CN109863852B

CN109863852B - Traveling working machine, rice transplanter, paddy field direct seeder, and spray working machine

Info

Publication number: CN109863852B
Application number: CN201810920978.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 久保田祐树; 石见宪一; 宫本惇平; 高瀬竣也
Original assignee: Kubota Corp
Current assignee: Kubota Corp
Priority date: 2017-12-05
Filing date: 2018-08-14
Publication date: 2023-03-28
Anticipated expiration: 2038-08-14
Also published as: KR20190066528A; CN116267069A; CN109863852A

Abstract

The invention provides a traveling working machine, a rice transplanter, a paddy field direct seeder, and a spray working machine, comprising: a travel machine body (C) that travels through the field; a working device (W) for working a field; a route setting unit that sets a target movement route (LM) for work travel in which a travel machine body (C) travels while performing work by a work device (W); a travel track acquisition means for acquiring a travel track (FP) when the travel machine body (C) travels; a path setting unit sets a target movement path along a travel path (FP).

Description

Traveling working machine, rice transplanter, paddy field direct seeder, and spray working machine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a traveling work machine including a traveling machine body traveling in a field, a work device for performing work on the field, and a route setting unit for setting a target travel route for work traveling in which the traveling machine body travels while performing work by the work device.

Background

For example, patent document 1 discloses a work vehicle including a traveling machine body (in the document, "traveling vehicle body C"), a work device (in the document, "seedling planting device W") for performing work on a field, and a path setting unit (in the document, "68") for setting a target movement path for the traveling machine body to perform work traveling. The path setting unit is configured to set a teaching path corresponding to a target path for performing automatic steering by teaching travel, and to set a plurality of target movement paths parallel to the teaching path.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2017-123804

In patent document 1, each target movement path is set based on a teaching path generated by a human operation, and the teaching path is set as a linear path connecting two points, i.e., a start point position of the human operation and an end point position of the human operation. However, in the setting of the target movement path of patent document 1, the travel locus of the traveling machine body is not considered. Therefore, even when the actual travel path is meandering, the linear target travel path is set as the target travel path in the subsequent step. As a result, in actual work traveling thereafter, planted seedlings in the worked area may be damaged, or a non-working area may be formed between traveling paths before and after turning a ridge.

The traveling machine body alternately repeats work traveling along the target travel path and turning traveling for turning the target travel path to a subsequent step at the ridge. However, in the configuration of patent document 1, each target movement path is set based on a teaching path, and the travel of the traveling body along the target movement path is not considered in the target setting for the travel of the traveling body in the subsequent step. Therefore, when the traveling machine body performs work traveling while being offset from the actual target travel path, there is a possibility that planted seedlings in the worked area are crushed or a non-worked area is generated between work traveling trajectories before and after turning a ridge when the work traveling along the target travel path in the subsequent step is performed.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a traveling work machine capable of setting a target travel path adjacent to a work travel locus of a traveling machine body with high accuracy.

The traveling work machine according to the present invention is characterized by comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

a route setting unit that sets a target movement route for work travel in which the travel machine body travels while performing work by the work device;

in the case where the traveling machine body alternately repeats the work traveling along the target travel path and the turning traveling to turn to the next target travel path to travel, the path setting unit sets the post-process target for the traveling machine body to travel after passing through the target travel path, based on the position acquired while the traveling machine body travels along the target travel path.

According to the present invention, in the target setting for the traveling of the traveling body in the post-process, the traveling of the traveling body along the target movement path is considered. That is, even when the traveling machine body performs the work traveling in a state shifted from the actual target movement path, the target of the subsequent step is set based on the position acquired during the traveling. Therefore, the target after the turning travel can be appropriately set, and the work travel after the turning travel can be appropriately performed along the work travel locus before the turning travel. As a result, it is possible to realize a traveling work machine capable of setting a target movement path adjacent to a work travel locus of a traveling machine body with high accuracy.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process target is a post-process target movement path for the traveling machine body to travel.

According to this configuration, the target movement path for the subsequent process is set based on the work travel locus on which the work travel has been performed. Thus, it is possible to avoid the possibility of treading on planted seedlings in a worked area or the possibility of forming an inoperative area between working travel paths before and after a ridge is turned when performing work travel along a target travel path in a subsequent process. As a result, it is possible to realize a traveling work machine capable of accurately setting a target travel path adjacent to a work travel locus of a traveling machine body.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the traveling work machine has a notification means that notifies a deviation between a position of the traveling machine body and a next target travel path when the traveling machine body travels from the curve to travel along the next target travel path.

The position of the traveling machine body immediately after the completion of the turning traveling is likely to be displaced from the target travel path. Therefore, according to the present configuration, since the offset is notified when traveling along the next target movement path, the driver can easily correct the offset with respect to the target movement path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the notification means notifies after completion of the turning travel.

Since the position of the traveling body is offset from the target travel path during the turning traveling, if the offset is notified during the turning traveling, it is easy to cause misunderstandings such as a malfunction to the driver, and it may cause trouble to the driver. According to this configuration, since the deviation is notified after the completion of the turning travel, it is possible to give necessary notification to the driver without unnecessary notification.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

when the post-process target cannot be set, the notification means notifies that the post-process target cannot be set.

According to this configuration, since the driver is notified of the state in which the post-process target cannot be set, the driver can easily take measures such as manual operation.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the running working machine is provided with a ridge detection mechanism which detects that the running working machine approaches to a ridge,

when the ridge detection means detects the approach to a ridge, the route setting unit sets the post-process target.

The operation traveling along the target travel path is completed near the ridges of the field. According to this configuration, since the post-process target is set by detecting the approach to the ridge, the post-process target can be set based on the work travel locus along the target travel path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the route setting unit sets the post-process target when the traveling machine body enters the turning traveling from traveling along the target travel route.

According to this configuration, the post-process target can be used as the target position during turning. Therefore, even when the turning travel is set to the automatic turning, for example, the travel machine body can smoothly move to the post-process target without separately setting the target position dedicated for the automatic turning.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the route setting unit sets the post-process target when the travel machine body is inclined by a predetermined angle or more with respect to the target travel route.

According to this configuration, since the turning travel of the traveling machine body can be determined based on the inclination of the traveling machine body with respect to the target travel path, the post-process target can be set with a simple configuration.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the path setting unit sets the post-process target after the human operator is operated.

According to this configuration, since the post-process target is set by a human operation, for example, setting of an unintended post-process target can be prevented. This makes it possible to select either one of the work travel along the post-process target movement path and the work travel not along the post-process target movement path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the traveling machine has a position detection mechanism that acquires position information based on a positioning signal of a navigation satellite,

the post-process target is set based on an average position of the plurality of pieces of position information located at the last stage of the work travel.

Examples of the position detection mechanism include DGPS (Differential GPS) and RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic GPS). In general, RTK-GPS is more expensive than DGPS, but the positioning accuracy of RTK-GPS is higher than that of DGPS. In general, when positioning between two points is performed using DGPS in a short time, it is known that a relative error between the two points is small. When the time during which the traveling machine body performs turning travel after the completion of the working travel and moves to the post-process target is short, the post-process target adjacent to the working travel locus of the traveling machine body can be set with high accuracy without using an expensive RTK-GPS.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

a plurality of targets for post-process can be set in parallel.

According to this configuration, since the post-process targets are set together, it is easy to set the post-process target when a plurality of traveling working machines travel simultaneously for work, for example.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process target is set based on a deviation of the travel machine body from the target movement path.

According to this configuration, the post-process target can be set based on the travel of the traveling machine body along the target travel path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process target is set to be moved in parallel by an offset amount of the traveling machine body from a position away from the target movement path by a predetermined interval with respect to the target movement path.

According to this configuration, it is possible to reliably avoid the possibility of treading on planted seedlings in the already-worked area or the possibility of creating an inoperable area between the work travel paths before and after a ridge turn when performing work travel along the target travel path in the subsequent step.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process target can be corrected after being set.

Immediately after completion of the turning travel, the travel machine body may be offset from the target travel path immediately after completion of the turning travel. According to this configuration, even when the post-process target is set, the driver can change the post-process target as necessary, and the deviation of the travel machine body from the target movement path can be eliminated.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the post-process target is set along a work travel path of the travel machine body.

Even if the target movement path is linear, the actual working travel path of the traveling machine body may be curved due to, for example, the traveling machine body slipping or an obstacle escaping from the field. According to this configuration, even if the work travel locus is curved, the post-process target can be set so that the path based on the post-process target follows the work travel locus. Thus, it is possible to prevent the planted seedlings in the already-worked area from being damaged or the non-worked area from being generated between the working travel paths before and after the ridge is turned when the work travel is performed along the target travel path in the subsequent step.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the path based on the post-process target is a linear shape closer to a straight line than the work travel path.

In the case where the working travel path of the travel machine body is curved complicatedly with respect to the target movement path, if the post-process target is set along the working travel path of the travel machine body, the path based on the post-process target is also curved complicatedly, and the travel machine body may not be able to travel along the path with high accuracy. According to this configuration, since the path based on the post-process target is set to a linear shape close to a straight line, the traveling machine body can appropriately perform the work traveling along the target movement path.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the traveling working machine is provided with a control mechanism that outputs a control signal to perform the working traveling,

the target moving path is substantially linear,

the path setting unit sets the post-process target as a function independent of the control means.

According to this configuration, the work traveling can be automatically performed along the substantially linear target movement path. Further, since the control means and the route setting unit are independent functions, it is possible to wait for the driver to determine whether or not to perform the work travel along the route based on the post-process target after the travel machine body performs the work travel along the target travel route.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the target moving path is substantially linear,

the path setting unit sets the post-process target as a function linked with the control mechanism.

According to this configuration, it is possible to set the post-process target after the traveling machine body performs the work traveling along the target travel path, and to automatically perform the work traveling along the path based on the post-process target. This enables automatic work travel along a route based on the post-process target in conjunction with setting of the post-process target.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

in the case where the traveling machine body deviates from the target travel path more greatly than a preset distance, the target travel path is not used for the work traveling.

In the case where the traveling body is greatly deviated from the target movement path, it is considered that the driver is likely to be consciously operating the traveling body. According to this configuration, since the target movement path can be made not to be used for the work travel, the manual operation by the driver can be easily prioritized even without a dedicated operation element or the like.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

setting a reference path based on the work travel of the final stage of the work travel,

in another field, the route setting unit sets the post-process target based on the reference route.

According to this configuration, the reference path can be used for setting the target for the post-process in the other field, and therefore the target movement path can be easily set without performing teaching travel in the other field.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the travel work machine includes a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of reference routes for each field.

According to this configuration, the target movement path can be set only by reading the reference path corresponding to each field from the storage unit, and therefore teaching and traveling do not need to be repeated.

The rice transplanter, the paddy field direct seeder or the spray operation machine of the present invention is characterized by comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

a travel track acquisition means for acquiring a travel track of the travel machine body during travel;

the path setting unit sets the target movement path along the travel locus.

According to this configuration, the travel locus of the traveling machine body can be acquired by the travel locus acquisition means, and the travel locus of the traveling machine body can be taken into consideration in setting the target travel path. Therefore, even when the travel locus is curved, for example, the route setting unit can set the target travel route along the curved travel locus as the target travel route in the subsequent step. Thus, it is possible to reduce the possibility that planted seedlings in the already-worked area are damaged or a non-worked area is generated between the running tracks before and after turning the ridge when the work is run along the target moving path in the subsequent step. As a result, it is possible to realize a traveling work machine in which the target travel path can be set to be adjacent to the travel locus of the traveling machine body with high accuracy.

The meaning of setting the target travel route along the travel route is not limited to the meaning that the target travel route completely coincides with the travel route. For example, the target travel route may be a route that approximates the travel route, or a route that is set so that a route based on the result of travel of the target travel route approximates the travel route.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the target movement path is constituted by a first path set in correspondence with a first area where the traveling machine body travels in a state of being matched or substantially matched with a preset movement path in the travel locus, and a second path set in correspondence with a second area where the traveling machine body travels in a state of being shifted in a left-right direction of the preset movement path in the travel locus,

the second path is set in a state of being offset to the side of the second area offset from the preset movement path with respect to the first path.

According to the present configuration, the travel locus is divided into the first area and the second area, the target movement path is constituted by a plurality of paths, and the second path is set in correspondence with the deviation of the travel locus in the second area. Therefore, for example, the setting form of dividing the route by the first route and the second route can be used, and the traveling work machine that can travel flexibly in accordance with the deviation of the actual traveling machine body can be realized as compared with the configuration in which the target travel route is constituted by a single route.

The preset travel route may be a past target travel route that is a target when the traveling machine body travels, a travel route of the traveling work machine desired by a human operation, or a travel locus that is a result of the traveling work machine traveling by a human operation.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

an offset amount between the first path and the second path is smaller than an offset amount between the preset movement path and the second area.

If the amount of offset between the first path and the second path is the same as the amount of offset in the last travel trajectory, the travel of the travel machine body based on the first path and the second path may also be bent equally to or more than the last travel trajectory, making the travel of the travel machine body unstable. According to the present configuration, since the amount of deviation between the first path and the second path becomes small, the trajectory as a result of the travel by the traveling machine body based on the first path and the second path is a trajectory closer to a straight line than the previous travel trajectory. Thus, the traveling of the traveling machine body is stabilized.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

in a state where a plurality of target movement paths are set, the amount of offset between the first path and the second path decreases as the subsequent process proceeds.

According to this configuration, the target movement path converges to a path close to a straight line as the post-process is performed, and the traveling of the traveling machine body based on the first path and the second path becomes stable as the post-process is performed.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the first path and the second path are formed in a straight line.

According to this configuration, since the target movement path is formed of a plurality of linear paths, the target movement path can be set easily, and the travel machine body can travel along the target movement path easily.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the target moving path is constituted by an approximate curve based on the travel locus.

According to this configuration, even when the travel locus is curved, the target travel path adjacent to the curved travel locus can be set in accordance with the curved travel locus, and the travel machine body can travel in a manner imitating the travel locus.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the rice transplanter, the paddy field direct seeder or the spray working machine is provided with a position detection mechanism which detects positioning data representing the position of the traveling machine body based on a positioning signal of a navigation satellite,

the travel track acquisition mechanism acquires the travel track based on the positioning data.

According to this structure, the travel locus acquisition means can be constructed by using the positional data of the position detection means.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the rice transplanter, the paddy field direct seeder or the spray working machine is provided with an inertia measuring mechanism capable of measuring the acceleration and the angular acceleration of the running machine body,

the travel track acquisition means acquires the travel track based on the acceleration or the angular acceleration, or both the acceleration and the angular acceleration.

According to this configuration, the travel track acquisition means can be constructed by using the acceleration and angular acceleration of the inertia measurement means, that is, the inertia amount.

In the present structure, it is preferable that,

the operation device comprises at least one of a planting device, a seeding device and a medicament spraying operation device.

According to this configuration, the present invention can be suitably used for a rice transplanter, a paddy field direct seeder, or a spray working machine.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of the rice transplanter.

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the rice transplanter.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the rice transplanter.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a steering unit.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a control configuration according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a top explanatory view of the entire farmland ground showing the operation of the automatic steering control of embodiment 1.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating automatic steering control using an inertia measurement unit according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a basic target movement path according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a target travel path in consideration of a travel trajectory in embodiment 1.

Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating correction of an offset in the automatic steering control according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a target travel route in consideration of a travel locus in embodiment 1.

Fig. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a target travel route in consideration of a travel locus in embodiment 1.

Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing target movement route setting for setting a plurality of target movement routes according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display unit according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a target movement path according to another embodiment of embodiment 1.

Fig. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a target movement path according to another embodiment of embodiment 1.

Fig. 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a target movement path according to another embodiment of embodiment 1.

Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a target movement path according to another embodiment of embodiment 1.

Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing a control configuration according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 20 is a top explanatory view of the entire farmland ground surface showing the operation of the automatic steering control of embodiment 2.

Fig. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating automatic steering control using an inertia measurement unit according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 22 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a post-process target movement path according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing automatic turning control at ridges of a field according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing automatic turning control at ridges of a field according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing automatic turning control at ridges of a field according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 26 is an explanatory diagram illustrating correction of an offset in the automatic steering control according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display unit according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 28 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a post-process target movement route according to another embodiment of embodiment 2.

Fig. 29 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a post-process target movement path according to another embodiment of embodiment 2.

Fig. 30 is an explanatory diagram illustrating setting of a post-process target movement route according to another embodiment of embodiment 2.

Description of the reference numerals

43: steering wheel (human operation work)

59: notification part (Notification mechanism)

63: obstacle detection part (ridge detection mechanism)

70: satellite orientation unit (position detection mechanism)

74: inertia measurement unit

76: route setting unit

78: travel track acquisition unit

82: control part (control mechanism)

83: steering control part (control mechanism)

C: traveling machine body

W: rice seedling planting device (working device)

FP: track of travel

LM: moving path of target

LM2: target moving path for post-process (target for post-process)

A1: first region

A2: second region

lm1: a first path

lm2: second path

Detailed Description

[ basic Structure of traveling working machine ]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Here, a riding type rice transplanter will be described as an example of the traveling work machine according to the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, arrow F is the front side of the traveling machine body C, arrow B is the rear side of the traveling machine body C, arrow L is the left side of the traveling machine body C, and arrow R is the right side of the traveling machine body C.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the riding type rice transplanter includes a traveling machine body C having a pair of left and right steerable wheels 10 and a pair of left and right rear wheels 11, and a seedling planting device W as a working device capable of planting seedlings on a field. A pair of left and right steerable wheels 10 is provided on the front side of the traveling machine body C to be operable to change the direction of the traveling machine body C, and a pair of left and right rear wheels 11 is provided on the rear side of the traveling machine body C. The seedling planting device W is connected to the rear end of the traveling machine body C via a link mechanism 21 so as to be movable up and down, and the link mechanism 21 is moved up and down by the telescopic operation of the up-and-down hydraulic cylinder 20.

An openable hood 12 is provided at the front of the travel machine body C. A rod-shaped center marker 14 is provided at a front end position of the engine cover 12, and the center marker 14 serves as a target for traveling along an indicator line (not shown) drawn in a field by the indicating device 33. The traveling machine body C has a machine body frame 15 extending in the front-rear direction, and a support pillar frame 16 is erected on the front portion of the machine body frame 15.

An engine 13 is provided in the engine cover 12. The power of the engine 13 is transmitted to the steerable wheels 10 and the rear wheels 11 via an HST (hydrostatic continuously variable transmission) provided in the machine body (not shown), and the power after the speed change is transmitted to the seedling planting device W via a planting clutch (not shown) driven by an electric motor, which will not be described in detail.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the seedling planting device W has four transmission cases 22, eight rotating cases 23, a soil preparation hull 25, a seedling stage 26, and an indicating device 33. The rotary cases 23 are rotatably supported on the left and right sides of the rear portion of each transmission case 22. Each of the rotary boxes 23 has a pair of rotary planting arms 24 at both ends thereof. The soil preparation hull 25 levels the ground of the field, and a plurality of soil preparation hulls 25 are provided in the seedling planting device W. Mat-shaped seedlings for planting are placed on the seedling-carrying platforms 26. The indicating devices 33 are provided on the left and right sides of the seedling planting device W, and form an indicator line (not shown) on the ground of the field.

The seedling planting apparatus W drives the seedling stage 26 to horizontally transfer the seedling stage 26 to and fro in the left-right direction, and drives the rotary boxes 23 to rotate by the power transmitted from the transmission box 22, and alternately takes out the seedlings from the lower part of the seedling stage 26 by the planting arms 24 and plants the seedlings on the ground of the field. The seedling planting apparatus W is configured as an eight-row planting type for planting seedlings by using planting arms 24 provided to the eight rotating boxes 23. It should be noted that the seedling planting apparatus W may be a four-row planting type, a six-row planting type, a seven-row planting type, or a ten-row planting type.

Although not described in detail, the pointing device 33 can be switched between the operating posture and the storage posture. In the operating posture, the pointing device 33 comes into contact with the land surface of the field as the traveling machine body C travels, thereby forming an indicator line (not shown) on the land surface corresponding to the next working step. In the state of the storage posture, the pointing device 33 is separated upward from the ground of the field. The posture of the pointing device 33 is switched by an electric motor (not shown).

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, a plurality of (e.g., four) ordinary prepared seedling stages 28 and prepared seedling stages 29 are provided at the left and right side portions of the engine cover 12 in the traveling machine body C. The normal prepared seedling stage 28 can carry prepared seedlings for supplying to the seedling planting device W. The preliminary seedling stage 29 is of a rail type and can place preliminary seedlings for supplying the seedling planting device W. Left and right pair of high preliminary seedling frames 30 as frame members for supporting the normal preliminary seedling stages 28 and the preliminary seedling stages 29 are provided on left and right side portions of the engine cover 12 of the traveling machine body C, and upper portions of the left and right preliminary seedling frames 30 are connected to each other by a connecting frame 31.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, a driving unit 40 for performing various driving operations is provided in the center of the travel machine body C. The steering unit 40 includes a steering seat 41, a steering wheel 43, a main shift lever 44, and an operation lever 45. The driver seat 41 is provided at the center of the travel machine body C and allows a driver to sit thereon. The steering wheel 43 can be operated to steer the steered wheels 10 by a human operation. The main shift lever 44 can perform switching operation of forward and backward and changing operation of the traveling speed. The lifting operation of the seedling planting apparatus W and the switching of the right and left indicating devices 33 are performed by the operating lever 45. A steering wheel 43, a main shift lever 44, an operation lever 45, and the like are provided on an upper portion of the steering tower 42 located on the body front side of the driver seat 41. A boarding pedal 46 is provided at a foot portion of the driver section 40.

The boarding pedal 46 also extends to the left and right sides of the hood 12.

When the main shift lever 44 is operated, the angle of the swash plate in the HST (not shown) is changed, and the power of the engine 13 is continuously changed. Although not shown, the swash plate angle of the HST is controlled by a hydraulic unit on which a servo hydraulic control device is mounted. The servo hydraulic control apparatus uses a known hydraulic pump, hydraulic motor, or the like.

When the operating lever 45 is operated to the raised position, the planting clutch (not shown) is disengaged to cut off the transmission to the seedling planting device W, the lifting hydraulic cylinder 20 is operated to raise the seedling planting device W, and the left and right indicating devices 33 (see fig. 1) are operated to the storage posture. When the operating lever 45 is operated to the lowered position, the seedling planting device W is lowered to become in contact with the ground and stopped. In this lowered state, when the operating lever 45 is operated to the right indicating position, the right indicating device 33 is changed from the storage posture to the acting posture. When the operating lever 45 is operated to the left indicating position, the left indicating device 33 is changed from the storage posture to the acting posture.

When the transplanting operation is started, the driver operates the operating lever 45 to lower the seedling planting device W and starts the transmission relative to the seedling planting device W to start the transplanting operation. When the transplanting operation is stopped, the driver operates the operating lever 45 to raise the seedling planting device W and cut off the transmission to the seedling planting device W.

A display unit 48 is provided on an operation panel 47 on the upper portion of the steering tower 42 of the steering unit 40, and the display unit 48 can display various information by a liquid crystal display. The display unit 48 may be a touch panel type liquid crystal display. As described with reference to fig. 5, in embodiment 1 described later, a start point setting switch 49A of a pressing operation type is provided on the right side of the display unit 48, and an end point setting switch 49B of a pressing operation type is provided on the left side of the display unit 48. Alternatively, as described with reference to fig. 18, in embodiment 2 described later, a push-operated start/end point setting switch 49C is provided on the right side of the display unit 48, and a push-operated target setting switch 49D is provided on the left side of the display unit 48. Note that, the display unit 48 may have a start/end point setting switch 49C on the left side and a target setting switch 49D on the right side.

The main shift lever 44 has a handle portion provided with a push-operated automatic steering switch 50. The automatic steering switch 50 is set to an automatic recovery type, and instructs entry/exit switching of automatic steering control every time it is pressed. The automatic steering switch 50 is disposed at a position that can be pushed with, for example, a thumb while the handle portion of the main shift lever 44 is held by a hand.

As shown in fig. 4, the traveling machine body C includes a steering unit U as a steering mechanism capable of steering the left and right steerable wheels 10. The steering unit U includes a steering shaft 54, a steering arm 55, right and left interlocking mechanisms 56 interlocked with the steering arm 55, a steering motor 58, and a gear mechanism 57. The steering shaft 54 is coupled to the steering wheel 43 via a clutch 53. The steering arm 55 swings in accordance with the rotation of the steering shaft 54. The gear mechanism 57 couples the steering motor 58 to the steering shaft 54 in an interlocking manner.

The steering shaft 54 is coupled to the left and right steered wheels 10 via a steering arm 55 and a left and right interlocking mechanism 56. A steering angle sensor 60 formed of a rotary encoder is provided at a lower end portion of the steering shaft 54, and the amount of rotation of the steering shaft 54 is detected by the steering angle sensor 60. A torque sensor 61 for detecting a torque applied to the steering wheel 43 is provided at an intermediate portion of the steering shaft 54.

For example, when the steering motor 58 is rotating the steering shaft 54 in a predetermined direction, and the steering wheel 43 is manually operated in a direction opposite to the rotating direction, this can be detected by the torque sensor 61. When the steering wheel 43 is manually operated in any direction while the steering motor 58 is stopped, this can be detected by the torque sensor 61. When such a manual operation is performed, the steering motor 58 can be operated by the manual operation in preference to the automatic steering control.

The clutch 53 is provided between the steering shaft 54 and the steering wheel 43, and by disengaging the clutch 53, power is not transmitted between the steering wheel 43 and the steering shaft 54. The clutch 53 may be disengaged during automatic steering control, such as when the ridge is automatically turned, and the rotation of the steering shaft 54 caused by the operation of the steering motor 58 is not transmitted to the steering wheel 43 during automatic steering control.

In the case of performing automatic steering of the steering unit U, the steering motor 58 is driven, and the steering shaft 54 is rotationally operated by the driving force of the steering motor 58, thereby changing the steering angle of the steered wheels 10. The steering unit U can perform a turning operation by a human operation on the steering wheel 43 without performing automatic steering.

[ Structure of automatic steering control ]

Next, a configuration for performing automatic steering control will be described.

The traveling body C includes a Satellite Positioning unit 70 (position detection means) for determining the position of the body using a GPS (Global Positioning System) which is a well-known technique, as an example of a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) for receiving radio waves from satellites and detecting the position of the body. In the present embodiment, the satellite positioning unit 70 uses DGPS (Differential GPS: relative positioning method), but RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic GPS: interferometric positioning method) may also be used.

Specifically, the satellite positioning unit 70 is provided as position detection means in the target (traveling machine body C) to be positioned. The satellite positioning unit 70 has a receiver 72, and the receiver 72 has an antenna 71 and receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites orbiting the earth. The position of the satellite positioning unit 70, which is the receiving device 72, is located based on radio wave information received from the navigation satellites.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the satellite positioning unit 70 is attached to the coupling frame 31 via a plate-shaped support plate 73 in a state of being positioned at the front of the travel machine body C. As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the receiving device 72 is supported at an elevated position by the linking frame 31 and the preliminary seedling frame 30. This reduces the possibility of occurrence of reception failure in the receiver 72, and improves the reception sensitivity of the radio wave in the receiver 72.

It should be noted that the receiving device 72 is not limited to the structure of the coupling frame 31 installed on the upper portion of the preliminary seedling frame 30. For example, a separate frame having the function of moving the receiving device 72 may also be provided separately from the preliminary seedling frame 30, at a lower position than the upper portion of the preliminary seedling frame 30. In addition, the single frame may be a structure extending toward the rear side of the body.

In addition to the satellite positioning Unit 70, as azimuth detection means for detecting the azimuth of the traveling machine body C, an Inertial Measurement Unit 74 having, for example, an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) 74A is provided in the traveling machine body C. The inertial measurement unit 74 may have a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor instead of the IMU 74A. Although not shown, the inertia measurement unit 74 is disposed at a position lower than the rear side of the driver seat 41 and lower than the center in the width direction of the travel machine body C, for example. The inertia measuring unit 74 can detect the angular velocity of the turning angle of the traveling machine body C, and can calculate the azimuth change angle Δ NA of the machine body by integrating the angular velocity (see fig. 7 and 20). Therefore, the measurement information measured by the inertia measurement unit 74 includes the azimuth information of the traveling machine body C. The inertia measurement unit 74 can measure the right and left inclination angles of the traveling machine body C, the front and rear inclination angles of the traveling machine body C, and the like, in addition to the angular velocity of the turning angle of the traveling machine body C, and will not be described in detail.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of setting a target route in the traveling work machine and the route setting method according to the present invention will be described.

[ embodiment mode 1 ]

As shown in fig. 5, the traveling machine body C is provided with a control device 75. The control device 75 can switch between an automatic steering mode in which automatic steering control is executed and a manual steering mode in which automatic steering control is not executed.

Information on the satellite positioning unit 70, the inertia measuring unit 74, the automatic steering switch 50 (see fig. 1, the same applies to the following description), the start point setting switch 49A, the end point setting switch 49B, the steering angle sensor 60, the torque sensor 61, the vehicle speed sensor 62, the obstacle detecting unit 63 (ridge detecting unit), and the like is input to the control device 75. The vehicle speed sensor 62 detects a vehicle speed using, for example, a rotation speed of a propeller shaft in a transmission mechanism for the rear wheels 11. The obstacle detection unit 63 is provided at the front and left and right sides of the traveling machine body C, and is a distance sensor of an optical wave distance measuring type or an image sensor, for example, and can detect ridges in a field, iron towers in a field, or the like. When the obstacle detection unit 63 detects an obstacle, the warning unit 64 notifies the driver of a warning, and the warning unit 64 is, for example, a buzzer or voice guidance. The control device 75 is connected to a notification unit 59 (notification means), and the notification unit 59 notifies, for example, the vehicle speed, the engine speed, the state of the reception sensitivity of the satellite positioning unit 70, and the like. The notification unit 59 may be configured to display an alarm, a status, or the like on the display unit 48, or may be configured to change a blinking pattern of LED illumination provided on the center marker 14 (see fig. 1, which is the same in the following description). The alarm unit 64 may be configured to display an alarm on the display unit 48 via the notification unit 59. In this case, for example, an alarm for ridge detection is displayed on the display unit 48. The alarm unit 64 may be configured as a part of the notification unit 59. The time notified by the notification unit 59 may be set to be arbitrarily adjustable.

The control device 75 includes a route setting unit 76, an azimuth calculating unit 77, a travel locus obtaining unit 78 as travel locus obtaining means, a control unit 79, and a steering control unit 80. The route setting unit 76 sets a target movement route LM (see fig. 6) along which the traveling machine body C (see fig. 1, which will be the same in the following description) should travel. The details of the heading calculation unit 77 and the travel track acquisition unit 78 will be described later. The control unit 79 calculates and outputs an operation amount so that the traveling machine body C travels along the target travel path LM based on the position information of the traveling machine body C measured by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the azimuth information of the traveling machine body C measured by the inertia measurement unit 74. The steering control portion 80 controls the steering motor 58 based on the operation amount. Specifically, the control device 75 includes a microcomputer (not shown, the same applies hereinafter), and the travel track acquisition unit 78, the route setting unit 76, the azimuth calculation unit 77, the control unit 79, and the steering control unit 80 are configured by control programs. The control program is stored in a storage device (not shown, the same applies hereinafter) and executed by a microcomputer. The microcomputer and the storage device may be provided in the control device 75, but may be provided separately from the control device 75.

The controller 75 may store, for example, positioning data obtained by the satellite positioning unit 70, the inertia amount detected by the inertia measuring unit 74, and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 62 in a RAM (Random Access Memory), not shown, in chronological order.

There is provided a setting switch 49, and the setting switch 49 is used to set a target movement path LM for automatic steering control by teaching processing. The setting switch 49 includes a start point setting switch 49A for setting a start point position Ts (see fig. 6, which is the same in the following description) and an end point setting switch 49B for setting an end point position Tf (see fig. 6, which is the same in the following description). As described above, the start point setting switch 49A is provided on the right side of the display unit 48, and the end point setting switch 49B is provided on the left side of the display unit 48.

A teaching path corresponding to the target path to be automatically steered is set by the path setting unit 76 by teaching processing based on the operations of the start point setting switch 49A and the end point setting switch 49B.

The heading calculation unit 77 calculates the own heading NA (see fig. 6, which is the same in the following description) which is the detected heading of the traveling machine body C, based on the inertia amount detected by the inertia measurement unit 74. The bearing calculation unit 77 calculates a bearing deviation that is an angular deviation between the target bearing LA (see fig. 6, which will be the same in the following description) and the own bearing NA in the target movement path LM (see fig. 6, which will be the same in the following description). When the control device 75 is set to the automatic steering mode, the control unit 79 calculates and outputs an operation amount for controlling the steering motor 58 so as to reduce the angular deviation.

The travel track acquisition unit 78 calculates a vehicle position NM, which is the position of the traveling machine body C, based on the positioning data obtained by the satellite positioning unit 70, the vehicle heading NA calculated by the heading calculation unit 77, and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 62 (see fig. 7, the same applies to the following description). The own position NM is stored in a RAM (not shown) in chronological order, and the travel locus acquisition unit 78 calculates a travel locus FP based on the set of own positions NM (see fig. 7, which is the same in the following description).

The steering control unit 80 executes automatic steering control based on the operation amount output from the control unit 79 during automatic steering control of the traveling machine body C. That is, the steering motor 58 is operated so that the own position NM calculated by the travel locus obtaining unit 78 becomes a position on the target movement path LM.

[ object moving route ]

In a paddy field, a rice transplanter alternately performs operation traveling along a linear planting path accompanied by rice transplanting operation and ridge turning traveling for moving to a lower row planting path in the vicinity of the ridges. Fig. 6 shows a plurality of target movement paths LM juxtaposed along the teach path. In the present embodiment, the target movement paths LM (1) to LM (6) are set by the path setting unit 76 in the following order.

First, the driver positions the travel machine body C at the starting point position Ts of the ridge in the field and operates the starting point setting switch 49A. At this time, the control device 75 is set to the manual steering mode. Then, the driver manually operates the travel machine body C to travel along the straight shape of the ridge on the side portion from the start point position Ts, and operates the end point setting switch 49B after moving to the end point position Tf near the ridge on the opposite side. Thereby, the teaching process is executed. That is, a teaching path connecting the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf is set based on the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70 at the start point position Ts and the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70 at the end point position Tf. The direction along the teaching path is set as a reference target azimuth LA. The position coordinates at the end position Tf may be calculated not only based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 but also based on the travel locus of the teaching travel calculated by the travel locus acquisition unit 78. The travel of the travel machine body C over the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf may be a work travel accompanied by a rice transplanting work or a travel in a non-work state.

After the setting of the teaching path is completed, ridge turning travel for moving to the row planting path adjacent to the teaching path is performed, and in the present embodiment, the travel machine body C moves to the starting point position Ls (1). The driver can perform ridge turning by manually operating the steering wheel 43, or can perform ridge turning by automatic turning control. At this time, the control unit 79 can determine that the traveling machine body C has made a turn by reversing the machine orientation NA. The inversion of the local azimuth NA can be detected by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the inertia measurement unit 74.

The turning of the traveling machine body C can be determined by the inversion of the own vehicle orientation NA, and the turning of the traveling machine body C can be determined by the operation of various devices. The operation of the various devices may be, for example, the raising operation of the seedling planting device W, the tillage rotation unit (not shown), the tillage hull 25, etc., the disengagement of the side clutch (not shown), or the disconnection of the transmission to the seedling planting device W (see fig. 1, the same applies to the following description). In addition, it is possible to determine that the traveling body C reaches the starting position Ls (1) by the satellite positioning unit 70.

After the setting of the teaching path is completed, the target movement path LM (1) is set at an arbitrary timing by the path setting unit 76. The target movement path LM (1) may be set when the setting of the teaching path is completed, the target movement path LM (1) may be set during the turning of the traveling body C, or the target movement path LM (1) may be set after the turning of the traveling body C. The target movement path LM (1) may be set by operating the setting switch 49, the automatic steering switch 50, or the like, or the target movement path LM (1) may be automatically set.

After it is determined that the traveling body C has completed turning, the manual steering mode of the control device 75 is continued, and straight-ahead traveling is continued by manual operation. During this period, the control device 75 checks the determination conditions such as the azimuth deviation of the own-vehicle azimuth NA calculated by the azimuth calculation unit 77, the orientation of the steerable wheels 10, and the steering angle of the steering wheel 43, and determines whether or not the state is switchable to the automatic steering mode. Then, if the automatic steering mode can be switched, the control device 75 allows the operation of the automatic steering switch 50. At this time, the notification unit 59 notifies whether or not the control device 75 is in a state in which it can be switched to the automatic steering mode.

When the driver operates the automatic steering switch 50 in a state where the operation of the automatic steering switch 50 is permitted, the target movement path LM (1) is set by the path setting unit 76, and the control device 75 switches from the manual steering mode to the automatic steering mode. Then, the automatic steering control along the target moving path LM (1) is started. The target movement path LM (1) is set along the direction of the target direction LA in a state adjacent to the teaching path, and after the teaching process, the traveling body C travels the task first. Although the driver operates the operating lever 45 to lower the seedling planting device W after turning the traveling body C to perform the seedling planting operation, the seedling planting device W may be lowered to start the seedling planting operation when the control device 75 is switched from the manual steering mode to the automatic steering mode.

The automatic steering control is continued until the obstacle detection unit 63 determines that a ridge is detected in the vicinity of the end position Lf (1) on the opposite side of the start position Ls (1) of the target travel path LM (1). When the obstacle detection unit 63 determines that the distance between the traveling machine body C and the ridge falls within a predetermined range, the driver is notified of the warning by the warning unit 64. At this time, the alarm of the alarm portion 64 may be a sound of a buzzer or the like, or may be a light or flash of LED illumination provided on the center marker 14, or may be displayed on the display portion 48. Then, the obstacle detection unit 63 continues to detect a ridge for a predetermined time period and determines that the ridge is detected, and the control device 75 is switched to the manual steering mode to cancel the automatic steering control.

When the traveling machine body C reaches the end position Lf (1) of the target travel path LM (1), the driver operates the steering wheel 43 to the non-working area side of the target travel path LM (1) to perform ridge-turning travel, and the traveling machine body C moves to the start position Ls (2) of the next work travel. Before the traveling machine body C turns, the driver can operate the operation lever 45 to raise the seedling planting device W, but may operate the steering wheel 43 to cut off the transmission to the seedling planting device W and raise the seedling planting device W. Then, it is determined that the traveling machine body C has made a turn.

After completion of the work travel on the target travel route LM (1), the target travel route LM (2) is set at an arbitrary timing by the route setting unit 76. The target movement path LM (2) may be set when the ridge is determined by the obstacle detecting unit 63, the target movement path LM (2) may be set during turning of the traveling machine body C, or the target movement path LM (2) may be set after turning of the traveling machine body C. The target movement path LM (2) may be set by operating the setting switch 49, the automatic steering switch 50, or the like, or the target movement path LM (2) may be automatically set. After the target travel path LM (2) is adjacently set on the non-working area side of the target travel path LM (1), the automatic steering control is started along the target travel path LM (2), and the traveling machine body C performs the work traveling.

After the travel machine body C reaches the end position Lf (2) of the target travel path LM (2), the setting and work travel of the target travel path LM after ridge turning travel are repeated in the order of the target travel path LM (3), the target travel path LM (4), the target travel path LM (5), and the target travel path LM (6). That is, the target movement paths LM are set one by one.

[ acquisition mechanism of travel track ]

In the riding-type rice transplanter of the present embodiment, in order to properly maintain the planting interval of the planted seedlings, the error range of the local position NM requires accuracy within a range of, for example, ten centimeters. In the configuration using the RTK-GPS as the satellite positioning unit 70, since the error of the RTK-GPS is generally within several centimeters, a highly accurate travel locus can be acquired. However, in a configuration using DGPS as the satellite positioning unit 70, since an error of the DGPS often reaches a range of several meters in general, a highly accurate travel track may not be obtained. Therefore, in the configuration using DGPS as the satellite positioning unit 70, a means for acquiring the travel track by the inertia measurement unit 74 is used.

While the automatic steering control is being performed, as shown in fig. 7, the azimuth calculation unit 77 chronologically measures the relative azimuth change angle Δ NA based on the inertia amount detected by the inertia measurement unit 74. The bearing calculation unit 77 calculates the local bearing NA in chronological order from the point at which the automatic steering control is started by integrating the bearing change angle Δ NA. The travel track acquisition unit 78 calculates the vehicle position NM based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the vehicle heading NA. As a result, the travel locus acquiring unit 78 calculates the travel locus FP of the traveling machine body C in time series based on the set of the own position NM.

The azimuth calculation unit 77 calculates an azimuth deviation between the own azimuth NA and the target azimuth LA. The control unit 79 outputs an operation amount to match the own-vehicle heading NA with the target heading LA, and the steering control unit 80 operates the steering motor 58 based on the operation amount. Thereby, the traveling machine body C travels along the target travel path LM with high accuracy. The driver is not operating the steering wheel 43.

As described above, although the error of the DGPS may reach a range of several meters, when the DGPS is used to perform positioning between two points in a short time, for example, about ten seconds, the relative error of the position between the two points is extremely small. If this characteristic is utilized, the greater the distance between the two points, the higher the accuracy of the absolute bearing calculated based on the positioning data between the two points. Thus, in the configuration using the DGPS as the satellite positioning means 70, the azimuth calculation unit 77 calculates the absolute azimuth based on the positioning data between the two points positioned by the satellite positioning means 70, and performs the calibration process of the local azimuth NA so that no azimuth error occurs in the local azimuth NA by the inertia measurement means 74. That is, even when the inertia measuring unit 74 includes an error in the measurement of the orientation change angle Δ NA, the accumulation of the error due to the integral of Δ NA is eliminated, and the acquisition of the travel locus FP and the automatic steering control can be made accurate.

[ basic object movement path setting ]

Fig. 8 shows the post-process target movement path LM2 in a state adjacent to the traveling target movement path LM 1. The travel locus FP in fig. 8 is a travel locus traveled by the travel machine body C in a state of substantially coinciding with the travel completion target travel path LM1 which is a predetermined travel path. The post-process target movement path LM2 is set as a target movement path on which the travel machine body C performs work travel after traveling on the target movement path LM 1. Thus, when the travel-completed target movement path LM1 in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (1) in fig. 6, the post-process target movement path LM2 in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (2) in fig. 6. In addition, when the travel-completed target movement path LM1 in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (2) in fig. 6, the post-process target movement path LM2 in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (3) in fig. 6. The following traveling target movement path LM1 and the subsequent process target movement path LM2 in fig. 9 to 13 are also the same.

The travel completion target movement path LM1, which is a preset movement path, may be the teaching path. In this case, the post-process target movement path LM2 in fig. 8 corresponds to the target movement path LM (1) in fig. 6.

Basically, the target moving route LM2 for the subsequent step is set to be separated from the traveling target moving route LM1 by a preset distance P based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70. Here, the set distance P is a distance corresponding to the operation width of the seedling planting device W for performing the seedling planting operation.

However, when the DGPS is used as the satellite positioning means 70, it is conceivable that the position coordinate NM3 of the local position NM based on the positioning data is shifted from the actual travel completion target movement path LM1 due to the position error of the DGPS. That is, even when the traveling machine body C actually performs the automatic steering control in a state of following the traveling target travel path LM1 with high accuracy, the position coordinate NM3 based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 includes an absolute error. Therefore, as shown in fig. 8, there is a possibility that the position coordinate NM3 is offset by a deviation d1 with respect to the traveling target movement path LM 1. Thus, when the post-process target movement path LM2 is set based on only the position coordinates NM3, planted seedlings in the already-worked area may be damaged or an unworked area may be generated between the travel tracks before and after turning the ridge.

In the present embodiment, the separation distance of the post-process target movement path LM2 from the travel-completed target movement path LM1 is calculated based on the actual deviation of the travel machine body C on which the automatic steering control has been performed along the travel-completed target movement path LM 1. As described above, when the DGPS is used to perform the positioning between two points in a short time, the relative error of the position between the two points is extremely small. By utilizing this characteristic, the route setting unit 76 is configured to set the subsequent-process target movement route LM2 at a position separated by a relative distance from the own machine position NM based on the positioning data positioned immediately before the ridge is turned when setting the subsequent-process target movement route LM2. That is, the subsequent-step target movement path LM2 is set at a position separated by a set distance P from the local position NM calculated based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning means 70.

In the automatic steering control along the travel completion target travel path LM1, when the traveling machine body C performs the work traveling in a state shifted by the deviation d1 from the travel completion target travel path LM1 to the non-working area side, the one-dot chain line shown in fig. 8 is an actual travel locus FP of the traveling machine body C. The travel locus FP is calculated by the travel locus acquisition unit 78.

Immediately before turning around a ridge, a position coordinate NM3 of the local position NM is located by the satellite locating unit 70 as locating data. After the position coordinates NM3 are located and before the automatic travel control is started, ridge turning travel is performed, and at an arbitrary timing, a post-process target travel path LM2 is set. Since the usual ridge turning travel is completed in about several seconds, the relative error between the position coordinate located by the satellite locating unit 70 immediately after the ridge turning travel is completed and the position coordinate NM3 immediately before the ridge turning travel is performed is small. The position coordinate NM3 may be a coordinate obtained by averaging a plurality of positioning data determined by the satellite positioning unit 70 in the vicinity of the end position Lf.

The post-process target movement path LM2 should be set at a position separated by a set distance P from the travel-completed target movement path LM1, that is, at a position indicated by a broken line LM in fig. 8. In the present embodiment, the post-process target movement path LM2 is set to a state of moving the deviation d1 in parallel from the broken line LM to the non-working area side in accordance with the deviation d1 of the traveling machine body C.

When the actual travel locus FP of the traveling machine body C deviates by the deviation d1 from the travel-completed target travel path LM1 toward the working area side, the post-process target travel path LM2 is set to a state of being moved in parallel by the deviation d1 toward the working area side from the set distance P to the travel-completed target travel path LM 1.

Thus, even when the positioning data obtained by satellite positioning section 70 contains an error, it is possible to set a position separated from position coordinate NM3 by set distance P. With the configuration in which the target movement path LM2 for the post-process is set at a position that separates the working width of the seedling planting device W, it is possible to prevent the planted seedlings in the already-worked area from being stepped on, or to prevent the possibility of an unworked area from occurring between the running tracks before and after turning the ridge.

[ setting of target movement path taking into consideration travel locus ]

The travel machine body C does not necessarily perform the work travel along the target travel path LM. For example, as shown in fig. 9, even when a straight traveling target travel path LM1 is set as the travel path in advance, the traveling machine body C may slip or meander due to the traveling machine body C escaping from an obstacle in the field. That is, as shown by the meandering trajectory FP in fig. 9, the actual travel trajectory FP of the traveling machine body C is shifted in the left-right direction of the travel completion target movement path LM 1. In such a case, if the post-process target movement path LM2 is set without taking the meandering trajectory fp into consideration, the following problems occur. That is, if the post-process target movement path LM2 is set to be straight at a position separated by the set distance P from the position coordinate NM3 near the end position Lf toward the non-working area side, the working area of the meandering trajectory fp overlaps with the working width when the work travels along the post-process target movement path LM2. Further, when the traveling machine body C performs the operation traveling along the post-process target traveling path LM2, the planted seedlings in the already-operated area may be damaged. In order to avoid this problem, the post-process target movement path LM2 is configured by a combination of a plurality of paths.

The configuration of the post-process target movement path LM2 will be described with reference to fig. 9. The deviation of the traveling machine body C from the traveling target travel path LM1 is determined by the path setting unit 76 based on the traveling locus FP. Specifically, the threshold value of the deviation d2 is set on both the left and right sides along the travel-end target movement path LM 1. The first area A1 is a portion of the travel locus FP on the side where the travel completion target movement path LM1 is located than the deviation d 2. The second area A2 is a portion of the travel locus FP on the opposite side of the travel completion target movement path LM1 from the deviation d 2.

In the present embodiment, the post-process target movement path LM2 is composed of a linear first path LM1 and a linear second path LM2. When the automatic steering control is performed along the travel-completed target movement path LM1 without any obstacle, the travel locus FP converges within the range of the first region A1, and it is determined that the travel locus FP coincides with or substantially coincides with the travel-completed target movement path LM 1. The first path lm1 is set to correspond to the first area A1. The value of the deviation d2 is, for example, ten centimeters or less.

A portion of the travel locus FP located in the second region A2 is represented as a meandering locus FP in fig. 9. Thus, the second path lm2 is set corresponding to the second region A2 based on the meandering trajectory fp of the second region A2. In fig. 9, the meandering trajectory fp of the second area A2 is shifted from the travel completion target movement path LM1 to the non-working area side. Therefore, the second path lm2 is set in a state shifted from the first path lm1 to the non-working area side.

In the present embodiment, the post-process target movement path LM2 is set with reference to the position coordinate NM3, and the position coordinate NM3 is a portion within the range of the first area A1. Therefore, the travel locus acquisition unit 78 calculates the shift width Δ p1 between the position at which the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position at which the meandering locus fp is shifted most greatly. Further, the travel locus acquisition unit 78 calculates the travel distance R1 that is offset to the second area A2 in the travel locus FP. The travel distance R1 is a length in the direction along the travel-completed target travel path LM1, and does not mean the actual meandering length of the meandering trajectory fp.

The second route LM2 is a route parallel to the travel completion target movement route LM1, and is set in a state of being separated by a set distance P from a portion of the meandering trajectory fp that is most greatly deviated to the non-working area side. The path length of the second path lm2 is set to a length corresponding to the travel distance R1 of the meandering trajectory fp. In addition, the path length of the second path lm2 may also be set longer than the running distance R1 in the front-rear direction.

The first path lm1 and the second path lm2 are discontinuous paths. In the present embodiment, the second path lm2 is parallel to the first path lm1, and the second path lm2 is offset by the offset width Δ p2 to the side separated from the travel locus FP with respect to the first path lm 1. That is, when the automatic steering control is performed across the first path lm1 and the second path lm2, the target path is switched from the first path lm1 to the second path lm2. Thus, after the traveling body C performs the work traveling along the first path lm1, the traveling body C is offset in the body lateral direction with respect to the second path lm2. In this case, the control unit 79 executes the following offset correction process.

As shown in fig. 10, first, when the target route is switched from the first route lm1 to the second route lm2, the satellite positioning means 70 positions the position coordinate NM4 of the local position NM at the switching time. As described above, when the DGPS is used to perform the positioning between two points in a short time, for example, about ten seconds, the relative error in the position between the two points is extremely small. Using the characteristics of the DGPS, control is performed to move the traveling machine body C as quickly as possible to a portion shifted in the lateral direction from the position coordinate NM4 by the shift width Δ p2, that is, a portion where the second path lm2 is located.

As shown in fig. 10, when the traveling machine body C travels with the local position NM shifted from the second path lm2 in the lateral direction by the shift width Δ p2, the control unit 79 changes the target heading LA to a heading inclined at the set inclination angle α 1. That is, the control portion 79 changes the target bearing LA to a bearing inclined at the set inclination angle α 1 to the side where the second path lm2 is located as the target bearing LA at the time of the automatic steering control, and executes the automatic steering control.

In this case, the set inclination angle α 1 is set to be larger as the local position NM is farther from the portion corresponding to the second path lm2, and the set inclination angle α 1 is set to be gentler as the local position NM is closer to the portion corresponding to the second path lm2. Further, if the vehicle speed is low, the set inclination angle α 1 is set to be larger, and the set inclination angle α 1 is set to be gentler as the vehicle speed is higher. However, the upper limit value is set for the set inclination angle α 1, so that the set inclination angle α 1 does not exceed the set upper limit value even if the deviation is large, regardless of the low vehicle speed. This prevents the traveling machine body C from turning sharply and the possibility of the traveling state becoming unstable.

When the own-vehicle heading NA reaches the target heading LA inclined at the set inclination angle α 1, the target heading LA is changed to a heading inclined at an inclination angle α 2 that is slower than the set inclination angle α 1. In this way, the traveling machine body C travels in an oblique direction with the bearing deviation from the second path lm2 gradually decreasing, so the traveling machine body C quickly approaches the second path lm2.

The portion corresponding to the second path lm2 has regions of a predetermined width on both the left and right sides of the position corresponding to the second path lm2 in the lateral direction. That is, the control insensitive area for the positional deviation is set, and when the positional deviation falls within the range of the control insensitive area, the target bearing LA is set in the direction along the original second path lm2 without being inclined.

With the above configuration, the traveling machine body C is guided to the second path lm2. In addition, the offset correction processing described above is also executed when the target path is switched from the second path lm2 to the first path lm 1. As a result, the planted seedlings in the working area can be prevented from being damaged by the working travel along the post-process target travel path LM2 so as to bypass the working area of the meandering trajectory fp.

If the first path LM1 and the second path LM2 are set to be separated from the travel locus FP by the set distance P, the interval between the planted seedlings in the worked area generated by the travel locus FP and the planted seedlings planted along the target movement path LM2 for the post-process tends to be equal. However, when the work travel is performed along the first route lm1 and the second route lm2 set to be separated by the set distance P, the travel locus based on the work travel also meanders. In addition, when the degree of meandering is larger than the travel locus FP, the travel locus on the post-process target travel route LM2 in a later process may largely meander, which is not preferable as the automatic steering control. In order to avoid this problem, the post-process target movement path LM2 set based on the meandering travel locus FP is set to return to a straight path.

In a case where all the travel trajectories FP converge within the range of the first area A1, the first path lm1 is set at a position separated from the position coordinate NM3 of the local position NM by a set distance P. However, as shown in fig. 9, when the meandering trajectory FP on the non-working area side of the travel completion target movement path LM1 is included in the travel trajectory FP, the first path LM1 is set at a position further separated by the correction interval P from the position coordinate NM3 by the set distance P. In other words, the offset width Δ p2 between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 is smaller than the offset width Δ p1 between the portion where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the portion where the meandering trajectory fp is most greatly offset by the correction interval p. The correction interval p is set to an appropriate interval to such an extent that the interval between the working width of the seedling planting device W on the traveling locus FP and the working width of the seedling planting device W when the operation traveling along the first path lm1 is not excessively increased.

That is, the first route LM1 is set to be further separated to the side away from the already-worked region side in accordance with the shift of the meandering trajectory fp to the non-worked region side than the travel completion target movement route LM 1. Thus, when the work travel is performed across the first route lm1 and the second route lm2, the travel locus of the work travel becomes closer to a straight line than the travel locus FP.

As shown in fig. 11, when the meandering trajectory FP meanders toward the worked area side than the travel-completed target moving path LM1, a hollow area A3 in a concave shape where no seedling is planted is generated in the worked area based on the travel trajectory FP. In this case, even if the traveling machine body C performs the work traveling along the first route LM1 of the post-process target movement route LM2, it is not possible to tread out the planted seedlings on the traveling locus FP. Therefore, the first path lm1 is set at a position separated from the position coordinate NM3 by the set distance P. The second path lm2 is set to be offset from the first path lm1 toward the working area side in correspondence with the meandering trajectory fp. That is, the second route LM2 is set so as to fill the empty area A3 between the travel locus FP and the post-process target movement route LM2.

In fig. 11, the distance of separation between the second path lm2 and the portion of the meandering trajectory fp that is most greatly offset toward the already-worked region side is set to the distance obtained by adding the set distance P to the correction interval P. In other words, the offset width Δ p2 between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 is smaller than the offset width Δ p1 between the portion where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the portion where the meandering trajectory fp is most greatly offset by the correction interval p. Thus, when the work traveling is performed across the first route lm1 and the second route lm2, the blank area A3 is filled with planted seedlings, and the traveling locus of the work traveling is closer to a straight line than the traveling locus FP.

As shown in fig. 12, when the travel locus FP has a plurality of meandering loci FP (1) to FP (3), the post-process target movement path LM2 has a plurality of second paths LM2. In fig. 12, second routes LM2 (1) and LM2 (3) are closer to the non-working area side than travel completion target travel route LM1, and second route LM2 (2) is closer to the working area side than travel completion target travel route LM 1. The meandering trajectory fp (1) of the plurality of meandering trajectories fp (1) to fp (3) is shifted to the side of the non-working region by the largest amount. Therefore, the second path lm2 (1) is set at a location separated from the location of the meandering trajectory fp (1) that is most greatly offset toward the non-working region by a set distance P toward the non-working region. In addition, the first path lm1 is set at a position further separated by the correction interval pa from a position separated by the set distance P from the position coordinate NM 3. The shift width Δ p1 is a shift width between the portion where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (1) that is shifted most greatly. The shift width Δ p1 may be a shift width between the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (1) that is most greatly shifted and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. In other words, the offset width Δ p2 between the first path lm1 (1) and the second path lm2 is smaller than the offset width Δ p1 between the portion where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the portion where the meandering trajectory fp (1) is offset by the greatest extent by the correction interval pa.

In fig. 12, the distance of separation between the second path lm2 (2) and the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (2) that is most greatly offset toward the working area side is set to a distance obtained by adding the set distance P to the correction interval pb. The shift width Δ p3 is a shift width between the portion where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (2) that is shifted most greatly. The shift width Δ p3 may be a shift width between the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (2) that is most greatly shifted and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. In other words, the offset width Δ p4 between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 (2) is smaller than the offset width Δ p3 between the portion where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the portion where the meandering trajectory fp (2) is most greatly offset by the correction interval pb.

In fig. 12, the distance separating the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (3) that is most greatly offset toward the non-working area side from the second path lm2 (3) may be the set distance P, or may be a distance obtained by adding the set distance P to an arbitrary correction interval. The shift width Δ p5 is a shift width between the portion where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (3) that is shifted most greatly. The shift width Δ p5 may be a shift width between the portion of the meandering trajectory fp (3) that is most greatly shifted and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. That is, the shift width Δ p6 between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 (3) may be smaller than the shift width Δ p5 between the portion where the position coordinate NM3 is located and the portion where the meandering trajectory fp (3) is shifted most largely. Thus, when the work travel is performed across the first route lm1 and the second route lm2, the travel locus of the work travel is closer to a straight line than the travel locus FP. Note that the correction interval pa and the correction interval pb may be the same value or different values from each other.

With the above configuration, the meandering degree of the travel locus after the automatic steering control along the post-process target travel path LM2 is smaller than the meandering degree of the travel locus FP after the automatic steering control along the completed travel target travel path LM 1. That is, the travel locus after the automatic steering control along the post-process target travel path LM2 is a travel locus closer to a straight line than the travel locus FP after the automatic steering control along the completed target travel path LM 1. Therefore, as shown in fig. 13, the subsequent-process target movement paths LM2 (1) to LM2 (5) are formed as paths close to straight lines every process of repeating the work travel. That is, a plurality of post-process target movement paths LM2 (1) to LM2 (5) are set while repeating the working travel of the field and the turning travel of the ridge, and the offset width Δ p2 between the first path LM1 and the second path LM2 decreases as the post-process target movement path LM2 of the post-process is closer. Thus, even when the travel locus FP is meandering by, for example, the travel machine body C slipping or an obstacle escaping from the field, the post-process target travel path LM2 set later is gradually corrected to a straight path and finally converges to a straight line.

[ display section ]

As shown in fig. 14, the state of the body is displayed on the screen of the display unit 48 (see fig. 5, which will be described later) via the notification unit 59 (see fig. 5, which will be described later). The display unit 48 is divided into a plurality of display areas such as a work information area 100, an offset information area 101, and a vehicle speed information area 102. The work information area 100 displays the date and time of the work, the work result, and the like on the left end of the upper side of the display unit 48. The offset information area 101 displays the offset amount of the traveling body C (the own position NM) with respect to the target movement path LM at the center of the upper side of the display unit 48. The vehicle speed information area 102 displays the vehicle speed at the right end on the upper side of the display unit 48. A large area other than the upper side of the display unit 48 is a position information area 104, and the position information area 104 displays the position of the traveling machine body C in the field. The smaller area at the left end of the position information area 104 is a steering state information area 103, and the steering state information area 103 displays the state of the automatic steering mode or the manual steering mode of the control device 75. A touch panel operation type software button group 120 is arranged on the right end of the position information area 104. A physical button group 121 is disposed further to the right of the display unit 48.

In the position information area 104, the work state of the field around the traveling machine body C, the target movement path LM, and a machine body symbol SY indicating the own position NM are displayed. For easy understanding, the target movement path LM during operation in the target movement path LM is drawn by a thick solid line. In addition, in the case where the target moving path LM is constituted by the first path LM1 and the second path LM2, the first path LM1 and the second path LM2 are displayed. Furthermore, the area where the seedling planting has been completed is displayed in such a manner that each planted seedling is dotted. This visually clearly distinguishes the worked area from the non-worked area. When the traveling machine body C performs operation traveling in a snaking manner, the degree of snaking is visualized by planting seedlings drawn by dots. The display of the planted seedling locus may be a line indicating a linear planted row, in addition to the dot drawing.

The traveling locus FP of the traveling machine body C can also be displayed on the display unit 48, but this is not explicitly shown in fig. 14. By comparing the travel locus FP with the target movement path LM, the accuracy of the automatic steering control can be checked. Based on the positioning data of satellite positioning unit 70, travel locus FP is displayed on display unit 48. The body symbol SY is shown in an arrow shape, and the acute direction indicates the traveling direction, i.e., the machine direction NA. In order to visually recognize the azimuth deviation between the own-body azimuth NA and the target azimuth LA more easily, a pointer 110 extending from the center of the body symbol SY to the traveling direction and a direction scale 111 indicating the angular range of the direction are displayed on the upper surface. Numerical values of the orientation deviation may also be displayed. The driver can visually confirm the displacement and the azimuth deviation of the traveling machine body C with respect to the target movement path LM through the display unit 48.

When the post-process target movement path LM2 is set based on the work travel on the travel-completed target movement path LM1, as shown in fig. 14, the amount of deviation of the travel machine body C from the post-process target movement path LM2 is displayed in the deviation information area 101. The timing of displaying the offset may be during ridge-turning travel from the travel-completed target travel path LM1 to the post-process target travel path LM2, or may be after the ridge-turning travel is completed. In addition, when the target path is switched from the first path lm1 to the second path lm2, the amount of offset displayed by the offset information region 101 is switched from the amount of offset with respect to the first path lm1 to the amount of offset with respect to the second path lm2.

[ other embodiments of embodiment 1 ]

The present invention is not limited to the configurations illustrated in the above embodiments, and other representative embodiments of the present invention will be illustrated below.

Although each target movement path LM is set one by one in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a plurality of post-process target movement paths LM2 shown in fig. 13 may be set at the same time. In fig. 13, on the non-working area side of the travel-completed target movement path LM1, several subsequent-process target movement paths LM2 (1) to LM2 (5) are set at equal intervals set in advance based on the travel locus FP. The post-process target movement paths LM2 may be set to a predetermined number of two or three, for example, or the post-process target movement paths LM2 may be set at a time until they become a straight line.

Not limited to the above embodiment, for example, as shown in fig. 15, a plurality of second paths lm2 shown in fig. 12 may be provided in a state where the offset intervals of the second paths lm2 are narrow. In fig. 15, between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 (1), a plurality of second paths lm2 are provided in a stepwise manner, and the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 (1) are set in a stepwise manner. Further, a plurality of second paths lm2 are also provided in a stepwise manner between the second path lm2 (1) and the second path lm2 (2), and a plurality of second paths lm2 are also provided in a stepwise manner between the second path lm2 (2) and the second path lm2 (3). According to this configuration, when the automatic steering control is performed across the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 (1), the work traveling along the meandering trajectory fp can be performed. As exemplified by the second route lm2 between the first route lm1 and the second route lm2 (3), the number of the second routes lm2 provided in a stepwise manner may be increased or decreased according to the degree of deviation of the travel locus FP. In addition, each second path lm2 may not necessarily be a straight line shape, and for example, each second path lm2 may be an approximate curve.

Although the post-process target movement path LM2 exemplified in the above embodiment is constituted by the first path LM1 and the second path LM2 formed as linear paths, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the post-process target movement path LM2 may be a path based on an approximate curve of the travel locus FP. As shown in fig. 16, the post-process target movement path LM2 is formed in a curved shape, and the post-process target movement path LM2 may be a path closer to a straight line than the travel locus FP through a known waveform filtering process or the like. The meandering trajectory fp (1) is shifted to the side of the non-working region by the largest amount. Therefore, the post-process target movement path LM2 is separated from the travel locus FP toward the non-working area side so that the separation distance between the portion of the meandering locus FP (1) that deviates most largely and the portion of the post-process target movement path LM2 corresponding to the meandering locus FP (1) becomes the distance of the set distance P. Thus, any part of the post-process target movement path LM2 is separated from the travel locus FP by the set distance P or more toward the non-working area side, and the working width when the working travel is performed along the post-process target movement path LM2 does not overlap with the working area of the travel locus FP. As a result, the transplanting operation can be performed along the post-process target movement path LM2 without a gap from the already-operated region of the travel locus FP. This configuration is particularly useful in the case where an RTK-GPS is used as the satellite positioning unit 70.

Although the above embodiment illustrates the case where the travel locus FP is not shifted at the end point position Lf of the travel-completed target movement path LM1, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, as shown in fig. 17, a case where the travel locus FP does not converge on the first area A1 at the end point position Lf of the travel completion target movement path LM1, but deviates toward the second area A2 on the non-working area side is also considered. In this case, the travel locus acquisition unit 78 calculates the shift width Δ p1a between the position at which the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position at which the meandering locus fp is shifted most greatly. Further, the travel locus acquisition unit 78 calculates a shift width Δ p1b between the part at which the position coordinate NM3 is located and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. That is, the sum of the shift width Δ p1a and the shift width Δ p1b is the shift width Δ p1 between the portion of the meandering trajectory fp that is most greatly shifted and the travel completion target movement path LM 1.

The second path lm2 is set at a position further separated by the offset width Δ P1a from a position separated by the set distance P from the position coordinate NM 3. That is, the second path lm2 is set to be separated from the portion of the meandering trajectory fp that is most greatly deviated toward the non-working region side by the set distance P. Further, the first path lm1 is set on the working area side of the second path lm2 corresponding to the path converging on the first area A1 in the travel locus FP, and the offset width Δ p2 between the first path lm1 and the second path lm2 is set to be smaller than the offset width Δ p1 by the correction interval p.

As shown in fig. 18, a case where the travel locus FP does not converge on the first area A1 at the end point position Lf of the travel completion target movement path LM1, but deviates toward the second area A2 on the already-worked area side is also considered. In this case, the travel locus acquisition unit 78 calculates the shift width Δ p1a between the position at which the position coordinate NM3 is located and the position at which the meandering locus fp is shifted most greatly. Further, the travel locus acquisition unit 78 calculates a shift width Δ p1b between the part at which the position coordinate NM3 is located and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. In fig. 18, the position where the position coordinate NM3 is located overlaps with the position where the meandering trajectory fp is most greatly shifted, and therefore the shift width Δ p1a is substantially zero. That is, the sum of the shift width Δ p1a and the shift width Δ p1b is the shift width Δ p1 between the portion of the meandering trajectory fp that is most greatly shifted and the travel completion target movement path LM 1. The first route LM1 is set at a position separated from the travel completion target movement route LM1 by a set distance P, corresponding to a route converging on the first area A1 in the travel locus FP. In other words, the first path lm1 is set at a position further separated by the offset width Δ P1b from the position separated by the set distance P from the position coordinate NM 3. The second path lm2 is set to be shifted toward the working area side from the first path lm1 in accordance with the meandering trajectory fp. The distance of separation between the second path lm2 and the portion of the meandering trajectory fp that is most greatly offset toward the working area side is set to a distance obtained by adding the set distance P to the correction interval P.

Although the target moving path LM is set in one independent field in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the target moving path LM may be configured to span a plurality of fields. In this case, the teaching path and the actual travel locus FP on the target movement path LM may be stored as a reference path and used to set the target movement path LM in another field. The reference route may be stored in a storage unit of a microcomputer provided in the traveling machine body C, or may be stored in a storage unit of an external terminal. In the case of a configuration in which the reference path is stored in the storage unit of the external terminal, a communication device that can communicate with the external terminal via a WAN (Wide Area Network) or the like may be provided in the travel machine body C, and the reference path may be read from the storage unit of the external terminal to the microcomputer of the travel machine body C. The external terminal or the storage unit of the microcomputer of the traveling machine body C may store a plurality of reference routes. With this configuration, even if the travel is not taught, the target travel path LM can be set by only reading the reference path corresponding to each field.

The above rice transplanter is not limited to the above rice transplanter, and the present invention can be applied to other direct seeding type working machines including a direct seeding machine and the like. The present invention can be applied to agricultural machines such as tractors and combine harvesters, as well as direct seeding work machines.

[ embodiment 2 ]

Hereinafter, the setting of the target movement path in embodiment 2 will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in fig. 19, the traveling machine body C is provided with a control device 75. The control device 75 can switch between an automatic steering mode in which automatic steering control is executed and a manual steering mode in which automatic steering control is not executed.

The control device 75 includes a route setting unit 76 (route setting means), an azimuth deviation calculating unit 81, a control unit 82 (control means), and a steering control unit 83 (control means). The route setting unit 76 sets a target movement route LM (see fig. 20) along which the traveling machine body C should travel. The azimuth deviation calculating unit 81 will be described in detail later. The control unit 82 calculates and outputs an operation amount so that the traveling machine body C travels along the target travel path LM based on the positional information of the traveling machine body C measured by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the azimuth information of the traveling machine body C measured by the inertia measuring unit 74. The steering control section 83 controls the steering motor 58 based on the operation amount. Specifically, the control device 75 includes a microcomputer (not shown, the same applies hereinafter), and the path setting unit 76, the azimuth deviation calculating unit 81, the control unit 82, and the steering control unit 83 are configured by control programs. The control program is stored in a storage device (not shown, the same applies hereinafter) and executed by a microcomputer. The microcomputer and the storage device may be provided in the control device 75, but may be provided separately from the control device 75.

A start-point/end-point setting switch 49C is provided, and the start-point/end-point setting switch 49C is used to set a target movement path LM for automatic steering control by teaching processing. By operating the start-point/end-point setting switch 49C, a start-point position Ts (see fig. 20, the same applies to the following description) and an end-point position Tf (see fig. 20, the same applies to the following description) are set. The starting point/end point setting switch 49C may not be constituted by one switch, and may be constituted by a switch for setting the starting point position Ts and a switch for setting the end point position Tf in parallel with each other. As described above, the start-point/end-point setting switch 49C is provided on the right side of the display unit 48, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the start-point/end-point setting switch 49C may be provided on the left side of the display unit 48.

Information of the satellite positioning unit 70, the inertia measuring unit 74, the automatic steering switch 50, the start/end point setting switch 49C, the target setting switch 49D, the steering angle sensor 60, the torque sensor 61, the vehicle speed sensor 62, the obstacle detecting unit 63 (ridge detecting unit), and the like is input to the control device 75. The vehicle speed sensor 62 detects a vehicle speed using, for example, a rotation speed of a propeller shaft in a transmission mechanism for the rear wheels 11. The vehicle speed may be determined not only by the vehicle speed sensor 62 but also by the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70. The obstacle detection unit 63 is provided at the front and both sides of the travel machine body C, and is a distance sensor of an optical wave distance measurement type or an image sensor, for example, so as to detect ridges in a field, iron towers in a field, or the like. When an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detecting unit 63, an alarm is notified to the driver by the alarm unit 64, and the alarm unit 64 is, for example, a buzzer or voice guidance. Further, the control device 75 is connected to a notification unit 59 (notification means), and the notification unit 59 notifies states of, for example, a vehicle speed, an engine speed, and the like. The alarm and the notification of the state may be displayed on the display unit 48, or may be configured to change a blinking pattern of LED illumination provided on the center marker 14 (see fig. 1, which is the same in the following description). The alarm unit 64 may be configured to display an alarm on the display unit 48 via the notification unit 59. In this case, for example, an alarm for ridge detection is displayed on the display unit 48. The alarm unit 64 may be configured as a part of the notification unit 59.

By teaching processing based on the operation of the start-point/end-point setting switch 49C, a teaching path corresponding to the target path to be automatically steered is set by the path setting unit 76.

The bearing deviation calculation unit 81 calculates an angular deviation, that is, a bearing deviation, between the detected bearing (own bearing NA) of the traveling machine body C detected by the inertia measurement unit 74 and the target bearing LA on the target movement path LM. When the control device 75 is set to the automatic steering mode, the control unit 82 calculates and outputs an operation amount for controlling the steering motor 58 so that the angular deviation is reduced.

The steering control unit 83 executes automatic steering control based on the operation amount output from the control unit 82 in the automatic steering control of the traveling body C. That is, the steering motor 58 is operated so that the detected position (local position NM) of the traveling body C detected by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the inertia measurement unit 74 becomes the position on the target movement path LM.

The control signal in the present embodiment may be an operation amount output by the control unit 82, or may be a voltage value or a current value for operating the steering motor 58 by the steering control unit 83.

[ target moving path ]

In a paddy field, a rice transplanter alternately performs operation travel accompanied by rice transplanting operation along a straight row planting path and ridge turning travel for moving to a next row planting path in the vicinity of a ridge. Fig. 20 shows a plurality of target movement paths LM juxtaposed along the teach path. In the present embodiment, the target movement paths LM (1) to LM (6) are set by the path setting unit 76 in the following order.

First, the driver positions the traveling machine body C at the starting point position Ts of the ridge in the field and operates the starting point/end point setting switch 49C. At this time, the control device 75 is set to the manual steering mode. Then, the driver manually operates the travel machine body C to travel along the straight shape of the ridge on the side of the side from the start position Ts, and after moving to the end position Tf near the ridge on the opposite side, the driver again operates the start/end point setting switch 49C. Thereby, the teaching process is executed. That is, a teaching path connecting the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf is set based on the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning means 70 at the start point position Ts and the position coordinates based on the positioning data acquired by the satellite positioning means 70 at the end point position Tf. The direction along the teaching path is set as a reference target azimuth LA. The position coordinates at the end position Tf may be calculated not only from the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 but also from the distance from the start position Ts by the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the heading information of the traveling body C by the inertia measurement unit 74. The travel of the travel machine body C over the start point position Ts and the end point position Tf may be a work travel accompanied by a rice transplanting work or a travel in a non-work state.

After the setting of the teaching path is completed, ridge turning travel for moving to the row planting path adjacent to the teaching path is performed, and in the present embodiment, the travel machine body C moves to the starting point position Ls (1). The driver can perform ridge turning by manually operating the steering wheel 43, or can perform ridge turning by automatic turning control described later. At this time, the control unit 82 can determine that the traveling machine body C has made a turn by reversing the machine orientation NA. The inversion of the local azimuth NA can be detected by the satellite positioning unit 70 and the inertia measurement unit 74.

The turning of the traveling machine body C can be determined by the inversion of the own vehicle orientation NA, and the turning of the traveling machine body C can be determined by the operation of various devices. The operation of the various devices may be, for example, the raising operation of the seedling planting device W, the soil preparation rotating unit (not shown), the soil preparation hull 25, or the like, the disengagement of the side clutch (not shown), or the disconnection of the transmission to the seedling planting device W. In addition, it is possible to determine that the traveling body C reaches the starting position Ls (1) by the satellite positioning unit 70.

After the setting of the teaching path is completed, the target movement path LM (1) is set at an arbitrary timing by the path setting unit 76. The target movement path LM (1) may be set when the setting of the teaching path is completed, the target movement path LM (1) may be set during the turning of the traveling body C, or the target movement path LM (1) may be set after the turning of the traveling body C. At the above timing, the driver sets the target movement path LM (1) by operating the target setting switch 49D. The target movement path LM (1) is not limited to being set by the driver operating the target setting switch 49D, and the target movement path LM (1) may be set by the driver operating the automatic steering switch 50 or the like, for example. Further, the target movement path LM (1) may be automatically set without an operation by the driver.

After it is determined that the traveling machine body C has completed turning, the manual steering mode of the control device 75 is continued, and straight forward traveling is continued by manual operation. During this period, the control device 75 checks the determination conditions such as the azimuth deviation of the own vehicle azimuth NA calculated by the azimuth deviation calculating unit 81, the orientation of the steerable wheels 10, and the steering angle of the steering wheel 43, and determines whether or not the state is switchable to the automatic steering mode. Then, if the automatic steering mode can be switched, the control device 75 allows the operation of the automatic steering switch 50. At this time, the notification unit 59 notifies whether or not the control device 75 is in a state in which it can be switched to the automatic steering mode.

When control device 75 is in a state where it cannot be switched to the automatic steering mode, notification unit 59 also notifies the reason for this. Therefore, since the driver can be notified of a poor condition for the automatic steering control, for example, the driver can easily adjust the condition for starting the automatic steering control. The notification by the notification unit 59 may be a sound such as a buzzer, or may be a lighting or blinking of an LED illumination provided in the center marker 14, or may be displayed on the display unit 48. The alarm generated by the notification unit 59 may be configured to be temporarily notified or may be configured to be constantly notified.

Examples of the adverse conditions for the automatic steering control include a case where the azimuth deviation of the own vehicle azimuth NA from the target azimuth LA is particularly large, a case where the direction of the steerable wheels 10 changes greatly to the left and right, and a case where the vehicle speed of the traveling body C is excessively high or low. As a bad condition for the automatic steering control, a case where the number of navigation satellites that can be supplemented to the satellite positioning means 70 is smaller than a preset number may be exemplified.

When the driver operates the automatic steering switch 50 in a state where the operation of the automatic steering switch 50 is permitted, the target movement path LM (1) is set by the path setting unit 76, and the control device 75 switches from the manual steering mode to the automatic steering mode. Then, the automatic steering control along the target moving path LM (1) is started. The target movement path LM (1) is set in a direction along the target direction LA in a state adjacent to the teaching path, and after the teaching process, the traveling body C travels the task first. Although the driver operates the operating lever 45 (see fig. 1, the same applies to the following description) to lower the seedling planting device W after the traveling machine body C turns, and perform the seedling planting operation, the seedling planting device W may be lowered to start the seedling planting operation when the control device 75 switches from the manual steering mode to the automatic steering mode.

The automatic steering control is continued until the obstacle detection unit 63 determines that a ridge is detected in the vicinity of the end position Lf (1) on the opposite side of the start position Ls (1) of the target travel path LM (1). During this period, for example, during automatic steering control, the swash plate of the HST is operated by the electric motor, and even if the driver operates the main shift lever 44 (see fig. 1. The same applies to the following description), the operation of the main shift lever 44 is not transmitted to the HST (not shown). Further, the main shift lever 44 may be restricted to a predetermined position during the automatic steering control. This configuration is particularly useful in configurations where the main shift lever 44 is mechanically connected to the HST. In the automatic steering control, even when the main shift lever 44 cannot operate the HST, the main shift lever 44 may be configured to be able to operate the HST by operating a dedicated operation element or a brake (not shown) to stop the engine 13 (the same as in the following description with reference to fig. 1) or stop the traveling machine body C.

When the obstacle detecting unit 63 determines that the distance between the travel machine body C and the ridge falls within a predetermined range, the driver is notified of an alarm by the alarm unit 64. At this time, the alarm generated by the alarm unit 64 may be a sound of a buzzer or the like, or may be a light or flash of LED illumination provided in the center marker 14, or may be displayed on the display unit 48. Then, the obstacle detecting unit 63 continues to detect a ridge for a predetermined time period, and determines that the ridge is detected, the engine 13 is stopped, and the control device 75 is switched to the manual steering mode to cancel the automatic steering control. Further, when it is determined that a ridge is detected, the traveling machine body C may be decelerated or stopped without stopping the engine 13. That is, the automatic steering control may be canceled when it is determined that the distance between the traveling machine body C and the ridge falls within the predetermined range.

In this way, the automatic steering control is released near the ridge by determining that the ridge is detected, but the automatic steering control may be continued even near the ridge as long as a predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, even in a state where a ridge is detected by the obstacle detecting unit 63 and a warning is given to the driver, the driver may continue the automatic steering control by continuously operating the automatic steering switch 50 without determining that a ridge is detected. At this time, the automatic steering control may be canceled by the driver stopping operating the automatic steering switch 50. Thus, the automatic steering control can be continued until the traveling body C reaches the end position Lf (1) regardless of whether or not it is determined that a ridge is detected. The automatic steering control may be continued not only by operating the automatic steering switch 50 but also by operating the start/end point setting switch 49C and the target setting switch 49D, for example.

When the traveling machine body C reaches the end position Lf (1) of the target travel path LM (1), the driver operates the steering wheel 43 to the non-working area side of the target travel path LM (1) to perform ridge-turning travel, and the traveling machine body C moves to the start position Ls (2) of the next working travel. The ridge turning operation may be performed by automatic turning control described later. Before the traveling machine body C turns, the driver can operate the operation lever 45 to raise the seedling planting device W, but may operate the steering wheel 43 to cut off the transmission to the seedling planting device W to raise the seedling planting device W. Next, it is determined that the traveling machine body C has made a turn.

After completion of the work travel on the target travel route LM (1), the target travel route LM (2) is set at an arbitrary timing by the route setting unit 76. The target movement path LM (2) may be set when the ridge is determined by the obstacle detection unit 63, the target movement path LM (2) may be set during turning of the traveling machine body C, or the target movement path LM (2) may be set after turning of the traveling machine body C. At the above timing, the driver sets the target moving path LM (2) by operating the target setting switch 49D. The target movement path LM (2) may be set not only by the driver operating the target setting switch 49D, but also by the driver operating the automatic steering switch 50 or the like, for example. Further, the target movement path LM (2) may be automatically set without accompanying an operation by the driver. After the target movement path LM (2) is adjacently set on the non-working area side of the target movement path LM (1), the automatic steering control is started along the target movement path LM (2), and the traveling machine body C performs the work traveling.

After the travel machine body C reaches the end point position Lf (2) of the target travel path LM (2), the setting and work travel of the target travel path LM after ridge turning travel are repeated in the order of the target travel path LM (3), the target travel path LM (4), the target travel path LM (5), and the target travel path LM (6). That is, the target movement paths LM are set one by one.

During the automatic steering control, information of the own-vehicle position NM (refer to NM3 of fig. 22, etc., which are the same in the following description) is acquired chronologically by the satellite positioning unit 70. The vehicle speed is calculated by the vehicle speed sensor 62, and the relative azimuth change angle Δ NA is chronologically measured by the inertia measuring unit 74 as shown in fig. 21. The bearing deviation calculation unit 81 calculates the local bearing NA from the point at which the automatic steering control is started in time series by integrating the bearing change angle Δ NA. Then, the bearing deviation calculation unit 81 calculates the bearing deviation between the own azimuth NA and the target azimuth LA. The control unit 82 outputs the operation amount so that the own-vehicle heading NA coincides with the target heading LA, and the steering control unit 83 operates the steering motor 58 based on the operation amount. Thereby, the traveling machine body C travels along the target travel path LM with high accuracy. The driver is not operating the steering wheel 43.

[ setting of target movement path ]

Fig. 22 shows a post-process target movement path LM2 as a post-process target in a state adjacent to the target movement path LM. The post-process target travel path LM2 is set as a target travel path along which the traveling machine body C travels for the work after the target travel path LM. Thus, when the target moving path LM of fig. 22 corresponds to the target moving path LM (1) of fig. 20, the post-process target moving path LM2 of fig. 22 corresponds to the target moving path LM (2) of fig. 20. In addition, when the target moving path LM of fig. 22 corresponds to the target moving path LM (2) of fig. 20, the post-process target moving path LM2 of fig. 22 corresponds to the target moving path LM (3) of fig. 20. The target moving path LM and the target moving path LM2 for the subsequent step in fig. 23 to 25 described later are also the same.

The target movement path LM in fig. 22 may be the teaching path described above. In this case, the post-process target movement path LM2 in fig. 22 corresponds to the target movement path LM (1) in fig. 20.

Basically, the target moving path LM2 for the subsequent step is set to be separated from the target moving path LM by a preset set distance P based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning means 70 (see fig. 1, which is the same in the following description). Here, the set distance P is a distance corresponding to the operation width of the seedling planting device W for the seedling planting operation.

However, in general, the error of DGPS tends to reach a range of several meters. Therefore, in the case of using DGPS as the satellite positioning unit 70, it is considered that there are the following cases: the coordinate position of the local position NM based on the positioning data actually acquired by the satellite positioning unit 70 is shifted from the actual target moving path LM. Thus, when the post-process target movement path LM2 is set based only on the coordinate position of the own machine position NM actually acquired by the satellite positioning means 70, planted seedlings in the already-processed area may be damaged, or a non-processed area may be generated between the processing travel paths before and after ridge turning.

In the present embodiment, the separation distance of the post-process target movement path LM2 from the target movement path LM is calculated based on the actual displacement of the traveling machine body C on which the automatic steering control has been performed along the target movement path LM. Although the error of the DGPS may reach a range of several meters as described above, when the DGPS is used to perform positioning between two points in a short time, for example, about ten seconds, the relative position error between the two points is extremely small. By utilizing this characteristic, when setting the post-process target travel route LM2, the route setting unit 76 sets the post-process target travel route LM2 at a position separated by a relative distance from the machine position NM based on the positioning data positioned immediately before the ridge is turned. That is, the subsequent-step target movement path LM2 is set at a position separated by a set distance P from the local position NM calculated based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning means 70.

In the automatic steering control along the target travel path LM, when the traveling machine body C performs the work traveling in a state shifted by the offset deviation d toward the non-working area side with respect to the target travel path LM, the actual work traveling locus of the traveling machine body C is a traveling locus of an alternate long and short dash line La shown in fig. 22. Note that the travel locus of the one-dot chain line La is calculated based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning means 70. In addition, the absolute error of the positioning data determined by the satellite positioning unit 70 is also included in the offset deviation d.

Immediately before turning around a ridge, a position coordinate NM3 of the local position NM is located by the satellite locating unit 70 as locating data. After the position coordinates NM3 are located and before the automatic travel control is started, ridge-turning travel is performed, and at an arbitrary timing, a post-process target travel path LM2 is set. Since the normal ridge turning travel is completed in about several seconds, the relative error between the position coordinate located by the satellite locating unit 70 immediately after the ridge turning travel is completed and the position coordinate NM3 immediately before the ridge turning travel is completed is small. The position coordinate NM3 may be a coordinate obtained by averaging a plurality of positioning data located by the satellite positioning means 70 in the vicinity of the end position Lf.

In principle, the post-process target movement path LM2 should be set at a position separated by a set distance P from the target movement path LM, that is, at a position indicated by a broken line LM in fig. 22. In the present embodiment, the post-process target movement path LM2 is set to a state of being moved in parallel by the offset deviation d from the broken line LM toward the non-working area side in accordance with the offset deviation d of the traveling machine body C.

Further, a case where the actual work travel locus of the travel machine body C is shifted toward the already-worked area side by the shift deviation d with respect to the target travel path LM is considered. In this case, the post-process target moving path LM2 is set in a state of being shifted in parallel by the offset deviation d from the set distance P with respect to the target moving path LM toward the already-worked area side.

Thus, even when the positioning data obtained by satellite positioning section 70 includes an error, it is possible to set the position at a set distance P from local position NM. With the configuration in which the target movement path LM2 for the post-process is set at a position that separates the operation width of the seedling planting device W, it is possible to prevent the planted seedlings in the already-operated area from being stepped on, or to prevent the possibility of an inoperable area from occurring between the operation travel tracks before and after ridge turning. This configuration is particularly useful in configurations that use DGPS as the satellite positioning unit 70.

[ automatic turning about ridge ]

Basically, the driver makes a ridge turn of the field by operating the steering wheel 43. However, when making a ridge turn by a human operation, it is necessary to perform direction conversion of the body so as to reach the starting point position Ls of the next target movement path LM and to match the advancing direction of the body with the target azimuth of the target movement path LM. Therefore, factors depending on the proficiency of the driver are many, and burden is imposed on an unfamiliar driver. In particular, in the configuration in which the post-process target movement path LM2 is set based on the position coordinate NM3 located immediately before the ridge is turned as described above, it is desirable to prepare conditions for the traveling machine body C to reach the start position Ls for the next work traveling within a certain time period and to start the automatic steering control within the certain time period. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 82 is configured to be switchable to the automatic turning control.

In the automatic turning control, the control unit 82 instructs the steering control unit 83 to perform a steering operation based on the local position NM located by the satellite positioning unit 70 through data conversion such as a look-up table. The present invention is not limited to the satellite positioning means 70, and the vehicle speed measured by the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the azimuth change angle Δ NA (see fig. 21) measured by the inertia measuring means 74 may be integrated to calculate the local position NM, for example. The control unit 82 determines that the ridge is detected by the obstacle detecting unit 63 as a starting condition for automatic turning, and starts automatic turning control at an arbitrary timing. The target position of the automatic turning control is a starting point position Ls of the next work travel, and the turning control is performed at the starting point position Ls so that the own azimuth NA of the traveling machine body C coincides with the target azimuth LA.

The following describes a form of turning travel at ridges of a field.

In the turning travel form shown in fig. 23, after the work travel is performed along the target travel path LM with the width to the left and right across the work width W1, the U-turn travel is performed from the end position Lf of the work travel to the start position Ls of the next work travel. The working width W1 is the working width of the seedling planting device W, and the working width W1 and the working width W2 have the same width. The working width W1 and the working width W2 shown in fig. 24 and 25 described later are also the same.

In the form of cornering shown in fig. 23, the separation distance W3 between the end position Lf or the start position Ls and the ridge of the field is twice the working width W1 or the working width W2. Thus, after the traveling machine body C (see fig. 1, which will be the same in the following description) completes the working travel on all the target travel paths LM, the working travel is performed while performing the circling travel for two revolutions along the ridge of the field. The form of turning shown in fig. 23 is mainly used for a rice transplanter having a seedling planting device W of a four-row planting type or a six-row planting type.

When the obstacle detector 63 (see fig. 19, which will be the same in the following description) detects ridges in time series in a state where the traveling machine C is approaching the ridges of the field, the automatic turning control is started after it is determined that the traveling machine C is leaving the ridges of the field. The portion indicated by P1 in fig. 23 is substantially the middle of ridge turning travel and is the position where the travel machine body C is closest to the ridge of the field. Thus, after the traveling body C passes through the P1 portion, it is determined that the traveling body C is separated from the ridge, and the automatic turning control is started by the control unit 82. The same applies to the portion indicated by P1 in fig. 24 described later.

As the timing to start the automatic turning control, for example, after the traveling machine body C passes through the P1 portion, the driver is notified of the state where the automatic turning is possible via the notification unit 59 (see fig. 19, which will be the same in the following description), and the automatic turning control may be started by operating the start point/end point setting switch 49C (see fig. 19, which will be the same in the following description), the target setting switch 49D (see fig. 19, which will be the same in the following description), the automatic steering switch 50 (see fig. 19, which will be the same in the following description), and the like. In addition, the automatic turning control may be automatically started. Further, even before the traveling machine body C passes through the P1 portion, the automatic turning control may be permitted by operating the starting point/end point setting switch 49C, the target setting switch 49D, the automatic steering switch 50, and the like, and after the traveling machine body C passes through the P1 portion, it may be determined that the traveling machine body C leaves the ridge of the field, and the automatic turning control may be started.

In the turning travel form shown in fig. 24, after the work travel is performed along the target travel path LM with the width across the work width W1, the U-turn travel is performed from the end point position Lf of the work travel to the start point position Ls of the next work travel.

In the form of turning shown in fig. 24, the separation distance between the final point Lf or the starting point Ls and the ridge of the field is the same as the working width of the seedling planting device W. Therefore, for example, in the case of a rice transplanter having a seedling planting device W of seven-row planting type or eight-row planting type, when the ridge is directly turned, the front part of the travel machine body C may come into contact with the ridge. Thus, in the turning travel form shown in fig. 24, after the travel machine body C reaches the end position Lf of the target travel path LM, the travel machine body C is temporarily retracted to the position of Lff, and the travel machine body C performs U-turn travel to the start position Ls of the next work travel.

In the turning travel form shown in fig. 24, the time at which the automatic turning control is started may be not only the time described in the turning travel form shown in fig. 23, but also, for example, a configuration in which it is determined that the travel machine body C has moved back from the end point position Lf to the position of Lff and the automatic turning control is started. After the travel machine body C reaches the end position Lf, the travel machine body C may be configured to perform travel by automatic turning control including a backward movement operation of moving the travel machine body C backward from the end position Lf to the position of Lff by operating the automatic steering switch 50 or the like.

In the cornering pattern shown in fig. 25, the separation distance between the final point Lf or the starting point Ls and the ridge of the field is the same as the working width of the seedling planting device W. The traveling machine body C is configured such that the turning curvature radius of the traveling machine body C is smaller than the working width of the seedling planting device W. Thus, in the turning travel form shown in fig. 25, after the work travel is performed along the target travel path LM with a width that spans the work width W1, the travel machine body C first turns in an L-shape from the end position Lf of the work travel to the position P1 along the ridge of the field. Next, the travel machine body C travels straight along the ridge of the field to the position P2. Then, the traveling machine body C performs the L-shaped turning traveling again from the position P2 to the starting position Ls of the next work traveling, thereby completing the ridge turning traveling. The form of turning shown in fig. 25 is mainly used for a rice transplanter having a seedling planting device W of a ten-row planting type.

The turning travel from the position P2 to the starting position Ls of the next work travel is turning travel in which the travel machine body C turns the steered wheels 10 (see fig. 1, the same applies to the following description) in a direction away from the ridge of the field. Thus, after the traveling body C passes through the P2 portion, it is determined that the traveling body C is separated from the ridge, and the automatic turning control by the control unit 82 (see fig. 19, the same applies to the following description) is started. As the timing to start the automatic turning control, for example, the automatic turning control may be started by detecting that the steering wheel 43 (see fig. 19, the same applies to the following description) is operated to the side where the starting point position Ls of the next work travel is located in a state where the traveling machine body C travels along the ridge of the field. After the travel machine body C passes through the P2 region, the automatic steering switch 50 or the like may be operated to start the automatic turning control. In addition, the automatic turning control may be permitted by operating the starting point/end point setting switch 49C, the target setting switch 49D, the automatic steering switch 50, and the like even before the traveling machine body C passes through the P2 region, and after the traveling machine body C passes through the P2 region, the automatic turning control may be started by determining that the traveling machine body C leaves the ridge of the field.

The steering wheel 43 is configured such that the steering angle of the steered wheels 10 is not transmitted to the steering wheel 43 even if the steering angle of the steered wheels 10 is changed during the automatic turning control. For example, when the operation of the steering wheel 43 is transmitted to the steering control unit 83 by an electric signal (see fig. 19, the same applies to the following description), the steering control unit 83 may perform the automatic turning control regardless of the operation of the steering wheel 43. In the case where there is a clutch between the steering wheel 43 and the steered wheels 10, the clutch may be disengaged while the automatic turning control is being performed. Before starting the automatic turning control, the start of the automatic turning control is notified to the driver by the notification unit 59 (see fig. 19, the same applies to the following description) or the warning unit 64 (see fig. 19, the same applies to the following description), and the driver is urged to take his or her hands off the steering wheel 43. In addition, even when the driver cannot operate the steering wheel 43 during the automatic turning control, the driver may be configured to operate the steering wheel 43 by operating a dedicated operation element or a brake, not shown.

[ offset correction processing ]

When the traveling body C is shifted from the target movement path LM in the body lateral direction beyond a predetermined range, the following shift correction processing is executed. As shown in fig. 26, when the traveling machine body C travels with the local position NM shifted from the target travel path LM in the lateral direction by the shift amount Δ P, the control unit 82 changes the target bearing LA to a bearing inclined at the set inclination angle α 1. That is, the control unit 82 changes the target heading LA to a heading inclined at the set inclination angle α 1 toward the side where the target movement path LM is located, as the target heading LA for the automatic steering control, and executes the automatic steering control.

At this time, the set inclination angle α 1 is set to be larger as the present position NM is farther from the position corresponding to the target movement path LM, and the set inclination angle α 1 is set to be gentler as the present position NM is closer to the position corresponding to the target movement path LM. Further, if the vehicle speed is low, the set inclination angle α 1 is set to be larger, and the set inclination angle α 1 is set to be gentler as the vehicle speed is higher. However, the upper limit value is set for the set inclination angle α 1, so that the set inclination angle α 1 does not exceed the set upper limit value even if the deviation is large, regardless of the low vehicle speed. This prevents the traveling machine body C from turning sharply and the possibility of the traveling state becoming unstable.

When the own-vehicle heading NA (see fig. 20, which is the same in the following description) reaches the target heading LA inclined at the set inclination angle α 1, the target heading LA is changed to a heading inclined at an inclination angle α 2 that is slower than the set inclination angle α 1. When the own-vehicle heading NA reaches the target heading LA inclined at the inclination angle α 2, the target heading LA is changed to a heading inclined at an inclination angle α 3 that is slower than the inclination angle α 2. In this way, the traveling machine body C travels in the oblique direction with the bearing deviation from the target travel path LM gradually reduced, so the offset amount Δ P can be quickly reduced.

The portion corresponding to the target moving path LM has regions having a predetermined width on both left and right sides of the position corresponding to the target moving path LM in the lateral direction. That is, a control insensitive area for the positional deviation is set, and when the positional deviation falls within the control insensitive area, the target bearing LA is set in a direction along the original target travel path LM without being inclined.

With the above configuration, the traveling machine body C is guided to the target travel path LM, and therefore, particularly in the automatic steering control started immediately after the automatic turning control is performed, the deviation of the traveling machine body C from the target travel path LM quickly converges.

Note that, if it is determined that the accuracy of the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 is degraded, the offset correction control may not be executed. In this case, the automatic steering control is performed such that the own azimuth NA follows the target azimuth LA in the direction along the target movement path LM, without taking the offset into consideration.

[ display section ]

As shown in fig. 27, the state of the body is displayed on a screen of the display unit 48 (see fig. 19, which will be the same in the following description) via the notification unit 59. The display unit 48 is divided into a plurality of display areas such as a work information area 100, an offset information area 101, and a vehicle speed information area 102. The work information area 100 displays the date and time of the work, the work result, and the like on the left end of the upper side of the display unit 48. The offset information area 101 displays the offset amount of the traveling body C (the own position NM) with respect to the target movement path LM at the center of the upper side of the display unit 48. The vehicle speed information area 102 displays the vehicle speed on the right end of the upper side of the display unit 48. A large region other than the upper side of the display unit 48 is a positional information region 104, and the positional information region 104 displays the position of the traveling machine body C in the field. The smaller area at the left end of the position information area 104 is a steering state information area 103, and the steering state information area 103 displays the state of the automatic steering mode or the manual steering mode of the control device 75 (see fig. 19, which is the same in the following description). A touch panel operation type software button group 120 is arranged at the right end of the position information area 104. A physical button group 121 is disposed further to the right of the display unit 48.

In the position information area 104, the work state of the field around the traveling machine body C, the target movement path LM, and a machine body symbol SY indicating the own position NM are displayed. For easy understanding, the target movement path LM during operation in the target movement path LM is drawn by a thick solid line. Furthermore, the area where the seedling planting has been completed is displayed in such a manner that each planted seedling is dotted. This makes it possible to visually clearly distinguish between the worked area and the non-worked area. The display of the seedling planting locus may be a line indicating a linear planting row, in addition to a dot plot.

The path on which the traveling machine body C actually travels, that is, the traveling locus can also be displayed on the display unit 48, but this is not explicitly shown in fig. 27. By comparing the travel locus FP with the target movement path LM, the accuracy of the automatic steering control can be checked. The travel locus is displayed on the display unit 48 based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 (see fig. 19, which is the same in the following description). The body symbol SY is shown in an arrow shape, and the acute direction indicates the traveling direction, i.e., the machine direction NA. In order to visually recognize the azimuth deviation between the own-vehicle azimuth NA and the target azimuth LA more easily, a pointer 110 extending from the center of the body symbol SY in the traveling direction and a direction scale 111 indicating an angular range of the direction are displayed on the upper surface. In addition, a boundary line 112 indicating an allowable range of the azimuth deviation is also displayed. Numerical values of the orientation deviation may also be displayed. The driver can visually confirm the displacement and the azimuth deviation of the traveling machine body C with respect to the target movement path LM through the display unit 48.

When the post-process target movement path LM2 is set based on the work travel on the target movement path LM, as shown in fig. 27, the amount of deviation of the travel machine body C from the post-process target movement path LM2 is displayed in the deviation information area 101. The time at which the offset amount is displayed may be during ridge-turning travel from the target travel path LM to the target travel path LM2 for the subsequent process, or may be after ridge-turning travel is completed.

As described above, when the DGPS is used to perform the positioning between two points in a short time, for example, about ten seconds, the relative position error between the two points is extremely small. However, with respect to position coordinate NM3 (see fig. 22, the same applies to the following description) positioned immediately before the ridge is turned, the longer the time elapses from the time when position coordinate NM3 is positioned, and the larger the error in the position coordinates positioned in time series by DGPS becomes. That is, the relative positioning accuracy with respect to the position coordinate NM3 decreases with the elapse of time. Therefore, in the case where the satellite positioning unit 70 is configured using the DGPS, the display unit 48 is configured not to display the offset amount in the offset information region 101 if it is determined that the accuracy of the offset amount is degraded. For example, a setting time for displaying the amount of shift in the shift information area 101 may be set in advance, and when the setting time elapses from the time when the position coordinate NM3 is located, the amount of shift may not be displayed in the shift information area 101.

While the automatic turning control is being performed, the position and the offset amount of the traveling machine body C are not displayed in the offset information area 101 and the position information area 104 on the screen displayed on the display unit 48. That is, the display unit 48 during automatic turning is a display that is easy for the driver to understand during automatic turning. Further, the position and the offset amount of the traveling machine body C during automatic turning may be switched to be displayed according to the intention of the driver. Switching between display and non-display can be performed by operating the software button group 120 and the physical button group 121. Note that the notification of the offset amount may be a sound notification by the notification unit 59, or a lighting display or a blinking display of a switch.

In the case where the reception sensitivity of the satellite positioning unit 70 is insufficient due to a small number of navigation satellites that can supplement the satellite positioning unit 70, or the like, the positioning data of the satellite positioning unit 70 may contain a large error. In such a case, the offset information area 101 may be made not to display the offset amount. Note that the lack of reception sensitivity of the satellite positioning unit 70 may be notified to the offset information region 101 and the position information region 104 via the notification unit 59. This prompts the driver to perform work travel by a manual operation. Note that the notification of the insufficient reception sensitivity of the satellite positioning unit 70 may be voice guidance, a display of turning on a switch, or a display of blinking, and may be freely switched to non-notification. The time notified by the notification unit 59 may be set and adjusted arbitrarily. In addition, when the automatic steering switch 50 is operated in this state, the automatic steering control may be performed such that the own heading NA is aligned with the target heading LA without taking the offset into account.

The target moving path LM may be corrected after setting. For example, a case is considered in which work traveling is performed by a human operation immediately after ridge-turning traveling is completed, and the own vehicle position NM is shifted to either the left or right with respect to the target movement path LM when viewed from the front of the traveling machine body C. In such a case, the driver may also be able to make the following corrections: when viewed from the front of the traveling machine body C, the target moving path LM is moved in parallel to the left and right in the direction in which the own position NM is located. With this configuration, even when the deviation of the local position NM from the target movement path LM is out of the allowable range, the deviation of the local position NM from the target movement path LM can be set to be within the allowable range by correcting the target movement path LM. This enables the automatic steering control along the target moving path LM to be started quickly. The correction of the target moving path LM can be performed by operating the software button group 120 or by operating the physical button group 121.

[ other embodiments of embodiment 2 ]

The present invention is not limited to the configurations illustrated in the above embodiments, and other typical embodiments of the present invention will be illustrated below.

Although the post-process target movement route LM2 is set one by one in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, as shown in fig. 28, a plurality of post-process target movement paths LM2 may be set at the same time. In fig. 28, the post-process target movement paths LM2 (A1), LM2 (A2), and LM2 (A3) are set at equal intervals that are set in advance on the non-working area side of the target movement path LM. Target movement paths LM2 (A1), LM2 (A2), and LM2 (A3) for the post-process are set based on the work travel locus of the travel machine body C on the target movement path LM. Further, the post-process target movement paths LM2 (B1), LM2 (B2), and LM2 (B3) are set at equal intervals, respectively, based on the work travel locus of the travel machine body C on the post-process target movement path LM2 (A3).

The timing of setting the post-process target movement paths LM2 (A1), LM2 (A2), LM2 (A3) may be set when ridge is determined by the obstacle detection unit 63 in the vicinity of the end position Lf, may be set while the traveling machine body C is traveling around a ridge turn to the start position Ls (A1), or may be set after the traveling machine body C reaches the start position Ls (A1). The timing of setting the post-process target movement paths LM2 (B1), LM2 (B2), and LM2 (B3) may be set when the ridge is determined by the obstacle detecting unit 63 in the vicinity of the end position Lf (A3), may be set while the traveling machine body C is traveling around a ridge turn to the start position Ls (B1), or may be set after the traveling machine body C reaches the start position Ls (B1). At the above time, the driver sets each post-process target movement path LM2 by operating the target setting switch 49D, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and may be configured such that the driver performs setting by operating the automatic steering switch 50 or the like, or may be configured such that the setting is automatically performed without being accompanied by the operation of the driver.

In the case of a configuration in which a plurality of traveling working machines simultaneously perform work traveling, each traveling working machine may perform work traveling in parallel along the post-process target travel paths LM2 (A1), LM2 (A2), and LM2 (A3), and then perform work traveling in parallel along the post-process target travel paths LM2 (B1), LM2 (B2), and LM2 (B3).

Although the path setting unit 76 is configured to set the post-process target movement path LM2 in the non-working area of the target movement path LM in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, when the left and right sides of the target moving path LM are the non-working areas, the post-process target moving paths LM2 (L) and LM2 (R) may be set on the left and right sides of the target moving path LM as shown in fig. 29. In this case, the ridge-turning travel may be performed on either one of the post-process target travel paths LM2 (L) and LM2 (R), and after it is determined that the travel machine body C has made a turn, the post-process target travel path LM2 may be set. In principle, the post-process target movement paths LM2 (L) and LM2 (R) should be set at positions separated by a set distance P from the target movement path LM, that is, at positions of broken lines LM (L) and LM (R) shown in fig. 29. In the present embodiment, the post-process target movement paths LM2 (L) and LM2 (R) are set to be parallel-moved by the offset deviation d from the broken lines LM (L) and LM (R) in accordance with the offset deviation d of the traveling machine body C.

Even when the target travel path LM is set to be linear, the actual working travel locus of the traveling machine body C may meander as shown by the broken line in fig. 30 due to, for example, the traveling machine body C slipping or avoiding an obstacle in the field. In this case, the post-process target movement path LM2 is set along the actual working travel locus of the traveling machine body C. The post-process target travel route LM2 (1) shown in fig. 30 meanders along the actual working travel locus of the travel machine body C. Thus, when the work traveling is performed along the post-process target travel path LM2, it is possible to prevent the planted seedlings in the already-worked area from being damaged by treading, or to prevent the possibility of the non-worked area from occurring between the work traveling trajectories before and after the ridge-turning traveling. The actual work travel locus of the traveling machine body C may be calculated based on the positioning data of the satellite positioning means 70, or may be calculated by integrating the vehicle speed measured by the vehicle speed sensor 62 and the azimuth change angle Δ NA (see fig. 21) measured by the inertia measuring means 74.

When the post-process target movement path LM2 is set along the actual working travel locus of the traveling machine body C, the post-process target movement path LM2 has a linear shape closer to a straight line than the actual working travel locus of the traveling machine body C. For example, when the working travel locus of the traveling body C with respect to the target travel path LM meanders in a complicated manner, the post-process target travel path LM2 meanders in a complicated manner, and the traveling body C may not travel along the post-process target travel path LM2 with high accuracy. Thus, the post-process target movement path LM2 (1) shown in fig. 30 is set at a position further away by Δ P from the position separated by the set distance P from the target movement path LM. Then, the subsequent-process target movement path LM2 (1) is set in a state in which a meandering portion shown by a broken line in fig. 30 is separated from a meandering portion of the subsequent-process target movement path LM2 (1) by a set distance P. Thus, the post-process target movement path LM2 (2) set after the post-process target movement path LM2 (1) is set to be closer to a straight line than the post-process target movement path LM2 (1), and the post-process target movement path LM2 (3) set after the post-process target movement path LM2 (2) is set to be substantially linear. As a result, even when the actual working travel locus of the traveling machine body C is occasionally meandering, the actual working travel locus is gradually corrected to a straight line by the post-process target travel path LM2 set later. The number of post-process target movement paths LM2 having meandering portions between the target movement path LM shown in fig. 30 and the substantially linear post-process target movement path LM2 (3) shown at the right end of fig. 30 can be appropriately changed.

Although the target moving path LM is set in one independent field in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the target moving path LM may have a structure set across a plurality of fields. In this case, the teaching path and the actual work travel locus with respect to the target movement path LM may be stored as a reference path and used to set the target movement path LM in another field. The reference route may be stored in a storage unit of a microcomputer provided in the travel machine body C, or may be stored in a storage unit of an external terminal. In the case of a configuration in which the reference path is stored in the storage unit of the external terminal, a communication device that can communicate with the external terminal via a WAN (Wide Area Network) or the like may be provided in the travel machine body C, and the reference path may be read from the storage unit of the external terminal to the microcomputer of the travel machine body C. The external terminal or the storage unit of the microcomputer of the traveling machine body C may store a plurality of reference routes. With this configuration, even if the travel is not taught, the target travel path LM can be set by only reading the reference path corresponding to each field.

When the set time elapses from the time when the position coordinates NM3 (see fig. 22) are located, the post-process target movement path LM2 shown in the above embodiment may not be set. In the case of a structure in which the satellite positioning unit 70 uses the DGPS, the relative positioning accuracy with respect to the position coordinate NM3 decreases with the passage of time. Therefore, if it is determined that the post-process target movement path LM2 cannot be set with high accuracy, the path setting unit 76 may be configured not to set the post-process target movement path LM2.

[ 6 ] may have the following structure: when the post-process target movement path LM2 cannot be set, the driver is notified via the notification unit 59 that the post-process target movement path LM2 cannot be set. The notification given by the notification unit 59 may be a sound such as a buzzer, or may be a lighting or blinking of an LED illumination provided in the center marker 14, or may be displayed on the display unit 48. Examples of the case where the post-process target movement path LM2 cannot be set include a case where a headland (tie) and a ridge of a field exist on a set path of the post-process target movement path LM2, a case where a set position of the post-process target movement path LM2 crosses a boundary of a field and enters an adjacent field, a case where an obstacle is detected on the set path of the post-process target movement path LM2, and a case where a malfunction of the satellite positioning means 70 is detected.

When the travel machine body C deviates from the target travel path LM by a distance greater than a preset distance, the target travel path LM may be used for the work travel. In the case where the traveling body C is greatly deviated from the target moving path LM, it is considered that the driver is likely to be consciously operating the traveling body C. In such a case, it is preferable to give priority to a human operation by the driver. Of course, the ridge-turning travel may be performed after the completion of the work travel along the target travel path LM, and the post-process target travel path LM2 may not be used for the work travel even when the traveling machine body C is deviated from the post-process target travel path LM2 by a distance greater than a preset distance.

The route setting unit 76 can set the post-process target movement route LM2 in conjunction with the control unit 82 and the steering control unit 83. For example, the control unit 82 may determine that the process target movement path LM2 has been set by the path setting unit 76, and perform one or both of the automatic turning control and the automatic travel control. After the traveling machine body C performs the work traveling along the target travel path LM, the driver may determine whether or not to perform the work traveling along the post-process target travel path LM2 alone. Therefore, the path setting unit 76 can be switched between a configuration in which the post-process target movement path LM2 is set in conjunction with the control unit 82 and the steering control unit 83, and a configuration in which the post-process target movement path LM2 is set independently of the control unit 82 or the steering control unit 83.

Not limited to the above embodiment, for example, the path setting unit 76 may be configured to set the subsequent-process target travel path LM2 when the azimuth deviation between the local azimuth NA of the traveling machine body C and the target azimuth LA of the target travel path LM is larger than a predetermined range. For example, when the angle of the azimuth deviation is 90 degrees or more, it may be determined that the traveling machine body C has made a turn, and the post-process target movement path LM2 may be set. In this case, the post-process target movement path LM2 may be automatically set, or the post-process target movement path LM2 may be set by operating the target setting switch 49D, the automatic steering switch 50, or the like. Further, after the setting of the post-process target movement path LM2 is permitted by operating the target setting switch 49D, the automatic steering switch 50, and the like, the post-process target movement path LM2 may be set so that the angle of the azimuth deviation is larger than a predetermined range.

The manipulation tool for setting the post-process target movement path LM2 may be, for example, a software button group 120 in the display unit 48 or a physical button group 121 located on the right side of the display unit 48, in addition to the target setting switch 49D. That is, the operation element may be a dedicated operation element, or an additional function may be added to an existing push switch or lever.

Although the post-process target is the post-process target movement path LM2 in the above embodiment, the post-process target may be, for example, the origin position Ls after the ridge is turned. When the driver operates the target setting switch 49D, the post-process target moving path LM2 parallel to the target moving path LM that has traveled may be set with the start point position Ls as a reference. The post-process target may be a part of the post-process target movement path LM2, or may be an area of about several meters from the starting point position Ls in the post-process target movement path LM2, for example. Further, when the travel machine body C has completed all the work travel along the target travel path LM, or when fuel supply is necessary in the middle of the rice transplanting work, the post-process target may be a turn around (tie) area along the ridge.

The above rice transplanter is not limited to the above rice transplanter, and the present invention can be applied to other direct seeding work machines including a direct seeding machine. In addition, these working machines can be provided with a chemical atomizing working device. Moreover, the present invention can also be applied to a working machine in which a planting device, a seeding device, and a chemical spraying device are appropriately combined and mounted. The present invention can be applied to agricultural machines such as tractors and combine harvesters, as well as direct seeding type working machines.

The above embodiments can be used in combination with each other.

Industrial applicability

The present invention can be applied to traveling working machines such as rice transplanter, paddy planter, and spray working machine that travel while performing work along a target travel path in a field.

Claims

1. A traveling work machine is characterized by comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

in a case where the traveling machine body alternately repeats the work traveling along the target travel path and the turning traveling toward the next target travel path to travel, the path setting unit sets a post-process target travel path, which is a post-process target for traveling after the traveling machine body travels after passing through the target travel path, based on a position calculated from radio waves received from satellites while the traveling machine body travels along the target travel path,

2. A traveling work machine is characterized by comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

a ridge detection means for detecting an approaching ridge;

in a case where the traveling machine body alternately repeats the work traveling along the target travel path and the turning traveling to turn to the next target travel path to travel, the path setting unit sets a post-turning target for the traveling machine body to travel after having traveled the target travel path before turning, based on the position acquired during the traveling of the traveling machine body along the target travel path before turning,

3. A traveling work machine is characterized by comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

in a case where the traveling machine body alternately repeats the work traveling along the target travel path and the turning traveling to turn toward the next target travel path to travel, the path setting unit sets a post-turning target for the traveling machine body to travel after having traveled the target travel path before turning, based on a position acquired during the traveling of the traveling machine body along the target travel path before turning,

the route setting unit sets the post-process target after turning when the traveling machine body enters the turning traveling from traveling along the target travel route.

4. A traveling work machine is characterized by comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

a position detection unit that acquires position information based on a positioning signal of a navigation satellite;

in a case where the traveling machine body alternately repeats the work traveling along the target travel path and the turning traveling to turn to the next target travel path to travel, the path setting unit sets a post-process target for the traveling machine body to travel after having traveled the target travel path based on the position acquired while the traveling machine body travels along the target travel path,

setting the post-process target based on an average position of the plurality of pieces of position information located at the last stage of the work travel on the target travel path。

5. The traveling work machine according to claim 1,

the notification means notifies after completion of the turning travel.

6. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 5,

7. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 4,

the route setting unit sets the post-process target when the traveling machine body is inclined by a predetermined angle or more with respect to the target movement route.

8. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 4,

9. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 4,

a plurality of the post-process targets may be set in parallel.

10. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 2,

11. The traveling work machine according to claim 10,

12. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 2,

the post-process target can be corrected after being set.

13. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 2,

14. The traveling work machine according to claim 13,

15. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 2,

the target moving path is substantially linear,

16. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 2,

the target moving path is substantially linear,

17. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 2,

18. The traveling work machine according to claim 1 or 2,

setting a reference route based on the work travel of the last stage of the work travel,

19. The travel work machine of claim 18,

20. A rice transplanter, a paddy field direct seeder or a spray operation machine, characterized by comprising:

a travel machine body that travels in a field;

a working device for working a field;

the path setting portion sets the target movement path to be traveled next based on the travel locus when traveling along the target movement path traveled last, i.e., the travel-completed target movement path,

the target movement path is composed of a first path set corresponding to a first region where the traveling machine body travels in a state of being identical or substantially identical to the target movement path traveled in the previous line in the travel locus when traveling along the travel-completed target movement path, and a second path set corresponding to a second region where the traveling machine body travels in a state of being shifted in the left-right direction of the target movement path traveled in the previous line in the travel locus when traveling along the travel-completed target movement path,

the second path is set in a state in which the second region is offset to the offset side in the field with respect to the target moving path traveled on the second region with respect to the first path.

21. A rice transplanter, a paddy field direct seeder or a spray operator as claimed in claim 20,

22. A rice transplanter, a paddy field direct seeder or a spray working machine according to claim 20 or 21,

in a state where a plurality of target movement paths are set, the amount of offset between the first path and the second path is smaller as the subsequent process proceeds.

23. A rice transplanter, a paddy field direct seeder or a spray working machine according to claim 20 or 21,

the first path and the second path are formed in a straight line.

24. A rice transplanter, paddy field direct seeder, or spray thrower as claimed in claim 20 or 21,

the target movement path is constituted by an approximate curve based on the travel locus.

25. A rice transplanter, paddy field direct seeder, or spray thrower as claimed in claim 20 or 21,

the rice transplanter, the paddy field direct seeder or the spray work machine has a position detection mechanism that detects positioning data representing the position of the travel machine body based on a positioning signal of a navigation satellite,

the travel track acquisition means acquires the travel track based on the positioning data.

26. A rice transplanter, paddy field direct seeder, or spray thrower as claimed in claim 20 or 21,

the rice transplanter, the paddy field direct seeder or the spraying operation machine is provided with an inertia measuring mechanism capable of measuring the acceleration and the angular acceleration of the running machine body,

27. A rice transplanter, paddy field direct seeder, or spray thrower as claimed in claim 20 or 21,