Work Vehicle Obstacle Detection Switching at Auto-Travel Start
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional work vehicles with automatic travel capabilities face issues with non-detection ranges, leading to potential collisions when starting automatic travel, as existing obstacle detection systems may falsely detect crops or fail to detect obstacles in certain areas, disrupting smooth travel.
Innovation Solution
A work vehicle equipped with a first obstacle detector that is activated at the start of automatic travel and deactivated once it passes the wheel position, utilizing a second detector to cover non-detection ranges, ensuring continuous obstacle detection and preventing false alarms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sonar is kept on at all times after the start of automatic travel to detect obstacles in non-detection ranges, then collision prevention is improved, but false detection of crops or other objects as obstacles increases, disrupting smooth automatic travel
Solution Approach 1:
The sonar's operational state is dynamically changed based on the vehicle's travel phase. The controller switches the sonar between active and inactive states according to whether the vehicle is in the starting phase or normal automatic travel phase, allowing the system to adapt its detection behavior to current operational conditions and avoid false detections during smooth travel while maintaining safety during critical starting phases
Solution Approach 2:
The sonar operates periodically rather than continuously - it is activated during the starting phase of automatic travel to detect obstacles in non-detection ranges, then deactivated during normal travel to avoid false detections. This periodic operation pattern maintains collision prevention capability when needed while eliminating harmful false detections during other phases
2Device complexity
If the laser sensor and sonar are used with fixed detection ranges, then the detection system is simple, but non-detection ranges exist beside the front wheel where obstacles may be missed
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system dynamically changes its effective coverage area through the movement of the vehicle body. By activating the sonar during the starting phase when the vehicle is stationary or beginning to move, the system ensures that non-detection ranges beside the front wheel are covered. As the vehicle moves forward and the first obstacle detector passes the wheel position, the sonar is deactivated, maintaining simple fixed detector positions while achieving comprehensive coverage through temporal activation strategies
Solution Approach 2:
The sonar is activated in advance during the starting phase of automatic travel, before the vehicle begins moving forward. This preliminary activation ensures that obstacles in non-detection ranges are detected before the vehicle enters them, allowing the system to maintain simple fixed detector positions while achieving complete detection coverage through timing-based activation
3Reliability
If the first obstacle detector remains in detection state during entire automatic travel, then obstacle detection coverage is maintained, but false detection of crops increases and smooth automatic travel is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The first obstacle detector operates periodically rather than continuously during automatic travel. It is activated during the starting phase to ensure obstacle detection coverage, then deactivated during normal travel to prevent false detections of crops. This periodic operation pattern maintains detection reliability when needed while ensuring smooth automatic travel during other phases
Solution Approach 2:
The operational state of the first obstacle detector is dynamically adjusted based on the travel phase. The controller switches the detector between active and inactive states according to whether the vehicle is in the starting phase or normal automatic travel phase, allowing the system to maintain detection coverage during critical phases while avoiding false detections during smooth travel phases
Data Source
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AI summary
A work vehicle (1) includes a vehicle body (2) having wheels; a controller (25) that causes the vehicle body (2) to perform automatic travel along a travel route set in advance; a driver seat (6) mounted on the vehicle body (2); a driver seat protective body (7) provided around the driver seat (6); first obstacle detectors (31A) provided at side portions of the driver seat protective body (7), and capable of detecting an obstacle; and second obstacle detectors (31B) provided at positions differing from positions of the first obstacle detectors (31A) in a front-back direction, and capable of detecting an obstacle. At a time of start of the automatic travel, the controller (25) puts each first obstacle detector (31A) in a detection state of detecting an obstacle, and, during automatic travel after the start of the automatic travel, the controller (25) puts each first obstacle detector (31A) in a non-detection state of not detecting the obstacle.