 situated on top of the vehicle body 2 and includes a cockpit 8, a steering wheel 9, and the like.

[0024] The cockpit 8 is the seat for the operator (driver). The steering wheel 9 is operated by the operator to steer the left and right front wheels 4.

[0025] The transmission case 10 houses the transmission (speed change mechanism). The transmission case 10 reduces the power (rotational power) transmitted from the engine E as needed by the transmission and transmits it to the drive wheels, which are the left and right drive front wheels 4 and left and right drive rear wheels 5, and the PTO shaft 45.

[0026] At the rear of the vehicle body 2, a hydraulic cylinder case 40 is provided on the upper rear of the transmission case 10. Lift arms 41, which constitute part of the hydraulic lifting mechanism, are rotatably mounted on both the left and right sides of this cylinder case 40. The lift arms 41 move up and down by the extension and retraction of the lifting hydraulic cylinder 40a.

[0027] Furthermore, a three-point linkage mechanism L consisting of a top link T42 and left and right lower links 43 is provided, and a rotary tiller W is attached to this linkage mechanism L. The lower links 43 are connected to the lift arm 41 via a lift rod 44, thereby enabling the rotary tiller W to be raised and lowered. A PTO shaft 45 that transmits power to drive the rotary tiller W protrudes rearward from the transmission case 10.

[0028] The PTO shaft 45 transmits rotational power, which has been appropriately reduced by the transmission, to the rotary tilling implement W mounted on the rear of the vehicle body 2 via a drive shaft 46 equipped with universal joints at both ends.

[0029] The rotary tiller W is a machine that performs tilling work in a field. The rotary tiller W tills the field surface (soil) by rotating the tilling tines 47 with power transmitted from the PTO shaft 45.

[0030] The front control panel FP at the front of the control unit 7a is equipped with a monitor, which is a notification device that displays various information in front of the steering wheel 9.

[0031] Furthermore, the front control panel FP section is equipped with various control pedals such as the accelerator pedal 11, left and right brake pedals 12L and 12R for braking the left and right rear wheels 5 respectively, and a clutch pedal, as well as various control levers such as the forward / reverse lever, accelerator lever, main transmission lever, sub-transmission lever, and turn signal lever for operating the turn signals.

[0032] Furthermore, a control device 13 is provided in the front control panel FP section, and a GNSS 15, which serves as a positioning device, is mounted on the front upper surface of the roof 14 of the cabin 7.

[0033] The control device 13 controls various parts such as the engine E, the drive system and operating system of the vehicle body 2, and the rotary tilling implement W. It is equipped with a recording unit that records various data such as a calendar database that stores the position of the sun and a map database. The recording unit calculates the work route for the autonomous tractor 1 to perform round-trip operations on the user-owned field F registered in the map database and stores the work route in the map database.

[0034] Tractor 1 receives signals from positioning satellites via GNSS15 in field F, calculates its position using the satellite positioning system, and autonomously drives (automatically operates) along the work route, performing tasks automatically.

[0035] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cabin 7 is fixed to the vehicle body via elastic members such as vibration-damping rubber, making it difficult for vibrations from the vehicle body to be transmitted to the cabin 7.

[0036] Cabin 7 has a frame structure that is integrated by a floor 17, front support columns 18 erected on the left and right front of the floor 17, rear support columns 19 erected on the left and right rear of the cockpit 8, intermediate support columns 20 erected in the middle of the front and rear, and an upper frame 21 connecting the upper ends of these support columns, and the upper part is covered by a roof 14 fixed to the upper frame 21.

[0037] Furthermore, the front and rear sides are equipped with a windshield FG and a rear window RG, while the left and right sides are equipped with opening and closing doors 22 and side windows SG.

[0038] The opening and closing door 22 is a glass door with transparency, and has an upper and lower edge. The front side follows the front support column 18, the lower rear side follows the fender 25, and the upper rear side follows the intermediate support column 20. A sealing material is fitted around the perimeter of the tempered glass. Hinges 27 are configured at two locations, upper and lower, between the rear of the opening and closing door 22 and the intermediate support column 20. The hinges 27 are fixed from the outside of the intermediate support column 20 and the opening and closing door 22, allowing the opening and closing door 22 to rotate outward and open the left and right sides of the cabin 7.

[0039] An outer door handle 28 is provided on the lower front outer side of the opening / closing door 22. An inner door handle is also provided on the inner side of the opposing opening / closing door 22.

[0040] An electronic compass 29 is provided on a reinforcing plate 18a connected to the left and right front support pillars 18, which are reinforcing members of the windshield FG, as a means for detecting the direction of the tractor 1.

[0041] Furthermore, a U-shaped rail 31, fixed to the upper frame 21, is installed in the upper part of the cabin 7, and a roll screen 30 is movably mounted on it.

[0042] As shown in Figure 5, the roll screen 30 is a typical type in which a flat light-shielding member that blocks sunlight and the like is rolled up and stored inside the main body 30a. When the lower handle 31 is pulled downwards, the light-shielding member that is rolled up inside the main body 30a is pulled out to the position where the handle was pulled, and when the storage knob 32 on the side is pulled, the pulled-out light-shielding member is rolled up and stored inside the main body 30a.

[0043] On the upper surface of the main body 30a of the roller screen 30, rail mounting stays 33 are provided on the left and right sides, respectively.

[0044] As shown in Figure 6, the rail mounting stay 33 has an electric motor 33b fixed to the upper part of a mounting seat 33a, the base of which is fixed to the upper surface of the main body 30a, and drive wheels (tires) 33d, 33d, which serve as a moving device, are attached to the drive shafts 33c, 33c that protrude from both sides of the electric motor 33b.

[0045] The electric motor 33b operates in forward and reverse directions according to the command of the control device 13, thereby rotating the drive wheels 33d, 33d in forward and reverse directions.

[0046] The rail 31, installed in the upper part of the cabin 7, is made of a curved square pipe material and arranged in a U-shape in plan view along the top of the front windshield FG and the opening doors 22 on both sides and the side windows SG at the front of the cabin 7. A movable through hole 31a for the mounting base 33a of the rail mounting stay 33 for the roll screen 30 is provided along the entire length of the rail on the underside.

[0047] The roller screen 30 is attached to the rail 31 by inserting two rail mounting stays 33 from one end of the rail 31, with the mounting base 33a inserted through the through hole 31a on the underside of the rail 31 and both drive wheels 33d, 33d in contact with the bottom surface 31b inside the rail 31.

[0048] Here, we will explain the control mechanism by which the roller screen 30 moves along the rail 31 to block sunlight from the operator (driver) seated in the cockpit 8.

[0049] When starting work in field F, the worker pulls the handle 31 of the roll screen 30 downwards to pull the light-shielding member to the designated position.

[0050] Then, start engine E and turn on the main switch to activate the control device 13.

[0051] The control device 13 receives signals from positioning satellites using GNSS 15 and calculates the position information and current time of the tractor 1 using the satellite positioning system. The electronic compass 29 detects the orientation of the tractor 1, calculates the position of the sun at the current time from the calendar database in the recording unit, calculates the relative position of the sun to the tractor 1, and operates the electric motor 33b to rotate the drive wheels 33d, 33d until the roll screen 30 is in a position to block sunlight from the worker (driver) seated in the driver's seat 8, moving the roll screen 30 along the rail 31 and stopping.

[0052] Therefore, the roller screen 30 can effectively block sunlight, allowing workers to perform their tasks effectively.

[0053] Furthermore, since the rail 31 is arranged in a U-shape in a plan view along the windshield FG at the front of the cabin 7, the opening and closing doors 22 on both the left and right sides, and the top of the side windows SG, the roll screen 30 can be moved forward and to the left and right of the cabin 7 to properly block sunlight.

[0054] Figure 7 shows another embodiment, in which light sensors 37 are provided at the front and on both sides of the cabin 7, and the roll screen 30 is moved according to the ratio of light intensity detected by the three light sensors 37 to appropriately block sunlight from the worker (driver) seated in the cockpit 8.

[0055] Specifically, the three light sensors 37 are located at the left-right center position above the windshield FG on the front side of the roof 14 of the cabin 7, at the top of the side glass SG on the right side of the roof 14, and at the top of the opening / closing door 22 on the left side of the roof 14.

[0056] The control device 13 calculates the ratio of light intensity detected by the three light sensors 37, determines the direction with the most light intensity relative to the cabin 7, and operates the electric motor 33b to rotate the drive wheels 33d, 33d until the roll screen 30 is in a position where it blocks sunlight from the worker (driver) seated in the cockpit 8, moving the roll screen 30 along the rail 31 and stopping.

[0057] The wire 301 is configured to extend and retract when the roller screen 30 is moved. As shown in Figures 6 and 8, a wire storage section 303 is provided on one side of the roller screen 30, which has a wire winding motor 302 and allows the wire 301 to be extended or retracted.

[0058] The position detection unit 310 has the function of determining the current position of the roll screen 30 from the length of the wire 301 obtained by the wire length acquisition unit 311. The wire length acquisition unit 311 detects the length of the pulled-out wire 301 by monitoring the rotation speed of the wire winding motor 302 when the wire 301 is extended or retracted.

[0059] Then, as shown in Figure 9, the control device 13 obtains detection information from the position detection unit 310 using the winding mechanism, and the discrimination unit 131 determines whether or not the current position of the roll screen 30 is at the target position.

[0060] When the discrimination unit 131 receives detection information from the position detection unit 310 indicating a discrepancy between the current position and the target position, the discrimination unit 131 determines that it is necessary to move the roll screen 30 again to correct the current position, and activates the electric motor 33b to rotate the drive wheels 33d, 33d to move the roll screen along the rail 31 and stop.

[0061] At this time, if the difference between the current position and the target position is less than or equal to a predetermined value, it is determined that the target position has been reached, and the roller screen 30 is not moved.

[0062] Furthermore, control by the control device 13 continues until the position detection unit 310 stops detecting that the current position of the roll screen 30 is not at the target position, and terminates after the target position is reached.

[0063] Therefore, the roller screen 30 can effectively block sunlight, allowing workers to perform their tasks effectively. A mode switching switch 100 is provided, and the automatic mode and manual mode can be switched using the mode switching switch 100. In automatic mode, the roller screen 30 is automatically moved to a position that blocks sunlight, and in manual mode, it can be moved by the operator (driver). The mode switching switch 100 is operated by the operator.

[0064] Regarding the current position, the minimum and maximum wire lengths are predetermined. When the length of the wire 301 pulled out from the wire storage unit 303 is the minimum length, the output is restricted to move to a shorter length. When it is the maximum length, the output is restricted to move to a longer length. By restricting further movement, the load on the wire winding motor 302 is reduced, making it less prone to failure. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0065] 7 cabins 8. Cockpit 15. Positioning device (GNSS) 29. Means for obtaining the orientation of the work vehicle (electronic compass) 30 Roller Blinds 31 rails 33 Rail mounting bracket 33b Motor (Electric Motor) 33d Movable device (drive wheels) 37 Light Sensor 100 Mode selector switch 101 Position detection unit 102 Wire length acquisition section 131 Discrimination part 301 Wire 302 Motor for winding wire 303 Wire storage section

Claims

1. A cockpit (8) is provided inside the cabin (7). A roll screen (30) is provided, which has rail mounting stays (33) that connect to rails (31) located on the front and left and right sides of the upper part inside the cabin (7). A moving device (33d, 33d) that moves along the rail (31) is provided on the rail mounting stay (33) and is driven by a motor (33b). The system includes means for acquiring the position of the sun and means for acquiring the orientation of the work vehicle (29), and a control device (13) that calculates a target position to block sunlight from the operator seated in the cockpit (8) based on the position of the sun and the orientation of the work vehicle, and moves the roll screen (30) accordingly. The system includes a position detection device (101) for detecting the current position of the roll screen (30), A work vehicle characterized by determining whether the current position is at the target position and correcting the position if the deviation exceeds a predetermined value.

2. A wire (301) is attached to the aforementioned roller screen (30), The wire (301) has a retractable wire storage section (303) and is equipped with a wire length acquisition section (102) for detecting the length of the wire (301) pulled out from the wire storage section (303). The work vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the current position of the roll screen (30) is detected from the length that has been pulled out.

3. The work vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that it includes a moving mode for automatically moving the roll screen (30) and a manual mode for manually moving it.

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