Autonomous Tractor Steering Control for Towed Vehicle Angle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous traveling systems for working vehicles, such as tractors, face challenges in accurately matching the vehicle position with scheduled traveling routes, especially during turns and transitions to straight-line portions, due to variations in relative angles between the traveling vehicle and the towed vehicle.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous traveling controller is programmed to control the steering of the traveling vehicle based on the relative angle between the vehicle and the towed vehicle, executing turn control when the angle is below a judgment value and shifting to multi-point turn control when the angle exceeds this value, ensuring alignment with the scheduled route and preventing vehicle contact or jackknife phenomena.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If autonomous traveling control is performed without considering relative angle, then the control system is simple, but the vehicle position cannot accurately match the scheduled traveling route during turns
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary judgment of the relative angle between the traveling vehicle and towed vehicle before executing turn control. By detecting the relative angle in advance and comparing it with a predetermined threshold, the system determines whether to execute turn control or multi-point turn control, ensuring accurate vehicle position matching while maintaining reasonable control system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system dynamically switches between turn control and multi-point turn control based on the real-time relative angle. When the relative angle is within the threshold, turn control is executed; when it exceeds the threshold, multi-point turn control is executed. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain high positioning accuracy under varying operational conditions.
2Reliability
If turn control is executed without checking relative angle, then the response is fast, but vehicle contact or jackknife phenomena may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by detecting the relative angle before executing turn control and preventing unsafe maneuvers. When the relative angle exceeds the predetermined threshold, the system determines not to execute turn control, thereby preventing vehicle contact or jackknife phenomena before they can occur. This preventive approach maintains safety while preserving acceptable response speed through efficient angle detection and decision logic.
3Reliability
If multi-point turn control is always used, then vehicle contact is prevented, but the straightness of travel on straight-line portions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically selects between turn control and multi-point turn control based on the relative angle condition. When the relative angle is within the threshold, turn control is executed for efficient turning; when it exceeds the threshold, multi-point turn control is executed to prevent vehicle contact. This dynamic selection ensures both safety during turns and travel straightness on straight-line portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the control parameter (control mode) based on the relative angle parameter. By monitoring the relative angle and switching control modes accordingly, the system optimizes both safety and travel quality without continuously using the more conservative multi-point turn control approach.
4Manufacturing precision
If the control system does not monitor relative angle, then the system is simpler, but smooth turns and precise navigation cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an angle detector as an intermediary component to measure the relative angle between the traveling vehicle and towed vehicle. This angle information serves as a mediator that enables the autonomous traveling controller to make informed decisions about control mode selection, achieving precise navigation and smooth turns while keeping the overall system complexity manageable through a single dedicated sensing component.
Data Source
AI summary
A working vehicle includes a traveling vehicle to travel on a scheduled traveling route and including a connector to which a towed vehicle is connected, and an autonomous traveling controller to control autonomous traveling of the traveling vehicle based on the scheduled traveling route and a relative angle between the connector of the traveling vehicle and the towed vehicle connected to the connector.