Work vehicles

Abstract

To provide a work vehicle capable of informing an operator at proper timing that the work vehicle is about to deviate from a road.SOLUTION: A tractor comprises: a traveling machine body capable of traveling on a road; a camera capable of imaging the ground in front of the traveling machine body; a reporting unit capable of reporting; and a control unit that detects a step on the ground as an edge of the road based on image data obtained by an imaging operation of the camera, and is capable of executing a reporting mode for activating the reporting unit when an interval X1 between the traveling machine body and the edge of the road is equal to or less than a predetermined distance THX.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 for example, a technique for controlling the travel of a work vehicle using a captured image in a field is known. This type of work vehicle may travel not only in the field but also on a road. On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for detecting a lane such as a white line on a road and preventing a vehicle from deviating from the lane, although it is a technique related to a vehicle such as a passenger car.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the roads on which work vehicles travel are often farm roads. Therefore, the roads on which work vehicles travel often have a situation where a white line is drawn only in the center or on one side of the road, or a situation where no white line is drawn anywhere on the road. Therefore, it is difficult to directly apply the technique described in Patent Document 2 to a work vehicle, and a technique that can avoid deviating from the road is also desired for work vehicles.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a work vehicle that can notify an operator at an appropriate timing of being likely to deviate from the road.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The work vehicle (1) of the present invention includes a traveling body (4) capable of traveling on a road (R), an imaging unit (15) capable of imaging the ground in front of the traveling body (4), a notification unit (40) capable of notifying, and a control unit (100) that detects a step (S) on the ground as an edge of the road based on image data (I1) obtained by an imaging operation of the imaging unit (15), and operates the notification unit (40) if an interval (X1) between the traveling body (4) and the edge of the road (R) is equal to or less than a predetermined interval (THX).

[0007] For example, referring to FIGS. 1, 4, 6, 8, and 9, the control unit (100) in the notification mode, obtains a predicted value (T) corresponding to the time or distance required for the traveling body (4) to reach the edge of the road (R) based on image data (I1) obtained by an imaging operation of the imaging unit (15), and operates the notification unit (40) if the predicted value (T) is equal to or less than a predetermined value (THT).

[0008] For example, referring to FIGS. 1, 5, and 7, the work vehicle (1) includes a steering unit (25) that steers the traveling body (4), and the control unit (100) is capable of executing an automatic steering mode for controlling the steering unit (15) based on image data (I2) obtained by an imaging operation of the imaging unit (15).

[0009] Note that the reference numerals in the above parentheses are for reference in the drawings and do not limit the configuration of the present invention in any way.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention according to claim 1, it is possible to appropriately detect the edge of a road on which a work vehicle travels, and thereby it becomes possible to operate the notification unit at an appropriate timing. As a result, the operator can quickly perform an operation to avoid the work vehicle from deviating from the road.

[0011] According to the invention according to claim 2, by further adding a function of determining with a predicted value, an operator can perform an operation of avoiding the work vehicle from deviating from the road more quickly.

[0012] According to the present invention according to claim 3, the imaging unit can be also used in the automatic steering mode and the notification mode, and there is no need to separately prepare an imaging unit different from the imaging unit, and cost reduction can be achieved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a tractor 1 which is an example of the work vehicle according to the embodiment, FIG. 2(a) is a perspective view of the tractor 1 in FIG. 1 seen from the front, and FIG. 2(b) is a perspective view of the tractor 1 seen from the rear.

[0015] The tractor 1 includes a traveling body 4 having a pair of left and right front wheels 2 and rear wheels 3, and a working machine 6 that is liftably connected to the rear of the traveling body 4 via a lift link 5. The traveling body 4 is configured to be able to travel on a farm field or a road. The traveling body 4 includes a body frame 7 supported by the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3, a bonnet 8 that covers the upper surface of an engine (not shown) installed at the front part of the body frame 7, and a cabin 10 installed behind the bonnet 8 and provided with a control unit 9 where an operator gets on and performs operations such as steering. The engine drives the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3 via a transmission mechanism (not shown), and supplies driving force to the working machine 6 via a PTO shaft (not shown). The working machine 6 is used for performing operations such as seeding and ridging in a farm field, and is, for example, a rotary tiller.

[0016] The above control unit 9 includes a seat 11 on which the operator sits, and a steering unit 25 including a steering handle 12 disposed in front of the seat 11 and a steering shaft 21 extending in the vertical direction. The steering unit 25 is for the operator or the drive unit 20 to steer the traveling body 4.

[0017] Further, the above control unit 9 includes a display panel 13 disposed in front of the steering handle 12, a forward and reverse switching lever 14 disposed on the left side of the steering handle 12, a throttle lever (not shown) disposed on the right side of the steering handle 12, a lift lever (not shown) disposed in front of the throttle lever and operating the lifting operation of the above working machine 6, a direction indicator lever 16 disposed on the back side of the throttle lever, a floor step 18 which is a floor surface provided between the seat 11 and the steering handle 12, and an operation panel 19 disposed on the right side of the seat 11.

[0018] The cabin 10 has a pair of front frames 10a, a pair of rear frames 10b, and a ceiling 10c supported by these frames 10a, 10b, and the control unit 9 is formed inside thereof. A camera 15, which is an example of an imaging unit, is provided at the front part of the ceiling 10c of the cabin 10.

[0019] Between the rotation axis of the steering wheel 12 and the upper end of the steering shaft 21, a drive unit 20 is provided for rotationally driving the steering shaft 21 to control (assist) the steering of the traveling body 4. The drive unit 20 is mounted on the upper end side of the steering shaft 21 and is attached and fixed to the upper part of a steering column 22 that covers the steering shaft 21. Thereby, the steering shaft 21 is configured to be rotationally operated (steering operation) by an operator via the steering wheel 12 and to be rotationally driven by the drive unit 20 so that the steering operation can be controlled (assisted). The tractor 1 includes an operation panel 27 disposed on the case of the drive unit 20 and a control unit 100 disposed in the case of the drive unit 20.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the operation panel 27 according to the embodiment. The operation panel 27 has an operation ON / OFF switch 31, a notification ON / OFF switch 32, a long-distance straight-ahead button 33, a plurality of follow buttons 34 to 36, a sensitivity adjustment button 37, a notification unit 40, and a plurality of LEDs 43 to 46. The notification unit 40 is configured to be able to notify an operator of an alarm, and in this embodiment, includes a lamp 41 and a buzzer 42.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a main part of the control system of the tractor 1 according to the embodiment. The control unit 100 is constituted by a computer such as a microcomputer, for example. The control unit 100 is constituted by a computer different from an ECU (not shown) that controls the traveling body 4 and the work implement 6. The drive unit 20 shown in FIG. 1 includes a steering angle sensor 30 and a drive motor 39.

[0022] The control unit 100 includes a CPU 101 which is an example of a processor, a ROM 102 and a RAM 103 which are examples of a storage unit, an I / O 104 which is an example of an input / output interface, and a communication unit 105. The communication unit 105 is configured to be capable of data communication with the mobile terminal 200 wirelessly, such as via WiFi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark), or by wire. The mobile terminal 200 is a computer terminal having a display 206 which is an example of a display unit capable of displaying images, and is, for example, a tablet PC or a smartphone. In the present embodiment, the display 206 is a touch panel display.

[0023] On the input side of the control unit 100, a camera 15, a steering angle sensor 30, an operation ON / OFF switch 31, a notification ON / OFF switch 32, a long view straight-ahead button 33, follow buttons 34 to 36, and a sensitivity adjustment button 37 are connected. On the output side of the control unit 100, a drive motor 39, a notification unit 40, and LEDs 43 to 46 are connected.

[0024] The camera 15 is disposed at a position where it can image the ground and the horizon in the traveling direction of the traveling body 4 which is the target of vehicle travel. The camera 15 is a monocular digital camera, images a subject (landscape) to generate image data, and outputs the image data to the control unit 100.

[0025] The steering angle sensor 30 is a device that detects the steering angle of the front wheels 2. The drive motor 39 is an electric motor that rotationally drives the steering shaft 21, and is, for example, a stepping motor. The drive motor 39 is controlled by the control unit 100 when the control unit 100 executes an automatic steering mode described later. A speed reduction mechanism (not shown) for gear reduction is provided on the motor output shaft of the drive motor 39. The rotational output by the drive motor 39 is reduced by the speed reduction mechanism and transmitted to the steering shaft 21. Therefore, in the automatic steering mode, the steering operation is controlled by rotationally driving the steering shaft 21 by the motor output of the drive motor 39.

[0026] The lamp 41 is for notifying the operator of an alarm by lighting, flashing, etc. The buzzer 42 is a sound-emitting device that emits a sound to notify the operator of an alarm.

[0027] The operation ON / OFF switch 31 is a switch operable by the operator, for example, a push-button switch with a lamp. The operation ON / OFF switch 31 is in the ON state where the lamp is lit as the first state, and in the OFF state where the lamp is turned off as the second state. Each time the operation ON / OFF switch 31 is operated by the operator, it alternates between the ON state and the OFF state.

[0028] The notification ON / OFF switch 32 is also a switch operable by the operator, for example, a push-button switch with a lamp. The notification ON / OFF switch 32 is in the ON state where the lamp is lit as the third state, and in the OFF state where the lamp is turned off as the fourth state. Each time the notification ON / OFF switch 32 is operated by the operator, it alternates between the ON state and the OFF state.

[0029] The control unit 100 can selectively execute a working mode for working in the field and a traveling mode for moving on roads or within the field. And the control unit 100 is configured to be able to selectively execute, in the working mode, a manual steering mode in which the operator steers the traveling machine body 4 and an automatic steering mode in which the steering of the traveling machine body 4 is controlled based on the image data I2 obtained by the imaging operation of the camera 15. In the present embodiment, there are four automatic steering modes as the automatic steering mode.

[0030] Each of the long-distance straight-ahead button 33 and the follow buttons 34 to 36 is a button switch that allows the operator to select the corresponding automatic steering mode among the four automatic steering modes. By setting the operation ON / OFF switch 31 to the ON state, the automatic steering mode corresponding to each of the long-distance straight-ahead button 33 and the follow buttons 34 to 36 can be selected.

[0031] Hereinafter, the automatic steering mode corresponding to the long view straight - ahead button 33 is called the "long view straight - ahead mode", the automatic steering mode corresponding to the follow - up button 34 is called the "previous process follow - up mode", the automatic steering mode corresponding to the follow - up button 35 is called the "edge follow - up mode", and the automatic steering mode corresponding to the follow - up button 36 is called the "V - groove follow - up mode".

[0032] The sensitivity adjustment button 37 is a button for adjusting the steering sensitivity of the steering when the automatic steering mode is executed.

[0033] Hereinafter, the control process by the control unit 100 will be described according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The control process shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle. The control unit 100 determines whether the operation ON / OFF switch 31 is in the ON state (S101). When the tractor 1 performs work in the field, the operator turns the operation ON / OFF switch 31 to the ON state.

[0034] If the operation ON / OFF switch 31 is in the ON state (S101: YES), the control unit 100 executes the work mode (S102). The work mode is a mode in which the work implement 6 performs work in the field, and the control unit 100 becomes capable of receiving input operations of the long view straight - ahead button 33 and the follow - up buttons 34 to 36 by the operator.

[0035] The control unit 100 determines whether any of the long view straight - ahead button 33 and the follow - up buttons 34 to 36 has been operated (i.e., turned ON) (S103). If any button has been operated (S103: YES), the control unit 100 executes the automatic steering mode corresponding to the operated button (S104).

[0036] When the action ON / OFF switch 31 is in the ON state and the long-distance straight-ahead button 33 is operated, the control unit 100 turns on the LED 43 and executes the long-distance straight-ahead mode. When the action ON / OFF switch 31 is in the ON state and the follow button 34 is operated, the control unit 100 turns on the LED 44 and executes the previous-process following mode. When the action ON / OFF switch 31 is in the ON state and the follow button 35 is operated, the control unit 100 turns on the LED 45 and executes the ridge following mode. When the action ON / OFF switch 31 is in the ON state and the follow button 36 is operated, the control unit 100 turns on the LED 46 and executes the V-groove following mode.

[0037] The automatic steering mode executed in step S104 will be described. In the long-distance straight-ahead mode, the control unit 100 causes the camera 15 to perform an imaging operation and acquires the image data I2 generated by the imaging operation of the camera 15. Then, the control unit 100 determines a target point based on the image data I2 and automatically drives the traveling body 4 to go straight toward the target point.

[0038] In the previous-process following mode, the control unit 100 causes the camera 15 to perform an imaging operation and acquires the image data I2 generated by the imaging operation of the camera 15. Then, the control unit 100 detects a linear work trace on the side of the traveling body 4 based on the image data I2 and automatically drives the traveling body 4 along the work trace.

[0039] In the ridge following mode, the control unit 100 causes the camera 15 to perform an imaging operation and acquires the image data I2 generated by the imaging operation of the camera 15. Then, the control unit 100 detects a ridge on the side of the traveling body 4 based on the image data I2 and automatically drives the traveling body 4 along the ridge.

[0040] In the V-groove following mode, the control unit 100 causes the camera 15 to perform an imaging operation and acquires the image data I2 generated by the imaging operation of the camera 15. Then, the control unit 100 detects a linearly extending V-groove based on the image data I2 and automatically drives the traveling body 4 along the V-groove.

[0041] Further, even when the operation ON / OFF switch 31 is in the ON state (S101: YES), if none of the buttons 33 to 36 are operated (S103: NO), the control unit 100 executes the manual steering mode (S105). That is, in the manual steering mode, the control unit 100 does not perform assist control using the drive motor 39, and the traveling body 4 travels according to the operator's steering.

[0042] Note that when the operator operates the corresponding button among the buttons 33 to 36 again while the control unit 100 is executing any of the automatic steering modes, the control unit 100 may stop the automatic steering mode and shift to the manual steering mode. Further, when the operator rotates the steering wheel 12 while the control unit 100 is executing any of the automatic steering modes, the control unit 100 may stop the automatic steering mode and shift to the manual steering mode. When switching from the automatic steering mode to the manual steering mode, the control unit 100 turns off the LED that was lit among the LEDs 43 to 46.

[0043] If the operation ON / OFF switch 31 is in the OFF state (S101: NO), the control unit 100 executes the traveling mode (S106). The traveling mode is a mode for moving on roads such as public roads and farm roads or in a field, and like the manual steering mode, it is a mode in which the vehicle travels according to the operator's steering. However, unlike the work mode, input operations of the buttons 33 to 36 by the operator are not accepted. In the traveling mode, the work implement 6 is in the raised state. When the tractor 1 moves, the operator sets the operation ON / OFF switch 31 to the OFF state. That is, when the operation ON / OFF switch 31 is in the OFF state, it is assumed that the tractor 1 is traveling on a road such as a farm road. Therefore, during road travel, it is preferable to notify the operator to that effect if the tractor 1 is likely to deviate from the road so that the tractor 1 does not deviate from the road. Therefore, the control unit 100 can execute the notification mode described later in the traveling mode.

[0044] In this embodiment, when the operation ON / OFF switch 31 transitions to the traveling mode in the OFF state, the control unit 100 determines whether the notification ON / OFF switch 32 is in the ON state (S107). When the notification ON / OFF switch 32 is in the ON state (S107: YES), the control unit 100 executes a notification mode in which the notification unit 40 is activated to notify the operator when a predetermined condition is satisfied (S108).

[0045] Here, in a situation where the lamp 41 or the buzzer 42 frequently operates, for example, when the tractor 1 travels on an extremely narrow road whose width is slightly wider than the vehicle width of the tractor 1, the operator may not want the control unit 100 to execute the notification mode. In such a case, the notification ON / OFF switch 32 is switched to the OFF state by the operator. When the notification ON / OFF switch 32 is in the OFF state (S107: NO), the control unit 100 executes a mode in which the notification mode is not executed in the traveling mode, that is, a non-notification mode in which the notification unit 40 is not activated (S109). Thereby, even when a situation occurs where a predetermined condition is satisfied while the tractor 1 is traveling on the road, the notification unit 40 can be prevented from operating.

[0046] The notification mode in step S108 will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. The control unit 100 causes the camera 15 to perform an imaging operation (S201). The imaging cycle by the camera 15 is the same predetermined cycle as the control process. The camera 15 generates image data I1 by imaging the foreground as seen from the traveling body 4. The foreground includes the ground in front of the traveling body 4 and the distant view. The ground includes the road surface and the surfaces on the sides of the road surface (for example, grassland, gravel, soil, curbs, and other structures). Here, at the edge of the road where the tractor 1 travels, there are often no lane markings such as white lines. In this embodiment, the control unit 100 analyzes the image data I1 (S202) and detects a step S as the edge of the road.

[0047] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining image analysis. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a state where the tractor 1 is traveling on a road such as a farm road. In FIG. 7, for convenience, the image data I1 is visualized as an image and illustrated. Note that the image based on the image data I1 may be displayed on the display 206 of the mobile terminal 200.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 8, the side of the road R on which the tractor 1 travels is often a grassland G. And the boundary between the road R and the grassland G is often a step (unevenness) S. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 100 detects the step S as the edge of the road R by analyzing the image data I1. As a method for detecting the step S based on the image data I1, it is possible to apply a conventional method, for example, a method for detecting a V-groove in a field.

[0049] In the present embodiment, detecting the step S means obtaining the position of the rising point P of the step S in the real space. Hereinafter, an example of the detection process of the step S will be briefly described. The control unit 100 acquires image data from the camera 15 at a predetermined cycle. The control unit 100 sets a rectangular reference region in the past image data acquired in the imaging cycle one before the image data I1 shown in FIG. 7. Then, the control unit 100 defines a plurality of sub-regions connected horizontally within the rectangular reference region, and defines point sequence data composed of the center points of the sub-regions. Since the tractor 1 travels forward on the road, in the image data I1 obtained in the next imaging cycle with respect to the past image data, the region corresponding to the reference region moves downward. Therefore, the control unit 100 obtains a reference region RS similar to the reference region by searching in the region below the reference region in the image data I1. The reference region and the reference region RS are the same predetermined region (ground surface) in the real space.

[0050] In the reference area RS of the image data I1, each of the point sequence data corresponding to the point sequence data of the past image data has a different vertical displacement amount according to the height of the step. Based on this difference in the change amount, the control unit 100 obtains step data IS corresponding to the step S from the image data I1. Note that the control unit 100 can also obtain step data IS' in the image data I1 based on the reference area set in the even earlier image data. Also, since steps such as ruts existing on the road R are on the trajectory (travel route) of the traveling body 4, they can be excluded by a process of masking the image area corresponding to the trajectory.

[0051] Also, in the present embodiment, the camera 15 images a landscape including the ground in front as seen from the traveling body 4. For this reason, the control unit 100 detects, as the step S, the step of the ground in a predetermined area that is a certain distance (for example, 10 m) away from the traveling body 4, that is, the camera 15, in the forward direction of the traveling body 4. This predetermined area corresponds to the reference area RS in the image data I1.

[0052] The control unit 100 selects the point data IP of the step data IS corresponding to the rising point P of the step S. The control unit 100 obtains the position of the rising point P in the step S by converting the point data IP in the coordinate system with the image data I1 as a reference to the coordinate system with the traveling body 4 as a reference. That is, the control unit 100 sets the center of the camera 15 at the center of the width direction W of the traveling body 4 as the reference position O, and obtains the distance X0 in the width direction W from the reference position O to the rising point P. The control unit 100 obtains the interval X1 between the traveling body 4 and the rising point P which is the edge of the road R by subtracting half of the width of the pair of front wheels 2 of the traveling body 4 (that is, the width of the traveling body 4), which is the width X2, from the distance X0.

[0053] Then, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the interval X1 is less than or equal to a predetermined interval THX (S203). If the interval X1 is less than or equal to the predetermined interval THX (S203: YES), the control unit 100 operates the notification unit 40 in the first pattern (S204). In step S204, in the present embodiment, the control unit 100 blinks the lamp 41 and generates a long sound from the buzzer 42.

[0054] Also, when the interval X1 exceeds the predetermined interval THX (S203: NO), the control unit 100 obtains a predicted value T corresponding to the time required for the traveling aircraft 4 to reach the edge of the road R based on the image data I1, and determines whether the predicted value T is less than or equal to the threshold value THS (S205). When the predicted value T is less than or equal to the threshold value THS (S205: YES), the control unit 100 operates the notification unit 40 in the second pattern (S206). In step S206, in the present embodiment, the control unit 100 turns on the lamp 41 and generates a short sound from the buzzer 42.

[0055] When the predicted value T exceeds the threshold value THS (S205: NO), the control unit 100 determines whether the predicted value T is less than or equal to the threshold value THT (S207). The threshold value THT is a value larger than the threshold value THS. Also, the threshold value THT is an example of a predetermined value. When the predicted value T is less than or equal to the threshold value THT (S207: YES), the control unit 100 operates the notification unit 40 in the third pattern (S208). In step S208, in the present embodiment, the control unit 100 turns on the lamp 41. When the predicted value T exceeds the threshold value THT (S207: NO), the control unit 100 ends the process without operating the notification unit 40.

[0056] Here, a specific example of obtaining the predicted value T will be described. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the process of obtaining the predicted value T according to the embodiment. In FIG. 9, the tractor 1 is viewed in plan view. The control unit 100 searches for an image similar to the step data IS from the image data I1, and obtains a plurality of search point data IE corresponding to the point data IP as shown in FIG. 7. Here, the forward search means searching for a portion corresponding to the front of the traveling aircraft 4 in the image data I1, that is, above the step data IS in FIG. 7. Then, the control unit 100 obtains a regression line L1 along the edge of the road R by the least squares method or the like based on the point data IP and the search point data IE.

[0057] Further, the control unit 100 obtains a straight line L0 extending in the traveling direction of the traveling body 4, i.e., the tractor 1. The control unit 100 obtains an angular difference dθ which is the angle formed between the regression line L1 and the straight line L0. The control unit 100 obtains a distance Z required for the traveling body 4 to reach the edge of the road R from the angular difference dθ and the interval X1. Then, the control unit 100 obtains, as a predicted value T, the time required for the traveling body 4 to reach the edge of the road R based on the speed of the traveling body 4 and the distance Z. Therefore, the predicted value T is the predicted time [seconds]. The speed of the traveling body 4 may be obtained based on the image data I1 and the image data acquired before the image data I1, or the detection value of a speed sensor (not shown) provided in the traveling body 4 may be used.

[0058] Note that, although the case where the control unit 100 obtains the time required for the traveling body 4 to reach the edge of the road R has been described as the predicted value T, the present invention is not limited thereto. The predicted value T may be the above distance Z instead of time. In this case, the threshold value THS used in the process of step S205 and the threshold value THT used in the process of step S207 may be values corresponding to the distance Z. Also in this case, the threshold value THT may be set to a value larger than the threshold value THS.

[0059] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the edge of the road R on which the tractor 1 travels can be appropriately detected, and thereby the notification unit 40 can be operated at an appropriate timing. As a result, when the tractor 1 is about to deviate from the road R, the operator can quickly perform a steering operation to avoid the tractor 1 from deviating from the road R.

[0060] Also, according to the present embodiment, the camera 15 can be used in common in the automatic steering mode and the notification mode, and there is no need to separately prepare an imaging unit different from the camera 15, so that cost reduction can be achieved.

[0061] Further, according to the present embodiment, by further adding a function of determining whether the tractor 1 is likely to deviate from the road R based on the predicted value T, the operator can perform a steering operation to avoid the tractor 1 from deviating from the road R more quickly.

[0062] Although the case where the control unit 100 is configured by a computer different from the ECU has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the control unit 100 may be a part of the functions of the ECU. Further, the control unit 100 may be a part of the functions of the mobile terminal 200.

[0063] Although the case where the control unit 100 (CPU 101) performs image processing has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto, and image processing may be performed by another computer.

[0064] Although the case where the camera 15 is a monocular camera has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the camera 15 may be a stereo camera.

[0065] Although the notification unit 40 has been described as including the lamp 41 and the buzzer 42, the configuration of the notification unit 40 is not limited thereto. For example, the notification unit 40 may have a display unit, and an alarm may be issued to the operator by displaying an image on the display unit. As the display unit, for example, the display 206 of the mobile terminal 200 may be used.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0066] 1 Tractor (Work Vehicle) 4 Traveling Body 15 Camera (Imaging Unit) 25 Steering Unit 40 Notification Unit 100 Control Unit

Claims

1. A traveling machine capable of traveling on a road; An imaging unit capable of imaging the ground in front of the traveling machine body; A notification unit capable of issuing a notification; A control unit capable of executing a notification mode in which a step on the ground is detected as the edge of the road based on image data obtained by the imaging operation of the imaging unit, and the notification unit is activated if the distance between the traveling machine body and the edge of the road is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. A work vehicle characterized by:

2. The control unit is In the notification mode, a predicted value corresponding to the time or distance required for the traveling vehicle to reach the edge of the road is calculated based on image data obtained by the imaging operation of the imaging unit, and the notification unit is activated if the predicted value is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

2. The work vehicle according to claim 1 .

3. A steering unit for steering the traveling machine body is provided, The control unit is capable of executing an automatic steering mode for controlling the steering unit based on image data obtained by an imaging operation of the imaging unit.

3. A work vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.

Images