Work vehicle control device, work vehicle, control method, and program

Abstract

One aspect of the present disclosure pertains to a control device for a work vehicle, the control device comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires information about the state of the work vehicle; a determination unit that determines the operating state of the work vehicle at the current time on the basis of the information acquired by the information acquisition unit; a prediction unit that predicts the operating state of the work vehicle subsequent to the current time on the basis of the operating state of the work vehicle determined by the determination unit; and a control unit that controls the work vehicle on the basis of the operating state of the work vehicle predicted by the prediction unit.

Description

Work vehicle control device, work vehicle, control method, and program

[0001] This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-154272, filed on September 6, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Various parts of a vehicle are controlled for various purposes, such as reducing fuel consumption, improving performance, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an engine control method that automatically adjusts the rotation speed of the engine or stops the engine depending on the operating state of the machine.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-207396

[0004] The control of each part of the vehicle, including the configuration described in Patent Document 1, is performed based on the vehicle's state at that time. However, the control performed based on the vehicle's state at that time may not necessarily be appropriate depending on the vehicle's state thereafter. For this reason, it is desirable to perform more appropriate control according to the vehicle's state.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a work vehicle control device, a work vehicle, a control method, and a program that can perform more appropriate control depending on the operating state of the work vehicle.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present disclosure is a control device for a work vehicle that includes an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the state of a work vehicle, a determination unit that determines the current operating state of the work vehicle based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, a prediction unit that predicts the operating state of the work vehicle from the present time onwards based on the operating state of the work vehicle determined by the determination unit, and a control unit that controls the work vehicle based on the operating state of the work vehicle predicted by the prediction unit.

[0007] According to each aspect of the present disclosure, more appropriate control can be performed depending on the operating state of the work vehicle.

[0008] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a work vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an operating status of the work vehicle at a work site. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a range of engine rotation speed and engine torque according to an operating status of a work vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding components are designated by the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted as appropriate.

[0010] (Configuration of Work Vehicle) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a work vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the work vehicle 1 is used for various types of work at a work site or the like. In this embodiment, the work vehicle 1 is, for example, a dump truck that transports earth, sand, gravel, etc. The work vehicle 1 includes a vehicle body 10 and a control device 2.

[0011] The vehicle body 10 has a running section 11 for running, a driver's cab 12 , a loading platform (working section) 13 , and an exhaust gas treatment device 17 .

[0012] The traveling unit 11 includes wheels 14, an engine 15, a steering mechanism (not shown), a braking mechanism (not shown), a transmission mechanism (not shown), etc. The engine 15 drives at least some of the wheels 14 to travel the work vehicle 1. The steering mechanism steers at least some of the wheels 14 to change the direction of travel of the work vehicle 1. The braking mechanism brakes the wheels 14 to decelerate the work vehicle 1.

[0013] The driver's cab 12 is where the operator of the work vehicle 1 rides and operates and steers the traveling unit 11, the loading platform 13, etc. The driver's cab 12 is provided at the front of the vehicle body 10. The loading platform 13 is provided at the rear of the vehicle body 10. The loading platform 13 can be raised and lowered by operation by the operator of the work vehicle 1.

[0014] The exhaust gas treatment device 17 treats exhaust gas from the engine 15. The exhaust gas treatment device 17 is equipped with a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter), a catalyst, etc. The DPF collects particulates contained in the exhaust gas and burns them. The catalyst, etc. oxidizes and reduces nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), etc. contained in the exhaust gas. The exhaust gas treatment device 17 performs a regeneration process by raising the temperature of the exhaust gas under the control of the control device 2, which will be described later.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the operating status of the work vehicle at a work site. As shown in FIG. 2, this type of work vehicle 1 transports cargo such as earth and sand, gravel, etc. within the work site S. For this reason, the work vehicle 1 sequentially performs the following operations, for example: 1) traveling to a loading location P1; 2) loading of cargo by another work vehicle 5, such as a backhoe, at the loading location P1; 3) traveling from the loading location P1 to an unloading location P2; and 4) unloading of cargo at the unloading location P2. The work vehicle 1 repeatedly performs the above operations 1) to 4) within the work site S. Note that while FIG. 1 shows only one work vehicle 1, multiple work vehicles 1 are deployed within the work site S.

[0016] In this embodiment, for example, there is an elevation difference between the loading location P1 and the unloading location P2, and the loading location P1 is set at a lower position than the unloading location P2. Note that the loading location P1 may also be set at a higher position than the unloading location. For this reason, a ramp SL is provided between the loading location P1 and the unloading location P2 at the work site S, and the work vehicle 1 uses this ramp SL when traveling between the loading location P1 and the unloading location P2. When traveling from the loading location P1 to the unloading location P2, the work vehicle 1 ascends the ramp SL, and when traveling from the unloading location P2 to the loading location P1, the work vehicle 1 descends the ramp SL. In the following description, when the work vehicle 1 ascends the ramp SL, the ramp SL will be referred to as an uphill slope, and when the work vehicle 1 descends the ramp SL, the ramp SL will be referred to as a downhill slope. The content and order of the work performed by the work vehicle 1 shown in 1) to 4) above are merely examples and can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, the travel route of the work vehicle 1 exemplified in this embodiment when performing the work in 1) to 4) above is merely an example and can be changed as appropriate.

[0017] (Configuration of Control Device) Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The functions of the control device 2 will be described in detail below. The control device 2 includes a CPU 20, a memory 21, a communication interface 24, and a storage unit 25. The CPU 20 may be any type of device such as an FPGA, a GPU, or the like, as long as it is similar to these.

[0018] The CPU 20 is a processor that controls the overall operation of the control device 2. The various functions of the CPU 20 will be described later.

[0019] The memory 21 is a so-called main storage device, and stores instructions and data necessary for the CPU 20 to operate based on a program.

[0020] The communication interface 24 is a communication interface for communicating with each part of the work vehicle 1 .

[0021] The storage unit 25 is a so-called auxiliary storage device, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD).

[0022] In other embodiments, the control device 2 may include a custom LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) in addition to or instead of the above configuration. Examples of PLDs include PAL (Programmable Array Logic), GAL (Generic Array Logic), CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). In this case, some or all of the functions realized by the processor may be realized by the integrated circuit. A plurality of such control devices 2 may be provided as vehicle body controllers and engine controllers for the work vehicle 1.

[0023] 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the CPU 20 operates based on a predetermined program to functionally include an information acquisition unit 31, a history information storage unit 32, a plan information registration unit 33, a determination unit 34, a prediction unit 35, and a control unit 36. Note that the predetermined program may be for realizing some of the functions to be performed by the control device 2. For example, the program may be combined with another program already stored in the storage unit 25 or with another program implemented in another device to perform the function.

[0024] The information acquisition unit 31 acquires information relating to the state of the work vehicle 1. The information acquisition unit 31 acquires information relating to the state of the work vehicle 1 from various parts, such as the position of the work vehicle 1, vehicle speed, engine 15 rotation speed, torque generated by the engine 15, tilt angle of the vehicle body 10, operating state of the braking mechanism, and operating state of the loading platform 13. The information acquisition unit 31 acquires information relating to the state of the work vehicle 1 from, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) and sensors provided in various parts. Furthermore, if the work vehicle 1 is equipped with a camera that captures images of the area ahead in the direction of travel and the surrounding area, the information acquisition unit 31 may acquire images and videos captured by the camera as information relating to the state of the work vehicle 1.

[0025] The history information accumulation unit 32 accumulates information relating to the history of the operating state of the work vehicle 1. Examples of information relating to the history of the operating state of the work vehicle 1 include the work performed by the work vehicle 1 (for example, the work 1) to 4) above), the time the work was performed, location information of the location where the work was performed, travel route information when the work vehicle 1 was traveling, vehicle speed, operating state of the engine 15, and the rotation speed of the engine 15. Note that this history information accumulation unit 32 is not an essential component and can be omitted as appropriate.

[0026] The plan information registration unit 33 registers information related to operation plans for work to be performed by the work vehicle 1. The work operation plan includes, for example, information related to the order, location, time, etc. of work to be performed by the work vehicle 1 on each day. Note that the plan information registration unit 33 is not an essential component and can be omitted as appropriate.

[0027] The determination unit 34 determines the current operating state of the work vehicle 1 based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31 .

[0028] For example, the determination unit 34 determines whether or not the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is currently "traveling downhill" based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31. Therefore, the determination unit 34 determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "traveling downhill", for example, when the following condition a1) is satisfied: a1) the tilt angle in the fore-and-aft direction of the work vehicle 1 is smaller than a preset tilt angle threshold.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the ranges of engine speed and engine torque according to the operating state of the work vehicle of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates the maximum values ​​of engine speed and engine torque when the work vehicle 1 is traveling, the range X of engine speed and engine torque when traveling downhill, the range Y of engine speed and engine torque when waiting for work, and the range Z of engine speed and engine torque when traveling uphill. When traveling downhill, the vehicle speed increases and the rotational speed of the wheels 14 increases even without opening the throttle. As shown in the range X of FIG. 5, the rotational speed of the engine 15 increases, while the torque generated by the engine 15 is small. Therefore, the determination unit 34 determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "traveling downhill" when the following condition a2) is met, as shown in FIG. 5: a2) the rotational speed of the engine 15 of the work vehicle 1 is higher than the rotational speed reference value r1, and the torque generated by the engine 15 is lower than the torque reference value t1.

[0030] In addition to this, for example, the judgment unit 34 may judge that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "driving downhill" when at least one of the following conditions is met: a3) From the position information of the work vehicle 1 obtained by GPS, it is determined that the work vehicle 1 is located on the slope SL and is moving in a downward direction on the slope SL; a4) From the image obtained by the camera, it can be estimated that the work vehicle 1 is traveling downhill.

[0031] For example, the determination unit 34 determines whether or not the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is currently "standby for work" based on information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31. For this reason, as shown in range Y in Fig. 5 , the determination unit 34 determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "standby for work" when the following condition a11) is met: a11) the rotation speed of the engine 15 of the work vehicle 1 is lower than rotation speed reference value r2, and the torque generated by the engine 15 is lower than torque reference value t2.

[0032] In addition to the above, for example, the determination unit 34 may determine that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "waiting for work" when at least one of the following conditions is met: a12) the vehicle speed of the work vehicle 1 is 0; a13) the position information of the work vehicle 1 has not changed; a14) there are no other work vehicles 5 around the work vehicle 1 in the camera images and the position information of the other work vehicles 5; a15) the distance between the work vehicle 1 and the other work vehicles 5 is a predetermined distance or more in the camera images and the position information of the other work vehicles 5; a16) the other work vehicles 5 are moving in a direction away from the work vehicle 1 in the camera images and the position information of the other work vehicles 5; a17) the bucket of the other work vehicle 5 (excavator) is not facing the work object such as soil or sand, but is facing in a predetermined direction when stopped.

[0033] For example, the determination unit 34 determines whether or not the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is currently "stopped on an uphill slope" based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31. Therefore, the determination unit 34 determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "stopped on an uphill slope" when, for example, both of the following conditions a21) and a22) are met: a21) the tilt angle in the longitudinal direction of the work vehicle 1 is greater than a preset tilt angle threshold value, and a22) the vehicle speed of the work vehicle 1 is lower than a preset speed reference value.

[0034] In addition to this, for example, the determination unit 34 may determine that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "stopped on an uphill slope" when the following conditions are met based on camera images and GPS position information: a23) The work vehicle 1 has stopped while traveling uphill.

[0035] The prediction unit 35 predicts the operating state of the work vehicle 1 from the present time onwards, based on the operating state of the work vehicle 1 at the present time determined by the determination unit 34. The prediction unit 35 predicts whether the operating state of the work vehicle 1 at the present time determined by the determination unit 34 will continue from the present time onwards.

[0036] For example, if the determination unit 34 determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 at the present time is "traveling downhill," the prediction unit 35 predicts whether or not the work vehicle 1 will continue to "travel downhill" from the present time onwards. The prediction unit 35 predicts that the work vehicle 1 will continue to travel downhill from the present time onwards if, for example, both of the following conditions b1) and b2) are met from the historical information on the operating state of the work vehicle 1 stored in the historical information storage unit 32: b1) the ratio of the time spent traveling downhill to the total operating time of the work vehicle 1 is smaller than a reference ratio, and b2) the average time spent traveling downhill is longer than a predetermined time. In other words, the prediction unit 35 predicts whether or not the time spent traveling downhill will be long.

[0037] Here, the purpose of setting condition b1) will be explained. When condition b1) is met, the engine speed and engine torque are often outside range X, and other tasks other than downhill driving account for a large proportion of the work. In this case, the regeneration process can be performed during other tasks when the engine speed and engine torque are outside range X. For this reason, condition b1) is intended to prevent the regeneration process from being performed when the engine speed and engine torque are within range X. Furthermore, when condition b1) is not met, the engine speed and engine torque are often within range X. In this case, even if the efficiency is poor, regeneration control is necessary, so the regeneration process is performed when the engine speed and engine torque are within range X.

[0038] In addition to this, for example, the prediction unit 35 may: b3) predict that the work vehicle 1 will continue to travel downhill from the current point in time if it can be predicted from camera images or GPS location information that the work vehicle 1 will continue to travel downhill.

[0039] For example, if the determination unit 34 determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 at the present time is "standby for work", the prediction unit 35 predicts whether the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "standby for work" from the present time onwards. The prediction unit 35 predicts that the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "standby for work" from the present time onwards if, for example, both of the following conditions b11) and b12) are met from the historical information on the operating state of the work vehicle 1 stored in the historical information storage unit 32: b11) the ratio of the time spent "standby for work" to the overall operating time of the work vehicle 1 is greater than a reference ratio, and b12) the average time spent "standby for work" is longer than a predetermined time.

[0040] In addition to this, for example, the prediction unit 35 may predict that the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "waiting for work" from the present time onwards if the following condition b13) is met: b13) The operating status of other surrounding work vehicles 5 is obtained from camera images or GPS location information via a server or the like, and it is possible to predict that the other work vehicles 5 are waiting for work.

[0041] For example, if the determination unit 34 determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 at the present time is "stopped on an uphill slope", the prediction unit 35 predicts whether the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "stopped on an uphill slope" from the present time onwards. For example, if the prediction unit 35 satisfies the condition b21) that the position where the work vehicle 1 stopped on an uphill slope is partway up the uphill slope and that the work vehicle 1 will continue to climb the uphill slope from the present time onwards, based on the position information from the GPS and images obtained from the camera, the prediction unit 35 predicts that the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "stopped on an uphill slope" from the present time onwards and will then restart to climb the uphill slope.

[0042] The control unit 36 ​​controls the work vehicle 1 based on the operating state of the work vehicle 1 predicted by the prediction unit 35. When the prediction unit 35 predicts that the current operating state of the work vehicle 1 will continue after the present time, the control unit 36 ​​controls the work vehicle 1 based on the predicted operating state of the work vehicle 1.

[0043] For example, if the prediction unit 35 predicts that the work vehicle 1 will continue "driving downhill" from the current point in time, the control unit 36 ​​will not perform the regeneration process of the exhaust gas treatment device 17. The regeneration process of the exhaust gas treatment device 17 requires that the exhaust gas from the engine 15 be used to raise the temperature of the exhaust gas treatment device 17 (DPF, catalyst, etc.) to a predetermined temperature or higher. When the work vehicle 1 continues to drive downhill, the exhaust gas flow rate of the engine 15 is high and the exhaust temperature is low, making it difficult for the temperature of the exhaust gas treatment device 17 to rise. Therefore, if the regeneration process of the exhaust gas treatment device 17 has already been performed, the regeneration process is stopped, and if a command to start the regeneration process is received while the work vehicle 1 is driving downhill, the start of the regeneration process is stopped. This prevents the regeneration process of the exhaust gas treatment device 17 from being performed in a state in which it cannot be performed efficiently. The control unit 36 ​​subsequently starts (resumes) the regeneration process of the exhaust gas treatment device 17 when the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is no longer "driving downhill."

[0044] For example, if the prediction unit 35 predicts that the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "on standby for work" from the present time onwards, the control unit 36 ​​stops idling of the engine 15 of the work vehicle 1 (idle stop), thereby reducing fuel consumption during the "on standby for work" period.

[0045] For example, if the prediction unit 35 predicts that the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "stopped on an uphill slope" from the present time onwards and will then be restarted to climb the uphill slope, the control unit 36 ​​increases the idling speed of the engine 15 of the work vehicle 1. As shown in range Z in FIG. 5 , when the work vehicle 1 climbs an uphill slope, it is necessary to increase the rotational speed of the engine 15 to generate high torque. In contrast, when the work vehicle 1 is "stopped on an uphill slope", the engine 15 is rotating at idling rotational speed, so it is necessary to open the throttle to increase the rotational speed of the engine 15. Therefore, when the work vehicle 1 is restarted to climb the uphill slope from the "stopped on an uphill slope" state, by increasing the idling rotational speed of the engine 15 in advance, the responsiveness of the engine 15 when the operator opens the throttle can be improved.

[0046] (Processing flow of the control device) Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The processing flow shown in Fig. 6 is automatically and repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals after the engine 15 of the work vehicle 1 is started by the operator.

[0047] The control device 2 mainly sequentially performs step S1 of acquiring information, step S2 of determining the current operating state of the work vehicle 1, step S3 of predicting the operating state of the work vehicle 1 from the present time onwards, and step S4 of controlling the work vehicle 1.

[0048] In step S1 of acquiring information, the information acquisition unit 31 acquires information relating to the state of the work vehicle 1. The information acquisition unit 31 acquires information relating to the state of the work vehicle 1, such as the position of the work vehicle 1, the vehicle speed, the number of revolutions of the engine 15, the tilt angle of the vehicle body 10, the operating state of the braking mechanism, the operating state of the loading platform 13, etc.

[0049] In step S2 of determining the current operating state of the work vehicle 1, first, the current operating state of the work vehicle 1 is determined based on the acquired information (step S21). If the above condition a1) or a2) is satisfied, the determination unit 34 determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "traveling downhill" (Yes in step S22).

[0050] Next, if it is determined that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "traveling downhill", in step S3 of predicting the operating state of the work vehicle 1 from the current point in time, the prediction unit 35 predicts whether or not the work vehicle 1 will continue traveling downhill from the current point in time (step S31). If both of the above conditions b1) and b2) are met, the prediction unit 35 predicts that the work vehicle 1 will continue traveling downhill from the current point in time (Yes in step S32). If both of the above conditions b1) and b2) are not met (No in step S32), the process returns to step S1 and is repeated.

[0051] Next, in step S4 of controlling the work vehicle 1, if it is predicted that the work vehicle 1 will continue to travel downhill from the current point in time, the control unit 36 ​​will not perform the regeneration process of the exhaust gas treatment device 17 (step S41).

[0052] Furthermore, if the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is not determined to be "driving downhill" in step S22 (No in step S22), and the above condition a11) is satisfied, the determination unit 34 determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "waiting for work" (Yes in step S23).

[0053] If it is determined that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "standby for work", in step S3 of predicting the operating state of the work vehicle 1 from the present time onwards, the prediction unit 35 predicts whether the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "standby for work" from the present time onwards (step S33). If both of the above conditions b11) and b12) are met, the prediction unit 35 predicts that the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "standby for work" from the present time onwards (Yes in step S34). If both of the above conditions b11) and b12) are not met (No in step S34), the process returns to step S1 and is repeated.

[0054] If it is predicted that the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "on standby for work" from the present time onwards, in step S4 of controlling the work vehicle 1, the control unit 36 ​​stops idling of the engine 15 of the work vehicle 1 (idle stop) (step S42).

[0055] Furthermore, if the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is not determined to be "standby for work" in step S23 (No in step S23), and the determination unit 34 satisfies both of the above conditions a21) and a22), it determines that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "parked on an uphill slope" (Yes in step S24). If both of the above conditions a21) and a22) are not satisfied, the process returns to step S1 and repeats the process.

[0056] If it is determined that the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "parked on an uphill slope", in step S3 of predicting the operating state of the work vehicle 1 from the current point in time, the prediction unit 35 predicts whether the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "parked on an uphill slope" from the current point in time onwards (step S35). If the above condition b21) is satisfied, the prediction unit 35 predicts that the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "parked on an uphill slope" from the current point in time onwards (Yes in step S36). If the above condition b21) is not satisfied (No in step S36), the process returns to step S1 and is repeated.

[0057] If it is predicted that the work vehicle 1 will continue to be "parked on an uphill slope" from the current point onwards, in step S4 of controlling the work vehicle 1, the control unit 36 ​​increases the idling speed of the engine 15 of the work vehicle 1 (step S43).

[0058] Thereafter, steps S41, S42, and S43 are maintained unless the operating state of the work vehicle 1 changes, and if the operating state of the work vehicle 1 changes (step S5), the control of steps S41, S42, and S43 is released (step S6).

[0059] (Operations and Effects) According to this embodiment, more appropriate control can be performed in accordance with the operating state of the work vehicle 1 .

[0060] The above describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to the above embodiment and includes design modifications and the like within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0061] In the above-described embodiment, the flow of the control method of the work vehicle 1 in the control device 2 has been described, but the order can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, examples have been given of conditions for determining the current operating state of the work vehicle 1 and predicting the operating state of the work vehicle 1 from the current point onwards, but these conditions can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the operation of the work vehicle 1 is controlled when the operating state of the work vehicle 1 is "driving downhill," "waiting for work," or "parked on an uphill slope," but the operation of the work vehicle 1 may also be controlled in operating states other than those shown here. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the work vehicle 1 is controlled by not performing regeneration processing of the exhaust gas treatment device 17, stopping the idling of the engine 15, and increasing the idle speed of the engine 15, but control other than that shown here may also be performed.

[0062] In the above-described embodiment, the work vehicle 1 is a dump truck, but is not limited to this. For example, the work vehicle 1 according to other embodiments may be another work vehicle such as a hydraulic excavator, a bulldozer, or a wheel loader.

[0063] Furthermore, part or all of the programs executed by the computer in the above embodiments can be distributed via computer-readable recording media or communication lines.

[0064] According to each aspect of the present disclosure, more appropriate control can be performed depending on the operating state of the work vehicle.

[0065] 1... Work vehicle, 2... Control device, 5... Work vehicle, 10... Vehicle body, 15... Engine, 17... Exhaust gas treatment device, 31... Information acquisition unit, 32... History information accumulation unit, 33... Plan information registration unit, 34... Determination unit, 35... Prediction unit, 36... Control unit

Claims

1. A control device for a work vehicle comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the state of a work vehicle; a determination unit that determines the current operating state of the work vehicle based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit; a prediction unit that predicts the operating state of the work vehicle from the present time onwards based on the operating state of the work vehicle determined by the determination unit; and a control unit that controls the work vehicle based on the operating state of the work vehicle predicted by the prediction unit.

2. A control device for a work vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the work vehicle based on the predicted operating state of the work vehicle when the prediction unit predicts that the current operating state of the work vehicle will continue beyond the present time.

3. A control device for a work vehicle as described in claim 2, wherein the work vehicle is equipped with an exhaust gas treatment device, and when the determination unit determines that the current operating state of the work vehicle is traveling downhill and the prediction unit predicts that the work vehicle will continue traveling downhill from the current point in time, the control unit does not perform regeneration processing of the exhaust gas treatment device.

4. A control device for a work vehicle as described in claim 2 or 3, wherein when the determination unit determines that the current operating state of the work vehicle is waiting for work, and when the prediction unit predicts that the waiting for work state will continue from the present time onwards, the control unit stops the engine provided on the work vehicle.

5. A control device for a work vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein when the determination unit determines that the current operating state of the work vehicle is stopped on an uphill slope with the engine running, and when the prediction unit predicts that the work vehicle will resume traveling uphill from the current point in time, the control unit increases the engine rotation speed.

6. A control device for a work vehicle as described in claim 1 or 2, further comprising a history information storage unit that stores information regarding the history of the operating state of the work vehicle, wherein the prediction unit predicts the operating state of the work vehicle from the present time onwards based on the information regarding the history of the operating state of the work vehicle stored in the history information storage unit.

7. A control device for a work vehicle as described in claim 1 or 2, further comprising a plan information registration unit that registers information regarding the operation plan for work to be performed by the work vehicle, wherein the prediction unit predicts the operation state of the work vehicle from the present time onwards based on the information regarding the operation plan for the work vehicle registered in the plan information registration unit.

8. A control device for a work vehicle as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the information acquisition unit acquires information about other work vehicles located in the vicinity, and the prediction unit predicts the operating state of the work vehicle from the present time onwards based on the information about the other work vehicles.

9. A work vehicle comprising: a work vehicle body; and a work vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2.

10. A method for controlling a work vehicle, comprising the steps of: acquiring information relating to the state of a work vehicle; determining the current operating state of the work vehicle based on the acquired information; predicting the operating state of the work vehicle from the present time onwards based on the determined operating state of the work vehicle; and controlling the work vehicle based on the predicted operating state of the work vehicle.

11. A program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: acquiring information regarding the state of a work vehicle; determining the current operating state of the work vehicle based on the acquired information; predicting the operating state of the work vehicle from the present time onwards based on the determined operating state of the work vehicle; and controlling the work vehicle based on the predicted operating state of the work vehicle.

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