Combine harvester

Abstract

Provided is a combine harvester in which a travel device (2) for traveling on a field is provided to the lower side of a machine body frame (1) in which an engine (E) is mounted, a reaping device (3) for reaping grain culms is provided to the front side of the machine body frame (1), a threshing device (4) for threshing the reaped grain culms is provided to the rear left side of the reaping device (3), a steering unit (5) ridden by an operator is provided to the rear right side of the reaping device (3), and a grain tank (7) for storing grains is provided together with a camera (11) to the rear side of the steering unit (5), wherein the camera (11) images the area in front of the combine, and a controller (50) of the combine estimates the orientation of the ear tips of the grain culms from the image captured by the camera (11) and calculates the entanglement rate of the grain culms, whereby the occurrence of grain culms being entangled in the reaping device (3) can be suppressed.

Description

combine

[0001] The present invention relates to a combine harvester for harvesting cereal stalks in a field.

[0002] Conventionally, a technique for automatically running a combine harvester along a preset route has been known (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-7314

[0004] However, the technology of Patent Document 1 had the problem that if a large number of stalks became entangled in the harvesting device that harvests the stalks of the combine, it took a long time to stop the combine's automatic operation and remove the tangled stalks.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a combine harvester that can prevent grain stalks from becoming entangled in the harvesting device.

[0006] The present invention, which has solved the above-mentioned problems, is as follows: That is, the invention described in claim 1 is a combine harvester comprising: a traveling device (2) for traveling in a field provided below a body frame (1) on which an engine (E) is mounted; a reaping device (3) for reaping stalks provided in front of the body frame (1); a threshing device (4) for threshing the reaped stalks provided on the rear left side of the reaping device (3); a control unit (5) on which an operator rides provided on the rear right side of the reaping device (3); a grain tank (7) for storing grain and at least one camera (11) provided behind the control unit (5), wherein the camera (11) captures an image in front of the combine harvester; and a combine controller (50) for the combine harvester estimates the orientation of the tips of the stalks from the image captured by the camera (11) and calculates the entanglement rate of the stalks.

[0007] The invention described in claim 2 is a combine described in claim 1, characterized in that the controller (50) issues a warning to the operator to either slow down the running speed of the running device (2), slow down the conveying speed of the lifting device (3A) of the harvesting device (3), or stop the running of the running device (2) based on the entanglement rate.

[0008] The invention described in claim 3 is a combine harvester described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the captured image includes a first captured image (75) of the front side of the lifting device (3A) of the reaping device (3).

[0009] The invention described in claim 4 is the combine described in claim 3, wherein the controller (50) reduces the running speed of the traveling device (2) and increases the conveying speed of the lifting device (3A) when the lodging rate of the stalks calculated from the second photographed image (70) located forward of the first photographed image (75) in the direction of travel is equal to or lower than a predetermined lodging rate, and stops the traveling of the traveling device (2) when the lodging rate exceeds the predetermined lodging rate.

[0010] The invention described in claim 5 is a combine harvester described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the controller (50) stops the traveling of the traveling device (2) when an obstacle is photographed in the photographed image.

[0011] The invention described in claim 6 is a combine described in claim 1 or 2, in which a continuously variable speed harvesting device (23) is provided between the transmission path of the engine (E) and the harvesting device (3) to increase or decrease the output rotational speed and switch the output rotational direction of the engine (E), and a first stalk sensor (15) is provided in the conveying device (3C) of the harvesting device (3) to detect the accumulation of stalks, and when the first stalk sensor (15) detects a blockage of stalks, the controller (50) switches the drive direction of the harvesting device (3) to the opposite direction via the continuously variable speed harvesting device (23) and then stops the drive of the harvesting device (3).

[0012] The invention described in claim 7 is a combine described in claim 6, characterized in that the controller (50) stops the traveling of the traveling device (2) when the first stalk sensor (15) detects a blockage of stalks.

[0013] The invention described in claim 8 is a combine described in claim 1 or 2, in which a second stalk sensor (13) that detects stalks is provided in the raising device (3A) of the harvesting device (3), and the controller (50) issues a warning to the operator or stops the traveling device (2) from traveling if the second stalk sensor (13) does not detect stalks.

[0014] The invention described in claim 9 is a combine described in claim 1 or 2, in which the camera (11) is positioned to photograph the ridge on the side of the combine, and the controller (50) extracts the ridge object from the image captured by the camera (11), calculates the longitudinal direction of the ridge object, and operates the brake (2A) of the running device (2) to automatically steer the running device (2) based on the relationship between a virtual line extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the grass body (3D) and the longitudinal direction of the ridge object.

[0015] According to the invention described in claim 1, the combine controller (50) estimates the position of the tips of the culms from the images captured by the camera (11) and calculates the entanglement rate of the culms, thereby predicting in advance which culms will become entangled in the lifting device (3A), preventing the culms from becoming entangled in the harvesting device (3), and suppressing grain shedding.

[0016] According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1, the controller (50) issues a warning to the operator based on the entanglement rate, either to slow down the running speed of the running device (2), to slow down the conveying speed of the lifting device (3A), or to stop the running of the running device (2), so that the operator can operate the combine to prevent the stalks from becoming entangled in the harvesting device (3).

[0017] According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the captured image includes a first captured image (75) of the front side of the lifting device (3A) of the harvesting device (3), so the posture of the stalks can be extracted more accurately and the entanglement rate can be calculated accurately.

[0018] According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effects of the invention of claim 3, when the lodging rate of the stalks calculated from the second photographed image (70), which is located further forward in the direction of travel than the first photographed image (75), is equal to or lower than a preset lodging rate, the controller (50) slows down the traveling speed of the traveling device (2) and increases the conveying speed of the lifting device (3A). When the lodging rate exceeds the preset lodging rate, the controller (50) stops the traveling of the traveling device (2). This eliminates the burden on the worker of operating the lodging cutter, and when the lodging rate is high, the worker can easily and safely remove the stalks remaining on the conveying device (3C).

[0019] According to the invention described in claim 5, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the controller (50) stops the traveling device (2) from traveling if an obstacle is captured in the captured image, thereby preventing contact with the obstacle and allowing the mowing work to be performed safely.

[0020] According to the invention described in claim 6, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, a continuously variable speed harvesting device (23) that increases or decreases the output rotational speed of the engine (E) and switches the output rotational direction is provided between the transmission path of the engine (E) and the harvesting device (3), and a first stalk sensor (15) that detects the accumulation of stalks is provided in the conveying device (3C) of the harvesting device (3).When the first stalk sensor (15) detects the accumulation of stalks, the controller (50) switches the driving direction of the harvesting device (3) to the opposite direction via the continuously variable speed harvesting device (23) and then stops the driving of the harvesting device (3), so that the stalks accumulated on the conveying device (3C) can be easily and safely removed.

[0021] According to the invention described in claim 7, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 6, the controller (50) stops the travel of the traveling device (2) when the first stalk sensor (15) detects a blockage of stalks, so that stalks remaining on the conveying device (3C) can be easily and safely removed.

[0022] According to the invention described in claim 8, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, a second stalk sensor (13) that detects stalks is provided in the lifting device (3A), and if the second stalk sensor (13) does not detect stalks, the controller (50) issues a warning to the operator or stops the traveling device (2), thereby preventing the combine from colliding with the ridges in the field.

[0023] According to the invention described in claim 9, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the camera (11) is positioned to photograph the ridges on the side of the combine, and the controller (50) extracts the ridge object from the image captured by the camera (11), calculates the longitudinal direction of the ridge object, and operates the brake (2A) of the traveling device (2) to automatically steer the traveling device (2) based on the relationship between the virtual line extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the grass body (3D) and the longitudinal direction of the ridge object, thereby making it possible to easily run the combine along the ridges in the field.

[0024] 9 is a left side view of a combine harvester. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a combine harvester. FIG. 11 is a transmission diagram of the engine's output rotation. FIG. 12 is a connection diagram of a positioning unit. FIG. 13 is a connection diagram of a combine harvester controller. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a reference route and a set route along which the combine harvester automatically travels. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of automatic travel of a combine harvester. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of one camera provided in front of the discharge auger. FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of one camera provided in front of the cabin. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of the image capturing positions of the image captured by the camera in FIG. 10. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of two cameras provided in front of the discharge auger. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of two cameras provided in front of the cabin. FIG. 10 is a connection diagram of a combine harvester controller and a server controller. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a method for comparing stalk information and tanglement information when the combine harvester is automatically traveling on a set route. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the lodging rate of stalk information. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the tanglement rate of tangle information. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a method for comparing stalk information and tanglement information when the combine harvester is automatically traveling on the right side of the set route. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a method for comparing stalk information and tangle information when the combine harvester is automatically traveling on the left side of the set route.

[0025] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the combine harvester has a traveling device 2 consisting of a pair of left and right crawlers that travels on the field below the body frame 1, a harvesting device 3 that harvests the stalks in the field is provided in front of the body frame 1, a threshing device 4 that threshers and sorts the harvested stalks is provided to the rear left of the harvesting device 3, and a control unit 5 on which an operator rides is provided to the rear right of the harvesting device 3.

[0026] An engine room 6 in which an engine E is mounted is provided below the control unit 5, and a grain tank 7 for storing threshed and sorted grains is provided behind the control unit 5. Behind the grain tank 7 is a discharge auger 8 consisting of a grain lifting section extending in the vertical direction to discharge grains to the outside and a horizontal discharge section extending in the front-to-back direction.

[0027] The harvesting device 3 is composed of a raising device 3A that raises the culms in the field, a cutting device 3B that cuts the base of the raised culms, a transporting device 3C that transports the culms whose bases have been cut to the threshing device 4, and a dividing plant body 3D that guides the culms in the field to the raising device 3A.

[0028] A camera 11 is provided on the left side of the cover 10 that covers the top of the lifting device 3A, for photographing the stalks planted in the field located in front of the combine in the direction of travel.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 3 , the output rotation of the engine E is transmitted to a hydraulic continuously variable transmission 20 for traveling and is increased or decreased within the continuously variable transmission 20. The output rotation increased or decreased by the continuously variable transmission 20 is transmitted to a transmission 21, where it is increased or decreased within the transmission 21 before being transmitted to the traveling device 2.

[0030] The output rotation of the engine E is transmitted to a hydraulic continuously variable reaping transmission 23 via a reaping clutch 22, where it is increased or decreased in the reaping continuously variable transmission 23 before being transmitted to the reaping device 3. The output rotation of the engine E is also transmitted to the threshing device 4 via a threshing clutch 24.

[0031] 1 and 2, a touch panel monitor 30 that displays the traveling speed and the like of the traveling device 2 is provided in the center of the front panel in front of the seat of the operating unit 5, and an operating lever 31 that controls the left-right turning of the traveling device 2 and the up-down raising and lowering of the reaping device 3 is provided on the right side of the monitor 30. The operating position of the operating lever 31 is detected by an angle sensor such as a potentiometer attached to the base of the operating lever 31.

[0032] Between the monitor 30 and the operating lever 31, a linear assist switch 32 is provided for automatically causing the traveling device 2 to travel along a linear reference path 61, which will be described later.

[0033] A main speed change lever 35 for operating the travel continuously variable transmission 20 is provided at the front of the side panel on the left side of the seat of the operator's unit 5, an auxiliary speed change lever 36 for operating the transmission 21 is provided behind the main speed change lever 35 on the left side, and a reaper / thresh lever 37 for operating the reaping clutch 22 and the threshing clutch 24 is provided behind the auxiliary speed change lever 36 on the right side. A speed change switch 38 for operating the reaping continuously variable transmission 23 is also provided on the side of the main speed change lever 35. The operating position of the main speed change lever 35 is detected by an angle sensor such as a potentiometer attached to the base of the main speed change lever 35, the operating position of the auxiliary speed change lever 36 is detected by an angle sensor such as a potentiometer attached to the base of the auxiliary speed change lever 36, and the operating position of the reaper / thresh lever 37 is detected by an angle sensor such as a potentiometer attached to the base of the reaper / thresh lever 37.

[0034] When the output rotation of the engine E is equal to or lower than a specified rotation speed, speed increase in the traveling continuously variable transmission 20 is restricted regardless of operation of the main speed change lever 35. This prevents the engine E from being stopped suddenly due to overload. In this case, it is preferable to activate a buzzer 5A or the like on the control unit 5 to let the operator know that speed increase is being restricted. Furthermore, when a switch (not shown) that automatically adjusts the output rotation of the engine E according to the cutting work situation is pressed, speed increase in the traveling continuously variable transmission 20 is not restricted.

[0035] A parking brake 39A is provided on the front left side of the floor of the operating unit 5, which activates the brake of the transmission 21 to stop the traveling device 2 from moving, and a raking pedal 39B is provided on the front right side, which drives the reaping device 3 at the edge of the ridge during pillow cutting.

[0036] A fullness sensor 7A is attached to the top of the grain tank 7 to detect when the stored grains are full.

[0037] 4, the positioning unit 40, which uses an RTK-GPS positioning system or a differential positioning system, is made up of multiple positioning satellites 41A-41D, a base station 42 installed at a known location, and a mobile station 46 installed on the combine harvester. As a result, positioning signals transmitted from the multiple positioning satellites 41A-41D are received and positioned by GNSS receivers installed in the base station 42 and the mobile station 46, and the mobile station 46 performs high-precision positioning using correction signals from the base station 42, thereby accurately determining the running position of the combine harvester.

[0038] The base station 42 is made up of a fixed communication device 43, a fixed GPS antenna 44 that receives position information from positioning satellites 41A to 41D, and a fixed data transmission antenna 45 that transmits corrective position information to a mobile station 46. The base station 42 also includes a server 42A.

[0039] The mobile station 46 is made up of a mobile communication device 47, a mobile GPS antenna 48 that receives position information from positioning satellites 41A to 41D, and a mobile data transmission antenna 49 that receives corrective position information from the base station 42.

[0040] As shown in Figure 5, the combine controller 50 is composed of a processing unit 51 consisting of a CPU, etc., a memory unit 52 consisting of ROM, RAM, a hard disk drive, flash memory, etc., an input / output unit 53 having an input / output interface circuit, and a communication unit 54 that sends and receives information to and from the communication unit 84 of the server 42A via the cloud.

[0041] The input side of the input / output unit 53 includes a fullness sensor 7A that detects when the grain tank 7 is full of grains stored therein, a camera 11 that photographs information about the grain culms and information about the entanglement of the grain culms in the lifting device 3A, a grain culm sensor (referred to as the "second grain culm sensor" in the claims) 13 that detects the grain culms being lifted by the lifting device 3A, a grain culm sensor (referred to as the "first grain culm sensor" in the claims) 15 that detects the grain culms stuck in the conveying device 3C, a camera 17 that photographs the grass bodies 3D and the ridges, and a camera 18 that photographs the grass bodies 3D and the ridges along a reference path 61 and a set path 65, which will be described later. A straight-line assist switch 32 that automatically drives the combine along the straight line, a first reference point setting switch 33A that sets the first reference point 62, a second reference point setting switch 33B that sets the second reference point 63, a third reference point setting switch 33C that sets the third reference point 64, a GPS antenna 48 that receives positioning signals transmitted from multiple positioning satellites 41A to 41D, and a data transmission antenna 49 that receives correction signals from the base station 42 are connected via a specified input interface circuit.

[0042] The output side of the input / output unit 53 is connected via a predetermined output interface circuit to a brake 2A that brakes the pair of left and right crawlers of the traveling device 2, a buzzer 5A that issues an alarm to the operator, a motor 20A that increases or decreases the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable transmission 20, a motor 21A that increases or decreases the output rotation of the transmission 21, a motor 23A that increases or decreases the output rotation of the harvesting continuously variable transmission 23, and an automatic steering switch 55 that automatically drives the combine along the reference route 61 or the set route 65.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 6 , a reference path 61 extending vertically and set on the left side of the field 60 is set as a straight line extending vertically through a first reference point 62 provided below the loading area 60A and a second reference point 63 located below the first reference point 62 in the traveling direction. Note that, when the combine harvester reaches the loading area 60A, the controller 50 receives position information from the positioning satellites 41A-41D. When the linear assist switch 32 is ON, the processing unit 51 of the controller 50 operates the autopilot switch 55. When the autopilot switch 55 is operated, the traveling device 2 starts automatic traveling along the reference path 61 at a preset traveling speed, moving to the right along the reference path 61 by the cutting width in the lateral direction of the reaping device 3, and along the set path 65, etc.

[0044] Grain stalk sensors 13 that detect the stalks being raised by the raising device 3A are provided on the left and right sides of the raising device 3A of the harvesting device 3. If the grain stalk sensor 13 does not detect any grain stalks during automatic travel of the combine harvester and the input signal from the grain stalk sensor 13 is turned OFF, the processing unit 51 of the controller 50 will notify the operator by activating the buzzer 5A of the operating unit 5, lighting or flashing a warning lamp (not shown), displaying a warning message on the monitor 30, sounding an audio warning, or other such means. This will make the operator aware that the combine harvester is approaching a ridge around the field, and will prevent the combine harvester from colliding with the ridge.

[0045] The processing unit 51 stops the operation of the buzzer 5A when the operator operates the main speed change lever 35 to stop the traveling device 2 via the traveling continuously variable transmission 20 or the like, but continues the operation of the buzzer 5A and warnings such as the warning lamp, the display on the monitor 30, and the voice if the traveling device 2 is not stopped. Furthermore, if the linear assist switch 32 is pressed after the traveling device 2 has been stopped even though the input signal from the stalk sensor 13 is OFF, the processing unit 51 again activates the buzzer 5A of the operation unit 5. This makes the operator aware that the combine is approaching a ridge around the field, making it possible to better prevent the combine from colliding with the ridge.

[0046] As shown in Figure 7, for ease of understanding, we will explain the case where the combine automatically travels on the reference route 61 and the first, second, and fourth set routes 65 counting from the reference route 61 (hereinafter referred to as case 1), automatically travels on the right side of the third set route 65 counting from the reference route 61 (hereinafter referred to as case 2), and automatically travels on the left side of the fifth set route 65 counting from the reference route 61 (hereinafter referred to as case 3).

[0047] (Method of comparing stalk information and entanglement information in Case 1) While the combine is automatically running, the processing unit 51 of the controller 50 transmits the combine's position information and the captured image (the ``second captured image'' in the claims) 70 and the captured image (the ``first captured image'' in the claims) 75 taken by the camera 11 to the server 42A via the cloud.

[0048] It is preferable that the camera 11 captures a wider area in front of the harvesting device 3, and the processing unit 51 of the controller 50 divides the image captured by the camera 11 into an image 70 of the area in front of the harvesting device 3 and an image 75 between the image 70 and the harvesting device 3, and grasps the transport status of the stalks of the lifting device 3A from the image 75.

[0049] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the camera 11 can also be disposed on the right wall of the discharge device 8A of the discharge auger 8 or in the middle of the front left-right direction on the underside of the upper wall of the cabin 9 covering the control unit 5. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the captured image 70 is an image of the pn portion in front of the reaping device 3, and the captured image 75 is an image of the hn portion between the front end of the lifting device 3A and the front end of the cutting device 3B.

[0050] 12 and 13, a camera 11A for capturing the captured image 70 and a camera 11B for capturing the captured image 75 may be provided, and these cameras 11A and 11B may be provided at the center in the left-right direction at the front of the right wall of the discharge device 8A or on the lower surface of the upper wall of the cabin 9. Note that the present invention is not limited to the use of two cameras 11A and 11B, and it is also possible to use a single camera with a wide field of view or a wide-angle lens. It is also possible to distinguish the captured image 70 from the captured image 75 from an image captured by a single camera.

[0051] Captured image 70 is an image of the front of reaping device 3, and captured image 75 is an image of the front side of reaping device 3, i.e., an image between captured image 70 and reaping device 3. The horizontal length of captured image 70 is set to three times the length of the mowing width of reaping device 3, and the horizontal length of captured image 75 is set to the horizontal length of lifting device 3A.

[0052] 14, the controller 80 of the server 42A is made up of a processing unit 81 consisting of a high-speed processing chip such as a GPU, FPGA, or ASIC, a storage unit 82 consisting of a ROM, RAM, hard disk drive, flash memory, etc., an input / output unit 83 having an input / output interface circuit, and a communication unit 84 that transmits and receives information to and from the communication unit 54 of the combine harvester via the cloud. Furthermore, the camera 11 takes images at predetermined intervals t (every 50 cm of travel distance).

[0053] 15 , the processing unit 81 of the controller 80 divides the photographed image 70 into three photographed images 70A to 70C, compares the photographed image 70B with the photographed image 70B stored in the storage unit 82, calculates the lodging rate of the culm information of the photographed image 70B, and then transmits the calculated lodging rate of the culm information of the photographed image 70B to the combine controller 50 via the cloud. Note that the photographed image 70A is an image of the front left side of the reaper 3, the photographed image 70B is an image of the front of the reaper 3, and the photographed image 70C is an image of the front right side of the reaper 3.

[0054] 16, the lodging rate is classified into five levels, ranging from a position P1 where the culms are standing upright (0% lodging rate) to a position P5 where the culms are completely lodged (100% lodging rate). For example, if 50% of the culms in the photographed image 70B are in position P1 (0% lodging rate) and 50% are in position P3 (50% lodging rate), the lodging rate is apportioned to 25%.

[0055] The processing unit 51 of the controller 50 rotates the motor 20A or the motor 21A based on the lodging rate of the received stalk information to increase or decrease the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable speed device 20 or the transmission 21. This allows the traveling speed of the traveling device 2 to be increased or decreased according to the lodging rate of the stalk information, thereby efficiently harvesting the stalks. When the lodging rate of the received stalk information increases, it is preferable to reduce the output rotation of the transmission 21 and increase the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable speed device 20, thereby reducing the traveling speed of the traveling device 2 and increasing the conveying speed of the lifting device 3A.

[0056] When the lodging rate is 0 to 25% (positions P1 and P2), the culm tips are located above the cutting height of the culm base, so the combine can be automatically driven to harvest the culms. However, when the lodging rate exceeds 25% (positions P3 to P5), the culm tips are located below the cutting height of the culm base, so forward harvesting is not possible. In such cases, it is preferable for the operator to stop the automatic operation of the combine and manually drive it to a position where the culms can be harvested. This prevents the culms from becoming entangled in the harvesting device 3 and suppresses grain shedding.

[0057] The processing unit 51 rotates the motor 20A based on the entanglement rate of the received entanglement information to increase or decrease the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable transmission 20. This allows the conveying speed of the lifting device 3A to be increased or decreased depending on the entanglement rate, thereby enabling efficient lifting of the straw. Note that when the entanglement rate of the received entanglement information increases, it is preferable to reduce the output rotation of the transmission 21 and the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable transmission 20, thereby reducing the traveling speed of the traveling device 2 and also reducing the conveying speed of the lifting device 3A.

[0058] When the stumps are not entangled in the lifting device 3A, no undulation occurs between the stumps in the center and on both sides of the photographed image 75. On the other hand, when the stumps are entangled in the lifting device 3A, undulation occurs between the stumps in the center and on both sides of the photographed image 75, and the undulation between the stumps in the center and on both sides of the photographed image 75 increases as the amount of stumps entangled in the lifting device 3A increases.

[0059] The entanglement rate of the entanglement information can be determined, for example, by shading the captured image 75 to extract the center of gravity of the tip object as a feature point, and estimating the attitude of the stalk tip from a line connecting the preset position coordinates of the base of the stalk and the center of gravity of the tip object in the captured image 75. To ensure that the base of the stalk is captured by the camera 11 in a preset coordinate area of ​​the imaging area, the controller 50 may identify the base of the stalk object from an image captured by the camera 11 immediately before the start of reaping work, calculate the reaping start distance to the combine's lifting device 3A from the coordinates of the center of gravity of the base of the stalk object, capture an image with the camera 11 when the combine has traveled the reaping start distance, and thereafter capture an image with the camera 11 every time the combine has traveled a predetermined distance (for example, a multiple of the stalk spacing). Alternatively, the coordinates of the base of the stump in the image captured by the camera 11 when the input signal from the stalk sensor 13 is detected as ON may be specified in advance, and the controller 50 may control the camera 11 to capture an image each time the combine travels a predetermined distance so that the base of the stump is captured in a predetermined coordinate area of ​​the imaging area by the camera 11. As shown in Figure 17, the entanglement rate of the entanglement information is classified into five levels, from orientation K1 (0% entanglement rate) in which the stump tips in the captured image 75 are parallel to the transport direction to orientation K5 (100% entanglement rate) in which the stump tips are perpendicular to the transport direction. For example, if 50% of the stump tips in the captured image 75 are in orientation K1 (0% entanglement rate) and 50% are in orientation K3 (50% entanglement rate), the entanglement rate is calculated by dividing these proportions proportionally to obtain a 25% entanglement rate. Although the center of gravity of the tip object has been used as an example of a method for estimating the orientation of the culm tip, the entanglement rate may also be determined from the density distribution of the culm object. In this case, if there is a bias in the density distribution, the probability that the culms are entangled is high, so the entanglement rate may be set high.

[0060] For example, when the entanglement rate is 25% or less, the processing unit 51 automatically controls the traveling speed of the traveling device 2 to correspond to the position of the main shift lever 35. When the entanglement rate is greater than 25% but less than 50%, the number of culm tips entangled in the lifting device 3A is small. Therefore, the processing unit 51 reduces the traveling speed of the traveling device 2 below the speed corresponding to the position of the main shift lever 35, thereby slowing the conveying speed of the lifting device 3A and preventing entanglement of the culm tips. However, when the entanglement rate exceeds 50%, many culm tips are entangled in the lifting device 3A, resulting in many grains being shed. Therefore, the processing unit 51 stops automatic traveling. In this case, it is preferable for the operator to manually move the combine harvester to a position where the culms can be further harvested. This prevents culms from becoming entangled in the harvesting device 3 and causing many grains to be shed. The processing unit 51 may also be configured to display the entanglement rate on the monitor 30. In this case, when the tangle rate is within a predetermined range (for example, greater than 25% and less than 50%), it is preferable to alert the operator by displaying or an audio message on the monitor 30 urging the operator to slow down the running speed of the running device 2 and also to slow down the conveying speed of the lifting device 3A, and further, when the tangle rate is above a predetermined value (for example, exceeding 50%), it is preferable to alert the operator by displaying or an audio message on the monitor 30 urging the operator to stop running and manually move the combine to a position where the stalks can be further cut.

[0061] (Method of Comparing Straw Information and Entanglement Information in Case 2) While the combine is automatically traveling, the processing unit 51 of the controller 50 transmits the position information of the combine, the photographed images 70 and 75 to the server 42A via the cloud.

[0062] 18, the processing unit 81 of the controller 80 divides the photographed image 70 into three photographed images 70A to 70C. The horizontal length of each of the photographed images 70A to 70C is set to the mowing width of the reaping device 3.

[0063] Next, the processing unit 81 calculates the lodging rate of the culm information of the corrected photographed image 71 corresponding to the photographed image 70B stored in the memory unit 82. The lodging rate of the culm information of the corrected photographed image 71 is calculated by proportionally dividing the lodging rates of the photographed images 70B and 70C stored in the memory unit 82 corresponding to the photographed image 70B. This makes it possible to accurately calculate the lodging rate of the culm information of the photographed image 70B.

[0064] For example, in the form shown in Figure 18, the left half of the photographed image 70B is located in the photographed image 70B stored in the memory unit 82, and the right half of the photographed image 70B is located in the photographed image 70C stored in the memory unit 82, so the lodging rate of the corrected photographed image 71 is the average value of the lodging rate of the photographed image 70B stored in the memory unit 82 and the lodging rate of the photographed image 70C.

[0065] Next, the processing unit 81 compares the captured image 70B with the corrected captured image 71 stored in the memory unit 82, calculates the lodging rate of the culm information of the captured image 70B, and then transmits the calculated lodging rate of the culm information of the captured image 70B to the combine controller 50 via the cloud.

[0066] In addition, the processing unit 81 compares the captured image 75 with the captured image 75 stored in the memory unit 82, calculates the entanglement rate of the entanglement information of the captured image 75, and then transmits the calculated entanglement rate of the entanglement information of the captured image 75 to the combine controller 50 via the cloud.

[0067] The processing unit 51 of the controller 50 rotates the motor 20A and the motor 21A based on the lodging rate of the received stalk information, thereby increasing or decreasing the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable transmission 20 and the transmission 21.

[0068] Furthermore, the processing unit 51 rotates the motor 20A based on the entanglement rate of the received entanglement information, thereby increasing or decreasing the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable transmission 20.

[0069] (Method of Comparing Straw Information and Entanglement Information in Case 3) While the combine is automatically traveling, the processing unit 51 of the controller 50 transmits the position information of the combine, the photographed images 70 and 75 to the server 42A via the cloud.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 19, the processing unit 81 of the controller 80 divides the photographed image 70 into three photographed images 70A to 70C.

[0071] Next, the processing unit 81 calculates the lodging rate of the culm information of the corrected photographed image 72 corresponding to the photographed image 70B stored in the memory unit 82. The lodging rate of the culm information of the corrected photographed image 72 is calculated by proportionally dividing the lodging rates of the photographed images 70A and 70B stored in the memory unit 82 corresponding to the photographed image 70B. This makes it possible to accurately calculate the lodging rate of the culm information of the photographed image 70B.

[0072] For example, in the form shown in Figure 19, the left half of the photographed image 70B is located in the photographed image 70A stored in the memory unit 82, and the right half of the photographed image 70B is located in the photographed image 70B stored in the memory unit 82, so the lodging rate of the corrected photographed image 72 is the average value of the lodging rate of the photographed image 70A stored in the memory unit 82 and the lodging rate of the photographed image 70B.

[0073] Next, the processing unit 81 compares the captured image 70B with the corrected captured image 72 stored in the memory unit 82, calculates the lodging rate of the culm information of the captured image 70B, and then transmits the calculated lodging rate of the culm information of the captured image 70B to the combine controller 50 via the cloud.

[0074] In addition, the processing unit 81 compares the captured image 75 with the captured image 75 stored in the memory unit 82, calculates the entanglement rate of the entanglement information of the captured image 75, and then transmits the calculated entanglement rate of the entanglement information of the captured image 75 to the combine controller 50 via the cloud.

[0075] Furthermore, the processing unit 51 rotates the motor 20A based on the entanglement rate of the received entanglement information, thereby increasing or decreasing the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable transmission 20.

[0076] <Method for Automatically Running a Combine Harvester> As shown in Figure 20, in step S1, the processing unit 51 of the combine harvester controller 50 determines whether an obstacle, such as a worker or work equipment, is present in the captured image 70B captured by the camera 11. If it is determined that no obstacle is present in the captured image 70B, the process proceeds to step S2, and if it is determined that an obstacle is present in the captured image 70B, the process proceeds to step S5. Note that, for example, when an obstacle extends above or to the left of the stalk, clustering is performed using the K-means method or a Gaussian mixture distribution, and if another center of gravity is present above or below or to the left or right of the center of gravity of the stalk, it is determined that an obstacle is present, and if no other center of gravity is present, it is determined that no obstacle is present.

[0077] In step S2, the processing unit 51 determines the lodging rate of the culm information of the photographed image 70B transmitted from the controller 80 of the server 42A. If the lodging rate is equal to or lower than a predetermined lodging rate, for example, 25%, the process proceeds to step S3, and if the lodging rate exceeds the predetermined lodging rate, the process proceeds to step S5.

[0078] In step S3, the processing unit 51 determines the entanglement rate of the entanglement information of the photographed image 75 transmitted from the controller 80. If the entanglement rate is equal to or less than a predetermined entanglement rate, for example, 25%, the processing proceeds to step S4, and if the entanglement rate exceeds the predetermined entanglement rate, the processing proceeds to step S5.

[0079] In step S4, the processing unit 51 operates the motor 20A, which increases or decreases the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable transmission 20, and the motor 21A, which increases or decreases the output rotation of the transmission 21, thereby increasing or decreasing the traveling speed of the traveling device 2 and the conveying speed of the reaper 3, and then returns to step S1. This allows the stalks to be efficiently harvested and efficiently conveyed to the threshing device 4 for threshing and sorting. Furthermore, the processing unit 51 preferably sounds an alarm when the traveling speed of the traveling device 2 and the conveying speed of the reaper 3 increase or decrease, or displays a message on the monitor 30 indicating that the speed is increasing, to alert the operator. Furthermore, the operator can set the maximum traveling speed of the traveling device 2 and the maximum conveying speed of the reaper 3 in advance. This restricts the maximum traveling speed of the traveling device 2 and the maximum conveying speed of the reaper 3, thereby maintaining a certain level of operational safety.

[0080] In step S5, the processing unit 51 operates the motor 20A, which increases or decreases the output rotation of the traveling continuously variable transmission 20, to stop the driving of the traveling device 2 and the reaping device 3, and then proceeds to step S6. This makes it possible to prevent the combine from colliding with an obstacle or the culm from getting tangled in the lifting device 3A of the reaping device 3, which would otherwise cause grain shedding.

[0081] In step S6, the processing unit 51 drives the brakes 2A that brake the pair of left and right crawlers of the traveling device 2, and then proceeds to step S7.

[0082] In step S7, the operator presses the linear assist switch 32 to stop the automatic travel of the combine harvester and return to step S1. After releasing the brake 2A, the operator manually drives the combine harvester to a position where the additional harvesting of the stalks is possible. Next, the operator presses the first reference point setting switch 33A, etc. to set the reference path 61 and the set path 65, and then presses the linear assist switch 32 to resume the automatic travel of the combine harvester. Furthermore, if the direction in which the stalks fall intersects with the traveling direction of the combine harvester, it is preferable to start the automatic travel from the stalk base side.

[0083] <Method for Removing Grain Straws Stuck in the Harvesting Device> The conveying device 3C of the harvesting device 3 is provided with a grain stump sensor 15 (referred to as the "first grain stump sensor" in the claims), such as a rotation sensor, that detects stump jamming. When the grain stump sensor 15 detects a stump jam and the input signal from the grain stump sensor 15 turns ON, the processing unit 51 of the controller 50 operates the motor 23A, which increases or decreases the output rotation speed and switches the output rotation direction of the reaping continuously variable transmission 23, to switch the output rotation direction of the reaping continuously variable transmission 23 from forward rotation to reverse rotation, thereby moving the grain stumps a predetermined distance from the threshing device 4 toward the harvesting device 3. This can weaken the tangling of the grain stumps entangled in the conveying device 3C, etc. In addition, when the output rotation direction is forward, the conveying device 3C conveys the stalks from the harvesting device 3 to the threshing device 4, and when the output rotation direction is reverse, the conveying device 3C conveys the stalks from the threshing device 4 to the harvesting device 3.

[0084] Next, the processing unit 51 operates the motor 23A to stop the output rotation of the continuously variable reaping transmission 23 and stop the engine E. This allows the worker to safely remove the stalks entangled in the conveying device 3C, etc.

[0085] The processing unit 51 preferably operates the motor 20A to put the traveling continuously variable transmission 20 into a state where no output rotation is output, thereby stopping the engine E. This makes it possible to prevent the traveling device 2 from suddenly traveling against the operator's will when the engine E is started again.

[0086] Furthermore, it is preferable that the processing unit 51 is configured to operate the motor 23A to switch the output rotation direction of the continuously variable reaping transmission 23 from forward to reverse when the operator depresses the parking brake 39A or the raking pedal 39B. This makes it possible to prevent an excessive amount of straw from becoming entangled in the conveying device 3C, etc.

[0087] <Simple method of running the running device> As shown in Figure 2, a camera 17 is provided on the right side of the cover 10 of the harvesting device 3 to photograph the grass body 3D provided on the right side of the lifting device 3A and the ridge extending along the direction of travel of the combine on the right side of the combine.

[0088] The processing unit 51 of the controller 50 extracts the boundary object of the ridge from the image captured by the camera 17 using shading processing such as binarization, calculates the longitudinal direction of the boundary object, and operates the brake 2A of the traveling device 2 to control it based on the relationship between the virtual line extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the grass body 3D and the longitudinal direction of the ridge object (for example, so that the intersection angle is within a predetermined range). This allows the combine to travel along the ridge in the field without using the positioning unit 40.

[0089] In addition, a camera is provided on the left side of the cover 10 of the harvesting device 3 to photograph the divided grass body 3D provided on the left side of the lifting device 3A and the uncut stalks planted on the left side of the combine, and the processing unit 51 can operate the brake 2A of the traveling device 2 so that the virtual line extending in the forward and backward directions of the divided grass body 3D is parallel to the uncut stalks planted along the direction of travel of the combine.

[0090] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Machine frame 2 Traveling device 2A Brake 3 Harvesting device 3A Lifting device 3C Conveying device 3D Grass body 4 Thresher 5 Control unit 5A Buzzer 7 Grain tank 8 Discharge auger 8A Discharge device 10 Cover 11 Camera 11A Camera (second camera) 11B Camera (first camera) 13 Grain culm sensor (second grain culm sensor) 15 Grain culm sensor (first grain culm sensor) 23 Harvesting continuously variable transmission 50 Controller 55 Automatic steering switch 70 Photographed image (second photographed image) 75 Photographed image (first photographed image) E Engine

Claims

1. A combine harvester is provided with a traveling device (2) that travels in a field below a machine body frame (1) on which an engine (E) is mounted, a cutting device (3) that cuts cereal straws provided on the front side of the machine body frame (1), a threshing device (4) that threshes the cut cereal straws provided on the left rear side of the cutting device (3), a control unit (5) on which an operator boards provided on the right rear side of the cutting device (3), and a grain tank (7) that stores grains and at least one camera (11) provided on the rear side of the control unit (5). In the combine harvester, the camera (11) images the front of the combine harvester, and a controller (50) of the combine harvester estimates the posture of the tip of the ear of the cereal straw from the captured image of the camera (11) and calculates the entanglement rate of the cereal straw.

2. The combine harvester according to claim 1, wherein the controller (50) notifies the operator of any one of warnings including decelerating the traveling speed of the traveling device (2), decelerating the conveying speed of a pickup device (3A) of the cutting device (3), or stopping the traveling of the traveling device (2) based on the entanglement rate.

3. The combine harvester according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the captured image includes a first captured image (75) in front of a pickup device (3A) of the cutting device (3).

4. When the lodging rate of the cereal straw calculated from a second captured image (70) located forward with respect to the traveling direction from the first captured image (75) is equal to or less than a preset lodging rate, the controller (50) decelerates the traveling speed of the traveling device (2) and increases the conveying speed of the pickup device (3A). When the lodging rate exceeds the preset lodging rate, the combine harvester according to claim 3 stops the traveling of the traveling device (2).

5. The combine harvester according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when an obstacle is captured in the captured image, the controller (50) stops the traveling of the traveling device (2).

6. A combine harvester according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a stepless speed change device (23) for mowing, which increases or decreases the output rotational speed and switches the output rotational direction of the engine (E), is provided between the transmission path of the engine (E) and the mowing device (3), a first straw sensor (15) for detecting the retention of straw is provided in the conveying device (3C) of the mowing device (3), and when the first straw sensor (15) detects clogging of the straw, the controller (50) switches the driving direction of the mowing device (3) to the reverse direction via the stepless speed change device (23) for mowing, and then stops the driving of the mowing device (3).

7. The combine harvester according to claim 6, wherein when the first straw sensor (15) detects clogging of the straw, the controller (50) stops the running of the traveling device (2).

8. A combine harvester according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a second straw sensor (13) for detecting straw is provided in the lifting device (3A) of the mowing device (3), and when the second straw sensor (13) does not detect straw, the controller (50) notifies an operator of a warning or stops the running of the traveling device (2).

9. The combine harvester according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the camera (11) is arranged to photograph the ridges on the side of the combine harvester, the controller (50) extracts the ridge object from the image captured by the camera (11), calculates the longitudinal direction of the ridge object, and automatically steers the traveling device (2) based on the relationship between the virtual line extending in the front-rear direction of the weeding body (3D) and the longitudinal direction of the ridge object by operating the brake (2A) of the traveling device (2).

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