JP7632211B2 - Work vehicle management system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a work vehicle management system that can easily refuel agricultural work vehicles that travel autonomously within a field while reducing the workload of the workers.

Because work vehicles that travel autonomously while performing tasks such as plowing in farm fields do not have a passenger on board, it is not possible to check the remaining fuel level while working, and they sometimes run out of fuel while driving. In such cases, it is necessary to halt the work, stop the work vehicle, and refuel, but the worker must travel to the location of the stopped work vehicle in the field to refuel, which places a heavy workload on the worker.

Patent Document 1 proposes a work vehicle that is configured to stop the work vehicle at the edge of the field where it is currently located, without continuing the work drive, if it is determined that the vehicle will run out of fuel on the way to the next edge if the work drive continues when the work vehicle is located at the edge of the field.

JP 2016-059349 A

According to Patent Document 1, a worker can refuel a work vehicle by going to the edge of the field, thereby reducing the worker's workload.

However, if the field is large, the worker must expend a great deal of effort to reach the edge of the field where the work vehicle is stopped, and if there is an obstacle near the edge of the field where the work vehicle is stopped, it will be difficult for the worker to refuel even if he or she reaches the work vehicle stopped at the edge of the field. Therefore, the work vehicle of Patent Document 1 cannot fully reduce the burden on the worker for refueling.

The same problem occurs not only when refueling is required, but also when maintenance is required on a work vehicle.

The present invention therefore aims to provide a work vehicle management system that can easily refuel or perform maintenance on agricultural work vehicles that travel autonomously within a field while reducing the workload of the worker.

The object of the present invention is to
A work vehicle that travels autonomously in a farm field;
A mobile terminal carried by a worker and capable of communicating with a work vehicle;
A field shape acquisition means for acquiring topographical information of the field;
A route calculation means for calculating a route along which the work vehicle will autonomously travel,
This is achieved by a work vehicle management system that is configured to autonomously move a work vehicle to and stop it at a stopping position calculated based on the topographical information of the field and position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal.

According to the present invention, the work vehicle is configured to be able to move autonomously to a stop position calculated based on the field shape information and the position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal. This allows the work vehicle to be stopped at a location that is easily accessible to the worker and where maintenance such as refueling can be easily performed. This makes it possible to refuel the work vehicle or perform maintenance on the work vehicle easily and with reduced workload on the worker.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The work vehicle is configured to be able to autonomously move to and stop at a stopping position arbitrarily specified on the mobile terminal.

According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, when maintenance such as refueling becomes necessary, even if the location of the worker (mobile terminal) is not suitable for maintenance such as refueling, another location of his/her choice can be specified and the work vehicle can be stopped at the specified location, which is very convenient.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention,
a fuel level sensor for detecting the amount of fuel remaining in a fuel tank of the engine;
A stop position can be specified within a travelable distance range calculated based on the remaining fuel level detected by the fuel level sensor from the current position of the work vehicle.

According to this embodiment of the invention, when the amount of fuel remaining in the engine fuel tank falls below a predetermined level, the location where the work vehicle should stop can be specified within the distance that can be traveled based on the remaining fuel level, so that the work vehicle can be stopped and refueled reliably in a location that is easy to access and facilitates refueling.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The system has in advance information on the location of a fuel filler opening for filling the work vehicle with fuel, the information indicating whether the fuel filler opening is located on the left or right side of the vehicle body;
When the fuel filler opening is on the left side of the vehicle body and the stopping position is on the right front side, right rear side or left rear side of the work vehicle, the route calculation means calculates a route for turning right when the vehicle reaches an outer periphery route that goes around the field and traveling clockwise to the stopping position,
When the fuel filler opening is on the left side of the vehicle body and the stop position is on the left front side with respect to the work vehicle, the route calculation means calculates a route in which, when the vehicle reaches the outer circumferential route, the vehicle turns right and then reverses to the stop position;
When the fuel filler opening is on the right side of the vehicle body and the stop position is on the left front side, left rear side or right rear side of the work vehicle, the route calculation means calculates a route that turns left when the outer circumferential route is reached and travels counterclockwise to the stop position,
When the fuel filler opening is on the right side of the vehicle body and the stopping position is on the right front side based on the work vehicle, the route calculation means calculates a route for turning left when the vehicle reaches the outer peripheral route and then reversing to the stopping position.

According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, even if the fuel filler port is located on either the left or right side of the vehicle body and the stopping position is on the right front, right rear, left front or left rear side of the work vehicle, the work vehicle can be stopped at the stopping position with the fuel filler port facing outward from the field, making refueling easy.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The work vehicle further includes an inclination sensor that detects the inclination angle of the vehicle body,
The work vehicle is stopped at the stop position or a location in the vicinity thereof where the inclination angle of the vehicle body detected by the inclination sensor is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle.

According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the work vehicle is configured to stop at a stopping position calculated based on the position information of the mobile device or a stopping position designated by the worker, or at a nearby location where the inclination angle of the vehicle body (i.e., the inclination angle of the field) is equal to or less than a predetermined angle. This prevents the work vehicle from stopping at a location where refueling is difficult because the inclination angle exceeds the predetermined angle, making refueling easier.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a work vehicle management system that can easily refuel or perform maintenance on agricultural work vehicles that travel autonomously within a field while reducing the workload of the worker.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a work vehicle managed by a work vehicle management system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system, a detection system, a calculation system, and an input system of the work vehicle management system that manages the work vehicle shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the driving control of the work vehicle when the amount of fuel remaining in the engine fuel tank falls below a predetermined remaining amount. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a travel route to a stopping position when the fuel filler opening is located on the left side of the vehicle body. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a travel path to a stop position according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing travel control of a work vehicle when the amount of fuel remaining in the engine fuel tank falls below a predetermined remaining amount in a work vehicle management system according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Below, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a work vehicle managed by a work vehicle management system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the work vehicle 100 managed by the work vehicle management system of this embodiment is an agricultural work vehicle capable of traveling in fields, and is equipped with a common rail engine 105 covered by a bonnet 107 at the front of the vehicle body. The rotational power of this engine 105 is transmitted to the front wheels 103 and rear wheels 104 via a main transmission and an auxiliary transmission, enabling the vehicle to travel.

In addition, a control unit 106 is provided behind the engine 105, and a work implement 140 capable of cultivating farm fields is attached to the rear of the vehicle body behind the control unit 106.

The control section 106 is provided with a cabin equipped with a steering wheel 150 for steering the work vehicle 100 and a driver's seat 153. In addition, a GNSS receiving device 102 is provided on the cabin roof 108, which is the ceiling of the cabin, and is configured to receive radio waves from an artificial satellite 170 at a predetermined time interval and measure the position of the work vehicle 100.

A three-point link mechanism 145 consisting of a top link 145a on the upper side and left and right lower links 145b on the lower side is provided at the rear of the vehicle body of the work vehicle 100, and the work machine 140 is connected to the three-point link mechanism 145.

As shown in FIG. 1, the working machine 140 is provided with tilling tines 146 for tilling the soil in the field, a rotary cover 147 that covers the top of the tilling tines 146, and a rear cover 148 that is supported on the rear of the rotary cover 147 so that it can move up and down freely. A tilling depth sensor 149 is provided on the rotary cover 147 to detect the depth of tilling by the working machine 140. The tilling depth sensor 149 is a potentiometer-type sensor that is configured to be able to detect the rotation angle of the rear cover 148 relative to the rotary cover 147 as the tilling depth.

The lower link 145b of the three-point link mechanism 145 is connected to a work machine lifting cylinder 141 via a lift arm 142, and the work machine lifting cylinder 141 is extended and retracted to raise and lower the lower link 145b and raise and lower the work machine 140. A lift arm sensor 143 that detects the rotation angle of the lift arm 142 is provided at the base of the lift arm 142, and the height of the lifted and lowered work machine 140 is calculated based on the detection value of the lift arm sensor 143.

The three-point link mechanism 145 can raise and lower the connected work implement 140 by extending and retracting the work implement lifting cylinder 141. When cultivating a field, the work implement 140 is lowered and placed on the ground, while when not working, the work implement 140 is raised to a predetermined height so that it does not touch the ground. This prevents the work implement 140 from unnecessarily coming into contact with the ground and interfering with the travel of the work vehicle 100.

An obstacle sensor 160 that detects obstacles in front of the vehicle is provided at the front end of the bonnet 107 provided in front of the steering unit 106. The obstacle sensor 160 is equipped with an infrared laser light source and a two-dimensional sensor that detects infrared rays, and the two-dimensional sensor is equipped with multiple light-receiving elements composed of photodiodes. More specifically, the obstacle sensor 160 emits infrared laser light modulated in a pulse form from an infrared laser light source within a certain angle range ahead of the work vehicle 1, and detects the light reflected by an obstacle present within the certain angle range ahead using a two-dimensional sensor having multiple light receiving elements. Based on the time when the infrared light is emitted from the obstacle sensor 160 and the time when the two-dimensional sensor detects the light reflected by the obstacle, the obstacle sensor 160 calculates the distance between the two-dimensional sensor and the object using the so-called ToF (Time Of Flight) method, and calculates the position of the obstacle relative to the obstacle sensor 160 based on the distance to the obstacle thus calculated and which light receiving element of the two-dimensional sensor provided in the obstacle sensor 160 receives the light reflected by the object.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the control system, detection system, calculation system, and input system of the work vehicle management system that manages the work vehicle 100 shown in Figure 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the work vehicle management system according to this embodiment includes a control unit 200 that controls the overall operation of the work vehicle 100, a storage device 201 that can store various information, an autonomous driving ECU 220 that controls the autonomous driving of the work vehicle 100, a cloud C having a management server 400, and a mobile terminal 300 that can be operated by a worker. The control unit 200 is configured to be able to communicate with the cloud C.

The storage device 201 stores fuel filler port location information indicating whether the fuel filler port of the work vehicle 100 is located on the left or right side of the vehicle body.

The work vehicle management system also includes, as a detection system, a GNSS receiver 102 that acquires position information of the work vehicle 100, an engine rotation sensor 211 that detects the rotation speed of the engine 105, an engine water temperature sensor 212 that detects the liquid temperature of the radiator (not shown), a rail pressure sensor 213 that detects the pressure in the common rail of the engine 105, a fuel level sensor 214 that detects the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105, a urea water level sensor 215 that detects the amount of urea water remaining in the urea water tank (not shown), a filter clogging sensor 216 that detects clogging of the filter (not shown), and an inclination sensor 217 that detects the inclination of the body of the work vehicle 100.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the autonomous driving ECU 220 is equipped with a driving route calculation unit 221 (corresponding to the "route calculation means" according to the present invention) that calculates the driving route of the work vehicle 100 based on the position information of the work vehicle 100 and the topographical information stored in the cloud database described below.

The mobile terminal 300 is capable of communicating with cloud C via a communication network, and is equipped with a control unit 310 that controls the operation of the entire mobile terminal. The mobile terminal 300 also has a storage device 312 capable of storing various information, a touch panel display 315 capable of displaying various information, and a GNSS receiver 317 that acquires the position information of the mobile terminal 300.

In this way, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 can communicate with cloud C, and the mobile terminal 300 can also communicate with cloud C, so the work vehicle 100 and the mobile terminal 300 can communicate with each other via cloud C.

The management server 400 is provided with a position information database 401 that stores the position information of the work vehicle 100 and the mobile terminal 300, a topographical information database 402 that stores topographical information indicating the position and external shape of the field, and a travel route information database 403 that stores information regarding the travel route of the work vehicle 100.

The control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 constantly accesses the management server 400 of cloud C, reads the position information of the work vehicle 100 and the information on the position and shape of the field stored in the topographical information database 402 stored in the position information database 401 (hereinafter referred to as topographical information), and outputs it to the driving route calculation unit 221 of the automatic driving ECU 220. The driving route calculation unit 221 of the automatic driving ECU 220 determines the work range based on the topographical information of the field, calculates (calculates) the driving route in the field along which the work vehicle 100 will travel so that the work vehicle 100 can travel evenly throughout the entire work range, and stores information regarding the calculated driving route in the field of the work vehicle 100 in the storage device 201 and the driving route information database 403 of cloud C.

In addition, by accessing the management server 400 of cloud C using the mobile terminal 300, the worker can check the position information of the work vehicle 100 stored in the position information database 401 and the position information of the mobile terminal 300, read the positional relationship between the work vehicle 100 and the mobile terminal 300 and the field stored in the topographical information database 402, and the driving path of the work vehicle 100 within the field stored in the driving path information database 403, and display the positional relationship between the work vehicle 100 and the mobile terminal 300 and the field in the form of a map on the display 315 of the mobile terminal 300.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, cloud C is provided with a fuel remaining amount database 404 that stores information about the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank. Using the mobile terminal 300, the worker can access the fuel remaining amount database 404 in cloud C and obtain the information about the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank that is stored in the fuel remaining amount database 404.

In this embodiment, the work vehicle 100 is configured as a field shape acquisition means to acquire topographical information using the GNSS receiver 102 (so-called teaching) while traveling along the edge of the field so as to follow the contour of the field based on the operator's operation, and transmit the acquired topographical information to the cloud C, where the topographical information is stored in the topographical information database 402 of the cloud C.

In this embodiment, when the work vehicle 100 is traveling in a field and it is determined that fuel should be replenished in the fuel tank, or when it is determined that maintenance is required for a component of the work vehicle 100, the work vehicle management system manages the travel of the work vehicle 100 as follows.

First, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 reads the topographical information regarding the position and outline of the field stored in the topographical information database 402 of cloud C, and outputs it to the driving path calculation unit 221 of the autonomous driving ECU 220.

The driving path calculation unit 221 determines the work area based on the topographical information of the field 13, and calculates both a round trip path that repeats straight ahead and turns in a central area 15 (see FIG. 4) that is the center of the work area, and peripheral routes R1 and R2 that go around a peripheral area 16 outside the central area of the work area. The control unit 200 stores the calculated driving path information of the work vehicle 100 in the field in the storage device 201, and also stores it in the driving path information database 403 of the management server 400 of cloud C.

Next, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs an automatic driving signal to the automatic driving ECU 220, and the work vehicle 100 is automatically driven.

The control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 constantly monitors the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank detected by the fuel level sensor 214, and when it determines that the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 has fallen below a predetermined level, it outputs a refueling signal to the management server 400 of cloud C via an external communication network.

Meanwhile, the mobile terminal 300 is constantly accessing the management server 400 of cloud C, so when a refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 to the management server 400 of cloud C, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 can immediately notify the worker that there is a shortage of fuel in the fuel tank of the engine 105 and that refueling is necessary.

In this embodiment, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 constantly monitors the engine 105 RPM detected by the engine rotation sensor 211, the radiator fluid temperature detected by the engine water temperature sensor 212, the pressure in the common rail of the engine 105 detected by the rail pressure sensor 213, the amount of urea water remaining in the urea water tank detected by the urea water remaining sensor 215, and the filter clogging detected by the filter clogging sensor 216. When an abnormality is detected in the detection values detected by each sensor, the control unit 200 is configured to output a maintenance signal indicating which component of the work vehicle 100 requires maintenance to the management server 400 of the cloud C via an external communication network.

As described above, the mobile terminal 300 is constantly accessing the management server 400 of cloud C, so when a maintenance signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 to the management server 400 of cloud C, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 can immediately notify the worker which component of the work vehicle 100 needs maintenance.

In this embodiment, as described below, when refueling is required or maintenance is required for a component of the work vehicle 100, the work vehicle 100 is configured to be stopped (parked) at a stopping position where refueling or maintenance is easy. The stopping position of the work vehicle 100 is configured to be specified by the worker holding the mobile terminal 300, but when a refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100, the work vehicle 100 needs to be stopped at a position less than the distance that the work vehicle 100 can travel and refueled using the fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105. Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 is configured to output a refueling signal and calculate the distance L0 (hereinafter referred to as the "reference distance L0") that the work vehicle 100 can travel using the value of the remaining fuel remaining in the fuel tank, and store it in the storage device 201 of the work vehicle 100 and the storage device 312 of the mobile terminal 300.

Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the driving control of the work vehicle 100 when the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 falls below a predetermined remaining amount.

The work vehicle 100 is automatically driven by the automatic driving ECU 220 (step s1).

The control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 determines whether the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 is equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0 based on the detection signal of the fuel remaining sensor 214 (step s2). If it determines that the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 is equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs a refueling signal to the management server 400 of cloud C (step s3).

The control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 is constantly accessing the management server 400 of cloud C, so when a refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 to the management server 400 of cloud C, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 can notify the worker that there is a shortage of fuel in the fuel tank of the engine 105 and that refueling is necessary.

When a refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 reads work vehicle position information indicating the position of the work vehicle 100 at that time and mobile terminal position information indicating the position of the mobile terminal 300 at that time, and accesses the travel route information database 403 to read travel route information indicating the future travel route of the work vehicle 100 (step s4), and displays the travel route of the work vehicle 100 in the field in the form of a map on the display 315 based on the travel route information (step s5).

Furthermore, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 reads from the memory device 312 the reference distance L0 that the work vehicle 100 can travel using the fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105, and displays on the map displayed on the display 315 the position (reference position) on the field where the distance measured along the travel route from the current position of the work vehicle 100 is equal to the reference distance L0 (step S6).

The reference distance L0 is the distance that the work vehicle 100 can travel using the fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 when the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank falls below a predetermined amount RQ0, and is therefore equal to the distance that the work vehicle 100 can travel using the predetermined amount RQ0 of fuel, and is calculated in advance and stored in the memory device 312.

Next, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 displays a screen on the display 315 requesting the worker to specify a stopping position for refueling the work vehicle 100 (step S7).

Specifically, the control unit 310 calculates the closest position in the field to the current position of the mobile terminal 300 based on the position information of the mobile terminal 300 and the topographical information obtained from the topographical information database 402, and proposes that position as a stop position. The worker can specify the proposed position as the stop position, or can specify any location different from the proposed position (step s8).

When specifying an arbitrary location, a reference position (the farthest position that the work vehicle 100 can reach with the remaining fuel) that is a reference distance L0 away from the current position of the work vehicle 100 is displayed on the map of the display 315. The worker refers to the position of the mobile terminal 300 displayed on the map, and specifies an arbitrary location in the field within a range closer to the current position of the work vehicle 100 than the reference position as the stopping position where the work vehicle 100 should be stopped on the map displayed on the display 315 (by tapping the display 315).

Therefore, if the suggested location is not suitable for refueling, the worker can tap on the map to specify a location where refueling is easier, reducing the worker's workload when refueling.

In this way, when the stopping position of the work vehicle 100 is specified by the worker carrying the mobile terminal 300, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 outputs the position information of the stopping position to the management server 400 of cloud C (step s9) and also displays the stopping position on the map displayed on the display 315 (stage s10).

The location information of the stopping position is output from the management server 400 of cloud C to the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100, and the stopping position of the work vehicle 100 is stored in the storage device 201.

Next, the driving route calculation unit 221 of the work vehicle 100 calculates a driving route connecting the current position of the work vehicle 100 and the specified stopping position, and stores the route in the storage device 201 and the driving route information database 403 of cloud C.

In this embodiment, the machine is configured to continue working with the work implement 140 while continuing to travel straight to the end of the straight path (any of L1 to Ln in Fig. 1) that was travelling when the stop position was stored in the memory device 201. This configuration makes it possible to prevent discontinuous or uneven work results within the same straight path.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the driving route calculation unit 221 of the work vehicle 100 calculates the following driving route to be used for autonomous driving based on the fuel supply port arrangement information, the current position of the work vehicle 100, and the specified stopping position (step S11).

Figure 4 is a schematic plan view showing the driving route to the stopping position when the fuel filler opening is on the left side of the vehicle body.

First, if the fuel filler opening is on the left side of the vehicle body, and if the specified stopping position is on the right front, right rear, or left rear side of the current position of the work vehicle 100 when calculating the driving path, as shown in FIG. 4, the driving path calculation unit 221 calculates a route that continues straight to the end of the straight-line travel (any of L1 to Ln in FIG. 4) in which the vehicle continues traveling, and when the vehicle reaches the outer periphery path (peripheral area 16 of the field), turns right and travels clockwise around the peripheral area to the stopping position.

In addition, if the fuel filler opening is on the left side of the vehicle body and the designated stopping position is on the left front side based on the current position of the work vehicle 100 when calculating the driving route, as shown in FIG. 4, the driving route calculation unit 221 calculates a route to continue driving straight to the end of the straight travel section (any of L1 to Ln in the figure) in which the vehicle is traveling, turns right when it reaches the outer peripheral route, and then reverses to the stopping position.

Similarly, if the fuel filler opening is on the right side of the vehicle body, and if the specified stopping position is on the left front, left rear, or right rear side of the current position of the work vehicle 100 when calculating the driving route, the driving route calculation unit 221 continues driving straight to the end of the straight travel section (any of L1 to Ln in Figures) in which the vehicle is traveling, and when the vehicle reaches the outer peripheral route, it turns left and calculates a route that travels counterclockwise through the peripheral area to the stopping position.

In addition, if the fuel filler opening is on the right side of the vehicle body and the designated stopping position is on the right front side of the current position of the work vehicle 100 when calculating the driving route, the driving route calculation unit 221 calculates a route in which the vehicle continues to travel straight to the end of the straight travel section (any of L1 to Ln in the figure), turns left when it reaches the outer peripheral route, and then travels backward to the stopping position.

By calculating such a travel route, when the work vehicle 100 is stopped at a stopping position, the fuel filler port located on the left side of the vehicle body can be directed toward the outside (bank) of the field, making it easy to perform refueling operations. Note that, based on the current position of the work vehicle 100, whether the stopping position is located on the left front side, left rear side, right front side, or right rear side can be determined by determining in which of the first to fourth quadrants the stopping position is located in a coordinate system centered on the vehicle position, from the dot product and cross product of vector a in which the vehicle is facing, determined from the vehicle position information and travel trajectory, and vector b from the vehicle position to the stopping position.

Following the driving route calculated in this way, the automatic driving ECU 220 drives the vehicle automatically (autonomous driving) to the stopping position (step s12).

In this embodiment, the work vehicle 100 is configured to travel through the peripheral area 16, which is an unworked area (uncultivated land area) where no work has been performed yet, to a stopping position after encountering (reaching) the outer peripheral route (peripheral area 16), without disturbing cultivated land.

As shown in FIG. 4, when heading toward the stop position, while passing through the peripheral area 16, the travel route of the work vehicle 100 is calculated in step s11 so that, among the multiple peripheral routes, the work vehicle 100 travels along the innermost peripheral route R1, and then when it reaches the vicinity of the stop position, it moves to the outermost peripheral route R2.

In this way, by having the work vehicle 100 travel along the innermost outer peripheral route R1, the possibility of the obstacle sensor 160 detecting an obstacle is reduced, and the work vehicle 100 can travel stably through autonomous driving without stopping.

Furthermore, by moving to the outermost peripheral route R2 when the work vehicle 100 reaches the vicinity of the stopping position, the worker can refuel the work vehicle 100 stopped at the stopping position directly from outside the field or by simply stepping into the field a little.

In this embodiment, when the work vehicle 100 stops at the stop position, the engine 105 is automatically turned off (step s13).

After traveling along the travel route calculated in this manner, the work vehicle 100 is stopped at a stop position and refueled. Based on the work continuation signal output from the mobile terminal 300, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs an automatic driving signal to the automatic driving ECU 220. As a result, the automatic driving ECU 220 resumes work based on the autonomous driving of the work vehicle 100 (step s1).

When restarting, the work vehicle 100 automatically moves to the next straight section or the section of the outer perimeter route after the straight section (any of L1 to Ln) where travel and work were performed immediately before heading to the stopping position. In this way, the work vehicle 100 automatically heads to the next straight section, so there is no need for the worker to operate it, and the worker is not required to take the time and effort.

When heading for the next straight section or the outer perimeter route, the work vehicle 100 travels along the innermost outer perimeter route R1 in the peripheral area 16, which is an uncultivated area (unworked area).

Here, if the fuel filler opening is on the left side of the vehicle body, and the travel route to the stop position is calculated and the specified stop position is on the right front, right rear, or left rear side of the current position of the work vehicle 100 as a reference, then as shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle continues to travel straight to the end of the straight course (any of the straight courses L1 to Ln in FIG. 4), and when it reaches the outer periphery course, it turns right and travels clockwise through the peripheral area to the stop position. In this case, the vehicle is configured to move clockwise through the field from the stop position where refueling was performed to the work start position of the next straight course or outer periphery course. By configuring the vehicle in this way, the work vehicle 100 can move forward (without moving backward) to the work start position of the next course.

In contrast, if the fuel filler opening is on the left side of the vehicle body and the designated stopping position is on the left front side based on the current position of the work vehicle 100 when the driving route is calculated, as shown in FIG. 4, the work vehicle 100 will continue to drive straight to the end of the straight section (any of the sections L1 to Ln in FIG. 4), turn right when it reaches the outer periphery route, and then drive backward to the stopping position. In this case, the work vehicle 100 will reverse as if returning along the route it reversed, and then move forward to the work start position of the next straight section or the work start position of the outer periphery route.

The same applies if the fuel filler cap is on the right side of the vehicle.

According to this embodiment, the worker can arbitrarily set the stopping position of the work vehicle 100 within a range on the field that is closer to the current position of the work vehicle 100 than the reference position, which reduces the workload of the worker when refueling.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 constantly monitors the engine 105 RPM detected by the engine rotation sensor 211, the radiator fluid temperature detected by the engine water temperature sensor 212, the pressure in the common rail of the engine 105 detected by the rail pressure sensor 213, the amount of urea water remaining in the urea water tank detected by the urea water remaining amount sensor 215, and the filter clogging detected by the filter clogging sensor 216. When an abnormality is detected in the detection value detected by each sensor, a maintenance signal indicating which component of the work vehicle 100 needs maintenance is output to the management server 400 of the cloud C via an external communication network. The control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300, which constantly accesses the management server 400 of the cloud C, can also notify the worker which component of the work vehicle 100 needs maintenance.

Therefore, in the work vehicle management system according to this embodiment, when an abnormality is found in the detection value detected by any of the work vehicles 100 during the automatic driving of the work vehicles 100, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 reads the work vehicle position information indicating the position of the work vehicle 100 at that time and the mobile terminal position information indicating the position of the mobile terminal 300 at that time, and accesses the travel route information database 403 to read the travel route information indicating the future travel route of the work vehicle 100, and based on the travel route information, displays the travel route of the work vehicle 100 in the field in the form of a map. The display 315 is configured to display the current positional relationship information of the work vehicle 100 in the field and the positional information of the mobile terminal 300 at that time on the map displayed on the display 315. As in the case where the amount of fuel falls below a predetermined level, the position in the field closest to the current position of the mobile terminal 300 or a position arbitrarily specified by the worker on the mobile terminal 300 is set as the stopping position, and as shown in FIG. 4, a driving route to the stopping position is calculated, and the work vehicle 100 drives the outer peripheral routes R1 and R2 according to the driving route and stops at the stopping position. Therefore, the workload of the worker when performing maintenance on a component where an abnormality is found can be significantly reduced.

In this embodiment, the work vehicle 100 is configured to be able to move autonomously to a stop position (i.e., a "proposed position") calculated based on the field shape information, the position information indicating the current position of the work vehicle 100, and the position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal 300. This allows the work vehicle to be stopped at a location that is easy for workers to access and where maintenance such as refueling can be easily performed, making it possible to refuel the work vehicle 100 or perform maintenance on the work vehicle 100 easily and with a reduced workload on the worker.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when maintenance such as refueling becomes necessary, even if the location where the worker is (the location where the mobile terminal 300 is present) is not suitable for maintenance such as refueling, another arbitrary location can be specified on the mobile terminal 300, and the work vehicle 100 can be stopped (parked) at the specified location (stopping position), which is very convenient.

In addition, according to this embodiment, when the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank of the engine 105 falls below a predetermined remaining amount RQ0, the location where the work vehicle should stop can be specified within the range of the distance that can be traveled based on the remaining amount of fuel (reference distance L0). This makes it possible to reliably stop the work vehicle 100 at a location that is easy to access and where refueling can be easily performed, and to refuel.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, regardless of the position of the fuel filler port on the left or right side of the vehicle body (work vehicle 100) or whether the stopping position is on the right front side, right rear side, left front side, or left rear side when using the work vehicle 100 as a reference, the work vehicle 100 can be stopped at the stopping position with the fuel filler port facing outward from the field, making it easy to perform refueling operations.

Figure 5 is a schematic plan view showing a travel path to a stop position according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment is basically configured in the same way as the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4, but as explained below, when stopping (parking) at the edge of a field for refueling or the like, the work vehicle 100 is configured to stop at a stopping position or a position nearby based on the inclination angle of the vehicle body (i.e. the inclination angle of the place where the vehicle body is located) detected directly by the inclination sensor 217.

In this embodiment, when a refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 and the position in the field closest to the current position of the mobile terminal 300 (i.e., the proposed position) or a position arbitrarily tapped by the worker is specified as the stop position, the travel path calculation unit 221 is configured to calculate, in addition to the travel path connecting the current position of the work vehicle 100 and the specified stop position, the range on the outermost peripheral route R2 within a certain distance range from the specified stop position (the range shown by the dashed line in Figure 5), as the stop range (shown by the dashed line in Figure 5).

Once the driving route to the stopping position and the stopping range are calculated in this manner, the work vehicle 100 travels straight up to the end of the straight travel distance (e.g., L4) while traveling, as in the above embodiment.

Next, if the location of the fuel filler port of the work vehicle 100 determined based on the fuel filler port arrangement information stored in the memory device 201 is, for example, on the left side of the vehicle body, and the stopping position is on the right front side of the work vehicle 100 as shown in FIG. 5, when the outer peripheral route is reached, the vehicle turns right and travels clockwise through the peripheral area to the stopping range position, as in the case of the above embodiment. This allows the fuel filler port of the work vehicle 100 to be oriented toward the outside of the field.

When the work vehicle 100 reaches the stopping range, it reduces its vehicle speed and continues to travel within the stopping range while continuing to detect the vehicle body inclination angle (the inclination angle of the work vehicle 100), and stops at a point within the stopping range where the vehicle body inclination angle (the inclination angle at the point where the vehicle body is located) is equal to or less than a predetermined angle (an angle close to horizontal).

In this manner, in this embodiment, the work vehicle 100 is configured to stop (park) within the stopping range and at a point below a certain slope, so the work vehicle 100 can be stopped at a point close to the stopping position specified by the worker and close to horizontal, providing good refueling conditions, preventing the work vehicle 100 from stopping on a slope that is not suitable for refueling.

In this embodiment, if there is no point within the stopping range where the angle of the vehicle body is equal to or less than a predetermined angle (a point within the stopping range where the inclination of the field is equal to or less than a predetermined angle), the work vehicle 100 is configured to stop at the end of the stopping range (the end past the stopping position). However, if there is no point where the angle of the vehicle body is equal to or less than the predetermined angle after passing the stopping position until reaching the end of the stopping range, the work vehicle 100 may be configured to return to the point within the stopping range that is closest to horizontal and stop there. This configuration can be implemented by linking the detection value of the inclination sensor 217 with the memory points within the stopping range (position information of each point within the stopping range) and storing them in the memory device 201 each time.

In this embodiment, the engine 105 is automatically turned off when the work vehicle 100 stops within the stopping range, reducing fuel consumption and improving the efficiency of refueling operations.

Before and after refueling, the system may be configured to calculate how many more trips (number of trips) can be completed based on the current remaining fuel amount, based on the current fuel amount and the fuel consumption amount when traveling straight along the immediately preceding straight trips L1 to Ln-1, and display this on the display 315 of the mobile terminal 300. In this case, the amount of fuel required for the remaining trips can be known, so that a situation in which fuel runs out again after refueling can be prevented. In order to perform accurate detection, it is desirable to configure the fuel remaining amount sensor 214 to detect the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank when the angle of the vehicle body detected by the inclination sensor 217 is relatively horizontal, but when calculating the number of trips that can be completed based on the current remaining fuel amount, the remaining fuel amount may be calculated taking into account the inclination angle of the vehicle body.

According to this embodiment, the work vehicle 100 is configured to stop at a location where the inclination angle of the field is equal to or less than a predetermined angle among the stopping positions calculated based on the position information of the mobile terminal 300, the stopping positions designated by the worker, and nearby locations (i.e., within the stopping range). This prevents the work vehicle 100 from stopping at a location where refueling is difficult because the inclination angle exceeds the predetermined angle, making refueling easier.

The above describes the flow when a refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 in this embodiment. However, even if various sensors installed in the work vehicle 100 indicate that maintenance of each component is necessary, the work vehicle 100 is configured to stop at a location within the stopping range that includes the stopping position and where the inclination angle of the field is equal to or less than a predetermined angle, just as when a refueling signal is output, but this configuration is not necessarily required.

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the driving control of the work vehicle 100 when the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 falls below a predetermined remaining amount in a work vehicle management system according to yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, when it is determined that the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 is equal to or less than a predetermined remaining amount RQ0, if the position of the end point of the current automatic driving process is within a reference distance L0 from the current position of the work vehicle 100 as measured along the driving route, the work vehicle 100 is not stopped until the current automatic driving process is completed, but is stopped at the end point of the current automatic driving process and refueled.

That is, when the work vehicle 100 is being driven automatically by the automatic driving ECU 220 (step ss1), the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 determines whether the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 is equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0 based on the detection signal of the fuel level sensor 214 (step ss2). If it is determined that the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105 is equal to or less than the predetermined remaining amount RQ0, the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 outputs a refueling signal to the management server 400 of cloud C (step ss3).

When a refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100 to the management server 400 of cloud C, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 reads, from the management server 400 of cloud C, work vehicle position information indicating the position of the work vehicle 100 at that time and mobile terminal position information indicating the position of the mobile terminal 300 at that time, and also reads driving route information indicating the future driving route of the work vehicle 100 (step ss4), and displays the driving route of the work vehicle 100 in the field in the form of a map on the display 315 based on the driving route information (step ss5).

Next, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 displays on the map displayed on the display 315 the position on the field (reference position) where the distance measured along the travel route from the current position of the work vehicle 100 is equal to the reference distance L0 (step ss6).

Next, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 displays on the display 315 the travel route information, the positional relationship information of the work vehicle 100 and the mobile terminal 300 within the field, and also displays on the display 315 a message requesting the operator to determine the stopping position of the work vehicle 100 (step ss7).

Furthermore, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 displays the position of the end point of the current automated driving process on the driving route of the work vehicle 100 displayed in the form of a map on the display 315 of the mobile terminal 300 (step ss8).

In this embodiment, the location of the end point of the current automated driving process is stored in advance in the memory device 312 of the mobile terminal 300.

Next, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 determines whether the position of the end point of the current automated driving process is closer to the current position of the work vehicle 100 than the reference position (step ss9).

As a result, when the position of the end point of the current automated driving process is closer to the current position of the work vehicle 100 than the reference position, the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 determines the position of the end point as the stop position, displays it on the map displayed on the display 315 (step ss10), continues the work up to the end point, and then stops (step ss12).

In this way, the position of the end of the current automated driving process is configured to be specified as the stopping position of the work vehicle 100. If a fuel shortage is detected while the work vehicle 100 is operating in an automated manner, and the work vehicle 100 is stopped before the current automated driving process ends, the continuity of the work will be lost, causing unevenness in the work.

In contrast, when the position of the end point of the current automatic driving process is farther from the current position of the work vehicle 100 than the reference position, the end point of the automatic driving process cannot be reached even with the fuel remaining in the fuel tank of the engine 105, so the control unit 310 of the mobile terminal 300 displays a message on the display 315 requesting the operator to specify a stopping position for refueling the work vehicle 100 at a position closer to the current position of the work vehicle 100 than the reference position (step ss11), and the work vehicle 100 drives automatically to the specified position and stops there (step ss13).

On the other hand, in this embodiment, when traveling on a headland in a farm field, the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor 160 on the bank side is adjusted to be low (the detection range is narrowed) to prevent erroneous detection of an obstacle on the bank side. When an obstacle is detected by the obstacle sensor 160, it is desirable to stop the work vehicle 100 and prompt the worker (supervisor) to check with a buzzer or the like, and after the work vehicle 100 has stopped, if permission to resume traveling is given, the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor 160 may be adjusted low for a predetermined period of time and the vehicle may resume traveling.

When the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor 160 is adjusted, in this embodiment, the image from the camera mounted on the work vehicle 100 on the side where the sensitivity adjustment was performed is fixed in a displayed state on the mobile terminal 300, which further encourages safety confirmation. In addition, the image from the camera on the bank side may be made enlargeable, and in this case, the image may be automatically reduced to its original size several seconds after the enlarged image starts to be displayed.

Although the above describes preferred embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and it goes without saying that these are also included within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in each embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 6, the working machine 140 is configured as a tiller capable of tilling a field, but the type of working machine is not particularly limited.

In addition, in each embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 6, the mobile terminal 300 is configured to be able to communicate with the work vehicle 100 via cloud C, but the work vehicle management system according to the present invention does not necessarily need to be equipped with cloud C, and may be configured so that communication is performed directly between the mobile terminal and the work vehicle.

Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, when a refueling signal is output from the control unit 200 of the work vehicle 100, the position in the field closest to the current position of the mobile terminal 300 (i.e., the proposed position) or a position arbitrarily tapped by the operator is specified as the stop position, and the range on the outermost peripheral route R2 within a certain distance range from the stop position is calculated as the stop range. However, the stop range may be set by the operator selecting multiple points (e.g., by tracing with a finger) from among a large number of memory points (e.g., 64 memory points) within the peripheral route (peripheral area) on the mobile terminal 300. In this case, the work vehicle is stopped at a point within the stop range selected by the operator on the mobile terminal 300 where the inclination angle of the vehicle body (i.e., the inclination angle of the field) is equal to or less than a predetermined angle.

13 farm field 15 central area 16 peripheral area 100 work vehicle 102 GNSS receiver 103 front wheels 104 rear wheels 105 engine 106 control section 107 bonnet 108 cabin roof 140 work implement 141 lifting cylinder 142 lift arm 143 lift arm sensor 145 three-point link mechanism 145a top link 145b lower link 146 tillage tines 147 rotary cover 148 rear cover 149 tillage depth sensor 150 steering wheel 153 cockpit 160 forward obstacle sensor 170 artificial satellite 200 control unit 201 recording device 211 engine revolution sensor 212 engine water temperature sensor 213 rail pressure sensor 214 fuel remaining amount sensor 215 urea water remaining amount sensor 216 filter clogging sensor 217 inclination sensor 221 Travel route calculation unit 300 Portable terminal 310 Control unit 312 Storage device 315 Display 317 GNSS receiver 400 Management server 401 Position information database 402 Topographical information database 403 Travel route information database 404 Fuel remaining amount database C Cloud

Claims (1)

A work vehicle that travels autonomously in a farm field;
A mobile terminal carried by a worker and capable of communicating with a work vehicle;
A field shape acquisition means for acquiring topographical information of the field;
A route calculation means for calculating a route along which the work vehicle will autonomously travel, and an inclination sensor for detecting an inclination angle of the vehicle body,
The system is configured to move the work vehicle by autonomous driving to a stop position calculated based on topographical information of the field and position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal, and to stop the work vehicle at the stop position;
A work vehicle management system characterized in that the work vehicle is stopped at a location among the stopping position and a location in the vicinity thereof where the inclination angle of the vehicle body detected by the inclination sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined angle.